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Southern Adventist University is a baccalaureate college located in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The university operates a radio station, WSMC-FM, which plays mainly classical music. The station also provides live broadcasts of services from the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church. The school also operates a health food store and a wellness center.

History

Southern's roots stem from the establishment of Graysville Academy in Graysville, Tennessee, in 1892. The school moved to the community of Thatcher's Switch in 1916, renaming it "Collegedale". In 1942, Kenneth A. Wright became president of the school. During Wright's administration, "Southern Junior College" became accredited as a four-year institution. A new name, "Southern Missionary College", was adopted in 1944. Two men and four women received Southern's first baccalaureate degrees two years later. It earned the nickname "Southern Matrimony College" because many young people married while attending Southern. Renamed "Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists" in 1982, the school became a university in 1996. On September 9, 1996, trustees voted on a new name: "Southern Adventist University".

In mid-1997, Gordon Bietz became president of Southern Adventist University. Academic expansion has continued, with 7 Master's degrees now offered in business, education, psychology, nursing, and religion. Fifty baccalaureate degrees are offered, 20 associate degrees, 38 minors, and two one-year certificate programs. Over the past 13 years, Southern has grown by over 1,000 students, supassing all previous enrollment records. Southern is the largest undergraduate institution in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Names

Southern has had many names since its founding.

• 1892: Graysville Academy
• 1897: Southern Industrial School
• 1901: Southern Training School
• 1916: Southern Junior College

  (Alumni from this period are known as So-Ju-Conians.)

• 1944: Southern Missionary College (SMC)

  (Alumni from this period are known as SMC-ites).

• 1982: Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists
• 1996: Southern Adventist University

Accreditation

Southern Adventist University as a whole is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges, and Universities. Individual schools and programs are also accredited by various degree-specific professional organizations and accrediting agencies.

Criticism

The late Adventist scholar Raymond Cottrell criticized,

"Southern operates as an agency of Southern Bible belt obscurantism. Furthermore it was (and still is) to an appreciable extent, dependent on the largesse of committed ultra-fundamentalists, who insist that the college operate on ultra-fundamentalist principles."

Recent Events

On the morning of April 26, 2005, a fire broke out in the Thatcher Hall Dormitory. One student died and two others were injured. Though the fire has been ruled an accident, the cause has yet to be determined. The area of the building in which the fire occurred was not equipped with fire sprinklers, though smoke detectors and fire alarms were in place and functioned properly. Sprinklers, as well as other fire safety measures that go well beyond what is required, have been installed in Thatcher Hall.

Secret of the Cave, a feature film created by Southern Adventist University with assistance from students and faculty, was released on DVD in 2007. Secret of the Cave was awarded the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival in Indiana. It has also been awarded the Family-Approved Seal by the Dove Foundation. The DVD is available in major retail outlets.

Southern is ranked one of the "Best Baccalaureate Colleges" in the South in U.S. News & World Report's 2010 "America's Best Colleges" edition. In early 2009, Southern became an All-Steinway School, housing 30 new Steinway & Sons pianos. Southern is one of three in Tennessee and the 100th in the world to gain the title of an All-Steinway School.

McKee Library

The McKee Library is located on the campus of Southern Adventist University.

contains more than 165,000 volumes, over 25,000 electronic books, subscriptions to over 880 print/electronic periodicals and access to over 19,000 electronic journals.

• Thomas Memorial Collection

The library is defined by its major Civil War collection on the third floor.

"What's In the Collection:

More than 3,600 volumes concerning Lincoln and the Civil War,

Many authentic photos and newspapers of Lincoln and the Civil War,

Two original copies of the only biography ever read and approved by Lincoln,

A ten dollar check signed by Lincoln (located in the vault),

Oak from the floor of Lincoln's Springfield law office,

A section of Lincoln's original marble sarcophagus,

A gavel made from a tree planted by Lincoln,

& Several oil portraits of Lincoln."

See Also

• List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
• The Secret of the Cave, a student movie made by the Southern Adventist University
• Southern Adventist University School of Journalism and Communication

References

1. As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
2. [https://www.southern.edu/about/Pages/accreditation.aspx]
3. [http://education.gc.adventist.org/approval.html]
4. [https://www.southern.edu/about/Pages/accreditation.aspx]
5. The "Sanctuary Doctrine" – Asset or Liability? by Raymond Cottrell
6. The Chattanoogan newspaper article: Fire Ruled Accidental In Which Southern Adventist Student Died
7. Welcome
8. Thomas Memorial Collection Contains material related to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.

External Links

• Official website
• SAUwiki is a wiki for Southern run by students - dead link
• WSMC-FM is the radio station owned and operated by Southern Adventist University

v t e Seventh-day Adventist higher education in the United States and Canada
Doctorate-granting universities	Andrews University La Sierra University
Special focus institutions	Medical schools Loma Linda University Other health professions AdventHealth University Kettering College
Master's universities	Southern Adventist University Walla Walla University Washington Adventist University
Baccalaureate colleges	Atlantic Union College (historical) Burman University (Canada) Oakwood University Pacific Union College Southwestern Adventist University Union Adventist University Weimar University
Unclassified	Hartland Institute Ouachita Hills College
Seventh-day Adventist education Adventist Accrediting Association List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities

35°02′53″N 85°03′04″W / 35.04813°N 85.05100°W / 35.04813; -85.05100

• Universities and colleges in Tennessee
• Universities and colleges affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Educational institutions established in 1892
• Council of Independent Colleges
• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities members
• Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools