Everything about Memphis University School totally explained
Memphis University School (MUS) is an all-male
private school for
grades 7–12, located in
Memphis, Tennessee.
History
MUS was founded in
1893 by two men named Edwin Sidney Werts and James White Sheffey Rhea. MUS is a
college-preparatory school. The school's colors, red and blue, were chosen by the founders to represent the high academic standards of two elite universities,
Yale and
Harvard. MUS soon developed such a strong reputation among universities that many exempted graduating students from college entrance examinations. MUS prospered and the school moved from the old Bethel Building to the Clara Conway Institute at 297 Poplar until a new campus was built near the corner of Madison and Manassas in downtown Memphis. The campus remained at this site until
1936 when financial difficulties associated with the
Great Depression forced the school to close.
However, as the post-war
economic boom of the late
1940's and early
1950's saw an increasing need for private education, plans were put into place to re-start MUS. Anthony Dick, the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, had successfully launched Presbyterian Day School in 1947 as a boys' kidergarten through eighth grade institution. A new MUS was planned as a continuation high school for the PDS boys. Realizing that there wasn't enough space at Second Presbyterian Church to host a first-class prep school, alternative sites were studied. In
1950, the current site was aquired from two families with boys at PDS. Plans were made for the new school and culminated as the new MUS was chartered in
1954. The leadership of Second Presbyterian Church and local business leaders aimed to revive the spirit of the original school. The
non-denominational school re-opened in
1955 on the current 94-acre campus at 6191 Park Avenue in
East Memphis. Under the leadership of Col. Ross M. Lynn and a dedicated Board of Trustees chaired by Alexander Wellford, the school graduated its first seniors in
1958. Early in the
1960's, the seventh and eighth grades were moved from PDS to MUS because of space issues at the church.
About MUS
Memphis University School currently has a student enrollment of approximately 630. The school offers many traditional student activities, but rare among high schools is its student-run
honor system, in which students found in violation of the
honor code are tried before a council of peers. The system is modeled after that of Werts' alma mater, the
University of Virginia.
The school also has a reputation as being among the most academically rigorous private schools in the state. It consistently ranks among the top Tennessee high schools in terms of the number of students receiving recognition from the
National Merit Scholarship Program, and also registers among the highest scorers in
college entrance and
Advanced Placement testing.
Athletics
Its athletic program competes within the Super Prep conference, and won state championships in football in 1985, 2004 and 2005, and basketball in 2006-2007. Their archrival in athletics is crosstown rival
Christian Brothers High School.
Notable Alumni
Chris Bell, musician, member of Big Star
Alex Chilton, musician, member of Big Star and the Box Tops
Sid Evans, Editor, Field & Stream Magazine
Rick Fogelman, president and CEO of Fogelman Properties
Richard Halliburton, adventurer, athlete, author
Tom Hutton, former NFL punter, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles
J.R. Hyde III, founder of Autozone
Admiral Charles H. Johnston, United States Navy
Paul Tudor Jones, Commodity Trader
Pierce Ledbetter, CEO of Ledic Management Group
David O. Sacks, Founder and CEO of Web 2.0 company Geni, Inc.; movie producer: ex. Thank You for Smoking
Hampton Sides, Author, Ghost Soldiers
Mitch Stem, Chairman and CEO of Delta Packaging Systems
Alex Williams, New Orleans based artist
Frederick W. Smith, Founder, CEO of FedexFurther Information
Get more info on 'Memphis University School'.
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