| Converse University | |
| Former Name: | Converse College (1889–2021) |
| Type: | Private university |
| Endowment: | $77.6 million (2020)[1] |
| President: | Boone Hopkins |
| Provost: | Joe Wilferth |
| Faculty: | 90 Full-time (2022)[2] |
| Students: | 1,284 |
| Undergrad: | 804 |
| Postgrad: | 480 |
| City: | Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Country: | U.S. |
| Coor: | 34.9546°N -81.9171°W |
| Campus: | Urban, |
| Colors: | Purple and gold |
| Sports Nickname: | Valkyries |
| Mascot: | Val the Valkyrie |
| Athletics Affiliations: | NCAA Division II – Conference Carolinas |
Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits men.
| Converse College Historic District | |
| Nrhp Type: | hd |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Location: | 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Built: | -1915 |
| Architect: | Hook, Charles |
| Architecture: | Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque, Richardson Romanesque |
| Added: | November 12, 1975 |
| Refnum: | 75001706 |
Converse College opened on October 1, 1890, with a student body of 168 women and 16 faculty members. The college only admitted women students and operated as a "stock company" with the board of directors composed entirely of residents of Spartanburg. Dexter Edgar Converse, a native of Vermont who had settled in Spartanburg before the American Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in the cotton mill industry, served as the head of the first board of directors. On January 2, 1892, fire destroyed the college's main building. The building was enlarged during its reconstruction. In 1896, the college was incorporated in South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was named. In 1964, the college introduced graduate programs.
The Converse College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It encompasses eight contributing buildings dated between 1891 and 1915. They are the Main Building (Wilson Hall) (1892), Annex (Pell Hall, 1891), Twichell Auditorium (1898–1899), Carnegie Library (1905), Cleveland House, Judd Science Hall (1915), Dexter Hall (1899) and Towne House (1898). The buildings are representative of the Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Neo-Classical styles.[3] [4]
The college changed its name to "Converse University" in the summer of 2021. The college also "expanded its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed" by admitting male undergraduate students in the fall of 2020.[5]
| Name | Years served | |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin F. Wilson | 1890–1902 | |
| Robert Paine Pell | 1902–1932 | |
| Edward Moseley Gwathmey | 1933–1955 | |
| Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, Jr. | 1956–1960 | |
| Robert T. Coleman, Jr. | 1961–1989 | |
| Ellen Wood Hall | 1989–1993 | |
| Sandra C. Thomas | 1994–1998 | |
| Nancy Oliver Gray | 1999–2005 | |
| Elizabeth A. Fleming | 2006–2016 | |
| Krista L. Newkirk | 2016–2021 | |
| Jeffrey H. Barker[6] | 2021–2021 | |
| Boone J. Hopkins [7] | 2022–present |
| Usnwr Reg: | 46 (tie) of 103 |
| Wamo Mastersu: | 76 of 603 |
, Converse offers 44 undergraduate degree programs and 28 graduate programs. The university's undergraduate program also awards certificates.[8] The University also has a presence at University Center of Greenville, a center that houses satellite campuses of several South Carolina colleges offering higher education programs.[9] Converse offers two undergraduate and three graduate degree programs at the center.[10]
The Nisbet Honors Program, established in 2000, is the university's undergraduate honors program.[11]
Converse has a Model Programs team who participate in Model Arab League and the annual International Model NATO conference hosted by Howard University.[12] [13] Converse's Model Programs annually hosts the Southeastern Regional Model Arab League (SERMAL) conference.[14]
| Converse Valkyries | |
| University: | Converse University |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Conference Carolinas (primary) |
| Division: | Division II |
| Director: | Jenn Bell |
| Location: | Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Teams: | 21 |
| Mens Teams: | 6 |
| Womens Teams: | 12 |
| Coed Teams: | 3 |
| Basketballarena: | Weisiger Center/Tom and Tracy Hannah Gym |
| Softballstadium: | Tyger River Stadium |
| Soccerfield: | Hayden Abney Fulp Field at Weisiger Stadium |
| Lacrossestadium: | Hayden Abney Fulp Field at Weisiger Stadium |
| Tenniscourt: | Sally Abney Rose Complex |
| Nickname: | Valkyries |
| Pageurl: | https://govalkyries.com/ |
Converse athletic teams are known as the Valkyries. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Conference Carolinas.
Women's sports include acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, swimming and volleyball.
The inaugural men's sports are basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Converse's equestrian program is coeducational, though only women participate in NCAA-recognized competition. The university also has a coeducational varsity esports team.