View source for Wiley University

{{short description|Private historically black college in Marshall, Texas}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Wiley University
 | image                  = Wiley College seal.png
 | image_size             = 200px
 | motto                  = Go Forth Inspired
 | established            = 1873
 | type                   = [[Private college|Private]] [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]]
 | religious_affiliation  = [[United Methodist Church]]
 | endowment              = $7.4 million
 | president              = Herman J. Felton Jr.
 | academic_staff         = 46
 | total_staff            = 163
 | students               = 636
 | city                   = [[Marshall, Texas]]
 | country                = U.S.
 | coor                   = {{coord|32.5367|N|94.3792|W|source:placeopedia|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = [[Rural]]
 | campus_size            = {{convert|134|acre}}
 | former_names           = Wiley University (1873–1929)<br />Wiley College (1929–2023)
 | colors                 = Purple, Black, White & Gray<br>{{color box|#5c3a8c}}&nbsp;{{color box|black}}&nbsp;{{color box|white}}&nbsp;{{color box|#b1b6c1}}
 | sports_nickname        = Wildcats
 | mascot                 = Wiley the Wildcat
 | athletics_affiliations = [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] – [[HBCU Athletic Conference|HBCUAC]]
 | academic_affiliations  = [[United Negro College Fund|UNCF]]<br />[[International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges, and Universities|IAMSCU]]<br />[[Council of Independent Colleges|CIC]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Members of CIC: Texas|url=http://www.cic.edu/About-CIC/Who-We-Are/Members-of-CIC/Pages/Institutional.aspx?state=TX|publisher=[[Council of Independent Colleges|cic.edu]]|access-date=2016-06-13|archive-date=2016-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913201451/http://www.cic.edu/About-CIC/Who-We-Are/Members-of-CIC/Pages/Institutional.aspx?state=TX|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | website                = {{URL|wileyc.edu}}
 | logo                   = Standard Nameplate Purple.png
}}
{{Not to be confused with|Wiley (publisher)}}
'''Wiley University''' (formerly '''Wiley College''') is a [[Private college|private]] [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]] in [[Marshall, Texas]]. Founded in 1873 by the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]]'s [[Isaac Wiley|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]].<ref name="blackpast.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/wiley-college-1873|title=Wiley College (1873- ) - The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed|date=20 November 2007|access-date=March 21, 2016|archive-date=14 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814130255/http://blackpast.org/?q=aaw/wiley-college-1873|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wileyc.edu/history.asp |title=Wiley College &#124; A Place Where Every Student Can Succeed |access-date=2009-04-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130021953/http://www.wileyc.edu/history.asp |archive-date=2009-01-30 }}</ref>

In 2005–2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], for students with some prior college credits who seek to finish a degree, enrolled about 250. By fall of 2006, total enrollment was about 750. By fall of 2013, total enrollment reached over 1,000. Wiley is an [[open admissions]] college and about 96% of students receive some financial aid.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wiley.edu/ |title=Index of / |access-date=2022-07-24 |archive-date=1998-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980626042812/http://www.wiley.edu/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The college is known for its debate team. Over a 15-year period, [[Melvin B. Tolson]]'s debate teams lost only 1 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanitiestexas.org/news/articles/wiley-colleges-great-debaters|title=Wiley College's Great Debaters &#124; Humanities Texas|access-date=2017-10-29|archive-date=2017-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019090054/http://www.humanitiestexas.org/news/articles/wiley-colleges-great-debaters|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksla.com/2023/11/03/wiley-college-announces-name-change-part-homecoming-festivities/|title = Wiley College Announces Name Change as Part of Homecoming Festivities |website=KSLA-TV}}</ref>

== History ==
Wiley University was established in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.<ref name="TSHA" /><ref name="Brooks">{{Cite book |last=Brooks |first=F. Erik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FojDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Encyclopedia |last2=Starks |first2=Glenn L. |date=2011-09-13 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-39416-4 |pages=62–63 |language=en}}</ref> It is the oldest historically black college (or institute of higher education) west of the Mississippi River.<ref name="TSHA" /> It was started as both a college and high school.<ref name="TSHA" />

In 1880, the campus was moved to a seventy-acre plot in downtown Marshall.<ref name="TSHA" /> The former campus location was in south Marshall, near the remaining [[Wiley College Cemetery]].<ref name="TSHA" /> In 1888, Henry B. Pemberton was the first college graduate, he was awarded a B.A. degree.<ref name="TSHA" />

