The college administration building on the campus of Knoxville College is now a total loss following a massive fire. The Knoxville Fire Department is still looking into what caused the fire that destroyed the 100-year-old building.
Knoxville College was founded in 1875 by the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The private HBCU lost its accreditation in 1997 after more than 20 years of financial struggle. Now the college is finally ready to apply for reaccreditation after more than 25 years without it. The college submitted an application to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools to regain accreditation.
“The light on the hill has never burned out,” said former interim president Dr. Keith Lindsey. “We’ve got to learn from past mistakes in order to move this school forward. If Knoxville College wasn’t meant to be here, it wouldn’t be here. And for those who say this school needs to be closed, they just don’t understand the significance of why this school is here in the first place and why it has continued to endure.”
Enrollment at the college started to decline in the 1970s. Due to a combination of administrative issues, decreasing enrollment, and financial concerns, Knoxville College’s accreditation was revoked in 1997. After enrollment fell to just 11 students, the institution stopped courses and lost its state accreditation in 2015. Several of the institution’s structures were considered public safety issues, and it owed millions of dollars in debt. In 2018, Knoxville College received permission from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to restart classes, but it has only offered online courses after college officials started addressing persistent issues and repaired its administrative facility.
“We have gone through the process as a board in reviewing each of the 17 categories the school must meet that make up the application, and we have approved all of those. So now it’s just a matter of submission, and as soon as we send that off, we will make that information available to the public. I am confident that will happen within the next 30 days, said Knoxville College Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Michael Bowie back in August.
There has yet to be an update on whether Knoxville College’s accreditation has been reinstated.
