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Ralston College
Liberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ralston College is a private unaccredited liberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia.[1] It describes itself as being dedicated to "freedom of thought and speech",[2] and is associated with prominent conservative figures,[3][4] with Stephen Blackwood as president, Jordan B. Peterson as Chancellor and funding from conservatives including Paul Marshall.[5] Ralston College started accepting graduate students to its one-year MA in the Humanities in the summer of 2022.
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History
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In 2006, Stephen Blackwood and James Atkins Pritchard began fundraising for the establishment of an institution of higher education.[citation needed] It is named in memory of the Rector of St John's Episcopal Church, William H. Ralston Jr (1929-2003).[6] Ralston College was incorporated in the State of Georgia in 2010.[7] Among the members of its Board of Visitors are Vernon Smith, Heather Mac Donald, Harry Lewis, Ruth Wisse, Roger Kimball, Stephen Wolfram, and Jordan Peterson, who was appointed Chancellor (a ceremonial role) in May 2022.[8][9][10]
Ralston's first cohort of MA students was enrolled on the Greek island of Samos[4] in the fall of 2022, before beginning their studies in Savannah that fall; classes were held in the education building of St. John's Episcopal Church.[11] The college has since moved into buildings on East Gaston Street and West McDonough Street in the historic Savannah area,[12] which total 50,000 square feet as of April 2024.[13]
Ralston College has received criticism for a series of high-level terminations.[14] In March 2023, a member of Ralston's Board of Visitors, Harvey Silverglate, resigned his position and stated that the college was "antithetical to the whole concept of a liberal arts institution".[14]
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Academics
Ralston College's curriculum focuses on the liberal arts: after a term studying Ancient Greek and Modern Greek in Greece, the following three terms of the MA in the Humanities are based in Savannah, focusing on ancient, medieval and modern literary texts and works of art.[15][1] Blackwood has stated that Ralston aims “to play a role in the renewal of the conditions for human flourishing”.[4] The one-year MA program revolves around a particular philosophical theme that lasts the entire year: "the self" (2022–2023), "the whole" (2023–2024), "nature" (2024–2025) and (2025–2026) "fellowship".[16][17]
The college also offers two online short-courses, run in conjunction with the FutureLearn platform, one on Samuel Johnson's philosophical romance Rasselas, and one on the poetry of Robert Frost.[18]
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Accreditation
The college has been authorized for operation and awarded degree-granting powers by the State of Georgia,[4] but is not accredited.[14]
References
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