 | |
Former names | Wiley University (1873–1929) Wiley College (1929–2023) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Go Forth Inspired |
| Type | Privatehistorically black college |
| Established | 1873 |
Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church |
Academic affiliations | UNCF IAMSCU CIC[1] |
| Endowment | $7.4 million |
| President | Herman J. Felton Jr. |
Academic staff | 46 |
Total staff | 163 |
| Students | 636 |
| Location | , U.S. 32°32′12″N94°22′45″W / 32.5367°N 94.3792°W /32.5367; -94.3792 |
| Campus | Rural, 134 acres (54 ha) |
| Colors | Purple, Black, White & Gray |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA –HBCUAC |
| Mascot | Wiley the Wildcat |
| Website | wileyc |
 | |
 | |
Wiley University (formerlyWiley College) is aprivatehistorically black college inMarshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by theMethodist Episcopal Church'sBishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by theFreedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of theMississippi River.[2][3]
In 2005–2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program inShreveport, Louisiana, for students with some prior college credits who seek to finish a degree, enrolled about 250. By fall of 2006, total enrollment was about 750. By fall of 2013, total enrollment reached over 1,000. Wiley is anopen admissions college and about 96% of students receive some financial aid.[4]
The college is known for its debate team. Over a 15-year period,Melvin B. Tolson's debate teams lost only 1 of 75 debates. Wiley's debate team competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate againstUniversity of Southern California's highly ranked debate team.[5]
On November 3, 2023, Wiley College announced a name change back to Wiley University for the first time since 1929 with the establishment of a new graduate school program to be offered to students beginning in 2024.[6]
Wiley University was established in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[7][8] It is the oldest historically black college (or institute of higher education) west of the Mississippi River.[7] It was started as both a college and high school.[7]
In 1880, the campus was moved to a seventy-acre plot in downtown Marshall.[7] The former campus location was in south Marshall, near the remainingWiley College Cemetery.[7] In 1888, Henry B. Pemberton was the first college graduate, he was awarded a B.A. degree.[7]
F.C. Moore was the first president, and for the first twenty years the president and all the faculty and staff, were church missionaries and were White.[7] The first African American president of Wiley University was Isaiah B. Scott, who served from 1893 until 1896; with his election he changed the institutions policy regarding the race of faculty and staff.[7] In 1896, Scott became editor of theSouthwest Christian Advocate, and Matthew Winfred Dogan replaced him as the president, a role he maintained until 1942.[7]
In 1906 a fire destroyed five of the eleven buildings on campus, but they were rebuilt.[7] In 1907, the president’s home and a library on campus were built by students, after president Dogan was able to secure aCarnegie Foundation grant.[7] The library was open to the entire community of Marshall, and it was the only library until 1974.[7] By 1929, the institution no longer supported a high school.[7] During that same year, the university renamed itself as Wiley College.
Wiley, along withBishop College, was instrumental in theCivil Rights movement in Texas. Wiley and Bishop students launched the firstsit-ins in Texas in therotunda of the Old Harrison County Courthouse to protest segregation in public facilities.[citation needed]
James Farmer, son ofJames L. Farmer, Sr., graduated from Wiley and became one of the "Big Four" of the Civil Rights Movement. Together withRoy Wilkins, Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., andWhitney M. Young Jr., James Farmer helped organize the firstsit-ins andFreedom Rides in the United States.[9][10]
Tony Scherman's article about the Wiley College debate team for the 1997 Spring issue ofAmerican Legacy sparked a renewed interest in its history.[15] The success of the 1935 Wiley College debate team, coached by professor and poetMelvin Tolson, was the subject of a 2005AMS Pictures documentary,The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College, which received heavy play around Texas, followed by the 2007 dramatic movie,The Great Debaters, directed by and starringDenzel Washington. In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champion, theUniversity of Southern California (depicted asHarvard University inThe Great Debaters).
In 2007, Denzel Washington announced a donation of $1 million to Wiley so the team could be re-established.[16][17] The following year,The Great Debaters movie debuted, starring Washington; the college's debate team has taken this name, too.
