Presbyterian College
Encyclopedia
Presbyterian College is a private
liberal arts college
in Clinton, South Carolina
, USA
. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and School for Boys and Girls. The college's current President is Dr. John V. Griffith.
Presbyterian College has around 1300 students and runs on an endowment of around $100 million. PC also has 84 full-time faculty members. Over the years six of its faculty have been selected as South Carolina Professors of the Year, more than any other college or university in the state.
The motto of PC is "Dum Vivimus Servimus" or "While We Live We Serve." Service
is a crucial part of PC, and almost all of its students partake in some form of service by the time they graduate. Consequently, students are encouraged to participate in programs like Student Volunteer Services, one of the largest student-run organizations on campus.
The PC mascot is the Blue Hose, represented by a Scotsman
clad in a kilt
with blue
stockings. PC athletics are a part of the Big South Conference
of NCAA
's Division I. PC is also home to Cyrus, the largest bronze
statue of a Scotsman in the world.
PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a Presbyterian minister who also founded The Thornwell Home and School for Boys and Girls. The Rev. William Plumer Jacobs was born in Yorkville (now York, South Carolina
) on March 15, 1842. He died in Clinton on September 10, 1917. For these 75 years, his frail body was driven in unselfish service toward fulfillment of his motto: "I will strive and try not to gain great things for myself but to gain them for God." In addition to founding and/or supporting the church, college and orphanage, Dr. Jacobs served as author, reporter, publisher and took the lead in Clinton civic affairs. He helped secure the location of two railroads, led in the establishment of the Clinton High School Association and sponsored plans for founding a public library. He was fluent in Latin
, Greek
, French
, German
and Hebrew, and was an expert in metaphysics
, history and astronomy
. He was also proficient in shorthand
.
Following Jacob's death, PC went on to be highly influenced by the Progressive Movement of the early twentieth century. In fact, the college was so influenced by the movement's emphasis on service that the school's motto was changed from Vivimus Ut Serviamus (Living to Serve) to Dum Vivimus Servimus, or "While We Live, We Serve" .
Presbyterian College has 84 full-time professors and offers 30 majors. The average class size is 13-15 students. The college has three Cooperative and Dual-Degree Programs in Engineering (with Auburn
, Clemson
, and Vanderbilt
Universities), Forestry/Environmental Science (with Duke University
) and Religion (with Union Theological Seminary
). PC also has eight pre-professional programs.
A Confucius Institute is now an integral part of academic life at PC. Confucius Institutes exist at colleges and universities worldwide to offer educational opportunities in Chinese language and culture. Presbyterian College and the University of South Carolina are the only two venues for Confucius Institutes in South Carolina. PC also maintains active academic partnerships with Guizhou University in China and with Karlsruhe University of Education in Germany.
, Art-Art History, Accounting, Biochemistry
, Biology
, Business Administration, Chemistry
, Christian Education, Economics
, Early Childhood Education
, Elementary Education, English
, English-Creative Writing, Fine Arts, French
, History
International Studies
, Modern Language
, Mathematics
, Medical Physics
, Middle School Education, Music
, Music Education, Physical Education
(Minor), Physics
, Political Science
, Psychology
, Religion
, Religion/Christian Education, Sociology
, Spanish
, and Theatre
.
Presbyterian College also offers several Pre-Professional Programs, namely Pre-Allied Health Sciences, Pre-Dental
, Pre-Environmental Sciences, Pre-Law
, Pre-Medical, Pre-Pharmacy
, Pre-Physical Therapy
, Pre-Theological Studies, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Engineering Dual Degree, ROTC, and Teacher Education and Certification.
. The school opened in the fall of 2010 and is currently on precandidate accreditation status
The historian
William Y. Thompson
taught at Presbyterian College from 1950–1955, when he joined the faculty of Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
, Louisiana
.
At the annual Opening Convocation, each incoming student and new faculty member signs a pledge to adhere to these principles. Many community members recognize several resulting benefits. Some students do not lock their dorm rooms or their bicycles. Professors and students are allowed greater flexibility as all are considered by default to be trustworthy and not to be suspected of cheating. Such liberties are partly maintained by the seriousness with which the Honor Council manages cases of violations. The standard, but by no means required, punishment for violating the honor code is suspension for two semesters. Every year, despite the regularity with which attention is focused on the honor code, a small number of violations are reported to and sometimes tried by the Honor Council.