F.C. Moore was the first president, and for the first twenty years the president and all the faculty and staff, were church missionaries and were White.<ref name="TSHA" /> The first African American president of Wiley University was Isaiah B. Scott, who served from 1893 until 1896; with his election he changed the institutions policy regarding the race of faculty and staff.<ref name="TSHA" /> In 1896, Scott became editor of the [[Southwest Christian Advocate]], and Matthew Winfred Dogan replaced him as the president, a role he maintained until 1942.<ref name="TSHA" />

In 1906 a fire destroyed five of the eleven buildings on campus, but they were rebuilt.<ref name="TSHA" /> In 1907, the president’s home and a library on campus were built by students, after president Dogan was able to secure a [[Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching|Carnegie Foundation]] grant.<ref name="TSHA" /> The library was open to the entire community of Marshall, and it was the only library until 1974.<ref name="TSHA" /> By 1929, the institution no longer supported a high school.<ref name="TSHA" /> During that same year, the university renamed itself as Wiley College.

=== Civil Rights Movement ===
Wiley, along with [[Bishop College]], was instrumental in the [[Civil rights movement|Civil Rights movement]] in Texas. Wiley and Bishop students launched the first [[sit-in]]s in Texas in the [[rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] of the Old Harrison County Courthouse to protest segregation in public facilities.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

[[James Farmer]], son of [[James L. Farmer, Sr.]], graduated from Wiley and became one of the "Big Four" of the Civil Rights Movement. Together with [[Roy Wilkins]],  Rev. Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], and [[Whitney M. Young Jr.]], James Farmer helped organize the first [[sit-in]]s and [[Freedom Rides]] in the United States.<ref>http://www.core-online.org/History/james_farmer_bio.ht {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interchange.org/jfarmer.html|title=James Farmer Memorial Page|access-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>

== Presidents ==
{{Columns-list|
* F. C. Moore, 1873–1876<ref name="TSHA">{{Cite web |others=[[Texas State Historical Association]] |title=Wiley College |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wiley-college |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018131919/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wiley-college |url-status=live }}</ref>
* W. H. Davis, 1876–1885<ref name="Brooks"/>
* N. D. Clifford, 1885–1888<ref name="Brooks" />
* George Whitaker, 1888–1889<ref name="Brooks" />
* P. A. Pool, 1889–1893<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[Isaiah B. Scott]], 1893–1896; the first African American president<ref name="TSHA"/>
* [[Matthew Winfred Dogan Sr]]., 1896–1942<ref name="TSHA"/>
* E. C. McLeod, 1942–1948
* [[Julius Sebastian Scott Sr.]], 1948–1958
* [[Thomas Winston Cole Sr.]], 1958–1971<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[Robert E. Hayes Sr.]], 1971–1986<ref name="Brooks" />
* E.W. Rand (interim), 1986<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[David R. Houston]] (interim), 1987<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[David L. Beckley]], 1987–1993<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[Lamore J. Carter]], 1993–1996<ref name="Brooks" />
* [[Julius Samuel Scott Jr.]], 1996–1998<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirby |first=Bill |date=2020 |title=Oct. 11, 1974: Dr. Julius Scott was great for college and community |url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/2020/10/11/oct-11-1974-dr-julius-scott-was-great-for-college-and-community/43077471/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=The Augusta Chronicle |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018131918/https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/2020/10/11/oct-11-1974-dr-julius-scott-was-great-for-college-and-community/43077471/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ronald L. Swain]], 1998–2000
* [[Haywood L. Strickland]], 2000–2018<ref name="TSHA"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-06 |title=Haywood Strickland Leaving Wiley College in Good Hands |url=https://www.diverseeducation.com/institutions/hbcus/article/15102796/haywood-strickland-leaving-wiley-college-in-good-hands |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Diverse: Issues In Higher Education |language=en-us |archive-date=2023-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003233643/https://www.diverseeducation.com/institutions/hbcus/article/15102796/haywood-strickland-leaving-wiley-college-in-good-hands |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2017-07-26 |title=Wiley president to retire |url=https://www.news-journal.com/news/local/wiley-president-to-retire/article_b04e6723-04b6-5cc7-8dfe-4bdb0bbd1c60.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Longview News-Journal |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Herman J. Felton Jr.]], 2019–present<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Robin Y. |date=2019-03-16 |title=Wiley College celebrates installation of 17th president |url=https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/wiley-college-celebrates-installation-of-17th-president/article_6655eb70-4779-11e9-9d68-7fdac0e6f4f8.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Marshall News Messenger |language=en |archive-date=2023-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018131919/https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/wiley-college-celebrates-installation-of-17th-president/article_6655eb70-4779-11e9-9d68-7fdac0e6f4f8.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

