Blue Mountain College: A Confederate Soldier Brings Education to the Women of Mississippi
During the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War, an old Confederate general, Gen. Mark P. Lowery, founded one of the first all female schools of higher education in Mississippi. Originally established as the Blue Mountain Female Institute in 1873 in the town of Blue Mountain, the school attracted more than fifty students during its first year. Gen. Lowery's daughters, Modena and Margaret, served the school as the sole faculty members during the first twelve months of its operation.
Over the next 87 years (1873-1960), three generations of the Lowery family continued to oversee the day-to-day operations of the institution. Modena Lowery served as Vice-President from 1873 until 1934, a significant accomplishment for a woman in the Southern United States during this period. General Lowery's sons, Dr. W. T. Lowery and Dr. B. G. Lowery, as well as his grandson, Dr. Lawrence T. Lowery, skillfully led the school through the turn of the century, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II.
After Dr. Lawrence T. Lowery retired from the presidency in early 1960, the Board of Trustees elected Dr. Wilfred C. Tyler, a seasoned professor of Biblical studies, as the school's new president. Following Dr. Tyler's death in 1965, the presidency was passed to Dr. E. Harold Fisher, who held the post for 36 years until his retirement on June 30, 2001. This move paved the way for Dr. Bettye Rogers Coward, Blue Mountain's current president, to take the helm on July 1, 2001.
Even though Blue Mountain College traditionally catered only to female students, the inclusion of male students began in 1956. At the request of the Mississippi Baptist Convention (which had assumed control of the institution in 1920), Blue Mountain also began to offer courses for male students interested in pursuing careers in faith-based occupations. Further progress for the male population of the student body was made in 2005 when the Board of Trustees voted to make all courses at the school available to male students, causing Blue Mountain College to finally become officially co-educational.
At present, Blue Mountain offers over 20 different majors, 16 minors, four professional training programs and an extensive selection of courses available online. In order to learn more about Blue Mountain College, please visit us on campus or on the Web (www.bmc.edu). It would be wonderful to show you more about our school and welcome you to our family!