Go to Table of ContentsTennessee Technological University was established by an act of the General Assembly in 1915 and opened its doors to students the following year. The University began operation on the campus which had belonged to Dixie College, a private institution founded in 1911. The purchase of the Dixie campus property and the erection of two dormitories, East and West Halls, were funded by Putnam County and the city of Cookeville. Since then, the growth of the institution has been closely interwoven with the development of the Upper Cumberland region.
From 1916 to 1924, Tennessee Polytechnic Institute offered work only on a high school and junior college level. By 1929, however, the Tennessee Board of Education had authorized a complete college program and the first class of four-year graduates received their baccalaureate degrees in June.
In 1938 the instructional program was reorganized into two main divisions: the Arts and Sciences and the Professional and Technical Subjects. These divisions were renamed schools nine years later. In 1949 the administrative structure was expanded into five schools consisting of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture and Home Economics (now Agriculture and Human Ecology), Business Administration, Education, and Engineering. In 1950, the department of Military Science was added, and in 1951 commissioned its first class of officers. The Graduate School program was authorized in 1958. The five undergraduate schools were designated as colleges in 1965 when Tennessee Polytechnic Institute gained university status and changed its name to Tennessee Technological University. In 1980 the School of Nursing began classes. Since 1972 the university has been governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
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