==Debate team==
Tony Scherman's article about the Wiley College debate team for the 1997 Spring issue of ''American Legacy'' sparked a renewed interest in its history.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.blacknews.com/pr/americanlegacy701.html |title=BlackNews.com – ''American Legacy Magazine'''s Story: The Great Debaters, Turns from Pages to the Big Screen Directed By and Starring Denzel Washington and Produced By Oprah Winfrey |access-date=2009-04-29 |archive-date=2008-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630181528/http://www.blacknews.com/pr/americanlegacy701.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The success of the 1935 Wiley College debate team, coached by professor and poet [[Melvin Tolson]], was the subject of a 2005 [[AMS Pictures]] documentary, ''The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College,'' which received heavy play around Texas, followed by the 2007 dramatic movie, ''[[The Great Debaters]]'', directed by and starring [[Denzel Washington]]. In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champion, the [[University of Southern California]] (depicted as [[Harvard University]] in ''The Great Debaters'').

In 2007, Denzel Washington announced a donation of $1 million to Wiley so the team could be re-established.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wileyc.edu|title=Wiley College|access-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/.../012608dnmetragland.2257669.html Wiley College – A Place Where Every Student Can Succeed], ''Dallas News''</ref> The following year, ''The Great Debaters'' movie debuted, starring Washington; the college's debate team has taken this name, too.

In 2014, the 23-person team won 1st place at the [[Pi Kappa Delta]] Comprehensive National Tournament. This was the largest Pi Kappa Delta Tournament in their 101-year history. This was the first national speech and debate title won by an HBCU. Three years later, the college led the establishment of the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wileyc.edu/article/122.php |title=Wiley College - Wiley College to create HBCU Speech and Debate League |website=www.wileyc.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606001609/http://www.wileyc.edu/article/122.php |archive-date=2017-06-06}}</ref> In 2018, Wiley hosted the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League Tournament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wileyc.edu/article/143.php |title=Wiley College - Wiley College kicks off first-ever HBCU National Speech and Debate Championship Tournament! |website=www.wileyc.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126194834/http://www.wileyc.edu/article/143.php |archive-date=2018-01-26}}</ref>

==Athletics==
[[File:WileyUniversityvsNAU111123-16.jpg|thumb|Wiley Wildcats men's basketball]]

The Wiley athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The college is a member of the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA), primarily competing in the [[HBCU Athletic Conference]] (HBCUAC), formerly known as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2022–23 academic year.<ref name="gcac">{{cite news |title=GCAC Extends Membership To Oakwood University, Wiley College, Southern University at New Orleans |url=http://www.gcaconf.com/article/9455.php |access-date=February 2, 2022 |date=January 20, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202151901/http://www.gcaconf.com/article/9455.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The Wildcats previously competed in the [[Red River Athletic Conference]] (RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2021–22. They were also a founding member of the [[Southwestern Athletic Conference]] (SWAC) from 1920–21 to 1967–68, which is currently an [[NCAA Division I]] [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]] athletic conference.

Wiley competes in ten intercollegiate varsity teams: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Wiley the Wildcat is the mascot. Former sports included cheerleading.

On January 20, 2022, Wiley received an invitation to join the GCAC, along with [[Oakwood University]] (from the [[United States Collegiate Athletic Association]] (USCAA)) and the return of [[Southern University at New Orleans]] (SUNO), effective beginning in July 2022.<ref name="gcac"/> The GCAC is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA.

