Freed–Hardeman University

The Bell Tower

Freed–Hardeman traces its origin to the 1869 charter of a private high school and college for Henderson, the Henderson Male Institute. It was known at various times as the Henderson Masonic Male and Female Institute, West Tennessee Christian College and Georgie Robertson Christian College. It was named Georgie Robertson Christian College after George Ann "Georgie" Robertson, the daughter of J. F. Robertson and his wife, the former Lucy Alice Hamlett. When Georgie died at age 21 her parents donated $5,000 to West Tennessee Christian College in her memory and so the school was renamed after her.[2]

In the 1907 spring term of, Georgie Robertson Christian College closed. N. B. Hardeman, a Georgie Robertson Christian College alumnus, and A. G. Freed worked together to establish a new institution, the National Teachers' Normal and Business College (NTNBC) to fill the educational void created in Henderson by the closing. The NTNBC was incorporated on May 21, 1907, but classes did not start until the fall of 1908. In 1919, it was renamed Freed–Hardeman College in honor of its founders. In February 1990, it became Freed–Hardeman University.[3]

The college did not accept African-American students until 1964, when its president, Hubert A. Dixon, stated that black students would be admitted in response "to the mistake of accepting federal funds".[4] The first black graduate was Elizabeth Saunders in 1967.[5]

The university offers courses outside of the Henderson area in Memphis, Tennessee.[6] It also offers European study abroad programs based at the FHU facility in Verviers, Belgium, during the fall and spring semesters. A study abroad and Spanish-language immersion program is offered in Madrid, Spain, during most summer semesters. Other opportunities include two- and three-week study programs in Israel, Costa Rica, New York City, Stratford in Canada and Seoul in South Korea.[7]

The university was granted an exception to Title IX in 2016 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students.[8]

During the 2019–2020 academic year, the university celebrated its 150th anniversary[9] and a volume of university history (By the Grace of God: The Story of Freed–Hardeman University) was published.[10]

The National Teacher's Normal and Business College Administration Building now known as the Old Administration Building, also affectionately called "Old Main", is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Student Center opened in 1966 and houses a variety of food services and recreational rooms. The first floor houses the Burks Center. The center contains a food center, post office, Career Resource Center, Student Association office, Student Services office and Office of Student Life and Development. The main cafeteria, Wallace-Gano Dining Hall, is on the second floor.

Clayton Chapel, a red brick and stained glass building located on University Street, opened in 1992. It has a capacity of approximately 100. It may be reserved for devotionals and weddings.

The Brown-Kopel Business Center was the start of many technology additions to the classroom that eventually began to be added to classrooms in other buildings. This is where the majority of non-biblical classes are taken.

The Bulliner-Clayton Visual Arts Center opened in fall 2007. Each year this building houses senior art exhibits, as well as many alumni, local and other art exhibits. It is also where fine arts classes are held, except those that are music-related, and includes photography, painting, drawing and graphic design.

The Brewer Sports Center is the sports center of the university. It has three racquetball courts, two basketball courts, a weight training room, walking track and offices for the Athletic Department administration.

The Anderson Science Center was built in 2012. Money was given by alumnus Tom Anderson to create the facility which houses a large portion of the science department.

Future plans include an expansion and renovation of the Associates Science Center to facilitate and house the new nursing program.

Loyd Auditorium is the main auditorium on campus and is used for many of its activities, including Makin' Music, Daily Chapel, FHU Lectureships, sports banquet speakers, benefit dinner speakers and the annual Homecoming Play.[11] The auditorium can seat approximately 2,750 people.[12] It consists of a lower bowl as well as a balcony that is split into four sections and can be separated by large curtains.

The Hope Barber Shull Academic Resource Center, opened in 2016, houses the Loden-Daniel Library, KC's Coffeehouse and the university tutoring center, named in honor of a longtime librarian, Hope Barber Shull.[13]

As well as the main buildings, Freed–Hardeman also has several recreational areas on campus. The weight room in Brewer's Sports Center is often overcrowded by the various student athletes, so many students go to the Main Street Student Gym a block west of Old Main. Opposite Old Main is a campus theater named Crews Colbert Activity Center (or simply Crews). Crews has two theaters, "Maroon Theater" and "Gold Theater", and above them is a large activity room used for open space activities and meetings. Next door to Crews is the Blackbox Theatre. This is used for drama classes as well as all the plays put on by the theatre department each year other than the Homecoming play.[11]

Dormitories

All students at Freed–Hardeman University must live on campus unless approved by the administration. Generally these approvals are under special circumstances including, but not limited to, age, marriage, disability or academic purposes. Students must be at least 22 years of age to apply for off-campus housing unless otherwise approved by the administration.[14]

The late Milan-Sitka Building, 1904, during which it was Georgie Robertson Christian College.

