# Converse University

Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits men.

## History

Converse College opened on October 1, 1890, with a student body of 168 women and 16 faculty members. The college only admitted women students and operated as a "stock company" with the board of directors composed entirely of residents of Spartanburg. Dexter Edgar Converse, a native of Vermont who had settled in Spartanburg before the American Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in the cotton mill industry, served as the head of the first board of directors. On January 2, 1892, fire destroyed the college's main building. The building was enlarged during its reconstruction. In 1896, the college was incorporated in South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was named. In 1964, the college introduced graduate programs.
The Converse College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It encompasses eight contributing buildings dated between 1891 and 1915. They are the Main Building (Wilson Hall) (1892), Annex (Pell Hall, 1891), Twichell Auditorium (1898–1899), Carnegie Library (1905), Cleveland House (c. 1905), Judd Science Hall (1915), Dexter Hall (1899) and Towne House (1898). The buildings are representative of the Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Neo-Classical styles.
The college changed its name to "Converse University" in the summer of 2021. The college also "expanded its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed" by admitting male undergraduate students in the fall of 2020.

## Presidents

| Name | Years served |
| Benjamin F. Wilson | 1890–1902 |
| Robert Paine Pell | 1902–1932 |
| Edward Moseley Gwathmey | 1933–1955 |
| Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, Jr. | 1956–1960 |
| Robert T. Coleman, Jr. | 1961–1989 |
| Ellen Wood Hall | 1989–1993 |
| Sandra C. Thomas | 1994–1998 |
| Nancy Oliver Gray | 1999–2005 |
| Elizabeth A. Fleming | 2006–2016 |
| Krista L. Newkirk | 2016–2021 |
| Jeffrey H. Barker | 2021–2021 |
| Boone J. Hopkins | 2022–present |

## Academics

As of August 2023, Converse offers 44 undergraduate degree programs and 28 graduate programs. The university's undergraduate program also awards certificates. The University also has a presence at University Center of Greenville, a center that houses satellite campuses of several South Carolina colleges offering higher education programs. Converse offers two undergraduate and three graduate degree programs at the center.
The Nisbet Honors Program, established in 2000, is the university's undergraduate honors program.
Converse has a Model Programs team who participate in Model Arab League and the annual International Model NATO conference hosted by Howard University. Converse's Model Programs annually hosts the Southeastern Regional Model Arab League (SERMAL) conference.

## Athletics

The Converse athletic teams are called the Valkyries. The university is a member of the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Conference Carolinas (CC) since the 2007–08 academic year. The Valkyries previously competed as an Division II Independent from 2002–03 to 2006–07.
Women's sports include acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, swimming and volleyball.
The inaugural men's sports are basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Converse's equestrian program is coeducational, though only women participate in NCAA-recognized competition. The university also has a coeducational varsity esports team.

## Notable alumni

* Kimilee Bryant, Broadway actress and Miss South Carolina 1989
* Lynette Eason, Christian novelist and teacher
* Margaret Moffett Law, artist
* Ruth Perry, civil rights activist
* Fatemeh Pahlavi, royal member of the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran.
* Julia Peterkin, class of 1896 and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1929.
* Sutton Stracke 1993, socialite and television personality
* Kokab Moarefi, class of 1950. Former lady-in-waiting to Fatemeh Pahlavi, and deputy minister of the Ministries of Labor, Social Welfare, and Health.

## Notable faculty

* Julia Klumpke, concert violinist and composer
* Radiana Pazmor, contralto and music therapist
* Steven Graff, concert pianist