Carson–Newman University

Following a ten-year effort of five early East Tennessee Baptists, the school was established as Mossy Creek Missionary Baptist Seminary in 1851. The school began by holding classes in a local Baptist church. Within a few years the institution became Mossy Creek Baptist College and occupied its own buildings on the site of the present campus.

In 1880, the university was named Carson College for James Harvey Carson (1801–1880), who left $15,000 of his estate to the school.[2][3] For several years it existed alongside Newman College, a separate facility for the education of women named for William Cate Newman, who had donated money to the women's college. In 1889, the two colleges united as one of the first coeducational institutions in the South. The institution operated as Carson–Newman College until 2012 when the board of trustees voted to acknowledge recent organizational changes by changing the name to Carson–Newman University.[4]

In 1919, Carson–Newman became officially affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The college was admitted to membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1927 and the Association of American Colleges in 1928.

During World War II, Carson–Newman was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[5]

During most of its history, Carson–Newman University has served as a residential four-year, liberal arts college with courses of study leading to the baccalaureate degree.

More recently, the university has been recognized for its student based Hunger Games. In keeping with its commitment to service learning, Carson–Newman has held the Hunger Games each fall since 2011 in order to raise funds for local charities. In 2014, over US$12,000 was raised from the games.[6]

In 2015 the school applied for and received a Title IX exemption so that it could maintain its status as a private Christian institution and also granting it the right to turn away "gay students, unwed mothers, women who've had an abortion and even students who may be pregnant" should it so choose to do so.[7] Then-President Dr. Randall O'Brien states that the decision was made based on the advice of legal counsel and that the school does not discriminate and does not plan to.[8]

Through an alumni donation in 2010, the university acquired a neglected 18-acre wooded area of land along Mossy Creek. More recently, the property has been transformed from an overgrown woods with a "dead creek" into a beautiful park. Over the years, the site has become increasingly important to the biology program and others at Carson-Newman. In Fall 2017, the creek started showing fresh signs of life once again.[9]

On June 7, 2019, the trustees appointed Dr. Charles A. Fowler as the 23rd president of the university. Dr. Fowler began his tenure July 1, 2019.

Carson–Newman's Mathematics program is home to American statistician Kenneth Massey. The Army ROTC Nursing program is the largest in Tennessee.

The campus is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, between Overlook Ave (West) and Meadow Spring Ave (East), and between Ellis St (South) and Deborah St (North).

Carson–Newman is a member of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and fields 18 varsity teams in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II competition. Men's varsity sports at Carson-Newman are: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, and Track & Field. Women's sports are: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball. In the spring of 2015 the volleyball program expanded to include a beach volleyball program, being one of around 40 schools in the United States to offer the sport.

• Official website
• Carson–Newman Athletics website