History of Presbyterian College

A History of Presbyterian College, now moving through its greatest period of development, cherishes a strong heritage of solid achievements in Christian higher education. The College had its beginning in 1880 with a dedicated man’s dream of service. That individual was the Rev. William Plumer Jacobs, pastor of Clinton’s First Presbyterian Church and founder of Thornwell Orphanage five years earlier. He established the college as Clinton College, primarily to supplement the education of the orphans at Thornwell. PC remained largely the enterprise of this single, inspired person during the first decade.

 

The young school moved steadily forward, with both college preparatory and regular college programs, and a new charter in 1890 changed the name to Presbyterian College of South Carolina. Under provisions of this charter, the original plans of management by the Clinton Presbyterian Church were expanded to permit election of trustees by the presbyteries of the South Carolina Synod. Shortly thereafter the administration modernized the curriculum and introduced campus athletics and a broader range of extracurricular activities.

 

Two important developments occurred in 1904. Another charter change brought the College under the full control and direction of the South Carolina Synod, and Dr. William G. Neville became president to launch PC into its first major period of plant expansion. On the campus where only two buildings stood, three more were added over a three-year period.

Coming into its own

Dr. Davison M. Douglas assumed the presidency in 1911. During his 15-1/2-year tenure, PC came into its own as a college with a revamped curriculum, full accreditation, intercollegiate athletics, ROTC, and the addition of four more buildings. When he left in December 1926, enrollment totaled 276 students.

 

Georgia Presbyterians joined in support of PC in 1928. A new system of control adopted at this time authorized the choice of trustees by the Synods of South Carolina and Georgia, and this joint relationship brought an expansion of influence, support, and patronage. Another distinguished churchman, Dr. John McSween, became president in 1928 and maintained the close ties between PC and the church, but his six-year tenure was handicapped by the national financial crisis. It became the lot of Dr. William P. Jacobs II, industrialist-trustee and grandson of the founder, to guide the College out of the Depression era and through the pressures of World War II during his 1935-45 tenure as president.

 

Presbyterian College gave strong support to the emergency of World War II. The regular academic program was accelerated to produce ROTC-trained leaders quickly, and altogether more than 1,000 alumni-at-arms served this country in all theaters of operation. The College also opened its facilities (March 1943 to July 1944) for preliminary training of Air Force pilots. An estimated 1,600 of these cadets studied in the detachment here while PC maintained its regular curriculum for the reduced number of civilian students.

Achieving unprecedented growth

After World War II, the college moved quickly to an over-capacity 500 students and launched a long-range program to expand and strengthen the institution. Dr. Marshall W. Brown, who had served as dean for 16 years, became president in 1945. His 18-1/2-year administration, the longest presidential tenure in the history of the College, added considerably to the plant and endowment resources — as well as to the academic program — and set the stage for the next decade of unprecedented growth. The campus was expanded from 55 to 175 acres.

 

Marshall Brown was succeeded in 1963 by Dr. Marc C. Weersing, then minister of the Spartanburg (SC) First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Weersing’s 16-year tenure saw the total assets increase by more than four times in terms of endowment holdings and plant additions that included eight new buildings. Fundamental changes in facilities and curriculum came in 1965 with the move to full coeducation. (Previously, women had attended in limited numbers, mainly as day students.) Development during these years broadened PC’s support and brought additional academic prestige, a stronger faculty, and an expanded program in Christian higher education.

 

Dr. Kenneth B. Orr became president of PC in 1979 after serving successfully as president of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and before that as vice president of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He introduced tighter management procedures, more efficient planning methods, and increased fund-raising efforts. In addition to major plant renovations, the endowment increased nearly seven-fold during his tenure, which ended with his retirement in the summer of 1997.

 

The constituency of PC also expanded during Dr. Orr’s 18 years as president. In 1988, following Synod realignments within the Presbyterian Church (USA), Florida Presbyterians joined Georgia and South Carolina churches in the new Synod of the South Atlantic, which provides both support and trustee responsibility for the College.

Moving forward

In June of 1997, the trustees elected Dr. John V. Griffith to be the 16th president of Presbyterian College. Dr. Griffith began his tenure at PC on January 1, 1998, after completing a successful presidency at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas.

 

From the outset of his administration, Dr. Griffith led the PC community in a year-long strategic planning initiative that resulted in a bold and innovative plan that continues to guide the college through the first decade of the 21st century as it maintained its stance among the top liberal arts college in South Carolina and one of the recognized leaders in the Southeast. During Dr. Griffith’s tenure, the College has raised more than $140 million, established a doctoral program in pharmacy, was awarded a Confucius Institute, and positioned the College to transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.

 

The College also adopted a curriculum that now includes freshmen seminars, capstone experiences in all majors, internship opportunities for all students, and a broad-based international context. Six endowed professorships have been named and eight major facilities have been built or renovated.

 

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