Southern Adventist University had its beginning in 1892 as a one-room church school in the town of Graysville, Tennessee. In 1893 a school building was erected and the name Graysville Academy was chosen. Later, the academy became Southern Industrial School and finally Southern Training School. In 1916 the school was moved to Collegedale, Tennessee, and renamed Southern Junior College. Twenty years later, in 1936, it became an accredited junior college. With an expanding student body and an increasing demand for higher education, the institution was advanced to senior college status in 1944. The first four-year seniors graduated from Southern Missionary College in 1946. It was accredited as a senior liberal arts college by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1950. In 1982 the name of the institution was changed to Southern College of Seventh-day Adventists. The name was again changed in 1996 when Master’s degrees started being offered and it is now known as Southern Adventist University.