==Campus gallery==
<gallery>
File:Haywood L. Strickland Hall.jpg|Haywood L. Strickland Hall at Wiley College
File:Julius S. Scott, Sr. Chapel at Wiley College.jpg|Julius S. Scott, Sr. Chapel at Wiley College
File:Dogan Hall at Wiley College.jpg|Dogan Hall at Wiley College
File:Thirkield Hall at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.jpg|Thirkield Hall at Wiley College
File:The Fred Thomas Long Student Union building at Wiley College.jpg|The Fred Thomas Long Student Union building at Wiley College
</gallery>

==Notable people==

===Notable faculty===
{{FacultyStart}}
{{Faculty|name=[[Melvin B. Tolson]]|dept=English|nota=Noted poet and English professor|ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/|title=Marshall Texas Directory|year=1946|access-date=October 19, 2009|archive-date=November 27, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991127091334/http://www.ancestry.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
{{Faculty|name=[[James L. Farmer, Sr.]]|dept=|nota=First black Texan to earn a PhD, also a professor at Wiley|ref=}}
{{Faculty|name=[[Fred T. Long]]|dept= Athletics|nota=Athletic director and head football coach|ref=<ref>''The Decatur Review'' Long obituary March 24, 1966 page 13</ref>}}
{{Faculty|name=[[Harry Long]]|dept=Biology|nota=Head of biology department and asst. football coach|ref=<ref>''The Chicago Defender'' "Wiley Coach Drops Dead in Football Classic" December 15, 1945 pages 1 & 5 and ''The Chicago Defender'' "Harry Long Joins Wiley Grid Staff" July 13, 1929 page 9</ref>}}
{{Faculty|name=[[Anderson Delano Macklin]]|dept=Fine art |nota=Visual artist, professor, art historian, and author|ref=<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGtmAAAAMAAJ |title=Who's Who in the South and Southwest |date=1976 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |isbn=978-0-8379-0815-1 |pages=478 |language=en}}</ref>}}
{{Faculty|name=[[Reuben Shannon Lovinggood]]|dept=Latin and Greek courses|nota=Classical scholar and former president of Samuel Huston College (now known as [[Huston-Tillotson University]])|ref=<ref name="Rutgers">{{Cite web |last=Ronnick |first=Michele Valerie |title=Lovinggood, Reuben Shannon |url=https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/9302-lovinggood-reuben-shannon |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Database of Classical Scholars, [[Rutgers University]]}}</ref>}}
{{FacultyEnd}}

