1821: "The proposed academy was intended primarily to train young ministers, preparing some to enter the Washington institution where they could complete a thorough theological education, and giving to others who could not go on to Washington the most necessary elements in a theological education." (52)m

1824: "The sum of $25.00 was reported as having been collected for the new institution of learning, the first money raised for it (1824)." (54)m

1825:"The committee appointed to select a site reported the advantages and disadvantages of several sites which had been proposed, among them Greenville and Pendleton. After discussion it was decided unanimously ‘that the institution contemplated by the convention be located in the immediate vicinity of Edgefield Court House.’" (57)m

• "The 'objects and purposes' of the convention as stated in the Act (of incorporation) were 'to erect and establish an academical and theological seminary for the education of youth, generally, and of indigent pious young men, particularly, who may be designed for the gospel ministry . . . .'" (58)m
• The Convention appointed a Board of Agents (functioning like a Board of Trustees) to take immediate steps for the erection of buildings and to obtain a principal. They were also responsible for establishing rules concerning the course of studies and the conduct of students. Board of Agents members were Basil Manly, Abner Blocker, Joseph B. Cook, Charles D. Mallary, Jesse Hartwell, Timothy Dargan, Matthew Mims, and John Landrum. (13)d

1826: "They (the convention) accepted from the trustees of the Village Academy (of Edgefield) the property of that institution and from Eldred Simkins, Sr., some land surrounding the academy property . . . . they bought as a home for the principal the house and lot of Basil Manly . . . . they fixed the salary of the future principal as ‘the entire profits of the school-five hundred dollars in addition to it, and the use of a house and lot free of expense.'" (59)m

1826: "At a meeting of the Board [of Agents} held September 18, 1826, Rev. Joseph Andrews Warne was unanimously elected principal . . . . Mr. Warne accepted and appeared at the convention where he was cordially received." (60)m

• "Thomas Gillison, Esq., recently deceased, had left a legacy of $5000 to the convention, ‘to be applied to educational purposes,’ the first legacy of any size to be left to the convention. The convention . . . . at once took steps to build up a permanent fund the interest of which could be used to support the objects fostered by the convention. This action was the beginning of a century of effort to endow the institution." (60-61)m
• "The rules provide that the institution ‘shall be under the general direction of the state convention of the Baptist denomination in South Carolina; who alone shall have power to alter or amend these rules." (61)m

June 15, 1827: "The Board is highly gratified with the examination of the students of the Furman Academy, which they attended this day . . . ." scbc

1828: "Principal Warne, whose health was poor, does not seem to have been very well suited to the position. He tendered his resignation at the meeting of the board in June 1828, after only one year and a half of service . . . . the board proceeded to elect as principal, W.T. Brantly, then editor of the Columbian Star of Philadelphia. The Edgefield church offered him its pastorate to supplement his salary. When he declined both positions, the executive committee put the institution in charge of Reverend W.D. Cowdry." (65)m

1829: "In January, 1829, the beneficiaries, of whom there were three, were placed under the care and tuition of Rev. Jesse Hartwell at his residence in High Hills ‘with a view in the future to establish the institution in more strict accordance, with the original design of making the theological department most prominent.’" (66)m

1829-1830: "It was never expected that this would be its permanent site (High Hills). [Jesse Hartwell] took the students into his own home for a time, later building simple rough huts for them at his own expense . . . . The Furman library was turned over to him and carried back to the High Hills when it had been brought to Edgefield. Two ministerial students who were beneficiaries of the convention went with him, and two more joined him during the first year . . . . The new term January, 1830, began with eight students and four more had entered by April, ten of whom boarded with the principal." (67)m

1830: "Principal Hartwell was giving all this instruction, besides attending to the duties of administration, managing the erection of buildings and boarding most of the students in his own home. This work he was doing on a salary of $400 a year." (69)m

• 1830: "The scholarship plan of support seemed so promising that the board immediately after adjournment of the convention elected Rev. Samuel Furman, junior professor . . . . He was the son of Dr. Richard Furman . . . . He remained professor for four years, enjoying the profound respect and ardent affection of his students several of whom became men of influence and distinction. Samuel Furman was the third professor in the history of the institution." (71)m

1832: "The library has been somewhat enlarged. It is now composed of 916 volumes. The room in which it is placed contains also the libraries of the Professor’s, consisting of about 300 volumes each. The whole number of books to which the members of the Institution have free access is therefore about 1500." scbc

• "[Students enrolled are] Isaac Nicholes, Samuel Worthington, James Griffith, Robert Nappier, James M. Chiles, Henry D. Mahoney, Robert McNab, Wm. G. Collins, Wm. H. Brisbane, John M. Barnes, James C. Furman, Wm. F. Missildine, and Thos. Adams." scbc

1833: "That the name of our Institution be changed to The Furman Theological Institution." scbc

• "Several Students form the Institution also attended on the deliberations, and occasionally assisted in the devotional exercises of the meeting, viz: R. Furman, Duncan, Hard, Chambliss, Dargan, Graham, J.M. Breaker, who is about to enter as a Student." scbc

1834: "[New students included] C. M. Breaker, Wm. H. M'Intosh, and W. Loyd." scbc 

• "The subscriptions on scholarships were not being paid, and in consequence the salaries of the professors, small as they were, were steadily falling behind, and by the end of 1834 they were nearly a year in arrears. The financial burdens were evidently being carried almost exclusively by Hartwell and Furman, the two men upon whom rested also the duties of administration and instruction. As a climax to the situation Principal Hartwell in July submitted to the board his resignation to take effect in six months, and in December Professor Furman likewise tendered his resignation to the convention for immediate acceptance." (72-73)m
• "They so amended the constitution as to create a separate board of trustees elected by the convention at the end of every fourth year who should own, control and manage the school." (74)m
• "The board immediately elected as principal, William Hooper, a distinguished scholar and professor in the North Carolina College, but he declined and when no other satisfactory man could be found the school was closed at the end of 1834." (75)m

1835: "In general the lower part of the state, where the culture of the denomination was chiefly found, supported the plan of providing a separate theological institution of high grade by cooperation with other states in supporting and controlling it. . .fitting the instruction to the needs of young ministers of all degrees of culture but admitting none but ministers and rejecting manual labor. On the other hand the upper part of the state was inclining to lay chief emphasis on manual labor and academic work and go forward alone." (77)m

• "The hour of the second removal was at hand. The land at the High Hills was not fertile and fertile soil was necessary to the success of the manual labor experiment." (80)m
• The control of the school was changed from a Board of Agents to a Board of Trustees elected every four years. On the board were James C. Furman, Josiah B. Furman, Charles M. Furman, Jonathan Davis, Abraham D. Jones, Iverson L. Brooks, John B. O'Neall, John K. McIver, M.T. Mendenhall, William B. Johnson, Basil Manly, Henry Bailey, Amaziah Rice, Richard Fuller, Nathan L. Griffin, John W. Lewis, Nicholas W. Hodges, Darling Peoples, Samson H. Butler, Alexander J. Lawton, Jennings O'Bannon, John O. Balfour, Zebulon Rudulph, Sr., James Mobley, Joseph Grisham, and Thomas Blackwood. (29)d

1836: "The school located at High Hills had been closed since the end of 1834. The convention owned there a school building, some thirty acres of land, a small library and some furniture and equipment. They decided to sell the land and building, purchase much more extensive lands near Fairfield Church three miles southwest of Winnsboro, erect buildings for two institutions, an English and classical academy and a theological institution, to be separate institutions but under the same board and the same general management, to be supported in large part by farming operations to be carried on by school boys who were required to labor 2 ½ hours a day and spend the rest of their time in study." (81)m

• "W.E. Bailey had been appointed principal of the English and classical school, but no professors had been found for the theological department, nor had anything been done on the buildings of this department." (83)m

1837: "The board also elected two professors – Rev. Dr. Hooper, of North Carolina College, as senior professor on a salary of $1500 and a house, and James C. Furman, pastor at Welch Neck, as junior professor on a salary of $1200 and a house. . .Mr. Furman declined." (85)m

• "It was determined to open the theological department on January 1, 1838, and the Rev. J.S. Maginnis was elected professor to give half his time to the theological department and half to the other." (86)m

1838: "Principal Bailey and Professor Maginnis resigned . . . . N.W. Hodges was elected its (classical department) principal, a last desperate effort to save this feature of the institution." (86)m

1839: "In December Dr. Hooper presented his resignation [from the theological seminary] . . . . and J.L. Reynolds was elected his successor as senior professor." (87)m

1840: "In December [the convention] voted unanimously to sell the buildings of the English school and half the land, pay off the debt which now amounted to about $9000 and return the remainder if any to the donors." (88)m

• "In the year 1840 Doctor Hooper was succeeded in the presidency by Dr. J.L. Reynolds, and in the course of four years he was in turn succeeded by Dr. J.C. Furman." (21)b10

1841: "Mr. Bayfield Whilden, having completed his studies in the partial course, has been honorably dismissed." scbc

1841-1842: "Rev. J. Chaplin, a young man from the north . . . . resigned alleging mistreatment by the senior professor . . . . The next year (1842) Reynolds was the sole professor, but on December 12, 1842, Rev. James S. Mims was elected junior professor contrary to the wishes of Mr. Reynolds who wanted a different man." (90)m

1843: "That the amount of board be eighty-five dollars ($85,) for the scholastic year." (scbc)

1844: "Reynolds resigned in December, 1844 as the result of friction with the faculty, the board, and his subordinates. It was later stated that he desired re-election, but James C. Furman was on December 9, 1844, elected senior professor in his stead." (91)m

1845: "The agitation over the question of slavery gradually intensified till the board of the Triennial Convention announced that they would refuse to appoint a slave-holder as a missionary should one apply for appointment. This statement precipitated the withdrawal of Southern Baptists from co-operation with the Triennial Convention and the organization of the Southern Baptist Convention at Augusta in May, 1845. Dr. Furman was present and took part in that convention." (93-94)m

