UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

The University of Memphis is a public American research university located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system.
The University was founded under the auspices of the General Education Bill, enacted by the Tennessee Legislature in 1909.
Known originally as West Tennessee State Normal School, the institution opened its doors September 10, 1912, with Dr. Seymour A. Mynders as president. A number of minor name changes occurred between 1912 and 1941, with the "West Tennessee State" name remaining at the forefront of each.
In 1941, the name of the university changed, becoming Memphis State College. In 1950, graduate studies were initiated, and in 1954, the school switched from a quarter to a semester system. In 1957, Memphis State College became Memphis State University. In 1959, the university admitted its first black students, and the first doctoral programs began in 1966.
The 1990s were characterized by another name change and another building boom. In 1994, MSU became the University of Memphis, and the Ned R. McWherter Library was completed. Moving into the 21st century, the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management and the FedEx Institute of Technology have made their mark on the University landscape.
Today, the University of Memphis is one of Tennessee's three comprehensive doctoral-extensive institutions of higher learning. Situated in a park-like setting in east Memphis, it is considered to be the flagship of the Tennessee Board of Regents system. The university awards more than 3,000 degrees annually.
With an enrollment of approximately 21,000 students, the University of Memphis has 25 Chairs of Excellence and five state-approved Centers of Excellence.
The university maintains the Journalism and Public Relations department, Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Loewenberg School of Nursing, FedEx Institute of Technology and the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Its mathematics department has more Erdos number 1 mathematicians than any other research institution in the world. [1] [2]

Contents

Institution

Organization

History

Campus

Layout

Main campus

Park Avenue Campus

Athletics

Basketball

Football

Greek Life

Fraternities

Sororities

List of presidents

Notable Alumni

Government, public service, and public policy

Literature, arts, sciences, and media

Business

Athletics

Notable Professors & Scholars

Current Events

National headline on female athletes

References

External links

Institution

A faculty of approximately 900 professors serves about 15,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. Students in the first classes selected blue and gray as the school colors and the tiger as the mascot. Tradition holds that the colors, those of the opposing armies during the American Civil War, were chosen in commemoration of the reuniting of the country after that divisive conflict.
The Daily Helmsman, the university's independent daily newspaper, in operation since 1925, remains a prominent student organization on campus. In addition, many other student organizations, such as the University of Memphis Institute for Egyptian Art and Architecture, the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Moot Court Board, the University of Memphis Advertising Federation and the University of Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, play an active and involved role in the community, both nationally and internationally.
The University of Memphis attracts most of its undergraduate students from Memphis and West Tennessee, though many current undergraduate and graduate students have come from public and private schools across the southeastern United States as well as from other nations.
Over its history, the University of Memphis has graduated many famous alumni, including Fred D. Thompson, actor and former United States senator, Benjamin Hooks, civil rights leader and former executive director of the NAACP, the historian of the American South Joe Gray Taylor, Anfernee Hardaway, NBA and former University of Memphis basketball player, and DeAngelo Williams, former All-American college football running back.
Among its most famous faculty members are Shelby Foote (dec.), visiting professor of History, Dr. Lorelei Corcoran, Professor of Egyptology, Dr. Otto Schaden, Professor of Egyptology, Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize winner and professor of Journalism, Bill Brody, nationally-published author and professor of Journalism and Public Relations, Béla Bollobás, Jabie Hardin Chair Professor of Mathematics, and Donald Franceschetti, Professor of Physics.
The Division of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Memphis (http://umce.memphis.edu) provides non-credit instruction to people from all walks of life. Originally established in the 1970s, the non-credit programs include face-to-face short courses, customized training for businesses, and online courses.

Organization

The University of Memphis is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system, consisting of 18 Board Members. The Board sets Policies and Guidelines that govern all TBR institutions. The Standing Committees of the Board, and some Ad Hoc Committees, meet prior to each Board meeting and include faculty and student representatives. Within this framework, the President of the University of Memphis is the day-to-day administrator of the university.
The University of Memphis today comprises ten different colleges and schools:

★ College of Arts and Sciences

★ Fogelman College of Business and Economics

★ College of Communication and Fine Arts

★ College of Education

★ Herff College of Engineering

★ University College

★ Loewenberg School of Nursing

★ School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology

★ Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

★ Graduate School
The University of Memphis is host to several centers of advanced research:

