In Increase in Excellence: A History of Emory & Henry College, 1836–1963, historian George J. Stevenson offers a richly detailed chronicle of one of the American South's oldest and most enduring institutions of higher learning. Drawing upon archives, letters, faculty papers, and student memoirs, Stevenson weaves an expansive narrative of faith, intellect, and perseverance spanning more than a century of transformation in the Appalachian heartland.
Founded in 1836 amid the rugged hills of Virginia, Emory & Henry College embodied the Methodist commitment to moral education and civic virtue. Stevenson traces its evolution through war, Reconstruction, depression, and modern renewal — from the days of horse-drawn carriages and candlelit classrooms to the postwar expansion of a forward-looking liberal arts college. He captures the personalities of presidents and professors, the fervor of students, and the quiet endurance of a community determined to uphold the values of learning and service.
With scholarly precision and heartfelt admiration, Stevenson situates Emory & Henry within the broader story of American education, showing how small colleges shaped regional identity and national ideals. More than a history of an institution, Increase in Excellence is a meditation on the sustaining power of education and faith in the face of change — a monument to the enduring spirit of scholarship in the American South.