Lon Morris College

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Lon Morris College
Lon morris seal.jpg
246px
Type Junior college
Active 1854–2012
Affiliation United Methodist Church
President Vacant
Students 1,000
Location
Jacksonville
,
Texas
,
USA
Campus Urban
Colors Green, white
Mascot Bearcat
Website www.lonmorris.edu

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File:Fine Arts Building, Lon Morris College IMG 3019.JPG
A. Frank Smith Fine Arts Building hosts theatre, music, and dance.
File:Cecil E. Peeples Academic Center, Lon Morris College IMG 3020.JPG
Cecil E. Peeples Academic Center
File:Lon Morris College Administration Bldg. IMG 3021.JPG
Arthur and Evie Jo Wilson Administration Building
File:E.C. Scurlock Student Center, Lon Morris College IMG 3015.JPG
E. C. Scurlock Student Center
File:Lon Morris College chapel IMG 3022.JPG
Chapel at Lon Morris College

Lon Morris College (LMC) was a private junior college located in Jacksonville, Texas, United States, and was the only school affiliated with the United Methodist Church that was owned by an individual conference and not the denomination as a whole. Lon Morris was an accredited two-year institute of higher learning, which provides instruction in the arts and sciences with a core curriculum emphasizing liberal arts. While Lon Morris taught as many as 350 students[1] in a semester, enrollment reached more than 1,000, a new record, in the fall of 2009.[2] The school was 30 miles (48 km) south of Tyler.[3] The person who last held the title of college president was Dr. Miles McCall; he resigned effective May 24, 2012.

Lon Morris College filed for bankruptcy on July 2, 2012.[4] The 112-acre campus is scheduled to be auctioned on January 14, 2013 in Dallas, Texas.[5]

History

Founded in 1854 as the New Danville Masonic Female Academy near Kilgore, Lon Morris College was the oldest existing two-year college in Texas.[6] In 1873, the academy moved to Kilgore and became property of the Kilgore Methodist Church, changing its name to the Alexander Institute in honor of its president Isaac Alexander, an outstanding early Texas educator.[7]

The Texas Annual Conference acquired the Alexander Institute in 1875. Chartered on January 15, 1887, the Institute moved to Jacksonville in 1894 and to the present location in 1909. After R.A. "Lon" Morris of Pittsburg, Texas, gave his estate to the school, and with approval of the Texas Annual Conference, the name of the institution was changed again, in 1924, to Lon Morris College.[8]

The only two-year Methodist college west of the Mississippi River, Lon Morris has held membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools longer than any other two-year college in Texas, and it is the only surviving pre-Civil War school in East Texas.[8]

One of Lon Morris' presidents was John E. Fellers, a Christian writer and Methodist minister, primarily in the Houston area, but also in Alexandria and Shreveport, Louisiana.[9]

In 2009, the campus of Lon Morris would soon grow to the west, with a gift from the city of Jacksonville of a municipal activity center (formerly a Texas National Guard armory), a rodeo arena, and land surrounding both. The college allowed annual events for the Tops-in-Texas Rodeo at the rodeo arena without any financial outlays from the city.[10] Lon Morris had plans for construction of new dormitories,[11] which is timely, as there were many students enrolled for the fall of 2009 housed in two Jacksonville motels.[12] Another addition coming to the campus will be a self-supporting tower in order to access wireless Internet signals; this will assist students in connecting to the web. It will reach 100 feet in height.[13]

Students could participate in a variety of sports including men's/women's basketball, baseball and softball, men's/women's soccer, men's/women's golf, volleyball, cheerleading and dance. In 2009, football was added as a varsity sport, although no official games will be played until 2010.[14]

In February 2010, Lon Morris announced a new agriculture curriculum, with classes having begun in the fall of 2010.[15] In March 2010, the college acquired a prominent downtown Jacksonville building that originally had housed the city post office for many decades. A local family had owned and operated the building for a time as a hotel and restaurant using the name "The Landmark". Lon Morris announced it would use the acquired property for its new hospitality administration program, for which classes would start in the fall of 2010.[16][17][18] This is likely the first time in the recent history of Lon Morris that any part of its operation and curriculum has occurred in a venue away from the main campus on College Avenue.

