Judson College was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

Marion, Alabama Marion is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...

. It was founded in 1838 and suspended its academic operations on July 31, 2021.

History

Judson College was founded by members of Siloam Baptist Church in 1838, making it the fifth-oldest women's college in the country at the time of its 2021 closure. Judson was named after

Ann Hasseltine Judson Ann Hasseltine Judson (December 22, 1789 – October 24, 1826), nicknamed "Nancy", was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. Biography Ann Hasseltine attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read ''Strictures ...

, the first female foreign

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

from the United States to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(now

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

). Businesswoman Julia Tarrant Barron and General Edwin Davis King, with the support of other members of Siloam Baptist Church, enlisted the help of Dr. Milo Parker Jewett, a recent graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

. Jewett had come to Alabama with the goal of establishing a school for young women that would provide them with the same quality of education that young men received at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. Jewett became the first president of Judson and later of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. Judson was affiliated with the

Alabama Baptist Convention The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (ALSBOM) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Alabama formed in 1823. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern/Great Commission Baptists. The ...

throughout its history and received funding from the convention. The college was granted an exception to

Title IX Title IX is a landmark 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 education program that receiv ...

in 2015 which allowed it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. Enrollment at Judson in 2019 was 268 and the college offered

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Neo-Latin, Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and university, universities upon completion of a course of study lasting ...

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

and pre-professional programs. In 2020 the college experienced severe financial challenges due to declining enrollment and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In December, the college's president issued an urgent plea for $500,000 in donations to prevent the college from closing immediately. Although it had raised $1.3 million, enrollment dropped from 145 in the fall of 2020 to 80 for the fall of 2021. In May 2021, the college's board of trustees voted to close the college and begin

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy proceedings. The college closed its residence halls after the spring semester ended and suspended academic operations after the summer term ending July 31, 2021. In 2022, the school's archives were transferred to

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

, a sister school, founded in Marion which relocated to Birmingham in 1887. In 2024, court documents showed that Judson College had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, three years after initially planning to do so.

Campus

The principal building of the campus at the time of the school's closure was Jewett Hall, the third of this name. The first Jewett Hall, built in 1840, was a four-story

Greek revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building named after Milo P. Jewett. It was destroyed by fire in 1888. The rebuilding of Jewett Hall was begun that same year. In 1947 the dome was hit by a lightning strike and fire consumed the building. Rebuilding efforts began almost immediately, and funds were raised by the sale of bricks from the rubble. A third fire occurred in the attic of this building as mattresses were lit on fire, but the fire was put out with little damage to the building. Other notable buildings on campus include A. Howard Bean Hall, a former Carnegie library which now houses the

Alabama Women's Hall of Fame The Alabama Women's Hall of Fame honors the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Alabama. Established in 1970, the first women were inducted the following year. The Hall of Fame was originally located on the campus of Judson Co ...

as well as 2 classrooms, the Alumnae Auditorium, and the Women's Missionary Union residence hall.

Student life

Judson College participated in joint social and civic events with

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...

, also located in Marion. Many of these events and traditions date as far back as the Civil War and are connected culturally to that era. Judson College was ranked among the "Absolute Worst Campuses for

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

Youth" in the US by

Campus Pride Campus Pride is an American national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes and Shane L. Windmeyer in 2001 which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders and/or campus o ...

Notable alumnae

* Titilayo Adedokun (1973-), singer (soprano) and beauty queen *

Gwen Bristow Gwen Bristow (September 16, 1903 – August 17, 1980) was an American writer and journalist, best known for her tales of the Old South, especially the "Plantation Trilogy." In 1974, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Early life ...

(1903-1980), author *

Caroline Dormon Caroline "Carrie" Coroneos Dormon (July 19, 1888 – November 21, 1971) was an American naturalist, ethnographer, and writer in Louisiana. She was a pioneer conservationist and was involved in the establishment of the Kisatchie National Forest and ...

(1888–1971), botanist and authorCaroline C. Dormon, ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. 1 (1988), p. 251 *

Scottie McKenzie Frasier Scottie McKenzie Frasier (1884-1964) was an American teacher, author, newspaper editor, lecturer, and socialite. She became a suffrage advocate while living in New York City and co-founded the Dothan Equal Suffrage Association after removing to Dot ...

(1884-1964), teacher, author, lecturer, and suffragist *

Margaret Lea Houston Margaret Lea Houston (April 11, 1819 – December 3, 1867) was First Lady of the Republic of Texas during her husband Sam Houston's second term as President of the Republic of Texas. They met following the first of his two non-consecutive terms ...

(1819–1867), First Lady of Texas *

Billie Young Billie Jean Young (July 21, 1947 – March 31, 2021) was an American actress, activist, poet and educator. She lived in Marion, Alabama, from where she traveled the world to teach and work with young people. She graduated from Judson College, ...

(1947-2021), actress, activist, poet and educator. *

Evelyn Daniel Anderson Evelyn Daniel Anderson (August 2, 1926 – October 7, 1998) was an American educator and advocate for physically disabled people. Early life and education Anderson was the daughter of Dr. Thomas J. Anderson and Frances Daniel Anderson of G ...

(August 2, 1926 – October 7, 1998), American educator and advocate for the physically disabled. *

Mary Ward Brown Mary Ward Brown (June 18, 1917 – May 14, 2013) was an American short story writer and memoirist. Her works largely feature Alabama as a setting and have received several awards. Early life Brown was born on June 18, 1917, in Hamburg, Alabama ...

(June 18, 1917 – May 14, 2013), American short story writer and memoirist. *

Janie Shores Janie Ledlow Shores (April 30, 1932 – August 9, 2017) was a judge on the Supreme Court of Alabama who was the first woman to ever serve on that court. Shores also was considered by President Bill Clinton in 1993 as a possible nominee to the U ...

(April 30, 1932 – August 9, 2017)

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the U.S. state, state of Alabama. The court consists of a Chief Justice, chief justice and eight Associate Justice, associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for stagge ...

judge and first woman to ever serve on that court.

Namesake colleges

Judson University Judson University is a Private university, private Baptist university in Elgin, Illinois. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Judson was formed out of the liberal arts component of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. When ...

(Illinois) is the namesake of Ann Judson's husband,

Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (; August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary who worked in Burma for almost 40 years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Education in Perry County, Alabama Universities and colleges established in 1838 Women's education in Alabama Liberal arts colleges in Alabama Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention USCAA member institutions Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Historic districts in Perry County, Alabama 1838 establishments in Alabama Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Perry County, Alabama Defunct private universities and colleges in Alabama Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Marion, Alabama Educational institutions disestablished in 2021 2021 disestablishments in Alabama