In 2014, the 23-person team won 1st place at thePi Kappa Delta Comprehensive National Tournament. This was the largest Pi Kappa Delta Tournament in their 101-year history. This was the first national speech and debate title won by an HBCU. Three years later, the college led the establishment of the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League.[18] In 2018, Wiley hosted the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League Tournament.[19]
The Wiley athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The college is a member of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in theHBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), formerly known as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2022–23 academic year.[20] The Wildcats previously competed in theRed River Athletic Conference (RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2021–22. They were also a founding member of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) from 1920–21 to 1967–68, which is currently anNCAA Division IFCS athletic conference.
Wiley competes in ten intercollegiate varsity teams: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Wiley the Wildcat is the mascot. Former sports included cheerleading.
On January 20, 2022, Wiley received an invitation to join the GCAC, along withOakwood University (from theUnited States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA)) and the return ofSouthern University at New Orleans (SUNO), effective beginning in July 2022.[20] The GCAC is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA.
| Name | Department | Notability | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melvin B. Tolson | English | Noted poet and English professor | [21] |
| James L. Farmer, Sr. | First black Texan to earn a PhD, also a professor at Wiley | ||
| Fred T. Long | Athletics | Athletic director and head football coach | [22] |
| Harry Long | Biology | Head of biology department and asst. football coach | [23] |
| Anderson Delano Macklin | Fine art | Visual artist, professor, art historian, and author | [24] |
| Reuben Shannon Lovinggood | Latin and Greek courses | Classical scholar and former president of Samuel Huston College (now known asHuston-Tillotson University) | [25] |
| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. E. Brown | 1899 | Organized the first male quartet, first brass band, first football team at Wiley. Later started the first teacher-training school for African Americans in Louisiana. | [26] |
| Thelma Dewitty | 1941 | First African American to teach in theSeattle Public Schools | [27] |
| James Farmer | 1938 | U.S. civil rights leader | [28] |
| Richard E. Holmes | Physician, transferred toMississippi State University after sophomore year at Wiley to be the first African American to matriculate at MSU | [29] | |
| Conrad O. Johnson | Music educator | [30] | |
| Opal Lee | Activist, "Grandmother ofJuneteenth" | [31] | |
| Mike Lewis | 1980 | NFL | |
| L. D. Livingston | Negro league baseball outfielder | [32] | |
| Ernest Lyon | Minister, formerUnited States Ambassador to Liberia, and founder of theMaryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths. | ||
| Walter McAfee | 1934 | Astrophysicist who worked onProject Diana with theUnited States Army Signal Corps. | [33] |
| Henry Cecil McBay | 1934 | Chemist, college professor | |
| Willie Pearson Jr | 1968 | Sociologist, college professor, author | |
| Oliver Randolph | 1904 | New Jersey lawyer, politician, and civil rights advocate | [34] |
| C. O. Simpkins, Sr. | Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives, 1992-1996; retired Shreveport dentist | [35] | |
| Bill Spiller | African-American golfer who challenged the segregationist policies of the PGA | [36] | |
| Heman Marion Sweatt | 1934 | Plaintiff inU.S. Supreme Court case,Sweatt v. Painter (1950); helped to foundTexas Southern University | |
| Bubbha Thomas | 1961 | Jazz musician and educator in Houston | [37] |
| Lee Wilder Thomas | Prominent African-American businessman in the oil industry | ||
| Lois Towles | 1933 | Internationally renowned concert pianist. | [38] |
| Henrietta Bell Wells | First female member of the debate team subject of the 2007 movie, "The Great Debaters" | [39] | |
| James Wheaton | 1945 | Actor, director, educator | [40] |
| Richard Williams | Jazz trumpeter |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Dr. Brown, the oldest living graduate of Wiley, entered the institution on his sixteenth birthday and finished in the class of 1899 at the age of twenty-four.
Students and friends of Wiley were thrilled by the superb concert of the internationally famous pianist, Lois Towles.
Media related toWiley College at Wikimedia Commons
