Wofford College


Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still operates on its original campus. The campus is a national arboretum.
Wofford was founded with a bequest of $100,000 from Benjamin Wofford, a Methodist minister and Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for "literary, classical, and scientific education in my native district of Spartanburg." The college's Main Building is the oldest structure on campus and was designed by the noted Charleston architect Edward C. Jones. In 1941, the college was awarded a chapter of the honor society Phi Beta Kappa, and the Beta of South Carolina chapter was the first at a private college in South Carolina.
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Wofford College Historic District

The Wofford College Historic District consists of the Main Building, which was designed by Edward C. Jones in the Italianate style, and six two-story brick residences. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Construction of the Main Building began in 1852, and the first classes were held in the fall of 1854. The Wofford campus is designated as a national arboretum.

Endowment

During the Civil War, the endowment was invested in Confederate bonds and other securities, which became worthless by the end of the war.
In February 2021, Jerry Richardson, alumnus and founding owner of the Carolina Panthers, donated $150 million to the college's endowment, which, according to Wofford statements, exceeds $400 million.

Academics

The academic year consists of a four-month fall semester, a one-month January term called the Interim, and a four-month spring semester.

Faculty

136 full-time faculty teach at the college, 92 percent of whom have earned a doctorate or equivalent terminal degree. The FTE faculty-to-student ratio is 1:11.

Majors and minors

Wofford offers academic majors in a variety of areas including 27 majors.
The college also offers pre-professional programs in teacher education, dentistry, medicine, law, ministry, engineering, and veterinary science. The college's Army ROTC program was established in 1919.

Interim program

The Interim program is designed to provide students with opportunities to gain new experiences outside the realm of traditional academics and allows students to become involved in departments outside their academic majors. Interims generally fall into one of four categories. In the most common type, students enroll in faculty-proposed projects on campus. These projects range from participation in theatre to pottery, knitting, and short story writing. Students may elect to enroll in internship projects that are supervised by faculty but involve working off-campus in legal, medical, dental, congressional, corporate, or non-profit settings. Students may propose independent research projects under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. Finally, faculty-led travel projects take groups of students and professors to study in other parts of the United States or in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or Australia. Recent travel projects have included studies in England and Ireland, South Africa, Peru, Brazil, Belize, Vietnam, China, and Japan.

International programs

The college's Office of International Programs helps students select from over 200 study abroad programs in 59 countries. Wofford consistently ranks in the nation's top ten in the Institute of International Education Open Doors Survey, which is based on comparing the number of students earning credits abroad in a given year to the number of students in the graduating class. Wofford's 2009 score was 93%, compared to the Lincoln Commission national average of 9% of graduates earning credits abroad. The college has had six Fulbright English Teaching assistantships in the past four years as well as two Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships. In 2012, Rachel Woodlee was selected as Wofford's sixth Rhodes Scholar.

Reputation and rankings

Wofford is tied for 59 of 199 in U.S. News & World Reports list of the best national liberal arts colleges.
Forbes ranked Wofford 190th out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024-25 report. Wofford was also ranked 43rd among liberal arts universities and 45th in the south.

Athletics

The Wofford Terriers compete in NCAA Division I in the Southern Conference. Wofford's colors are old gold and black. The school mascot is the Terrier. In the 2010 NCAA Division I graduation success report, 9 of 13 Wofford teams posted GRS scores of 100, the highest available mark. For the past 16 years, the Carolina Panthers have made their summer training camp home at Wofford. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is played at Wofford's Gibbs Stadium. Boss, a Boston Terrier, is the mascot for Wofford's teams.

Student life

Wofford offers a self-contained environment. The Village apartment-style housing for the senior class was a 2008 "Dorm of Distinction" as chosen by University Business Magazine.

Student organizations

Students participate in various service, pre-professional, religious, social, and other student organizations. Student publications at the college started with a literary magazine first published in 1889. The student newspaper, the Old Gold and Black, is published every other week; the yearbook is called The Bohemian. Delta Phi Alpha, the national collegiate German honorary society, was founded at Wofford, as was the National Beta Club, an honorary society prominent in American high schools.
In 1941, the college was awarded a chapter of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. This was the first chapter at a private college in South Carolina.

Service learning

Wofford has a variety of student service organizations on campus, including the Bonner Scholars, and ONE.

Fraternities and sororities

Around half the student body is said to participate in Greek life.

Diversity

In each of the years from 1901 through 1904, two women graduated from Wofford. In 1964, Wofford became the first private college in South Carolina to desegregate voluntarily with the admission of Albert Gray. Slightly more than half of current students are female, and there are numerous NCAA Division 1 varsity sports teams for men and women.

Alumni

Academia

Athletics

Business

Education

Entertainment

Politics, law, and public service

Religion