King University

King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). History In April 1866, the Holston Presbytery assembled at the old Pleasant Grove Church in Bristol, Tenn., to establish a Christian college. The College was built on of land in Bristol that had been donated by Reverend James King, in whose honor it is named. The first classes were offered in August 1867. When the college outgrew its small campus, King's grandson Isaac Anderson donated land on a hillside east of Bristol and in 1917, the college moved to its present location. In January 2013, King College announced that it would change its name to King University. The name change reflects the master's-level, comprehensive benchmark that King has reached in recent years. Becoming a university was the natural unfolding of King's strategic plan, unveiled in 1998, to create an even broader mix of programs based on a university model. On June 1, 2013, King College officially became King University.