By March 2010, a new dormitory, Cooper House, opened on the campus, with room for thirty=two students. Another new dormitory is called "The Lodge."[19]

On May 23, 2012, all college employees, with the exception of 11 core employees, were furloughed indefinitely.[20] Over 100 individuals were furloughed. The furlough occurred after the school missed three pay periods.[21] Miles McCall, the president, submitted his resignation notice via e-mail. McCall's resignation was effective May 24, 2012.[20] The affected individuals were notified via email.[22] The decision to furlough was made by the Bridge Point Consulting Company. On May 5, 2012 the board of trustees had asked Bridge Point Consulting Company to make recommendations on how to proceed with a planned restructuring of the school.[23] Later that month Tyler Junior College sent an outreach team to help Lon Morris students register for summer classes at Tyler Junior College. It also allowed LMC students to live at the junior college residence halls at discounted rates.[24]

Campus

Residence halls include Brown Hall, Clark Hall, Craven-Wilson Hall, and Fair Hall. Other student housing facilities include Cooper House, LMC Cottages, and LMC Lodge.[25]

Notable alumni

Lon Morris College is widely known for its Theatre Arts Department, which boasts many successful alumni including:

Other notable Lon Morris alumni include:

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Overcrowding the ‘suite’ life at Lon Morris, Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  3. ↑ "About Lon Morris College." (Archive) Lon Morris College. Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ Lon Morris College files for bankruptcy
  5. ↑ Lon Morris campus scheduled for auction
  6. ↑ Ann Hudson: Jacksonville from the Handbook of Texas Online (June 6, 2001). Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  7. ↑ Connie Snodgrass: Alexander, Isaac from the Handbook of Texas Online (June 6, 2001). Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ John Andrew Prime, "Ex-pastor of First United Methodist dies", Shreveport Times, July 15, 2007
  10. ↑ City signs over recreation center, rodeo grounds, Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  11. ↑ Lon Morris College prepares for student housing expansion, Jacksonville Daily Progress, July 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  12. ↑ No room at the inn: ‘Catch 22’ for city of J’ville, Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  13. ↑ Just trace amount of hydrilla reported, Jacksonville Daily Progress, October 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  14. ↑ Casting call continues for Bearcat football players, Jacksonville Daily Progress, October 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  15. ↑ LMC Adds Ag Program, Jacksonville Daily Progress, Nathan Straus--writer, February 17, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  16. ↑ LMC Additions, Jacksonville Daily Progress, Nathan Straus--writer, February 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  17. ↑ LMC inks deal for Landmark, Jacksonville Daily Progress, Nathan Straus--writer, March 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  18. ↑ Sadler's Kitchen Set To Move Into Landmark Building, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Kelly Gooch--writer, March 24, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  19. ↑ Lon Morris Adds Beds For Students, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Kelly Gooch--writer, March 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Valencia, Nick. "Oldest 2-year college in Texas furloughs staff." CNN. Wednesday May 23, 2012. Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
  21. ↑ Austin, Anthony. "Lon Morris restructuring could affect city financially." KYTX. Retrieved on May 26, 2012.
  22. ↑ [1], KETK News, Angela Berry--executive producer, May 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  23. ↑ Resendiz, Marivel. "Lon Morris staff furloughed." Jacksonville Progress at the Corsicana Daily Sun. May 23, 2012. Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Tyler Junior College to reach out to Lon Morris students for summer study." KYTX-TV. May 25, 2012. Retrieved on May 25, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Student Housing." (Archive) Lon Morris College. Retrieved on May 23, 2012.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 All planned out, Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  27. ↑ http://www.tv.com/chris-ayres/person/363707/summary.html
  28. ↑ Amanda McBroom biography, http://www.amcbroom.com/amanda.html. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  29. ↑ Making history, Jacksonville Daily Progress, July 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  30. ↑ Dee Ann McWilliams' Facebook page listing, retrieved 2010-03-28.

Bibliography

  • Lon Morris College, a storied academic history, Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  • "Cecil Peeples: a twentieth century giant: the story of Cecil Peeples, and his years at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas", John Wesley Hardt—editor, UMR Communications, 1999. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  • "Mid the pine hills of East Texas: the Methodist centennial history of Lon Morris College", Glendell A. Jones—author, Progress Publishing Co., 1973. Retrieved 2009-10-24.

External links

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