Former name | Williamsburg Institute (1888–1913) Cumberland College (1913–2005) |
---|---|
Motto | Vita Abundantior |
Motto in English | A Life More Abundant |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1888 |
Religious affiliation | Christian |
Endowment | US$164,485,925 [1] |
Chancellor | Jerry Jackson |
President | Larry Cockrum |
Provost | Trey Jarboe |
Students | 20,347 [2] |
Undergraduates | 6,100 [2] |
Postgraduates | 14,247 [2] |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Rural |
Colors | Red, White & Blue |
Nicknames | Patriots |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA – Mid-South |
Mascot | Pete the Patriot |
Website | www |
The University of the Cumberlands is a private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky. [3] Over 20,000 students are enrolled at the university.
University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was founded on January 7, 1889. [4] At the 1887 annual meeting of the Mount Zion Association, representatives from 18 eastern Kentucky Baptist churches discussed plans to provide higher education in the Kentucky mountains. The college was incorporated by the Kentucky state legislature on April 6, 1888. In 1907 the school bought the three buildings of Highland College, and in 1913, Williamsburg Institute's name was changed to Cumberland College. The name reflected the institution's location along the Cumberland River and its proximity to Cumberland Falls and the Cumberland Gap. From its inception, the institution has been affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and its mission has been to educate and prepare leaders for service to the greater community. On the basis of being controlled by the Kentucky Baptist Convention and being bound by its policies, the university has requested and received exemptions from Title IX in the areas of "admissions, recruitment, education programs or activities, and employment", allowing it to discriminate in those fields based on its views regarding "marriage, sex outside of marriage, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and abortion." [5] University of the Cumberlands sought, and received, a dissolution with the Kentucky Baptist Convention during the annual convention on November 12, 2018. [6]
Although founded as a senior college, in 1918 Cumberland College officially became a junior college. The college received its first accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1931. In 1956 the Board of Trustees began bringing the college back to senior college status. The junior year was added in 1959-60 and the senior year in 1960–1961. SACS granted initial accreditation to the institution as a senior college in December 1964.
Cumberland College received authority to award its first graduate degree, the Master of Arts in education (MAED) on April 6, 1988. Graduate education has since become an integral part of the institution. In 2005, the institution received authorization from SACS to offer the Master of Arts in Teaching degree (MAT). This action was followed in 2006 with permission from the SACS Commission on Colleges to offer both the MAED and MAT degrees fully online. More recently in 2008, the commission also authorized the granting of the MBA degree, the Ed.S. degree, as well as the institution's first doctoral degree, an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. Master's programs in Professional Counseling and in Physician Assistant Studies were approved by SACS in 2009, and the Master of Arts in Christian Studies in 2010.
On July 1, 2005, after action by the Board of Trustees, Cumberland College became the University of the Cumberlands. The university is authorized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to operate as a nonprofit corporation with perpetual duration and is licensed by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) to grant the degrees currently offered through July 2017. The institution is also recognized by the Commission on Colleges of SACS as a Level V institution and thus accredited to offer up to three doctoral programs. Currently it offers three doctoral degrees: Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Ed.D. in Counselor Education, and Ph.D. in Psychology.
It was originally known as Williamsburg Institute, then as Cumberland College, and now as University of the Cumberlands.
Ten presidents have led the college including William James Johnson; E. E. Wood; John Newton Prestridge; Gorman Jones, acting president; A. R. Evans, acting president; Charles William Elsey; James Lloyd Creech; J. M. Boswell; James H. Taylor and Larry L. Cockrum.
On October 3, 2014, university President James Taylor announced that then-Vice President for Academic Affairs Larry Cockrum would take over day-to-day operations of the university after the board of trustees meeting on October 15, 2014. Taylor also announced his retirement as president effective October 15, 2015 with the recommendation that Cockrum be named university president effective October 16, 2015. On that date, Taylor would assume the honorary title of university chancellor. [7] The board of trustees officially approved the succession plan on October 15, 2014, giving Cockrum a seven-year contract and the title of Chief Executive Officer & President-Elect. [8] The board of trustees, in a unanimous vote, officially named Cockrum university president on October 15, 2015. [9]
Notable alumni include two governors, five military generals, and five college and university presidents.
