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O'More College of Design is a four-year, accredited post-secondary institution awarding bachelor of fine arts degrees in Interior Design; Fashion Design & Merchandising; and Visual Communications.
The Mission of O’More College of Design
O’More College of Design provides a quality art and design education which emphasizes individual attention. The College promotes a partnership with the local, regional, and global community through exhibits, programs, continuing education, and service projects. We prepare students to think critically and imaginatively, to become responsible citizens, and to develop a pattern of lifelong learning.
The O’More Global Vision
We envision O’More College of Design as an institution of higher education that intellectually and expressively prepares students to become innovative designers with the capacity to create authentic beauty—designers equipped with the skills, knowledge, ability, creativity, and desire to constructively benefit the local and global society and environment through purposeful design.
The O’More Educational Purpose
The purpose of an education at O’More College of Design is to inspire each student to become purpose driven: a student who is constantly discovering, persistently cultivating, and perpetually sharing the gift of inventive thinking and purposeful design; a student who pushes the boundaries of creativity, while gallantly holding to significant and time-tested tradition; a student who believes he or she can change the world through purposeful design and sets a strategic course, with full-confidence, to succeed; and a student who finds meaning in the process of growth and spends a lifetime exploring the ultimate classroom—the world.
The O’More Institutional Core Values
• The feeling of intimacy and value created by the structure of the college and classes
• The cultivation and nurturing of meaningful relationships – a feeling of close-knit family
• The high-quality, service-oriented faculty and staff
• The high-quality, service-oriented student body
• The beauty and location of the campus
• The reputation and academic quality of the curriculums and programs
• The opportunities for international and cultural experiences
• The financial strength, stability, and productivity of the college
• The ability of our students to find successful and meaningful jobs upon graduation
The Purpose of our Mission, Vision, Educational Purpose, and Core Values
Our mission, our vision, our educational purpose, and our core values lead us toward an assessable and significantly beneficial impact on our members, our potential members, our society, and our environment. These directives create a better everyday life for those people we train and serve and those they in-turn train and serve. A unified sense of purpose becomes the power source that energizes our whole institution. And a well-focused vision distinguishes our institution and serves as an innovative model for other institutions to desire to follow. As fellow members of this great college, our future holds unlimited opportunities.
History
 Founded in 1970, the College is located in the historic district of Franklin, Tennessee. O'More is patterned after Le College Feminin in Paris, France, where our late founder, Mrs. Eloise Pitts O'More, studied in the early 1920s. The Abbey Leix Mansion (ca. 1866), an Italianate-style home which serves as the College's administration building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The McAfee Library and Hilliard Institute for Educational Wellness (ca. 1887), a Romanesque Revival-style home now in use as a sensory teaching and learning center and the visual communications department, is one of a handful of remaining examples of the work of H.C. Thompson, arguably Tennessee's most celebrated native architect.
Beauty
 The campus is situated on seven park-like acres, two blocks from
the heart of charming downtown Franklin. Nestled in between historic homes and centuries-old trees, the setting itself fosters creativity. Surrounded by a community rich in heritage, O'More offers a sensory teaching and learning environment, and is only a short walk to the many quaint shops, restaurants and galleries located around the town square. Franklin is famous for its festivals, historic landmarks and antique shops, which students enjoy during free time.
Individual Attention
 The inspiring setting, coupled with O'More's intensive, individualized design instruction, provides students with an unparalleled educational foundation upon which to build a career in design. The O'More faculty is largely comprised of leaders in the design industries and working professionals who bring first-hand knowledge of the latest trends and technologies into the classroom. An average class size of eight, non-traditional facilities, the best internships, field trips to major metropolitan markets, global research and travel, educational service projects and participation in national design organizations... all result in O'More graduates who develop superior understanding of purposeful design.
Diversity
 The O'More student body, ranging in age from 17-65 and representing 22 states and five foreign countries, embraces the diverse cultures and varying perspectives that influence good design. The O'More Cultural Field College offers students teaching, learning and service opportunities in a variety of cultures including Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Rural America, and Native America. The campus is located 20 miles from metropolitan downtown Nashville, which provides students access to major museums, libraries and various cultural opportunities such as the performing arts, major concerts and sporting events. Our graduates have found career opportunities nationwide in the music, motion picture and television industries; with architecture and interior design firms; and with fashion manufacturers, retailers and design houses. Our graphic designers are working for advertising agencies, publishing houses and Web-based design firms.
To learn more, contact an O'More admissions representative at 615-794-4254, ext. 230, or admissions@omorecollege.edu.
 Eloise Pitts O'More realized a life-long dream when she founded what would become O'More College of Design with nine students in her Victorian home in 1970.
Born in 1906 in Fayetteville, Tenn., she developed a passion for architecture and design at an early age.
At that time in America, however, only men were encouraged to enter the field. So, at the age of 18, Eloise traveled to Paris, France, where she attended Le College Feminin and studied interior design and ballet.
After a year in Paris, she returned to the United States, married and taught ballet.
In the 1940s, she continued her design education at the prestigious Parson's School of Design and married her second husband, Colonel Rory O'More, a military man of Irish descent. While traveling with him, she often taught interior design courses for military wives and designed military officer clubs. In the 1960s, she moved to Franklin. Painting became her passion, and her work included a number of murals around Middle Tennessee. She became very involved with Franklin's cultural life and was one of the early leaders of the historic preservation movement in Williamson County.
Mrs. O'More had always dreamed of recreating, in America, the ambiance of the French design school. In 1970, at an age when most people are considering retirement, she founded O'More School of Design.
 Classes
were held in her Victorian home on West Main Street
in Franklin, and she taught all of the interior design
courses. In 1979, the College moved to its present campus,
which occupies seven acres on the edge of downtown Franklin.
By the 1980s, the school had become a college and had
added to its program two new bachelor's degrees: Fashion
Design & Merchandising and Graphic Design &
Advertising. Mrs. O'More always felt it important to
maintain contact with her students, so she continued
teaching at least one class each semester until her
retirement in 1994. She lived on campus and remained
involved in the College's operations until her death
in 2002, at the age of 95.
Today, O'More College of Design offers
three accredited bachelor of fine arts degrees: Interior
Design, Fashion Design & Merchandising and Visual
Communications. Enrollment is at a comfortable capacity
of approximately 200 students.
We think Mrs. O'More would be proud.
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