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Former name | Converse College (1889–2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Type | Private university | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Established | 1889; 136 years ago (1889) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Endowment | $91.7 million (2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Boone Hopkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provost | William Case | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Academic staff | 90 Full-time (2022)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Students | 1,284 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 804 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 480 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | , U.S. 34°57′16.59″N81°55′01.51″W / 34.9546083°N 81.9170861°W /34.9546083; -81.9170861 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campus | Urban, 70 acres (28 ha) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colors | Purple and gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Valkyries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sporting affiliations | NCAADivision II –Carolinas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mascot | Val the Valkyrie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | converse.edu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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United States historic place
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Converse University is aprivate university inSpartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneerDexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits men.
Converse College opened on October 1, 1890, with a student body of 168 women and 16 faculty members. The college only admitted women students and operated as a "stock company" with the board of directors composed entirely of residents of Spartanburg.Dexter Edgar Converse, a native ofVermont who had settled in Spartanburg before theAmerican Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in thecotton mill industry, served as the head of the first board of directors. On January 2, 1892, fire destroyed the college's main building. The building was enlarged during its reconstruction. In 1896, the college was incorporated in South Carolina and a self-perpetuatingboard of trustees was named. In 1964, the college introducedgraduate programs.
TheConverse College Historic District was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2] It encompasses eight contributing buildings dated between 1891 and 1915. They are the Main Building (Wilson Hall) (1892), Annex (Pell Hall, 1891), Twichell Auditorium (1898–1899), Carnegie Library (1905), Cleveland House (c. 1905), Judd Science Hall (1915), Dexter Hall (1899) and Towne House (1898). The buildings are representative of theRomanesque Revival,Gothic Revival, andNeo-Classical styles.[3][4]
The college changed its name to "Converse University" in the summer of 2021. The college also "expanded its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed" by admitting male undergraduate students in the fall of 2021.[5]
| Name | Years served |
|---|---|
| Benjamin F. Wilson | 1890–1902 |
| Robert Paine Pell | 1902–1932 |
| Edward Moseley Gwathmey | 1933–1955 |
| Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, Jr. | 1956–1960 |
| Robert T. Coleman, Jr. | 1961–1989 |
| Ellen Wood Hall | 1989–1993 |
| Sandra C. Thomas | 1994–1998 |
| Nancy Oliver Gray | 1999–2005 |
| Elizabeth A. Fleming | 2006–2016 |
| Krista L. Newkirk | 2016–2021 |
| Jeffrey H. Barker[6] | 2021–2021 |
| Boone J. Hopkins[7] | 2022–present |
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Master's | |
| Washington Monthly[8] | 76 of 603 |
| Regional | |
| U.S. News & World Report[9] | 46 (tie) of 103 |
As of August 2023[update], Converse offers 44 undergraduate degree programs and 28 graduate programs. The university's undergraduate program also awards certificates.[10] The University also has a presence at University Center ofGreenville, a center that housessatellite campuses of several South Carolina colleges offering higher education programs.[11] Converse offers two undergraduate and three graduate degree programs at the center.[12]
The Nisbet Honors Program, established in 2000, is the university's undergraduatehonors program.[13]
Converse has a Model Programs team who participate inModel Arab League and the annual International ModelNATO conference hosted byHoward University.[14][15] Converse's Model Programs annually hosts the Southeastern Regional Model Arab League (SERMAL) conference.[16]
The Converse athletic teams are called the Valkyries. The university is a member of theDivision II ranks of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in theConference Carolinas (CC) since the 2007–08 academic year.[citation needed] The Valkyries previously competed as anDivision II Independent from 2002–03 to 2006–07.[citation needed]
Women's sports include acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, swimming and volleyball.[citation needed]
The inaugural men's sports are basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Converse's equestrian program is coeducational, though only women participate in NCAA-recognized competition. The university also has a coeducational varsity esports team.[citation needed]
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