Meredith
College Is a Time
Thomas Meredith was a man of vision. That vision is his
legacy to the college called by his name. In 1838, he and
a handful of other North Carolina Baptists called for the
establishment of a "female seminary of high order."
The boldness of those Baptists blinded some of their contemporaries
but opened the eyes of others. The visionaries among them
saw a future of educated women claiming their places in
the world, and they founded Baptist Female University, whose
name was changed in 1909 to Meredith College.
A Time for Beginning
1838
- Baptist State Convention approves resolution to institute
a female seminary.
1889 - Convention authorizes Baptist Female University,
appoints trustees.
1891 - North Carolina Legislature grants charter.
1899 - On September 27, the institution at the corner
of Blount and Jones Streets in downtown Raleigh, opens its
doors to 180 students, 55 more than expected.
1902 - "The Immortal Ten," members of the
first class, graduate.
1904 - The University's name is changed to Baptist
University for Women.
1909 - Again, the name is changed—this time
to Meredith College.
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A Time for Planting Roots
1926
- The College relocates from a "pocket-handkerchief
of a lawn" . . . next to the Governor's Mansion to
the 135-acre "Tucker Farm" three miles west of
Raleigh. A quadrangle of six Georgian buildings await the
new occupants.
A Time for Building
1949-74
- Thirteen permanent buildings and the lake and amphitheater
are completed and dedicated. Later, seven additional buildings
follow.
1967
- Meredith initiates founding of Cooperating Raleigh Colleges,
a consortium of higher education institutions in Raleigh.
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A Time for Maturing
1971
- Gwendolyn Matthews Hilliard is the first African-American
to graduate.
1972 - Meredith pioneers in continuing education.
1974 - First female vice president takes her place
with top administrators.
Meredith Study Abroad takes its "maiden voyage"
to England with twenty-two students and two faculty members.
1983 - Master's degree programs are offered in business,
education, and music.
1988 - Meredith is awarded the North Carolina Teaching
Fellows Program.
1990 - First female is elected to chair Board of
Trustees.
1991 - Meredith observes year-long centennial celebration
under banner of "Honoring Our Heritage . . . Expanding
Our Vision." Trustees amend charter to allow Board
of Trustees to elect its own members.
1993 - Card catalog in Carlyle Campbell Library is
replaced by Automated Library Information System (ALIS).
1995 - Meredith goes on World Wide Web.
1997 - The College and the Baptist State Convention
agree to a new relationship.
1998 - Trustees appoint search committee to seek seventh
president of the College.
1999 - Maureen Hartford is named president on February
26 and takes office on July 1.
Trustees call for admission of males to graduate programs,
in compliance with Title IX.
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A Time for a New Day in the New Millennium
2000
- Maureen A. Hartford, Ed.D., is inaugurated April 15, 2000,
as seventh—and first female—president of Meredith,
the largest private college for women in the Southeast.
Meredith College Presidents 1899-present
James Carter Blasingame, 1899-1900
Richard Tilman Vann, 1900-1915
Charles Edward Brewer, 1915-1939
Carlyle Campbell, 1939-1966
E. Bruce Heilman, 1966-1971
John Edgar Weems, 1972-1999
Maureen Anderson Hartford, 1999-present
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The Office of Marketing and Communications
3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-5298
Tel: (919) 760-8455, E-mail: marketing@meredith.edu
MEREDITH
COLLEGE
3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-5298
Tel: 919.760.8600 Fax: 919.760.2828
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