Wiley College

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Wiley College

Motto	"Achieving Excellent Through Pride and Performance"
Established	1873
School type	Private University
President	Haywood Strickland
Location	Marshall, Texas, United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Purple and White
Homepage	www.wileyc.edu

Wiley College is one of the first and oldest historically black college west of the Mississippi River and is located on the west side of Marshall, Texas. The college was founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and was certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society. Melvin B. Tolson, a contemporary of the Harlem Renaissance, was an English professor at the college. James L. Farmer, Sr. was the first black Texan to hold a doctorate and also was a professor at Wiley.

Farmer's son James L. Farmer Jr. was a graduate of Wiley and went on to become one of the "Big Three" of the Civil Rights Movement; organizing the first sit-ins and Freedom Rides in the United States. Wiley, along with Bishop College, was instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement in Texas. Wiley and Bishop students launched the first sit ins in Texas in the rotunda of the Old Harrison County Courthouse.

Wiley was the first college in East Texas to issue laptop computers to its students. Due to the rapid and significant change in computers, this program was discontinued and now students provide their own computers.

The college library is a Carnegie Library.

Wiley College is a four-year liberal arts college, offering bachelor's and associate degrees in several fields. About 96% of students receive some amount of financial aid.

Wiley College is an Open-Admissions college. Everyone is admitted who wants to attend.

In 2005-2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program in Shreveport, Louisiana, for students with some prior college credit wishing to finish a degree, was about 250. That made for a total enrollment near 700, as of fall 2005. In Fall 2006, total enrollment was about 750.

[edit] Famous Wiley Alumni

James L. Farmer, Jr. - Civil rights leader
Conrad O. Johnson - Music educator
Henry Cecil McBay - Chemist and college professor
Emmett Jay Scott - Civic leader
Lendra Jordan Sanders - Now teaching part-time at Wiley, full-time Administrative Assistant, working on her Doctoral degree in Education
Heman Marion Sweatt - Plaintiff in famous U.S. Supreme Court Case, Sweatt v. Painter; helped found Texas Southern University

[edit] Noted College Programs

Wiley's Business Program, particularly the Introductory course, contains substantial resources for students to start their own business. While the students are actively encouraged to start their own business, this is not a requirement. A Database is kept of other student-started businesses throughout the U.S., as well as youth-started businesses. The Instructors, at least one of whom has extensive and continuous real-world business experience, continually encourage and monitor student business activity.

Wiley College has a full schedule of classes and a full student body of about 800 students as of Fall 2006.