| Furman University | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Christo et Doctrinae |
| Motto in English | For Christ and Learning |
| Established | 1826 |
| Type | Private |
| Endowment | US$444 million [2] |
| President | Rodney A. Smolla |
| Faculty | 272 |
| Undergraduates | 2,801 |
| Postgraduates | 176 |
| Location | Greenville, South Carolina, United States |
| Campus | Suburban 750 acre (3 km²) |
| Athletics | 21 varsity teams |
| Colors | Royal Purple and White ; |
| Nickname | Paladins |
| Athletics | Division I |
| Affiliations | Southern Conference |
| Website | www.furman.edu |
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Furman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is the oldest, largest and most selective private institution in South Carolina and is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States.[1] Founded in 1826, Furman enrolls approximately 2,550 undergraduate and 525 graduate students on its 750-acre (3 km²) campus.
In recent years, more Furman University graduates have gone on to earn more Ph.D. degrees than those of any other private liberal arts college in the South, according to a survey conducted by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center.[2] Today Furman offers majors and programs in 42 subjects. Most of Furman's 2,600 undergraduates are from the South Atlantic region, but more than 40 states and 15 foreign countries are represented in the student population. Furman is a member of Associated Colleges of the South.
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History
Furman was founded in 1826 at Edgefield, SC as a Men's Academy and Theological Institute. It relocated in Greenville, South Carolina in 1850. It was named for Richard Furman of Charleston, SC, a prominent minister and president of the first Baptist convention in America, the Triennial Convention.[3] The original school building from that campus was transported to the Greenville campus, where it still stands. In 1933, students from the Greenville Women's College began attending classes with Furman students. Shortly thereafter, the two schools merged to form the present institution.
In 1956 Furman began construction on its new campus, just five miles (8 km) north of downtown Greenville. Classes on the new campus began in 1958. Now a private, secular university, Furman was founded by, and affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention until separating in the 1991 - 1992 school year. The university's motto remains Christo et Doctrinae (For Christ and Learning). According to Furman University's official website, the university "is rooted in the non-creedal, free church Baptist tradition which has always valued particular religious commitments while insisting not only on the freedom of the individual to believe as he or she sees fit but also on respect for a diversity of religious perspectives...". Furman University is part of the Duke Endowment. The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. The market value of the Duke Endowment's assets have grown to approximately $3.5 billion. From 1924-2007, the Duke Endowment has given Furman $110 million,[4] which is 5% of the Duke Endowment's total awards.
The current president is Rodney A. Smolla, formerly the Dean of Washington and Lee University's law school. He became the 11th president of the university, effective July 1, 2010.[5] replacing David E. Shi, a 1973 alumnus of Furman. Shi has been a national leader in colleges' working to promote sustainability and to become carbon neutral.
Academics
Furman offers majors and programs in 42 subjects. Undergraduates come from 46 states and 31 countries. Furman has produced six Rhodes scholars and 17 Truman scholars.[6] Furman has a course in nature or environmental studies as an undergraduate requirement.
Rankings
Furman was ranked no. 15 in the list of the Washington Monthly: "Top US Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings", based on its production of research valuable to society and its commitment to national service.[7] The university's engaged learning academic program, which promotes problem-solving, project-oriented, experience-based education, has received high praise from The Princeton Review, Peterson's Competitive Colleges , The Fiske Guide to Colleges and The College Board College Handbook. In terms of the quality of the students, Furman was ranked no. 30 in the SSRN's "U.S Colleges and Universities Preference Rankings" (based on the choice to enroll of high-achieving students in US)[8] The Chronicle of Higher Education noted Furman was no. 32 in the nation for the percentage of National Merit Scholars in its 2005-2006 freshman class.[9]
According to a report from the American Institute of Physics, Furman is one of 35 schools whose physics departments offer a bachelor’s as their highest degree to average 10 or more undergraduate degrees for the classes of 2003, 2004 and 2005.[10] By survey, The Princeton Review ranked Furman University as number 9 in their top 10 most socially conservative schools in 2009.[11]
Campus
A 40-acre (0.1-km²) lake is at the center of the 750-acre (3-km²), wooded campus. Most buildings are of Georgian-style architecture. Many academic buildings and student residences stand around the lake, including the Bell Tower. The Bell Tower figures highly in school insignias and is a replica of the tower that once existed on the men's campus in downtown Greenville. Today, the campus is anchored by its newly expanded 128,000-square foot (12,000 m²) [James B. Duke Library]. Informally known as "The Country Club of the South," Furman was named one of the 362 most beautiful places in America by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The fall 1997 issue of Planning for Higher Education names Furman as a benchmark campus for its landscaping. The 1997 Princeton Review ranked Furman fifth in its list of beautiful campuses, based on student ratings of campus beauty. Students are required to live on campus, except senior year when they may participate in a lottery for a chance to live off campus.