In 2005, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) censured the university, finding that then-President James Taylor coerced Professor Robert Day into resigning because he had opposed Taylor's proposed staff layoffs on an off-campus website. [10] [11] The AAUP concluded that "The policies of Cumberland College, including the grievance procedure, do not provide for faculty hearings of any kind. College policies and practices preclude any effective faculty role in academic governance and contribute to an atmosphere that stifles the freedom of faculty to question and criticize administrative decisions and actions." The AAUP noted that current and former faculty members "do not feel free to address topics of college concern in any forum" and "described a climate of fear about what faculty members may say and do, a fear based on what they know or have been told has happened to others." Those interviewed "expressed a particular fear that criticizing the administration and its operation of the college could place a faculty member's appointment in jeopardy." [12]
In 2015 the college was granted an exception to Title IX, which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. [13]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(November 2014) |
University of the Cumberlands' campus is in the southeastern part of Kentucky, just off Interstate 75, 190 miles (310 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio, and 70 miles (110 km) north of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Plans are also underway for an addition to the Boswell Campus Center and remodeling the current structure. These plans include a student recreation center complete with a rock wall, along with adding a thatched roof in order to blend in with the other buildings on campus. Phase 1 began in May, 2010.
In 2004 the current college President, Larry Cockrum, was caught up in an academic scandal because he was awarded a fake degree from Crescent City Christian College. [16] The incident occurred while Cockrum was employed at College of the Ozarks. The professor who questioned this degree was fired, while Larry Cockrum was allowed to resign. [16] Cockrum later received a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University and a post-graduate certification from Harvard University.
The university is divided into four colleges: Cumberland College (the university's undergraduate school), the Hutton School of Business/Management, the Hutton Center for Leadership Studies, and the Graduate/Professional Education program.
University of the Cumberlands is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.
Cumberlands offers approximately 45 major undergraduate programs of study, as well as a variety of minor programs. UC recently began offering majors in Journalism and Public Relations, Criminal Justice, and Spanish. [17]
Cumberlands offers 12 academic national honor societies for students in several majors. [18]
The university offers several master's degrees, including programs in Education (MAEd), Psychology (MAPC), Business Administration (MBA), Physician Assistant Studies (MSPA), and Christian Studies (MACS), as well as an Educational Specialist program. It also offers several PhD programs, as well as an EdD program. [19]
In addition to the main campus in Williamsburg, UC operates a Northern Kentucky facility in Florence, Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. The location was originally secured to offer more clinical rotations in mental healthcare for doctoral psychology students. This satellite campus currently houses the School of Lifelong Learning and the Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. The university has also indicated that this campus may be the eventual home of the Master's program in Physician Assistant Studies. [20]
The Cumberlands athletic teams are called the Patriots (after switching from their original nickname, the Indians). The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) for most of its sports since the 1995–96 academic year; while its men's lacrosse team competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). The Patriots previously competed in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) from 1966–67 to 1994–95.
Cumberlands competes in 28 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports include archery, cheerleading, dance, and eSports. [21] [22]
The university has a low-power radio station, WCCR-LP, a campus newspaper, The Patriot, and a local cable television station, UCTV channel 19. It also has a forensics (debate) team and an academic team.
The university typically has two theatre productions each year, one play (commonly in the spring, though reversed for the 2008 semesters) and one musical (currently in the spring, previously in the fall).
The university has other extracurricular student activities, including Campus Activity Board (CAB), chapters of College Republicans and College Democrats, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Residence Hall Councils, Student Government Association, Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM), and many other clubs and organizations.
UC has 12 chapters of national honor societies in fields such as Biology (Beta Beta Beta), First Year Students (Alpha Lambda Delta) Theology and Religion (Theta Alpha Kappa), Business (Sigma Beta Delta and Phi Beta Lambda), and other academic fields.
University of the Cumberlands provides opportunities for campus ministry through Baptist Campus Ministries, Appalachian Ministries, Mountain Outreach, and Campus Family and Life groups.
All undergraduate students participate in community service before they graduate, developing a 40-hour community service project through their "Lead 101" class. Students who accumulate 200 or more hours of community service during their time at UC are designated "Hutton Scholars" and presented with certificates. Such students are recognized at their commencement ceremonies and can request a "leadership transcript". Many campus organizations provide opportunities for community service, including Student Government Association, the Academic Resource Center (ARC), Campus Activity Board, The Patriot campus newspaper, and Resident Assistant positions.
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