Spartanburg Methodist College

Coordinates: 34°57′13″N 81°58′16″W / 34.9535067°N 81.9712091°W / 34.9535067; -81.9712091
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Spartanburg Methodist College
File:New SMC.png
Former names
Textile Industrial Institute
Spartanburg Junior College
MottoDeus Providet
TypePrivate college
Established1911; 113 years ago (1911)
AccreditationSACS
Religious affiliation
United Methodist Church
Endowment$24.8 million (2022)[1]
PresidentWilliam Scott Cochran
Academic staff
89
Students1,025
Location
Saxon (Spartanburg address)
,
South Carolina
,
United States

34°57′13″N 81°58′16″W / 34.95361°N 81.97111°W / 34.95361; -81.97111
Campusmetropolitan, 110-acre (45 ha) campus
Colors    Blue & white
NicknamePioneers
MascotChuck
Websitewww.smcsc.edu

Spartanburg Methodist College (SMC) is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Saxon, South Carolina, with a Spartanburg postal address.[2] The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has approximately 1,000 students (2022-2023 academic year). SMC offers a flexible higher education experience, providing options for both 2-year and 4-year programs, both on-campus and online.

History

Spartanburg Methodist College history dates back to its founding in 1911 as the Textile Industrial Institute (TII) by Dr. David English Camak. Dr. Camak was inspired by the challenges faced by southern cotton textile workers and with the support of Walter S. Montgomery, president of Spartan Mill, Camak established an elementary and secondary school in a vacant house near Duncan Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. The school grew steadily, eventually becoming a mission of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[3]

In 1913, the college acquired its present campus and began the construction of Charles P. Hammond Hall. Hammond Hall played a significant role in accommodating students and fostering a sense of community on the campus and serves as a residence hall to this day.

Hammond Hall, the first building on the campus, was constructed by students in 1913.

By 1927, TII expanded its offerings to include the first two years of college-level education, providing students with various pathways for their future.[3] After initially providing high school level courses for young adults working in the textile mills of the area, TII later expanded its curriculum in 1927 to offer two years of college-level work, granting associate degrees in liberal arts. This allowed graduates to transfer to senior level colleges or enter the workforce with valuable skills.[3]

In 1940, TII discontinued its high school classes and in 1942, the institution changed its name to Spartanburg Junior College. In 1974, it officially became Spartanburg Methodist College.[3]

In 2019, Spartanburg Methodist College further expanded its academic offerings by introducing bachelor's degree programs. Today, the college is a four-year institution providing students with the flexibility to choose the learning mode that best suits their needs and circumstances.[4]

Presidents[5]

President Years Served
David English Camak 1911-1923
Rembert B. Burgess 1923-1962
Lester Kingman 1963-1970
James S. Barrett 1970-1976
George D. Fields, Jr. 1976-1997
Charles Porter Teague 1997-2009
Colleen Perry Keith 2009-2015
William Scott Cochran 2015-present

Accreditation and affiliations

Spartanburg Methodist College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and with the South Carolina Annual Conference.

Academics

SMC offers a total of six associate degrees and three bachelors degree programs. Bachelor's degrees are offered in business administration, psychology, or a customizable degree where students can select two concentrations out of a pool of six: business, criminal justice, English, history, psychology, and religion. Nine associate and bachelor's degree programs are available 100% online.

All bachelor's degrees include what SMC calls “The Camak Core”. The Camak Core, named for SMC's founder, is a required 6 courses – or 18 hours of degree credit – of professional development (soft skills and experiences for personal and career success). The Camak Core makes up one-third of a student's total bachelor's degree hours. Another unique feature for SMC's bachelor's degree programs is students will also earn an associate's degree after their first 2 years.[6]

SMC also offers free tutoring services to all students, whether on-ground or online. This tutor service includes the Write Place, where students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a member of the English faculty on written assignments for any class.[7]

Moore Family Fitness Center
Keith Fountain

Campus

SMC occupies 110 acres near the western edge of the city limits of Spartanburg, and is within very easy driving distance to South Carolina’s coast and North Carolina’s slopes, as well as the cities of Greenville, Asheville, Atlanta, Charleston, and Charlotte. The campus has seven residential halls (Willard, Hammond, Kingman, Parsons, Judd, Bridges, and Sparrow) that are co-ed or all-female. Over the past decade, SMC has expanded its campus facilities. In 2012, a new academic building, Ellis Hall, was opened on campus and houses nine classrooms, the bookstore, academic offices, including the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Write Place, student publications, the President's Hall, and Gibbs Auditorium (which seats 275).[8] In 2019, the 4,000-square foot Moore Family Fitness Center was opened on campus and provides students with access to aerobics machines, free weights, weight machines, and an aerobics classroom.

Hammond Hall

Athletics

The college is a Division I member of Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Region X includes colleges in the Carolinas, West Virginia, and Virginia. SMC offers 14 intercollegiate athletic programs, which include Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Softball, Volleyball (indoor and beach), Baseball, and Men's and Women's Track and Field. The college's athletic teams have won numerous regional, divisional, and national titles.

The men's soccer team won the 1994 NJCAA national championship. Several other teams have made appearances in their respective NJCAA (JUCO) Division I national tournaments in recent years — most recently women's golf (three individual Top 50 finishes, 2011), men's tennis (26th-place finish, 2010), wrestling (29th-place finish, 2010), men's cross-country (2nd place, 2012), women's cross-country (16th place, 2009), men's and women's half-marathon (3rd place, 2012), and volleyball (16th-place finish, 2009).

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/research/2022-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL.ashx?la=en&hash=362DC3F9BDEB1DF0C22B05D544AD24D1C44E318D
  2. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Saxon CDP, SC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
    Compare to: "Zoning Map" (PDF). City of Spartanburg. Retrieved 2021-07-05. (shows the university is not in the Spartanburg city limits)
    See following address: 1000 Powell Mill Road, Spartanburg, SC 29301
  3. ^ a b c d "Spartanburg Methodist College". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  4. ^ Ware, Lisa (2019-02-20). "SMC receives federal approval to offer first four-year degree this fall". Spartanburg Methodist College. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  5. ^ "The Inauguration of W. Scott Cochran". Spartanburg Methodist College. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  6. ^ "Academics". Spartanburg Methodist College. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  7. ^ "Tutoring Services". Spartanburg Methodist College. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  8. ^ Kitzmiller, Felicia. "Spartanburg Methodist celebrates opening of Ellis Hall". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  9. ^ "Orlando Hudson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  10. ^ "Lee Haney Pro Bodybuilding Profile". Bodybuilding.com. 12 October 2015.
  11. ^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  12. ^ "Reggie Sanders Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  13. ^ "Dwight Smith Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Sebastián Velásquez". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved November 16, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spartanburg Methodist College.


34°57′13″N 81°58′16″W / 34.9535067°N 81.9712091°W / 34.9535067; -81.9712091

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