The university has five women's dormitories. Hall-Roland Hall (originally Oakland Hall) is the oldest residence hall, capable of housing 62. The ground floor houses Graduate Studies in Counseling and the Department of Behavioral and Consumer Sciences. H. A. Dixon Hall is a four-story dormitory opened in 1958. It can house 136 women. Thomas E. and LaVonne B. Scott Hall opened in 1971 and can house 152 women. In 1973, W. A. Bradfield Hall opened, housing 144 women. Porter-Terry Hall opened in 1977 and can house 156 women.

There are four men's dormitories. Paul Gray Hall was built in 1929 and can house 128 men on four floors and was re-opened in fall 2022 after renovations. Opened in 1970, George S. Benson Hall can accommodate 152 men. Farrow Hall opened in 1973 and has a capacity for 178 men. Sewell Hall opened on 13 January 2007, and can house 200 men. With the opening of Sewell Hall, L. L. Brigance Hall, which could house 78 men, was demolished in 2013.[15]

Two additional residence halls, Tyler Residence Hall (for women) and the Woods-East Residence Hall (for men), were built in 2003. The apartments in these residence halls have four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen (with a microwave, oven, stove and refrigerator), a washer and dryer and a living room. Four students share this living space, each with their own bedroom, and sharing a bathroom with one roommate.

Freed–Hardeman does not have fraternities and sororities in the traditional sense. Instead, the university has co-educational social clubs. These are local only to Freed–Hardeman and have no connection to any national Greek system. These include Sigma Rho, Phi Kappa Alpha, Chi Beta Chi, Xi Chi Delta and Omega Chi. Students participate in intramural sports, club meetings and devotionals with their respective clubs. Sigma Rho and Phi Kappa Alpha are the only original social clubs remaining of the original five that were on campus, and the two oldest. Sigma Rho has been on campus for 111 years, originally as a poetry club, and Phi Kappa Alpha since 1940, making Sigma Rho the oldest social club on campus.[16]

U.S. News & World Report ranked Freed–Hardeman 35th among Southern master's degree-granting universities in its 2013 overall rankings. It also included the university in its separate affordability ranking ("Great Schools, Great Prices"), listing it 13th among Southern master's degree-granting universities. The university reported a 44% acceptance rate of applicants for the fall 2012 semester.

The university is ranked among the "Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Youth" by Campus Pride.[8]

The Freed–Hardeman sports teams are called the "Lions" and "Lady Lions". The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA),[17] primarily competing in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) since the 2020–21 academic year.[18] The Lions and Lady Lions previously competed in the American Midwest Conference from 2013–14 to 2019–20, in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC) from 1996–97 to 2012–13 and in the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC) from 1986–87 to 1995–96.

Freed–Hardeman competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

• Carl Bell, guitarist and songwriter for the band Fuel
• George S. Benson, president of Harding University
• John Brown, former CEO of Stryker Corporation
• T. Jeff Busby, Democratic congressman from Mississippi
• John Dale, minister
• John DeBerry, minister, member of Tennessee House of Representatives
• Todd Farmer, screenwriter and actor (Jason X, My Bloody Valentine)
• Kerby Farrell, former MLB player for the Boston Braves (1943) and Chicago White Sox (1945)
• Dorsey B. Hardeman, son of university founder N. B. Hardeman, member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature, former mayor of San Angelo, Texas
• Jere Hargrove, member of Tennessee House of Representatives
• Hugo McCord, preacher and Bible scholar (taught at Freed–Hardeman)
• Dianne Odell, iron lung survivor
• Charles P. Roland, historian[21]
• Rubel Shelly, author, minister and former president of Rochester College
• Thomas B. Warren, FHU faculty member, Restoration theologian, religious philosopher
• Sue Shelton White, national feminist leader and suffragist lawyer

• Media related to Freed-Hardeman University at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Official athletics website

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