Blue Mountain College (BMC) is a private liberal arts college, supported by the Mississippi Baptist Convention, located in the northeastern Mississippi town of Blue Mountain. In 2005, the College's Board of Trustees voted unanimously for the college to go fully co-educational.
History
The college was founded in 1873 by Confederate General Mark P. Lowrey, a pastor, as a women's college. Blue Mountain Female Institute, as it was called at first, started with 50 students with Mr. Lowrey and his two daughters serving as the faculty. In 1877, the college was officially chartered by the State of Mississippi. Lowrey, his sons W. T. and B. G., and grandson Lawrence Lowrey all served as the first four presidents. A longtime professor of the school, Dr. Wilfred Tyler, became the first non-Lowrey family president in 1960, followed by Dr. E. Harold Fisher in 1965. Since 2001, Dr. Bettye Rogers Coward has headed the college.
Originally an independently-owned institution, the college was turned over to the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1920 by the Lowrey Family. It remained focused on women's education until 1956 when a program to train men for church-related vocations was started. In October 2005, the college's Board of Trustees voted to make the school co-educational.
Enrollment
Enrollment for the 2005-2006 year was 424. Twenty-five percent of the students were male and 75 percent of the students commute to campus each day.
Departments
- Dept. of Biblical and Associated Studies
- Dept. of Business
- Dept. of Education
- Dept. of Fine Arts and Speech
- Dept. of Language and Literature
- Dept. of Mathematics and Natural Science
- Dept. of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Online certification programs
- Library Media
- Special Education for Mild/Moderate Disabled in Elementary and/or Secondary Education
Athletics
- Team Name: The Toppers
- Colors: Blue and Gold
- Mascot: Ram
- Gym: Wilfred C. Tyler Gymnasium
Women's Basketball: Coach Lavon Driskell took over as the head coach of the Lady Topper basketball team in 2006.
Men's/Women's Cross Country: In the spring of 2007 College added a co-educational cross-country team under the direction of Coach Fred Smith.
Men's Basketball: BMC launched its first men's basketball program in the Fall of 2007 under the direction of Coach Jerry Connor.
Softball: Fall 2010 marks the opening season of fast-pitch softball under head coach Kevin Barefield.
Baseball: Coach Curt Fowler brings his team to the field for the first time in Fall of 2010.
Conference Information: Intercollegiate sports teams for men and women participate in the TranSouth Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
Honors: The women's basketball team has been the receipient of the NAIA's Champions of Character award for six consecutive years. The award recognizes intercollegiate athletics that are committed to the true spirit of competition through respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship. In addition, the women's basketball team has earned the Halbrook Award for academic achievement among athletes in the independent college division. Administered by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, and the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges, the Halbrook Award was awarded to Blue Mountain College for maintaining and achieving a high academic standard for student athletes which promotes high graduation rates.
External links
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Private Colleges and Universities in Mississippi |
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Coordinates: 34°40′19″N 89°1′45″W / 34.67194°N 89.02917°W / 34.67194; -89.02917
