Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
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History
Centenary College of Louisiana is the oldest college in Louisiana and is the nation's oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River. Centenary traces its origins to two earlier institutions. In 1825, the Louisiana state legislature issued a charter for the College of Louisiana at Jackson. Its curriculum included courses in English, French, Greek, Latin, logic, rhetoric, ancient and modern history, mathematics, and natural, moral, and political philosophy. In 1839, the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, established Centenary College, first located in Clinton, Mississippi, then relocated to Brandon Springs. When the College of Louisiana lost the financial support from the state legislature in 1845, Centenary College purchased the facility and moved to Jackson.
In 1846, the college's trustees changed the institution's name to Centenary College of Louisiana and adopted the alumni of the two predecessor colleges. During the 1850s, enrollment reached 260, and the college constructed a large central building, which included classrooms, laboratories, literary society rooms, a library, a chapel, offices, and an auditorium with seating for over 2,000 people. This prosperity halted with the American Civil War. Following a meeting on October 7, 1861, the faculty minute book states, "Students have all gone to war. College suspended; and God help the right!" During the war, both Confederate and Union troops occupied the campus’ buildings. Centenary reopened in the fall of 1865, though it struggled financially through the remainder of the nineteenth century. In 1906 the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, accepted an offer from the Shreveport Progressive League to relocate the college. The Jackson campus now serves as the Centenary State Historic Site operated by the Louisiana Office of State Parks; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Centenary opened in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1908. Enrollment and course offerings increased during the 1920s, and Centenary received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1925. During the 1920s and 1930s, the college's football program earned fame for defeating such teams as Baylor, LSU, Rice, SMU, and Texas A & M. The Centenary College Choir, formed in 1941, began performing throughout the region and eventually expanded to making national as well as international tours. In 1942, Centenary acquired Dodd College, which was a junior college for girls, and converted it into a satellite campus, which served as a pre-flight training facility for air force cadets. Following the Second World War, the college undertook many new construction projects – dormitories, a cafeteria, a science building, a religious education center, a chapel, an expanded student center, a library, a theater, and a music building.
Presidents
College of Louisiana (Jackson, Louisiana)
Jeremiah Chamberlain (1826–1829)
Henry H. Gird (1829–1834)
James Shannon (1835–1840)
William B. Lacey (1841–1845)
Centenary College (Brandon Springs, Mississippi)
Thomas C. Thornton (1841–1844)
Centenary College of Louisiana (Jackson, Louisiana)
David O. Shattuck (1844–1848)
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet (1848–1849)
Richard H. Rivers (1849–1853)
John C. Miller (1855–1866)
William H. Watkins (1866–1871)
Charles G. Andrews (1871–1882)
D. M. Rush (1882–1885)
T. A. S. Adams (1885–1888)
W. L. C. Hunnicutt (1888–1894)
Charles W. Carter (1894–1898)
Inman J. Cooper (1898–1902)
Henry B. Carre (1902–1903)
Charles C. Miller (1903–1906)
Centenary College of Louisiana (Shreveport, Louisiana)
Campus
Centenary College's campus spans sixty-five acres and is located two miles south of downtown Shreveport. The Dr. Ed Leuck Academic Arboretum, located in the heart of campus, is home to more than 300 species of plant life.
Major buildings
The Anderson Choral Building, named in memory of G. M. "Jake" and Dr. Gertie Anderson, longtime trustees and benefactors of the college, the building houses the Nancy Mikell Carruth Choir Room, the Dr. Alberta E. Broyles Choral Room, and the Harvey and Alberta Broyles Choral Lounge. The Anderson building also contains a soundproof practice room and atrium.
The Brown Memorial Chapel was erected in 1955, after a gift was made by the late Paul M. Brown, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees, and his brother, Colonel S. Perry Brown, a life member of the Board, in honor of their parents. The chapel was renovated and rededicated in January 2003 and hosts religious services and special events.
Bynum Memorial Commons, the cafeteria, built in 1956, was named in 1974 to honor Robert Jesse Bynum, New Orleans businessman and benefactor of the college. A generous grant from the Frost Foundation funded a 2006 renovation of the entire building, including the Edwin Frost Whited Room and the Centenary Alumni Hall of Fame.
The Gold Dome, completed in 1971, is a physical education facility. The geodesic dome has a capacity of 3,000 and serves as the home basketball and volleyball court and gymnastics arena. After a recent renovation in 2011, the Gold Dome features a new hardwood painted floor, updated sub-floor electronics, premium seating, and a new Hi-Fi public address system.
Hamilton Hall, the administration building completed in 1971, was largely the result of gifts by the late Mr. and Mrs. David Philip Hamilton. Mrs. Hamilton was a trustee of the college and a member of the first Centenary class to graduate in Shreveport.
The Hargrove Memorial Amphitheatre was a gift of Mrs. R. H. Hargrove and her children and was built in memory of her husband, Mr. Reginald H. Hargrove. It is used for convocations, plays, and concerts.
The Meadows Museum of Art, established in 1975, was created from the gift of Centenary alumnus Algur H. Meadows. After donating 360 works by the French artist Jean Despujols, Meadows also provided funding to renovate the former administrative building into a museum. The museum's permanent collection now includes around 1500 works by various artists and regularly hosts exhibits that aim to educate students and the public on the importance of art.
Academics
Centenary is a liberal arts college with 25 undergraduate arts and sciences programs and 2 graduate programs. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's and master's degrees. The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
Athletics
Centenary is currently a member of the NCAA Division III's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), having moved from the American Southwest Conference (ASC) after the 2011–12 academic year. Prior to July 2011, the college was a member of The Summit League in NCAA Division I.
Centenary fields 20 intercollegiate athletic teams including football, baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming for men; and basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball for women.
Centenary College of Louisiana had previously fielded a football team from 1909 to 1947. On November 10, 2021, the college announced that it would be reviving its football team. The team began play during the 2024 college football season. www.gocentenary.com
Press
Les Éditions Tintamarre, a publishing house devoted to works in Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole, operates under the auspices of the college press.
Notable people
Faculty and staff
William Marbury Carpenter – faculty 1837–1842, natural scientist
Earle Labor – faculty 1955–1962 and 1966–2008, official biographer of novelist Jack London; curator of the Jack London Museum in Shreveport
Arthur C. Morgan – faculty 1928–1933, sculptor
Other
Solomon W. Downs (honorary Doctor of Laws 1851) – attorney and politician
Murphy J. Foster (honorary Doctor of Laws 1893) – governor of Louisiana
Charles Gayarré (honorary Master of Arts 1852) – historian, attorney, and politician
Eldred Kurtz Means (honorary Doctor of Divinity 1925) – pastor
Rose Van Thyn (1921–2010, honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 2002) – Holocaust survivor; Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture; Van Thyn Endowed Professorship