George Wythe University (GWU) was an unaccredited, non-profit university in Salt Lake City, Utah. GWU's curriculum borrowed from the Great Books of the Western World published in 1952 by Britannica and it claimed that its methodology was based on the

Socratic seminar The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ou ...

and Oxford tutorial system. The school was named in honor of George Wythe, mentor to Thomas Jefferson. The college closed in August 2016. According to the '' Salt Lake Tribune'', "the education at George Wythe University is unorthodox and undoubtedly conservative, pushing a small-government vision, and has roots in the teachings of Cleon Skousen." Skousen is "a significant figure in far-right politics", a frequent speaker for the John Birch Society, and was portrayed on the cover of its magazine. The university received "bad publicity for awarding degrees students never really earned", based on administrators granting "life experience credits". In a highly unusual move, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection required the university to end operations in August 2016 because its degrees were of questionable value and the university was misleading students. A Ph.D. the university awarded to Ann Tracy was revoked.

History

Founding

George Wythe College (GWC) was organized in 1992 as a subsidiary of the

Institute for Constitutional Education The Institute for Constitutional Education (ICE) was a conservative constitutionalist organization operating in Southern Utah from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. It was formerly part of the National Center for Constitutional Studies and was later ...

with

Donald N. Sills Dr. Donald N. Sills (February 14, 1937 - June 15, 2010) was a Baptist minister and one of the founders of George Wythe College, and previous chairman of the George Wythe Foundation Board of Trustees. He served as the first president of George Wyth ...

as president. The school opened that fall as a Utah branch of

Coral Ridge Baptist University Coral Ridge Baptist University (CRBU) was a Bible college and seminary in Florida. It merged with Freedom University and Seminary in 2001. History CRBU was founded by a group of Baptist ministers and non-denominational ministers, affiliated wit ...

(CRBU). Over the next several years the school awarded bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees across a range of subjects, including finance, youth and family counseling, history, Near Eastern Studies, and education. In 1997 a steering committee formalized the school's comprehensive academic program, integrating the methodology, motto and mission into a cohesive liberal arts model which it called the Five Pillars of Statesmanship. In 1999, George Wythe Foundation was created to commence fundraising efforts, and by 2000 the college expanded its faculty and administration to include 13 employees plus support staff.

Independence and growth

In January 2002, the college became independent from CRBU through a transfer of ownership to George Wythe Foundation. At this time the school realigned its policies and narrowed its degree programs to the four specific degrees that most closely matched its mission, namely: B.A in Statesmanship; M.A. degrees in Political Economy and Education; and a Ph.D in Constitutional Law. This notably reduced the religious emphasis that existed previously.

Expansion

In 2006 a master plan was presented for reorganizing under a university model with multiple colleges on several campuses. In August 2008 the school announced the designation of "university" status granted by the State of Utah, and the Board decision to formally adopt the change, as it broke ground on its second campus in Monticello, Utah. At this same groundbreaking ceremony it was also announced that the school's leadership would assume new titles under the university model, with head administrator Shanon Brooks being named university president and chief academic Oliver DeMille receiving the title of chancellor. Temporary remote headquarters were set up in a local historical monument known as the Hyland Hotel and classes were held with 19 students. Intentions for a third campus were announced for Alberta, Canada. In February 2009 the school announced plans to offer live online classes. This announcement coincided with the resignation of Brooks as president, the appointment of Andrew Groft as the university's interim president, and the cancellation of the chancellor model incident to the retirement of DeMille, due to health problems. In April 2012, the Board of Trustees announced a feasibility study rejecting Monticello as a viable campus site and returned the donated land. In October 2015, the new administration announced that it had been looking at options for being acquired, which it intended to complete by August 2016.

Alumni

* Jim Hillyer, elected Member of Parliament (MP) in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

in the 2011 general election

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in Utah Educational institutions established in 1992 Educational institutions disestablished in 2016 Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States 1992 establishments in Utah