On Monday night, a devastating fire engulfed Elnathan Hall, an abandoned historic building at the historically Black Knoxville College, reducing it to ashes for the second time in its storied history.

The college is in the process of trying earn accreditation and find a new president.

Originally built in 1893 as a girl’s dormitory, it later served as an administration building and classroom facility. It first burned down 126 years ago, in 1896, before being rebuilt in 1898.

When crews arrived at the scene around 8:30 p.m. Monday, intense flames were visible from several miles away, including from Interstate 40. Fire personnel remained on-site overnight. Knoxville Fire Department spokesperson Mark Wilbanks informed reporters that officials believe no one was inside the building at the time, and there were no known chemicals stored there. He advised the public to avoid the property while the investigation continues.

According to Wilbanks, fires have been an ongoing occurrence on campus over the years and the structure was demolished Tuesday morning for safety reasons. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the blaze.

In 2023, two bodies were discovered after a fire on campus, in a building separate from where the fire occurred. Wilbanks reported that the fire department has responded to five fire-related calls on the campus in 2023, matching the five calls they received in 2022.

The private institution, founded in 1875 by the Presbyterian Church and East Tennessee’s only remaining historically Black college, has faced significant challenges in recent years, with reaccreditation being a crucial goal for securing the college's future. 

Classes have not been held on campus since 2017 due to concerns about building safety. Several of the buildings remain unused and are listed on the national register of historic places.

Currently, the college offers all of its courses online.

City Councilwoman Gwen McKenzie, whose district includes the Mechanicsville community where the school is nestled, immediately went to the campus when she heard the news.

“It was very hard to watch a once beautiful building on this historic campus in flames. The city boarded up several of these buildings last year to help secure and prevent these types of incidents,” she said. “Despite numerous challenges throughout the years Knoxville (College) has always been able to keep the doors open. I am hopeful this incident won’t impact their ability to move forward with future plans.”

In a press release on the college’s Facebook page, Interim President Rotesha Harris — who was appointed in August — expressed her gratitude to the community for its support in the aftermath of the fire. 

“Are our hearts broken, absolutely. Is our resilience broken? Absolutely not,” Harris wrote. “We are asking the community to join us in taking a deep breath, grieving and moving on. In the tradition of our ancestors we have built from ashes before, and we will build from ashes again.”

Frank Shanklin,a member of Knoxville College's Board of Trustees, said that Elnathan Hall was included in the buildings that were boarded up and had not been occupied for more than 40 years. He said the fire is another step backward for the institution as they continue to seek accreditation. 

“Despite efforts by someone to destroy this building, we remain positive about the future of Knoxville College and have committed to keeping the campus safe and have been working with the city to make sure these buildings are secure,” Shanklin said. “We are doing everything we know to do, and everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and we will continue to take those measures.”

Accreditation and Compliance Violations

In August, Knoxville College leaders officially submitted their application for accreditation to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), according to a newsletter released by the school. The college has been operating without accreditation for over 20 years, a loss in 1997 that led to declining enrollment, financial strain, and student ineligibility for federal financial aid. 

Leaders say that the accreditation gap has further complicated efforts to attract students and faculty, and that TRACS has given them a list of 23 items that need to be addressed in order for the school to achieve accreditation.

Shanklin said that the school is working to address those issues so that they can continue the application process.

“Our application has been turned in but this is going to be a long process,” he said. “We want to be clear that we have not been denied accreditation. We were in a good enough state that we were invited to be at the TRACS conference so we sent our team down.”

He said a group consisting of Harris, the college’s national alumni president, and its board chair all attended the conference.

“We were assigned an individual, as TRACS normally does,” Shaklin said. “That was kind of like our case manager or counselor, to sort of help us work through that process on the remaining items with the reaccreditation process, they will be with us throughout that whole process, and that's a good sign. It can take anywhere from a year to two or three years while we continue to address our ongoing financial stability, that's our most pressing priority.”.

According to TRACS guidelines, achieving accreditation requires a school to fulfill various criteria, including maintaining integrity in its operations and demonstrating financial stability, with the board of trustees regularly reviewing the institution's finances.

