Catawba College

Catawba College
Motto Scholarship. Character. Culture. Service.
Type Private
Established 1851
Affiliation United Church of Christ
Endowment $98.123 million
President Brien Lewis[1]
Academic staff
 69
Undergraduates 1,466
Location Salisbury, North Carolina, US
Sports NCAA Division II, South Atlantic Conference
Colors Catawba blue and white
         
Nickname Cat–U
Affiliations United Church of Christ
Website www.catawba.edu

Catawba College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Salisbury, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its current home of Salisbury in 1925.

Today, Catawba College still holds loose ties with the successor to the Reformed Church, the United Church of Christ, and offers over 70 undergraduate degrees. It also recently added a nursing program.

History

Catawba College was founded by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States in 1851. The years following the opening of the college were years of growing prosperity for the school, but the Civil War changed this as funds and students became less available. During the war years, the college became an academy, operating as Catawba High School from 1865 until 1885, whereupon it resumed operations under its original charter as Catawba College. Catawba became coeducational in 1890. Even with the addition of women to the student body, the College struggled to overcome the depletion brought on by the war. Responding to the offer of a partially constructed dormitory-administration building and several acres of land in Salisbury, trustee, college, and church officials closed the campus in Newton in 1923 and re-opened in Salisbury in 1925.

The college is now affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the successor to the Evangelical and Reformed Church, itself the successor to the Reformed Church in the United States.[2]

Academics

Catawba College offers over 70 fields of study in a variety of disciplines, including Accounting, Administration of Justice, Athletic Training, Biology, Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting, Communication, Economics, Entrepreneurship, General Management, Information Systems, International Business, Marketing, Entrepreneurship; Chemistry, Communication Arts, Computer Science, Economics and Finance, Education: Elementary K-6, Education: Middle School 6-9 with specializations in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies; Education: Special Education, Licensure Programs (Secondary Subjects 9-12), Special Subjects (K-12), Environment and Sustainability with concentrations in Environmental & Outdoor Education, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Planning & Leadership, Exercise Science, History, Integrated Marketing Communication, Literature, Mathematics, Mathematical Finance, Music with concentrations in: Music Business, Music Education, Music Performance, Popular Music, Sacred Music, and Worship Arts; Musical Theater, Nursing, Physical Education, Politics with concentrations in Pre-Law and Public Administration; Psychology, Recreation, Religion and Philosophy with concentrations in Christian Ministries and Theology/Philosophy; Sociology, Spanish, Sports Management, Theatre Arts with specializations in Theatre Arts, Performance, and Design/Production; Theatre Arts Administration, Theatre Arts Education, Therapeutic Recreation, and Writing.

A variety of minors are also available. Other special programs and college centers include the Lilly Center for Vocation and Values, the Writing Center, the Math Center, Sustainable Catawba, Volunteer Catawba, the Center for the Environment, Career Services, the Curriculum Materials Center, Summer School, and Winter Term.[3]

For working adults, Catawba's School of Evening and Graduate Studies offers the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), with concentrations in Business Management, Information Systems, and Administration of Justice. In conjunction with the Department of Teacher Education, the Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A.E.) degree may be earned with a major in Birth-Kindergarten Education; at the graduate level, the Master of Education degree in elementary education is also offered. A RN to BSN degree is offered as well as part of the evening program.

Honors program

The honors program seeks to help students who want to pursue challenging educational experiences through interdisciplinary and intellectually challenging courses. Most classes are instructed by more than one professor, each providing input from their specific field of study. The program includes travel abroad opportunities to enrich the educational experience (i.e. Greece, Germany, Britain, Arizona, and more destinations both nationally and internationally). Students can be invited into the program as incoming freshmen, or students can apply any time during their education at Catawba. Incoming freshmen seeking acceptance into the Honors Program must have a 3.5 or higher weighted GPA, 1150 or higher SAT, and/or 25 ACT score.[4]

Ketner School of Business

The school of business was named after Ralph W. Ketner, who was the co-founder and former CEO of Food Lion. The school of business provides students with a rigorous and challenging curriculum in many different areas of the business world. These areas are Accounting, Economics and Finance, Entrepreneurship, Integrated Marketing Communication, Communication Arts with concentrations in communications and sports communications, and Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting, Communications, Economics, General Management, Information Systems, International Business, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. The school also offers the Center for Entrepreneurship and Experimental Development (CEED) and the Institute of Business and Accounting. Further information on internships, mentoring program, latest news, and scholarships can be found on the business school's website.[5]

Shirley Peeler Richie Academy for Teaching

As part of an ongoing emphasis on teacher education, Catawba announced the creation of the West Scholars Program in 2006. The highly competitive program offers a substantial scholarship, up to $15,000 for North Carolina residents, in addition to "leadership seminars, community, service, scholarly researched presentations" and various other benefits.[6] In addition to the West Scholars, Catawba added the distinction of being one of only 18 institutions in North Carolina to offer a N.C. Teaching Fellows program for the 2009–2010 academic year. Promoting education in North Carolina, the program offers a full tuition award to the participants.[7]

Center for the Environment

The Center for the Environment was established in 1996 to educate students, faculty, staff and the public about environmental stewardship and sustainability. A catalyst for advancing sustainable solutions, it has assumed a leadership role in the region, serving as a model and lending its expertise on issues ranging from air and water quality to land preservation and sustainable development. Recently the Center for the Environment has taken a leadership role in campus and regional solar initiatives.[8] Since its inception, it has provided opportunities for students to work with community members in addressing issues of sustainability.[9]

The sustainable building that houses the Center, which opened in 2001, was hailed by the top state environmental official as "the wave of the future in resource and energy efficiency." Everything about the building – from site design to the environmentally friendly building materials and green furnishings, from energy and water conservation issues to recycling and waste management – is grounded in principles of sustainability. Adjacent to the Center is the college’s 187-acre Fred Stanback Jr. Ecological Preserve, which gives students opportunities to analyze ecosystems and learn about conservation management.[10]

Athletics

Catawba's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference as the Catawba College Indians, named after the Catawba Indian tribe that was native to the original location of the school.

Catawba features 18 NCAA Division II men's and women's sports.

Men's sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis

Women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball

Co-ed programs: cheerleading

The Catawba College football team holds the distinction of winning not only the inaugural, but also the second annual Tangerine Bowl, now known as the Capital One Bowl, while allowing only six points. On January 1, 1947, they defeated Maryville College 31–6 and on Jan. 1, 1948 they defeated Marshall University 7–0.

Indians nickname

In 2005, the NCAA cited Catawba College as a school with a "hostile" and/or "abusive" nickname. While the NCAA cannot force a school to change a nickname, it has promised to deny post-season hosting privileges to schools in violation.[11] In response to the designation, Catawba College officials filed a formal appeal to continue use of the "Catawba Indians" name. Citing the approval of the remaining members of the Catawba Indian tribe, the NCAA granted the appeal on the condition the college use the tribe-specific nickname of the Catawba Indians when referring to the nickname as opposed to simply the "Indians."[12]

Notable alumni

References

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 35°41′29″N 80°29′04″W / 35.6914°N 80.4844°W / 35.6914; -80.4844

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.