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Presbyterian College

Coordinates: 34°27′52″N 81°52′12″W / 34.46444°N 81.87000°W / 34.46444; -81.87000
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For other uses, see Presbyterian College (disambiguation).

Presbyterian College
Former names
Clinton College (1880–1904)[1]
MottoDum Vivimus Servimus
Motto in English
While We Live, We Serve
TypePrivate liberal arts college
Established1880; 145 years ago (1880)
Religious affiliation
Presbyterian
Academic affiliations
APCU
Annapolis Group
CIC
SACSCOC
Endowment$95.6 million (2022)[2]
PresidentAnita Gustafson[3]
ProvostErin McAdams[4]
Academic staff
102 full-time
Students1,199 (Fall, 2022)
Undergraduates955
Postgraduates244
Location
Clinton
,
South Carolina
,
United States

34°27′52″N 81°52′12″W / 34.46444°N 81.87000°W / 34.46444; -81.87000
CampusSmall town
240-acre
NicknameBlue Hose
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division I – Big South
Pioneer Football League
Websitepresby.edu

Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

History

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William Plumer Jacobs

Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs. He had served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Clinton since 1864 and founded the Thornwell Orphanage. Originally called Clinton College, its first class (including three women) graduated in 1883. In establishing PC, his "tree of knowledge," Jacobs' goal was to educate young people for lives of service to church and society, and thereby be, in his words, "epistles to Christ's honor and glory."[5]

By the time of Jacobs' death in 1917, the college had grown considerably in size and resources, and had six major buildings. Neville Hall, PC's most recognized structure, was constructed in 1907. The tenure of president Davison McDowell Douglas (1911–1926) saw the tripling of the size of the faculty and student body, the construction of four new buildings, and growth in the college's assets from $150,000 to over $1 million.[6] After weathering the storms of the Great Depression and Second World War, Presbyterian has continued expansion on many fronts through the second half of the twentieth century. It became fully coeducational in 1965 (and in so doing dropped its previous motto, "Where Men are Made"). In 1969, it began admitting African-American students.[7]

Academics

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Undergraduate

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Students at Neville Hall

Presbyterian College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).[8] The School of the Liberal Arts confers B.A. and B.S. degrees in 30 courses of study and 9 pre-professional programs including Pre-Law, Pre-Med, Pre-Theology, and Pre-Pharmacy. PC also offers a dual-degree program in Engineering (with Clemson University, Auburn University, Georgia Tech, the University of South Carolina, and Vanderbilt University) and minor fields in an additional 13 disciplines such as Africana Studies, Media Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies.[9][10] The liberal arts program has small average class sizes (13-15 students).[8]

PC houses a Center for South Korean and East Asian Studies, which is partnered with Hannam University.[11]

Graduate

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The School of Pharmacy confers Doctor of Pharmacy degrees (PharmD) and is oriented toward serving the healthcare needs of underdeveloped and economically depressed areas of South Carolina and the greater US. A 54,000 square-foot facility, its doors opened in the fall of 2010 with an inaugural class of 80 students. The School of Pharmacy was fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) in July 2014.[12] Despite its youth, it has accrued multiple awards including a Biomedical/Biobehavioral Research Administration Development (BRAD) grant from the National Institutes of Health, and a Generation Rx Champion Award from the South Carolina Pharmacy Association (SCPhA) for its efforts at raising awareness of prescription drug abuse.[13][14]

Student life

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Size and makeup

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The 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report regards Presbyterian College as a "selective" institution that accepted 57.8% of applicants in the fall of 2012. Of PC's 1,172 undergraduates, 44% are male and 56% are female, and 97% live on campus.[15]

Student organizations

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Greek life is an important part of campus life and culture. Around 45% of the student body is affiliated with one of eight fraternities and sororities. PC offers its students other social clubs and advocacy organizations like Secular Student Alliance, College Republicans, College Democrats, and Multicultural Student Union.[16] There are many religious ministries, including the Presbyterian Student Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Campus Outreach. Finally, Presbyterian actively promotes service organizations and opportunities.[16][17]

Honor code

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Since 1915 life at Presbyterian have been regulated by a student-run honor code.[18] The signing of the honor code is a central fixture of each academic year's opening convocation ceremony and is a requirement for all incoming students, faculty, and coaches. The honor code binds one to "abstain from all deceit," to "neither give nor receive unacknowledged aid in [one's] academic work," to "respect the persons and property of the community" and to "not condone discourteous or dishonest treatment of these by [one's] peers."[19] Suspected violations of the honor code go before the college's honor council.[20]

Campus

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Neville Hall (pictured 2025)

PC's 240-acre (97 ha) campus covers areas in and around Clinton, providing academic buildings, dining facilities, recreational areas, and athletics venues. The college's 15 townhouses, 11 residence halls, and 9 apartments house nearly all of the undergraduate student body. Six buildings on Presbyterian College's campus (Doyle Hall, Laurens Hall, Jacobs Hall, the President's House, Neville Hall, and the campus bell tower) are part of the Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, Doyle Hall was demolished in July 2014 as part of the renovations for Georgia Hall.

