Anderson University (South Carolina)

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Anderson University

Motto Knowledge for the Journey
Established 1911
Type Private, four-year
President Evans P. Whitaker
Staff 130
Undergraduates 1,726
Postgraduates 50
Location Anderson, South Carolina, United States
Campus 56 acres, 23 buildings
Athletics Anderson Trojans
Mascot Trojan
Website www.andersonuniversity.edu

Anderson University is a comprehensive university located in Anderson, South Carolina, offering bachelors and masters degrees in approximately 50 areas of study.

Anderson University is a private institution affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Dr. Evans P. Whitaker is the current president of the university.

The University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Several degree programs have additional specialized accreditation: The College of Education programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); music programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM); and the College of Business is a candidate for accreditation by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Anderson is also recognized as a South Carolina Teaching Fellows institution. Anderson is ranked in the Top Tier of Southern Comprehensive Universities by U. S. News and World Report.

Anderson is a member of the Conference Carolinas (formerly the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Converence) and has ten sports played by 19 teams.

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[edit] History

A group of citizens from the city of Anderson, who desired to have a school of higher education their area, offered 32 acres (129,000 m²) of land and $100,000 to the South Carolina Baptist Convention at their meeting in 1910. The convention appointed a group of trustees, and Anderson College was granted a charter in 1911 by the South Carolina General Assembly. In 1912, the College opened as a four-year college for women until 1930. In 1929, the South Carolina Baptist Convention approved the institution's transition to a junior college, the first in the state. The College became a coeducational institution in 1930.

In December, 1989, the Board of Trustees voted to return the College to its status as a four-year institution, which officially began in the fall semester of 1991. This decision was subsequently affirmed by a unanimous vote of the General Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. The first four-year class since 1930 graduated in May, 1993.

On January 1, 2006, Anderson College officially became Anderson University. The name change was approved by the school's board of trustees and affirmed by the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

[edit] Student Body

The Anderson University student population is around 1726 students, with a low student to faculty ratio of 14:1. The traditional student body is made up of young men and women from a variety of states including South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia, Colorado, Maine, and New York, as well as many different countries including Spain, Sweden, France, Tasmania, Argentina, Brazil, Barbados, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Kirgestan, India, and Japan. The University also serves adult students through its ACCEL (Adult College Choice for Exceptional Learning) evening college and through its graduate programs.

[edit] Campus

Anderson University is situated on a 56 acre (227,000 m²) main campus with an additional 12 acres (49,000 m²) within the city limits of Anderson, South Carolina. Most of the buildings on campus are red brick, built throughout the 20th century in the Georgian architectural style. The Merritt Administration Building, Denmark Hall, and Pratt Hall were the original buildings on the Anderson University campus, being built at the time of the university's founding in 1911. The front lawn (six acres) of Anderson University is heavily wooded with large oak trees, as is the interior of the main campus which is landscaped in a series of rising terraces. The front lawn and early buildings near the lawn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In January 2007, Anderson opened it's new 53,000 square foot Thrift Library which is designed to hold 300,000 volumes, an art gallery, multi-media hall, and coffee bar.

[edit] Contact information

Anderson University
316 Boulevard
Anderson, SC 29621
864-231-2000
800-542-3594
864-231-2033 (fax)

[edit] External links