In 2006, Presbyterian College revised its Honor Code to its current version:
Further details can be found at the PC website.
PC has 6 national fraternities:
PC has 3 national sororities:
Each fraternity has a house on campus, located at Fraternity Court.
, an association of over 100 liberal arts colleges that has spoken out against rankings systems, particularly the system published annually by the U.S. News and World Report. Specifically, Presbyterian College and others of the group do not participate in the highly subjective "reputational survey" portion of the overall survey (this section accounts for 25% of the total rank). In spite of PC's refusal to submit the often subjective peer-assessment portion of the survey, U.S. News ranks the college 105th among liberal arts colleges according to its Best Colleges 2010 list.
In the days following PC's formal denouncement of ranking systems, however, Presbyterian College was ranked no. 1 in the 2007 version of Washington Monthlys Top US Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings based on its production of research valuable to society and its commitment to national service. Consequently, the issue of college rankings has become the subject of much debate on PC's campus, with students and faculty voicing strong opinions on both sides of the issue.
Six buildings on Presbyterian College's 240 acres (97 ha) campus are part of the Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District, a historic district
that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
: Doyle Hall, Laurens Hall, Jacobs Hall, the president's house, Neville Hall, and the campus bell tower.
To house its students, Presbyterian College features 11 residence halls, 9 apartments, and 15 townhouses that together provide lodging for over 90% of the students at the college. Most of the residence halls are named for friends of the college. Men's residence halls include Bailey Hall, Georgia Hall and Barron Hall. Women's residence halls include Belk Hall, Clinton Hall, Laurens Hall, Grotnes Hall, Smyth Hall and Reynolds Hall. Two residence halls, Carol International House and Senior Hall, are co-educational. The college also uses 15 townhouse units to house 72 senior students and 9 Scottish Arms apartments to house an additional 18 students.
During the 2008-2009 academic year, Presbyterian College acquired a piece of property that will be used as the primary facility for the School of Pharmacy. The School of Pharmacy building will be a 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²), multi-story facility housing classrooms, faculty offices, teaching and research laboratories, assessment areas, and a pharmacy clinic, the Center for Pharmacy Care. The facility is located in Clinton approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) from the Presbyterian College campus. A relationship between the City of Clinton and the college developed so that the city and college jointly acquired the building, the unoccupied former home of Presbyterian Home, an assisted living center. Renovation of the facility is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2009, with a completion and move-in date of April 1, 2010. Classes are scheduled to begin in August 2010.
Interestingly, Neville Hall is rumored to be haunted. The actual identity of the ghost is disputed, but many believe it to be either the spirit of the building's namesake (Neville) or the spirit of William Plumer Jacobs himself. However, another story suggests that the building is haunted by a student who allegedly committed suicide in the top floor of the building. The building is also labeled as a nuclear fallout
shelter, along with several other academic buildings on campus.
Presbyterian College competes in NCAA Division I athletics as the PC Blue Hose. The school is a member of the Big South Conference
and supports 16 varsity sports teams. Prior to joining Division I, the Blue Hose first appeared in an NCAA tournament in 1993 when coach Beth Couture
led the women's basketball team to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Men's sports include:
Women's athletics include:
of the NCAA
's Division I. The Presbyterian College football team competed in Division I-AA. The 2007-2008 season was the first year of the four-year transition period for Presbyterian. PC football went 6-5 in their first season in Division I-AA.
The men's Basketball team has garnered recognition during the transition phase for their status as "road warriors", having traveled more than any other team in the 2007-2008 season (25 away games). Their nation-wide criss-cross included match-ups with major programs like Ohio State, Clemson, Wake Forest
, N.C. State, and others. The team gained fame by being featured on ESPN.com
, as well as articles in The New York Times
and The Washington Post
. Presbyterian was also featured in The Washington Post for its 2009-2010 basketball season.
Traditionally, one of the athletic highlights on PC's campus is the Bronze Derby football game. Played annually against nearby Newberry College
, the game is the subject of a long-standing rivalry between the two schools.
The rivalry dates back to the a particularly heated game played during 1946-47 basketball season. Before the game commenced, a set of PC students unfurled a large banner inscribed with “Beat H ... Out of Newberry!” on the wall of the gymnasium behind the PC student section. While the crowd was distracted, however, a group of Newberry students climbed the outside of the gym wall, crawled through a window, and ripped the banner off the wall before fleeing into the night. After the game ended (PC won 51-47), PC students demanded that the banner be returned. The Newberry students refused, and a fight ensued. In the midst of the epic struggle, a Newberry student snatched a derby from the head of a PC student.
