Coker University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Hartsville, South Carolina Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Harts ...

, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

History

Coker University began in 1894 as "Welsh Neck High School", founded by a local businessman and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

veteran, Major James Lide Coker. In 1908, when

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

created a statewide public school system, Coker led the effort to convert the school to "Coker College for Women". Davidson Hall and

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Coker was once affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, but has been non-denominational since 1944. It officially became co-educational in 1969, although men had attended since World War II's end. The

South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM or SCGSSM) is a public, Boarding school, boarding high school for students in grades 11 and 12, located in Hartsville, South Carolina. The school concentrates on science an ...

was located on the Coker campus from its founding in 1988 until 2003 when it moved to a purpose-built campus nearby. Effective July 1, 2019, Coker College adopted the name Coker University.

Presidents

James Lide Coker Major James Lide Coker (January 3, 1837, in Society Hill, South Carolina – June 25, 1918, in Hartsville, South Carolina) was a businessman, merchant, industrialist, Christian philanthropist, and Civil War veteran, and the founder of Sonoco Prod ...

*E. V. Baldy (1909–1911) *Arthur Jackson Hall (1911–1914) *Howard Lee Jones (1914–1915) * E. Walter Sikes (1916–1925) *Carlyle Campbell (1925–1936) *C. Sylvester Green (1936–1944) *Donald C. Agnew (1944–1952) *Joseph C. Robert (1952–1955) *John A. Barry, Jr. (1955–1959) *Fenton Keyes (1960–1968) *Wilfrid H. Callcott (1968–1969) *Gus Turbeville (1969–1974) *C. Hilburn Womble (1975–1980) *James D. Daniels (1981–2002) *B. James Dawson (2002–2009) *Robert L. Wyatt (2009–2019) * Natalie Harder (2020- )

Academics

Coker refers to the academic program for the four-year undergraduate degree as the Trans4mations Program, with the first year being foundational, the second year requiring service and attendance at cultural events, the third year requiring at least two weeks of study off-campus, and the final year called a "capstone". The Liberal Arts Studies Program (LASP) is divided into Core Skills, Knowledge of the Arts, Knowledge of the Behavioral Sciences, Knowledge of the Humanities, Knowledge of the Natural Sciences, Knowledge of the United States, and Knowledge of the Wider World. Coker offers 29 majors and 23 minors of study. The college also offers individual majors and double majors, self-designated degree programs, specializations, and pre-professional programs.

Campus

Memorial Hall, building on the NRHP The main campus contains mostly Georgian-style brick buildings, some of which (such as Davidson Hall, home to the college's round table classrooms) are listed on the

. The Alumni House (Drengaelen), The President's House, The Dean's and President's Offices (David and May Coker House), and The Registrar's Offices (Lawton-Wilson House) are all located in old mansions along the northern edge of campus. Hartsville and Coker University owe much to the generosity of the Coker family, founders of

Sonoco Sonoco Products Company is an American provider of diversified consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and packaging supply chain services and the world's largest producer of composite cans, tubes, and cores. The company w ...

and Coker's Pedigreed Seed Company. The Coker family's patronage of the college has led to the vast majority of buildings on campus having Coker somewhere in the name. Students often joke to freshmen or visitors that they'll meet them "in the Coker" building as a way to gently initiate newcomers to campus.

Residence halls

On-campus residence halls include Memorial (1914), Belk (1916), Coker (1916), Grannis (1969), and JLC (2009). Coker University’s Village at Byerly Place, consisting of George and Sullivan Halls opened in 2013. In 2011, Coker opened the Coker Downtown Lofts and in 2012 the Downtown Flats, both located in downtown Hartsville.

Library

In January 2008, the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center opened. The library was built using donations from a capital campaign. The former James Lide Coker Memorial Library is now a residence hall.

Athletics

Adjacent to the main campus is a athletics complex with baseball, softball, soccer, and tennis facilities. Near the athletics complex is the DeLoach Center, which contains a 1,908-seat gymnasium, an auxiliary gym, interactive classrooms, a student-athlete-only weight room, a fitness center, athletic offices, and more. Coker has 21 varsity athletics programs, which primarily compete in The

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as ...

. Sponsored programs include baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field (indoor and outdoor) women's volleyball, and men's wrestling. The Cobras also host a spirit squad. In the 2013 season, the Coker baseball team won the

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

Tournament title, earned the team's first-ever postseason bid, won the NCAA Southeast Regional, and advanced to the NCAA DII Baseball National Championship. They finished the year with a record of 38–16.

Notable alumni

* Bonnie Ethel Cone, founder of

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In 2014, he received a MacArthur Fellowship ...

, poet * Patrick Earl Hammie, artist * Harvey Hilbert, psychologist and expert on post-Vietnam stress syndrome * Marian McKnight, Miss America 1957 *

Ruth Patrick Ruth Myrtle Patrick (November 26, 1907 – September 23, 2013) was an American botanist and limnologist specializing in diatoms and freshwater ecology. She authored more than 200 scientific papers, developed ways to measure the health of freshwa ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

limnologist Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...

* Edith Mitchell Dabbs, author

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in South Carolina Liberal arts colleges in South Carolina Universities and colleges established in 1908 Education in Darlington County, South Carolina Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Buildings and structures in Hartsville, South Carolina 1908 establishments in South Carolina Hartsville, South Carolina