Heritage
Blue Mountain Christian University was founded in 1873 by General Mark Perrin Lowrey. A village preacher before the war, General Lowrey was a man of vision who saw the importance of providing a thorough education for women. He and his two oldest daughters made up the faculty at what was then known as Blue Mountain Female Institute. Despite the fact that the education of women was not very popular in 1873 and the South was poor, General Lowrey and his daughters enrolled fifty students the first session.
Miss Modena Lowrey, who later became Mrs. Modena Lowrey Berry, served as “Lady Principal” and then as Vice-President from 1873 to 1934. It is believed that she served in these capacities longer than any other American woman has ever served as a major college official. She was the second woman in the state’s history to be named to the Mississippi Hall of Fame.
The leadership of Blue Mountain Christian University remained in the Lowrey family until 1960 when Dr. Wilfred C. Tyler, a twenty-four-year professor of Bible at the College, assumed the presidency and served until his death in 1965. Dr. E. Harold Fisher became the sixth president in 1965 and served until 2001. Dr. Bettye Rogers Coward, the seventh president, served from 2001-2012. The current president is Dr. Barbara Childers McMillin, who assumed office on August 1, 2012.
During the early 1950's, Blue Mountain Christian University opened its doors to educating men who were called into the ministry. For the next five decades, hundreds of men received their bachelor degrees and paved the way to a historic moment in the life of the University when men received full access to all programs of the University. In 2005, the Board of Trustees of Blue Mountain Christian University voted unanimously to take the University into full co-educational status. Since that time, the University’s administration, faculty, and staff have diligently worked to transitioning the University toward its new future.
On October 7, 2022, the Blue Mountain Christian University Board of Trustees approved the change of the College's name to Blue Mountain Christian University. This prompted the change from Departments to Schools for Business and Education, since both already had Deans.
Blue Mountain Christian University has over the years sought to prepare students for meaningful lives. Emphasis has been given to the development of strength of character and the ability to live creatively. Through small classes, a close faculty-student relationship, and a focus on the importance of the individual, the University has endeavored to produce graduates who are well prepared academically and spiritually to accept places of leadership in their professions, in their communities, and in the work of the denomination.