1845-49: "Dr. Furman proposed that Furman Theological Institution should be made the proposed general institution . . . . Rev. J.L. Reynolds attacked Professor Furman as incompetent and Professor Mims as a heretic . . . . Probably due to this controversy Professor Mims tendered his resignation December, 1849, but the board declined to accept it and induced him withdraw it and remain with the institution." (94)m

1846: "In May, 1846, the faculty was enlarged by the addition of the third member, Rev. Peter C. Edwards." (92)m

1847: "That a committee be appointed to consult and inquire, with reference to practicability of removing the Institution to Columbia." scbc

1848: "Whereas the Rev. J.L. Reynolds has addressed to this body a communication, protesting against doctrine, taught by the Professor of Systematic Theology in the Furman Theological Institution as heterodox, and requesting, if the Professor be sustained in the teaching of such doctrine, that the bond, which he, Mr. Reynolds, has given to the Treasurer of the Convention for the support of Professors, be returned to him." scbc

1849: "The doors of Furman were again opened to young men of good character who had no intention of studying for the ministry. Those doors were never again closed against young laymen" (98-99)m

• "Apparently the consideration which had led to the location of the institution in Fairfield District in 1836 was the feeling that this situation would be favorable for the manual labor experiment. When that failed in 1840 there was nothing in the needs of the institution which favored that particular site. It was far out in the country on a farm, remote from centers of population and the highways of travel. It was certainly not a suitable location for a theological seminary, for the young preachers needed contact with people." (96)m

1850: "James Furman recommended the purchase of 25 acres on a scenic hill south of town. The land, which we know today as University Ridge, off Church Street, was purchased from Vardry McBee for $150 an acre." if9-01

• "Greenville, Anderson, Greenwood and possibly others were bidding for the institution; Dr. Furman, as chairman of the committee on location, had made an extensive tour of the upper part of the state in search of a site. It was generally agreed that the institution should be removed to this section because of the more salubrious climate, the larger proportion of white people, the cheaper living conditions, the denser Baptist population and the great number of streams providing water power for future manufacturing developments." (99)m
• "Greenville was, in 1850, a mountain town of some 1750 inhabitants, while the Greenville District had a population of 20,000, mostly white." (103)m

1851: "Arrangements were made for the transfer of the Furman Theological Institution to Greenville and for the sale of the lands, buildings and equipment at Winnsboro . . . . The transfer was soon made, and the Theological Institution began its work in Greenville the first Monday in February, 1851." (102-103)m

• "The land of the campus was purchased from Vardry McBee, the deed conveying the land to the State Convention being dated June 18, 1851, the sum paid was $3750." (104)m
• "Professor Mims gave his time to theology, while Professor Edwards devoted himself largely to preparatory work in what was known as ‘The Furman University High School.’ Dr. Furman was giving his time to raising money." (104)m
• "The first faculty of Furman University was actually completed in the fall of 1851 by the addition of a fourth professor, Charles Hallette Judson. As a matter of fact he was employed before the other three professors were legally transferred to the University and was therefore the very first professor engaged by the University. . .He was employed as Professor of Mathematics and Mechanical Philosophy, and was expected to lecture in the schools of Natural Philosophy and Descriptive Astronomy, and Chemistry and Natural History." (107-108)m
• "It was thought by the convention that operations should be started with the erection of a building for the preparatory department. . .In consultation with Mr. [Ed C.] Jones [of Charleston] it was determined to adopt the Italian style of architecture for the preparatory building. . .The preparatory building was to carry a tower sixty or seventy feet high ‘on the left corner in front,’ and was to accommodate one hundred students . . . . but the board decided against the committee and the preparatory building was never erected." (110-111)m

1852: "Mr. Jones really determined the. . .style of architecture adopted for the main university building. . .Work was begun on the main building before August, 1852. . .the building seems to have been finished in 1854." (111)m

• "The ‘Plan of Organization of Furman University’ was drawn up by the faculty. . .in August, 1852. It was consciously based upon the plans of the University of Virginia and Brown University. It provided for three departments – an academical, a collegiate and a theological department. These departments were to have separate and distinct faculties as far as possible, but one administrative force. . .The original plan contemplated a law school." (112)m
• "The first session 68 students were enrolled." (115)m

1853: "In 1853 the board created the office of president and elected Dr. Basil Manly, Sr., the president of the University of Alabama, to fill this position. Upon his declining, the office remained vacant until Dr. Furman, who had in the meantime continued to be the chairman of the faculty, was elected to fill the position in 1859." (115)m

• "While the students enjoyed large freedom in the choice and pursuit of their studies, there was strict supervision of their moral life. They were expected to behave as gentlemen at all places and on all occasions, and strict attention to their studies was a condition of their remaining in the university," . . . . "99 students enrolled." (115)m

1854: "there were 206 [students enrolled]." (115)m

• "The convention met in Greenville in 1854 . . . establishing the ‘Greenville Baptist Female College [GFBC],’ on Tuesday, June 25, 1854." (119-120)m . . . . "Offers were made to the convention by Anderson and Greenville. The offer of the latter city was the gift of the buildings and grounds of the Greenville Academies, and $20,000 in money." (120)m

1855: "when the first class was graduated from the collegiate department, 228 had matriculated . . . . This year 1855 marked the high point in attendance for half a century. The intense political excitement, threatening national disruption and civil war, was already well above the horizon and was having its deadening effects." (115-116)m

• "Professor J.S. Mims died June 14, 1855, at the age of 38; lamented by all who knew him . . . . He was succeeded in the chair of theology by James Petigru Boyce of Charleston, elected July 23, 1855." (116)m
• "Its [GFBC] first president, Rev. H.A. Duncan, was unanimously elected on Monday, July 23, 1855." (121)m

1856: "Appointed . . . . a committee to obtain a lot not exceeding half an acre for the burial purposes of Furman University." scbc

• "Appointed Mr. T.E. Hart Adjunct Professor of Mathematics." scbc

1857: "In the catalogue of 1857 it is noted that there are two literary societies, ‘The Adelphian’ and ‘The Philosophian,’ that they have their own halls and libraries." (117)m

1858: "It [Southern Baptist Theological Seminary] took from Furman, James P. Boyce, the professor of theology and the financial genius of Southern Baptists; in addition all of Furman’s endowment fund raised for theological education, amounting to $26,000, and Furman’s theological library; it diverted the unbroken stream of Furman’s history since 1827, which had been theological education . . . . When the transfer was completed Furman was left with an endowment of only $33,613, was stripped of the appeal which had made it popular through the years, and was overshadowed by the greater institution which had risen out of its bosom and was standing at its doors. It is not strange that the next quarter of a century was a difficult road for Furman." (126)m

1859: "There was a general feeling in 1859 that the institution was in a healthy condition from an educational standpoint, but had been badly served financially . . . . The board now began to sell some of its land to meet their obligations, a mistake of the first magnitude, and solemnly vowed never again to use any of the permanent funds to meet current obligations." (127)m

1860: "The committee . . . . recommending that the Degree of Master of Arts and the Degree of Bachelor of Arts be conferred on the young gentlemen whose names have been proposed worthy to receive the honors of the University." scbc

1861: "The session closed without commencement exercise, but the degrees were conferred. It was the purpose of both faculty and trustees to resume work at the regular time in August, but no students came for four years and he college was not opened again till war was over . . . . Of the 155 who made up the last student body before the war, about one-third were killed, wounded, captured or died of disease." (128-129)m

• "With the announcement of the necessity of defense of the State in the face of secession (1861), two hundred and sixty Furman students went forth for their beloved Southland, to battle for her traditions and their heritage." (17)b20

1862: "Respectfully suggest that they (Professors Furman and Judson) be regularly employed in this Institution (GWC) so long as the suspension of Furman University continues. They think the interests of the Female College might be materially advanced, for the time, by placing Professor Furman at its head and Professor Judson in charge of some one or more of its departments." scbc

1863: "In 1863 the first week witnessed the death of the fearless J.C. Sparks, one of Gen. Lee’s scouts. He fell at Catlett’s Station, and enjoyed the honor of being singled out of the Army of Northern Virginia and complimented by Gen. Lee for gallantry." (108)C

1864: "In 1864 the brave young Randolph Bacon laid down his life at Charleston, Va. The fearless flag bearer stood on a ridge waiving his flag in front of the worsted Confederates, a target for the bullets that ‘longed’ to strike an enemy." (109)C

1865: "Of the students who attended Furman at least one fought on the northern side. . .Delorme Benedict." (110)C

• "That we have heard with profound interest, and with gratitude to God, of the re-opening of the Furman University, and of the success which has attended its exercises, under very disadvantageous circumstances. . .That in judgment of this Convention, it would be proper for the Trustees of the University to appeal to all the holders of Scholarships, who can possibly afford to do so, to refrain, during the present trying period, from claiming their right to free tuition, and especially from any transference of such right to others, able to pay for tuition." scbc

1866: "[T]he university opened again February 15, 1866. The professors who were in their places were J.C. Furman, President and Professor of Metaphysics; P.C. Edwards, Ancient Languages; John F. Lanneau, Mathematics and Astronomy; Thos. E. Hart, Chemistry and Natural Philosophy; John B. Patrick, English Language . . . . The student response was immediate and gratifying, the enrollment the first year being 140." (130)m

• "Charges were made per school or department taken – one school $20, two schools $36, three schools $42, four schools $48." (131)m

1867: "The years 1866 and 1867 were made more distressing by the general failure of crops and visitations, especially of the caterpillar . . . . Only twenty-seven students were enrolled in February, 1868, and no commencement was held." (131-132)m

• "Dr. Edwards had died suddenly May 5, 1867, and his place had not been permanently filled . . . . After a tour through the state in the late summer in search of funds Professor Lanneau resigned to accept a position in William Jewell College." (133)m

1868: "The funds of the University having shared in the common fate which has overtaken the material interests of the State, it was impracticable to resume the work of instructing without making the Faculty dependent for their support to a large extent upon the income from tuition. This necessitated an increased charge for tuition, and this increased charge operated unfavorably upon the attendance of pupils, when the losses of the war had to be added, the diminution of the mean of our people produced by the unfavorable seasons, and the devastations of the caterpillar with which we have been visited." scbc

