Coker University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

in Hartsville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

History

Rear of Davidson Hall at Coker College, Hartsville, SC, US

Memorial Hall, Coker College, Hartsville, SC, US

Coker University began in 1894 as Welsh Neck High School, founded by a local businessman and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

veteran, Major James Lide Coker (1837–1918). In 1908, when

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

created a statewide public school system, Coker led the effort to convert the school to Coker College for Women. Davidson Hall and

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. From the 1920s until just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was the only college between Columbia and

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

accredited by the

. Coker was once affiliated with the

South Carolina Baptist Convention The South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, the convention is made up of 44 Baptist as ...

, but has been non-denominational since 1944. It officially became co-educational in 1969, although men had been attending since the end of World War II. The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics was located on the Coker campus from 1988 until moving to its own campus in 2003. Effective July 1, 2019, Coker College adopted the name Coker University.

Presidents

* James Lide Coker *Dr. E. V. Baldy (1909–1911) *Dr. Arthur Jackson Hall (1911–1914) *Dr. Howard Lee Jones (1914–1915) *Dr. E. Walter Sikes (1916–1925) *Dr. Carlyle Campbell (1925–1936) *Dr. C. Sylvester Green (1936–1944) *Dr. Donald C. Agnew (1944–1952) *Dr. Joseph C. Robert (1952–1955) *Dr. John A. Barry, Jr. (1955–1959) *Dr. Fenton Keyes (1960–1968) *Dr. Wilfrid H. Callcott (1968–1969) *Dr. Gus Turbeville (1969–1974) *Dr. C. Hilburn Womble (1975–1980) *Dr. James D. Daniels (1981–2002) *Dr. B. James Dawson (2002–2009) *Dr. Robert L. Wyatt (2009–2019) *Dr. Natalie Harder (2020- )

Academics

Coker refers to the academic program for the four-year undergraduate degree as the Trans4mations Program, with the first year being foundational, the second year requiring service and attendance at cultural events, the third year requiring at least two weeks of study off-campus, and the final year called a "capstone". The Liberal Arts Studies Program (LASP) is divided into Core Skills, Knowledge of the Arts, Knowledge of the Behavioral Sciences, Knowledge of the Humanities, Knowledge of the Natural Sciences, Knowledge of the United States, and Knowledge of the Wider World. Coker offers 29 majors and 23 minors of study. The college also offers individual majors and double majors, self-designated degree programs, specializations and pre-professional programs.

Campus

The main campus contains mostly Georgian-style brick buildings, some of which (such as Davidson Hall, home to the college's round table classrooms) are listed on the

. The Alumni House (Drengaelen), The President's House, The Dean's and President's Offices (David and May Coker House) and The Registrar's Offices (Lawton-Wilson House) are all located in old mansions along the northern edge of campus. Hartsville and Coker University owe much to the generosity of the Coker family, founders of Sonoco and Coker's Pedigreed Seed Company. The Coker family's patronage of the college has led to the vast majority of buildings on campus having Coker somewhere in the name. Students often joke to freshmen or visitors that they'll meet them "in the Coker" building as a way to gently initiate newcomers to campus.

Residence halls

On-campus residence halls include Memorial (1914), Belk (1916), Coker (1916) and Grannis (1969), which all adjoin the Linville Dining Hall (1916). Richard and Tuck Coker Hall (1988), commonly called the RTC, and James Lide Coker III (2009) occupy separate buildings near Memorial Hall. Most of the older residence halls have been remodeled since 2005 and are fully modernized. A new residence hall, the Betty Y. and Charles L. Sullivan Jr. Residence Hall at The Village at Byerly Place, opened in 2013. In 2011, Coker opened the Coker Downtown Lofts and in 2012 the Downtown Flats, both located just off campus in downtown Hartsville. The Dining Hall, with services provided by

Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 412,088 employees as of 2021, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...

, offers cafeteria-style dining with several options (including vegetarian selections) at each meal. Memorial Hall houses the Drawing Room, a ballroom/dining hall for special events.

Library

In January 2008, students began using the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center. The new library was built entirely from donations from a capital campaign and is an example of Coker alumni generosity to the college. The former James Lide Coker Memorial Library is now James Lide Coker Memorial Residence Hall.

Athletics

Adjacent to the main campus is a 22-acre athletics complex with baseball, softball, soccer and tennis facilities. Near the athletics complex is the DeLoach Center, which contains a 1,908 seat gymnasium, an auxiliary gym, interactive classrooms, a student-athlete only weight room, a fitness center, athletic offices and more. The college has 21 varsity athletics programs, which compete in The

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

. They include Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Women's Volleyball, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Tennis, Men's Tennis, Women's Golf, Men's Golf, Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Women's Field Hockey, Women's Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor), Men's Track and Field (Indoor/Outdoor), and Wrestling. In the 2013 season the Coker baseball team won the Conference Carolinas Tournament title, earned the team's first-ever postseason bid, won the NCAA Southeast Regional and advanced to the NCAA DII Baseball National Championship. They finished the year with a record of 38–16.

Notable alumni

Bonnie Ethel Cone Bonnie Ethel Cone (June 22, 1907 – March 8, 2003) was an American educator best known as the founder of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Cone was born to a prominent family in Lodge, South Carolina where her father served a ...

, founder of

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

* Terrance Hayes, poet *

Patrick Earl Hammie Patrick Earl Hammie (born November 23, 1981) is an American visual artist and educator best known for his large-scale portrait and nude paintings of allegorical subjects. Hammie's paintings emphasize movement, color, and sensuality, drawing fro ...

, artist *

Harvey Hilbert Harvey Daiho Hilbert Roshi (born 1947) is a psychotherapist and an expert on post-Vietnam stress syndrome. He is an ordained Soto Zen priest and the founding abbot of the Order of Clear Mind Zen and a leader of the Zen community in southern New ...

, psychologist and expert on post-Vietnam stress syndrome * Marian McKnight, Miss America 1957 * Ruth Patrick,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

limnologist Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristi ...

* James McBride Dabbs, author and civil rights activist *

Edith Mitchell Dabbs Edith Mitchell Dabbs (November 10, 1906 - 1991) was an American Civil rights activist and writer from South Carolina known for her focus on Saint Helena and Penn Center. She was married to James McBride Dabbs whom she assisted with editing. Dab ...

, author

References

External links

* {{authority control Private universities and colleges in South Carolina Liberal arts colleges in South Carolina Educational institutions established in 1908 Education in Darlington County, South Carolina Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Buildings and structures in Hartsville, South Carolina 1908 establishments in South Carolina Hartsville, South Carolina