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Tift College Research Guide

This guide provides information about Mercer Archives's holdings related to Tift College.

Tift College Research Guide

Welcome to the Tift College Research Guide!

Use the pages on the left to begin your research on the history of Tift College.

Please contact archives staff with questions at archives@mercer.edu.

History of Tift College

Tift College was a women's college in Forsyth, Georgia founded in 1849 as the Forsyth Female Collegiate Institute. It was renamed Monroe College in 1857 and then as Bessie Tift College in 1907. In 1898, it became affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention. The name was shortened to Tift College in 1956. Tift College merged with Mercer University in 1986. The following year, in 1987, the college was closed by Mercer. 

Since the late 1980s, Mercer has continued to honor the heritage, identity, and ideals of Tift College, most notably through the Tift College Scholars Program. The program selects exceptional young women from Mercer to continue the legacy of Tift College through scholarships and events with Tift Alumnae. In addition, Mercer renamed the school of education to the Tift College of Education in 2001. The alumnae of the college are active in their efforts to keep the memory of Tift College alive.


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