East Texas Baptist University
East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) is a private Baptist university in Marshall, Texas. History. ETBU is located on the site of the former Van Zandt Farm at the highest altitude in Harrison County. ETBU was founded as the College of Marshall in 1912, after a campaign to create a Southern Baptist college in East Texas. The campus' first building, Marshall Hall, was completed in 1916. It was designed to house a gymnasium, library, chapel/theatre, administrative offices and classrooms. The College of Marshall opened the following year in 1917 as a two-year junior college and  academy. The college was greatly enlarged during the tenure of President Frank Shelby Groner who served as president of the college from 1928 until 1942. It became East Texas Baptist College in 1944 In June 2015, J. Blair Blackburn, a native of Minden, Louisiana, was inaugurated as the 13th president of East Texas Baptist University. He succeeded Samuel "Dub" Oliver, who instead became in 2014 the president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. In 2015 the university applied for and received an exception to Title IX allowing it to discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. Accreditation. ETBU is accredited  by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It also is accredited by The Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), the Commissions of Collegiate Nursing Education, and the National Association of Schools of Music. Campus. Security. During the day, the campus is patrolled by the on-campus security officer. Security cameras record 24 hours a day and are monitored from 8:00 am – 10:00 pm. Call boxes are placed in strategic locations around campus. At night, the campus is monitored by private security officers (off-duty  Marshall City Police Officers). Athletics. Women's athletics. Intramural Sports Mascot. The mascot for ETBU is a tiger, "Toby" and recently added, "Tabby." ETBU also has a live Tiger mascot named "Sarge" who is housed off campus. Sponsored Christian camps. As of 2019, East Texas Baptist sponsors Mission 58 Christian Camps.