Ralston College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Let your spirit rise"
"Let your courage thrive"
| Motto | Animus crescat (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "Let your mind expand" "Let your spirit rise" "Let your courage thrive" |
| Type | Private institution of higher learning |
| Established | 2010 |
| Founder | Stephen Blackwood |
| Accreditation | Unaccredited |
| Chancellor | Iain McGilchrist[1] |
| President | Stephen Blackwood |
Academic staff | 6 (2025) |
| Students | 24 (Fall 2022)[2] |
| Location | , , United States 32°4′15″N 81°5′48″W / 32.07083°N 81.09667°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Black and White |
| Website | ralston |
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Ralston College is a private unaccredited liberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia.[3] It describes itself as being dedicated to "freedom of thought and speech",[4] and is associated with prominent conservative figures,[5][6] with Stephen Blackwood as president, Jordan B. Peterson as its former Chancellor and funding from conservatives including Paul Marshall.[7] The first cohort of graduate students for Ralston College's one-year MA in the Humanities began the program in the fall of 2022.
In 2006, Stephen Blackwood and James Atkins Pritchard began fundraising for the establishment of an institution of higher education.[citation needed] It is named in memory of the Rector of St John's Episcopal Church, William H. Ralston Jr (1929-2003).[8] Ralston College was incorporated in the State of Georgia in 2010.[9] Among the members of its Board of Visitors are Vernon Smith, Heather Mac Donald, Harry Lewis, Ruth Wisse, Roger Kimball, Stephen Wolfram, and Jordan Peterson, who was formerly Chancellor (a ceremonial role).[10][11][12] Iain McGilchrist became the Chancellor in October 2025.
Ralston's first cohort of MA students was enrolled on the Greek island of Samos[6] in the fall of 2022, before beginning their studies in Savannah that fall; classes were held in the education building of St. John's Episcopal Church.[13] The college has since moved into buildings on East Gaston Street and West McDonough Street in the historic Savannah area,[14] which total 50,000 square feet as of April 2024.[15] As of January 2026, the college has graduated three cohorts, with a prospective fourth class set to graduate in May 2026.
Ralston College has received criticism for a series of high-level terminations, as reported by unnamed sources.[16] In March 2023, a member of Ralston's Board of Visitors, Harvey Silverglate, resigned his position and stated that the college was "antithetical to the whole concept of a liberal arts institution".[16]
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