Motto | Lux et Veritas |
---|---|
Motto in English
|
Light and Truth |
Type | Private liberal arts college |
Established | 1857 |
Religious affiliation
|
United Methodist Church |
President | Harley Knowles |
Academic staff
|
184 |
Undergraduates | 1,116 |
Location | Athens, Tennessee, United States |
Campus | Small city |
Colors | Blue, gold, and white |
Athletics | NAIA – AAC |
Sports | 17 varsity teams |
Nickname | Bulldogs |
Affiliations |
NAICU IAMSCU |
Website | www |
University rankings | |
---|---|
National | |
U.S. News & World Report | 41 (Regional colleges South) |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a small university founded in 1857, located in the city of Athens in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Holston of the United Methodist Church. Current enrollment is over 1,100 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1. In February 2016, the school announced that they would change their name to Tennessee Wesleyan University, effective July 1, 2016.
The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate and master's degrees of business, fine arts, humanities, natural and social sciences as well as nursing, other career-related areas, and teacher certification. Through these several academic offerings, the college has developed a close relationship with its region and produces a large number of local teachers, police officers, lawyers and local government officials.
Tennessee Wesleyan also 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 in baseball, basketball, soccer, cross country, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, softball, and lacrosse. Athletics are a very important part of the school, and a very large portion of the student population play on one of the school's teams.
Tennessee Wesleyan was founded in 1857 as Athens Female College. It consisted solely of one building (now Old College). In 1866 the name was altered to East Tennessee Wesleyan College, and in 1867 it became East Tennessee Wesleyan University. At that time, the college was one of only a handful of coeducational colleges in the Southern United States.