Founding Principle: Matthew 28:19-20
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Mission: Promoting Academic Excellence in a Christian Environment
Vision: To be a Christian university nationally recognized for integrating faith in learning, leading and serving.
Biblical Core Values: What We Believe …
Scripture. II Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” The Bible is the inerrant and infallible record of God’s revelation to humanity, and it is the only sufficient source of appeal on matters relating to the Christian faith.
God. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” There is one and only one living and true God. The historical account of Genesis decrees that He is the personal and direct Creator of all that exists, including the first human beings Adam and Eve. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” God made provision through Christ for the redemption of sinful humanity by His substitutionary atonement on the cross, and He alone is sufficient as Savior.
Salvation. John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Salvation involves God’s gracious redemption of individuals and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior by repentance and faith.
Life of the Believer. Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Christians are to be consistent with Scripture in their character and conduct.
Evangelism and Missions. Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” It is the privilege and duty of every Christian to share the Gospel of Christ personally and by all other methods in harmony with the Gospel.
Statement of Purpose
Charleston Southern University is an independent comprehensive university affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. This suburban coeducational institution with liberal arts and professional curricula offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The University was founded upon the principle that students should have an opportunity for a quality education under the guidance of Christian faculty. The University promotes academic excellence in a Christian environment.
The University aims continuously to increase the academic quality of its students. Students currently are drawn primarily from the Southeastern region of the United States and pursue a broad variety of careers in the arts and sciences, as well as business, education, and nursing.
The South Carolina Baptist Convention founded the institution in 1964 as the Baptist College at Charleston. The campus is located sixteen miles from the city of Charleston within the city limits of North Charleston. The institution changed its name to Charleston Southern University in 1990 to reflect the offerings of graduate programs.
Strategic Themes and Goal Statements
Faith Integration:
Establish a culture where biblical faith permeates all aspects of University life.
Student Success:
Prepare students to succeed intellectually, professionally, spiritually, and personally.
Faculty/Staff Development:
Develop a community of faculty and staff committed to integrating faith and work.
Distance Education:
Enhance learning opportunities through online programs.
Institutional Identity:
Build a distinctively Christian identity that highlights excellence.
History and Organization
In November 1990, the South Carolina Baptist Convention, upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees of Baptist College at Charleston, approved the name to be changed to Charleston Southern University. The Convention reaffirmed its commitment to Charleston Southern University and its mission of Promoting Academic Excellence in a Christian Environment.
The urgent need for another college in the low-country area became a matter of active and organized consideration in 1954. South Carolina Baptists made its establishment a matter of official deliberation at a meeting of the General Board in September 1955.
After considerable study by official education committees, both locally and convention-wide, the Capital Needs Committee of the State Convention brought a recommendation which initiated efforts to begin seeking both a site and funds for the establishment of a college.
Purchase of 500 acres of land, sixteen miles from the city limits of Charleston, at the northeast intersection of Interstate 26 and US Highway 78, was made. In 1964, trustees were elected by the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
Dr. John A. Hamrick was elected the first president of the University by the Board of Trustees in November 1964. The first semester of Charleston Southern University was in the fall of 1965, in buildings of the First Baptist Church of North Charleston. By September 1966, buildings on the campus were ready and the University’s second year began amid construction, landscaping, and the physical development of the campus. The University has grown from a student body of 588 to an enrollment of about 3,000. There are now many significant campus buildings to provide for the needs of the University.
In 1984 Dr. Jairy C. Hunter, Jr. became the second president of Charleston Southern University. The Graduate Studies Program in Education became accredited in 1986. It was expanded to include concentrations in elementary and secondary education beginning with the 1988 spring term. The School of Business began to offer a Master of Business Administration degree in 1990. In 1993, the School of Education began offering a Master of Education in Educational Administration. In 1999, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice was added to the graduate offerings. In 2009, a Master of Science in Nursing was added to the graduate offerings.
From its beginning the University has sought to provide not only excellent academic opportunities, but has, in all its planning, held to the ideal of the development of the total individual. Employment of personnel deeply committed to assisting each individual student to attain his maximum potential within a Christian environment has made this institution distinctive.
Affiliation and Support
The Charleston Southern University is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. However, young men and women of all faiths are invited to share in its programs. The University is under the direct supervision of the Board of Trustees (elected by the South Carolina Baptist Convention), who are charged with the responsibility of operating it within the purpose for which it has been chartered. Income for the University is derived from tuition, endowments, gifts, funds from the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and friends who believe in the purposes of the institution.
Campus Buildings
Administration
C. S. Jones Hall: Office of the President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, faculty offices, administrative offices.
Classroom Buildings
Art Studio: Classroom for art instruction.
H. E. Ashby Hall: Five classrooms, three labs, three computer labs, auditorium, faculty offices.
Derry Patterson Wingo School of Nursing: Five classrooms, one computer lab, nursing and clinical lab, conference room, auditorium, faculty offices.
L. Mendel Rivers Library: Five classrooms, faculty and staff offices. (See detailed description below.)
F. K. Norris Hall: Ten classrooms, two labs, three computer labs, faculty offices.
Science Building: Two classrooms, twelve labs, faculty offices.
