University of South Carolina
On the 19th of December 1801, the South Carolina General Assembly passed a legislative charter creating South Carolina College. Governor John Drayton initiated this act to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry regions of the state. Classes commenced on the 10th of January 1805, with an initial enrollment of nine students. Reverend Jonathan Maxcy served as the first president from 1804 through 1820. He was a Baptist minister who had previously led Brown University and Union College. The college opened its doors in 1805 using Rutledge College as its only building. This structure functioned simultaneously as an administrative office, academic hall, residence for students, and chapel. A master plan called for eleven buildings facing a large gathering area known today as the Horseshoe. The original President's House followed in 1807, and DeSaussure College arrived shortly after that. Eight additional structures were constructed over the next several decades to complete the U-shaped quadrangle.
Enslaved labor played a fundamental role in the foundation and construction of the university during the antebellum period. Many primary buildings in the central heart of campus were built not only by slave labor but also of brick made by enslaved people. Enslaved individuals performed maintenance duties including cleaning student tenements and faculty duplexes. They prepared meals for the campus community throughout these early years. Literary societies like the Clariosophic Society and the Euphradian Society became the most important organizations for students from the 1820s onward. These groups arose from a split in an earlier society known as the Philomathic. The college acquired a reputation as the leading institution of the South with support from the General Assembly. It attracted notable scholars such as Francis Lieber, Thomas Cooper, and Joseph LeConte. Graduates of the college stood on the forefront of secession from the Union during this era.
Seventy-two students attended classes in January 1862 before the Confederate government called for South Carolina to fill its quota of 18,000 soldiers. A conscription system began on March 20 for all men between ages 18 and 45. Professors issued a notice that the college would open to those under 18 years old after many students volunteered or were drafted. Only nine students showed up for class following this change. The University Act of 1869 reorganized the university during the Reconstruction era and provided generous financial support. W. J. Whipper added an amendment preventing racial discrimination from the admissions policy. Two black trustees named Benjamin A. Boseman and Francis Lewis Cardozo joined the governing board on the 9th of March 1869. Henry E. Hayne became the first black student when he registered for the fall session in the medical college on the 7th of October 1873. Many white students and faculty left the school in protest while Hayne's registration became national news. Opponents labeled the university as the radical university due to these changes.
South Carolina state leaders closed the university in 1877 when Reconstruction ended and the legislature became all-white again. It reopened in 1880 as a white only agricultural college where Richard T. Greener had to leave as the first black professor. Black students did not return until 1963 when Henrie Monteith, Robert Anderson, and James Solomon enrolled. The university was one of the last large public universities to desegregate. Students who integrated the university feared violence and were excluded from many aspects of social life. On campus, the integration process proceeded peacefully but without supportive measures. Monteith became the university's first post-Reconstruction black graduate and first black female graduate in 1965. Women made up a quarter of the student body by the 1920s after the legislature required enrollment in 1893. Frances Guignard Gibbes was admitted in 1895 before Mattie Jean Adams became the first female graduate in 1898. Irene Dillard Elliott served as the first dean of women starting in spring 1924 while working as an English professor.
The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places with most buildings reflecting federal style architecture from early nation days. The South Caroliniana Library designed by Robert Mills stands as the first freestanding academic library in the United States. McKissick Museum replaced the original President's House in 1939 after it survived fires, earthquakes, and the Civil War. The President's House returned to the Horseshoe after extensive remodeling dedicated in 1952. Campus spread dramatically during the 20th century to include the student union and 24 residence halls. Facilities added over time included Longstreet Theatre, the Koger Center for the Arts, and Carolina Coliseum. Williams-Brice Stadium sits approximately one mile off campus while various Olympic sports facilities exist nearby. Recent additions include the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center and the Greek Village. A new School of Law building opened on Senate Street in 2017. The Darla Moore School of Business moved to its new home at Assembly and Greene in 2014. West Quad became the university's first LEED certified residence hall when it opened in 2004.
The University of South Carolina holds R1 classification among Doctoral Universities with Highest Research Activity. The institution received $309 million in sponsored awards during the 2024 fiscal year representing a 27 percent increase from the previous year. John Palms articulated a Cathedrals of Excellence budgeting philosophy during his tenure as president. He advocated channeling fundraising money into the school's best programs rather than spreading funds evenly. This strategy paid off long term when these programs became nationally prominent. Former President Andrew Sorensen raised larger sums including a $300 million grant for colorectal cancer research. Innovista transforms university land on Assembly Street into an innovation district developing biomedicine, nanotechnology, environmental science, and alternative fuels. An Energy Frontier Research Center selected in May 2009 brought $12.5 million in federal funding to the College of Engineering and Computing. The university is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium now renamed SECU to promote collaborative academic endeavors. National program rankings place Biological Sciences at number 159 and Business at number 62 while History ranks 63rd.
Over 34,500 students attend the Columbia campus coming from all 46 South Carolina counties. Students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries are represented here. About 22% of undergraduate men and 34% of undergraduate women participate in fraternities and sororities. Greek letter organizations are governed by an internal body called the Greek Council with separate councils for males and females. Many houses feature large mostly Greek Revival style mansions lining Lincoln Street, Gadsden Street, and Mark Buyck Way. The Daily Gamecock serves as an editorially independent daily student newspaper founded in 1908 with readership exceeding 30,000. WUSC began broadcasting on AM dial in 1947 before moving to FM in 1977. Student Government Television started operations in Fall 2006 funded initially by Student Government. The university offers 19 varsity sports teams competing in the Southeastern Conference known as the Gamecocks. James Pritchard obtained a band arrangement of Step to the Rear from the Broadway musical How Now Dow Jones in 1968. Coach Paul Dietzel wrote lyrics for the song while remaining anonymous until its official introduction on the 16th of November 1968.
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Common questions
When was the University of South Carolina founded and who initiated its creation?
The South Carolina General Assembly passed a legislative charter creating South Carolina College on the 19th of December 1801. Governor John Drayton initiated this act to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry regions of the state.
Who were the first black students and professors at the University of South Carolina during desegregation?
Henry E. Hayne became the first black student when he registered for the fall session in the medical college on the 7th of October 1873. Black students did not return until 1963 when Henrie Monteith, Robert Anderson, and James Solomon enrolled after the university closed as white only from 1877 to 1880.
What is the significance of the Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina campus?
The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places with most buildings reflecting federal style architecture from early nation days. A master plan called for eleven buildings facing a large gathering area known today as the Horseshoe which included Rutledge College as the original building.
How much funding did the University of South Carolina receive during the 2024 fiscal year?
The institution received $309 million in sponsored awards during the 2024 fiscal year representing a 27 percent increase from the previous year. The university holds R1 classification among Doctoral Universities with Highest Research Activity.
When was the University of South Carolina officially desegregated and who were the first graduates?
Black students returned to the university in 1963 when Henrie Monteith, Robert Anderson, and James Solomon enrolled. Monteith became the university's first post-Reconstruction black graduate and first black female graduate in 1965.