School of Theology, University of the South

One of the recognized, accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church. The first meeting of the trustees of the University of the South was held at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, on July 4, 1857. The cornerstone was laid at Sewanee, Tennessee, on Oct. 10, 1860, but the Civil War delayed the construction of buildings. A school of theology was to be at the center of the university. The university finally opened on Sept. 18, 1868, with four professors and nine students. After William Porcher DuBose came to the university as chaplain in 1871, students began studying for the ordained ministry with him. The first dean of the Theological Department was elected on July 29, 1878. The new building for the Theological Department, St. Luke's Memorial Hall, was opened on Mar. 25, 1879. In that same year the Theological Department faculty was separated from the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1948 the name was changed from the Theological Department to the School of Theology. See DuBose, William Porcher.