This file includes institutions that have closed, merged, or
changed their names.If you note a
need for changing or updating information, please notify
ray.brown@westminster-mo.edu.
An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is
available at
http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/ClosedCollegeIndex.htm.There is also a blog at
http://collegehistorygarden.blogspot.com/ with links to other resources.Thanks for your interest!
College
Name
City
State
Start Date
End Date
Affiliation
Other Information
Source
Arkadelphia
Methodist College
Arkadelphia
Arkansas
1890
Methodist
became Henderson College in
1904, Henderson-Brown College in 1909, control by state and merged with
Hendrix College in 1929 becoming Henderson State Teachers College; Burke
states that Arkadelphia Synodical College was open before the Civil War and
was chartered in 1860
Songe, Alice H.American Universities
and Colleges:A Dictionary of Name
Changes.1978.
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Arkansas
A & M
Monticello
Arkansas
1909
state supported
founded as Fourth District
Agricultural School by Act 100 of Arkansas General Assembly.Name changed to Arkansas A&M in
1925.Merged with University of
Arkansas System and name changed to University of Arkansas at Monticello on
July 1, 1971
Songe, Alice H. American Universitie and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name
Changes. 1978.
Arkansas
Christian College
Morrilton
Arkansas
1919
Churches of Christ
purchased assets of Harper
College (KS) in 1924; name changed to Harding College in 1924; moved to
Searcy, AR in 1934
Songe, Alice H.American Universities
and Colleges:A Dictionary of Name
Changes.1978.
Arkansas
College
Fayetteville
Arkansas
1852
1861
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
1st degree granting institution
in the state; founded by Robert Graham; carefully emulated the concept of
Bethany College (VA); closed during Civil War, was occupied by a confederate
regiment and burned in 1862
http://www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/arkcollegeaid.html
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
Arkansas
College
Batesville
Arkansas
1872
Presbyterian
predecessor to Lyon College
www.lyon.edu/webdata/Groups/Collhist/
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories.2003.
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Arkansas
Polytechnic College
Russellville
Arkansas
1909
state supported
founded as Second District
Agricultural School; name changed to Arkansas Polytechnic College in 1925 and
to Arkansas Tech University in 1976
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Arkansas
State Teachers College
Conway
Arkansas
1907
state supported
founded as Arkansas State Normal
School; name changed to Arkansas State Teachers College in 1925; to State
College of Arkansas in 1967 and to the University of Central Arkansas in 1975
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Bentonville
College
Bentonville
Arkansas
1896
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Bethel
University
North Little Rock
Arkansas
1886
African Methodist Episcopal
first classes met in Bethel
A.M.E. Church; moved to Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1888 and became Shorter
University after 1892; later consolidated operations in North Little Rock and
was known as Shorter College after 1903; went from four-year status to a two-year
institution in 1955; lost North Central accreditation in 1997
Townsend, Barbara. Two-Year Colleges for Women and Minorities.1999.
Branch
Normal College
Pine Bluff
Arkansas
1873
state supported
founded as a branch of the
Normal Department of the Arkansas Industrial University; name changed to
Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in 1929; merged with
University of Arkansas in 1972 becoming the University of Arkansas at Pine
Bluff
www.uapb.edu/history/milestones.html
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories.2003.
Buckner
College
Witcherville
Arkansas
1887
1889
Episcopal
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher
Education in the United States. 1996.