In the days following the derby theft, Frank E. Kinard - a senior at Newberry and editor of the school paper - received a letter from Charles MacDonald, then assistant athletic publicity director at PC. MacDonald suggested that the derby be recovered so that it could be made to be a symbol of athletic rivalry between the two schools, to which Kinard and the Newberry student body agreed. The derby was then unearthed, although the identity of the abductor was kept secret, and the hat was immortalized in bronze, forever a symbol of the rivalry between the two teams.
During the early years of the Bronze Derby rivalry, the hat was exchanged between Newberry and PC at every athletic event, the first occurring at a basketball game on February 28, 1947, which PC won 44-42. Eventually, however, it was decided that the derby would be awarded only to the winner of the Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Day Bronze Derby Game, rather than at every athletic event. The game was then rescheduled during the 1992 season after the teams and the conference moved to NCAA Division II (the game date conflicted with the playoff schedule).
Currently, the annual Bronze Derby game has been temporarily suspended, given PC's move out of Division II athletics and into Division I. The game, however, is still intended to be played once PC's transitional phase is completed.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
in Clinton, South Carolina
Clinton, South Carolina
Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,091 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton was first settled by Scots-Irish immigrants two decades before the American Revolutionary...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and School for Boys and Girls. The college's current President is Dr. John V. Griffith.
Presbyterian College has around 1300 students and runs on an endowment of around $100 million. PC also has 84 full-time faculty members. Over the years six of its faculty have been selected as South Carolina Professors of the Year, more than any other college or university in the state.
The motto of PC is "Dum Vivimus Servimus" or "While We Live We Serve." Service
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
is a crucial part of PC, and almost all of its students partake in some form of service by the time they graduate. Consequently, students are encouraged to participate in programs like Student Volunteer Services, one of the largest student-run organizations on campus.
The PC mascot is the Blue Hose, represented by a Scotsman
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
clad in a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
with blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
stockings. PC athletics are a part of the Big South Conference
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...
of NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Division I. PC is also home to Cyrus, the largest bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue of a Scotsman in the world.
History
York, South Carolina
York is a small city in York County, South Carolina, United States. The city of York is also the county seat of York County. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and the 2009 population estimate for the city...
) on March 15, 1842. He died in Clinton on September 10, 1917. For these 75 years, his frail body was driven in unselfish service toward fulfillment of his motto: "I will strive and try not to gain great things for myself but to gain them for God." In addition to founding and/or supporting the church, college and orphanage, Dr. Jacobs served as author, reporter, publisher and took the lead in Clinton civic affairs. He helped secure the location of two railroads, led in the establishment of the Clinton High School Association and sponsored plans for founding a public library. He was fluent in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Hebrew, and was an expert in metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, history and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. He was also proficient in shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
.
Following Jacob's death, PC went on to be highly influenced by the Progressive Movement of the early twentieth century. In fact, the college was so influenced by the movement's emphasis on service that the school's motto was changed from Vivimus Ut Serviamus (Living to Serve) to Dum Vivimus Servimus, or "While We Live, We Serve" .
Academics
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, Clemson
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, and Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
Universities), Forestry/Environmental Science (with Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
) and Religion (with Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
). PC also has eight pre-professional programs.
A Confucius Institute is now an integral part of academic life at PC. Confucius Institutes exist at colleges and universities worldwide to offer educational opportunities in Chinese language and culture. Presbyterian College and the University of South Carolina are the only two venues for Confucius Institutes in South Carolina. PC also maintains active academic partnerships with Guizhou University in China and with Karlsruhe University of Education in Germany.
Majors and Departments
PC offers several different Majors, including ArtArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Art-Art History, Accounting, Biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Business Administration, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Christian Education, Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education
Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
, Elementary Education, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, English-Creative Writing, Fine Arts, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
International Studies
International studies
International Studies generally refers to the specific University Degrees and courses which are concerned with the study of ‘the major political, economic, social, cultural and sacral issues that dominate the international agenda’...
, Modern Language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Medical Physics
Medical physics
Medical physics is the application of physics to medicine. It generally concerns physics as applied to medical imaging and radiotherapy, although a medical physicist may also work in many other areas of healthcare...
