College of Charleston
The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the oldest municipal college in the nation.
Not to be confused with the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia.Motto
"Wisdom Itself Is Liberty"
"She Cares for Her Temples, Customs and Rights"
1770
$135.9 million (2021)[1]
836
9,972
913
Midsize city[2], 80 acres (0.32 km2)
The College Today
Maroon and white
[3]
Glebe, George, St. Philip and Green streets, Charleston, South Carolina
4 acres (1.6 ha)[4]
1827
Edward B. White; George E. Walker
Early Republic
November 11, 1971[5]
November 11, 1971[6]
The founders of the College of Charleston included three Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776, Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge, and three who signed the Constitution of the United States in 1788, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and John Rutledge.
History[edit]
The College of Charleston was founded in 1770, making it the 13th-oldest institution of higher education and oldest municipal college in the nation.[7][8] The college's original structure, located at the site of what is now Randolph Hall, was designed similar to a barracks. In March 1785, the South Carolina General Assembly issued a charter to the college, which officially opened in 1790 and hosted its first commencement in 1794. The first president of the college was Robert Smith, who served in the position from 1790 to 1797.
A second charter was issued by the general assembly in 1791 stipulating that the college would not discriminate on the basis of religion. During the Antebellum era, further development efforts in the college resulted in the construction of Randolph Hall and the President's House, both of which were built using slave labor.
In 1837, the Charleston municipal government assumed control over the college. During the mid-20th century, several African Americans attempted to apply to the racially segregated college as part of the Double V campaign against racism in the United States, but they were all rejected. Though the college became a private institution to avoid being racially integrated during the civil rights movement, black students were admitted starting in 1967 as a result of external pressure.[9][10]
Academic rankings
302
8
323
501–600
The College of Charleston consists of seven academic schools, as well as the Honors College and the Graduate School.
Campus[edit]
The College of Charleston's main campus in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, includes 156 buildings, a mix of modern and historic buildings built between 1770 and 2009. The average building is over 100 years old, and 20 buildings are under historic, protective easements. The College of Charleston downtown campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Outside of downtown Charleston, the campus includes the Grice Marine Lab on James Island, the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center and the Patriots Point Athletic Complex in Mount Pleasant and the 881-acre (357 ha) Stono Preserve.[15]
In 2017, Travel + Leisure magazine named it "America's Most Beautiful College Campus."[16]
The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum located on the campus. The museum has more than 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils. The collection's focus is on the paleontology of North American mammals, and specifically the South Carolina Lowcountry.[17]