University Of The South

After leaving the cross we traveled briefly through part of the university campus.

While LC and James stayed in the truck I hurriedly snapped a few pictures of some of the buildings that make up this extraordinarily lovely and quiet place.

The University of the South has a colorful and rich history.

I will travel this way again soon to take more pictures of the university that is "up on the mountain".............

The University of the South is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church and its School of Theology is an official seminary of the church. The university's School of Letters offers graduate degrees in American Literature and Creative Writing. The campus (officially called "The Domain" or, affectionately, "The Mountain") consists of 13,000 acres (53 km2) of scenic mountain property atop the Cumberland Plateau in southeastern Tennessee, although the developed portion occupies only about 1,000 acres (4.0 km2).

Often known simply as Sewanee, the school has produced 25 Rhodes Scholars and was ranked 32nd in the annual US News & World Report list of liberal arts colleges. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 94th of America's Best Colleges. Sewanee is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South.

On July 4, 1857, delegates from ten dioceses of the Episcopal Church — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas — were led up Monteagle mountain by Bishop Leonidas Polk for the founding of their denominational college for the region. The six-ton marble cornerstone, laid on October 10, 1860 and consecrated by Bishop Polk, was blown up in 1863 by Union soldiers from an Illinois regiment; many of the pieces were collected and kept as keepsakes by the soldiers. At least a few were donated back to the University, and a large fragment was eventually installed in a wall of All Saints' Chapel, where the relic can be visited by pilgrims. Several figures later prominent in the Confederacy, notably Bishop-General Leonidas Polk, Bishop Stephen Elliott, and Bishop James Hervey Otey, were significant founders of the University. Generals Edmund Kirby Smith, Josiah Gorgas and Francis A. Shoup were prominent in the University's postbellum revival and continuance.

Because of the damage and disruptions of the Civil War, construction came to a temporary halt around that time. In 1866 the process was resumed, and this date is sometimes given as the re-founding of the University and the point from which it has maintained continuous operations (though official materials and anniversary celebrations use 1857 as the founding year). The University's first convocation was held on September 18, 1868, with nine students and four faculty members present.

After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee was offered the position of Vice-Chancellor but declined, choosing instead to work at Washington College in his native Virginia. The Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, Vice Chancellor of the University (Second Bishop of Tennessee and "Chaplain of the Confederacy") journeyed to the first Lambeth Conference in England (1868) and received financial support from clergy and laity of the Church of England which enabled the rebuilding of the school. He is known as the "Re-Founder" of the University of the South.

During World War II, University of the South was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.

Schools of dentistry, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing once existed, and a secondary school was part of the institution well into the second half of the twentieth century.

For financial reasons, however, it was eventually decided to focus on two schools which exist today, the College and the School of Theology.

In June 2006, Sewanee opened its School of Letters, a second graduate school. The School of Letters offers an M.A. in American Literature and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing.

The Sewanee campus includes many buildings constructed of various materials faced with local stone, most done in the Gothic style.

All Saints' Chapel was originally designed by Ralph Adams Cram and began construction in 1904 (replacing the smaller, wooden St. Augustine's Chapel which stood nearby), but the financial panic of 1907 left the University without the funds to complete it. It was completed in 1959 to a design by then-Vice Chancellor Edward McCrady.

Dr. McCrady was also responsible for the connection of the buildings of the original quadrangle with cloisters. During his tenure as Vice Chancellor, the Jesse Ball duPont Library was constructed.

Dr. McCrady was determined to fill in the plain windows of All Saints' Chapel with stained glass, though many remained without for several years. After his death, a new stained glass window, which includes his image, was dedicated in his memory. The final window was installed in 2004, nearly 100 years after construction began on the Chapel.

St. Luke's Chapel is one of several chapels on the campus. St. Luke's is located next to the building which formerly housed the School of Theology.

The Chapel of the Apostles was designed by the Arkansas architectural firm of the late E. Fay Jones and Maurice J. Jennings for the School of Theology and was dedicated and consecrated in October 2000.

Spencer Hall houses the chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and environmental studies departments. Its completion in late August 2008 provided an additional 49,000 square feet (4,600 m2) to the existing Woods Lab science building. Sustainable building practices and technology were incorporated into Spencer Hall.

The institution has combined its two historical names in all University publications that are not official documents and bills itself as "Sewanee: The University of the South." The Sewanee Graphics Identity Standards Manual, a document reflecting the official policies of the university with respect to its public image, states, in part:

First, it must be understood that the official and legal name of this institution is “The University of the South.” In the past, though, unorganized use of this official name and the University’s familiar name, Sewanee, has been confusing to those unfamiliar with the institution. In addition, college guides and Web sites that have become so crucial in young people’s college searches may list the institution under as many as four different entries—beginning with "The," "University," "South," or "Sewanee."

To avoid confusion and to honor the history and character of the institution, a consistent reference to the name of the institution is critical. So, for extended audiences unfamiliar with the institution, the naming convention "Sewanee: The University of the South" should be used on a first reference. Subsequent references may be to "Sewanee" or "the University."

When this naming system was proposed in 2004, it was misinterpreted by some alumni to reflect a change in the official name of the University. A minor scandal ensued, due in large part to insinuations that the change was intended to "distance" the University from its historic association with Southern culture. The controversy has generally subsided, though some students and alumni still mistakenly refer to the incident as a "name change".

The school has long been known for its literary associations. The Sewanee Review, founded in 1892, is thought to be the longest-running literary magazine in the country and has published and been praised by many distinguished authors. Its success has helped launch the Sewanee Writers' Conference, held each summer.

In 1983, playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Tennessee Williams left his literary rights to the

University of the South. Royalties have helped build the Tennessee Williams Center, a performance venue and teaching facility, and to create the Tennessee Williams teaching fellowships, which bring well-known figures in the arts to the campus.

"Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum," the University's motto, is taken from the opening of Psalm 133: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

The school is rich in distinctive traditions, many of which are tied to Southern culture. For example, male students have always worn coats and ties to classes—this tradition has generally been continued, though the coat and tie are often combined with casual pants and, sometimes, shorts. Faculty and student members of the primary honor society and main branch of student government, the Order of Gownsmen, wear academic gowns to teach or attend class—perhaps the last vestige of this historically English practice in North America.

Furthermore, the Order is charged with the maintenance of this and other traditions of the University. Similarly, drinking clubs, including The Highlanders and The Wellingtons, The Beefeaters, and ribbon societies continue to thrive after many decades. At major events, members of the former two groups display their distinctive ceremonial garb, kilts and cloaks, respectively.

The Vice-Chancellor on formal occasions assumes the cappa clausa cope as the Vice-Chancellor at Cambridge University still does.

Modern traditions include the Festival of Lessons and Carols in early December, an imitation of the traditional Christmas service in Cambridge.

Also, local mythology regarding angels is abundant; residents of the Domain tap the roofs of their cars as they pass through the stone gates in order to "get their angel" for protection in their travels. Numerous other traditions continue to flourish on the Mountain, many adapted to fit modern practices.

Pictures taken from the fishing bridge as we were passing through the base on the way home...............

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again........William Penn