• "only 27 students were attending." (4)Br

1869: "Professor Judson returned to his chair of Mathematics and Mechanical Philosophy . . . . Sixty-nine students were matriculated in the year 1869." (133)m

1870: "That if there were no Baptist College in the State, it would now be our duty to commence efforts with a view to establish one, and that the foundation already laid by the energy and sacrifices of our fathers, not only affords opportunity, but imposes the obligations to rise up and build . . . . That it is indispensable to the success of the University, that an endowment of $100,000 be added to its funds, and that we will commence at once the effort to secure it." scbc

• The college [GFC] closed for a few years as a result of “out-of-date scientific apparatus, no library, and one full-time faculty member”, but “re-opened in September 1870 with a part time faculty” (65-66)JTB

1871: "The student body numbered 50." (4)Br

1872: "[T]here were forty-five students, twenty of them professing Christians, nine preparing for the ministry." (137)m

1873: "That year saw 53 men in Fuman." (4)Br

1874: ". . . . the next year (1874) 54 [enrolled]." (4)Br

1875: "In November, 1875, the treasurer was able to report that $220,175 had been raised in bonds, of which he regarded $190,175 as certainly good. Twelve thousand dollars came in later and the trustees declared the endowment completed by January 1, 1876, with the completion of the campaign. The period of free tuition began, according to promise, in the college on January 1, 1876." (137)

1876: "The bond endowment of two hundred thousand was now complete, and the institution was to try to run on the income of this endowment, collecting only small incidental fees from the students. But the endowment campaign was hardly completed before difficulties began to accumulate. Five years had passed since some of the bonds had been taken, and the selfishness of human nature was beginning to assert itself. Many donors declined to pay either interest or principal on the ground that times were hard, as they undoubtedly were." (138)m

• "Valedictorian Pauline Mendenhall reads her graduation essay at the Commencement ceremonies of the Female College, the first time a woman student has spoken in public in Greenville." (6)JTB

1877: "Cash collections from the churches were the only means by which the institution was kept going. All the bright promise of endowment was gone." (138)m

1878: "In 1878 the Convention, on the suggestion of the Board, reduced the number of Trustees to thirteen. It also changed the method of selecting them, giving the president of the Convention the power to name a committee to nominate trustees, subject, of course, to the approval of the body." (90)d

• "The 'Baptist' was dropped from the name of the college, leaving the Greenville Female College. (67)JTB
• Mary Judson “became ‘Lady Principal’ (the equivalent of dean of the college), the position that she was to hold until well after the turn of the century” (71)JTB
• At Greenville Female College Mary Judson began a literary society at Townes’s suggestion. “The Judson Society was Greenville’s first organization for women.” (81)JTB

1879: "When some trustees insisted that the institution must be closed or the number of the faculty reduced, Professor Judson tendered his resignation . . . . In the midst of the discussion something was said which seemed to Dr. Furman to reflect on his work as president and he tendered his resignation as president and professor. The resignations of these honored brethren were immediately accepted. When news of these doings reached Greenville the other professors also resigned." (139-140)m

• "The Board then without a meeting signified their approval of the old faculty – Furman, Judson, Harris and Smith – at salaries of $1000 each . . . . Thus the institution again started, much as it had been running for years. But such an upheaval never leaves things just as they were before." (141-142)m

1880: "the abolition of free tuition which had been in operation since 1876." (146)m

1881: "enrolled only fifty-one students" (142)m

• "the decision to elect a president at a salary of $2500, two professors at $1500 each, and three young professors at $600 each, one of whom should be principal of the Preparatory Department, which they planned to re-establish. The board then again elected Dr. Charles Manly president, Dr. Furman and Dr. Judson senior professors." (145-146)m

1882: "The beginning of a successful endowment movement [began] with the gift of a legacy by Mrs. Mary G. Harley, who died in 1882. The bequest, in the amount of $2.548, bespoke the love of a woman who appreciated Christian culture in people and beauty in nature." (95)d

1883: "The president urged the board to take measures to get settlements of some kind on the outstanding unpaid bonds, since they were as they stood a serious obstacle in the way of further progress. He stated that they productive endowment at this time was $22,500, yielding about $1700 per annum, and urged that steps be taken to increase endowment to $50,000." (148)m

1884: "The number . . . . [was] at 88." (5)Br

1885: "For the first time since 1873 the attendance was above 100 in 1885-86, reaching 106 that session and rising rapidly to 182 in the session of 1890-91." (152)m

1886: "To meet the needs of those financially unable to do this, a number of students had been allowed to occupy rooms on the University premises, and to form a mess, in which they had materially reduced the cost of meals. All who desired to participate in such an arrangement were required to communicate with the President in advance. . .Five rooms had been assigned to seventeen students, whose meals were prepared and served by the janitor." (99)d

1887: "1887-88: 122 students." (235)m

1888: "Work on the building began in 1888, and it was finished in 1889, at an approximate cost of $2800. It was ultimately called Judson Cottage. It was a plain rectangular brick building; large enough to house comfortably sixteen students. . .This was the beginning of the dormitory system at Furman." (151)m

• "In 1888, Dr. Furman moved out of the president’s house, which he and his family had occupied since its erection in 1852, to make room for President Manly and his family." (152)m

1889: "Intercollegiate football had its beginnings in South Carolina on December 14, 1889, in a game between Furman and Wofford in Spartanburg." AV(320)

• "At that time the interest-bearing endowment had risen to $47,223.67." (150)m

1890: "In 1890 a very good reading room was fitted up . . . . and placed in charge of a librarian." (152)m

1891: "March 3, 1891, a great sorrow fell upon the institution. Dr. James Clement Furman was claimed by death. Since 1844 he had been a member of Furman’s faculty, and during much of that time he had been its administrative head, either as senior professor, chairman of the faculty or president. He had chosen the present site of the university and laid the institution down upon it, had transformed the old Furman Institution into the university, had piloted it through the war and the period of reconstruction, had clung to it in faith and service when all seemed ready to abandon the sinking ship." (158)m

• "The board, on the recommendation of President Manly, at once launched a campaign to endow a chair in honor of Dr. Furman, to be known as ‘The James C. Furman Memorial Professorship.’ The amount proposed was $25,000 . . . . The response was disappointing, and after a year the project was abandoned." (159)m
• "The question of athletics appears in the minutes of the board of Trustees in 1891 for the first time. The students petitioned the board for some financial assistance in the improvement of their athletic grounds and were granted the sum of $50.00." (161)m
• "The endowment . . . . had become $75,500." (101)d
• A baseball team was established.

1892: "A new mess hall had been named by the students ‘Griffith Hall’ in honor of Dr. Griffith." (104)d

1893: "In the year 1893 some important changes were made in the admission of students. For one thing, the doors were opened to the admission of young women, but with the stipulation that they should have separate literary societies and fraternities." (162)m

• "This session [Sept. 1893] is to be remembered as the first in the history of the institution when provision was made for receiving young women into college classes . . . . It is very gratifying to find how readily these young women find themselves accommodated in classes alongside the young men that mainly compose them. Let others come, as soon as possible!" [President Manly] (1)FB

1894: "The Bachelor of Philosophy degree had been replaced by the Bachelor of Literature (B. Lit.). This, too, was a three-year degree offering the possibility of substituting two modern languages for Latin. Another degree offered at this period was that of Master of Mechanical Philosophy (M.M.P.). Public lectures on scientific subjects by members of the Faculty are described in this catalogue with the announcement of the intention to continue them." (105)d

1895: "In the year 1895, Professor Moore, recently added to the faculty, was appointed ‘Proctor,’ a new office just created. The care and development of the grounds and buildings was placed in his hands. He succeeded in interesting a number of Greenville citizens in a plan for beautifying the campus." (165)m

1896: "In 1896 the board grants the privilege of intercollegiate sports on the campus . . . . [but] they declined to provide an ‘athletic bath-room’ because of the lack of funds." (161)m

1897: "At its meeting, June 15, 1897, [the board] passed two resolutions, one calling upon the members of the faculty to spend part of the summer in canvassing for students and then ‘requiring’ President Manly to surrender his pastorates and give his entire time to the university after the first of January, 1898 . . . . The tone of the resolution is somewhat peremptory and could hardly fail to be galling to the president. Dr. Many felt it keenly and, accordingly, eight days later handed in his resignation in a letter dated June 23rd." (168)m

• "At the June meeting they (the board) had abolished intercollegiate athletics, which was quietly fostered by Dr. Manly, and had also re-established compulsory chapel attendance for both students and faculty." (169)m
• "Dr. A.P. Montague, professor of Latin in Columbian University, Washington, D.C., was unanimously elected president, September 8, 1897. Dr. Montague had been considering the matter for several weeks, and consequently was able to accept the position promptly, but could not reach Greenville and take charge until October 19th." (171)m
• "At the termination of Doctor Manly’s incumbency (1897), Dr. A.P. Montague was chosen president. The administration of this brilliant man was one of great undertaking and accomplishment. During the first year that he was officially connected with the University two modern and much-needed buildings were erected on the campus – Montague Hall (the dormitory), at a cost of $12,000, and Judson-Alumni Hall (the auditorium), costing $22,000." (22)b10
• "The students were henceforth to be classified as Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, Freshmen and Specials." (172)m
• "Dr. and Mrs. F.A. Miles donated the Caesar's Head hotel property and 2000 acres of land to Furman University with the condition that they be paid an annuity during their lives." [Dr. Miles died in 1907 and his wife in 1918.] (22 Sep 1897 p.2)WS

1898: "The prospects of Furman began to improve, and by the time Manly resigned as President in 1898, the future of the institution was secure. Manly was succeeded by Dr. Andrew P. Montague, professor of Latin at Columbian College, now George Washington University. He was a layperson, not a minister as his predecessors had been, and a professional educator. He was the first member of the faculty to hold the new Ph.D. degree." AV(201)

