John A. Gupton College is a private 2-year college in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

that specializes in mortuary science. Founded in 1946, it awards the

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree in Funeral Service. Gupton College is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by both the Commission on Colleges of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

and the

American Board of Funeral Service Education American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. Gupton is located just west of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Nashville, in the same building as the Tennessee Funeral Directors Associational Office.

History

Founding

In March 1946, John A. Gupton Jr. and his wife Bernadean purchased the former Gov. Hill McAlister Mansion located at 2507 West End Avenue, in

. They founded and opened the John A. Gupton College of Mortuary Science on September 25, 1946. John was President and Bernadean was Educational Director. The first class began on September 27, 1946, with an enrollment of 26 students. The course work was nine months in length.

Additions and renovations

In 1952, additions were needed. A large two-story classroom building, Paul L. Williams Hall (in honor of the college's 1st Law instructor), was erected. The new building was with the floor plan as follows: the first floor included two offices, storage rooms, utility rooms, lockers, lecture room and preparation rooms; the second floor included a large lecture room and a science laboratory. The growth of the college began to increase after 1954, with Gupton-Jones merging with the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science. John A. Gupton College became the only mortuary college in the southeast. In the next few years more additions were made. Alumni Hall was erected adjacent to Williams Hall and housed the administrative offices and a large conference room. Kensington Place Hall, a large two story building, was erected behind Williams Hall and housed Memorial Library, faculty offices and two lecture rooms. Puryear Mims Hall was located two blocks from the main campus at 2810 Vanderbilt Place and was used for a

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

instruction. In October 1964, the college was incorporated under the laws of the state of

as a school of mortuary science. The school was incorporated as a non-profit educational institution in 1965, and has since been known as John A. Gupton College. In keeping with standards set by the

in the fall of 1966, a program of study leading to an

Associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

in Mortuary Science was offered. The college received correspondence from the

on January 14, 1970 and official accreditation at the Association's annual meeting in December 1971. This accreditation made John A. Gupton College the first college accredited by both the American Board of Funeral Service Education and a regional accrediting agency with scholastic transferability. John Gupton College

Gupton died on December 15, 1988. John A. Gupton, III assumed the position of president of the college. Mrs. Gupton remained on the faculty for several years until her death on August 15, 1994. The board of directors and the Gupton heirs decided to sell the campus to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in the fall of 1991. The college relocated to a new facility in mid-town Nashville at 1616 Church Street in the fall of 1992. The school purchased a 14 unit apartment building adjacent to the new campus in April 1998, to be used as student housing.

External links

* {{authority control 1946 establishments in Tennessee Universities and colleges established in 1946 Mortuary schools Private universities and colleges in Tennessee Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges in Nashville, Tennessee Death in Tennessee