Milligan College

Milligan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in the town of Milligan College, Tennessee. Founded in 1866, the school has a student population of more than 1,200 students, most of whom reside and study on its 235-acre (0.95 km2) campus. Milligan was named a "College of Distinction" in 2011.Milligan College is historically related to the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the a cappella Churches of Christ, with about 35 percent of the student body coming from these religious groups. While the college maintains close ties with the churches which founded it, the school enrolls students from all backgrounds. The college offers over 30 undergraduate programs of study and four graduate programs.

The school began as an endeavor of the Rev. Wilson G. Barker, a Disciples of Christ minister, and the Buffalo Creek Christian Church, a congregation of the Disciples of Christ located on Buffalo Creek in Carter County, Tennessee. While it began as a private secondary school known as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, the institution was elevated to the collegiate level in 1881 with the arrival of the Rev. Dr. Josephus Hopwood and his wife Sarah LaRue Hopwood. Hopwood, a Disciples of Christ minister and educator, came to the school with the understanding that it would become a liberal arts college to train leaders for Disciples of Christ churches and the communities of Appalachia. The name was changed to Milligan College in 1881 in honor of the Professor Robert Milligan, president and professor of Biblical Studies at the College of the Bible, Kentucky University (now Lexington Theological Seminary). Hopwood continued to serve the school as president until 1903 when he left to found Virginia Christian College (now Lynchburg College) in Lynchburg, Virginia. He returned for an interim presidency in 1915–1917.

The Elizabeth Leitner Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts, a center for performing arts, opened in January 2008.It features a 300-seat theater, photography labs, and classrooms for use by the fine arts programs at the college.

As a church-related liberal arts college, Milligan remains closely aligned with the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, a capella churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the three religious bodies that have traditionally supported the school. A campus ministry program and culture of service exist on campus. Alcohol and tobacco use are prohibited on campus.