University of the Cumberlands
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"Cumberland College" redirects here. For other uses, see Cumberland College (disambiguation).
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| Motto | Vita Abundantior |
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| Established | 1889 |
| Type | Private, Baptist |
| Endowment | $55.1 million |
| President | Dr. James H. Taylor |
| Undergraduates | 1,603 |
| Postgraduates | 144 |
| Location | Williamsburg, Kentucky, USA |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colors | Maroon █ and White █ |
| Mascot | Patriots (Indians until 2001) |
| Website | http://ucumberlands.edu |
- This institution is unrelated, other than by similarity of name, to Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama or the former Cumberland College and Mountain View High School in Rose Hill, Virginia.
University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky with an enrollment of approximately 1,700.students. The school, known as Cumberland College until January 7, 2005, is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, a subdivision of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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[edit] History
University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was founded on January 7, 1889. At the 1887 annual meeting of the Mount Zion Association, representatives from eighteen 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 1913 the school merged with Highland College, and Williamsburg Institute's name was changed to Cumberland College. In 1959 Cumberland College began offering bachelor's degrees again, having previously awarded the degree until 1913. Cumberland College changed it's name to University of the Cumberlands on July 1, 2005.
Nine presidents have lead 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 and James H. Taylor.
Notable alumni include two governors, five military generals, and five college and university presidents.
[edit] Campus and academic programs
University of the Cumberlands's campus is located in the southeastern part of Kentucky, just off Interstate 75, 190 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, and 70 miles north of Knoxville, Tennessee. The campus spans approximately 70 acres and includes 32 buildings and 2 sports field complexes.
The University is divided into four separate programs: Cumberland College (the University's undergraduate school), the Hutton School of Business/Management, the Center for Leadership Studies and the Graduate/Professional Education program.
The school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the bachelor of general studies, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, and the Master of Education degrees. It is approved by the Kentucky Department of Education for teacher education and certification.
The Robert L. Palmer Memorial Lecture Series brings a writer of national reputation to the campus annually. The series, established in 1992, has hosted novelists, essayists, and poets including Lee Smith, Jim Wayne Miller, Willie Morris, and, Scott Russell Sanders. Additionally, the Thomas S. Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Series features religious scholars.
[edit] Sports and student life
The university sponsors intercollegiate sports teams which participate in the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference. The university's athletic mascot is the "Patriots". Intercollegiate programs for men include football, basketball, tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, swimming, track, wrestling, cross country and cheerleading. Women Patriot teams compete in basketball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, cross country, softball, swimming, golf, track, wrestling and cheerleading.
The university also has a low power radio station, WCCR-LPFM.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Jason Johnson
Jason Johnson of Lexington, Kentucky was expelled from the university on April 8, 2006, after he revealed that he is gay on the social networking site MySpace.com. The sophomore theatre arts major was told by officials that they don't approve of his "gay lifestyle", and although he was a dean's list student, his grades are all downgraded to "F". University president, Dr. James H. Taylor said in a written statement, "At University of the Cumberlands, we hold students to a higher standard than does society in general...University of the Cumberlands isn't for everyone. We tell prospective students about our high standards before they come." The student handbook states that students can be removed from campus for participating in pre-marital sex or homosexual behavior — a policy which Johnson's attorney alleges was added after Johnson decided to go to school at UC.[1] The legality of such a policy is doubtful as the university receives funds from the Kentucky State Government. According to the Supreme Court ruling in Bob Jones University v. United States, any university receiving public monies may not discriminate, so any court challenge will likely center on this. [2] On April 19, 2006, Johnson's attorney and the university reached a settlement allowing Johnson to complete his coursework for the current semester and restoring his previous grades. The university agreed to not report to other universities that Johnson was expelled. In addition, Johnson waived his right to sue the university, although he may still file a grievance with the Department of Education or the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools.[3]
[edit] Robert Day
In 2003, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) found that President Taylor coerced Professor Robert Day into resigning because he had opposed Taylor's proposed staff layoffs on an off-campus Web site. 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."[4]
[edit] Pharmacy school
The Kentucky state budget, passed by the 2006 Kentucky legislature, includes $10 million of state debt to construct a pharmacy building on the school's Whitley County campus. Additionally, one million dollars for scholarships for the pharmacy program are included. The $10 million building is to be funded out of a $100 million pool of money titled the "infrastructure for economic development fund for coal-producing counties." Money to repay the bond issuance would come from coal severance taxes. The Kentucky Fairness Alliance asked Governor Ernie Fletcher to veto the $11 million that state lawmakers approved for a planned pharmacy school.[5] A gay Kentucky State Senator, Ernesto Scorsone, has indicated that he would oppose spending the funds already allocated for a new pharmacy school for the university based on the Johnson situation, stating "We should not be budgeting bigotry." "If the University of the Cumberlands does not change its policies and practices, we will have a state benefit that is only available to heterosexuals," Scorsone said.[6]
An additional complication is that the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the accrediting agency for all American pharmacy schools, explicitly prohibits discrimination against gays. Its current guideline states that approved schools must have a policy on student affairs, including admissions and progression, that assures non-discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, lifestyle, national origin, or disability. As of July 1, 2007, this will be revised to include the phrase "sexual orientation". If the University of the Cumberlands applies its current policy of active discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to its pharmacy school, that school can not be accredited. [7] If unaccredited, graduates of the pharmacy school could potentially find their degrees unrecognized by employers, rendering them useless.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/14313621.htm
- ^ http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/14313631.htm
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12394904/
- ^ http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protectrights/academicfreedom/investrep/2005/cumber.htm Academic Freedom and Tenure: University of the Cumberlands - the AAUP report
- ^ http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=4762765&nav=menu203_1_6
- ^ http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/14313631.htm
- ^ http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/14321978.htm
[edit] External links
| Mid-South Conference |
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| Belhaven • Bethel • Campbellsville • Cumberland U • Georgetown • Lambuth • Lindsey Wilson • Pikeville • Union • Univ. of Cumberlands • Virginia–Wise • WVU Tech |