★ FedEx Institute of Technology

★ Center for Earthquake Research and Information

★ Institute for Intelligent Systems

★ Advanced Distributed Learning Workforce Co-Lab

History

In 1909, the Tennessee Legislature enacted the General Education Bill. This bill stated that three colleges be established within each grand division of the state and one additional school for Colored (African-American) students. After much bidding and campaigning, the state had to choose between two sites to build the new college for West Tennessee: Jackson, Tennessee and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis was chosen, one of the main reasons being the proximity of the rail line to the site proposed to build the new college for West Tennessee. This would allow professors and students to go home and visit their relatives. The other three schools established through the General Education Act are modern-day East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee State University.
On September 10, 1912, West Tennessee Normal School opened in Memphis; its first president was Seymour A. Mynders. After Mynders' death in 1913, John Willard Brister was chosen to take his place. After Brister's resignation in 1918, Andrew A. Kincannon became president. In 1924, Brister returned to his post as president of the school.
The name changed in 1925 to West Tennessee State Teachers College. In 1931, the campus' first newspaper, ''The Tiger Rag'', was established. In 1939, Richard C. Jones became president of WTSTC. In 1941, the school was changed to Memphis State College, when the college expanded its liberal arts curriculum. In 1943, Dr. Jennings B. Sanders succeeded Jones as president. Three years later, the first alumnus to become president, J. Millard (Jack) Smith, was appointed. In 1951 MSC awarded its first B.A. degrees. In 1957 the school received full University status, and changed its name accordingly.
1959 marked the university's admitting its first group of black students, five years after Brown v. Board of Education. Among the restrictions faced by black students at the time were that they had to leave campus by noon each day and that they were not allowed to eat in the cafeteria. Dr. Cecil C. Humphreys became president of MSU, succeeding Smith, in 1960. In 1966, the school began awarding doctoral degrees. Humphreys resigned as MSU president to become the first chancellor of the newly formed State University and Community College System, later renamed the Tennessee Board of Regents. John Richardson was appointed interim president.
In 1973, Dr. Billy Mac Jones became president. Also that year, the Memphis State Tiger men's basketball team reached the finals of the NCAA tournament, only to fall at the hands of a UCLA team led by future NBA star Bill Walton in the championship game in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1980, Dr. Thomas Carpenter became president of MSU; he was succeeded by Dr. V. Lane Rawlins in 1991. On July 1, 1994, after years of research and surveys, Memphis State University changed its name again, to the University of Memphis - a name change inspired by Ms. Christina Trinh, wife of former president Carpenter.
Dr. Rawlins served for slightly over a decade; Dr. Ralph Faudree filled in as interim president for one year after Rawlins' retirement. In 2002, U of M installed its first female president, Dr. Shirley C. Raines, who serves to this day.

Campus

The University of Memphis campus is located approximately east of downtown in the University District neighborhood of midtown Memphis. It has an area of 1,160 acres, although this figure does not include the law school due to be relocated in the former United States federal courthouse in downtown Memphis in 2009. The historical core of campus encompasses approximately 30 acres. The University of Memphis is located geographically at . (Click here to see a campus map.)
Proponents of a more pedestrian-friendly campus have significantly increased the amount of green space and the number of walkways over the past several years, while maintaining a focus on the original and historic architecture of the campus.
Surrounding the University's main campus are several historic Southern neighborhoods to the north and east, as well as the University District neighborhood and the Highland Strip to the west. Many University of Memphis college students also reside in homes to the south of the main campus.

Layout

The University of Memphis campus is set out in a rectilinear format, planned as a geometric design similar to the Jeffersonian style of the University of Virginia.
Despite gradual expansion of the campus to the west and south, the campus is fairly compact and retains a park-like, tree-lined setting. The farthest distance on campus takes about 25 minutes to walk. According to the most recent master plan, the University is projecting to expand and redevelop additional areas one block west of the main campus' current western boundary of Patterson Road, making Highland Avenue as the "defacto" entrance to the University.

Main campus

The center of the main campus comprises buildings that made up the original campus. The first college buildings, including Scates Hall, Manning Hall, and the Administration Building, were erected in the early 1900s. This section stretches from Deloach Avenue south to the end of the main campus at Walker Avenue, with most buildings surrounding the Alumni Mall and Student Plaza. The majority of the buildings of the arts and humanities departments, as well as those of the Physics and Astronomy departments of the College of Arts and Science, are located in the original areas of campus.


Flanking the original area of campus to the east are the areas of major research for the life sciences and Engineering departments, including J.R. Smith Hall, the Life Sciences building and the Herff College of Engineering complex, as well as the Education department, residing in E.C. Ball Hall. The Ned R. McWherter Library, a state-of-the art library facility and one of the premier research libraries of the Mid-South United States, takes up the eastern part of the campus adjacent to Dunavant Plaza and Emeriti Grove.

The nothwestern area of the main campus includes the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, the Fogelman Executive Center (a major conference center for regional executives visiting the University, and the FedEx Institute of Technology, a major research contributor in the areas of Supply Chain Management, nanotechnology, robotics and intelligent systems.
The western edge and southwest corner include Johnson Hall (comprising the Geography and Geology departments), Patterson Hall (housing the English department), Wilder Tower, Greek Row and the bulk of the University of Memphis residence halls. As the University presses ahead with its planned expansion, many more facilities, pedestrian access and green space will also be created with the renovation and development of the currently-residential block east of Patterson Road in the University District neighborhood.