, Middle School Education, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Music Education, Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
(Minor), Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, Religion/Christian Education, Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and Theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
Presbyterian College also offers several Pre-Professional Programs, namely Pre-Allied Health Sciences, Pre-Dental
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, Pre-Environmental Sciences, Pre-Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, Pre-Medical, Pre-Pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, Pre-Physical Therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
, Pre-Theological Studies, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Engineering Dual Degree, ROTC, and Teacher Education and Certification.
Pharmacy School
Presbyterian College recently announced the creation of its own pharmacy schoolPharmacy school
The basic requirement for pharmacists to be considered for registration is an undergraduate or postgraduate Pharmacy degree from a recognized university. In most countries this involves a four- or five-year course to attain a Master of Pharmacy...
. The school opened in the fall of 2010 and is currently on precandidate accreditation status
South Carolina Professor of the Year
Six Presbyterian College faculty members have won the annual Carnegie/CASE South Carolina Professor of the Year awards, more than any other college or university faculty in the state. Three PC professors won that award in the 1990s and three in the 2000s.The historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
William Y. Thompson
William Y. Thompson
William Young Thompson is a retired historian who was affiliated for most of his academic career, from 1955 through 1988, with Louisiana Tech University at Ruston in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana...
taught at Presbyterian College from 1950–1955, when he joined the faculty of Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Admission
Presbyterian college accepts 68.6% of applicants and is regarded as "more selective" by U.S. News and World Report.Size and Makeup
Roughly 1300 students representing 27 states and 7 foreign countries are enrolled at Presbyterian College, 48% of which are male and 52% of which are female. For several years, the student body was maintained at roughly 1200, but in 2006, the incoming freshman class was enlarged from 300 to almost 400. 95% of the student body lives on campus, and the student body boasts over 70 student-run clubs and organizations. The incoming class of 2009 is reported to be the largest incoming class in the college's history.Honor Code
In the academic and social atmosphere of Presbyterian College, the college's Honor Code often is mentioned and considered. PC has utilized the honor system since 1915. The current version includes prohibitions against dishonorable acts such as cheating, lying, vandalism, plagiarism, and theft.At the annual Opening Convocation, each incoming student and new faculty member signs a pledge to adhere to these principles. Many community members recognize several resulting benefits. Some students do not lock their dorm rooms or their bicycles. Professors and students are allowed greater flexibility as all are considered by default to be trustworthy and not to be suspected of cheating. Such liberties are partly maintained by the seriousness with which the Honor Council manages cases of violations. The standard, but by no means required, punishment for violating the honor code is suspension for two semesters. Every year, despite the regularity with which attention is focused on the honor code, a small number of violations are reported to and sometimes tried by the Honor Council.
In 2006, Presbyterian College revised its Honor Code to its current version:
Further details can be found at the PC website.
Greek life
43% of students at PC are involved in Greek Life.PC has 6 national fraternities:
- Alpha Sigma PhiAlpha Sigma PhiAlpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....
- Kappa Alpha OrderKappa Alpha OrderKappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
- Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
- Pi Kappa PhiPi Kappa PhiPi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
- Sigma NuSigma NuSigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
- Theta ChiTheta ChiTheta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
PC has 3 national sororities:
- Alpha Delta PiAlpha Delta PiAlpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
- Sigma Sigma SigmaSigma Sigma SigmaSigma Sigma Sigma , also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women’s sorority with membership of more than 100,000 members. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and hosts chapters on more than 110 college campuses and 89 alumnae chapters in communities all...
- Zeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
Each fraternity has a house on campus, located at Fraternity Court.
Rankings
Presbyterian College is a member of the Annapolis GroupAnnapolis Group
The Annapolis Group is an American organization that describes itself as "a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading independent liberal arts colleges." It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States...
, an association of over 100 liberal arts colleges that has spoken out against rankings systems, particularly the system published annually by the U.S. News and World Report. Specifically, Presbyterian College and others of the group do not participate in the highly subjective "reputational survey" portion of the overall survey (this section accounts for 25% of the total rank). In spite of PC's refusal to submit the often subjective peer-assessment portion of the survey, U.S. News ranks the college 105th among liberal arts colleges according to its Best Colleges 2010 list.