On the north side of the lake are the four Greenbelt housing cabins,[12] and the Cliffs Cottage, which is a "green" building built as a showcase home in conjunction with Southern Living magazine.[13] Most juniors and seniors live in North Village Apartments, located on the north side of the Cliffs Cottage. The remaining upperclassmen are either placed in dorm-style residence halls or enter a lottery to receive an apartment in The Vinings, an apartment complex next to campus owned by the university. There are two other residence complexes (called Lakeside and South Housing). The campus also includes an Asian Garden, the centerpiece of which is the Place of Peace, a replica of a Buddhist temple. A replica of the cabin that Henry David Thoreau inhabited while writing On Walden Pond is located on the west side of the lake.[14]
Student life
Undergraduate student housing
All full-time students, except those who are married or living at home with their parents or guardians, are required to live on campus in university housing. Furman undergraduates can choose between South campus housing and lakeside housing. The south campus housing contains the Geer, Manly, Poteat, Blackwell and McGlothlin dorms. The lakeside housing includes the Gambrell, Ramsey, Judson, Townes, McBee, Haynsworth, and Chiles dorm. All student housing has air-conditioning, closets, wired/wireless internet access, and washer/dryer usage. The North Village is an apartment complex built for the juniors and mainly seniors that offers apartment style living for upperclassmen. North Village apartments offer two or four bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, balcony, two vanity areas, two bathrooms and closet and storage space. Within each bedroom, a full-size bed, desk, desk chair and dresser/hutch is provided for each resident.
Dining
Furman University students are required to have a meal plan and freshmen are required to have an unlimited meal plan. The main dining facility is in the Daniel Hall. Renovated in 2006, Daniel Hall offers buffet-style dining and an Einstein Bros. Bagels location upstairs. Paladen food court offers Chick-Fil-A, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Pan Geos. Furman also has a dining facility named Tower Cafe; where students can get coffee from Starbucks.
Student government
Furman University Student Government works under a semi-Presidential system. SGA is made up of the executive council, and president, secretary, and two senators for each class. The class officers President, Secretary/Treasurer, and two Senators. Upon election council members are assigned within one of six committees to specialize in a particular area of student needs.
Fraternities and sororities
Furman Housing and Residence Life delegates halls and lounges for campus fraternities and sororities. Furman University has seven fraternities and seven sororities. Fraternities on campus: Beta Theta Pi, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Alpha Psi, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Nu.[15] Sororities on campus: Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma.[16] The school also has two music based fraternities including Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a men's social fraternity with emphasis in music, along with Sigma Alpha Iota, a primarily female professional music organization.
Athletics
Furman competes in NCAA Division I athletics and is one of the smallest NCAA Division I schools in the nation. Furman fields 17 men’s and women’s teams, as well as 16 club sports and many intramural teams.[17] The team nickname, the Paladins, was first used by a Greenville, South Carolina, sportswriter in the 1930s. For many years the name “Paladins” just referred to Furman’s basketball team. Until 1961 the school’s baseball teams were known as the "Hornets" and the football teams as the "Hurricanes." On September 15 of that year, the student body voted to make "Paladins" the official nickname of all of the university's intercollegiate athletic teams. The university is a member of the Southern Conference. Furman is the only liberal arts college to be ranked in Sports Illustrated Top 100 America's Best Sports Colleges[18] and has 32 former student-athletes competing at the professional level- the most of any Southern Conference member school.[citation needed]
Football
In 1988 Furman won the NCAA I-AA National Football Championship. Furman also appeared in the 1985 and 2001 NCAA I-AA National Football Championship game, but lost (to Georgia Southern and Montana, respectively). Furman, Colgate, Lehigh, Richmond and Villanova remain the only private universities that have appeared in the I-AA Football Championship game, and Furman was the first private school to win it, with Richmond becoming the second 20 years later. Over the past few years, Furman's football team has been consistently ranked in the top 3 spots in the NCAA I-AA polls, and recently climbed to no. 1 in the nation in the latest Sports Network polls [19]. The Paladins have also claimed 12 Southern Conference football titles, more than any school in league history. Furman has only won one national championship and that was in football.
