Organization:Converse College
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1889 |
| Endowment | $77.6 million (2020)[1] |
| President | Krista Newkirk |
| Provost | Jeffrey Barker |
| Students | 1,389 |
| Undergraduates | 822 |
| Postgraduates | 567 |
| Location | Spartanburg , South Carolina , United States [ ⚑ ] 34°57′16.59″N 81°55′01.51″W / 34.9546083°N 81.9170861°W |
| Campus | Urban 70 acres (0.3 km2) |
| |u}}rs | Purple and Gold |
| Nickname | Valkyries |
| Affiliations | Conference Carolinas |
| Mascot | Val the Valkyrie |
| Website | converse.edu |
Converse College is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It consists of an undergraduate coeducational college as well as coeducational graduate, online, and summer programs. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse.
History
Converse College Historic District | |
 | |
| Location | 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Area | 20 acres (8.1 ha) |
| Built | 1891-1915 |
| Architect | Hook, Charles |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque, Richardson Romanesque |
| NRHP reference # | 75001706[2] |
| Added to NRHP | November 12, 1975 |
Converse College opened on October 1, 1890, with a student body of 168 and 16 faculty members. The college operated as a "stock company" with the board of directors composed entirely of residents of Spartanburg. Dexter Edgar Converse, a native of Vermont who had settled in Spartanburg before the American Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in the cotton mill industry, served as the head of the first board of directors. On January 2, 1892, fire destroyed the college's main building. The building was enlarged during its reconstruction. In 1896, the college was incorporated in South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was named. In 1964, the college introduced graduate programs.
The Converse College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2] It encompasses eight contributing buildings dated between 1891 and 1915. They are the Main Building (Wilson Hall) (1892), Annex (Pell Hall, 1891), Twichell Auditorium (1898–1899), Carnegie Library (1905), Cleveland House (c. 1905), Judd Science Hall (1915), Dexter Hall (1899) and Towne House (1898). The buildings are representative of the Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Neo-Classical styles.[3][4]
The college plans to change its name to "Converse University" in the summer of 2021. The college also plans to "expand its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed" by admitting male undergraduate students for the fall of 2021.[5]
Presidents
| Name | Years served |
|---|---|
| Benjamin F. Wilson | 1890–1902 |
| Robert Paine Pell | 1902–1932 |
| Edward Moseley Gwathmey | 1933–1955 |
| Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, Jr. | 1956–1960 |
| Robert T. Coleman, Jr. | 1961–1989 |
| Ellen Wood Hall | 1989–1993 |
| Sandra C. Thomas | 1994–1998 |
| Nancy Oliver Gray | 1999–2005 |
| Elizabeth A. Fleming | 2006–2016 |
| Krista L. Newkirk | 2016 – Present |
Academics
Converse College has an undergraduate enrollment of about 800 students. The graduate enrollment of about 550 students is made up of both men and women.
The academic programs are organized in the following departments:
- Art and Design
- Biology, Chemistry and Physics
- Economics, Accounting and Business
- Education
- English/Creative and Professional Writing
- Languages, Cultures and Literature
- Health and Physical Education
- History and Politics
- Mathematics and Computer Science
- Psychology
- Religion and Philosophy
- Theater and Dance
- Music
Athletics
Converse College teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II. The Valkyries are a member of the Conference Carolinas. Women's sports include acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, swimming, and volleyball.
Converse will add men's sports when it becomes fully coeducational in July 2021, initially fielding teams in basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor), and eSports (Co-Ed). With the "Valkyries" nickname being distinctly feminine, the school has not yet announced whether it will use that nickname for its men's teams, adopt a separate men's nickname, or change its nickname entirely.[6]
Notable alumnae
- Kimilee Bryant, Broadway actress and Miss South Carolina 1989[7]
- Phyllis Harris '82, senior vice president and general counsel of legal administration for Walmart Stores.[8]
Notable faculty
- Julia Klumpke, concert violinist and composer
References
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- ↑ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP.
- ↑ Mary Ann Eaddy and Georgianna Graham (May 1975). "Converse Heights Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/spartanburg/S10817742013/S10817742013.pdf.
- ↑ "Converse College Historic District, Spartanburg County (Spartanburg)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/spartanburg/S10817742013/index.htm. and accompanying map
- ↑ "Converse College Board of Trustees Announces Dynamic Changes". Converse College. February 7, 2020. https://www.converse.edu/coed-university/.
- ↑ "Converse Announces Inaugural Men's NCAA Division II Athletic Teams for 2021-2022" (Press release). Converse College. April 8, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ↑ "Broadway actress Kimilee Bryant returns to Greenville". The Greenville News. 10 June 2015. http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/paul-hyde/2015/06/10/broadway-actress-kimilee-bryant-returns-greenville/71006434/.
- ↑ "Phyllis P. Harris". http://www.eli.org/bios/phyllis-p-harris.
External links
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