Anderson University (South Carolina)

Anderson University

Former names	Anderson College (1913–2006)
Motto	Humanitatem per crucem alere (Latin)
Motto in English	To nourish humanity through the cross
Type	Private
Established	1911
Affiliation	South Carolina Baptist Convention
President	Dr. Evans P. Whitaker
Undergraduates	2,939
Postgraduates	492
Location	Anderson, South Carolina, United States 34°30′50″N 82°38′17″W / 34.514°N 82.638°W / 34.514; -82.638Coordinates: 34°30′50″N 82°38′17″W / 34.514°N 82.638°W / 34.514; -82.638
Campus	270 acres (109 ha), 36 buildings
Colors	Black and gold
Athletics	NCAA Division II – SAC
Nickname	Trojans
Mascot	Troy the Trojan
Website	www.andersonuniversity.edu

Anderson University is a selective private comprehensive university located in Anderson, South Carolina. The university offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in approximately 60 areas of study. Anderson is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and is accredited as a Level V institution by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Anderson participates in the NCAA Division II and is a member of the South Atlantic Conference.

Founded in 1911 as Anderson College it was established as a successor to Johnson Female Seminary. Anderson College was initially a female college until 1931 and in 2006 it was renamed to Anderson University. Anderson University consists of nine colleges: South Carolina School of the Arts, Arts and Sciences, Business, Christian Studies, Education, Health Professions, Interior Design, Nursing, and Public Service & Public Administration.

Anderson University traces its heritage and initial founding to 1848 in the form of Johnson Female Seminary (later renamed Johnson University) which was located in Anderson, South Carolina. The seminary was founded by Anderson citizens Daniel Brown, J.P. Reed, and Stephen McCulley. Johnson Female Seminary was named for the Rev. William Bullein Johnson, an early Baptist statesman and the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Johnson served as the first chancellor of Johnson University By 1957 Johnson University had around 600 students taking courses in calculus, Latin and Greek. In 1858 Johnson's health declined and in 1862. Johnson's home still stands in Anderson and his portrait hangs in perpetuity in the Truett Cathy Old Common Room in Merritt Hall on the Anderson University campus. The seminary closed its doors due to the combined impact of Rev. Johnson's untimely death and the onset of the Civil War. The main building of Johnson Female Seminary became a Confederate treasury and printing press during the civil war until 1865 when Union forces occupied the building. After the war the Carolina Collegiate Institute and Patrick Military Institute used the buildings of the seminary for educational purposes until 1920. The buildings of Johnson University were then demolished around 1920.