Knoxville Medical College

Not to be confused with Knoxville College.
Knoxville Medical College
Location
Map
520 College Street,
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Coordinates35°58′01″N 83°56′14″W / 35.967021°N 83.937105°W / 35.967021; -83.937105
Information
School typeAfrican American medical school
Established1900
FounderHenry Morgan Green
Closed1910
PresidentHenry Morgan Green
DeanE. M. Randall

Knoxville Medical College (1900–1910) was an American medical college segregated for Black students in Mechanicsville neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee.[1][2][3] It was short lived in part because of its reputation of "mediocrity" in its training, and the for-profit model.[4]

History

After the closure of the medical department at Knoxville College in 1900, Knoxville Medical College was organized as a replacement facility that opened on December 6, 1900 by the City of Knoxville.[1][5] At the time of its opening, the only other Black medical school in the state was Meharry Medical College in Nashville.[5]

The campus was a single floor in a building, located above an undertaker's business. It was initially located near the corner of College (formerly Clinton Road) and Deaderick streets,[1] now Rogers Memorial Baptist Church. The school did not have a strict admissions requirement and only required a high school diploma.[1] The students had limited clinical training and no campus facilities, and it required visits to the nearby Knoxville New City Hospital.[1][4]

Faculty

Knoxville Medical College founding president was Henry Morgan Green.[1][6][4] The school dean at the time of opening was E. M. Randall, who had served as dean at Knoxville College the year prior.[5][7] Other faculty members included William Wallace Derrick, a Black physician whom had previously taught at the medical department at Knoxville College;[1][4] A. G. Edwards; W. H. Moore; John Clear; and J. H. Morton.[5]

Final year and closure

In January 1909, the school was visited by Abraham Flexner who authored the critical Flexner Report (1910) about the state of medical education.[1]

By 1910, Knoxville Medical College was forced to close, most likely due to the poor educational conditions and its reputation for "mediocrity" in its training.[1][4] The college had graduated 21 students in the 10 years of operations.[2] After the closure of Knoxville Medical College, Lincoln Memorial University bought the college in 1910.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Watson, Wilbur (2017-12-02). Against the Odds: Blacks in the Profession of Medicine in the United States. Routledge. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-1-351-53334-8.
  2. ^ a b Booker, Robert (2020-11-18). "Tennessee Medical College Lasted 25 Years, Had Ties with LMU". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. pp. A21. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  3. ^ "Grave robbing not confined to movies in city's history". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 2007-10-30. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ward, Thomas J. (2010-02-01). Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-55728-936-0.
  5. ^ a b c d "Will Open December 6". The Journal and Tribune. 1900-12-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  6. ^ "Dr. Henry Morgan Green". James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University.
  7. ^ Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Knoxville College. Knoxville College. Ogden Brothers & Company. May 1889. p. 27.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ "Commencement at Medical School". The Journal and Tribune. 1910-04-10. p. 27. Retrieved 2023-04-08.