University of the Cumberlands

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University of the Cumberlands
Motto:	Vita Abundantior
Established:	1889
Type:	Private, Baptist
Endowment:	$55.1 million
President:	Dr. James H. Taylor
Undergraduates:	1,633
Postgraduates:	210
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 or Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.

University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky with an enrollment of approximately 1,800 students. The school, known as Cumberland College until January 7, 2005, is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, the Kentucky affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention.

[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 1907 the school bought the three buildings of Highland College, and in 1913, 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 its 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 marker off of Main Street, in Williamsburg, Kentucky

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 Hutton 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, Scott Sanders, Billy Collins, and Catherine Landis. Additionally, the Thomas S. Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Series features religious scholars.

The university has in recent years, through its Forcht Group of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Leadership, brought several notable guests to speak on campus. In the spring of 2006, in a "Moral Leadership" program, Roy Moore, the so-called "Ten Commandments judge" spoke at the school, and in March 2007, in a "Patriotic Leadership" program, the university hosted Zell Miller, former governor of Georgia and United States senator. The April 8, 2008 program will feature bestselling author Stephen Covey in a "Principle-Centered Leadership Program".

[edit] Notable Buildings

• Roburn Hall- The first building on the campus, Roburn Hall has been used as a classroom building and a women's residence hall. It is now a men's residence hall.
• Gillespie Hall- Originally called Johnson Hall, the women's residence was the second building built by Williamsburg Institute.
• Mahan Hall- Built in 1907 as Felix Hall, Mahan was the first men's residence.
• Clyde V. and Patricia Bennett Building- Formerly known as the Gray Brick Building, the Bennett Building was built in 1906 by Highland College. Highland and Cumberland merged in 1907.
• Ruby Gatliff Archer President's Home- Built in 1905 as a replica of the "Kentucky Home" at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It is the residence of the president of the university, currently Dr. James H. Taylor.
• Edward L. Hutton School of Business- Built in 2002 as a replica of Independence Hall

[edit] Planned Buildings

• Ward and Regina Correll Science Complex- In May 2007, a million dollar expansion of the Science Complex was started. The new addition will be a replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello mansion. It will be completed in January 2009. [1]
• Lenora Fuson Harth Hall- New women's residence in Boswell Park, adjacent to Gillespie Hall- Construction began in August 2007. [2]

[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-LP, a campus newspaper, The Patriot, and a local cable television station, UCTV channel 19.

In addition to the physical activities, the university has a forensics (debate) team and an academic team. The debate team is nationally known having won the Christian National Debate competition (Novice Division).

For students interested in music, the university has several vocal and instrumental ensembles.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Bert T. Combs, former Governor of Kentucky
• Betty L. Siegel, former president of Kennesaw State University and one of the longest serving female university presidents in American history
• Jean Ritchie, folk musician, singer, and songwriter who plays the Appalachian dulcimer.
• Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee
• Arlis Roaden, director of Higher Ed Tennessee
• Harold Moses, chair of Department of Cellular Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical School
• Col. Carlos Glover, director of national JROTC program
• Dick Tunney, Grammy and Dove Award winning Christian music artist
• Dr. Ergun Caner, president of Liberty Theological Seminary, part of Liberty University
• Rick Nelson, class of 1976, member of Kentucky General Assembly (D-87) (2000-present) representing Bell and Harlan counties. District 87

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Jason Johnson

Jason Johnson of Lexington, Kentucky was forced to withdraw 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 were 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, as revised in 2005, states that students can be removed from campus for participating in pre-marital sex or promoting homosexuality — 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] In Judge Crittenden's decision denying public funding to UC's pharmacy school, he declined to decide this question, stating that the proposed spending violated portions of the Kentucky Constitution that guarantee religious freedom and that public money for education should not be spent on any "church, sectarian or denominational school."^[3] 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.^[4]

[edit] Soulforce

On March 28, 2007, the pro-Gay and Lesbian rights group Soulforce brought its 2007 Equality Ride to Cumberlands' campus.^[5] According to the group's website, "through dialogue with administrators, faculty and students, the young activists of the 2007 Equality Ride will make clear the harmful effects of the false notion that homosexuality is a 'sickness and a sin.' To make public their case for equality, the young activists on the Equality Ride will hold vigils, Bible studies, class discussions, community forums, and press conferences."^[6]

According to the university, an offer was extended to the group to be located in the middle level of the Boswell Campus Center, but Soulforce rejected those terms. However, according to Soulforce, an offer from the university was quickly withdrawn because of a miscommunication and the university later refused to agree to terms in writing. ^[7]

Two University of the Cumberlands students were arrested on a charge of failure to disperse, along with a member of the Soulforce group, for trespassing and failure to disperse when they stopped on the sidewalk of Main Street, which runs through the campus^[8]. According to Williamsburg Police chief Denny Shelley, police did not try to harass or discourage the group's members, but told them they needed to keep moving so they wouldn't block the sidewalk, which would be a safety issue. ^[9]

[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."^[10]

[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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] If unaccredited, graduates of the pharmacy school could potentially find their degrees unrecognized by employers, rendering them useless.

On March 6, 2008 Franklin Circuit Court Special Judge, Roger Crittenden, in response to a lawsuit brought by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, in part over its objection to the university's decision to expel a gay student in 2006, issued an order that rendered the appropriations made for the pharmacy school an unconstitutional establishment of religion under Sections 2 and 189 of the Kentucky Constitution. In addition, the court ruled that a permanent scholarship program created for the pharmacy school by the 2006-07 Kentucky Budget bill was in violation of Section 189 of the Kentucky Constitution. Governor, Steve Beshear, has stated that the state does not plan to appeal this decision.^[14][15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• University of the Cumberlands website