In the days following PC's formal denouncement of ranking systems, however, Presbyterian College was ranked no. 1 in the 2007 version of Washington Monthlys Top US Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings based on its production of research valuable to society and its commitment to national service. Consequently, the issue of college rankings has become the subject of much debate on PC's campus, with students and faculty voicing strong opinions on both sides of the issue.
Campus
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
: Doyle Hall, Laurens Hall, Jacobs Hall, the president's house, Neville Hall, and the campus bell tower.
To house its students, Presbyterian College features 11 residence halls, 9 apartments, and 15 townhouses that together provide lodging for over 90% of the students at the college. Most of the residence halls are named for friends of the college. Men's residence halls include Bailey Hall, Georgia Hall and Barron Hall. Women's residence halls include Belk Hall, Clinton Hall, Laurens Hall, Grotnes Hall, Smyth Hall and Reynolds Hall. Two residence halls, Carol International House and Senior Hall, are co-educational. The college also uses 15 townhouse units to house 72 senior students and 9 Scottish Arms apartments to house an additional 18 students.
During the 2008-2009 academic year, Presbyterian College acquired a piece of property that will be used as the primary facility for the School of Pharmacy. The School of Pharmacy building will be a 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²), multi-story facility housing classrooms, faculty offices, teaching and research laboratories, assessment areas, and a pharmacy clinic, the Center for Pharmacy Care. The facility is located in Clinton approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) from the Presbyterian College campus. A relationship between the City of Clinton and the college developed so that the city and college jointly acquired the building, the unoccupied former home of Presbyterian Home, an assisted living center. Renovation of the facility is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2009, with a completion and move-in date of April 1, 2010. Classes are scheduled to begin in August 2010.
Interestingly, Neville Hall is rumored to be haunted. The actual identity of the ghost is disputed, but many believe it to be either the spirit of the building's namesake (Neville) or the spirit of William Plumer Jacobs himself. However, another story suggests that the building is haunted by a student who allegedly committed suicide in the top floor of the building. The building is also labeled as a nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
shelter, along with several other academic buildings on campus.
Athletics
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...
and supports 16 varsity sports teams. Prior to joining Division I, the Blue Hose first appeared in an NCAA tournament in 1993 when coach Beth Couture
Beth Couture
Beth Couture is the head women's basketball coach at Butler University. From her first season at Butler in 2002–2003 through the 2010–2011 season, she compiled a 148–127 record including three consecutive WNIT appearances and four consecutive 20-win seasons, including a 23–10 mark in 2010, the...
led the women's basketball team to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Men's sports include:
- baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- cross-countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- soccer
- tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
Women's athletics include:
- basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- cross-countryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- lacrosseLacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
- soccer
- softballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Division I
In 2006, PC announced that it would move to the Big South ConferenceBig South Conference
The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...
of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Division I. The Presbyterian College football team competed in Division I-AA. The 2007-2008 season was the first year of the four-year transition period for Presbyterian. PC football went 6-5 in their first season in Division I-AA.
The men's Basketball team has garnered recognition during the transition phase for their status as "road warriors", having traveled more than any other team in the 2007-2008 season (25 away games). Their nation-wide criss-cross included match-ups with major programs like Ohio State, Clemson, Wake Forest
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
, N.C. State, and others. The team gained fame by being featured on ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
, as well as articles in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. Presbyterian was also featured in The Washington Post for its 2009-2010 basketball season.
The Bronze Derby
Newberry College
Newberry College is a liberal-arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located on a historic campus in Newberry, South Carolina.The college has 1,025 students and a 19:1 student-teacher ratio...
, the game is the subject of a long-standing rivalry between the two schools.
The rivalry dates back to the a particularly heated game played during 1946-47 basketball season. Before the game commenced, a set of PC students unfurled a large banner inscribed with “Beat H ... Out of Newberry!” on the wall of the gymnasium behind the PC student section. While the crowd was distracted, however, a group of Newberry students climbed the outside of the gym wall, crawled through a window, and ripped the banner off the wall before fleeing into the night. After the game ended (PC won 51-47), PC students demanded that the banner be returned. The Newberry students refused, and a fight ensued. In the midst of the epic struggle, a Newberry student snatched a derby from the head of a PC student.
During the early years of the Bronze Derby rivalry, the hat was exchanged between Newberry and PC at every athletic event, the first occurring at a basketball game on February 28, 1947, which PC won 44-42. Eventually, however, it was decided that the derby would be awarded only to the winner of the Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Day Bronze Derby Game, rather than at every athletic event. The game was then rescheduled during the 1992 season after the teams and the conference moved to NCAA Division II (the game date conflicted with the playoff schedule).
