The Early History of Higher Education

War and rumors of war, funding difficulties, reticent and sometimes rebellious students, underpaid and overworked faculty, sectarian strife, helpful as well as meddling alumni and supporters, and feckless and sometimes downright hostile legislators and governors are all familiar problems today in higher education. Yet, the same could be said for the earliest days of higher education in Kentucky. The highlight of early higher education in Kentucky was Holley's leadership at Transylvania, which produced great changes in the Lexington school. This chapter discusses Transylvania under Holley's...

War and rumors of war, funding difficulties, reticent and sometimes rebellious students, underpaid and overworked faculty, sectarian strife, helpful as well as meddling alumni and supporters, and feckless and sometimes downright hostile legislators and governors are all familiar problems today in higher education. Yet, the same could be said for the earliest days of higher education in Kentucky. The highlight of early higher education in Kentucky was Holley's leadership at Transylvania, which produced great changes in the Lexington school. This chapter discusses Transylvania under Holley's guidance. The sectarianism that encouraged the development of higher education in Kentucky also led to the founding of several schools of theology. The description of student behavior and college administrations' proscriptions in the early days of college education in Kentucky places the state's colleges within a southern context.