Lindsey Wilson College has a proud history of service to individuals who might otherwise not have an opportunity to advance themselves. For more than a century, the college has been committed to preparing educated professionals who are dedicated to serve their communities' needs.

Since its founding by The United Methodist Church in 1903, Lindsey Wilson has sought to work with stakeholders in underserved areas to promote community growth and enrichment. The college's mission and subsequent program development have focused on meeting an area's educational and uses the college's resources to address those opportunities.

As Lindsey Wilson made the transition from a junior college to a liberal arts college in 1985, the college confirmed this commitment to service by implementing the human services major as one of its flagship baccalaureate programs. The human services program was created to be an application-oriented, pre-professional degree for students seeking to serve in the mental health professions.

In spring 1994, the college started a graduate program that offered a master of education degree in counseling and human development. In less than five years, the graduate program received national accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The graduate program is one of only 60 mental health counseling programs in the country accredited by CACREP.

Thanks to strong leadership and exceptional faculty, Lindsey Wilson has provided a great deal of direction for the mental health counseling movement in Kentucky. Some examples of the school's involvement on the state level include:

• Three Lindsey Wilson faculty have been elected president of Kentucky mental health associations. Two Lindsey Wilson faculty have been presidents of more than one mental health association.
• Lindsey Wilson faculty played a key role in getting several pieces of state legislation -- including the Kentucky Licensure Law that governs the mental health profession -- passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.
• The headquarters of the Kentucky Mental Health Counselors Association -- Kentucky's only professional association dedicated to professional mental health counseling -- is located on Lindsey Wilson's A.P. White Campus in Columbia.
• Perhaps most impressive is the overwhelming success of the School of Professional Counseling. In addition to the A.P. White Campus in Columbia, the School of Professional Counseling now offers programs at 24 locations in KY, VA, WV, OH and TN. This is made possible through an innovative partnership between Lindsey Wilson College and the Community and Technical College Systems in the host states.
• The School of Professional Counseling has an enrollment of more than  850 students. In 2009-2010, the SPC awarded more than 300 undergraduate and graduate degrees.