Currently, the annual Bronze Derby game has been temporarily suspended, given PC's move out of Division II athletics and into Division I. The game, however, is still intended to be played once PC's transitional phase is completed.
Notable alumni
- R. Bentley Anderson, Ph.D., author of Black, White, and Catholic: New Orleans Interracialism, 1947-1956, currently an associate professor of history at St. Louis University
- Art BakerArt BakerArt Baker, born Arthur Shank, was a film, television and radio actor of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.Born in New York City, he was most well known for his radio and television work which began in the mid-1930s...
, former head football coach at Furman UniversityFurman UniversityFurman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
(1973-1977), The Citadel (1987-1982), and East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
(1985-1988) - Alison Barnard, Media and Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Dept. of State, Sydney, Australia
- Glen BrowderGlen BrowderJohn Glen Browder is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama's 3rd congressional district. Browder was born in Sumter, South Carolina and graduated from Edmunds High School in 1961. He attended Presbyterian College, receiving a B.A. in history in 1965. He went on...
, Ph.D., member of the Alabama House of Representatives (1982-1986), Secretary of State, State of Alabama (1987-1989), member of the US House of Representatives (1989-1997), Professor Emeritus of political science, Jacksonville State University - Harry S. Dent, Sr.Harry S. Dent, Sr.Harry Shuler Dent, Sr. was an American political strategist and father of financial prognosticator Harry S. Dent, Jr.. He is best known as the architect of the Republican Southern Strategy...
, attorney, aide to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond and president Richard Nixon - Fulton Ervin, Chief Financial Officer and Associate Vice President of Finance, McLeod Regional Medical Center
- Dixie Goswami, Professor Emerita of English, Clemson University
- Rev. Joan Gray, Moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Jennifer Hansel, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development
- Mike LeFever, President and CEO of South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. (SCICU)
- Ann Eliza Hatton Lewis, founder of Georgia Magazine
- George L. Mabry, Jr.George L. Mabry, Jr.George Lafayette Mabry, Jr. was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in World War II....
, US Army Major General, Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient - John McKissickJohn McKissickJohn McKissick is the football coach of Summerville High School in Summerville, South Carolina. In 2004, he became the first American football coach in history to win 500 career games. His 500th win came against Mount Pleasant's Wando High School...
, head football coach at Summerville High School (S.C.), the record holder for most career wins in high school football - Lonnie McMillian, PC head football coach who coined "Death Valley" nickname of Clemson Memorial Stadium
- Matthew Miller, United States Foreign Service Officer
- Allen MorrisAllen Morris (tennis)Allen Morris is a former tennis player and coach.Morris was the 16th ranked player in the US in 1956. That same year he was a quarterfinalist at the Wimbledon tournament....
, 1956 U.S. Davis CupDavis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
team member, quarterfinalist at WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... - Jim Samples, President of HGTVHGTVHGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
- Ernest ShahidErnest ShahidErnest Shahid , a pioneering Florida commercial real estate developer, helped transform Destin and coastal Okaloosa County into a major tourist vacation destination. Shahid built the first major highrise condominium complex on the Emerald Coast in 1971...
, businessman and pioneering real estate developer - Roy SkinnerRoy SkinnerRoy Gene Skinner was an American basketball coach who was best known for his time as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball where he holds the record for most wins as coach and helped break the racial barrier by recruiting the first African American athlete to play varsity ball...
(1930–2010), former head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketballVanderbilt Commodores men's basketballThe Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . The Commodores have won three SEC regular season titles . They have competed in ten NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 six times...
team. - Bob WatersBob WatersRobert Lee Waters was a successful American football coach and athletics director, best known for his contributions to athletics at Western Carolina University. Waters coached the football Catamounts for 20 football seasons , and performed the dual roll of athletic director from 1971–1986...
, former head football coach at Western Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system.... - Rev. Theodore Wardlaw, Ph.D., president and professor of homiletics, Austin Presbyterian Theological SeminaryAustin Presbyterian Theological SeminaryAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1902 by Presbyterian ministers, Robert Lewis Dabney and Richmond Kelley Smoot....
- Walter Wells, Executive Editor, International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
(retired), political columnist for France Today