WILEY COLLEGE

Dr. Thomas Winston Cole, Sr. (1915 - 2001),was selected as the tenth president to lead Wiley College in 1958.  He was a 1934 graduate of Wiley College and the first layman to hold the position.  His visionary goal was to build on the great traditions established by his predecessors. 

 

 In 1960, Wiley College was admitted to full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (SACS).  In addition, a new building program was established including a complete renovation of the Refectory together with its transformation into a modernized dining facility.  Dr. Cole was instrumental in refurbishing and remodeling many facilities on campus including the Aaron Baker Science Building, the T.W. Cole Library, and the Fred T. Long Student Union Building.  He had the streets paved, new sidewalks installed and created new parking facilities for students, faculty and staff.  It was also during this period that the annex for Dogan Hall was completed to house the senior females on campus.  Dr. Cole served Wiley College well from 1958-1971.

  

Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the Mississippi River.

 

The college is known for its debate team. Over a 15-year period, Melvin B. Tolson's debate teams lost only one of 75 debates. Wiley's debate team competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate against University of Southern California's highly ranked debate team.

On November 3, 2023, Wiley College announced a name change back to Wiley University for the first time since 1929 with the establishment of a new graduate school program to be offered to students beginning in 2024.