College of Charleston
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The College of Charleston (C of C) is a public university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The College was founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, making it the oldest college or university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the oldest municipal college in the country. The founders of the college include three signers of the Declaration of Independence and three signers of the United States Constitution. It is said that the college was founded to, "encourage and institute youth in the several branches of liberal education." The College is in company with the Colonial Colleges as one of the oldest schools in the United States.
History
The College of Charleston lies in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, roughly in the middle of the Charleston peninsula. Built on land given to the College's founders by Grace Episcopal Church, located to the south of the campus, the College originally held class in one of several buildings that have since been torn down. The oldest building on campus, the Bishop Robert Smith House, built in 1770, serves as the President's House. Randolph Hall was built in 1828 and is the oldest functioning college classroom building in the nation. Currently it houses the President's Office, Graduate Studies offices, and various others. Towell Library, located alongside Randolph Hall in the area known as the Cistern, was built in 1855 and was the College's original library. Porter's Lodge was built in 1850 and originally functioned as the residence for the campus' porter, who was charged with the maintenance and upkeep of the College's facilities until the position was no longer needed soon after the Civil War.-->The College has twice served as barracks for American soldiers, once during the Civil War and again during World War I. Randolph Hall and Towell Library both exhibit damage from cannonfire from the Civil War. In 1886, Charleston experienced a massive earthquake, estimated to have been a 7.5 on the Richter Scale. The earthquake demolished most of the city, but the structures of the College survived relatively unscathed, though many structures maintain earthquake bolts that were believed to stabilize the buildings. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo took its toll on much of the South Carolina coast, devastating Charleston in particular. While many of the Live Oaks found around campus had were damaged and removed during the cleanup, the rest of the campus was spared and few signs of the hurricane still exist.
The College became the nation's first municipally funded public university in 1826, and was incorporated into the South Carolina State College System in 1970. The College first admitted women in 1918, and African-Americans in 1968.
Background
Founded as a liberal arts college, the curriculum included all popular areas of study when it was incorporated into the South Carolina State College System in 1970. Total enrollment has been decreased and capped over the last few years and the school now has just under 10,000 undergraduate students. The liberal arts history is seen in the core curriculum that still includes a heavy influence on language, English, history, sciences, and humanities.In 1992 the University of Charleston, now called the Graduate School of the College of Charleston, was founded as the graduate program for the College. By 1999, the graduate program had over two thousand students.
The College also has a satellite campus in nearby North Charleston, a marine research lab in neighboring James Island, and most of its athletic teams use the College's space at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.
President
Lee Higdon is the College's current President, and only the 20th in the College's 235 year history. With his arrival came ambitious plans for the continued revival of the College in Higdon's Fourth Century Initiative. As part of the plan, the College has constructed a new business school, the Beatty Center, and the $30 million Addlestone Library with further plans to expand the School of the Arts, the School of Education, and the construction of a new, 5000 seat basketball arena, the Carolina First Arena. On April 10, 2006 Hidgon formally announced his resignation for a similar position at Connecticut College. Effective July 1, Conrad Festa, former C of C Provost and Executive Director of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, will serve as the Interim President of the College of Charleston.Athletics
C of C Facts
Because of the historic look of the campus, many movies have been filmed at the College of Charleston, including Cold Mountain, The Patriot, White Squall, O, and The Notebook. The most popular scene location is Randolph Hall. In 2004, the first televised debate between Senate candidates Jim DeMint and Inez Tenenbaum was filmed in Alumni Hall, ABC's The View,and CNN's Crossfire also took up residence on the College of Charleston cistern before the South Carolina Primary of the 2000 Presidential Election.External links
- [C of C Website]
- [C of C School of Business and Economics]
- [C of C School of Sciences and Mathematics]
- [C of C Computer Science]
- [C of C Political Science]
- [C of C Student Government]
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