Union College is now Union Commonwealth University

Union College in Barbourville, KY is changing its name to Union Commonwealth University. Union was founded in 1879 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

You can read more in "Union College transitioning to 'Union Commonwealth University'."

Eastern Kentucky University Celebrates Sesquicentennial

Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY is preparing to celebrate the sesquicentennial of its founding. You can read more in "Celebrating 150 Years of Teaching on The Campus Beautiful."

EKU is located on the campus of the former Central University was founded on September 22, 1874.  "The first campus facility, the University Building, was constructed the same year. Central University merged with Centre College in 1901, leaving behind the eight buildings that made up the campus. After the Centre College merger was completed, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School."

The name changed to Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College in 1922; to Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College in 1930; to Eastern Kentucky State College in 1948; then to Eastern Kentucky University in 1966.

Kentucky College for Young Ladies

The Peewee Valley Historical Society in Peewee Valley, KY offers a very nice web page devoted to the Kentucky College for Young Ladies that operated in the community from 1873 until 1900.

The page includes text from newspapers and other sources along with a number of photographs.

The page also provides links to two annual announcements from the 1894 and 1899 academic years that can be viewed online or downloaded from Scribd.

These announcements include lists of all graduates and current pupils, course descriptions, school rules and tuition fees.

The Kentucky College for Young Ladies burned to the ground on August 28, 1900 and closed.

You can also visit an Index of Colleges and Universities that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names for more information on other institutions from each of the states and the District of Columbia. There are currently 5,441 total entries with 178 for Kentucky. 

Berea College Founding Story Featured

The Louisville Courier Journal posted an interesting article, "This Kentucky college did the unthinkable by pushing integration during slavery," by Maggie Menderski on February 5, 2020.

Menderski recently visited the campus of Berea College and provides the founding story of the institution. She interviewed faculty and staff members and shares ways in which the initial vision of founder, John G. Fee, continues to impact those associated with the college.

Berea College is featured in earlier College History Garden posts where you can find additional information on the institution:

• January 20, 2019, Berea's Work College Mission Featured on CBS This Morning
• October 29, 2016, Founder of Berea College inducted into National Abolition Hall of Fame
• September 7, 2013, Videos on YouTube...Scripps College (CA) and Berea College (KY)

Berea's Work College Mission Featured on CBS This Morning

Berea College and its work college model were featured yesterday on CBS in a video segment with reporting by Michelle Miller, "Kentucky college has stayed tuition-free for more than a century."  Miller's segment provides a good overview of Berea's mission and how the institution impacts the lives of the students it serves.

The College History Garden blog has a couple of posts where you can learn more about the history of Berea College:

• Saturday, October 29, 2016 Founder of Berea College inducted into National Abolition Hall of Fame
• Saturday, September 7, 2013 Videos on YouTube...Scripps College (CA) and Berea College (KY)

You can also review a number of earlier Small College Garden posts that feature work colleges:

• Saturday, December 15, 2018 Paul Quinn College and Michael Sorrell are Recognized
• Saturday, September 8, 2018 The Wendell Berry Farming Programs Enrolling Students Again
• Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Focus on Work Colleges: Lower Levels of Student Borrowing and Debt
• Monday, March 27, 2017 Paul Quinn College: 1st HBCU and 1st urban institution to receive 'Work College' Designation
• Friday, September 16, 2016 PBS Series Features Paul Quinn College this Week
• Thursday, August 25, 2016 Spotlight on Sterling College as a model Work College
• Friday, August 28, 2015 Blackburn College & College of the Ozarks Highlighted as Work Colleges
• Wednesday, July 1, 2015 Weaving Program at Berry College Featured

Centre College Bicentennial

Centre College received its initial charter on January 21, 1819 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and will be offering a variety of celebratory events during the bicentennial of its founding.  You can visit the bicentennial web pages for more information and can view an interesting YouTube video, "Centre College: A History."

Centre also offers an historical sketch with links to more detailed information on the college.  A Centre College Digital Archives also offers selected late nineteenth and early twentieth-century photographs from the Centre College Special Collections.

Kentucky College of Art + Design will open as KY's Independent 4-YR Art College

Ashlie Stevens of WFPL, Louisville's NPR affiliate, reports in "With New Licensure, KyCAD Becomes Only 4-Year Art College In Kentucky" that Kentucky College of Art + Design will enroll its first class of students on January 7, 2019.

KyCAD was founded in 2009 and was initially affiliated with Spalding University.  It separated from Spalding in April 2018 and announced last week that its application for licensure has been approved by Kentucky’s Council on Post-Secondary Education.  You can visit the KyCAD website for more information.