Whittington Hall: One classroom, one music rehearsal hall, six music practice rooms, one music technology lab, faculty offices.
H. C. Wingo Hall: Four classrooms, faculty offices.
Buccaneer Field House: Two classrooms, one lab, faculty offices. (See description below.)
Lightsey Chapel Auditorium and Music: One auditorium, one choral room, one theater room, one classroom, one conference room, faculty offices. (See description below.)
Hunter Reception Center
The Hunter Reception Center houses Enrollment Services, including admissions and financial aid personnel.
Communications Center
The Communications building houses Blackboard services and serves students’ needs for Internet access, configuration and BUC mail.
L. Mendel Rivers Library
The Library serves as an integral component of all academic programs at Charleston Southern University. The three-floor building houses a collection of over 250,000 volumes of print and non-print resources. The Library subscribes to more than 20,000 periodicals in print and electronic formats and more than 100 electronic databases. Librarians and staff provide assistance and instruction in accessing print, online, microform, and audiovisual media. Traditional reference services are augmented by email and instant messaging. The Library also serves as a selective depository for U.S. Government Documents.
The Bibliographic Instruction and Library Technology (BILT) Center, located on the third floor, is used primarily as a hands-on classroom for the Library Research Methods class and for bibliographic instruction sessions. Computers in the BILT Center are made available for general use by CSU students when not reserved for instruction. Computers for student use are also located in the Library Lobby and in the Reference/Reading Room. Wireless Internet access is available throughout the building for patrons wishing to use their own laptop computers.
Additional features are the Java City Coffee Café, located at the entrance to the Library, and five glassed-in study rooms (on the top floor) which are available for students needing group study space.
During major academic sessions the Library is open seven days per week for a total of 91 hours. Maymester, Summer, and Holiday hours are posted at the beginning of each semester. Remote access to the online catalog and online databases is available 24/7 through the Library’s Web pages.
Through its membership in the Charleston Area Library Consortium (CALC), the Library maintains reciprocal borrowing and lending agreements with the College of Charleston, The Citadel, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Trident Technical College. CSU students, faculty, and staff may use and check out materials at any of the CALC academic libraries. CSU also participates in a check-out agreement, known as PASCAL Delivers, with most of the college and university libraries in South Carolina, and a courier service provides for statewide delivery of materials among the participating libraries. CSU offers traditional Interlibrary Loan services for the borrowing and lending of materials among academic libraries outside the state.
The CSU Library participates in several additional consortia, including DISCUS, the South Carolina Virtual Library; PASCAL, Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries; the Carolina Consortium, a joint-purchasing alliance among North and South Carolina Libraries; and Lyrasis, the regional library network.
Located on the lower level of the building are University Archives, five classrooms, faculty offices, CSU Communications Department offices, and the College of Distance and Continuing Education.
Strom Thurmond Center
The Center houses meeting rooms, banquet rooms, the President’s Dining Room, the Cafeteria, Bookstore, Dean of Students, Office of the Registrar, Business Office, Career Planning and Student Employment, Student Success Center, University Relations, Alumni, Development, V.P. for Student Affairs and Athletics and faculty offices.
Buccaneer Field House
This building contains the basketball court, air-conditioned modern exercise rooms, training equipment, basketball practice courts, physical education classrooms, and a suite of offices for the Athletic Department staff and faculty. Close by are the track, the softball and baseball diamonds, the soccer field, the tennis courts, the football stadium, a lake, a picnic area, and the Athletic Training Lab.
Residence Halls
All rooms are arranged in suites with private telephone lines, wireless Internet/E-mail access, T.V. cable access, and heating/air conditioning units in each room. Student lounge areas are located in all residence halls.
Brewer Center
The Brewer Center is a 20,000-square-foot student activities and wellness center. It houses a lounge area, a health club, an intramural gym, office space, and meeting rooms for clubs and organizations. Containing exercise equipment, the Brewer Center serves as the hub for an extensive wellness program for the entire campus community.
Lightsey Chapel Auditorium and Music Building
This building is a multipurpose facility and serves as a focal point for religious, cultural, and academic activity at Charleston Southern University. The Chapel, completed in October 1984, houses the Department of Religion and Horton School of Music and is equipped with a modern stage and support equipment for dramatic performances.
Whitfield Stadium Center
The Whitfield Stadium Center is a four-story athletic facility which provides broadcast areas for the media, coaches booths, and space for television camera crews. The third floor provides space that is used as classrooms, pregame and halftime social gatherings, and Buccaneer Club Board of Directors’ meetings. The remainder of the building provides coaches office and meeting rooms, while the ground floor is home to a concession sales area and restroom facilities.
Physical Plant - Facilities
This structure houses offices for the Director of Facilities and Auxiliary Services and staff, carpenter and electric shops, and storage areas for campus equipment and supplies.
All buildings at Charleston Southern University are architecturally barrier free and all buildings are specially equipped to service the handicapped student. There are elevators in all major buildings, with the exception of the residence halls. The residence halls provide for handicapped facilities on the first floor of each building. |