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Former name | Francis Marion College (1970–1992) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public university |
| Established | 1970; 55 years ago (1970) |
| Endowment | $165.5 million (22-23) |
| President | Luther F. Carter |
Academic staff | 210 |
| Students | 4,045 (3,635 undergraduate) (Fall 2023)[1] |
| Location | , U.S. 34°11′25″N79°39′15″W / 34.1904°N 79.6542°W /34.1904; -79.6542 |
| Campus | Rural, 468 acres (189 ha) |
| Colors | Blue and red |
| Nickname | Patriots |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II,Carolinas,NCAA Division ISouthland (Men's Golf) |
| Mascot | Patriot |
| Website | fmarion.edu |
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Francis Marion University is apublic university nearFlorence, South Carolina. It is named in honor ofAmerican Revolutionary WarBrigadier GeneralFrancis Marion.
The university dates back to 1957, when theUniversity of South Carolina set up a freshman college in a basement room of the Florence County Library. A few years later, in 1961, USC-Florence was set up on land donated by the Wallace family six miles east ofFlorence, South Carolina. A group of Florence-area citizens continued to push for the establishment of a four-year university in Florence to allow better access to higher education for the people of that area. After several years of lobbying, GovernorRobert E. McNair signed into law an act creating Francis Marion College, effective July 1, 1970. The newly created Francis Marion College initially enrolled 907 students from 23 ofSouth Carolina's 46 counties.[citation needed]
In 1992, Francis Marion College achieved university status and subsequently changed its name toFrancis Marion University. Today, Francis Marion has a student body of approximately 4,000. The student body's average in-state enrollment is 95 percent. Just more than half of FMU's students come from the Pee Dee Region.[citation needed]
TheSlave Houses, Gregg Plantation, located on the FMU campus, were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1974.[2]
Francis Marion University offers five undergraduatedegrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Graduate degrees include the Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, Master of Science in Applied Psychology (clinical and school psychology tracks), and Specialist in School Psychology. All master's degree programs are accredited by their respective professional organizations. In 2017, FMU gained approval for its first doctoral program, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). The first class of DNP students enrolled in January 2018.[3]
Located on a 400-acre (162 ha) tract of land originally included in agrant by theKing of England and later made acotton plantation by the Wallace Family, Francis Marion University is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Florence. Thecampus includes 100 acres (40 ha) of mixed pine-hardwood and bottomland forests. The city ofFlorence has a metropolitan-area population of 200,000.[citation needed]
The university's physical plant includes eleven major buildings. In addition, the university constructed new student apartments on campus in 2006, known as The Villas. Francis Marion is also home to a two-story observatory, equipped with a 14-inch (360 mm) reflecting telescope, and a planetarium.[citation needed]
The Francis Marion athletics program is a member of theNCAA Division IIConference Carolinas (CC), which consists of 13 member schools inGeorgia,North Carolina,South Carolina, andTennessee. FMU joined CC after 31 years in thePeach Belt Conference.[4] The school sponsors 15 intercollegiate varsity sports; men's sports are baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, and indoor track and field), and women's sports are basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field (counted by the NCAA as separate sports), and volleyball. The Patriot men's golf team competes inNCAA Division I as a single-sport member of theSouthland Conference.[5][6]
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 47% | ||
| Black | 38% | ||
| Hispanic | 5% | ||
| Two or more races | 4% | ||
| International student | 3% | ||
| Asian | 1% | ||
| Unknown | 1% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 53% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 47% | ||
Francis Marion University fields numerousfraternities and sororities, as well as other clubs and organizations on campus.
Luther Fred Carter is the current president.
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