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Samford University |
| Samford University | |
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| Motto: | For God, For Learning, Forever |
| Established: | 1841 (as Howard College) |
| Type: | Private (Baptist-affiliated) |
| Endowment: | $301 million1 |
| President: | Andrew Westmoreland |
| Faculty: | 264 |
| Undergraduates: | 2,882 |
| Postgraduates: | 1,558 |
| Location: | Homewood, Alabama, USA |
| Campus: | Suburban 180 acres (0.7 km2) |
| Athletics: | 13 varsity teams |
| Colors: | Red and Blue |
| Nickname: |
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| Affiliations: | Southern Conference |
| Website: | www.samford.edu |
Samford University is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist-affiliated university located in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, and is home to Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing and Beeson Divinity School. As of 2006, Samford ranks number four in the South among master's degree institutions in this year's U.S. News & World Report rankings of America's Best Colleges. 2 The 2006 ranking was the 17th consecutive year for the school to be ranked in the top 10 in its category.3 In 2007, Samford was reclassified as "national research university" and on 17 August 2007, Samford ranked 130 out of 261 doctoral universities in U.S. News and World Reports' college rankings. 4
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Samford was founded as Howard College in 1841 and opened its doors to students on January 3, 1842, in Marion, Alabama. In 1887 the school relocated to the East Lake community of Birmingham.
Women were first admitted to Howard College in 1895, and the college officially became coeducational in 1913. One year later the school established its Teacher Education Division. In 1920 the school joined the Southern Association of Colleges and in 1927 it added its pharmacy school.
In 1961, the school acquired the Cumberland School of Law from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Under the leadership of President Harwell Goodwin Davis the college looked to relocate again and on June 11, 1953 Howard College broke ground on its third campus in the Shades Valley just south of Birmingham. The school occupied its new campus in 1957.
In 1965 Howard reinstituted its master's degree program. This led to the college's elevation to university status on November 9, 1965. The school was renamed in honor of Frank Park Samford, chairman of the Board of Trustees and to that time, the institution's most generous individual benefactor, because there was already a Howard University in Washington, D.C..
The Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing owned by the Baptist Medical Center of Birmingham, was added to the University in 1973. In 1988, the Beeson Divinity School was established through donations from Ralph W. Beeson.
The University now consists of the Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Brock School of Business, Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, School of Performing Arts, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Beeson School of Divinity, and Cumberland School of Law.
On January 29, 2004, in his Founder's Day Address, then-President Thomas E. Corts announced a multi-year improvement plan called, "The Promise." According to Dr. Corts, "Samford University will be an academically vigorous Christian university that coordinates a strong, effective educational program and encouragement of Christian belief and service, within a community that respects its individual members and encourages each to highest and best levels of performance and conduct -- academically, socially, spiritually, physically."
The plan calls for Samford to invest some $200 million to "enrich and enhance the educational experience of its students." Since June 1, 2003 more than $37 million has been contributed in philanthropic gifts toward the campaign.
Samford University, as a private corporation, is wholly governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. The Board appoints the President of the University, who serves as chief executive officer. The Board consists of its regular members and the President.
Andrew Westmoreland is the current President of Samford University. Appointed by the Board of Trustees, he is the chief executive officer of the university, and serves only at the pleasure of the Board. Prior to his taking office on June 1, 2006, Westmoreland served as president of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Prior to Westmoreland, the following men served as president:
| President | Tenure | Institution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Sterling Sherman | 1842–1852 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 2 | Henry Talbird | 1853–1863 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 3 | Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry | 1865–1868 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 4 | Edward Q. Thornton | 1868–1869 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 5 | Samuel R. Freeman | 1869–1871 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 6 | James T. Murfee | 1871–1887 | Howard College (Marion) |
| 7 | Benjamin Franklin Riley | 1888–1893 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 8 | Arthur W. McGaha | 1893–1896 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 9 | A.D. Smith | 1896–1897 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 10 | Frank M. Roof | 1897–1902 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 11 | Andrew P. Montague | 1902–1912 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 12 | James M. Shelborne | 1912–1917 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 13 | Charles B. Williams | 1919–1921 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 14 | John C. Dawson | 1921–1932 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 15 | Thomas V. Neal | 1932–1939 | Howard College (East Lake) |
| 16 | Harwell G. Davis | 1939–1958 | Howard College (Homewood) |
| 17 | Leslie Stephen Wright | 1958–1983 | Samford University (Homewood) |
| 18 | Thomas E. Corts | 1983–2006 | Samford University (Homewood) |
| 19 | Andrew Westmoreland | 2006–present | Samford University (Homewood) |
Samford University is currently divided into degree-granting units. Each division is headed by a dean. The divisions of the university (and their current heads) are:
| College/school | Dean |
|---|---|
| Howard College of Arts and Science | David W. Chapman |
| Metro College | Cindy Kirk |
| Brock School of Business | Beck A. Taylor |
| Beeson Divinity School | Timothy George |
| Beeson School of Education & Professional Studies | Jean A. Box |
| Cumberland School of Law | John L. Carroll |
| Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing | Nena Sanders |
| School of the Arts | Joe Hopkins |
| McWhorter School of Pharmacy | Bobby G. Bryant |
As of fall 2005, the last semester for which comprehensive data have been published, the university had an enrollment of 2,941 undergraduate students and 1,565 graduate and professional students.
