FURMAN UNIVERSITY
F
urman University is the oldest, largest
nearby Greenville Woman’s College, which was
and most selective private institution of
founded by South Carolina Baptists in 1854 as
higher
Greenville Baptist Female College.
learning
in
South
Carolina.
The two
Founded in 1826 by the Baptist Convention of
schools operated under one administration but
South Carolina as the Furman Academy and
on separate campuses in downtown Greenville
Theological Institution, Furman today is an
until 1961, when the current physical plant on the
independent, coeducational liberal arts college of
outskirts of town was completed and the two
2,600 students located on a spacious 750-acre
campuses were united. The university and the
campus in Greenville.
South Carolina Baptist Convention severed ties
Named for Richard Furman, a prominent pastor in Charleston, South
in 1992.
Carolina, and a
The move to the new campus served as the
leader in Baptist higher education, the institution
catalyst for Furman’s ongoing transformation
moved three times in its early years before being
form a primarily regional college to one of the
chartered as the Furman University and settling
leading liberal arts institutions in the country.
permanently in Greenville in 185-. Eight years
Today Furman offers majors and programs in 40
later, its theological department became the
subjects and is one of the select group of
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which
colleges that quality for a chapter of Phi Beta
eventually
Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic
moved
to
Louisville,
Kentucky.
Between 1920-32, the university included a law
honorary society.
school, but for most of its history, it has been a
faculty hold doctorate or the terminal degree of
liberal arts college.
their field, and the student body comes from 47
In 1933 Furman was coordinated with the
states and 47 countries.
F U R M A N PA L A D I N S . C O M
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Ninety-six percent of the
