About Midway College

 

Midway College, Kentucky's women's college, provides a living, learning environment that enables students to assume roles of responsibility and leadership as contemporary women. The College assists each student in the development of personal integration and self sufficiency through a strong liberal arts education and through career studies, both at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels. The college seeks to serve the larger community by educating women intellectually, ethically, and spiritually to be productive participants in society, responsible citizens in a democracy, and conservators and reformers of the best elements of their culture. The college further seeks to assist both women and men who are employed and of non-traditional college age to earn undergraduate degrees in the degree completion programs available through the School for Career Development and Midway College Online. The institution that has become Midway College was established in 1847 to prepare financially disadvantaged young women for teaching careers. The intensive schooling and career training available at Midway armed these women with the skills necessary for independence.

Our Past

Midway College, formerly the Kentucky Female Orphan School, was the dream of Dr. Lewis Letig Pinkerton, a young physician and minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Together with James Ware Parrish, the Midway Christian Church elder who raised the funds necessary to open the school, they joined with other progressive thinkers to launch a revolutionary educational experiment. In antebellum Kentucky, the few girls who received formal education were taught to read only because it was considered necessary for their role as mothers. When they reached adulthood, they would read the Bible to their children. Female orphans were rarely offered even this meager amount of schooling. Without education or parental support and concern, the most many could hope for was a lifetime of drudgery as a maid or laborer. The liberal arts curriculum and career preparation proposed by Dr. L. L. Pinkerton was a comprehensive solution to this tragic situation, and the benefits reached far beyond the individual girls who attended the school. Dr. L. L. Pinkerton’s dream became a reality as Midway-educated teachers went forth to share their learning with youngsters throughout the state and region. In the years since its inception, the institution has evolved to meet the educational needs of women while preserving the goals and standards of its founders. Today, Midway College has achieved its goal of excellence in education, providing advanced instruction in a broad range of subjects based upon a strong liberal arts curriculum. The campus and programs have grown with the school’s enrollment, yet many of the traditional ideals Midway was founded on have remained constant. The college's affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) remains strong and many members of the student body are active members of Christian Church congregations.

Midway Today

Today, the Midway College curriculum includes subjects recognized as integral to a well-rounded liberal arts education and the development of logical and critical thinking. Career preparation is offered in a variety of fields including nursing and equine management. This academic balance remains true to Dr. L. L. Pinkerton's vision, and is as carefully structured to enrich today's student as was the original curriculum in pre-Civil War times. Just as programs of study have been incorporated into the Midway College curriculum to meet the ever-changing needs of students, many programs are structured for the convenience of the growing number of returning and commuter students, as well as for residential students of traditional age. Midway College continues to fulfill a unique role in the education of contemporary women. It provides an avenue for women to gain a quality education, achieve independence through career preparation and strive for intellectual enlightenment.