Park Avenue Campus

Directly south of the main campus along the corner of Park Avenue and Getwell Road sits the Park Avenue Campus. The Park Avenue Campus is home not only to various intramural athletics programs and facilities, but also to various research facilities, classrooms and the Speech and Audiology Pathology Center. Future plans include a regulation indoor soccer stadium and track facility, capable of hosting large-scale NCAA Division I track-and-field meets.

Athletics

The University of Memphis is a Division I member of the NCAA, and a member of Conference USA. Memphis currently features nine women's sports and nine men's sports.
Recent professional athletes from the University of Memphis include: DeAngelo Williams (Carolina Panthers), Stephen Gostkowski (kicker, New England Patriots), Rodney Carney (forward, Philadelphia 76ers), Shawne Williams (forward, Indiana Pacers), Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (Miami Heat), Lorenzen Wright (forward/center, Atlanta Hawks), Sean Banks, former NBA players Keith Lee, Dajuan Wagner, Elliot Perry and Cedric Henderson, Danny Wimprine (quarterback, Calgary Stampeders), Larry Finch (former Memphis Tams player), Antonio Burks (guard, KK Crvena Zvezda), Darius Washington Jr. (guard, CEZ Basketball Nymburk)and Earl Barron, (center, Miami Heat).

Basketball

The school is most well known for having the most consistently highest-ranked college basketball team in Tennessee. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight two years in a row (2006 and 2007) and those same years won the conference championship, going undefeated in conference play in 2007. Their record for those two seasons is 66-8. In 2007, the team has been ranked number 1 in ESPN's and CBSsportsline.com's Summer Polls. The Tigers return all five starters and add heralded freshman recruits Derrick Rose and Jeff Robinson to the mix for the 2007-08 season. As of pre-season 2007, the Tigers are favored by many to win the NCAA Division I Championship.

The program gained national prominence when it reached the 1973 NCAA Division I basketball championship game, led by Tiger stars Larry Finch, Larry Kenon, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Cook and others, eventually losing to John Wooden's UCLA Bruins.
The Tigers continued an era of excellence throughout the 1980s and went to the Final Four in 1985 losing to Villanova, the ultimate winner of the tournament. Success continued in the 1990s, and into the present under current head coach John Calipari. Perennial rivals include Gonzaga University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Louisville (both now in the Big East Conference, which Memphis once bid to join in 2003) and their cross-state rivals, the University of Tennessee. The world record holder for the highest slam dunk (12 feet from floor to rim) is a former University of Memphis basketball forward, and current Harlem Globetrotter Michael Wilson. At home, the Tigers play on Beale Street in the state-of-the-art FedExForum. The Tigers currently own the longest active home court winning streak in NCAA basketball at 32 games and are tied nationally for the most consecutive weeks ranked in the AP and Coaches top 25.

Football

The Memphis football program has emerged as a strong contender among its Conference USA rivals under the guidance of head coach Tommy West. The U of M went to three consecutive bowl games between 2004 and 2006. In 2005, the Tigers football team was led in the Motor City Bowl by DeAngelo Williams, a then-senior All-American running back, Heisman candidate, and eventual first-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers of the NFL.

Greek Life

Fraternities

★ Zeta Beta Tau

★ Kappa Alpha Order

★ Sigma Phi Epsilon

★ Kappa Sigma

★ Alpha Tau Omega

★ Lambda Chi Alpha

★ Pi Kappa Phi

★ Phi Gamma Delta

★ Sigma Chi

★ Sigma Alpha Epsilon

★ Omega Psi Phi

★ Alpha Phi Alpha

★ Phi Beta Sigma

★ Kappa Alpha Psi

Sororities

★ Alpha Gamma Delta

★ Phi Mu

★ Kappa Delta

★ Pi Beta Phi

★ Sigma Kappa

★ Delta Gamma

★ Alpha Delta Pi

★ Alpha Kappa Alpha

★ Zeta Phi Beta

★ Delta Sigma Theta

★ Sigma Gamma Rho

List of presidents

★ Seymour A. Mynders (1912-1913)

★ John Willard Brister (1913-1918)

★ Andrew A. Kincannon (1918-1924)

★ John Willard Brister (1924-1939)

★ Richard C. Jones (1939-1943)

★ Jennings B. Sanders (1943-1946)

★ J. Millard (Jack) Smith (1946-1960)

★ Cecil C(larence) Humphreys (1960-1972)

★ John Richardson (1972-1973) interim

★ Billy Mac Jones (1973-1980)

★ Thomas G. Carpenter (1980-1991)

★ V. Lane Rawlins (1991-2000)