Golf
Furman has had several successful golf teams, especially in women's golf. Few collegiate woman golf programs have produced more outstanding professionals than Furman, which boasts 11 former Lady Paladins on the LPGA tour, including two Hall of Fame inductees (Betsy King and Beth Daniel). Furman has claimed 13 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championships. It should also be noted that PGA Tour players Brad Faxon, Stuart Cook, and Bruce Fleisher played for the Paladins.
Soccer
Coached by Doug Allison, the men's soccer team has been ranked as high as no. 3 in the nation and has produced a share of professional players.[20] Former star Clint Dempsey, who now plays club soccer for Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League was the only American player to score a goal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany [21]. Dempsey also scored notable goals in the US upset of Spain in 2009, the near defeat of Brazil in 2009 and the 1-1 draw with England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Ricardo Clark, a current member of the United States Men's National Soccer Team and Eintracht Frankfurt also played soccer for Furman. Current MLS players, Shea Salinas of the Philadelphia Union and Jonathan Leathers of the Kansas City Wizards also played for the Paladins.
Tennis
Furman men's tennis coach Paul Scarpa is the all-time winningest coach in American college tennis history, with a record spanning over 830 wins. A Florida State Alum, he is a member of the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, USTA Southern Section Hall of Fame, inventor of popular clay-court line Tenex, and has coached 108 All-Southern Conference players in his illustrious 46 year career.
Rugby
Furman's Rugby Club team won the East Coast Collegiate Division III Championship three years in a row from 2003-2005.[22] Started in 1998, the club excels in Division III rugby union.
Lacrosse
Furman Men's Lacrosse Club team is a member of the Southeast Lacrosse Conference in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association.
Notable alumni
Science
- Charles Townes - Nobel Prize in Physics winner, inventor of the maser, laid theoretical groundwork for invention of laser
- John B. Watson - American Psychologist, founder of Behaviorism
- Hans Einstein - the foremost authority on the lung disease Valley Fever
- Thomas T. Goldsmith - Physicist who helped pioneer the invention of Color Television, and Inventor of the first video game.
Arts and theatre
- Jay Bocook - Renowned Composer and Arranger - Work Featured at 1984 Olympic Games
- Ben Browder - Three-time Saturn Awards winner for Best Actor on Television on Farscape
- Keith Lockhart - Current conductor of the Boston Pops
- Victoria Jackson - Former cast member of Saturday Night Live
Writers, journalist, literature, and publishers
- Orville Vernon Burton - Renowned Southern Historian and author of Age of Lincoln
- Betsy Byars - children's author, winner of the Newbery Medal, a National Book Award, an Edgar Award and the Regina Medal
- George Singleton – Novelist
- Maurice Bloomfield - Austrian-born U.S. philologist and Sanskrit scholar
- Marshall Frady - Civil Rights Era journalist
Business
- Herman Lay - Founder of the Lay's Corporation, later creating the largest-selling snack food company in the US, the Frito-Lay corporation
- David C. Garrett, Jr. - Former CEO of Delta Air Lines
Politics and law
- Joseph H. Earle - member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1878 to 1882, a member of the South Carolina Senate from 1882 to 1886, South Carolina attorney general from 1886 to 1890 and a United States Senator from South Carolina in 1897
- Wilton E. Hall - newspaper publisher and United States Senator from South Carolina from 1944 to 1945
- Baron Hill - Indiana congressman
- John Michael McConnell - Has served as director of the National Security Agency and currently serves as Director of National Intelligence
- Roger C. Peace - United States Senator from South Carolina
- William H. Perry - United States Representative from South Carolina
- Richard Riley - Former Governor of South Carolina and U.S. Secretary of Education under the Clinton administration
- Mark Sanford - Current Governor of South Carolina
- Nick Theodore - Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 1987 to 1995
- William Dimitrouleas (1973) - United States District Judge
- Clement Haynsworth - Former United States judge and an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court
- Alexander Stubb - Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Athletes
Soccer
- Clint Dempsey - Professional soccer player for Fulham of the English Premier League, 2004 MLS Rookie of the Year and member of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, only US player to score a goal in the 2006 World Cup, scored first American goal in 2010 World Cup in South Africa in 1-1 match versus England
- Ricardo Clark - Professional soccer player for Eintracht Frankfurt, 2003 MLS Rookie of the Year runner-up, member of the United States Men's National Soccer Team
- Jonathan Leathers - Professional soccer player for the MLS Kansas City Wizards
- Shea Salinas- Professional soccer player for the MLS Philadelphia Union
- Sergei Raad - Professional soccer player for the MLS Kansas City Wizards
- John Barry Nusum - Professional soccer player for the Virginia Beach Mariners and Philadelphia Kixx
Football
- Brian Bratton - NFL player, rookie free agent for the Atlanta Falcons in 2005, formerly a receiver for Baltimore Ravens assigned to the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe.
