Carolina University (CU), formerly Piedmont International University (PIU), is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Christian university in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Carolina University offers both residential and online programs including dual enrollment, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. It is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is a U.S. based institutional accreditation organization that focuses on Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries seeking collegiate accreditation in the United Stat ...

(TRACS) and is a member of the

American Association of Christian Schools The American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) is an American fundamentalist organization based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that unifies individual conservative Protestant schools and statewide Protestant school associations across the countr ...

(AACS).

History

In 1945, Charles Stevens and a group of North Carolina

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

leaders founded Piedmont Bible Schools, Inc. and opened Piedmont Bible Institute. Three years later, the institute added two years of junior college. Although the academy associated with Piedmont Bible Schools, Inc. was discontinued in 1952, the Bible institute and the college continued. In 1956 Piedmont completed the

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

requirements of the Accrediting Association of Bible Institutes and Bible Colleges (now

The Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International Co ...

). Their acceptance allowed Religious Education and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

to be awarded, starting in 1957, with the acceptance of the State Department of Education. The college added a graduate program in 1994 and joined the

(TRACS) one year later. In 2004, Spurgeon Baptist Bible College of

Mulberry, Florida Mulberry is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,817 at the 2010 census. Mulberry is home to Badcock Home Furniture. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, with parts of unincor ...

merged with PIU to create Piedmont's Spurgeon School of Online Education, which allowed several undergraduate and graduate programs to be available entirely online, including a master's degree in Biblical Studies offered in Spanish. The accreditation of two international branch campuses in restricted access nations sprang from partnerships with nationals in Asia and the Middle East. In 2012, Piedmont officially changed their name from Piedmont Baptist College and Graduate School to Piedmont International University. In the mid-2010s, three institutions were merged into Piedmont. In 2015,

Tennessee Temple University Tennessee Temple University was a private Christian university in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Temple Baptist Seminary was the university's graduate school of Christian theology, also operating in Chattanooga. The university merged with Piedmont Int ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, dissolved and merged with Piedmont. Southeastern Bible College of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

closed in 2017, merging with PIU later that year. In 2018, John Wesley University, a small evangelical college approximately 19 miles from Piedmont's Winston-Salem campuses, merged with Piedmont. In 2019, PIU started partnerships collaborating with Sheriff's Offices in North Carolina and Tennessee to create a collaborative criminal justice degree program with law enforcement. On June 24, 2020, the Piedmont International University Board of Trustees voted to change the university's name to Carolina University. The Piedmont School of Divinity (or Piedmont Divinity School) was created to "honor Piedmont's historic name and heritage of training ministers and teaching Bible and theology."

Mergers and acquisitions

Several Christian colleges and universities have joined forces with Carolina University over the years.

Spurgeon Baptist Bible College

Spurgeon Baptist Bible College was established in 1970 in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...

as a college for training preachers and missionaries. The first president of the college was Dr. G. Arthur Woolsey, a Baptist Bible Seminary graduate. The college merged with Piedmont International University in 2003, and PIU's Spurgeon School of Online Education was created as a result of the merger.

Atlantic Baptist Bible College

Atlantic Baptist Bible College was located in

Chester, Virginia Chester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 23,414. History Chester's original "downtown" was a stop which was an intersection of the Richmond and Peters ...

where it served to prepare men and women for effective ministry in churches. The school merged with Piedmont International University in December, 2008.

Tennessee Temple University

Tennessee Temple University and Temple Baptist Seminary were located in Chattanooga,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The university opened in 1946, followed by the opening of the seminary in 1948. During the 65-year life of the school, it served over 100,000 students. TTU became the third school to merge with Piedmont International University, the process of which was completed in 2015. As a result of the merger, degree programs including Sign Language Interpretation were added to PIU's offerings. Additionally, the

Temple Baptist Seminary Temple Baptist Seminary is the graduate school of Christian theology of Piedmont International University. Originally established as "Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary" in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1948, the name was changed to Temple Bap ...

name transitioned to Piedmont International University. The John Wesley School of Leadership was also created from TTU assets.

Southeastern Bible College

Southeastern Bible College was located in

where they provided Bible, theology, ministry, and missions degree programs. The school was founded in 1935 by Edgar J. Rowe. In 2017, the school closed due to financial struggles, but after three months, SEBC merged with Piedmont International University.

John Wesley University

John Wesley University (located in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...

merged with Piedmont International University in 2018, becoming the fifth school to do so. Founded in 1903, it was the oldest undergraduate theological education institution in North Carolina.

Academics

Carolina University comprises five undergraduate and graduate schools. * School of Arts and Sciences * Patterson School of Business * Moore School of Education * John Wesley School of Leadership * Piedmont Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences is home to several new undergraduate programs in areas including Public Health, Esports, Information Systems, Psychology, Sociology, Criminal Justice and Interdisciplinary Studies. CU's Patterson School of Business offers both undergraduate and graduate business programs including the BBA and MBA. The Moore School of Education at CU offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Key programs include the BS in Deaf Studies, the BS in Elementary Education, and the Master of Education. The John Wesley School of Leadership, named as a result of the merger with John Wesley University, is home to two graduate leadership programs: the M.A. in leadership and the Ph.D. in leadership. The Piedmont Divinity School at Carolina University comprises all the ministry and Bible-related degree programs at the university. These schools offer programs such as the 5-Year BA and M.Div., various Biblical Studies degrees, and two Graduate Certificates.

Athletics

Carolina University athletic teams are the Bruins. The university participates in the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic ...

(NCCAA) at the Division I level in the South Region. The university currently fields 11 teams. Men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, cross country, soccer, men's volleyball, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, track and field, and

volleyball Volleyball 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. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. The university's athletic department expanded in recent years, growing from three sports in 2017 to nine in two years. CU plans to add several more over, including the additions of men's

and women's

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

in 2020–21. The university also moved the athletics department from NCCAA Division II to the Division I level and added athletic scholarship opportunities. One notable former coach is

Josh Howard Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the UNT Dallas Trailblazers men's basketball team. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. H ...

, a former NBA All-Star player and Dallas Mavericks player, Howard got his start in collegiate coaching as the CU men's basketball head coach from 2016 to 2020.

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Seminaries and theological colleges in North Carolina Baptist Christianity in North Carolina Bible colleges Educational institutions established in 1945 Universities and colleges in Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1945 establishments in North Carolina