===Notable alumni===
{{AlumniStart}}
{{Alum|name=R. E. Brown|year=1899|nota=Organized the first male quartet, first brass band, first football team at Wiley. Later started the first teacher-training school for African Americans in Louisiana.|ref=<ref name="Reporter-May1953-Brown">{{cite news |title=Wiley Graduate of 1899 to be Honored with Citation |newspaper=The Wiley Reporter |publisher=Wiley College |location=Marshall, Texas |date=May 1953 |page=1 |quote=Dr. Brown, the oldest living graduate of Wiley, entered the institution on his sixteenth birthday and finished in the class of 1899 at the age of twenty-four.  }}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Thelma Dewitty]]|year=1941|nota=First African American to teach in the [[Seattle Public Schools]]|ref=<ref name=Henry>Mary T. Henry, [http://www.washington.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=1163 Dewitty, Thelma (1912–1977)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726112226/http://www.washington.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=1163 |date=2011-07-26 }}, HistoryLink, November 10, 1998. Accessed online September 30, 2008.</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[James Farmer]]|year=1938|nota=U.S. civil rights leader|ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/civrights/detail-bio.asp?bio=41|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712170729/http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/civrights/detail-bio.asp?bio=41|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 12, 2012|title=James Farmer Biography: Greensboro Voices|access-date=January 4, 2008}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Richard E. Holmes]]|nota=Physician, transferred to [[Mississippi State University]] after sophomore year at Wiley to be the first African American to matriculate at MSU |ref=<ref name="HolmesMSU">{{cite web|last1=Hearn|first1=Phil|title=Richard Holmes became MSU's first black student 40 years ago|url=https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2005/06/richard-holmes-became-msus-first-black-student-40-years-ago/|publisher=Mississippi State University|access-date=1 November 2017}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Conrad O. Johnson]] |nota=Music educator |ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tmea.org/061_PBM/HOF/html/141_Johnson.htm|title=Conrad O. Johnson: Hall of Fame profile|access-date=January 4, 2008|archive-date=January 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111054230/http://www.tmea.org/061_PBM/HOF/html/141_Johnson.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Opal Lee]]|year=|nota=Activist, "Grandmother of [[Juneteenth]]"|ref=<ref>{{Cite web|title=16 Apr 1990, 16 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram at Newspapers.com|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/641921286/|access-date=2021-06-16|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Mike Lewis (American football)|Mike Lewis]]|year=1980|nota=NFL|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[L. D. Livingston]]|year=|nota=Negro league baseball outfielder|ref=<ref>Lewis, Bert (May 19, 1928). [https://www.mediafire.com/view/myjx0cbind9mxbh "Wiley Downs Bishop, 6-4; Livingston Stars"]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''The Chicago Defender''. p.&nbsp;9. Retrieved June 27, 2021.</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Ernest Lyon]]|year=|nota=Minister, former [[United States Ambassador to Liberia]], and founder of the [[Maryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths]].|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Walter McAfee]]|year=1934|nota=Astrophysicist who worked on [[Project Diana]] with the [[United States Army Signal Corps]].|ref=<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walter McAfee|url=https://www.nsbp.org/nsbp-news/bhm-physics-profiles/2017-honorees/33-walter-mcafee|access-date=2020-06-10|website=www.nsbp.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204030857/https://www.nsbp.org/nsbp-news/bhm-physics-profiles/2017-honorees/33-walter-mcafee|archive-date=2020-12-04}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Henry Cecil McBay]] |year=1934|nota=Chemist, college professor |ref= }}
{{Alum|name=[[Willie Pearson Jr]]|year=1968 |nota=Sociologist, college professor, author |ref= }}
{{Alum|name=[[Oliver Randolph]] |nota=New Jersey lawyer, politician, and civil rights advocate |year=1904 |ref=<ref>{{cite news |title=Oliver Randolph |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1951-09-03 |page=13 |access-date=2016-09-21 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/09/03/archives/oliver-randolph.html |archive-date=2019-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428144952/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/09/03/archives/oliver-randolph.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[C. O. Simpkins, Sr.]]|year=|nota=Member of the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]], 1992-1996; retired Shreveport dentist|ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cosimpkins.com/Biography/|title=C. O. Simpkins, Sr.: Civil Rights Champion|publisher=cosimpkins.com|access-date=September 1, 2015|archive-date=January 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120115711/http://www.cosimpkins.com/Biography/|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Bill Spiller]] |nota=African-American golfer who challenged the segregationist policies of the PGA |ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/blackhistory2008/news/story?id=3218447|title=One man's mission|work=ESPN.com|date=28 January 2008|access-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Heman Marion Sweatt]] |year=1934|nota=Plaintiff in [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] case, ''[[Sweatt v. Painter]]'' (1950); helped to found [[Texas Southern University]] |ref= }}
{{Alum|name=[[Bubbha Thomas]]|year=1961|nota=Jazz musician and educator in Houston |ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nowagainrecords.com/bubbha-thomas-1937-2020/|title=Bubbha Thomas: 1937-2020|access-date=July 16, 2025}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Lee Wilder Thomas]]|nota=Prominent African-American businessman in the oil industry|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Lois Towles]]|year=1933|nota=Internationally renowned concert pianist.|ref=<ref name="Reporter-May1953-Towles">{{cite news |title=Lois Towles in Wiley Concert |first=Lucile |last=Dogan Teycer |newspaper=The Wiley Reporter |publisher=Wiley College |location=Marshall, Texas |date=May 1953 |page=1 |quote=Students and friends of Wiley were thrilled by the superb concert of the internationally famous pianist, Lois Towles.  }}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Henrietta Bell Wells]]|nota=First female member of the debate team subject of the 2007 movie, "The Great Debaters"|ref=<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/us/12wells.html?_r=1|title=Henrietta Bell Wells female member of Wiley College debate team|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 24, 2011|first=Douglas|last=Martin|date=March 12, 2008|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813084106/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/us/12wells.html?_r=1|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[James Wheaton]]|year=1945|nota=Actor, director, educator|ref=<ref>{{IMDb name|id=0923720|name=James Wheaton}}</ref>}}
{{Alum|name=[[Richard Williams (musician)|Richard Williams]]|nota=Jazz trumpeter|ref=}}
{{AlumniEnd}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Portal|Texas|United States|Christianity}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website|http://www.wileyc.edu/}}
* [http://www.wileyathletics.com Official athletics website]

{{Private colleges and universities in Texas}}
{{MethodistColleges}}
{{HBCU}}
{{Gulf Coast Athletic Conference navbox}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wiley University| ]]
[[Category:Red River Athletic Conference]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:Private universities and colleges in Texas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Harrison County, Texas]]
[[Category:Education in Harrison County, Texas]]
[[Category:1873 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1873]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church]]
[[Category:Historically black universities and colleges in Texas]]
[[Category:African-American history in Marshall, Texas]]