• "The [fraternity] controversy extended over several years, resulting finally in the abolition of fraternities by a ten to six vote of the board, October 3, 1898." (167)m
• "From its beginning the entire Furman board had been elected every four years, but in 1898 the twenty-five trustees were divided into five classes, five in each class, and one class going out each year. This arrangement gives stability and at the same time flexibility and response to the popular will." (176)m

1899: "The Alumni had been agitating the erection of an Alumni Hall for commencement exercises, for debating societies and for class rooms; but it took no forward step before 1899 when Professor Judson of the Building Committee asked the Trustees for permission to build (Judson Alumni Hall) and also to select a site." (171)C

1900: "Permission to play intercollegiate football was again granted to the students by the trustees in 1900." (177)m

• "In June, 1900, the general policy of co-education, even to the limited extent it was carried on in Furman, was abandoned." (177)m. "Coeducation was formally discontinued in the University at the June meeting of the Board, though the Trustees stated that they favored it. They gave as their reason for discontinuing it their judgment that the small number of women did not justify them in continuing to receive women students." (117)d
• "In 1900 the preparatory school was transformed into the Furman Fitting School with a three years’ course of study, and in 1901 military training was made a feature of the fitting school work." (178)m
• "In 1900, the state legislature passed a general law governing all non-profit corporations. Furman fell into the category and has been recognized as a non-profit corporation ever since. Among its provisions, the law gives to the members of a corporation – in Furman’s case, the Board of Trustees – the power to amend their own charters." HF 2-2

1901: "It [Montague Hall dormitory] was completed and occupied at the opening of the session October 1, 1901, at a cost of $12,000 and accommodates about 60 students." (175)m

1902: "Dr. Montague resigned to accept the presidency of Howard College in Alabama, and it was asserted by some that the continuance of Dr. Moore in the faculty was an important consideration in reaching his decision." (180)m

• "Dr. Judson was elected acting president. . .Reverend L.M. Roper, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Spartanburg was elected president. After consideration . . . . he declined and Dr. Judson continued to act as president through the year 1902-03." (182)m

1903: "On June 10, 1903, Reverend Edwin McNeil Poteat of Philadelphia was elected as the fourth president of Furman University. On June 27th he wrote, accepting the call as the will of God." (185)m

• "Dr. Edwin M. Poteat. . .succeeded Doctor Montague in 1903. In this year, through the untiring efforts of the financial agent, Rev. Joel I. Allen, subscriptions amounting to $125,000 were secured for Furman’s endowment. Of this amount $21,000 was given by that ‘grand old man’ – Dr. C.H. Judson." (22)b10

1904: "Dr. Poteat never had any real interest in athletics, apparently regarding it as a necessary nuisance in college life, but he did determine to control it. . .Football was suppressed once more, but restored by the board in 1912." (187)m

1905: "In March two years later (1905), Mr. Andrew Carnegie proposed to donate $15,000 for a Library Building, provided that a like sum be raised as an endowment for the Library. The condition was met by the generous response of Doctor Judson, who created the Chas. H. Judson Endowment Fund of the Library." (23)b10

• "The amount required was $15,000. This amount the committee guaranteed February 3, 1905, with the assistance of Dr. Judson, who had long been deeply interested in the effort to secure an adequate library." (190)m

1906: "Ground was broken for the [library] by Dr. Judson, April 19, 1906, the cornerstone was laid June 6, and the building was completed in the spring of 1907 at a cost of about $23,000." (190)m

• "During the session 1906-1907 the Library Building was erected at a cost of $23,000, Mr. Carnegie having added $4000 to his original gift and other friends of the institution contributing a like sum." (23)b10
• In a letter to President Plyler (November 27, 1942) from alum and former faculty member C.B. Martin, he indicates that he purchased the third replacement bell for the Bell Tower [ca. 1906-1910] as Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds [Plyler Papers, folder Furman History].

1907: "On January 12, 1907, in his eighty-seventh year, Doctor Judson passed." (23)b10

• "Composition of the college hymn, ‘Alma Mater,’ by Dr. Edwin M. Poteat on April 20, 1907." (7)Br

1908: "December, 1908 . . . . the convention authorized the incorporation of the ‘Greenville Female College,’ selected its incorporators and performed such other acts as gave to the institution separate legal existence." (193)m

1909: "Poteat . . . . laid the foundation of a strong emphasis on science by creating separate departments of biology and chemistry and establishing the bachelors of science degree." AV(274)

1910: "In 1910 the Bachelor of Science degree was reintroduced." (197)m

1911: "In 1911 some of the roads through the campus were dedicated to the city. The object of this action was to secure good roads without cost to the university." (197)m

• "Rev. David Ramsay accepts presidency of Greenville Female College." (2)JTB

1912: "Erection of James C. Furman Hall of Science, 1910-1912, costing about $50,000, of which Andrew Carnegie gave $25,000, most of the balance coming from South Carolina Baptists." (6)Br

1913: "In June, 1913, the President recommended the establishment of the office of Dean of the Faculty with Professor H.T. Box to fill it." (133)d

1914: "Organization of the Department of History." (6)Br

1915: "The great war which began in 1914 created serious financial difficulties in the cotton states. The low price of cotton was reflected in college finances. The Treasurer reported in the spring of 1915 that he was behind in the payment of professors’ salaries. . .the Fitting School too was running a deficit." (134(d)

1916: Origination "of the student weekly, The Hornet." (7)Br

• "In 1916 the Fitting School was finally discontinued." (199)m; "[T]he Fitting School . . . . had closed in 1916 when public high schools sprang up and made a private preparatory school unfeasible." (36)R

1917: "[T]he Board voted that the sub rosa fraternities be dissolved and that the Board’s resolution closing out fraternities be reaffirmed." (135)d

1918: "The interim of 1918-1919 was admirably administered by Dr. S.E. Bradshaw. . .professor of Modern languages since 1904." (18)b20

• "The pressing need for officers for the proposed immense army caused the United States Government to inaugurate a plan for utilizing the educational institutions as training camps. This plan was the Students’ Army Training Corps, familiarly known as the S.A.T.C. Furman University was taken over by the government for this purpose, and became a military unit, with all that implies and something more. Four young lieutenants were detailed to carry out the project." (7)Br

1919: "In 1919 a beautiful athletic field was named in honor of Dr. Charles Manly, who had quietly fostered athletics in the nineties [1890s] ." (169)m

• "Dr. W.J. McGlothlin, for twenty-five years a professor in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., was elected the Fifth President of Furman University . . . . Dr. McGlothlin took up his duties July 1, 1919." (8)Br
• "In 1919, the Department of Education was established." (213)m

1920: "The central heating plant was also constructed in 1920-21 . . . . furnishing heat to Geer Hall, Montague Hall, McGee Hall, James C. Furman Hall of Science, the Library, the Administration Building, and the President’s Home." (9)Br

1921: The Board of Trustees voted to name campus buildings; the Main Building was named Richard Furman Hall. BoT

1922: "The growth in the student body made the erection of a new dining hall a necessity . . . . This refectory, [with] a seating capacity for 400 students, was completed early in 1922." (211)m

• The James C. Furman Science Hall was gutted by fire on the morning of July 20, 1922, believed to have started in the chemical labs on the third floor. The building was reconstructed and open by Christmas that year. (July 20, 1922)GN

1923: "Mr. J.W. Norwood and Mr. B.E. Geer. These two gentlemen, assisted by several other citizens of Greenville, pushed the matter to completion early in the year 1923 at a cost of about $80,000. Furman was now finally provided with a modern gymnasium of adequate proportions and modern equipment. This handsome gift of the citizenship of Greenville to the institution was dedicated at commencement, 1923." (212)m

• 'The college [GWC] organized its first academic honor society, Zetosophia . . . . Alumnae as far back as 1914 were retroactively elected." (20)GWCB 1925-1926

1924:  The marching band was started by A.J. (Athol John) Garing [1876-1961] in 1924. SN(14 Nov 1924)

• "On December 9, 1924, Mr. J.B. Duke established a fund consisting of $40,000,000 worth of hydro-electric power stock, the income of which is to be used for the advancement of higher education in North and South Carolina. The management of this fund is placed in the hands of a self-perpetuating board of trustees, who are to see that a certain portion of the income is reinvested until the amount of the principal is doubled. A number of the colleges in North and South Carolina are to share in the income, and Furman is to receive five per cent of the total, which will amount to about $80,000 the first year and more each successive year. In making the gift, Mr. Duke made no stipulation as to how the money was to be used by the individual colleges, and this fact makes the gift even more valuable . . . . This gift not only assists the institution greatly in a material way, but it also opens the eyes of the citizens of this state and neighboring states to the worth and progressiveness of Furman. Now it seems that the future greatness of Furman as one of the chief educational institutions of the South is assured." (167)b25
• "Furman University accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools." (10)JTB
• The Caesar's Head hotel property was sold in August 1924 to the Paris Mountain-Caesar Head Development Co. of which Furman was a shareholder.(14 Aug 1924 p.5)GN

1925: "In the fall of 1919, Mr. Charles S. Webb of Greenville agreed to give Furman the sum of $25,000 . . . . for the erection of a suitable infirmary for the students of Furman and as a memorial to his father and grandfather, both of whom were Baptist ministers. . .the building was erected in 1924-25, being opened February 12, 1925 and dedicated shortly after." (212)m

1926: "Furman launches its first Orientation Program for freshmen." (7)JTB

• At Edgefield site of The Furman Academy and Theological Institution, a marker dedicated on March 17, 1926, the one hundredth anniversary of the transfer of the property to the SCBC. Marker was made from stones from the foundation of the original building set in concrete. (152)d

1927: "In 1927, after victories over Duke, North Carolina State, Clemson, and South Carolina, Furman was invited to Coral Gables to play in what later became the Orange Bowl." AV(320)

