Converse University

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Converse College)
Jump to: navigation, search
Converse University
120px
Former name
 Converse College (1889–2021)
Type Private university
Established 1889; 136 years ago (1889)
Endowment $77.6 million (2020)[1]
President Boone Hopkins
Provost Joe Wilferth
Academic staff
 90 Full-time (2022)[2]
Students 1,284
Undergraduates 804
Postgraduates 480
Location
Spartanburg, South Carolina
,
U.S.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Campus Urban, 70 acres (28 ha)
Colors Purple and gold
         
Nickname Valkyries
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA Division II – Carolinas
Mascot Val the Valkyrie
Website converse.edu
200px
Converse College Historic District
Converse College main building.jpg
Location 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, South Carolina
Area 20 acres (8.1 ha)
Built 1891 (1891)-1915
Architect Hook, Charles
Architectural style Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque, Richardson Romanesque
NRHP Reference # 75001706[3]
Added to NRHP November 12, 1975

Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".

Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits men.

History

<templatestyles src="Stack/styles.css"/>

File:Dexter Edgar Converse.png
Dexter Edgar Converse

Converse College opened on October 1, 1890, with a student body of 168 women and 16 faculty members. The college only admitted women students and 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.[3] 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.[4][5]

The college changed its name to "Converse University" in the summer of 2021. The college also "expanded its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed" by admitting male undergraduate students in the fall of 2020.[6]

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 2016–2021
Jeffrey H. Barker[7] 2021–2021
Boone J. Hopkins [8] 2022–present

Academics

University rankings
National
Global
Regional
U.S. News & World Report[9] 46 (tie) of 103
Master's University class
Washington Monthly[10] 76 of 603

As of August 2023, Converse offers 44 undergraduate degree programs and 28 graduate programs. The university's undergraduate program also awards certificates.[11] The University also has a presence at University Center of Greenville, a center that houses satellite campuses of several South Carolina colleges offering higher education programs.[12] Converse offers two undergraduate and three graduate degree programs at the center.[13]

The Nisbet Honors Program, established in 2000, is the university's undergraduate honors program.[14]

Converse has a Model Programs team who participate in Model Arab League and the annual International Model NATO conference hosted by Howard University.[15][16] Converse's Model Programs annually hosts the Southeastern Regional Model Arab League (SERMAL) conference.[17]

Athletics

Converse athletic teams are known as the Valkyries. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Conference Carolinas.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

The inaugural men's sports are basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Converse's equestrian program is coeducational, though only women participate in NCAA-recognized competition. The university also has a coeducational varsity esports team.[citation needed]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

Template:Spartanburg, South Carolina

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

  1. ↑ As of June 30, 2020. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. and accompanying map
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Converse College, Y's and other Y's (Spartanburg, SC: 1948), 78, Spartanburg County Public Libraries, https://cdm17281.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17281coll8/id/766/rec/50 , Accessed 14 June 2023.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Converse_University&oldid=727725677"