George Wythe University (GWU) was an unaccredited, non-profit university in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. GWU's curriculum borrowed from the

Great Books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

of the Western World published in 1952 by Britannica and it claimed that its methodology was based on the Socratic seminar and Oxford

tutorial system The tutorial system is a method of university education where the main teaching method is regular, very small group sessions. These are the core teaching sessions of a degree, and are supplemented by lectures, practicals and larger group classes. ...

. The school was named in honor of

George Wythe George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...

, mentor to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. The college closed in August 2016. According to the ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'', "the education at George Wythe University is unorthodox and undoubtedly conservative, pushing a small-government vision, and has roots in the teachings of

Cleon Skousen Willard Cleon Skousen (; January 20, 1913 – January 9, 2006) was an American conservative author with the John Birch Society and a faith-based conspiracy theorist. A notable anti-communist and supporter of the John Birch Society, Sko ...

." Skousen is "a significant figure in far-right politics", a frequent speaker for the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ide ...

, and was portrayed on the cover of its magazine. The university received "bad publicity for awarding degrees students never really earned", based on administrators granting "life experience credits". In a highly unusual move, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection required the university to end operations in August 2016 because its degrees were of questionable value and the university was misleading students. A Ph.D. the university awarded to Ann Tracy was revoked.

History

Founding

George Wythe College (GWC) was organized in 1992 as a subsidiary of the Institute for Constitutional Education with Donald N. Sills as president. The school opened that fall as a Utah branch of Coral Ridge Baptist University (CRBU). Over the next several years the school awarded bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees across a range of subjects, including finance, youth and family counseling, history, Near Eastern Studies, and education. In 1997 a steering committee formalized the school's comprehensive academic program, integrating the methodology, motto and mission into a cohesive liberal arts model which it called the Five Pillars of Statesmanship. In 1999, George Wythe Foundation was created to commence fundraising efforts, and by 2000 the college expanded its faculty and administration to include 13 employees plus support staff.

Independence and growth

In January 2002, the college became independent from CRBU through a transfer of ownership to George Wythe Foundation. At this time the school realigned its policies and narrowed its degree programs to the four specific degrees that most closely matched its mission, namely: B.A in Statesmanship; M.A. degrees in Political Economy and Education; and a Ph.D in Constitutional Law. This notably reduced the religious emphasis that existed previously.

Expansion

In 2006 a master plan was presented for reorganizing under a university model with multiple colleges on several campuses. In August 2008 the school announced the designation of "university" status granted by the State of Utah, and the Board decision to formally adopt the change, as it broke ground on its second campus in

Monticello, Utah Monticello ( ) is a city located in San Juan County, Utah, United States and is the county seat. It is the second most populous city in San Juan County, with a population of 1,972 at the 2010 census. The Monticello area was settled in July 1887 ...

. At this same groundbreaking ceremony it was also announced that the school's leadership would assume new titles under the university model, with head administrator Shanon Brooks being named university president and chief academic Oliver DeMille receiving the title of chancellor. Temporary remote headquarters were set up in a local historical monument known as the Hyland Hotel and classes were held with 19 students. Intentions for a third campus were announced for Alberta, Canada. In February 2009 the school announced plans to offer live online classes. This announcement coincided with the resignation of Brooks as president, the appointment of Andrew Groft as the university's interim president, and the cancellation of the chancellor model incident to the retirement of DeMille, due to health problems. In April 2012, the Board of Trustees announced a feasibility study rejecting Monticello as a viable campus site and returned the donated land. In October 2015, the new administration announced that it had been looking at options for being acquired, which it intended to complete by August 2016.

Alumni

* Jim Hillyer, elected Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada for Lethbridge in the 2011 general election

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in Utah Educational institutions established in 1992 Educational institutions disestablished in 2016 Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States 1992 establishments in Utah