Williams Baptist University is a private

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

university in

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas Walnut Ridge is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north ...

. Founded in 1941, this institution began as a two-year school. It began granting

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

s in 1984 and master's degrees in 2017. The name of the school was changed in 1991 from Southern Baptist College to Williams Baptist College in honor of its founder and first president, H. E. Williams. In 2018, its name was changed to Williams Baptist University. Williams has been accredited since 1963 by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. The university is owned and operated by the

Arkansas Baptist State Convention The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) was founded on September 21, 1848, at Brownsville Church in Tulip in Dallas County, Arkansas as an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention. The first president was Isaac Perkins, and its first secre ...

, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

LGBT prohibition

WBU has been granted a partial exemption to

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

that allows it to discriminate against

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

students for religious reasons. The school does not allow same-sex dating or any type of sex outside of a heterosexual marriage.

Athletics

The Williams Baptist athletic teams are called the Eagles. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

American Midwest Conference The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The c ...

(AMC) since the 2001–02 academic year. The Eagles previously competed in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC) from 1995–96 to 2000–01, and in the

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference The Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) was an athletic conference in existence from 1927 or 1928 to 1995 affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference membership consisted entirely of colleges ...

(AIC) from about 1990–91 to 1994–95. Williams Baptist competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, track & field, wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading.

Notable alumni

* Jack Ladyman, mechanical engineer from Jonesboro and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for a portion of Craighead County

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
Universities and colleges affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention Private universities and colleges in Arkansas Baptist Christianity in Arkansas Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges established in 1941 Buildings and structures in Lawrence County, Arkansas Education in Lawrence County, Arkansas 1941 establishments in Arkansas {{Arkansas-university-stub