Alice Lloyd: Her Story and that of Alice Lloyd College

The Lexington, KY Herald-Leader published an article, "She came to Ky. in a buggy. 100 years later, thousands have low-debt college degrees," by Bill Estep on May 12, 2017.  Estep provides the fascinating story of Alice Lloyd, her work in eastern Kentucky, and how her legacy is alive today at Alice Lloyd College. 

You can also visit the Alice Lloyd College website to read more about the institution's history.  You can also visit the The Work College Consortium to learn more about the work college concept as it is practiced at Alice Lloyd College and on the campuses of the other consortium members.

Thomas More College Considers Changes

Kate Murphy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky has started a planning process involving a review of organizational structure and a possible name change.  Murphy's article, "Thomas More seeking university status," was posted November 16, 2016.

Thomas More College was founded as Villa Madonna College in 1921 by the Benedictine Sisters of Covington, KY to train Catholic school teachers and to provide college education for young women.  The Diocese of Covington assumed sponsorship of the institution in 1929.  Villa Madonna became co-ed after 1945 with the closing of St. Thomas More College, an affiliated college for men.  The institution moved to Crestview Hills, KY in 1968 and the name changed to Thomas More College.

The Northern Kentucky Tribune offered an interesting historical article focusing on early educational activities of Catholic religious orders in January 2016, "Our Rich History: St. Walburg Academy began,became Villa Madonna College . . . and more." 

Founder of Berea College inducted into National Abolition Hall of Fame

Berea College in Berea, KY announced that its founder, Reverand John Gregg Fee,l has been inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame.  The press release includes a historical sketch and links to an interesting two-minute video that provides context for the award and the founding of Berea College in 1855.  The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum are located in Peterboro, NY.

Eckstein Norton University in Kentucky Served African Americans

Erkstein Norton University operated in Cane Springs, KY from 1890-1912 offering education to African Americans.  The Bullitt County Geneological Society hosts a page devoted to the institution with photographs and transcribed descriptions from the period.   The following advertisement ran in The Appeal (Saint Paul, MN) on September 27, 1902.

The Louisville Courier-Journal ran an article summarizing the institution's history on February 21, 2014 and provided historical context for the closure of the institution.  The author noted that Erkstein Norton merged with Lincoln Institute.  The later institution was founded by Berea College in response to a 1904 Kentucky law forbidding integrated education.

Saint Catharine College in Kentucky will be Closing

Linda Blackford reports for the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader that St. Catharine College in Saint Catharine, KY will be closing in July.  The institution was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Peace in 1931.  "A note from the Board of Trustees" with the announcement is available on the college website.

While f.t.e. enrollment was 4.7% higher in fall 2015 than it was in fall 2003, it had peaked at 834 f.t.e. students in fall 2011 and had been trending downward in recent years.  Total revenues and investment income had increased since FY2004, by 53%...unfortunately, expenses more than doubled rising by 133%.

As a result, Saint Catharine's financial situation was unsustainable.  Following calculation of ratios, using a model publicized on The Sustainable University website, two stars are placed on the chart below.  The one in cell B3 reflects changes in Saint Catharine's expense and equity ratios for the five year period from FY2004 through FY2008.  The star in the A3 in the upper right hand corner reflects changes in ratios from FY2011 through FY2015.  

Supporting data for calculation of the ratios was pulled from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and is displayed in the following table.

Historical Marker Unveiling for Stanford Female College

A ceremony to mark a new historical marker for Stanford Female College was featured in The Interior Journal of Stanford, KY on May 2, 2015.  The college operated from 1872-1907.  The main building is now used by a funeral home.

The Chronicling America website for the Library of Congress includes a number of digitized copies of The Interior Journal from the late 1800's with ads or articles on Stanford Female College.

Midway College in Kentucky Announces Name Change

Midway College announced that it will become Midway University on July 1, 2015.  The institution located in Midway, KY was founded as Kentucky Female Orphan School in 1847 by Dr. Lewis L. Pinkerton.  The name was changed to Pinkerton High School and Midway Junior College in 1942.  It became Midway College in 1978.  The main residential campus program continues to operate as a woman's college.

Louisville Female College Catalogue

The Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collection includes a catalogue of Louisville Female College for the 1873 academic year.  Louisville Female College operated from 1853 to 1880 and was affiliated with the Methodist Church.

Kentucky Colleges that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names

This table below includes institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names.  If you note a need for changing or updating information, please notify ray01brown@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is available.

There is a College History Garden Facebook group or you can view and follow multiple College History Garden boards on Pinterest or there is a board specifically devoted to Kentucky colleges.

