The story
Origins (1848–1862)
Anderson University was founded in 1848 as Johnson Female Seminary. Its founders were Daniel Brown, J.P. Reed, and Stephen McCulley. Johnson Female Seminary was named for William Bullein Johnson, an early Baptist statesman, a founder and first Vice President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was later renamed Johnson University. William Bullein Johnson served as the first chancellor of Johnson University. By 1857 Johnson University had around 600 students taking courses in calculus, Latin, and Greek. Johnson died in 1862.
The university closed its doors due to the combined impact of Johnson's death and the onset of the Civil War. The main building of Johnson University became a Confederate treasury and printing press during the civil war until 1865 when Union forces occupied the building. After the war the Carolina Collegiate Institute and Patrick Military Institute used the buildings of the seminary for educational purposes until 1920. The buildings of Johnson University were then demolished around 1920.
Anderson College (1911–2006)
Johnson University was resurrected in the form of Anderson College in 1911. The name Anderson comes from Robert Anderson, an American Revolutionary War veteran and the namesake of Anderson, South Carolina. The Anderson Chamber of Commerce raised $100,000 and secured 32 acres (13 ha) for the new campus. The land and funds were given to the South Carolina Baptist State Convention to establish the college. The Merritt Administration Building was the first building constructed on the land. For a time this was the only building dedicated to academics. It would eventually house only the president's office and the Merritt Theatre.
At the outset there were financial problems until Annie Denmark became president in 1928. Denmark's inauguration as president on February 14, 1929, established the tradition for Anderson College as Founder's Day celebrating the day of chartering the institution.
In 1931 Anderson College became a coeducational junior college. In the 1990s Anderson returned to its status and offerings as a four-year institution.
Anderson University (2006–present)
Anderson College was renamed Anderson University in 2006. On the occasion of the first commencement as Anderson University, S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, and his son Dan Cathy received honorary degrees from Anderson University for "exemplifying the character and vision Christian businessmen should possess". In June 2011 Anderson University became the host of the Palmetto Boys State. The following year, the university joined the University Center of Greenville (UCG).
In June 2022, Anderson University did not renew the contract of part-time theatre professor Miranda Barnett. Barnett claimed her contract was not renewed "because she is queer." A spokesperson from Anderson refused to comment specifically but was quoted as saying "Anderson University is a private Christian university which upholds the South Carolina Baptist traditional view of sexuality and marriage as set forth in Scripture." Barnett was previously selected by students and faculty to receive Anderson's "Excellence in Teaching" award for the 2019-20 school year.
From Wikipedia’s article on Anderson University (South Carolina), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5