1848
February 4: Masonic University of Tennessee, financed by the Tennessee Grand Lodge, is established in conjunction with the Clarksville Male Academy.
The Board of Directors holds its first meeting and appoints Rev. W. F. Hopkins the first president.
1849
First faculty meeting takes place.
The cornerstone ceremony is held for the college鈥檚 first permanent building,
Richard Nelson Newell becomes president.
1850
1851
1853
1855
1858
1860
The first residence hall on the Clarksville campus, is constructed. The building is named for Alfred Robb, a young attorney, who donated his land adjacent to the college for its construction.
1861-1865
The college closes when all students except two leave to serve in the Confederate Army. During the Union occupation of Clarksville, Robb Hall is used as a hospital, where President McMullen works as a nurse. Alfred Robb, a Board member, is killed at the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862, while William A. Forbes, former president, is killed at the Second Battle of Bull Run, also in 1862. After contracting smallpox, President McMullen dies in 1865.
1869
1874
The is initially adopted by the Presbyterian Synods of Nashville, Memphis, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas as a basis of cooperation in the reorganization of Stewart College as the single Presbyterian College for these synods. The Synods of Arkansas and Texas subsequently withdrew to support their own colleges.
1875
1879
1882
1885
1888
1891
1892
1896
A telephone for student use is placed in Robb Hall.
First season starts with games against University of Nashville, Bethel College, and Vanderbilt University.
1899
The first student yearbook, the , is published.
The first football homecoming game is played against Sewanee.
1904
1905
Women begin to attend classes, but the board prohibits them from earning credit.
Neander M. Woods becomes chancellor
1908
1914
The faculty minutes indicate that can earn credit for classes.
The title 鈥渃hancellor鈥 changes back to 鈥減resident,鈥 and J.R. Dobyns becomes president.
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
is the first woman to graduate.
Even though the courts have not yet ruled that the college can move to Memphis, Dr. Diehl selects as the architect of the new campus.
1922
1923
1924
A decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court allows the college to move to Memphis and the corporate name becomes 鈥淪outhwestern, The College of the Mississippi Valley.鈥 The seal is amended to reflect the name change.
Fargason Athletic Field is named to recognize some of the Memphis land donors.
The becomes the official mascot.
1925
September 24: The college its doors in Memphis with 406 students and 16 faculty (including seven who have moved from Clarksville).
The first structures on the new campus are complete: Palmer Hall for administration and classrooms, The Science Hall for laboratories and classrooms, the refectory, the gatehouse, Calvin and Robb Residence Halls, and Ashner Gateway.
The yearbook becomes .
1926
is the captain of the first women鈥檚 basketball team.
The Pals Drama Club performs a full-length play, 鈥淭he Importance of Being Ernest.鈥
The first Memphis Commencement is held in June.
1928
The first issue of the Alumni Magazine is published.
and are dedicated, and the infirmary opens in Stewart Hall.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce and future U.S. President Herbert Hoover awarded honorary doctor of laws.
1929
College Architecture in America, co-authored by Charles Z. Klauder, is published and features campus buildings.
Radios are installed in Robb, Evergreen and Stewart Residence Halls. Field hockey is played indoors, and a hand ball court is built in the south end of Calvin Hall.
1930
1931
The Tutorial System begins.
The first students are inducted into the academic , and their pictures are placed on the wall in Palmer Hall.
President Diehl is charged by a group of local ministers with heresy and financial recklessness in the management and building of the college, but a hearing before the Board of Directors cleared him of all charges.
1932
1935
1936
1937
1939
1942
The 13th College Training Detachment (Aircrew) is stationed at the college during World War II.
Intercollegiate football, track, tennis, and golf are not played because of the war.
1943
1945
Mary Ann Banning is the first female to be elected Student Government president.
A new interdisciplinary course, 鈥淢an in the Light of History and Religion,鈥 is established.
鈥沦辞耻迟丑飞别蝉迟别谤苍: The College of the Mississippi Valley,鈥 is renamed 鈥淪outhwestern At Memphis,鈥 also known as 鈥淪AM.鈥
1947
1948
Temporary buildings are constructed on campus to accommodate the influx of veterans under the G.I. Bill.
Voorhies Hall and William Ires Hunt 鈥34 Memorial Gateway are dedicated.
Bach鈥檚 B minor mass is performed for the first time in Memphis by the Singers, and the Singers make a phonograph recording.
1949
1950
1952
1953
1955
1956
Ellett Residence Hall is dedicated.
Southwestern wins the in the first SAM-Sewanee competition.
