History . . .
Freed-Hardeman University traces its origins to the 1869 charter of the Henderson Male and Female Institute as a high school and college. Through charter revisions and a new charter in 1907, successor institutions on the present campus have been the Henderson Masonic Male and Female Institute, West Tennessee Christian College, Georgie Robertson Christian College, and the National Teachers Normal and Business College. The institution was renamed in 1919 for A. G. Freed, who had earlier served as president and teacher in Georgie Robertson Christian College and was the first president of NTN&BC, and for N. B. Hardeman, who had served as teacher in GRCC and teacher and vice president in NTN&BC.
Freed-Hardeman and its predecessors have prepared teachers since 1870 and ministers since at least 1885. In the early years of the institution, the teacher-training course were more disciplinary than pedagogical and teacher certification was based on passing subject area examinations. Freed-Hardeman was approved as a teacher training institution at the two-year level by the Tennessee State Board of Education in 1925. Two years of college work, including eighteen hours of education courses, earned students permanent elementary education certifications in Tennessee for several years. State approval to provide teacher certification in elementary education and in selected secondary education subject areas, beginning with the 1976 graduating class, was granted by the state in February of 1976 after a pilot self-study and state examination of curricula under the standards of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). National accreditation of teacher education was granted in 1982, retroactive in 1981. Programs have been resubmitted and reapproved again recently under revised state standards. State board policies developed and implemented in the 1990s reformed and extended teacher preparation, requiring disciplinary rather than professional undergraduate majors. The graduate degree will complement the reduced professional component at the undergraduate level.
Ministerial education, which began to receive specific attention after 1885, was also based on liberal arts and general education—complemented by Bible studies. West Tennessee Christian College, for example, recommended that those preparing to preach pursue the classical course, which included English, Greek, and Latin languages, literatures, mathematics, natural science, and mental and moral science. Continuing education began after 1925 with special short courses for preachers and since 1937 has been offered most notably through the week-long Annual Bible Lectureship. In recent years, summer short courses, extension course in such fields as counseling and personal evangelism, the summer Christian Training Series, forums for church workers, and special programs for youth ministers have offered lifelong learning opportunities for educators, ministers, Bible teachers, and other church workers.
In 1908, A. G. Freed articulated his aim as president of the National Teachers Normal and Business College. He wanted “to provide a thorough education under the influence of primitive Christianity.” The theme of thoroughness can be traced to Freed-Hardeman University’s first predecessor, the Henderson Male and Female Institute. Since the 1950’s, the university has used the motto, “Teaching how to live and how to make a living.” As a senior institution, character, career, and liberal arts education have been pictured as the sides and base of a triangle, which conceptualizes the balanced education that Freed-Hardeman University and its predecessors have sought to offer.
The university has been regionally accredited since 1956. In 1976, Freed-Hardeman University obtained Level II accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate degrees. This accreditation was reaffirmed in 1981. Under the leadership of Dr. E. Claude Gardner, president 1969-1990, graduate degrees, which had been offered by turn-of-the-century predecessors, were reinstituted. In June 1990 the university was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master’s degrees. Accreditation to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees was reaffirmed in June 1991, and again in December 2001.
After much planning by university personnel, the Board of Trustees approved the expansion of graduate studies to further prepare leaders to meet the challenges of the next century. The offering of graduate studies at Freed-Hardeman University provides higher level educational opportunities within a tradition that has already stood the test of time.
Since June 1989, students have been able to pursue programs leading to the Master of Ministry and the Master of Education degrees. Beginning in the fall semester 1994, graduate programs in New Testament and in Counseling were offered. An Education Specialist degree was added in the fall of 2005. In the fall semester 2005, the Master of Divinity and the Master of Business Administration were offered. Faculty have been carefully selected to teach in these areas, and academic policies have been developed that will insure programs of high quality. Opportunities will be provided to strengthen and extend the preparation of baccalaureate graduates and others seeking further intellectual development.