College of Charleston
The College of Charleston (also known as CofC or Charleston) is a public liberal arts college in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest college in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the oldest municipal college in the country. The founders of the college include three future signers of the Declaration of Independence (Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge), and three future signers of the United States Constitution (Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and John Rutledge). History. The College of  Charleston was founded in 1770 making it the 13th oldest institution of higher education and oldest municipal college in the United States. Organization. The College of Charleston consists of six academic schools, as well as the Honors College and the Graduate School of the University of Charleston, S.C. Campus. The College of Charleston's main campus in downtown Charleston includes 11 residence halls, 19 historic homes, five fraternity houses and nine sorority houses. It contains a mix of modern and historic buildings. The College of Charleston downtown campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, the Avery  Institute, which is now the home to the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, and the William Blacklock House are also listed individually on the register. Outside of downtown Charleston, the college campus includes the Grice Marine Lab on James Island, the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center and the Patriots Point Athletic Complex in Mount Pleasant, the North Campus in North Charleston and the Stono Preserve. In 2014, the college was ranked as one of the top 10 best landscaped colleges on the east coast. In 2017, "Travel + Leisure" magazine named the college "America's Most  Beautiful College Campus." The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum located on the campus. The museum has more than 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils. The collection's focus is on the paleontology of North American mammals, and specifically the South Carolina Lowcountry. College of Charleston and the media. Several movies and television shows have been filmed at the College of Charleston, including "General Hospital", "North and South", "The View", "Cold Mountain", "The Patriot", "White Squall", "Wife Swap", "O", "The Notebook", "Dear John", and "Mandie". "The View "and CNN's "Crossfire" also took up residence  on the College of Charleston Cistern Yard before the South Carolina presidential primary in 2000. In 2004, the first televised debate between U.S. Senate candidates Jim DeMint and Inez Tenenbaum was filmed in Alumni Hall. John Kerry officially endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama in the Cistern Yard in 2008. In 2008, the television show "Army Wives" and the feature film "The New Daughter", was filmed. In 2013, Today with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb did a live show from the Cistern. Bully Pulpit Series. The Bully Pulpit Series is hosted jointly by the College of Charleston's Departments of  Political Science and Communication. The series welcomes presidential candidates from the two major political parties to the campus. Candidates speak with students and Charleston community members on such topics as the frequency of press conferences, the candidate's relationship with journalists and the power of the president to persuade. Major candidates that appeared during the 2008 Presidential primaries included Senator John McCain, Congressman Ron Paul, President Barack Obama and Senator John Edwards. During that season, the series was sponsored by the Allstate Insurance Company and attendance on the Bully Pulpit events drew over 6,000 attendees. During the 2016 Presidential primaries , the major candidates who participated in the series included Senator Lindsey Graham and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley. The series hosted a slew of candidates during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The candidates who appeared were: Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Representative Beto O'Rourke, Secretary Julian Castro, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Bernie Sanders, former vice president and eventual president Joe Biden, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard. Athletics. The college's 19 varsity sports teams participate in the NCAA Division I Colonial Athletic Association and are known as the Cougars. The Cougars compete at a variety of athletics facilities in the Charleston area , including the TD Arena (formerly the Carolina First Arena), the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Complex, Johnson Center Squash Courts, Patriots Point Athletic Complex and the Links at Stono Ferry. College of Charleston athletics are supported by the College of Charleston Athletic Club, which was established in 1974. During the 1970–71 school year, College of Charleston students voted to change the school nickname from the Maroons to the Cougars, in honor of a cougar that had recently arrived at the Charles Towne Landing zoo. Clyde the Cougar is the college's current mascot. Oliver Marmol, the new manager of the St.  Louis Cardinals is a former College of Charleston baseball player. Greek life. Greek life has been active on campus for 120 years. In 2017, four fraternities were shut down by the college for alcohol, drugs and a sexual assault.