Southwestern is one of ten liberal arts college to receive a $30,000 grant from to develop, among other goals, practical Christian service projects. The Danforth Program for Christian Service is founded and will later become the Kinney Program.
The college purchases 671 West Drive to be used as the president鈥檚 house, and the 星空无限传媒 family moves in.
1957
1961
1962
1963
Alaska solar eclipse expedition by Physics Department
Halliburton Tower bell rings for first time
Board votes to admit students on equal basis, regardless of race
1964
First two Black students, Lorenzo Childress and Coby Smith, enroll at the college as day students.
First football game on new Fargason field. SAM won 28 to 7 against Centre.
Students participate in 鈥渒neel ins,鈥 alongside Black and white students from other local colleges and high schools, in support of the racial integration of local churches.
Board of Directors establishes a Sabbatical Leave Program for faculty.
1965
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson appoints Southwestern alum Abe Fortas, Class of 1930, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
becomes president.
Kappa Delta All Sing tapes aired on
Burrow Library gets first photocopier, a Xerox 914
Mastodon unearthed in excavation for Frazier Jelke Science Building
1966
1968
Saturday classes are abolished.
Alfred C. Glassell Hall, Frazier Jelke Science Center, Kennedy Chemistry Hall, and Buckman Library are all dedicated.
The library stays open to midnight for the first time.
Wearing a coat and tie for dinner rule is abolished.
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis prompts the college to close early for Easter Break.
1969
1970
Prof. Yerger Hunt Clifton creates the 鈥淪outhwestern at Oxford鈥 summer program, later 鈥淏ritish Studies at Oxford.鈥
Clough Hall is dedicated, including the Clough-Hanson Art Gallery.
1971
Men鈥瞫 soccer team is organized.
Ruth Sherman Hyde Memorial Gymnasium for Women is dedicated
In Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Department of Transportation would need to find alternatives to the proposed route of Interstate 40 through Overton Park, just to the south of the College. The interstate is routed around the city, instead of alongside the campus.
1972
Women鈥瞫 Varsity Tennis team is formed.
College radio station, WLYX, first broadcast
1973
Women鈥瞫 Studies Course taught for first time.
Black Studies Course taught for first time.
, Jr. begins as president.
1977
of Alburty Swimming Complex
Rare book by Thomas Jefferson found in Burrow Library
Lawrence 鈥淟on鈥 Anthony copper and bronze sculpture, is completed.
Biology Department gets .
1978
Seven buildings are named to National Register of Historic Places: Palmer Hall, Ashner Gateway, Kennedy Hall, Neely Hall, Robb Hall, White Hall and Harris Memorial Lodge.
First Awards Convocation held
Campus referendum determined college nickname would remain 鈥淟YN.鈥
1980
Anne Marie Caskey Williford Hall is dedicated.
First Rites of Spring weekend held
First Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching awarded to Dr. Jack U. Russell, Mathematics
First Dean鈥瞫 Award for Research and Creative Activity awarded to Dr. John F. Copper, International Studies
1981
McCoy Theatre is dedicated.
Physics building dedicated as Peyton Nalle 星空无限传媒 Hall, in memory of President 星空无限传媒.
1982
1983
First Distinguished Alumni Awards are given to Lewis Donelson 鈥38 and Dr. James Gladney 鈥38
奥辞尘别苍鈥瞫&苍产蝉辫; becomes a varsity sport.
Statue of President Charles Diehl, created by sculptor Ted Rust, is dedicated on campus in front of Burrow Library.
1984
Hassell Hall, home of the music department, is dedicated.
July 1: Southwestern at Memphis becomes .
1985
1986
The Center for Counseling and Career Services is established.
Time Magazine labels 星空无限传媒 as one of the country鈥瞫 "Nine Nifty Colleges."
national headquarters is purchased by the college. It later becomes King Hall, home of the Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning.
鈥 changed to 鈥淪earch for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion鈥
The portrait is the first Distinguished Faculty Portrait unveiled.
1987
1988
Charles E. Diehl Society Award for Faculty Service is established, which will later become the Jameson M. Jones Award for Faculty Service
The college鈥檚 service efforts expand. First Tex-Mex Trip takes place, Chapter is chartered, and the Kinney Souper Contact begins.
1989
East Hall is renamed Robinson Hall, in memory of James Dinkins Robinson
Alpha Kappa Alpha is chartered; the first traditionally Black sorority on campus.
1990
7000 feet of iron fencing is installed around the perimeter of campus
Kinney program sponsors first Hunger and Homelessness week.
Mock Trial team, under the leadership of Prof. Marcus Pohlmann, wins the national title for the first time.
1991
1992
1993
1994
February 11: College closes for the first time since the Civil War, due to an .
