Shorter College
Encyclopedia
Shorter University is a private
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...

, coeducational, 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 located in Rome
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...

, 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...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founded in 1873, it is a Christian university
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 historically affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention
Georgia Baptist Convention
The Georgia Baptist Convention is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...

.

Shorter offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through seven colleges and schools and has current enrollment of 3,500 traditional and non-traditional students. The 155 acre (0.6272633 km²) main academic and residential campus is located 72 miles (115.9 km) northwest of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 in Rome
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...

. There are adult education and graduate programs at distance learning facilities in Duluth
Duluth, Georgia
Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia and an increasingly more affluent and developed suburb of Atlanta. Unincorporated portions of Forsyth County also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is outside city limits...

, North Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, and Riverdale
Riverdale, Georgia
Riverdale is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 12,478 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Riverdale is located at .-Demographics:...

. In addition Shorter operates the Robert H. Ledbetter College of Business and the School of Nursing at off-campus facilities in the Rome area.

Fielding athletic teams known as the Shorter Hawks, the university is in the process of transitioning athletics from the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 and member of the Southern States Athletic Conference
Southern States Athletic Conference
The Southern States Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The 16 member universities compete in 13 sports in the NAIA. Basketball teams compete in Division I of the NAIA.-History:...

 to NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division II, at which time it will join the Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...

. The official school and athletic colors are blue and white. The majority of Shorter's students are from Georgia, with only 6% of student enrollment coming from out-of-state and an additional 3% as international students. The university offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations, as well as fraternities and sororities. Shorter has achieved national opprobrium for requiring its employees to sign a "personal lifestyle statement" rejecting homosexuality.

Founding and early history

Shorter University was founded in 1873 by Luther Rice Gwaltney, pastor of the Rome Baptist Church, as a women's college
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...

 known as the Cherokee Baptist Female College. The college was renamed in 1877 to Shorter Female College because of the financial contributions of Alfred and Martha Shorter. Shorter was located in Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

-style buildings on Shelton Hill near downtown Rome and educated young women at primary, preparatory and collegiate levels. Classes were held Tuesdays through Saturdays and early curriculum included science, music, art, drama and literary works. Through additional contributions from the J.L. Bass and J.P. Cooper families, the university was relocated to its current site just outside of Rome in 1910. During the 1920s the college constructed the first indoor swimming pool in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and swimming became a physical education graduation requirement. The era also included the first women were selected for the Board of Trustees. During the 1920s Shorter became an accredited member in 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...

, in which the university holds accreditation.

Through the years of the college struggled with financial problems during the 1930s with the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in the 1940s, Led by President Paul M. Cousins faculty took cuts in salary in the periods of crisis. Academics were strengthened through membership with the Association of American Universities
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...

 and the National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association of Schools of Music is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music...

.

Recent history

In the 1950s, the college became co-educational and the addition of male students created a need for a new male-only residence hall. The university also began intercollegiate athletics program in the NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 and initiated new clubs organizations and fraternities. Randall Minor became the college's 14th president in 1958. Under Minor, control of the selection process for trustees was given to the Georgia Baptist Convention
Georgia Baptist Convention
The Georgia Baptist Convention is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...

. The college constructed a new administration building, student center, library, fine arts center and hired additional faculty for the expanding school. The late 1950s also saw the first African-American student graduate.

The political and social climate of the 1960s had a great effect on the college throughout the decade. During the era the student government's power increased and new organizations were created on campus. A number of special events were held on campus, including memorial services for both the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...

 and Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

 was observed for the first time. In 1973 Shorter College celebrated its 100th anniversary through special activities and traditions.

International programs began in the 1990s and the university expanded MBA programs and adult education programs with the establishment of the School of Professional Programs in the Atlanta area. The university dedicated the Winthrop-King Centre and created the Fitton Student Union when it converted the old gym into the facility. Shorter College constructed the Bass Apartments, the J. Robert Eubanks Welcome Center and the Robert H. Ledbetter baseball field. In 2005, the college attempted to break away from the convention. The Georgia Supreme Court, however, ruled that Shorter's board didn't have the authority to sever ties with the convention. The Georgia Baptist Convention continues to pick trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

s for the college. On June 1, 2010, Shorter College changed its name to Shorter University to reflect the institution’s growth and expansion.

Controversies

In October 2011, the university's policy against homosexuality attracted attention in newspapers around the world when the university introduced a requirement that its employees must sign a "Personal Lifestyle Statement" in which they agree to adhere to the following principles as a condition of their employment:
  • They will be loyal to the mission of Shorter University as a Christ-centered institution affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention.
  • They will not engage in the use, sale, possession, or production of illegal drugs.
  • They will reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality.
  • They will not use alcoholic beverages in the presence of students, and will abstain from serving, from using, and from advocating the use of alcoholic beverages in public (e.g. in locations that are open to use by the general public, including as some examples restaurants, concert venues, stadiums, and sports facilities) and in settings in which students are present or are likely to be present. Neither would they promote or encourage the use of alcohol.