Athletics

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Main article: Presbyterian Blue Hose
The official logo of Presbyterian College Athletics

Athletics is very important to PC's life and culture. Around 1/3 of the student body competes as student-athletes[21] and many PC alumni are or were professional coaches at the college level, including current women's soccer coach Brian Purcell ('87), former head football coach Harold Nichols ('89), former Vanderbilt basketball head coach Roy Skinner ('52), and Bob Waters ('60), a record-setting head football coach at Western Carolina.

Presbyterian is a member of the Big South Conference of NCAA Division I[22] and fields seventeen varsity teams in eleven sports: football (FCS), men's and women's cross country, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, women's lacrosse, baseball, and men's and women's wrestling. Football has competed within the FCS conference Pioneer Football League since 2021.[23] The college's colors are royal blue and garnet and its teams are known as the Blue Hose. Although PC's mascot Scottie the Scotsman is a medieval Scottish warrior, the Blue Hose name originally referred to the socks worn by the football team in the early 20th century.[24][25] PC's traditional rivals include Wofford College, Furman University, The Citadel, and Newberry College.

Since 1953, the Atlantic Coast Conference has awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in honor of the memory of PC's founder, William P. Jacobs, to the conference's most outstanding blocker, as voted by a poll of the conference's head coaches and defensive coordinators. The 2022 recipient is Clemson University graduate student-athlete Jordan McFadden.[26]

The Bronze Derby

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Main article: Bronze Derby
The Bronze Derby

Until 2007, PC's fierce rivalry with Newberry College was expressed in the annual Bronze Derby football game.

Notable alumni

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A triumphant PC player hoists the Bronze Derby

References

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  1. ^ "History of Presbyterian College". presby.edu. Presbyterian College. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  2. ^ As of June 30, 2022. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2022 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY21 to FY22 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "20th President of Presbyterian College". presby.edu. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs". Presbyterian College. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Nancy Griffith, Presbyterian College (Arcadia: Charleston, Portsmouth, Chicago, San Francisco, 2001), 7.
  6. ^ Nancy Griffith, Presbyterian College (Arcadia: Charleston, Portsmouth, Chicago, San Francisco, 2001), 15.
  7. ^ Griffith (2001), Presbyterian College, pp. 16, 20–21.
  8. ^ a b "About Presbyterian College". presby.edu.
  9. ^ "catalog 2012-2013" (PDF). pp. 34, 43, 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  10. ^ "Academics at Presbyterian College". presby.edu. July 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "Presbyterian College launches Center for South Korean and East Asian Studies". www.presby.edu. May 20, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "Breaking News: Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy's Doctor of Pharmacy Program is Accredited". presby.edu. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "PCSP APhA-ASP wins Generation Rx Champion Award". presby.edu. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013.
  14. ^ "School Receives First NIH Grant". presby.edu. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "US". U.S. News & World Report: Education, Colleges, National Liberal Arts Colleges. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Campus Life at Presbyterian College". presby.edu. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  17. ^ "CHAMPS - Communities Helping, Assisting, Mentoring Promising Students". pc-champs.org. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  18. ^ "Blue Book" (PDF). presby.edu. pp. 2 of 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  19. ^ "Campus Life at Presbyterian College". presby.edu. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  20. ^ "Blue Book" (PDF). presby.edu. pp. 4, 5, 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  21. ^ "About Presbyterian College". presby.edu. July 18, 2013.
  22. ^ "Presbyterian". bigsouthsports.com.
  23. ^ "Presbyterian College Blue Hose - The Official Athletics Site". gobluehose.com.
  24. ^ "What's the deal with ... Presbyterian Coll.?". ESPN.com. September 6, 2012.
  25. ^ "History, Mission, Position". presby.edu. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  26. ^ "Clemson's McFadden Earns ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy". November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  27. ^ "Glen Browder outline resume" (PDF). January 1, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  28. ^ "PC(USA) – 217th General Assembly (2006) – Atlanta pastor is elected moderator". Presbyterian Church (USA). June 15, 2006. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  29. ^ "Collection Title: C. Hugh Holman Papers (#4537) 1930s-1980s". Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Library Special Collections. UNC University Libraries. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  30. ^ Slotnick, Daniel E. (October 30, 2010). "Roy Skinner, Who Recruited First Black Basketball Player in SEC, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  31. ^ "Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary". Austinseminary.edu. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
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