Spartanburg Methodist College

Former names	Textile Industrial Institute (1911–1942) Spartanburg Junior College (1942–1974)
Motto	Deus Providet (Latin)
Motto in English	"God provides"
Type	Private college
Established	1911; 113 years ago (1911)
Founder	David English Camak
Accreditation	SACS
Religious affiliation	United Methodist Church
Endowment	$24.8 million (2022)[1]
President	William Scott Cochran
Academic staff	89
Students	1,025
Location	Saxon (Spartanburg address) , South Carolina , United States 34°57′13″N 81°58′16″W / 34.95361°N 81.97111°W / 34.95361; -81.97111
Campus	metropolitan, 110-acre (45 ha) campus
Colors	Blue & white
Nickname	Pioneers
Sporting affiliations	NAIA – Continental Athletic Conference
Mascot	Chuck
Website	www.smcsc.edu

Spartanburg Methodist College (SMC) is a private Methodist college in Saxon, South Carolina. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has approximately 1,000 students (2022-2023 academic year).

History

Spartanburg Methodist College history dates back to its founding in 1911 as the Textile Industrial Institute (TII) by David English Camak. Camak was inspired by the challenges faced by southern cotton textile workers. With the support of Walter S. Montgomery, president of Spartan Mill, Camak established an elementary and secondary school in a vacant house near Duncan Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. The school grew steadily, eventually becoming a mission of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.^[2]

Founding and early years (1911-1919)

In 1913, the college acquired its present campus and began the construction of Charles P. Hammond Hall. Hammond Hall played a significant role in accommodating students and fostering a sense of community on the campus, and serves as a residence hall to this day.

Even though the work and study schedules helped students to attend Textile Industrial Institute, the school needed additional income to operate and help realize Dr. Camak's dream. To obtain Camak’s dream into the real world, The TII Board of Trustees must recruit members from the South Carolina Methodist conferences, allow the land to be on sale, and pay off the debts to create new funds for the project. Camak's dream became a reality in 1919 with the opening of the Model Mill, providing TII the opportunity to combine education and work as Camak had envisioned. The Model Mill made pretty weaves, dyed and bleached materials, improved the threads to make them stronger, and perfected the art of depth in precise dying. The success of the Model Mill was short-lived. In 1921, the mill employed only TII students, but issues with financing led the Model Mill to close in 1922. Students once again returned to off-campus jobs to support them while enrolled at TII.^[3]

Expansion and challenges (1920-1940)

By 1927, TII expanded its offerings to include the first two years of college-level education, providing students with various pathways for their future.^[2] After initially providing high school-level courses for young adults working in the area's textile mills, TII expanded its curriculum in 1927 to offer two years of college-level work, granting associate degrees in liberal arts. That allowed graduates to transfer to senior-level colleges or enter the workforce with valuable skills.^[2]

The college continued expanding as students' work and study schedules coordinated with their jobs, and more students got an education. The industrial mill jobs on campus created declines in health from working in rash conditions. Many students worked on the campus in the kitchen, laundry, or farm; others worked in town. With the increased enrollment, the trustees soon realized that extra housing would be needed. Eliza Attleton Judd, wife of a local bank president, was interested in helping women access education and offered a solution to the school's housing problem by donating money to create a building for girls on campus. The trustees believed that completing Hammond Hall was a more urgent priority than building a dormitory for girls. Mrs. Judd continued to support TII with a gift of timberland. In 1928, a decade after her death, the Textile Industrial Institute built Judd Hall, a women's dormitory, in her honor.^[3]

In 1940, TII discontinued its high school classes, and in 1942, the institution changed its name to Spartanburg Junior College. In 1974, it changed its name to Spartanburg Methodist College.^[2]

Transitioning to a four-year institution

For decades, Spartanburg Methodist College served as a two-year junior college.^[4] In 2019, Spartanburg Methodist College further expanded its academic offerings by introducing bachelor's degree programs. Today, the college is a four-year institution.^[5]

Presidents

The university's current president, Scott Cochran, assumed office on November 16, 2015.^[7][8] The president is appointed by the university's board of trustees, which has 24 members, five clergy and 19 laity, whose terms are staggered on a three-year basis.^[9]

Accreditation and affiliations

Spartanburg Methodist College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the South Carolina Annual Conference.

Academics

SMC offers six associate degree and five bachelor's degree programs. Bachelor's degrees are available in business administration, psychology, professional writing and digital communications, sports management, or a customizable degree where students can select two concentrations from a pool of six: business, criminal justice, English, history, psychology, and religion.

Campus

SMC occupies 110 acres near the western edge of the city limits of Spartanburg. The campus has seven residential halls (Willard, Hammond, Kingman, Parsons, Judd, Bridges, and Sparrow) that are co-ed or all-female. Over the past decade, SMC has expanded its campus facilities. In 2012, a new academic building, Ellis Hall, was opened on campus. It houses nine classrooms, a bookstore, and academic offices, including the Vice President for Academic Affairs office, the Write Place, student publications, the President's Hall, and Gibbs Auditorium (which seats 275).^[11] In 2019, the 4,000-square-foot Moore Family Fitness Center was opened on campus and provides students with access to aerobics machines, free weights, weight machines, and an aerobics classroom.

Athletics

The college is a Division I member of Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Region X includes colleges in the Carolinas, West Virginia, and Virginia. SMC offers 14 intercollegiate athletic programs. Which include Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Softball, Volleyball (indoor and beach), Baseball, and Men's and Women's Track and Field. SMC also offers men's and women's track and field. SMC also offers men's and women's track and field. The college's athletic teams have won numerous regional, divisional, and national titles.

The men's soccer team won the 1994 NJCAA national championship. Several other teams have made appearances in their respective NJCAA (JUCO) Division I national tournaments recently. Most recently, women's golf (three individual Top 50 finishes, 2011), men's tennis (26th-place finish, 2010), wrestling (29th-place finish, 2010), men's cross-country (2nd place, 2012), women's cross-country (16th place, 2009), men's and women's half-marathon (3rd place, 2012), and volleyball (16th-place finish), 2009).

On October 2, 2023, it was announced that the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers would be joining the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a member of the Continental Athletic Conference beginning with the 2024-25 athletics year.^[12] The Pioneers previously competed in the NJCAA Region 10 until the 2023–24 school year.

Notable alumni

• Notable Spartanburg Methodist College alumni include:
• 
  Olin D. Johnston⁣ South Carolina Governor and Senator (first graduating class of the college)^[13]
• 
  Orlando Hudson⁣ professional baseball player^[14]
• 
  Lee Haney⁣ professional bodybuilder ^[15]
• 
  Heath Hembree⁣ professional baseball player^[16]
• 
  Mookie Wilson professional baseball player ^[17][18]
• 
  Reggie Sanders⁣ professional baseball player^[19]
• 
  Jerry Martin⁣ professional baseball player^[20]
• 
  C. D. Pelham⁣ professional baseball player^[21]
• 
  Vernon Taylor⁣ professional basketball player^[22]
• 
  Harris Stanton⁣ comedian^[23]
• 
  Sebastián Velásquez⁣ professional soccer player^[24]
• 
  Zack Godley⁣ professional baseball player^[25]
• 
  Dwight Smith⁣ professional baseball player^[26]