• "The name ‘Purple Paladins’ first coined by local sports writer ‘Scoop’ Latimer for the university’s basketball team." (3)JTB
• "Early in 1927 it [the faculty] changed the name of the department of ‘Christianity’ to ‘Bible and Religious Education,’ shortened it to ‘Religion’ a year later." (47)R
• The Furman faculty authorized the Hand and Torch honor society for the graduating class in the spring of 1927. Based largely on scholarship and character, the faculty chose the members.(109)FB 1927-1928

1928: "Furman was one of the few colleges of any importance. . .that barred fraternities and was thus losing good student prospects . . . . the establishment of fraternities would reduce the need for dormitory space . . . . the faculty drew up rules and procedures for organizing fraternities with national affiliation." (50)R

1929: "on 5 January 1929 it [the faculty] established a B.S. in economics and business." (47)R

1930: "Woman’s College trustees vote not to undertake the $150,000 campaign in Greenville that they had agreed to three weeks earlier. President David Ramsay resigns the next day." (5)JTB

• In May, 1930, a marker was dedicated on the site of the Furman Institution in Sumter County. The site had been purchased from a Negro by President J.J. Stark of Morris College and presented to Furman University. (152)d

1931: "In September 1931 the faculty decreed that students take physical education twice a week." (47)R

• "On 13 November 1931 the board voted to refuse all requests for transfers, transcripts, and recommendations to students in debt to the school. . . McGlothlin eliminated all athletic scholarships and urged stress on intramurals and less expensive spring sports. McGlothlin himself gave a hundred dollars out of his own pocket to help subsidize the reduced athletic program." (51)R

1932: "The 1932-1933 school year was reduced to eight months and Furman cut tuition by 10 percent." AV(336)

• "University President W.J. McGlothlin reduces all faculty salaries by 10 percent." (5)JTB
• "Furman trustees vote to take over the management of the Greenville Woman’s College as a . . . . measure to keep it alive." (3)JTB
• "Trustees close Furman’s short-lived Law School, a victim of the Depression." (3)JTB

1933: "The first coordinated activity was a joint commencement in June 1932. The next fall, 70 women began attending classes on the men’s campus, with specially chartered taxi cabs providing rides between the campuses. By March of 1933 the Woman’s College trustees asked Furman to assume full control, with one board and one president of both institutions. The same educational standards and fees would apply to men and women." If12-01

• "His [McGlothlin] career, however, was cut short by a fatal automobile accident in May 1933 and he was succeeded by Bennette E. Geer, the President of Judson Mills and a trustee of the Duke Endowment." AV(361)

1934: "In April 1934 he [Dr. Geer] recommended the establishment of a ‘Music Department of Furman University.'" (68)R

1935: "The new curriculum consisted of four main features: Departments were grouped into three divisions – humanities, social sciences, and mathematics and natural sciences; all students took a ‘group of basic studies’ that gave a ‘foundation’ for advanced work and introduced the major divisions of study; students selected a major and minor in one division for concentration; and students then took electives to complete the number of courses required for graduation." (69-70)R

1936: "Finally on Saturday, November 7, 1936, Greenville contractor Henry B. McKoy completed construction and Sirrine Stadium, named in honor of J.E. Sirrine, was dedicated. . .The crowd then assembled for the Furman homecoming football game against the University of South Carolina." AV(348)

• "General Education Board of the Rockefeller Foundation . . . . library grant. . .of $15,000 over three years for book purchases. . .and an additional $5850 for the three-year salary of an additional librarian." (76)R
• "The South Carolina Baptist Convention approves the total merger of the Greenville Woman’s College and Furman University." (163)JTB

1938: "Religious Emphasis Week in February 1938. The principal speaker was Gordon Poteat [Furman Class of 1910], professor of social ethics at Crozer Theological Seminary and the son of former President Edwin McNeill Poteat. He antagonized conservative students by minimizing doctrine and emphasizing the relevance of faith to life. When Poteat’s position was defended by Furman's Professor Herbert Gezork . . . a special session of the Furman Board of Trustees fired Gezork . . . Furman faculty members responded by forming a campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors. President Geer, who was already in difficulty with the trustees over fiscal and athletic policies, resigned before the Gezork affair was concluded." AV(363)

• "Judge John Laney Plyler elected the 7th president of Furman. An alumnus who graduated from Harvard Law School, he had taught at the university’s Law School before it closed." (10)JTB

1939: "They [the students] had regarded Geer as a progressive president and thought that the intellectual atmosphere during his tenure had been highly stimulating. Geer’s resignation under troubled circumstances had snuffed out a small flame of intellectualism that they thought he had kindled. Off the campus, attitudes were also strongly affected. Depending on one’s leanings, Furman had either been purged of a great evil and would return to its calling, or it was under a pall, the victim of reactionary forces. The Gezork incident jeopardized Furman’s standing in the Association of American Universities, the national organization of graduate school administrators who approved undergraduate colleges whose students might attend graduate schools." (96-97)R

1940:

• Miss Lois Cody, daughter of Dr. Z.T. Cody, long a leading trustee, became the first woman on the Board of Trustees. (172)d
• "The adoption of this 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure was the most important step that Furman ever took to protect the quality of instruction and the intellectual atmosphere at Furman." (106)R

1941: "In October, President Plyler suggests requesting money from SC Baptist Convention for new library. Before next board meeting. . .Pearl Harbor." (110)R

1942: "In the fall of 1942 the number of male students dropped nearly a hundred, and then male faculty members went into service. To keep the college open, President John L. Plyler negotiated for an Army program on campus. In September 1942 trainees from the Nineteenth Army Air Force Glider Pilot Training Detachment arrived. They took courses at Furman and received flight training at the municipal airport. By the next fall the Army trainees had virtually taken over the men’s campus." AV(378)

1943: "Throughout the year, students were called rapidly into the service, so that by 20 May 1943 enrollment was only 40 percent of normal." (115)R

1944: "the number of military trainees had increased to almost 400 and nearly took over the men’s campus. There were 307 Army Air Corps Pre-Flight students, 85 Link trainees, and 5 officers. They occupied all of Geer Hall and McGee Hall, most of Fletcher Hall, and the infirmary, and they used all other facilities of the campus, including the swimming pool. Only 70 civilian male students lived in Montague." (117)R

• "Plyler employed J.E. Sirrine and Company to make a survey to prepare plans for the ‘future development of the campus’. . .he had listed the postwar needs for the men’s campus as a library, a chapel, a student center, and an administration building." (122)R

1945: "There were 567 women, another record number. Enrollment in music courses on the women’s campus was so large that at the last minute a part-time instructor had to be added." (119)R

1946: "large influx of students in 1946, when 617 veterans enrolled, 12 of them women. Total enrollment reached 1408. . .Still several hundred veterans had to be turned away because their test scores and high school grades were not acceptable." (124)R

1947: "He [John R. Sampey, Jr.] . . . . in 1947 secured a two-year $15,000 contract with the Office of Naval Research to work on photobrominations of organic compounds . . . . the first outright federal grant to be received by Furman." (126)R

• "Apparently in protest of the recent increase in tuition at the university, a group of Furman students late yesterday afternoon hung President John L. Plyler in effigy about one hour after the student body president, Bill Bailey, had told the students in a mass meeting that he was 'thoroughly convinced that this increase in tuition is justified.'" GN May 24, 1947

1948: "The expense of operating two campuses would continue to rise, and frustrations from separation and inefficiencies would mount. Neither site was appropriate for any real expansion. The Woman’s College was locked into the very heart of town, and lands adjoining the men’s campus would satisfy only present needs; the school would eventually outgrow this site, too." (135)R

1949: "On 24 October 1949, meeting at the Wade Hampton Hotel in Columbia, on the eve of the general board meeting of the convention. . .a firm decision to request $3,500,000 from the convention over the next ten years, secure an additional $3,000,000 elsewhere, and with this total of $6,500,000 purchase a new site and build an adequate plant to accommodate both campuses." (138)R

• A marker was placed at the Furman Institution's Winnsboro location on May 12, 1949. (31)d

1950: "[I]n 1950 the university purchased 973 acres near Travelers Rest. The architectural firm which had rebuilt Colonial Williamsburg – Perry, Shaw and Hepburn, Kehoe and Dean – was secured to design the campus." AV(398)

1951: "President Plyler himself was one of eleven college presidents in the nation appointed by the American Council of Education to a special commission to study trends in intercollegiate football and to recommend ways of ‘proper emphasis of the sport and tightening controls.'" R(144)

1952: "On 29 April 1952 the committee . . . . reaffirmed its belief in intercollegiate football as contributing to a ‘well-rounded program of higher education’ . . . . but hereafter give the president full control over scholarships." R(145)

1953: "the formal ground breaking occurred on October 6, 1953." AV(398)

• The May-June 1953 Furman Magazine reported that both alumni and alumnae associations voted to merge. A new constitution was adopted. A Quinq Club is organized to include those who have been out of Furman for 50 years or more. This movement originally started by Myron E. Brockman, Class of 1903, just for men. FM (2) 
• In 1953, the Zetosophia Honor Society, originally organized at GWC, was merged with Furman's Hand and Torch Honor Society.