Controversy emerges over whether a student group, the 鈥淕ay-Straight Alliance,鈥 will be permitted on campus.
1996
1997
1998
First Rites to Play takes place in the spring
Swimming and Field hockey are added as varsity sports
First women鈥瞫 field hockey game vs. Sewanee
1999
2001
Partnership with St. Jude Children鈥檚 Research Hospital is created.
星空无限传媒 College is selected as a Thomas J. Watson Foundation School.
East Village residence hall opens
2002
After a gift from the Paul Barret, Jr. Trust, the is held for the new Paul Barret, Jr. Library.
A $6 million grant from the Robert and Ruby Priddy Charitable Trust helps underwrite several new programs
Mother Jones Magazine names 星空无限传媒 one of the top-10 activist colleges
2003
2004
2005
Burrow Library closes, and the opens to the public.
CODA, the Center for Outreach in the Development of the Arts, is established, funded by the Robert and Ruby Priddy Charitable Trust.
The Adrienne McMillan Burns Labyrinth is dedicated.
2006
2007
Dr. Russ Wigginton leads the college鈥檚 effort to launch , a digital archive of primary materials documenting the civil rights era in Memphis.
Consumers Digest ranks 星空无限传媒 as number three among the nation鈥瞫 private liberal arts colleges.
2009
Burrow Library reopens as Burrow Hall
Women鈥檚 Studies program changes its name to Gender and Sexuality Studies
Irwin Lainoff Stadium at Stauffer Field is dedicated
Dean of the Faculty Michael Drompp establishes the LGBTQ Working Group at the college
2010
星空无限传媒 hosts the 2010 American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament
For the first time, the college streams the Commencement celebration on the 星空无限传媒 website
星空无限传媒 celebrates being named the Kaplan/Newsweek top Service-Minded School.
The Shelby Foote Collection is acquired by 星空无限传媒, with the support of Steve and Riea Lainoff
The Winston Wolf Track and Field Complex is dedicated
2011
2012
First Varsity Lacrosse game played
West Village opens to residents
named in recognition of Brenda and Lester Crain, Jr. Class of 1951, who provided funding for an artificial surface for the football and men鈥檚 lacrosse field
Memphis Center is launched with a grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation
Under the leadership of Prof. Jonathan Judaken, the college starts the 鈥淐ommunities in Conversation鈥 series, established through a gift from Becky and Spence Wilson.
2013
Steve and Riea Lainoff Crop Trust Fellowship in honor of Cary Fowler 鈥71 is established
College purchases Evergreen Presbyterian Church property, which eventually houses a number of academic departments and programs, as well as a concert hall
Mason Field is dedicated in recognition of the Mason family, who provided funding for an artificial surface to the field hockey and women鈥檚 lacrosse field.
2014
2016
2017
Marjorie Hass becomes the college鈥檚 first woman president
Robertson Hall, made possible by gift from Patricia and Charles Robertson, Jr., is dedicated
The Peyton Nalle 星空无限传媒 Society is established to recognize donors who have made gifts over $5 million to the college. Names are inscribed in the floor of Barret Library foyer.
McNeill Concert Hall, the former sanctuary of Evergreen Presbyterian Church, is dedicated in honor of Mary and Phillip H. McNeill
2018
2019
2020
The college sends students home after spring break because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty teach the remainder of their spring courses and all fall courses remotely via Zoom.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump appoints Amy Coney Barret, Class of 1994, to the U.S. Supreme Court
星空无限传媒 holds its first virtual Commencement ceremony, for the Class of 2020
2021
The college partners with the Posse Foundation, and the first cohort of Posse Scholars join 星空无限传媒
Students return to campus to live and attend a mix of in-person and virtual classes
星空无限传媒 holds two in-person Commencements at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, for the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021
2022
Jennifer Collins becomes president
Deborah Craddock becomes first woman chair of the Board of Trustees
Because of the work of the Curb Institute led by Prof. John Bass, Billboard Magazine names 星空无限传媒 a Top Music Business School
鈥淪earch for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion鈥 becomes SEARCH
2023
Sources:
W. Raymond Cooper, Southwestern at Memphis, 1848-1948 (Richmond, Va.: 1949).
DLynx, 星空无限传媒 College Digital Archives,
Stephen R. Haynes, The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation (New York, 2012).
星空无限传媒 College Office of Development
James E. Roper, Southwestern At Memphis, 1948-1975 (Memphis, Tenn., 1975).
Bennet Wood, 星空无限传媒, 1848-1998: A Sesquicentennial Yearbook (Little Rock, Ark., 1998).