About us

Shorter University was founded in 1873 by Luther Rice Gwaltney, pastor of the Rome Baptist Church, as a women's college known as the Cherokee Baptist Female College. The college was renamed in 1877 to Shorter Female College because of the financial contributions of Alfred and Martha Shorter. Shorter was located in Victorian-style buildings on Shelton Hill near downtown Rome and educated young women at primary, preparatory, and collegiate levels.

Classes were held Tuesdays through Saturdays and early curriculum included science, music, art, drama, and literary works. Through additional contributions from the J.L. Bass and J.P. Cooper families, the university was relocated to its current site just outside Rome in 1910. During the 1920s the college constructed the first indoor swimming pool in the United States and swimming became a physical education graduation requirement. The era also included the first women who were selected for the Board of Trustees. During the 1920s Shorter became an accredited member in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in which the university holds accreditation.

Through the years of the college struggled with financial problems during the 1930s with the Great Depression and World War II in the 1940s, Led by President Paul M. Cousins faculty took cuts in salary in periods of crisis. Academics were strengthened through membership with the National Association of Schools of Music.