time, the college was one of only a handful of coeducational colleges in the Southern United States.
In 1886, college president John F. Spence changed the name to "Grant Memorial University" in an attempt to receive financial support from Northern benefactors.
In 1889, it merged with Chattanooga University to form "U.S. Grant Memorial University" (U.S. Grant University; U.S. being Grant's given names), becoming the consolidated university's Athens branch campus. Seventeen years later (1906), it was renamed the "Athens School of the University of Chattanooga".
In 1925, the college split from Chattanooga to become "Tennessee Wesleyan College" and served as a junior college. Tennessee Wesleyan became a liberal arts college in 1957 when it began awarding bachelor's degrees.
In February 2016, the school announced that they would change their name to Tennessee Wesleyan University, effective July 1, 2016. The decision would be the first name change for the school in 91 years.
== Academics ==
=== Articulation …
