Le Moyne-Owen College

LeMoyne-Owen College is a fully-accredited, four-year private historically black college located in Memphis, Tennessee, affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It was founded in 1862 to provide then-recently-freed blacks an educational opportunity. It sponsors athletic teams that participate in the NCAA.

History

LeMoyne-Owen College was formed through the 1968 merger of LeMoyne College and Owen College, both private, historically black church-related colleges.

LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School traces its history to 1862 when the American Missionary Association sent Lucinda Humphrey to open an elementary school at Camp Shiloh for freedmen and escaped slaves soon after the occupation of Memphis by Federal troops during the Civil War. Then known as Lincoln Chapel, the school relocated to Memphis in 1863, but was destroyed in 1866 during race riots that followed the withdrawal of federal troops. The school was rebuilt and in 1867 it reopened with 150 students and six teachers.

Then, in 1870, Francis Julius LeMoyne (1798-1879), a Washington, Pennsylvania doctor, donated $20,000 to the American Missionary Association to build an elementary and secondary school for prospective teachers. LeMoyne, who was a notable abolitionist traveled from his Pennsylvania home to visit the new school, and donated a clock for the school's tower. The Memphis yellow fever epidemics came shortly after and took a toll on many school personnel, but under the leadership of the third principal, Andrew J. Steele, the institution experienced three decades of growth and development.

The school moved from Orleans Street to its present site on Walker Avenue in 1914. Steele Hall, the first building on the new campus, was erected that same year. LeMoyne became a junior college in 1924 and then a four-year college in 1930. The LeMoyne College was chartered by the State of Tennessee just four years later.

Owen College traces its history as a junior college to 1947, when the Tennessee Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention bought property on Vance Avenue. S. A. Owen Junior College opened at that location in 1954.

Recent debt and accreditation issues

According to a 2007 AP article, LeMoyne-Owen has suffered from management, debt and accreditation issues. Its accreditation has been in jeopardy, with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placing it on probation for the last two years. In August 2007, in a controversial move, the City of Memphis ensured the college would open for the fall 2007 semester by pledging $3 million in taxpayer funds to be added to other substantial pledges that came from the United Negro College Fund, Cummins Inc., radio host Tom Joyner and the United Church of Christ.

LeMoyne-Owen College is a fully-accredited, four-year private historically black college located in Memphis, Tennessee, affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It was founded in 1862 to provide then-recently-freed blacks an educational opportunity. It sponsors athletic teams that participate in the NCAA.