Tennessee Wesleyan College

Mission & History

Tennessee Wesleyan College serves a heterogeneous student body comprising traditional and non-traditional students, non-degree-seeking adult learners and international students.

Mission Statement

In keeping with the spirit of the liberal arts, Tennessee Wesleyan College seeks within the framework of the Judeo-Christian tradition to provide for students the highest quality educational experience; to promote personal responsibility, integrity, and purpose; and to prepare students for a life of leadership and service in an ever-changing global community.

Statement of Purpose

Tennessee Wesleyan takes pride in its role as a small church-related college and accepts the challenge of advancing a community of learning on the main campus in Athens as well as the Knoxville campus that serves nursing and evening students. The college serves a heterogeneous student body comprising traditional and non-traditional students, non-degree-seeking adult learners and international students. Highly qualified faculty and staff are committed to assisting students in the realization of their full potential by providing appropriate career, pre-professional and professional education and/or requisite preparation for continued study in graduate school. The college offers baccalaureate programs in fine arts, humanities, natural and social sciences as well as business, nursing, other career-related areas and teacher certification. The curriculum is designed to prepare graduates to be knowledgeable, to think critically and creatively, and to develop a basis for effective judgment.

In order that they may take their places among those who lead and serve, the following goals are expected of graduates:

•  TWC Graduates will possess effective communications skills.

• TWC Graduates will possess effective skills in global and cultural awareness.

• TWC Graduates will possess effective analytical skills.

The following outcomes are expected of Tennessee Wesleyan College graduates with regard to general education: Use effectively the skills of reading, writing and speaking.

• Recognize the issues that affect social and political behavior in their historical and cultural perspectives.

• Recognize and analyze contributions of the arts and literature.

• Demonstrate mathematical computation skills and basic computer applications skills, and demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method.

• Think critically and develop a basis for effective judgment.

• Access and evaluate information, and its sources, and use information effectively to accomplish a purpose.

History of Tennessee Wesleyan College

Tennessee Wesleyan College was first founded in 1857 as Athens Female College, in the building now known as Old College, and has experienced seven name changes over the decades. After the Civil War, the college was renamed East Tennessee Wesleyan College in 1866. The following year, the name was changed to East Tennessee Wesleyan University and became one of the few institutions of higher education in the South that admitted men and women.

In an effort to secure financial support for the deeply indebted Southern college from Northern states and benefactors, the institution’s president in 1886, John F. Spence, changed the name to Grant Memorial University and then to U.S. Grant Memorial University in 1889. The College kept this name until 1906 when it became the Athens School of the University of Chattanooga. The institution became independent of the University of Chattanooga in 1925 with a charter issued by the State of Tennessee, and the name of Tennessee Wesleyan College was adopted. Tennessee Wesleyan served as a junior college from 1925 until 1954, when it became a senior college. The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded on June 1, 1957.

Since its beginnings, the college has enjoyed an ongoing and dynamic relationship with one of the branches of the Methodist Church: first under the sponsorship of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, then, beginning in 1866, under the Methodist Episcopal Church. Today, Tennessee Wesleyan maintains an affiliation with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Despite its numerous name changes, the college never lost its identity and place as an important center of learning in southeast Tennessee. And more than 155 years later, Tennessee Wesleyan continues its tradition of providing students with the resources and support they need to learn, serve, lead … and believe.

• Athens Female College (1857-1866)
• East Tennessee Wesleyan College (1866-1867)
• East Tennessee Wesleyan University (1867-1886)
• Grant Memorial University (1886-1889)
• U.S. Grant Memorial University (1889-1906)
• Athens School of the University of Chattanooga (1906-1925)
• Tennessee Wesleyan Junior College (1925-1954)
• Tennessee Wesleyan College (1954-present)