Lander University

Lander University is a public university in Greenwood, South Carolina.

History
Lander University was founded as a college for women by Methodist clergyman Samuel Lander in 1872 as Williamston Female College in Williamston, South Carolina. It was re-named Lander College in 1904. Men were admitted starting in 1943 and it became a university in 1992.

Lander University has had twelve presidents serve since its founding. They are: Samuel Lander (1872–1904); John O. Willson (1904–1923); B. Rhett Turnipseed (1923–1927); R. H. Bennett (1927–1932); John W. Speake (1932–1941); John Marvin Rast (1941–1948); Boyce M. Grier (1948–1966); E. Don Herd, Jr. (1966–1973); Larry A. Jackson (1973–1992); William C. Moran (1992–2000); Daniel W. Ball (2000–2015); and Richard E. Cosentino (2015–present).

Campus
Lander University is located approximately one half-mile from uptown Greenwood, South Carolina. The main campus sits on 190 acres of land, though this does not include its many off-campus locations.

Lander University has ten residence halls. Residence halls include Bearcat Village, Brookside, Centennial Hall, Chipley Hall, Lide Apartments, McGhee Court, New Hall, Thomason, University Place, and Williamston. The Lander College Old Main Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In July 2021, Lander announced that the state legislature has appropriated new funding for the University, which includes money that will be used to construct a nursing building on Lander's campus in Greenwood.

Academics
More than 90 areas of undergraduate and graduate studies are offered.
 * College of Arts and Humanities
 * Department of Art + Design
 * Department of English and Foreign Languages
 * Department of Media and Communication
 * Department of Music
 * College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
 * Department of Government, Criminology, and Sociology
 * Department of History and Philosophy
 * Department of Psychological Sciences and Human Services
 * College of Business
 * College of Education
 * Department of Teacher Education
 * Department of Physical Education and Exercise Studies
 * College of Science and Mathematics
 * Department of Biology
 * Department of Physical Sciences
 * Department of Mathematics and Computing
 * College of Graduate & Online Studies
 * Department of Graduate Studies
 * Department of Online Studies
 * William Preston Turner School of Nursing
 * Honors College

Rankings
In the 2018 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings, Lander ranked 29 in Regional Colleges of the South and 6 in Best Colleges for Veterans.

Athletics
Varsity athletic teams have reaped honors at district and national levels, including 12 national championships in men's tennis, and, most recently, in men's wrestling. A member of the NCAA Division II, Lander plays in the Peach Belt Conference and fields teams in men's and women's basketball, soccer, and tennis; men's baseball and golf; and women's cross country, softball, and volleyball. Lander also offers club sports that include equestrian, ultimate disc, rugby, bass-fishing, lacrosse, soccer, water skiing, running, Cross-Fit, baseball, and women's volleyball and it has an intramural program open to all students, faculty, and staff.

Greek life
Sorority and fraternity organizations are under three different councils being the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), National Panhellenic Council (NPC), and Interfraternity Council (IFC)

NPC

 * Phi Mu
 * Zeta Tau Alpha (Lander founding 1986)
 * Gamma Phi Beta (Lander founding 1996)

NPHC

 * Alpha Kappa Alpha
 * Delta Sigma Theta
 * Sigma Gamma Rho
 * Zeta Phi Beta
 * Phi Beta Sigma

IFC

 * Delta Sigma Phi (Lander founding 2016)
 * Alpha Tau Omega (Lander founding 2020)

Alumni

 * Adam Arthur, professional soccer player
 * Martin Barba, professional tennis player
 * Joshua Bertie, professional soccer player
 * Chris Blair, radio broadcaster for the LSU Tigers athletics
 * Richard Bryan, professional soccer player
 * Stacey Copeland, professional boxer and soccer player


 * Billy Garrett, member of the South Carolina Senate
 * Darlene Goff, first female general officer of the South Carolina National Guard
 * Olivier Guéguen, professional soccer player
 * Brett Jankouskas, professional soccer player
 * Luke Jordan, professional football player
 * Steve Kennedy, former professional tennis player
 * Jim Lander, South Carolina Senate between 1993 and 1999 and former Comptroller General of South Carolina
 * Leon Lott, commander of the South Carolina State Guard and the sheriff of Richland County, South Carolina.
 * Stephen Magennis, professional soccer player and assistant soccer coach at Georgia Gwinnett College
 * Tom Marriott, professional soccer player
 * Wendy Lee Queen, chemist, material scientist. and assistant professor at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
 * Catharine Rembert, artist, designer, and art educator
 * Clément Simonin, professional soccer player
 * Jordan Skelton, professional soccer player
 * Louie Smothermon, professional soccer player
 * Molly Spearman, educator and South Carolina Superintendent of Education from 2015 to 2023
 * Miriam Stevenson, television host, actress, former model, and Miss Universe 1954
 * Hanin Tamim, professional soccer player

Faculty and staff
Lander has 178 full-time faculty members.


 * Christina Jeffrey, political science lecturer
 * Helen Lemme, former faculty and civil rights advocate
 * Stephen Magennis, former men's soccer coach
 * John R. McCravy III, attorney, member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and law professor
 * Mike McGuire, former head baseball coach
 * Billy Mims, former assistant basketball coach
 * Les Robinson, former interim athletic director
 * Kermit Smith, former head baseball coach
 * Rusty Stroupe, former header baseball coach
 * Eugene Van Taylor, former head coach of men's soccer
 * Beverly J. Warren, former professor and chair