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.

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
The College of Charleston was founded in 1770, making it the 13th-oldest institution of higher education and oldest municipal college in the nation. 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.

Academics
The College of Charleston consists of seven academic schools, as well as the Honors College and the Graduate School.


 * The School of the Arts
 * The School of Business
 * The School of Education
 * The School of Health Sciences
 * The School of Humanities and Social Sciences
 * The School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
 * The School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering
 * The Honors College
 * The Graduate School

Campus
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 Stono Preserve.

In 2017, Travel + Leisure magazine named it "America's Most Beautiful College Campus."

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.

Bully Pulpit Series
The Bully Pulpit Series is hosted jointly by the College of Charleston's Departments of Political Science and Communication. The series welcomes U.S. presidential candidates from the two major political parties to the campus.

2008
Major candidates that appeared during the 2008 presidential campaign included John McCain, Ron Paul, Barack Obama and John Edwards. During that season, the series was sponsored by Allstate, and attendance on the Bully Pulpit events drew over 6,000 attendees.

2016
During the 2016 presidential campaign, major candidates who participated included Lindsey Graham and Martin O'Malley.

2020
In the 2020 presidential campaign, the series hosted Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, and Bernie Sanders.

Athletics
The institution's 19 varsity sports teams participate in the NCAA Division I Coastal Athletic Association and are known as the Cougars. The Cougars compete at a variety of athletics facilities in the Charleston area, including the TD Arena, the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Complex, Johnson Center Squash Courts, Patriots Point Athletic Complex, and the Links at Stono Ferry.

College of Charleston athletics are supported by the College of Charleston Athletic Club, which was established in 1974. During the 1970–71 school year, College of Charleston students voted to change the nickname from the Maroons to the Cougars, in honor of a cougar that had recently arrived at the Charles Towne Landing zoo. Clyde the Cougar is the current mascot.

The men's basketball team is ranked No. 6 for the highest winning percentage in NCAA Division I men's college basketball.

Oliver Marmol, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, is a former College of Charleston baseball player.

Greek life
Greek life has been active on campus for 120 years. Currently, the College has 8 Panhellenic, 11 IFC and 8 NPHC fraternities and sororities.

Listed on the Register of Historic Places

 * Randolph Hall, the college's main academic building
 * William Blacklock House