University of Memphis

Experience the long and storied past of the University of Memphis in this pictorial history told through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

The 100-year transformation of the University of Memphis from a small teacher-training school to a major metropolitan research university is chronicled in Campus History Series: University of Memphis. The West Tennessee Normal School was established in 1912 to provide high school diplomas and teacher credentials to predominately female students. In 1925, the school dropped its high school classes and became the West Tennessee State Teachers College. The institution became a full liberal arts college, Memphis State College, in 1941. Huge gains in postwar enrollment pushed the institution toward university status, which was achieved in 1957. Memphis State University experienced rapid growth, expanding from barely 6,000 students to over 22,000 as the baby boomers came of age. Then, in 1994, signaling its growing stature as a major metropolitan university, the institution was renamed the University of Memphis.