Francis Marion University
Encyclopedia
Francis Marion University (formerly Francis Marion College) is a state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

-supported liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

 university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 located six miles (11 km) east of Florence
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...

, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, USA. It is named in honor of American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 hero Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Francis Marion
Francis Marion
Francis Marion was a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. Acting with Continental Army and South Carolina militia commissions, he was a persistent adversary of the British in their occupation of South Carolina in 1780 and 1781, even after the Continental Army was driven...

.

History

The university dates back to 1957, when the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 set up a freshman center at the Florence County Library. A few years later, in 1961, USC-Florence was set up on land donated by the Wallace family six miles east of Florence, South Carolina
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...

. In 1966, many in the Florence area pushed to establish a four-year university. Governor Robert E. McNair signed into law an act creating Francis Marion College, effective July 1, 1970. The newly created Francis Marion College initially enrolled 907 students from 23 of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

's 46 counties in 10 departments.

In 1992, Francis Marion College achieved university status and subsequently changed its name to Francis Marion University. Today, Francis Marion enrolls over 4,100 students from 32 states and 17 different countries. Francis Marion is one of South Carolina's 13 state-assisted universities
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...

. Since 1999, Francis Marion University has consistently ranked as one of the South's best regional universities, earning it a spot in US News and World Reports America's Best Colleges.

Location

Located on a 400 acres (162 ha) tract of land originally included in a grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...

 by the King of England and later made a cotton plantation by the Wallace Family, Francis Marion University is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Florence. The campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

 includes 100 acres (40 ha) of mixed pine-hardwood and bottomland forests accessed by a series of trails. The University is located on U.S. Highways 76 and 301 and is just an hour's drive from Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand
Grand Strand
The Grand Strand refers to a large stretch of beaches on the East Coast of the United States extending from Little River to Georgetown in the U.S. State of South Carolina. It consists of 60+ miles along an essentially uninterrupted arc of beach land, beginning around the Little River and...

 and 4 hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

. With a metropolitan-area population of 200,000, the city of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 is nestled alongside Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in South Carolina
Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway, running along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to Maine. In South Carolina, I-95 runs approximately parallel to the Atlantic Ocean shore although about inland, from Hardeeville in the south to Dillon in the northeast.-Route...

, the main north-south corridor from the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 area to Miami, and at the eastern end of Interstate 20
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...

. The city is served by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

, bus service, and a regional airport.

Accreditation

Francis Marion is accredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

 by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...

 (SACS) to award bachelor's and master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

s. The business programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business was founded in 1916 to accredit schools of business worldwide. The first accreditations took place in 1919. The stated mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership. It is regarded...

 (AACSB). The teacher education programs of the university are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education was founded in 1954 to accredit teacher certification programs at U.S. colleges and universities. NCATE is a council of educators created to ensure and raise the quality of preparation for their profession. NCATE is recognized by the U.S....

 (NCATE) and approved by the South Carolina State Board of Education under standards developed by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). The baccalaureate degree nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing. The chemistry program is approved by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society. The graduate psychology program is accredited by the Masters in Psychology Accreditation Council (MPAC) and meets the standards of training approved by the Council of Applied Master's Programs in Psychology (CAMPP). The Master of Science in Applied Psychology Program is accredited by the Interorganizational Board for Accreditation of Master's in Psychology Programs (IBAMPP). The theater arts program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST), and the visual arts and art education programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design , founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees. Member institutions complete periodic peer review...

 (NASAD). The University is approved by the South Carolina State Board of Education and is a member of the American Council on Education
American Council on Education
The American Council on Education is a United States organization, established in 1918, comprising over 1,800 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations....

 and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees...

.

Majors and degrees

Francis Marion University offers five undergraduate degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

More than forty areas of study are available, including majors, cooperative programs with other institutions, and pre-professional programs. Students can choose to major in accounting, art education, biology, business economics, chemistry, computer science, early childhood education, economics, elementary education, engineering-dual degree, engineering technology, English, finance, French, general business administration, German, health physics, history, international studies, management, management information systems, marketing, mass communication, mathematics, middle-level education, music industry, nursing, physics, political science, psychology, sociology, Spanish, theater arts, and visual arts. Students majoring in English and mathematics may choose the teacher certification option in these areas.