Knoxville College’s latest Form 990, filed with the IRS for tax-exempt entities, shows that the school is $1.8 million in debt. Additionally, the city of Knoxville’s property tax records indicate the college owes over $28,000 in unpaid property taxes.

The accreditation process through TRACS includes multiple stages to confirm that institutions uphold quality and integrity standards. It starts with an initial inquiry and an application orientation to review eligibility criteria.

Once the application is submitted, the college embarks on a self-assessment, evaluating its organizational structure, effectiveness, and areas for potential growth. Following this, a TRACS evaluation team conducts an on-site visit.

If the institution meets the necessary standards, representatives then appear before the Accreditation Commission, which may grant candidacy status. To achieve candidacy status, institutions must demonstrate sound planning processes, have the resources to operate, and be able to achieve accredited status within five years.

Institutions that don't achieve accredited status within five years are removed from candidacy and must wait at least one year before reapplying.

Seeking Community Support 

Beck Cultural Exchange Center President Renee Kesler said she was overwhelmed by a rush of emotions. 

“The pictures of flames billowing from Elnathan Hall, a beloved place, evoked a deep sense of the erasure of history. Preserving history is paramount to the mission of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. For too long, history has been untold, silenced, and erased. The destruction is not simply about losing a building but its connection to the past,” she said. “The light at Elnathan Hall, meaning ‘whom God gave’ in the Bible, has been extinguished. However, Beck will preserve the written history, photographs, and memories for future generations to ensure this rich heritage is not lost to time.”

The late Robert J. Booker, former executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and a 1962 graduate of Knoxville College, wrote, “It was the dedication of the school’s founding fathers and mothers, inspired by the Biblical injunction, that adopted KC's motto: 'Let There Be Light,' which led to all these precious events.”

On Tuesday state Rep. Sam Mckenzie of Knoxville said the community must come together and rally behind the school at a critical time.

“There remains a mission for KC to survive and thrive for the benefit of the underserved and underrepresented,” he said. “They remain on the path of regaining certification which will allow them to restart Bachelor’s programs in this city. So I encourage everyone in our community to gather around KC by giving their time, talents and treasures.”

After Monday’s fire, college officials remain hopeful that community members and city leaders will remain committed to helping to assure the college’s success, by not only providing financial support in order to bring students back to campus, but also by being intentional in recognizing the significant history the college has had in producing successful African American professionals throughout its 149-year tenure. The school is celebrating turning 150 years old in 2025.

“The community needs to become a stakeholder in this institution,” Shanklin said. “This college carries the name of Knoxville and has done a great job of producing graduates who have stayed in Knoxville and who have been productive in building up this community. There is no way that Knoxville would be what it is today without KC. We need people to open up their doors and their hearts and for leaders to figure out how they can give a little more to this college. We are working hard to knock down these walls that have existed in the past.”

He added, “We also want to be intentional about who we work with and make sure these are people and organizations committed to this college and who have its best interest at heart.”

Presidential Search Underway

In August, the board of trustees appointed Harris to serve as interim president, according to Shanklin. 

Harris previously worked for the historically Black Clark Atlanta University where she served as associate vice president of Internal Audit Grants and Contracts Accounting. 

In June, former President Leonard Adams announced his resignation. He had become interim president in 2021, before taking on the full role in 2022.

School officials initially laid out a timeline for Knoxville College’s presidential search, beginning on June 10, with recruitment and screening to continue through July 15. The plan included virtual candidate interviews in late July, followed by on-campus meetings with semifinalists in early August, giving them a chance to connect with the campus community. By mid-August, the search committee was scheduled to recommend finalists to the board of trustees, who would then make a selection and extend an offer by late August. 

But Shanklin said that the process has taken longer than expected. 

“We have narrowed the search process down to three candidates, and Harris is among those three,” he said.. ”We are currently conducting interviews and are on track to make a decision and announce a new president in December. Whoever is selected will remain committed to continuing our accreditation process so we can bring students back on campus, which has always been the goal.”