Georgia's campuses and the stories they hold.
Thomas University is a small private university in Thomasville that began in a millionaire's winter home. It started in 1950 at Birdwood, the 1932 Georgian Revival estate of diplomat W. Cameron Forbes, and grew from a nine-student junior college into a university with graduate programs in nursing, counseling and education. In fall 2026 it opened a new Woodlands Campus across town, and its Night Hawks play NAIA sports, including football, which was added in 2022.
Thomas University is a college & university in Thomasville, Thomas County. It is one of 113 historic sites cataloged in Thomas County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 30.8149, -83.9645 near Thomasville. The nearest cataloged historic site is Park Front (historic place), about 1.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Gordon Avenue Apartments, Bethany Congregational Church, and Wright House.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Thomasville was a winter resort for wealthy Northerners, and one of them, W. Cameron Forbes, built an estate called Birdwood there in 1932. Forbes was a grandson of Ralph Waldo Emerson and had served as Governor-General of the Philippines and U.S. ambassador to Japan. In 1949 the Primitive Baptist Church bought part of the property, and in 1950 it chartered Birdwood Junior College there. Classes started in 1954 with nine students, and three of them graduated two years later.
The church gave up control in 1976, when the school became Thomas County Community College. It turned nonsectarian and independent in 1979. It was renamed Thomas College in 1986 and offered its first four-year degrees in 1988. After regional accreditors approved graduate programs in 1998, it became Thomas University in January 2000. Growth came through nursing, education, business and counseling programs, online courses and partnerships with the military. The university later added a Magnolia Campus for athletics and housing, and Smith-Bonvillian Hall, whose design echoes the Forbes Building.
The university celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2025. It has since moved to a new Woodlands Campus at 254 Woodlands Boulevard, which welcomed its first students in fall 2026 and was dedicated with a public ribbon cutting that September. The historic Forbes Campus on Millpond Road is now described by the university as its former campus. The Thomasville Genealogical Library, a free public research library, still operates there. Kurt Stringfellow is the university's president.
TU is a small, career-focused university. It is best known for teacher education, nursing, counseling, social work and business, and it serves many adult, online and military students. The list below shows the degrees on TU's majors pages as of September 2026. Check the official list for concentrations and online availability.
NAIA · Southern States Athletic Conference (since 2023–24; football plays in The Sun Conference)
Home venues: Veterans Memorial Stadium (football) · Varnedoe Stadium (baseball) · Armory Field (softball) · TU Soccer Complex
Yes. It is a private, nonprofit, independent university in Thomasville. It was founded by the Primitive Baptist Church in 1950 and has been nonsectarian since 1979.
Small: 1,471 students in Fall 2024 (1,022 undergraduates and 449 graduate students), counting online students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Teacher education, nursing, counseling, social work and business programs, many of them online or built for working adults and military students. It is also known for its historic start at the Birdwood estate.
The NAIA. The Night Hawks play in the Southern States Athletic Conference, and football competes in The Sun Conference.
Since fall 2026 the main campus is the Woodlands Campus at 254 Woodlands Blvd. in Thomasville. The university's original home was the Forbes Campus on Millpond Road, where the historic Birdwood mansion still stands.
Yes. The Night Hawks added football in 2022 and play home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Thomasville.
Sources: thomasu.eduen.wikipedia.orgthomasu.eduthomasu.edunces.ed.gov
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