Graduate degrees include the Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, Master of Science in Applied Psychology (clinical and school psychology tracks), and Specialist in School Psychology. All master's degree programs are accredited by their respective professional organizations.

A number of FMU's individual academic programs have also been accredited by specialized agencies

Academic facilities

The University's physical plant includes ten major buildings: J. Howard Stokes Administration Building, James A. Rogers Library, Robert E. McNair Science Building, Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Science Facility, Walter Douglas Smith University Center, Founders Hall, John K. Cauthen Educational Media Center, Peter D. Hyman Fine Arts Center, Thomas C. Stanton Academic Computer Center, and the Lee Nursing Building. In addition, the University constructed new dormitories and student apartments on campus in 2006. Francis Marion is also home to a two-story observatory, equipped with a 14 inches (355.6 mm) reflecting telescope, and a planetarium that offers public shows twice monthly.

The University has an excellent writing center available for student and FMU community use throughout the school year; the center provides assistance for students working on writing assignments for any class. In addition, the FMU English Department hosts a Fiction and Poetry Festival each fall.

Francis Marion also has the Richardson Center for the Child, a child-care facility for faculty, staff, and students.

Completed in Summer 2011, the FMU Performing Arts Center is located in downtown Florence. It provides unparalleled performance venues for the region featuring national, regional, and local performing artists. Additionally, the Performing Arts Center provides instructional facilities, practice rooms, and faculty offices for the Music Industry Program offered by the FMU Department of Fine Arts.

The Griffin Athletic Complex, located near the main FMU campus, is set to open in 2012. The complex will include new baseball, softball, and soccer stadiums, a fieldhouse, and a five acre lake.

Faculty

As of 2011-12, FMU has a total of 262 professors. 198 of those professors are full time. All faculty members have advanced degrees, and 79 percent of the full-time faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees. The average class size is 21 students. All students are assigned a faculty adviser (in their curriculum) to assist them with class scheduling and academic planning.

Athletics

The Francis Marion athletics program is a member of the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference
Peach Belt Conference
The Peach Belt Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. The PBC was formed in 1990 with seven charter universities as the Peach Belt Athletic Conference, and took its current name in 2000.-Current members:The league currently has 13 full...

, which consists of 13 member schools in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. The school sponsors six intercollegiate men's sports (baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and tennis) and six women's sports (basketball, cross-country, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.) The Patriot women's soccer team and the men's golf team both compete as NCAA Division I independents.

Greek organizations

Francis Marion University fields numerous fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

, as well as other clubs and organizations on campus. Fraternities and sororities present on campus include:
Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC):
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...

 (Theta Xi),
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...

 (Delta Tau),
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

 (Tau Sigma)

National Panhellenic Council (NPC):
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...

 (Zeta Phi),
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...

 (Epsilon Psi),
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

 (Eta Chi)

Nation Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) :
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

  (Kappa Chi),
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...

 (Iota Xi),
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

 (Xi Omicron),
Iota Phi Theta,
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...

 (Mu Theta),
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...

,
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...

  (Pi Chi),
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...

  (Xi),
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...

 (Xi Nu)

Other Greek Affiliated Sororities & Fraternities :
Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma is a national service sorority founded in October 1952 at Beekman Tower in New York City by representatives of Boston University, Brooklyn College, Drexel Institute of Technology, Los Angeles City College, New York University, Queens College, and the University of Houston. ...

 (Eta Beta),
Lambda Tau Omega
Lambda Tau Omega
Lambda Tau Omega is a multicultural sorority founded in 1988 at Montclair State College, now known as Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey. The sorority was founded by sixteen women who felt the need for a multicultural sorority at Montclair State College...

 (Phonoxy Pi),
Delta Sigma Pi
Delta Sigma Pi
ΔΣΠ ' is one of the largest co-ed professional business fraternities. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...

 (Omicron Upsilon)

University Presidents

The University has had four presidents to date: Dr. Walter Douglas Smith (1969 to 1983), Dr. Thomas C. Stanton (1983 to 1994), Dr. Lee A. Vickers (1994 to 1999), and Dr. Luther Fred Carter, the current president.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK