Bethel College: A Strong Determination for Future Education

Bethel College was founded in the town of McLemoresville, Tennessee, in 1842.  Due to an overflow of students at the nearby McLemoresville Academy, the Bethel Seminary was soon opened and presided over by the West Tennessee Synod of Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  President Reuben Barrow oversaw daily operation at the institution for the next twenty years, also acting as college fundraiser, Board of Visitors member, and chair of the Theology Department. 

With the onset of the Civil War, Bethel College experienced a series of setbacks that caused the institution to close its doors during the war.  Since the region was at times equally divided between Union and Confederate forces, the campus was frequently used as a barracks and stripped of its physical equipment.  In addition, many of the men who had attended the school were enlisted to fight.  As a result of these events, the institution lost its endowment. 

Following the end of the war, Bethel College reopened in 1865 under the supervision of Reverend B. W. McDonald.  Women were admitted for the first time in the college's history.  After seven more years in McLemoresville, the college moved down the road to McKenzie, Tennessee, in order to be closer to the railroad junction of the N.C./St.L. and L&N Railways.  Before the 1872 school year, construction was completed on a large brick administration building, the only building on campus for over fifty years. 

Bethel College struggled forward during the next 75 years.  Its most relevant test as an institution during this period was the Union of 1906.  A church-governing body, the Union determined that all Presbyterian institutions of higher learning in Tennessee were to be closed.  After a short period of inactivity, Bethel College reopened to become and remain the only Cumberland Presbyterian college in the nation.

Ever since, the school has continued to expand.  In 1960, several new buildings were added to the campus, including MacDonald Hall, Moore Cafeteria and a new women's dormitory.  Enrollment has also continued to increase, finally rising above 1,000 students in 2001 and 2,000 students in 2007.  The reasons behind this growth rest in various new programs initiated at the turn of the century.  The most important innovations are The Success Program (an online regimen of courses specifically designed for adult learners in remote locations), the Bethel Physician's Assistant Studies Program (one of only two in Tennessee), and the Laptop Initiative (a program that supplies a laptop computer to every full-time student).

Currently, Bethel College offers 27 different types of undergraduate degrees and three graduate programs.  It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. If you would like to learn more about Bethel College, please visit us on campus or on the Web (www.bethel-college.edu).  We would be happy to show you more about our school and welcome you to our family!