★ Ralph Faudree (2000-2001) interim

★ Shirley C. Raines (2001-present)

Notable Alumni

Government, public service, and public policy

★ William Duane Benton, Judge, Supreme Court of Missouri

★ Robert N. Clement - Former U.S. Congressman

★ Bernice Donald - Judge, United States district court

★ W.W. Herenton - Mayor, City of Memphis

★ Benjamin Hooks, Civil rights leader and former executive director of the NAACP

★ Fred Thompson - Actor and former U.S. Senator

Literature, arts, sciences, and media

★ Dixie Carter - Actress

★ Kellye Cash - Miss America 1987

★ Eric Jerome Dickey - Author

★ John Dye - Actor

★ Stan Franklin - Cognitive scientist

★ Barbara Walker Hummel - Miss America 1947

★ Michael Jeter - Actor

★ Wink Martindale - Game show host

★ William Sanderson - Actor

★ Pat Kerr Tigrett - Fashion Designer

Business

★ Todd Adams - Owner, Newby's

★ Martin Belz - President of Belz Enterprises

★ William Dunavant - Chairman of Dunavant Enterprises

★ G. Douglas Edwards - President of Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.

★ J. Kenneth Hazen - President and CEO of CTSI

★ R. Brad Martin - Chairman of the Board/CEO, Saks Incorporated

★ Kenneth May - CEO of FedEx Kinko's

★ James M. Phillips - Chairman and CEO of Luminetx Corporation

★ William C. Rhodes III - Chairman and CEO of AutoZone Corporation

Athletics

★ Earl Barron - Miami Heat - NBA

★ Isaac Bruce - St. Louis Rams - NFL

★ Antonio Burks - Memphis Grizzlies - NBA

★ Rodney Carney - Philadelphia 76ers - NBA

★ Larry Finch - Memphis TAMs - ABA

★ Anfernee Hardaway - Miami Heat - NBA

★ Mike McKenzie - New Orleans Saints - NFL

★ Sam Thomas - All Blacks - Rugby Union

★ Dan Uggla - Florida Marlins - MLB

★ Tamika Whitmore - Indiana Fever - WNBA

★ DeAngelo Williams - Carolina Panthers- NFL

★ Shawne Williams - Indiana Pacers - NBA

★ Lorenzen Wright - Atlanta Hawks - NBA

Notable Professors & Scholars

★ Bela Bollobas - A prominent mathematician who is known for his work in combinatorics. He was Fields Medal winner Timothy Gowers' dissertation advisor. With 18 articles co-written with Paul Erdos, he has an Erdos number 1.[3]

★ Ralph Faudree - A prominent Erdos number 1 mathematician with a focus on Ramsey Theory, he is currently provost of the university. With 50 articles co-authored with Erdos, only two other persons have co-authored with Erdos on more papers.[4]

★ Shelby Foote - Prominent Civil War historian

★ Stan Franklin - A cognitive scientist, Franklin is a leading proponent of artificial consciousness. [5]

★ Benjamin Hooks - Attorney and fmr. executive director of the NAACP

★ Jeno Lehel - An Erdos number 1 mathematician whose expertise is hypergraph theory.[6]

★ Cecil C. Rousseau - a famous Erdos number 1 mathematician who is known for his work in graph theory. With 35 articles co-authored with Paul Erdos, he is among the ten mathematicians that most co-authored with Paul Erdos. [7]

★ Otto Schaden - Famous ancient Egyptian archeology expert.

★ Richard Schelp - An Erdos number 1 mathematician with expertise in graph theory, he co-authored 42 papers with Paul Erdos, which places him among the five mathematicians that co-authored most frequently with Erdos.[8]

Current Events

National headline on female athletes

Memphis formerly required female athletes on scholarship to sign a document acknowledging that they could lose their scholarships should they become pregnant. Critics suggested that this could force pregnant athletes into abortion.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} As a result of being featured nationally in an Associated Press article, the school discontinuted the policy.^[7]

References

1. The English translation given is the official one. A more literal translation would be ''To imagine'', ''to think'', ''to do''.
2. Pregnant athletes facing tough rules, Associated Press, , , Florida Today, May 13, 2007,
3. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070513/SPORTS/205130406/-1/sports
4. http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070513/REPOSITORY/705130399/1013/NEWS03
5. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/383751,CST-NWS-preg13.article
6. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2875521
7. http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/tigers/article/0,2844,MCA_25363_5545182,00.html

External links

★ University of Memphis - official site

★ Official Memphis athletics site

★ The Daily Helmsman - the school newspaper

★ MemphisTigers.org - Largest Memphis Sports Forum

★ AskTOM - A knowledge base for general information regarding the U of M

★ Memphis Tigers sports message boards

★ University of Memphis Mathematics Faculty

★ University Libraries, University of Memphis