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History
A. C. Newman became the 3rd president of the college in 1919 and in 1921 Academic Hall burned to the ground. This was a devastating blow to the college and the school struggled financially until 1924 when philanthropist Douglass C. Smith donated $100,000 to the school. His gift made the construction of the General Classroom Building possible. By 1927, the project was finished. In 1931 an alumnus Louis Mathews (1903), donated money for the construction of a Gymnasium and Auditorium. The project not only added substantially to the college but also to the economy of the area as the Great Depression had hit the area hard. Physically, the college has remained unchanged to this day. In 1943, the college suffered immense financial difficulties. In 1944, the school became funded with an endowment from a wealthy alumnus, under this arrangement the college continued to operate but its faculty and student numbers dropped considerably. The college was renamed The Calhoun-Tsuc College of Missouri. Louis Mathews Gymnasium and Auditorium were used less frequently through the 1960's. In 1968 due to financial difficulties, the decision was made to no longer maintain the Gymnasium and Auditorium. Many college publications began to refer to the institution as Calhoun College, even though the Tsuc name was never officially dropped.
Thanks in large part to the college's fourth president Otto Strasser, Calhoun College remained a totally independent institution and has never accepted any federal or state money. This has allowed the college to maintain traditional conservative values and provide students with an unbiased education. It also led to fewer students and facility upgrades. The survival of the college was very much in doubt through the 1970's and 1980's. Calhoun College had difficulties attracting students. In response, the college began offering international correspondence courses and most students began coming from third world countries with their expenses provided for by their sponsoring governments. In the early 1990's, after decades of
regulatory issues, the Board of
Governor's struggled with the idea of dissolving the college.
Quality faculty and staff turn over was almost complete on a yearly
basis. The physical facilities of the institution were
antiquated by most standards. While enrollment was steady,
something needed to happen for the college to continue into the
new the new century. In 1994, the future of the school was
secured with a gift from the will of Agatha (Graves) Williamson
(1932) in excess of over 8 million dollars. In 1995, President
Gene Hatfield and the Board of Governors decided to invest the
money not in rebuilding the physical campus, but in a technology
infrastructure that would allow students to take online courses
from the college throughout the world. The first year of all
online classes began in January 1997. The decision would prove
disastrous. In 1998, the Board of Governors voted to
explore the possibility of locating a buyer for the college.
Currently, the physical campus is in the process of being mothballed. The present exception is the library, which is in the process of digitalization. Under agreement with the Tsuc Board of Governors, the campus must be maintained until American Freedom College has paid for the campus and its intellectual property in full. At which point, the campus will be donated to the community for a juvenile rehabilitation center. American Freedom College plans to move all academic content completely online in 2007. However, they reserve the right to purchase the campus buildings for their institution if they decide to offer traditional classes. The success and interest in our new approach to education has secured American Freedom College a place in the new century. Although our name has changed, our mission remains as important as ever. PIONEERING
CONSERVATIVE |
