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Southern Adventist University

Coordinates: 35°02′53″N 85°03′04″W / 35.04813°N 85.05100°W / 35.04813; -85.05100
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Southern Adventist University
Southern Adventist University
MottoPower for Mind and Soul
TypePrivate
Established1892
Endowment$19.4 million[1]
Students3,053
Location
Collegedale
,
TN
,
USA
CampusSuburban
Websitewww.southern.edu

Southern Adventist University is a Seventh-day Adventist college located in Collegedale, Tennessee. It operates a radio station, WSMC-FM, as well as a health food store and a wellness center. It is listed by the U.S. News & World Report as a Southern Regional College.[2] Southern has been noted for its emphasis on "conservative religious and social practices."[3]

History

Names

Southern's roots stem from the establishment of Graysville Academy in Graysville, Tennessee, in 1892. [4] In 1897 it was renamed the Southern Industrial School and then Southern Training School in 1901. The school moved to the community of Thatcher's Switch in 1916, renaming it "Collegedale". [5] In 1943, Kenneth A. Wright became president of the school. [6] During Wright's administration, Southern Junior College became accredited as a four-year institution. [7] A new name, Southern Missionary College, was adopted in 1944. Two men and four women received Southern's first baccalaureate degrees two years later. [8] Renamed "Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists" in 1982[9] , the school became an university in 1996. On September 8, 1996, trustees voted on a new name: Southern Adventist University. [10]

Early 1980's controversy

As the decade began, Southern, then known as Southern College, found itself embroiled in a scandal. One evening a James Dobson film was shown. In the discussion that followed, a teacher from the theology department stated that he was "aware of no scientific proof that masturbation caused some of the more extreme effects suggested by Ellen White in her book, A Solemn Appeal." [11] The incident involving masturbation merged with other, wider church controversies involving Desmond Ford, Walter Rae, Ronald Numbers' book the Prophetess of Health, etc. and led to accusations that faculty at the school did not believe in White as a prophet and led to calls for firings. In the following weeks and months, various concerns converged.[11] In the ensuing controversies, Southern experienced a major change of faculty including the removal of the President, Frank Knittel and the resignation of a member of the Board of Trustees, Tom Zwemer, in protest, in 1982. [11]

Recent events

On the morning of April 26, 2005, a fire broke out in Thatcher Hall, a Women's residence hall at Southern which resulted in a student death and injuries to two other students. The cause has not been determined.[12]

In 2007, Southern released Secret of the Cave, a feature film which was awarded the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival in Indiana.

In November 2009, a student from Southern was murdered on the Island of Yap in Micronesia, part of the Pacific Islands, when she went running one morning. An education major, she was spending a year abroad as a Student Missionary to teach at a school.[13]

Southern terminated its home health nursing program after two nursing students were threatened at gun point in November 2010.[14]

Academics

Programs

Southern offers 81 undergraduate degrees, with sixty majors, thirty-eight minors, and two one-year certificate programs. It also offers Master's degrees in business, education, psychology, nursing, religion, and social work.[15]

Accreditation

Southern Adventist University as a whole is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[16] and the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges, and Universities.[17]

Ideology

The late Progressive Adventist scholar Raymond Cottrell said that "Southern [Adventist University] operates as an agency of Southern Bible belt obscurantism. Furthermore it was (and still is) to an appreciable extent, dependent on the largesse of committed ultra-fundamentalists, who insist that the college operate on ultra-fundamentalist principles."[18]

Student life

Southern does not field any varsity sports teams. However, there is a intramural sports program on campus.[citation needed]

There are less than 40 clubs on campus at Southern.[19] One of which is a chapter of the Adventist Forum, publisher of Spectrum Magazine.[20]

There is no Greek life at Southern, meaning no fraternities or sororities.[21] Southern is a dry campus, alcohol is prohibited on campus under any circumstances, including for those of legal age.[22]

See Also

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Southern Adventist University page on U.S. News and World Report website
  3. ^ Downing, Lawrence (2 July 2008). "Confronting the Challenges in Adventist Education". Spectrum Blog. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  4. ^ 1893 SDA Yearbook, p. 62 (electronic 66)
  5. ^ Speer, Ed. The Tennessee handbook (2002). McFarland. p. 205
  6. ^ Jones, J.K. Important Notice - Change of Workers. Southern Tidings. March 31, 1943. p. 1
  7. ^ Hackman, E.F. Southern Missionary College Expansion Plan. Southern Tidings. August 9, 1944, p. 1
  8. ^ Wright, K.A. Southern Missionary College: A Year of Special Blessing. Southern tidings. March 20, 1946, p. 1
  9. ^ Pettibone, Dennis (1992). The Story of Southern College: A Century of Challenge. Collegedale, Tennessee: Southern College. p. 336. ISBN 0-9634258-0-3.
  10. ^ New Name Selected for Southern College Adventist Review, North American Division, October 3, 1996 p. 23
  11. ^ a b c Jennings, Marie (1982). "Adventist Colleges Under Siege 2. Report on Southern College". Spectrum Magazine. 13 (2). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ The Chattanoogan newspaper article: Fire Ruled Accidental In Which Southern Adventist Student Died
  13. ^ Carr, Will (20 November 2009). "Friends React To Southern Adventist Student's Murder". WTVC. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  14. ^ Lee, Louise (7 December 2010). "Southern Suspends Home Nursing Program". Chattanooga Pulse. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  15. ^ "Majors at Southern Adventist University". Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  16. ^ http://sacscoc.org/details.asp?instid=65700
  17. ^ POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS ACCREDITATION STATUS
  18. ^ Cottrell, Raymond. "ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  19. ^ "Southern Adventist University | Student Life". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  20. ^ Thompson, Raymond (18 February 2008). "Adventist Forum of Southern Adventist University". Spectrum Blog. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  21. ^ "College Search - Southern Adventist University - Housing & Campus Life". College Board. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  22. ^ "Southern Adventist University | Campus Information and Services". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 22 April 2011.

35°02′53″N 85°03′04″W / 35.04813°N 85.05100°W / 35.04813; -85.05100

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