Elements of the study of English, in the form of composition, rhetoric, and debating, were present from the founding of the institution in 1794. In 1844 the nonclassical course of study at the university was designated as the English Department, a name soon changed to English and Scientific Department. The 1844 catalog indicated that the purposes of the department were “To qualify young men to become teachers in the common schools and academies [and] to give a thorough, practical English education to those who do not contemplate entering a profession, but who wish to prepare themselves for the ordinary occupations of life; in other words, to make intelligent men and useful citizens.” The first professor of English, Rev. Francis Michael Grace, was appointed in 1867. Rev. Grace was a graduate of the class of 1849 and a Methodist minister from Alabama. He remained on the faculty until 1870 when he left for Hiwassee College and where he later became president.