- Luther Broughton - Former NFL tight end
- Jerome Felton - NFL player, 5th round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2008 NFL Draft, Furman fullback
- Louis Ivory - College football running back, won the 2000 Walter Payton Award
- Stanford Jennings - Former NFL player for the Cincinnati Bengals, scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII; current New Balance sales executive
- Ingle Martin - NFL player, QB for Kansas City Chiefs
- Orlando Ruff - NFL player for Cleveland Browns
- Cam Newton - NFL and Arena Football League player, former defensive Back for Carolina Panthers and Georgia Force[23]
- David Whitehurst - Former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers
- Sam Wyche - Former NFL head coach; led Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII
Basketball
- Frank Selvy - Former NBA All-Star; holds current NCAA Division 1 record for the most points scored (100) in a single basketball game
- Darrell Floyd - Two-time NCAA Consensus All-American basketball player
- Derek Waugh - Head men's basketball coach at Stetson University
Golf
- Beth Daniel - LPGA Tour, World Golf Hall of Fame, 32 career victories
- Betsy King - LPGA Tour, World Golf Hall of Fame, 34 career victories
- Dottie Pepper - Former LPGA Tour champion; current NBC and Golf Channel commentator
- Sherri Turner - Professional golfer, won the 1988 LPGA Championship
- Brad Faxon - eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, played on two Ryder Cup teams
- Bruce Fleisher - won the U.S. Amateur in 1968, professional golfer on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour
Other Sports
- Consequences Creed (Austin Watson) - Professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment
- Angel Martino - Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming
- Tom Mastny - MLB pitcher, former player for Cleveland Indians, currently pitching for AAA New Orleans Zephyrs of the Florida Marlins farm system
Notable faculty
- Jay Bocook - Music, composer of music for 1984 Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies in Los Angeles
- Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. - Physics, television pioneer, video game inventor
- Mark Kilstofte - Music, winner of the American Academy in Rome's Rome Prize for 2002-2003 [24]
Points of interest
- Doughboy Statue, honoring Furman students who served in World War I
- Daniel Chapel Organ
- The Bell Tower and Burnside Carillon (a 59 bell carillon by Van Bergen)
- Furman's special collections department houses the South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection and the South Carolina Poetry Archives.
Notes
- ^ http://www.furman.edu/press/pressarchive.cfm?ID=3871
- ^ http://www.collegenews.org/x5417.xml
- ^ http://www.furman.edu/general/history.htm
- ^ "Duke Endowment: Partners in Progress". http://www2.furman.edu/about/about/Pages/DukeEndow.aspx. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "Rodney Smolla Named 11th President of Furman University". http://www2.furman.edu/about/about/newpresident/Pages/default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "About Furman". http://www.furman.edu/main/aboutfurman.htm.
- ^ [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.collegeguide.html
- ^ http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=601105
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.furman.edu/?articleid=2386
- ^ "Top 10 Most Socially Conservative Colleges - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwpYqjoQ.
- ^ "Engaged Living's Greenbelt Community". http://ees.furman.edu/greenguide/greenbeltcommunity.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "The Cliffs Cottage". http://ees.furman.edu/greenguide/Cliffs.html. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ "The Simple Cabin by the Lake".
- ^ http://www.furman.edu/orgs/orglist.htm
- ^ http://panhellenic.furman.edu/
- ^ "About Furman University". http://www2.furman.edu/About/About/Pages/default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2002/10/01/1_10/
- ^ http://www.ncaasports.com/football/mens/polls/rankings/diviaa
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/soccer/2002-09-11-furman_x.htm
- ^ http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/match/42/mr.html
- ^ http://www.usarugbysouth.com/competition/collegiate%20HISTORY/default.htm
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/553462
- ^ http://www.aarome.org/rome_prize/2003winners.htm
External links
- Official website
- Furman University athletics website
- Furman University admissions
- The Paladin
- Remember Furman | Gallery of Furman Photos
- Furman University Historical Marker
Coordinates: 34°55′33″N 82°26′8″W / 34.92583°N 82.43556°W
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