Lander University is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

Greenwood, South Carolina Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University. Geography and ...

Campus and housing

Lander University is located approximately one half-mile from uptown Greenwood, South Carolina. The main campus sits on 190 acres of land, though this does not include its many off-campus locations. Lander University has ten residence halls. Residence halls include Bearcat Village, Brookside, Centennial Hall, Chipley Hall, Lide Apartments, McGhee Court, New Hall, Thomason, University Place, and Williamston. In July 2021, Lander announced that the state legislature has appropriated new funding for the University, which includes money that will be used to construct a nursing building on Lander's campus in Greenwood.

Rankings

In the 2018 edition of '' U.S. News & World Report''s ''Best Colleges'' rankings, Lander ranked 29 in Regional Colleges of the South and 6 in Best Colleges for Veterans.

Faculty

Lander has 178 full-time faculty members.

Academics

More than 90 areas of undergraduate and graduate studies are offered. * College of Arts and Humanities ** Department of Art + Design ** Department of English and Foreign Languages ** Department of Media and Communication ** Department of Music * College of Behavioral and Social Sciences ** Department of Government, Criminology, and Sociology ** Department of History and philosophy ** Department of Psychological Sciences and Human Services * College of Business * College of Education ** Department of Teacher Education ** Department of Physical Education and Exercise Studies * College of Science and Mathematics ** Department of Biology ** Department of Physical Sciences ** Department of Mathematics and Computing *College of Graduate & Online Studies **Department of Graduate Studies **Department of Online Studies *William Preston Turner School of Nursing *Honors College

Athletics

Varsity athletic teams have reaped honors at district and national levels, including 12 national championships in men's tennis, and, most recently, in men's wrestling. A member of the

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 ...

, Lander plays in the

Peach Belt Conference The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The 11 member institutions are located in the South Atlantic states of South Carolina ...

and fields teams in men's and women's basketball, soccer and tennis; men's baseball and golf; and women's cross country, softball and volleyball. Lander also offers club sports that include equestrian, ultimate disc, rugby, bass-fishing, lacrosse, soccer, water skiing, running, Cross-Fit, baseball, women's volleyball and it has an intramural program open to all students, faculty, and staff.

Greek life

Sorority and Fraternity organizations are under three different councils being the

National Pan-Hellenic Council The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...

(NPHC), National Panhellenic Council (NPC), and Interfraternity Council (IFC)

NPC

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same y ...

Zeta Tau Alpha Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its International Office is located in Carmel, Indiana. It ...

(Lander founding 1986) *

Gamma Phi Beta Gamma Phi Beta (, also known as GPhi or Gamma Phi) is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Man ...

(Lander founding 1996)

NPHC

* Alpha Kappa Alpha * Delta Sigma Theta * Sigma Gamma Rho *

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...

IFC

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of th ...

(Lander founding 2016) * Alpha Tau Omega (Lander founding 2020)

History

Lander University was founded as a college for women by Methodist clergyman Samuel Lander in 1872 as Williamston Female College in

Williamston, South Carolina Williamston is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,934 at the 2010 census. Geography Williamston is located in northeastern Anderson County at (34.617699, -82.479256). The twin towns of Pelzer and Wes ...

. It was re-named Lander College in 1904. Men were admitted in starting in 1943 and it became a university in 1992. Lander University has had twelve presidents serve since its founding. They are: Samuel Lander (1872–1904); John O. Willson (1904–1923); B. Rhett Turnipseed (1923–1927); R. H. Bennett (1927–1932); John W. Speake (1932–1941); John Marvin Rast (1941–1948); Boyce M. Grier (1948–1966); E. Don Herd, Jr. (1966–1973); Larry A. Jackson (1973–1992); William C. Moran (1992–2000); Daniel W. Ball (2000–2015); and Richard E. Cosentino (2015–present).

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1872 Public universities and colleges in South Carolina Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Methodism in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Greenwood, South Carolina 1872 establishments in South Carolina