1954: "On his way to two successive all-American honors in 1953 and 1954, [Frank] Selvy became the first, and still the only, player in the nation to score 100 points in a major college game. He performed that incredible feat against Newberry College in February 1954, in a game that Furman won 149-95. Selvy went on to take the national scoring lead that year with an average of 41.7 points a game." (152)R

• "The Furman University-Newberry basketball game played last Saturday night [February 13, 1954] at Textile Hall was the setting for Greenville's first live telecast . . . the game was televised over WFBC-TV." GP

1955: "At the end of the summer of 1955 the first dormitory was completed. Although Plyler knew it was risky to operate three campuses, he could not wait another year. Dean Bonner therefore moved 102 freshman into the dormitory and 6 senior counselors and dormitory managers. It was an eager experiment in which freshmen divided their time between campuses. They had most of their classes in the partially completed classroom building." (154)R

1956: "In 1956 the Furman Board of Trustees amended the university’s charter to state that it ‘shall not be amended, altered or added to without the approval of the State Baptist Convention.'" HF2-2

• "Dean Frank Bonner announces that Furman has joined with the College Entrance Examination Board and is now requiring the Scholastic Aptitude Test for admission, joining 170 other American colleges in doing so." (4)JTB

1957: "On 20 April 1957 the board met for the first time in its ‘elegant new quarters’ in the newly finished administration building. At its next meeting on October 22nd it had a brief recess to tour the nearly completed library." (155)R

• A Social Board was created in December 1957 by a student-faculty committee. It began functioning in the fall of 1958 with a group composed of twelve men and women from the Junior and Senior classes. Each year, three men and three women were elected from the Junior Class to serve a two-year term. The task of this group was to evaluate social activities and to supplement the campus social life with a program designed to appeal to the diverse student body.(160)R; b1960

1958: "Finally the essential buildings on the new campus were ready – four dormitories, a dining hall, library, classrooms, and an administration building – and the long awaited move took place in the summer of 1958." (167)R

• The first homecoming on the new campus took place November 8, 1958 (12)FM Dec 1958

1959: "Only the women had no great cause for rejoicing, and women’s enrollment dropped sharply, perhaps as a result of disparity between women’s and men’s residence facilities." (168)R

1960: "Negotiations for borrowing money for women’s dorms, however, were delayed until the fall of 1959, and construction was not begun until January 1960." (170)R

1961: All athletic teams now called Paladins. R

• Woman's college moves, first time since founding in 1854. (170)R

1962: "The Board of Trustees, after ten years of intense pressure from the SCBC, votes to abolish fraternities on campus." (6)JTB

1963: "In the winter of 1962-63, President Plyler had ordered the closing of national Greek-letter social fraternities. Current fraternity members were permitted to remain members until they finished college, but for new members, the fraternities became social clubs." (177)R

1964: Alumnus Charles Hard Townes, provost of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, brought honor and pride to his alma mater by winning the Nobel Prize in physics…for basic research in microwave spectroscopy that led to the discovery of the…laser. (183)R

• In 1964, one of the remaining buildings on the former downtown campus was Richard Furman Hall (Old Main). A fire broke out in Richard Furman Hall on October 1, 1964 that engulfed the roof and did damage to masonry walls on the side nearest University Ridge. The Bell Tower was scorched, but otherwise was unharmed. GN 1A, 2 Oct 1964

1965: "On Monday, January 25, 1965 three African-American educators enrolled in the graduate evening program at Furman University. Rev. Joseph Adair . . . . William Bowling . . . . and James Daniel Kibler." "On Friday, January 29, 1965, Joseph Vaughn became the first African-American undergraduate to enroll at Furman University." GN 27, 30 Jan 1965; BC 11 Feb 1965

• "The dominant symbol of the college, a brick replica of the old Bell Tower, went up in 1964-65 on a narrow peninsula jutting out from the site of the old college." (168)R

1966: "The Board of Trustees announces the establishment of Furman’s first endowed chair, the Reuben B. Pitts Chair of Religion; Professor Theron Price receives the honor." (7)JTB

1967: "Furman intends to raise $10 million by mid-1971 and $27 million in the decade 1966- 1976, to fulfill grandiose plans for educational improvements and physical plant expansion . . . . $3,600,000 for educational programs, $5.4 million for physical facilities and $1 million for endowment." GN 10-10-67

• Vice President Hubert Humphrey  visits Furman University on September 20, 1967. (1)FM Fall 1967

1968: "In February 1968 the trustees of Furman University approved a policy permitting the students to hold dances on the campus . . . . Large numbers of students have attended dances under the supervision of responsible members of the Furman staff, who have experienced no problems whatsoever related to student misconduct." HF 2-1

• "Furman’s shift . . . . from the regular two semester academic year to a three-term setup which features an eight-week winter session sandwiched between the 12-week fall and spring terms." GN 4-4-71
• "Furman’s College Bowl team defeats the University of Pittsburgh in a nationally televised come-from-behind win, 295-285." (2)JTB

1969: "Students led by English major Jack Sullivan, chairman of Furman’s chapter of the Southern Student Organizing Committee, and a number of young faculty members rally in front of the Administration Building to protest . . . . compulsory chapel." (5)JTB

1969: "Twenty-eight students leave the Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport for England on the university’s first study abroad program." (7)JTB

• "It [the administration] inaugurated evening and Sunday morning voluntary worship services . . . . It liberalized dress regulations, permitted beards, extended curfew hours for women, allowed card playing and juke box playing on Sundays." (230)R

1970: "“A partial matching grant of $275,000 from the National Science Foundation under its College Science Improvement Program designed to help predominantly undergraduate schools improve the quality of their offerings. It was the largest gift of its kind up to that time, the first to be granted to a South Carolina college, and one of just over one hundred in the nation." (232)R

• "The full potential of the experimental winter course options was finally realized in 1970- 71, when students at all levels had a wide range of courses to select from." (236)R
• "Furman’s student body climbed to…2,034 in 1970-71." (245)R

1971: "An estimated 200 students at Furman University carried lighted candles as symbols of grief . . . . protesting the presence of the National Guard on the Kent State campus in Ohio ‘where Americans shot down Americans.’ . . . . Protest mainly was against the Nixon administration for allowing guardsmen onto the Kent State campus, where four students were shot . . . . during disturbances in which the students were protesting the sending of American troops into Cambodia." GN 5-6-71

1972: "In 1972, after years of unsuccessful searching for a black faculty member, Dean Bonner added Alex A. Chambers . . . . pastor of Israel Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Greenville . . . . as a part-time instructor in religion to teach one course a year and to head up the special service program of recruiting and counseling." (247)R

1973: "On December 5, 1973, a charter of Phi Beta Kappa was granted to the twenty-two Furman faculty members who held Phi Beta Kappa keys. The university's first members-in-course were initiated April 23, 1974, and Charles Hard Townes, Nobel Prize winning physicist and member of the class of '35, was the first alumnus elected as an honorary member." If10-01

• "Named the Herman Warden Lay Physical Activities Center in honor of one of Furman’s highly successful former students…the building was luxuriously designed to include classrooms, a lecture hall, offices, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, a separate diving pool, and various playing courts. It was completed in 1973." (243)R

1974: "The board’s adoption in 1974 of a statement entitled ‘The Character and Values of Furman University’ that explicitly recognizes Christianity as a matter of spirit rather than a specific code of conduct." (262)R

1975: "Furman University has received a $100,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a two and one-half year program designed to increase undergraduate women students’ understanding of alternative career opportunities opening to them. Furman President Gordon Blackwell said today the Mellon grant will enable Furman faculty and staff to find effective ways to help women students prepare for careers not traditionally filled by women." MPR(11-7-75)

• "With the appointment of its first full-time director and a budget…at $53,000 nearly double that for last year, women’s athletics at Furman took a giant step forward this year. Under the expanded budget, Furman provides for the first time this year athletic grants-in-aid to women and employs its first assistant trainer for women." MPR (1-14-76)

1976: "Furman’s women’s golf team wins the National Championship, Furman’s first in any sport." (5)JTB

• "Late night fireworks over the Furman University lake, a giant birthday cake, an evening of big band jazz and a campus-wide convocation will mark the student celebration of Furman’s sesquicentennial on Founders’ Day, January 14 . . . . Oldest Southern Baptist college in America." MPR (1-14-76)

1977: "Furman University has received one of the largest grants awarded in the United States by the National Science Foundation for undergraduate research. Furman’s $70,000 three-year grant is one of the ten largest awarded to 148 colleges in the nation. The grant will support summer research for 12 students at Furman." MPR (4-8-77)

• "Furman University inaugurated its ninth president today in colorful midmorning ceremonies in McAlister Auditorium. Dr. John E. Johns received the Furman charter from Governor James B. Edwards who described Furman University as a ‘leading force in the progress of the state.’…Johns, former president of Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, responded to the installation with the promise that Furman would continue a steady course in the liberal arts and pre-professional studies." MPR (4-22-77)

1978: "Marguerite M. Chiles named Vice President for Student Services; first woman vice president in Furman history." (1)JTB

• "The board heard that enrollment is the highest in the university’s 152-year history. Total enrollment was reported at 2,929 for credit courses . . . . The freshman class of 724 is also the largest in Furman’s history." MPR (10-3-78)

1979: "Richard W. Riley, Class of 1954, inaugurated as South Carolina’s governor. He is the first Furman alumnus to achieve the honor." (1)JT

1980: Joseph Baylis Earle Infirmary opens. First adequate medical facility on campus. Previously had been in makeshift locations in dorms and in the dining hall.

