Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, was established as Hampstead Academy in 1826 and renamed Mississippi College in 1830. It became the oldest university in Mississippi and the second oldest Baptist university in the United States. In 1831, it became the first co-educational university in the United States to grant degrees to women. Mississippi College came under the control of the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1850 and has remained affiliated with the convention since then. In 1942, Mississippi College acquired Hillman College, formerly known as Central Female Institute. In 1980, the Mississippi Baptist Convention accepted the recommendation of the Baptist Education Commission to merge Clarke College of Newton, Mississippi, with Mississippi College, and Clarke College enrolled its last class in 1990. The university’s vision statement continues its founding mission and purpose of providing academic excellence in a Christian environment, and its alumni have included six Southern Baptist Convention presidents, three presidents of the SBC Sunday School Board, an International Mission Board president, and four SBC seminary presidents.