[8] The college operates a radio station (WSMC-FM), a health food store and a wellness center.

Kilgore, former president of the Illinois Conference had been asked to supervise the church's work in the Southern United States.

[22] The General Conference Education Secretary, W. W. Prescott, along with Kilgore and Colcord worked together to establish the school at Graysville.

Then, at the session of the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference held at Battle Creek, Michigan, February 17 to March 6, 1893, the church officially took over the school.

Fourteen of the members of the Graysville Church were indicted for having violated the Tennessee Sunday law.

They believed "that the only education worth while in these strenuous days is that practical kind which teaches the student to actually do with his hand the things he learns about in books.

Plans were made to relocate the college program to a 285-acre (115 ha) farm[29] at Thatcher's Switch east of Chattanooga.

Southern was financially supported by two union conferences of the Church's North American administration.

In 1920, Lynn H. Wood, the president of the college, presented a major report to meetings for both union conferences.

[29] Other help from the Adventist faith community included a $6,000 donation by the Southern Publishing Association for a water supply system and another "Working Bee" to build a large dairy barn, a blacksmith shop, and a corn crib.

People interested in the college's success bought surrounding properties and donated them to the institution, more than doubling the school's area to close to 600 acres (2.4 km2).

This allowed the school to protect itself from families moving so close that they hindered their young people attending from learning some independence, President Wood wrote.

[29] In 1944, the Seventh Day Adventist General Conference Spring Council voted for Southern to become a four-year college.

Industries that helped students earn their tuition included a wood shop, a broom factory, a printing press, and a farm.

The reported reasons for the change were that the general population reacted negatively to the term; foreign countries resisted accepting church workers who were from a "missionary" college; the name incorrectly identified the school as only a Bible college, rather than a fully accredited, four-year liberal arts institution; and, graduates found the name "missionary" made it more difficult for them to get a job.

By September of that year, the college's constituency approved the name change to Southern Adventist University.

[43] The student-faculty ratio at Southern Adventist University is 16:1 and its most selected majors are biological and biomedical sciences; business, management, marketing, and related support services; education; and health professions and related clinical sciences.

[5] Southern offers 81 undergraduate degrees, with sixty majors, thirty-eight minors and two one-year certificate programs.

It also offers master's degrees in business, computer science, education, psychology, nursing, religion and social work.

[46] In 2009, the Princeton Review, an education services company, selected Southern as one of 141 institutions it listed in its "Best in the Southeast" section.

Upon completion of the program students were able to transfer to Florida Sanitarium and Hospital, where they could earn a diploma in nursing.

[56] In 2008, Dever placed his personal library at Southern, along with 15,000 photographic slides of archaeological excavations.

[62][63] The school offers degrees in graphic design, animation, film production and fine art.

[65] Southern is known for its religious and social conservatism,[7] and it is widely regarded as the most conservative of denominationally owned Adventist colleges in North America.

"[40] In explaining why he placed his collection of artifacts and his personal library at Southern Adventist University, archaeologist William Dever said, "The major support for archaeology work in Israel and Jordan comes from conservative and evangelical circles where the Bible is still taken seriously and no one is more serious and committed about archaeological study in the Middle East than Adventists.

"[47] Most forms of jewelry are not allowed on campus, other than engagement rings, and students may be fined for not complying with this policy.

[71] Although Southern does not have fraternities or sororities,[72][73] there are 40 clubs on campus,[73][74] one of which is a chapter of the Adventist Forum, publisher of Spectrum Magazine.

[77] Southern has more than 10 miles (16 km) of hiking/mountain biking trails used by students and local community members alike.

In 2003, following technical problems that caused the station to keep dropping off the air, WSMC upgraded equipment to improve its reliability.

[86] McKee Foods has its headquarters beside the campus and has been an important part of school history as one of the companies which have provided jobs within walking distance for students to fund their education.