Lander University
Old Main Building
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| Type | Public 4-year university |
|---|---|
| Established | 1872 |
| President | Dr. Richard Cosentino |
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Academic staff
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136 |
| Students | 3,000 |
| Address |
320 Stanley Ave., Greenwood, South Carolina, United States 34°12′1″N 82°9′56″W / 34.20028°N 82.16556°WCoordinates: 34°12′1″N 82°9′56″W / 34.20028°N 82.16556°W |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| Nickname | Bearcats |
| Website | http://www.lander.edu |
Lander University is a public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. It is the state's second-smallest publicly funded baccalaureate institution.
Lander University was founded by Methodist clergyman Samuel Lander in 1872 as Williamston Female College in Williamston, South Carolina. It remained a private institution for 26 years. In 1898 the College gained the support of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The college moved to Greenwood in 1904 and was renamed Lander College in honor of its founder who died in the same year. It remained a women's college until 1943 when men were first admitted.
In 1948, when the Methodist Conference, pursuant to a policy of consolidation of its education efforts decided to end support of Lander College, interested citizens of Greenwood formed the Lander Foundation as a non-profit corporation and leased the College from the Church.
In 1951, the Greenwood County obtained the College name and property from the Methodist Conference. The South Carolina General Assembly created the Greenwood County Education Commission, known as the Lander Foundation, to serve as the board of control of the College. Lander thus became the only four-year liberal arts college in the United States to be controlled and financed by a county government.
In 1973, Lander College became a state-supported college and in 1992 its name was changed to Lander University. The institution is now completely co-educational.
Lander is situated on a wooded site near the middle of the City of Greenwood, of approximately 123 acres (50 ha). The Lander College Old Main Building consists of three distinct sections displaying an eclectic blending of elements of the Romanesque Revival and Georgian Revival styles. Two of the sections—Greenwood Hall and Laura Lander Hall—were built in 1903-04; Willson Hall was added in 1911. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In addition to six major buildings erected since 1973, campus improvements have included extensive renovations to a number of older facilities, new housing complexes, athletics fields and parking lots. Lander created a new 10-year Campus Master Plan in 2003. The first phase of the plan, the creation of a campus entrance, is complete, and a new residence hall (Centennial Hall) for 300 students opened in 2006. An expanded dining hall opened in January 2007.
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