Tennessee Wesleyan University


Tennessee Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston :wikt:conference|Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where it offers evening programs in business administration. It also conducts its nursing classes in Knoxville.
Tennessee Wesleyan offers ten varsity sports. The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs compete in the Appalachian Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

History

Tennessee Wesleyan was founded in 1857 as Athens Female College. It consisted solely of one building. In 1866 the name was altered to, and in 1867 it became. At that time, the college was one of only a handful of coeducational colleges in the Southern United States.
In 1886, college president John F. Spence changed the name to in an attempt to receive financial support from Northern benefactors.
In 1889, it merged with Chattanooga University to form , becoming the consolidated university's Athens branch campus.
Seventeen years later, it was renamed the Athens School of the University of Chattanooga.
In 1925, the college split from Chattanooga to become Tennessee Wesleyan College and served as a junior college. Tennessee Wesleyan became a liberal arts college in 1957 when it began awarding bachelor's degrees.
In February 2016, the school announced that they would change their name to Tennessee Wesleyan University, effective July 1, 2016. The decision would be the first name change for the school in 91 years.

Academics

Articulation agreements

Tennessee Wesleyan University has articulation agreements with Chattanooga State Community College, Cleveland State Community College, Motlow State Community College, Pellissippi State Community College, Roane State Community College, and Walters State Community College.

Degrees

Tennessee Wesleyan University offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Behavioral Science, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Communication, Criminal Justice, Early Human Development and Learning, Education, English, Exercise Science, Fine Art, Music, individualized majors, History, Human Services, International Studies, Mathematics, Nursing, Psychology, Church Vocations, Pre-Seminary, Sociology, and Special Education.

Admissions and rankings

Tennessee Wesleyan University accepts 62% of all applicants and is considered "selective" by U.S. News & World Report.

Athletics

Tennessee Wesleyan athletic teams, nicknamed athletically as the Bulldogs, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.

Notable alumni