Wiley College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greate ...

. Founded in 1873 by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...

's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the

Freedman's Aid Society The Freedmen's Aid Society was founded in 1859 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply o ...

, it is one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. In 2005–2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

, for students with some prior college credits who seek to finish a degree, enrolled about 250. By fall of 2006, total enrollment was about 750. By fall of 2013, total enrollment reached over 1,000. Wiley is an

open admissions Open admissions, or open enrollment, is a type of unselective and noncompetitive college admissions process in the United States in which the only criterion for entrance is a high school diploma or a certificate of attendance or General Educat ...

college and about 96% of students receive some financial aid. Over a 15-year period,

Melvin B. Tolson Melvin Beaunorus Tolson (February 6, 1898 – August 29, 1966) was an American poet, educator, columnist, and politician. As a poet, he was influenced both by Modernism and the language and experiences of African Americans, and he was deeply inf ...

's debate teams lost only one of 75 debates. Wiley's debate team competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate against

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

's highly ranked debate team.

Academics

Wiley College offers

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

through four academic divisions. *School of Business and Social Sciences *School of Education and Sciences

Civil Rights Movement

Wiley, along with

Bishop College Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...

, was instrumental in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

in Texas. Wiley and Bishop students launched the first

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s in Texas in the rotunda of the Old Harrison County Courthouse to protest segregation in public facilities.

James Farmer James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." ...

, son of James L. Farmer, Sr., graduated from Wiley and became one of the "Big Four" of the Civil Rights Movement. Together with

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the ...

, Rev. Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, and Whitney M. Young Jr., James Farmer helped organize the first

s and

Freedom Rides Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions ''Morgan v. Virgini ...

in the United States.

Debate team

Tony Scherman's article about the Wiley College debate team for the 1997 Spring issue of ''American Legacy'' sparked a renewed interest in its history. The success of the 1935 Wiley College debate team, coached by professor and poet Melvin Tolson, was the subject of a 2005 AMS Pictures documentary, ''The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College,'' which received heavy play around Texas, followed by the 2007 dramatic movie, ''

The Great Debaters ''The Great Debaters'' is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. It is based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the spring 1997 issue of ''American Legacy'' ...

'', directed by and starring

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

. In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champion, the

(depicted as

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in ''The Great Debaters''). In 2007, Denzel Washington announced a donation of $1 million to Wiley so the team could be re-established. The following year, ''

'' movie debuted, starring Washington; the college's debate team has taken this name, too. In 2014, the 23-person team won 1st place at the

Pi Kappa Delta Pi Kappa Delta () is a Forensics (Public Speaking and Debate) Honor Society for undergraduate university students and a professional organization for graduates, typically university Speech and Debate Coaches. Pi Kappa Delta, or PKD, encourages th ...

Comprehensive National Tournament. This was the largest Pi Kappa Delta Tournament in their 101-year history. This was the first national speech and debate title won by an HBCU. Three years later, the college led the establishment of the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League. In 2018, Wiley hosted the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League Tournament.

Athletics

The Wiley athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The college is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Gulf Coast Athletic Conference The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) is a college athletic conference made up entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that's affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member inst ...

(GCAC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the

Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 13 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History T ...

(RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2021–22. They were also a founding member of the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in ...

(SWAC) from 1920–21 to 1967–68, which is currently an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

FCS athletic conference. Wiley competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Wiley the Wildcat is the mascot. Former sports included cheerleading. On January 20, 2022, Wiley received an invitation to join the GCAC, along with Oakwood University (from the

United States Collegiate Athletic Association The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) is a national organization for the intercollegiate athletic programs of 72 mostly small colleges, including community/ junior colleges, across the United States. The USCAA holds 15 natio ...

(USCAA)) and the return of

Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Southern University ...

(SUNO), effective beginning in July 2022. The GCAC is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA.

Gallery

File:Haywood L. Strickland Hall.jpg, Haywood L. Strickland Hall at Wiley College File:Julius S. Scott, Sr. Chapel at Wiley College.jpg, Julius S. Scott, Sr. Chapel at Wiley College File:Dogan Hall at Wiley College.jpg, Dogan Hall at Wiley College File:Thirkield Hall at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.jpg, Thirkield Hall at Wiley College File:The Fred Thomas Long Student Union building at Wiley College.jpg, The Fred Thomas Long Student Union building at Wiley College

Notable people

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

References

External links

* *
Official athletics website
{{Authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Red River Athletic Conference Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Private universities and colleges in Texas Buildings and structures in Harrison County, Texas Education in Harrison County, Texas 1873 establishments in Texas Educational institutions established in 1873 Universities and colleges affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church Historically black universities and colleges in Texas