Pfeiffer University Pfeiffer University is a private university in the village of Misenheimer near Richfield , North Carolina . History . Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century . In or around 1885 , the school first began operation on the outskirts of Hudson , NC , on Lick Mountain . ( Caldwell County North Carolina ) The school was called Oberlin , after John Frederick Oberlin , a French priest noted for his social improvement in the Alsace Region of France . The school was later endowed by Mrs . Mary P . Mitchell , and the name was changed to the Mitchell School . A fire destroyed the school in 1907 and it moved to the nearby town of Lenoir , North Carolina . As that location proved inadequate , the school again relocated in 1910 , this time to its current location in Misenheimer . An outdoor drama entitled " The Legacy of Lick Mountain " relates the beginning of the school , and will be presented in Hudson , N . C . in the summer of 2013 . The Mitchell School began issuing high school diplomas in 1913 . In 1928 the school began offering junior college classes and was accredited as such in 1934 . It was that year that the Pfeiffer family of New York City gave generous financial gifts to the school for construction of new buildings , and it was then that the name Pfeiffer Junior College was used . During the 1950s the school began offering senior college courses . The four - year Pfeiffer College was accredited in 1960 during the administration of Dr . J . Lem Stokes II , President . Pfeiffer opened a satellite campus in Charlotte , approximately forty miles away , in 1977 . In 1996 the college ' s trustees voted to re - organize to achieve university status , and the current name of Pfeiffer University was adopted . Accounting Schools of the University . Business Administration Comprehensive Science Biology Exercise Science Business Administration * Business Graduate Studies . Pfeiffer has 2 graduate campuses . The main graduate campus is located in Charlotte , North Carolina near the SouthPark area . The campus has been in Charlotte for 33 years and currently serves several hundred students . Pfeiffer ' s Research Triangle Park campus , located in Morrisville , North Carolina , serves graduate students in Raleigh , Durham , Chapel Hill and surrounding areas . The graduate degrees offered include Masters degrees in Business Administration , Healthcare Administration , Education , Organizational Change and Leadership , and Marriage & Family Therapy . Ratings . U . S . News and World Report . In the 2010 edition of the U . S . News & World Report , Pfeiffer University was listed as a " selective " school . MBA Program . Pfeiffer ' s MBA program , which has been named one of the top enrolling MBA programs in NC , earned the first - ever American accreditation for its International Master of Business Administration ( MBA ) degree program issued by ACQUIN , the German accreditation agency . MFT Program . In collaboration with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy ( AAMFT ) , the Pfeiffer University MFT Program is an accredited MFT Graduate School approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education ( COAMFTE ) . Athletics . Pfeiffer ' s athletic teams are known as the " Falcons " . They compete in the NCAA ' s Division II as a member of the Conference Carolinas ( formerly the Carolinas - Virginia Athletic Conference ) . The 1981 Womens Field Hockey team became Pfeiffer ' s first team to win a National Championship . Steven Armstrong of Edinburgh , Scotland became Pfeiffer ' s first individual National Champion in 1995 winning the NAIA National Golf Championship at Bailey Ranch , Tulsa , Oklahoma . In 2009 , varsity student - cyclist Joey Rosskopf won the overall Division II national road cycling championships . Gray Stone Day School . Gray Stone Day School , which opened in Fall 2002 , is a charter high school , meaning it is a public school but does not receive funding from the state of North Carolina for land or buildings . Previously located in Pfeiffer ' s Harris Building , its philosophy has been " what better way to prepare for college than on a college campus " . Gray Stone began planning for its own facility in 2005 . Pfeiffer donated 18 acres of land and groundbreaking took place in April 2010 . On January 4 , 2011 , Gray Stone students moved into a new $ 7 million , building . In 2012 the school opened a new wing of classrooms to accommodate the largest freshman class in school history .