Johnson University is a private Christian university with its main campus in Kimberlin Heights, Tennessee, and a second campus in Kissimmee, Florida. It is affiliated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ, a branch of the Restoration Movement. History When Ashley Johnson founded the school in 1893, it was an extension of the Correspondence Bible College. The original name was The School of the Evangelists. The school was renamed Johnson Bible College in 1909 after a petition by the students to have the school named after the founder and first president Ashley Johnson. This name was used for 102 years until the college became Johnson University on July 1, 2011. The idea for a new school was first introduced in a sermon by Ashley S. Johnson at the Bearden Christian Church in 1892 when Johnson proposed the idea of a college level school for the gospels. In May 1893, guests boarded a steamboat in Knoxville to go up to the college for the laying of the cornerstone of the Main Building. The Main Building, with "its five-story square tower that offered a sweeping view of the French Broad, was completed in 1895." The original Main Building served the school until Dec 1, 1904, when a fire broke out from a chimney and completely destroyed the building. Following the fire, a new building was constructed of brick and the dedication was held in 1905. Ashley Johnson served the school until his death in 1925. Upon his death, his wife Emma Elizabeth Johnson served as the college president until her death in 1927. Alva Ross Brown was chosen as the third president from that year until his 1941 death. Dr. Robert M Bell was selected as the 4th president and under his leadership the school was greatly expanded in both academic offerings and facilities. Dr. Bell served until his death in 1968. David L. Eubanks assumed the presidency in 1969 and served until retiring in 2007, overseeing the continued expansion of academic offerings and the construction of many new buildings. During Dr. Eubanks administration the school moved off "the hill" that it was founded on into the surrounding fields. Following his retirement, Gary E. Weedman became the president; during his tenure, the college assumed the style of a university. Dr. L. Thomas Smith Jr. was inaugurated as the seventh president in September 2018. Presidents Johnson University is unique in its over