Approximately 37% of the total student body comes from Alabama, 20% come from Tennessee and 17% come from Georgia. As a result, Samford's flavor, though leavened with students from across the United States (40 states are represented, along with 21 foreign countries), is overwhelmingly Southern. Almost 90% of Samford's students are Caucasian, and about 6% are African American. About 10% of Samford students are minorities, and 38% are male.
Samford's campus has moved several times during its history. Originally, Howard College was located in Marion, Alabama, a black-belt town between Selma and Tuscaloosa; it is the birthplace of Coretta Scott King. In 1887, the college moved to the East Lake community in Birmingham.
The college -- and now University -- is presently located approximately 5 miles (8 km) south of downtown Birmingham in Homewood, Alabama's Shades Valley area. The campus lies along Lakeshore Drive in Homewood, just 2 miles (3 km) from Interstate 65.
Besides its lush lawns and well-maintained gardens, Samford boasts one of the most distinctive examples of Georgian style architecture in the United States. Samford's uniform style, based upon Colonial Williamsburg, was the vision of President Harwell Davis when he moved the campus to the Shades Valley area in 1953-55.
Today, that vision is maintained in each new building project, even if the project in question would not have been possible in the time-period of the style (as with the new 132,000-square-foot (12,300 m2) Pete Hanna Center, which is completed except for landscaping, etc., on the southwest side of campus).
According to Samford officials, co-curricular involvement is an important aspect of a total education. Because of this philosophy, Samford students are encouraged to select from more than 100 honors, religious, professional, educational, service and social student organizations. These groups, overseen by the Office of Student Involvement, offer Samford students an opportunity to explore their interests with like-minded individuals.
Samford's diversity of programming runs the gamut from a student-led group of Amnesty International, a human-rights activist organization, to the Samford Young Life chapter, an Evangelical Christian group.
As of spring 2004, 33% of the undergraduate student body was affiliated with one of 14 social Greek organizations. Specifically, 29% of men were members of fraternities and 34% of women were members of sororities.
The local chapters are supported by active alumni bases that continue to involve former active members in both the life of the social organization and the life of the University. Many members of Samford's administration, along with several notable alums, were members of Greek organizations.
The fraternities represented on campus are:
| Fraternity | Chartered locally |
|---|---|
| Alpha Phi Alpha | 2000 |
| Pi Kappa Alpha | 1911 - 1994 |
| Kappa Alpha Psi | 1998 |
| Lambda Chi Alpha | 1911 |
| Pi Kappa Phi | 1925, 1991 |
| Sigma Chi | 1872, 1984 |
| Sigma Phi Epsilon | 1930, 1997 |
| Sigma Nu | 1879 |
The sororities represented on campus are:
| Sorority | Chartered locally |
|---|---|
| Alpha Delta Pi | 1910 |
| Alpha Omicron Pi | 1995 |
| Delta Zeta | 1924 (closed) |
| Zeta Tau Alpha | 1964 |
| Kappa Delta | 1968 (closed since 1985) |
| Phi Mu | 1924 |
| Chi Omega | 1963 |
Samford also houses chapters for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the social fraternity for men of musicianly character; Delta Omicron; and Gamma Sigma Sigma, a service sorority. These chapters are not affiliated with the Interfraternity Council or Panhellinic Council.
Samford University upholds a Code of Values which serves as the standard for personal and academic behavior. It serves as both a regulation of conduct and as an honor code for Samford administration, faculty, and students.
Samford's Values Court deals with specific infractions of the Code of Values by students and consists of representatives of all three of Samford's stakeholders: administration, faculty, and students.
Allegiance to these values obligates the Samford University student to refrain from and discourages behaviors that threaten the freedom and respect every individual deserves.[1]
All undergraduate students (with some exceptions) are required to live on campus until the age of 21 to the extent that on-campus student housing facilities can accommodate them.
Approximately 66% of undergraduates -— freshmen, sophomores, and many juniors -— live on campus. Many senior undergraduates also live on campus, and those who do not often join the graduate and professional students in living near campus. Consequently, student life at Samford is heavily intertwined with campus life.
On Sunday March, 9 2008 at 3:58 PM Ramsay Hall suffered structural damage. Rafters supporting the roof collapsed unexpectedly. Residences heard a serious of loud "shots" minutes before the roof collapsed. Campus safety responded promptley alerting fire departments and structural engineers. President Andrew Westmorland helped students survive the first night by providing a $100 gift card in order to purchase necessities until personal belongings could be recovered from the dormitory. All residences were reassigned dorm rooms the following week. As of October 2008 the remainder of the dorm still stands on campus with no construction repairs done. The fate of the building is still unknown. [2]
There are several media outlines at Samford, with administration, faculty, and students producing different publications.
Inside Samford is the official newsletter of the university administration and faculty. Published ten times each year, it does not publish opinion.
Other media at Samford include:
The Samford University Alumni Association counts more than 27,000 graduates among its membership. Some notable alumni include:
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