Thanks for your interest and suggestions!

For Resources relating to the History of Women in Higher Education...checkout The Greenfield Digital Center

I would encourage everyone to check out the website of the The Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center for the History of Women's Education.  The Center's mission statement indicates that it serves as an online locus of scholarship on the history of women’s higher education.  The site includes access to teaching modules, digital exhibits, and a primary source collection of posters, news articles, and other items.

Among the digital exhibits, two of interest were A Purposeful Vision: Margaret Bailey Speer and Yenching University and At School, At Work, At Play: Gender Complexities at the First Southern Coeducational Institution.

The first of these exhibits explores the life of Speer primarily through her letters starting with her youth, then moves through her years at Bryn Maur, her 18 years of service in China, and concludes with her return to the United States.  She first traveled to Yenching University in 1925 at the age of 25 and her insights built through her travel and many contacts are fascinating to read.

The experiences of women in various aspects of life at Berea College provide the core of the second exhibit, developed as a collaborative project of an English class at the institution in 2012.

 

Staying the Course...The University of the Cumberlands (KY)

Alice W. Brown's recent book, Staying The Course: How Unflinching Dedication and Persistence Have Built a Successful Private College in a Region of Isolation and Poverty is an important contribution to higher education literature.  Brown focuses on the University of the Cumberlands (UC)  in Williamsburg, KY and explores how the institution has evolved and grown over the years...in spite of characteristics commonly attributed to other institutions that have struggled or closed.  More specifically, UC serves a largely rural region of eastern Kentucky and is known for its strong Baptist heritage.

The initial chapter describes the region that UC serves and Brown then systematically covers every topic that a reader might expect from leadership, through funding, to the various constituencies that contribute to the campus culture.  Detailed statistics are provided in the appendices for enrollment, fundraising, endowment, curricular changes, and other aspects of the institution.

Brown is in many ways uniquely qualified for the task.  Her background includes 25 years of service as president of the Appalachian College Association where she was able to observe a number of institutions in the region as they all dealt in different ways with similar environmental influences.  In addition to this book, Brown has also written articles and edited a couple of other books that also have focused on smaller institutions.  Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure was published in 2011 as part of the Jossey-Bass New Directions for Higher Education series.  This was followed in 2012 by another excellent book, Cautionary Tales: Strategy Lessons from Struggling Colleges.

Mid-Continent University (KY) Closing in June

Bill Hughes of the West Kentucky Star reports on a decision by Mid-Continent University in Mayfield, KY to close on June 30, 2014.

The web site of KFVS television in Cape Girardeau, MO also covers the impending closure and provides video images of the campus.

The Paris, TN Post-Intelligencer also carries another article on the closure.

Mid-Continent traces its history to a group of pastors affiliated with the West Kentucky Baptist Association who decided in 1947 to found West Kentucky Baptist Bible Institute in Clinton, KY.  Initial classes were held at the First Baptist Church of Clinton in January 1949.  The institution moved in 1951 to a campus on the northern outskirts of Clinton.  The institution moved to North 15th Street in Mayfield, KY in August 1957 and the name was changed to the Baptist Bible Institute.  The name was changed to Mid-Continent Baptist Bible College in June 1965.  A new campus was constructed following a donation of land in 1972.  The name was changed to Mid-Continent College in 1998 and in January 2004, to Mid-Continent University.

The following is list of individuals served as presidents of the institution:

1949 – 1951          Curry O. Simpson

1951 – 1953         Harry E. Harp

1953 – 1957         W.A. Sloan

1957 – 1976         O.C. Markham

1976 – 1980         Wendell H. Rone Sr.

1981 – 1987         Raymond E. Lawrence

1988 – 1997         LaVerne Butler

1997 – 1999         David L. Jester

2000 – 2014         Robert J. Imhoff

2014 -- 2014        Ken Winters (Acting President)

2014 - Present      Tom Walden (Acting President)

Methodist Institutions in Kentucky

Historical Sketches of Institutions of Higher Learning of the Kentucky Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South is available through Asbury Theological Seminary's ePlace, a digital collection of research and writing managed by the B.L. Fisher Library.  The book was published in 1899 and the author was Dr. George S. Savage.

Higher education institutions included in the book:

• Augusta College, Augusta, KY
• Asbury College, Wilmore, KY
• Bourbon Female College, Paris, KY
• Harrison Female College, Cynthiana, KY
• Kentucky Wesleyan College, Millersburg, KY...after 1890 in Winchester, KY
• Millersburg Female College Millersburg, KY
• Sue Bennett Memorial School, London, KY
• Transylvania University, Lexington, KY
• Union College, Crittenden, KY