University of Memphis

History

In 1909 the Tennessee Legislature enacted the General Education Bill. This bill stated that three colleges be established within each grand division of the state and one additional school for Colored (African-American) students. After much bidding and campaigning, the state had to choose between two sites to build the new college for West Tennessee: Jackson, Tennessee and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis beat out Jackson, one of the main reasons being the proximity of the rail line to the site proposed to build the new college for West Tennessee. This would allow professors and students to go home and visit their relatives. The other three schools established through the General Education Act are East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee State University.

Related Topics:
1909 - African-American - West Tennessee - Jackson, Tennessee - Memphis, Tennessee - East Tennessee State University - Middle Tennessee State University - Tennessee State University

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On September 10, 1912, West Tennessee Normal School opened in Memphis; its first president was Seymour A. Mynders. Students chose the school colors blue and gray to memorialize the American Civil War. After Mynders' death in 1913, John Willard Brister was chosen to take his place. After Brister's resignation in 1918, Andrew A. Kincannon became president. In 1924, Brister returns to his post as president of the school.

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The name changed in 1925 to West Tennessee State Teachers College. In 1931 the campus' first newspaper, The Tiger Rag, was established. In 1939, Richard C. Jones becomes president of WTSTC In 1941, the school was changed to Memphis State College, when the college expanded its liberal arts curriculum. In 1943, Dr. Jennings B. Sanders becomes president. Three years later, the first alumnus to become president, J. Millard (Jack) Smith is appointed. In 1951 the first B.A degrees are awarded. In 1957 the school received full University status.

Related Topics:
1925 - 1941 - University

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1959 marked the university's admitting its first group of black students, five years after Brown v. Board of Education. Among the restrictions faced by black students at the time were that they had to be off campus by noon and that they were not allowed to eat in the cafeteria. Dr. Cecil C. Humphreys becomes the president of Memphis State University in 1960. In 1966, the school started awarding doctoral degrees. Humphreys resigns as MSU president to become the first chancellor of the newly formed State University and Community College System, later renamed the Tennessee Board of Regents. John Richardson was appointed interim president.

Related Topics:
Brown v. Board of Education - 1966

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In 1973, Billy Jones becomes president. Also in this year, the Memphis State Tiger men's basketball team reached the finals of the NCAA tournament, only to be beat by a UCLA team led by future NBA star Bill Walton in the championship game in St. Louis. In 1980, Thomas Carpenter becomes president of the U of M. On July 1, 1994, after years of research and surveys, Memphis State University changes its name again, to the University of Memphis.

Related Topics:
UCLA - NBA - Bill Walton - 1994

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