Cane
Hill College
Boonsboro
Arkansas
1834
1891
Cumberland Presbyterian
closed 1861 and burned in 1864
during the Civil War; rebuilt and reopeded in 1868; destroyed again by fire
in 1885 and reopened in 1887; building used for public school after closure
until 1950's; currently used as a community building; predecessor to Arkansas
Cumberland College and later, College of the Ozarks
classes offered in Dunbar High
School for blacks; closed by the School Board, citing inadequate finances;
Samuel P. Massie was a distinguished graduate, a scientist, educator, and
member of the Manhattan Project team during World War II. He was the first
tenured black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and also served the
Maryland State Board of Community Colleges for 21 years, 10 as chairman;
Another Dunbar alum, Lloyd C. Elam, completed his MD at the University of
Washington and later served as a professor at Meharry Medical College and as
interim dean of the school of medicine
founded as First District
Agricultural School; name changed to First District Agricultural &
Mechanical College in 1925, to Arkansas State College in 1933 and to Arkansas
State University in 1967
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Galloway
Women's College
Searcy
Arkansas
1933
Methodist Episcopal
first accredited by NCA 1932;
merged with Hendrix College in 1933
NCA web site
http://www.hendrix.edu/AboutHendrix/history/19311940.htm
www.phumc.com/tower/5.6.01/tower51.htm
Henderson-Brown
College
Arkadelphia
Arkansas
1890
1929
Methodist Episcopal
founded as Arkadelphia Methodist
College; became Henderson College in 1904 and Henderson-Brown College in
1909; physical plant controlled by state in 1929 to form Henderson State
Teachers College; merged with Hendrix College (Conway, AR) to form Hendrix-Henderson
College in 1929 and with merger with Galloway Women's College, shortened name
to Hendrix College
http://www.hendrix.edu/AboutHendrix/history/19211930.htm
Songe, Alice H.American
Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes.1978.
Jonesboro
Baptist College
Jonesboro
Arkansas
1936
Baptist
remained open only a couple of
years
wbc2.wbcoll.edu/history.htm
Judson
University
Judsonia
Arkansas
1871
Little
Rock Female College
Little Rock
Arkansas
http://www-english.tamu.edu/dept/lewis/
Little
Rock Junior College
Little Rock
Arkansas
1927
1957
public
classes offered in Little Rock
High School at Fourteenth and Park, now Central High School; citing
inadequate finances, the School Board divested itself of the program to a
private board of trustees, later becaming Little Rock University in 1957 and
then merging with University of Arkansas to become University of Arkansas at
Little Rock in 1969.Founder, John A.
Larson, served as president from 1930-1950.
Songe, Alice H.American Universities
and Colleges:A Dictionary of Name
Changes.1978.
www.ualr.edu/~anniversary/history.html
Monea
College
Rector
Arkansas
1915
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Morrilton
Male and Female College
Morrilton
Arkansas
1890
East Church Street; Thomas P.
Murray and W.B. Trow were joint principals beginning in 1890
also known as Pea Ridge Masonic
College and Mount Vernon Normal College; Cummins gives 1889 as date of
founding; Burke gives 1853 as date for founding
www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/wmhughesaid.html
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Quitman
Male & Female College
Quitman
Arkansas
1871
Methodist Episcopal
see Lorene Houston, "Oldest
College at Quitman," Cleburne County Historical
Quarterly (Fall 1974), p. [18]; Walter N. Vernon, Methodism in Arkansas 1816-1976
(Little Rock: Joint Committee for the History of Arkansas Methodism 1977), p.
144.
Remington
College
Little Rock
Arkansas
1998
The Chronicle of Higher
Education, June 14, 2002
Saint
Andrew's College
Fort Smith
Arkansas
1840's
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations.
1982
Saint
John's Masonic College
Little Rock
Arkansas
1850
http://www.huntsville364.org/history.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Searcy
Male and Female College
Searcy
Arkansas
1883
1898
following 1898 commencement name
was changed to Speers-Langford Military Institute that closed following a
fire in 1900
http://www.whitecountyar.org/searcycollege.htm
Soulesbury
College
Batesville
Arkansas
1850
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~dmglenn/april76.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Southern
Baptist College
Pocahontas, Walnut Ridge
Arkansas
1941
Baptist
now Williams Baptist College,
name changed in 1991
http://wbc2.wbcoll.edu/newwbc/Admissions/admfcts.htm
http://wbc2.wbcoll.edu/history.htm
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher Education in the United States.1996.
Southland
College
Helena
Arkansas
1869
1925
Friends
started in 1864 as home for
African American children; normal course added in 1869; assumed name of
Southland College in 1876