Employees who fail to adhere to the requirements face potential disciplinary action including immediate termination. All new and existing employees are required to sign. Shorter University President Don Dowless explained that those who do not will likely be fired, stating "I think that anybody who adheres to a lifestyle that is outside of what the biblical mandate is and of what the board has passed, including the president, would not be allowed to continue here." He further stated "Anything outside that is not biblical, we do not accept" and "We have a right to hire only Christians." On November 10, 2011, the university was partially evacuated when a bomb threat was received during a student protest on campus regarding the personal lifestyle statement and perceptions that the new policy was anti-gay..

Campus

The university is located on a 155-acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

 campus in Rome
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...

. There are satellite campuses in North Atlanta, Duluth, Georgia
Duluth, Georgia
Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia and an increasingly more affluent and developed suburb of Atlanta. Unincorporated portions of Forsyth County also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is outside city limits...

 and Riverdale, Georgia
Riverdale, Georgia
Riverdale is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 12,478 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Riverdale is located at .-Demographics:...

.

Academics

In 2005, the college enrolled approximately 1,000 students in its traditional programs with an additional 1,500 individuals enrolled in its professional studies programs. Shorter offers bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

s in 30 fields of study as well as some 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.

Shorter University claims to have had a graduate school acceptance rate of 80 percent and an 87 percent acceptance rate to medical colleges over the past fifteen years.

Athletics

Shorter athletic teams are known as the Shorter Hawks. The university currently sponsors 20 varsity sports that compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 (NAIA). Shorter is also a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference
Southern States Athletic Conference
The Southern States Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. The 16 member universities compete in 13 sports in the NAIA. Basketball teams compete in Division I of the NAIA.-History:...

 for most sports except for football, which competes in the Mid-South Conference
Mid-South Conference
The Mid-South Conference is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky....

; Shorter added men's and women's lacrosse in 2011, the men's team competes as an independent program and women's team competes as a charter member of the National Women's Lacrosse League. In May 2011, Shorter announced it will apply for membership into the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 at the Division II level. It was accepted into the NCAA reclassification process in July 2011 and will join the Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...

.
During the 2011-12 academic year the Hawks will maintain competition in the NAIA, during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years Shorter will compete in the GSC and NCAA Division II but be ineligible for NCAA championships.
Men's sports
  • Baseball
    College baseball
    College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

  • Basketball
    College basketball
    College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

  • Cheerleading
    Cheerleading
    Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

     (co-ed)
  • Cross Country
    Cross country running
    Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

  • Football
    College football
    College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

  • Golf
    Golf
    Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

  • Lacrosse
    College lacrosse
    College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...

  • Soccer
    College soccer
    College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

  • Track and Field
    Track and field
    Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

  • Wrestling
    Wrestling
    Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...



Women's sports
  • Basketball
    College basketball
    College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

  • Cheerleading
    Cheerleading
    Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

     (co-ed)
  • Cross country
    Cross country running
    Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

  • Golf
    Golf
    Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

  • Lacrosse
    College lacrosse
    College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...

  • Soccer
    College soccer
    College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

  • Softball
    Softball
    Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

  • Track and Field
    Track and field
    Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

  • Volleyball
    Volleyball
    Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...



Notable persons

Notable alumni include the famous concert organist J. Buxte Max, Bill Foster
Bill Foster (basketball coach)
- External links :**...

, head basketball coach in the NCAA and one of only 16 coaches to win 500 or more games in his career, and Phil Jones
Phil Jones
Philip D. Jones is a climatologist at the University of East Anglia, where he works as a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences. Jones holds a BA in Environmental Sciences from the University of Lancaster, and an MSc and PhD from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne...

, a football coach who won the 2008 FCA Grant Teaff Coach of the Year honor and the 2008 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year. Anthony O'Garro
Anthony O'Garro
Anthony O'Garro is a Trinidadian footballer.-College:O'Garro attended high school at Presentation College, and helped his school to a national championship in cricket and a conference title in soccer...

 is a professional soccer player currently playing for AC St. Louis
AC St. Louis
Athletic Club of St. Louis, commonly referred to as AC St. Louis, was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in December 2009, the team played its first and only season the next year in the NASL Conference of the temporary USSF D2 Pro League, the...

 in the USSF Division 2 Professional League
USSF Division 2 Professional League
USSF Division 2 Professional League was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation in 2010 to last just one season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding United Soccer Leagues and the North American Soccer League...

. O'Garro finished his Shorter career ranked third on the school's all-time assists
Assist (football)
In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of fantasy football competitions...

 list with 13 helpers and his 12 career goals rank fourth on the all-time charts.

Noted faculty members include Martha Shaw
Martha Shaw
Dr. Martha Shaw holds the Lester Harbin Chair of Conducting at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. She is Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, Conductor of the Shorter College Chorale, as well as the Artistic Director of the Spivey Hall in Atlanta.-Shorter College Chorale:Shaw...

, a music professor.

External links

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