• The Social Board transforms into FUSAB [Furman University Student Activities Board] in March. Social Board had operated with a "closed" committee structure (only SB members). Under FUSAB, all committees are open to the student body. b1980(p138)

1981: "Paladin Stadium, a 13,200-seat facility will be christened Saturday . . . . against East Tennessee State University. The stadium, which cost nearly $2 million, boasts a magnificent view of Paris Mountain from the home stands." MPR (9-11-81)

1982: "a full-time resident student living in an air-conditioned dormitory will pay $6,920 . . . . a 10.8 percent rise." MPR (1-27-82)

• "The Furman University Board of Trustees elected Greenville businessman Thomas S. Hartness as its chairman…Hartness is the president of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company and Hartness International." MPR (10-5-82)

1983: "Furman University will hold a ‘Computer Celebration Day’ Friday, Feb. 11, in recognition of the school’s vastly expanded computer system. Furman has installed approximately $750,000 worth of new Hewlett-Packard equipment that gives the school one of the finest computer science facilities in any liberal arts college in the nation . . . . The Hewlett- Packard 3000, Model 64, the largest, most powerful computer made by the company, is now in operation at Furman. The school has also added 20 new terminals, as well as a network of 12 desk-top computers. This equipment gives Furman the latest in computer technology and allows the university to take a significant step toward the educational future." MPR (1-28-83)

1984: "John B. Watson, a Travelers Rest…native who became one of the leading psychologists of this century, will be inducted posthumously into the South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology . . . . Through his research, writings and lectures, Watson was instrumental in moving psychology in the direction of greater objectivity. He insisted that all behaviors are learned, and advocated the study of child development and animal behavior. In 1957 he was cited by the American Psychological Association for initiating a ‘revolution in psychological thought.’ Watson is the 10th person and second Furman graduate to be inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology, which was founded in 1978 by . . . . Gov. James B. Edwards." MPR (4-27-84)

1986: "Furman University will complete construction of the $2.8 million Thomas Anderson Roe Art Building by spring of 1986, a project that has been Furman’s top physical priority for a number of years. The 28,000-square-foot building is located between McAlister Auditorium and the women’s dormitory complex . . . . The building is named in honor of Thomas Anderson Roe, the father of Greenville businessman Thomas Roe, Jr., who made a $1 million contribution toward the building." MPR(12-12-85)

1987: "Members of the Furman University Board of Trustees attended special dedication ceremonies Tuesday for the recently completed Hartness Pavilion, a $625,000 addition to the Charles E. Daniel Dining Hall . . . . The new 4700 square-foot dining room, which will be used to entertain university guests, was made possible by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Hartness of Greenville." MPR (1-7-87)

1988: "Dr. Tom Cloer chosen as South Carolina’s Professor of the Year." (8)JTB

• "Furman defeats Georgia Southern 17-12 to win the 1-AA Football National Championship." (11)JTB

1989: "Minor Mickel elected Chair of Furman’s Board of Trustees; first woman to head the board." (9)JTB

October 15, 1990: "The Board of Trustees for 1990-91 has determined that the goals of the university, working in harmony with the South Carolina Baptists, can best be met by amending the charter and fully restoring the responsibilities for governing the University to the Board itself…Because the Trustees had the power to pass the amendment in 1956, the present Trustees have the power to pass an amendment rescinding the 1956 action, provided they follow the same statutory procedures." HF(2-2)

1991: "Former SCBC president Greg Horton announced his committee to pursue a declaratory judgment action against Furman… ‘In our opinion, we have reached an impasse in our efforts to resolve this matter without having recourse to legal action.'" HF(2-2)

1992: "Thirty-four influential Baptist ministers from across the state recommended that a special convention be called at the earliest possible date for the ‘purpose of severing the legal and financial ties between the South Carolina Baptist Convention and Furman University.'" HF(2-2)

• "On June 22, 1992, Homozel Mickel Daniel, long a generous friend of Furman, died at age 89 . . . . Soon after Mrs. Daniel’s death, Furman officials learned that she had left the university an estimated $21.4 million – the largest gift in Furman history at that time…Mrs. Daniel’s gift included the Daniel estate, White Oaks, and an endowment of $1.5 million to support the estate." MPR (2-02)

1993: "David C. Garrett, Jr. . . . . still serves Delta Air Lines as chairman of the Board of Directors’ executive committee, also made history Tuesday when he and new trustee G. Douglas Dillard of Lithonia, Ga., became the first non-Baptists to sit on the board in the 166-year history of the school. Garrett is Presbyterian and Dillard is Methodist. The two, along with new trustee Gordon Herring of Virginia Beach, Va., are also the board’s first non-South Carolina residents." MPR (1-28-93)

• On May 11, 1993, the Board of Trustees approved a charter amendment to allow fraternities and sororities back on campus. The decision allowed seven of the eight fraternities on campus that already had ties with national organizations to officially be recognized and represent their respective fraternities on campus. 

1994: "Words from Max M. Heller, former Mayor of Greenville, John T. Casteen III, President of UVA, and Richard W. Riley, US Secretary of Education greeting the installation of Furman’s tenth President, David Emory Shi." DESI

• "Riley Hall houses the departments of mathematics and computer science . . . . it was constructed at a cost of $6.4 million and has over 34,000 square feet." RHD

1995: "Eugene E. Stone III Soccer Stadium built. Named for E.E. Stone III, avid Furman sports supporter, including funding for Paladin Stadium. Stone Manufacturing, recent buyer of Umbro Europe, became the world’s leading manufacturer of soccer equipment and apparel." EESG

1996: "Minor Herndon Mickel Tennis Complex is named in honor of Minor Herndon Mickel . . . . The Mickel Tennis Center has 13 outdoor courts and 4 indoor courts." TCD

• "Facilities Services began using seven [golf] carts in December 1996. Since then the fleet has grown to 20."  IF(p8-May 1999)

1997: "The University also received $5.5 million to construct and endow the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel. Begun in 1996, construction on the chapel was completed in 1997…Mrs. Daniel left $1.5 million to endow faculty chairs in chemistry and music." IF(2-02)

1998: "North Village will consist of six apartment buildings and a commons building and will provide additional campus housing for 564 students . . . . Most students who live in the new complex will occupy four-person apartments with private bedrooms . . . Walking paths will lead to the commons building and a pedestrian bridge will cross over Roe Ford Road." NVG

• The Robert J. Maxwell, Jr. Music Media Center and Library was dedicated in March 1998.
• "Johns Hall was constructed at a cost of more than $7.8 million and has 49,000 square feet. It contains six multimedia classrooms, four computer labs, four seminar rooms, departmental reading rooms, five research suites for the psychology department, and a large number of faculty, staff and student offices…it houses the departments of sociology, psychology and political science. It also houses the Christian A. Johnson Center for Engaged Learning and the Office of International Education." JHD
• "Timmons Arena, which serves as the home of the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs, is 100,400 square feet. The multipurpose facility seats 5000 for athletic events and 5500 for non-athletic events. Named in honor of the Timmons family of Greenville, whose lead gift made the facility possible, Timmons Arena helps Furman realize a long-held dream of playing home basketball games on its campus…It features two regulation size basketball courts and an elevated proscenium stage, as well as a 7000 square-foot weight and training room." TAD

1999: "On March 7 and 8, 1999, Expert Movers of Virginia used their engineering skills to move the huge home (Cherrydale) three miles along Poinsett Highway to its present location at the highest point of the Furman campus. During homecoming that same year, the university dedicated Cherrydale as Furman’s Alumni House . . . . a 4,960 square-foot house, has two stories, 11 rooms, eight fireplaces and five bathrooms." CD

2000: "Reclusive textile machinery millionaire John D. Hollingsworth dies; his will makes Furman the primary beneficiary of an estate estimated at $400 million." (11)JTB

2001: Furman football team reaches NCAA I-AA national championship game in Chattanooga, TN against the University of Montana. Furman comes up short, losing 13-6. P(1-18-02)

• Furman celebrates its 175th anniversary. Madeline Albright and Keith Lockhart '81, conductor of the Boston Pops, make appearances among other notable speakers and performers throughout the year. IF(10-01)
• Furman implements a four-year residency requirement for students.

2002: Hipp Hall opens. Housing the departments of Economics and Business, Education, and Graduate Studies, it is named for Herman Neel Hipp, ’35, former chair of the Greenville Hospital System and the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Upon his death in 1984, the Herman N. Hipp Chair in Computer Science was founded in his name. HHD

2003: Addition of 2930 pipe grand pipe organ to Daniel Chapel at a cost of $1 million, funded by Thomas S. Hartness. IF(July 03)

• In the largest media event ever held at Furman, Hillary Clinton spends 2 days lecturing and visiting at Furman. IF(Oct 03)
• Shenese Showers '04 became Furman's first African American Homecoming Queen on October 25, 2003. P(10-31-2003, p1)

​2004: Completion of the James B. Duke Library renovation and the Charlie Peace Wing. Cost: $25,000,000, 122,000 square feet, 28 staff members, over 800,000 capacity, over 800 reader seats, 25 group study rooms, 90 public computers. The Bradshaw Room, initially named in honor of Sidney Ernest Bradshaw (1869-1938), is renamed The Haynsworth Room, in honor of Clement Furman Haynsworth '33. LD

• Furman's first official Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday is observed January 19. P(1-16-04, p2)
• Furman co-hosts the Democratic Presidential Debate at Greenville's Peace Center January 29, just 2 days before the New Hampshire primary and 5 days before South Carolina’s ‘first in the south’ primary. IF(Feb-04)
• Furman’s Bell Tower and Doughboy statue are renovated and reopened. The Doughboy is rededicated on Veterans Day. P(1-21-05), DB(11-11-04)

2005: The Honorable Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who led the 1994 Republican victory that created the first GOP majority in Congress in 40 years, spoke on the Furman University campus October 12, 2005 in the Younts Conference Center. FM(Fall 2005)

• With the completion of the North Village complex, a four-year campus residency is required of all students.

2008: President George W. Bush is speaker at Furman’s Commencement May 31. IF(Spring 2008)

• In 2008, during the refurbishment of Plyler Hall, the former Ezell Science Reading Room was expanded into the Science Library. It was named the Sanders Science Library in honor of Dan and Emilyn Childs Sanders during a dedication ceremony held on February 1, 2013.
• The “Place of Peace,” a former Buddhist temple that was originally constructed in 1984 in Nagoya, Japan, is relocated to the university. Intricately constructed of heavy, dense wood, the Place of Peace was donated by the Tsuzuki family. IF(Spring 2008)
• The Furman baseball stadium, the first athletic venue completed on the new campus in 1956, was renamed John T. and Gloria Latham Baseball Stadium on May 3. The facility is named in memory of Greenville dermatologist John T. Latham, Sr., and his wife, Gloria Kirkland Latham, by their son Tom Latham ’70 and his wife, Gina. IF(Spring 2007)
• Center for Sustainability established at Furman University (dedicated as the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability in 2010, named for Furman's president from 1994-2010)

2009: Ellen Johson Sirleaf, President of Liberia and first woman elected to lead an African nation, visits Furman in April. MPR(4-13-09)

• The Woodlands at Furman, a retirement community located near the Furman campus, is dedicated on May 20. FM(Summer 2009)
• Four fraternity houses were shut down in the spring of 2009 when the Greenville County Council passed a zoning resolution that banned fraternities from owning houses in single-family areas. IF(Fall 2010)

2010: Rodney Alan Smolla is inaugurated as Furman's 11th president on October 22, 2010. MPR(10-22-10)

• The Board of Trustees approved a measure on April 25 to allow students 21 years of age and older to consume alcohol in North Village. IF(Fall 2010)

2011:  The Furman bookstore gets a major renovation during the summer, now under the management of Barnes & Noble. IF(Fall 2011)

• "At 823 new students, the class of 2015 is the largest and most ethnically diverse of any class in recent history. In addition, the number of international students has tripled, and the percentage of male students has dramatically increased." IF(Fall 2011)
• Furman receives a $5 million gift to renovate the University Center, in an effort to transform it into a more central part of student life. The center will be renamed the Trone Student Center after construction is complete. IF(Fall 2011)

2012: The Herring Center for Continuing Education, new home of the Division of Continuing Education, is dedicated on October 18. The building will provide office and classroom space for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Bridges to a Brighter Future, Center for Corporate and Professional Development, Learning for You, and Undergraduate Evening Studies. IF(Fall 2012)

• Furman University took over day to day operations of the Upcountry History Museum after finalizing an agreement with the museum on Feb. 1. The museum board maintains ownership of the building and current exhibits. The university is responsible for employing museum personnel and has begun the search for a new director of the museum.

