Furman University

Furman University is the oldest, largest and most selective private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. Founded in 1826 by the Baptist Convention of South Carolina as the Furman Academy and Theological Institution, Furman today is an independent, coeducational liberal arts college of 2,600 students located on a spacious 750-acre campus in Greenville.

Named for Richard Furman, a prominent pastor in Charleston, South Carolina, and a leader in Baptist higher education, the institution moved three times in its early years before being chartered as the Furman University and settling permanently in Greenville in 185-. Eight years later, its theological department became the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which eventually moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Between 1920-32, the university included a law school, but for most of its history, it has been a liberal arts college.

In 1933 Furman was coordinated with the nearby Greenville Woman’s College, which was founded by South Carolina Baptists in 1854 as Greenville Baptist Female College. The two schools operated under one administration but on separate campuses in downtown Greenville until 1961, when the current physical plant on the outskirts of town was completed and the two campuses were united. The university and the South Carolina Baptist Convention severed ties in 1992.

The move to the new campus served as the catalyst for Furman’s ongoing transformation form a primarily regional college to one of the leading liberal arts institutions in the country. Today Furman offers majors and programs in 40 subjects and is one of the select group of colleges that quality for a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honorary society. Ninety-six percent of the faculty hold doctorate or the terminal degree of their field, and the student body comes from 47 states and 47 countries.