Blue Mountain College institutes name change, school of nursing

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Trustees voted Oct. 4 to begin the transition of renaming Baptist-affiliated Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain to Blue Mountain Christian University (BMCU).

 “Alumni and friends of the school support the clarity the new name provides, both in distinguishing the institution from two-year community colleges and in highlighting its Christian identity and mission,” said BMCU President Barbara McMillin on the school’s website.

The name change will take effect immediately. The fall 2023 freshman class will be the first to be admitted under the new name.

McMillin also said BMCU will begin a School of Nursing. “With the addition of nursing, BMCU replicates the pattern established in the ministry of Jesus of teaching, preaching and healing,” she noted on the website.

BMCU was founded after the U.S. Civil War by Confederate General Mark Perrin Lowery, who believed recovery from the war’s devastation would be enhanced by educating young women. Between 1873 and 1960, three generations of the Lowrey family presided over the college.

The school operated as an independently owned and operated liberal arts college for women until control was turned over to the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1920. In 1956, the school began admitting men preparing for church-related vocations and became fully coeducational in October 2005.

For more information on BMCU, visit https://bmc.edu/.