Lane College, located in Jackson, Tennessee, on approximately 55 acres, is a small, private, co-educational, church-related institution that provides a liberal arts curriculum leading to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences. The College admits persons regardless of color, gender, religion, or national origin.
The future of Lane is intimately tied to its historical past. The College was founded by individuals who were committed to assuring that newly freed slaves would be able to "read, write, and speak correctly." The vocational goals of the first students to enroll at the College were in teaching and preaching. It was the founders' view that neither group would be able to influence the more learned individuals in society unless they had academic, spiritual, cultural, and economic qualifications that were equal to their counterparts.
Lane College played a significant role in reducing the rate of illiteracy among blacks in the South in fewer than fifty years. The pool of Lane College graduates has expanded to include alumni who have entered many professional disciplines. The College is confident in its future because of its exceptional progress — due in no small measure to the advocacy and commitment of its faculty and staff, alumni, and friends — all of whom have supported an ambitious agenda of high academic standards, robust support services, new capital improvements, strong financial management, and strict administrative accountability.
While Lane enjoys the substantial advantages accruing from a 133-year tradition of educational progress, the College is more confident in its future than ever before. Under the leadership of President Logan Hampton, the faculty and staff have employed a collaborative approach to establishing a revived culture of student-centered, technology-enhanced teaching and learning. This involves viewing students as clients, life-long learners, and future leaders, and viewing faculty as life-long learning facilitators. They utilize technology as an integral part of the teaching and learning process.
Strong ties to the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the College's Mission is to develop the "whole student." Academic excellence is the institution's top priority, and it is achieved through a student-centered and nurturing approach to learning supported by excellent teaching, teaching-related research, and service. The College believes that one's intellectual capability coupled with social and spiritual growth is essential to developing a well-rounded individual. In keeping with this mission, the College offers creative and enriching academic programs to prepare students for their chosen careers and encourage active student engagement to cultivate lifelong learning.
Lane College provides a liberal arts curriculum leading to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences. The College accepts persons regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, or national origin.
Lane College guides students through programs of intellectual experiences that enable them to identify and develop their Power of Potential ® to meet the demands of decision-making situations through thoughtful, rational, and creative thinking. Students are exhorted to pursue their potential by becoming lifelong learners continuously.
Lane College develops the "whole student." The College fosters academic excellence. The College is also concerned about the student's spiritual, social, and ethical development. The College believes that spiritual growth is an integral part of the development of the individual. Spiritual Life at the College is viewed as a quality-filled experience rather than a specific and narrow range of different activities. Spiritual programs of learning, worship, and service have the purpose of illuminating the life and making life more meaningful.
Students are encouraged and assisted in developing inner strengths and resources needed to follow through and complete tasks, fulfill responsibilities, and live by a workable system of values. The College seeks to help all students achieve self-discipline.
Lane College offers a balanced liberal education and seeks to continue adding to the variety of its curricular offerings to become even more innovative in organization and methodology and continue developing the mature, educated individuals needed in an ever-changing society.
Lane College is grounded in the belief that improvement is a life-long endeavor. Furthermore, it believes democratic participation in American society in an intellectual manner is designed to improve society and its members' opportunities. In a world of continuous change, the College offers programs that develop the attitudes and understandings necessary for leadership and effective participation in a democratic society. The College helps its students become open-minded and tolerant while developing sensitivity for and commitment to improving the human condition.
The mission of Academic Affairs is to prepare students upon graduation to compete successfully with their counterparts from other institutions of higher learning, and, at the same time, to exhibit characteristics of the ideal Lane College graduate through each student. The area of Academic Affairs is dedicated to providing an academic environment that is sensitive and nurturing and to challenge the student to achieve new levels of excellence. This is done primarily on excellent teaching and advising, an enriching curriculum, and an exemplary Academic Support Services. Academic Affairs also proactively endorses the rituals, the traditions, and the overall Mission of the College.
In 1882, one of the nation's first Black Church denominations founded what has since evolved into Lane College. Now referred to as The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, the organization was initially named the Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church in America when it formed in 1870. Among its top priorities was establishing schools to educate the newly freed Negroes following the Civil War. This enterprise of building a school in Tennessee was conceived as early as November 1878 at the CME denomination's Tennessee Annual Conference. The CME church's first Bishop, William H. Miles, presided over the meeting, which convened at the old Capers Chapel CME Church in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference's most pivotal moment occurred when Reverend J.K. Daniels presented a resolution to establish a Tennessee school. Amid much applause, the resolution was adopted, and a committee was appointed to solicit means to purchase a site. Reverends C.H. Lee, J.H. Ridley, Sandy Rivers, Barry Smith, and J. K. Daniels constituted this committee.
From its humble beginnings, Lane College has been a source of inspiration for countless youth and adults throughout this nation. Today, it stands as a symbol of Christian education for persons of all faiths, creeds, colors, and nationalities.
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