William Carey University is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in the United States, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, with a second campus located in the Tradition community near Gulfport, Mississippi and Biloxi, Mississippi.William Carey University was founded by W. I. Thames in 1892 as Pearl River Boarding School in Poplarville, Mississippi.