University of the South begins 150th anniversary celebration on Lookout Mountain

Alumni, friends, and administrators of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, will meet atop Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, to commemorate the founding of the school on July 4, 1857.

The group will be kicking off the school’s sesquicentennial anniversary with a service at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

The University, popularly known as Sewanee, was founded by Episcopal bishops, priests, and laymen to provide a top quality education for Southern gentlemen. In the past 150 years, the institution has evolved into a highly competitive College of Arts and Sciences and School of Theology that attract students of all backgrounds from around the United States and across the globe, according to a news release from the school.

The anniversary service will include prayers for Sewanee’s continued success.

After the service concludes, a group of cyclists (made up of alumni, students, and friends) will set off to carry an 1857 United States flag replica from Lookout Mountain to Sewanee, where it will be featured in the community’s 4th of July parade.

“The service at the Church of the Good Shepherd is a reminder of how Sewanee began in a spirit of heartfelt reverence,” says Dr. Joel Cunningham, University vice chancellor and president. “Celebrating the University’s 150th anniversary will continue throughout the year, and beginning these events where the founders committed to Sewanee’s future will no doubt a moving experience for all of us.”