Tusculum University

Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee, United States. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States. In addition to its main campus, the institution maintains a regional center for Adult and Online Studies in Knoxville, and Morristown. History Before Tennessee became a state in 1796, the east Tennessee area was the southwestern frontier of the United States. Presbyterian ministers Hezekiah Balch and Samuel Doak, both educated at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), were there, ministering to early Scots-Irish settlers. Striving to meet the settlers' educational needs, Doak founded Martin Academy in 1783, which was expanded to become Washington College in 1795. Washington College was briefly merged in the 20th century with Tusculum College. Balch was the first president of Greeneville College in 1794.