2013: Rodney Alan Smolla resigns effective June 30, 2013 as Furman's 11th president. GN(5-7-2013)

• Carl F. Kohrt, Ph.D., was elected by the Furman University Board of Trustees to be interim president effective July 1. MPR(5-7-2013)
• The Furman Creative Collaborative brings TEDx to campus as an annual conference. FN(6/3/2013)
• The renovated Trone Student Center includes a new restaurant and bar, The Paddock, that serves beer and wine. sn(8-27-2013)
• Furman announces partnership with Greenville Health System. sn(26 Sep 2013)

2014:  Former Baylor University administrator Elizabeth Davis is named the 12th Furman University president. FN(2-6-2014)

• Former President Bill Clinton spoke at The Riley Institute at Furman University’s celebration of former S.C. Governor Dick Riley. FN(4-9-2014)
• A multi-year project to remove aging and dying trees around the Furman University campus began and continues through 2021 FN(1-8-2016):
• A National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) study determined that Furman is among the best universities in the nation for preparing new middle and high school teachers for the classroom. The university was ranked fifth in the nation for its secondary education programs.

2015: Furman University held a number of events marking 50 years of desegregation at the university. FN(2-5-2015)

• Furman University teamed up with alumni, parents and friends from around the world on April 28 to celebrate all things Furman and raise nearly $828,000 in gifts and pledges from 1,543 donors. April 28 was the last day of classes for students and “Dins Day” was a 24-hour celebration where members of the Furman community wore purple, broadcast their Paladin Pride through social media (using #DinsDay) and raised money to support the university’s future students.  FN(4-23-2015)

2016: The Furman Advantage initiative is launched with $47 million from The Duke Endowment. The Furman Advantage combines a liberal arts education with immersive experiences outside the classroom, creating a personalized pathway that prepares students for lives of purpose, successful careers, and community benefit. FN(10-5-2016)

• The Furman and Greenville community honored Greenville Police Officer Allen Jacobs, who was killed in the line of duty March 18. Funeral services were held in Timmons Arena. FN(3-30-2016)
• In April, Furman unveiled the Joe and Diana Hurley Finance and Business Analytics Lab, a 600-square-foot space equipped with dual-screen Bloomberg terminals, a stock ticker, several flat-panel displays flanking wood-paneled walls, and large atomic clocks showing times for major trading cities around the globe. The announcement was featured in New York's Times Square. FN(4-1-2016)

2017: As part of its ongoing effort to partner in meaningful ways with the Greenville community, Furman University announced it has entered a multi-year agreement with Bon Secours Wellness Arena to sponsor one of the main entrances to the 15,000-seat facility located downtown. The Furman Entrance is located on the side of the arena facing North Church Street. FN(2-23-2017)

• Opened solar farm on April 25. The university connected more than 2,000 photovoltaic solar panels to the electrical grid that promise to reduce the university’s electricity expenditures by up to 5 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by at least 3 percent. The 743-kW solar farm, which boasts the largest solar installation on a college campus in South Carolina, is located on about six acres near the main campus entrance along Poinsett Highway. FN(4-21-2017)
• The Library Café coffee shop was added to the library’s 24-hour study lounge. FN(4-26-2017)
• Furman’s Task Force on Slavery and Justice was launched May 30 to examine the university’s historical connections to slavery and create educational programming that can help Furman better understand this part of its past. The task force will bring a series of speakers and experts to the campus throughout the academic year. The group will recommend ways to recognize slaves for any role they might have played in the university’s early history. FN(5-30-2017)
• “Eclipse@Furman” August 21. The university hosted a variety of public events on campus the day of the total solar eclipse, including a guided viewing presentation in Paladin Stadium, as the first total solar eclipse since 1918 swept across the continental United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic and passed through South Carolina in what astronomers are calling the “Great American Eclipse.” FN(7-20-2017)
• Furman on Main, the university’s new presence in downtown Greenville at M. Judson Booksellers, opened November 28. The bookstore is named for Mary Camilla Judson, teacher and administrator at the Furman-affiliated Greenville Woman’s College in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. FN(11-27-2017)

2018: Milford Mall loop was converted from a roadway frequented by vehicles to a pedestrian friendly area. FN(4-26-2018)

• FULIR/OLLI celebrates their 25th Anniversary of Learning in Retirement.
• Furman on Deck, the picnic area beyond the right-field foul line of downtown Greenville's Fluor Field, made its debut on April 24. The naming celebration occurred before the University of South Carolina-Furman baseball game and was part of Furman's fourth annual Dins Day, a 24-hour celebration of all things Furman.
• The Music by the Lake summer concert series celebrated its 50th year of bringing thousands of local citizens to campus for an evening of music.
• Furman’s Board of Trustees accepted the report of the Task Force on Slavery and Justice at its fall meeting and endorsed the administration moving forward to consider the recommendations that fall under its purview, which included expanding the scholarship fund that honors the memory of the late Joseph Vaughn, the university’s first African-American student. FN(10-29-2018)
• The first 8-0 start in the 106-year history of men’s basketball at Furman has resulted in the first national ranking in the 106-year history of men’s basketball at Furman. The Paladins were No. 25 in the week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. FN(12-3-2018)

2019: Announcement of the Board of Trustees’ approval of a host of recommendations from the board’s Special Committee on Slavery and Justice based on the Seeking Abraham report. Among the recommendations was the removal of “James C.” from James C. Furman Hall, and plans for a statue and a day of celebration to honor Joseph Vaughn, the university’s first African American student. FN (5-18-2019)

• Furman’s Department of Education celebrated its centennial. “100 Years Leading Educational Innovation in South Carolina” recognizing the work of alumni, faculty and staff, and marked the 20th anniversary of the Teacher to Teacher program and the first teacher residency program in South Carolina.
• The university had never before owned a patent until one was awarded in October to Professor of Physics Bill Baker and Paige Ouzts ’93, professor of physics at Lander University. Furman Professor of Chemistry Greg Springsteen and Trent Stubbs ’20 are likely to soon follow suit. Baker and Ouzts’ “optical glucometer” can read blood glucose levels with an infrared sensor, eliminating the need for needles. FN(9-23-2019)

2020:  Off-campus fraternity houses are no longer allowed beginning Fall 2020.

• The inaugural Joseph Vaughn Day, in honor of Furman’s first African American undergraduate student, took place on January 29.
• The James C. Furman Classroom building was rededicated on February 20 as Furman Hall and a new plaque was unveiled. The plaque acknowledges that while James C. Furman, the university's first president and the son of its namesake, worked to build and save the university in difficult times following the Civil War, he was also a vocal proponent of slavery and secession. The name and plaque honor the entire Furman family, celebrating and noting the diverse community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who study, work and gather on the campus.
• In an effort to address the unprecedented financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Furman University cut the salaries of the president and senior administrators, implemented furloughs and budget reductions and discontinued the baseball and men’s lacrosse programs.
• The degree-granting Undergraduate Evening Studies (UES) program ended in 2020.

2021:  In March, the Duke Endowment awarded a $25 million grant to Furman University to expand and enhance The Furman Advantage.

• A statue of Joseph Vaughn, the first African American man to enroll at Furman University, was unveiled on April 19.

2023: The men’s basketball team won over the University of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

• The South Housing residence hall project was started in Spring 2023. The project will replace Blackwell Hall. The expected completion date of the new hall is now Summer 2024.

2024: Lakeview Hall, the new, $27.6 million residence hall in the South Housing First-Year Student Village, opened August 22.

Guide to symbols:

AV = A.V. Huff Greenville history

b# = Bonhomie and year

BC = Baptist Courier

BoT = Board of Trustees minutes

Br = Sidney Ernest Bradshaw history

C = Harvey T. Cook, Education in SC under Baptist Control

CD = Cherrydale Dedication

d = Robert N. Daniel Furman University: A History

DB = Doughboy Rededication

DESI = David Emory Shi Inauguration

EESG = Eugene E. Stone Stadium Groundbreaking

FB = Furman Bulletin

FM = Furman Magazine (date)

FN = Furman News (date)

GN = Greenville News, date

GP = Greenville Piedmont, date

GWCB = Greenville Woman's College Bulletin

HF = Furman University Archives, Historical File. Series #-Box#

HHD = Hipp Hall Dedication

IF# = Inside Furman and date

JHD = Johns Hall Dedication

JTB = From Judith T. Bainbridge's Academy and College

LD = Library Dedication

m = McGlothin history

MPR = Furman Marketing and Public Relations (date)

NVG = North Village Groundbreaking

R = Alfred Sandlin Reid history

RHD = Riley Hall Dedications

scbc = South Carolina Baptist Convention Minutes

sn = Student newspaper (The Hornet or The Paladin)

TAD = Timmons Arena Dedication

TCD = Tennis Center Dedication

WS = Watchman and Southern