History
The university dates back to 1957, when the University of South Carolina set up a freshman center at the Florence County Library. A few years later, in 1961, USC-Florence was set up on land donated by the Wallace family six miles east of Florence, South Carolina. In 1966, many in the Florence area pushed to establish a four-year university. Governor Robert E. McNair signed into law an act creating Francis Marion College, effective July 1, 1970. The newly created Francis Marion College initially enrolled 907 students from 23 of South Carolina's 46 counties in 10 departments.
In 1992, Francis Marion College achieved university status and subsequently changed its name to Francis Marion University. Today, Francis Marion enrolls over 4,100 students from 32 states and 17 different countries. Francis Marion is one of South Carolina's 13 state-assisted universities. Since 1999, Francis Marion University has consistently ranked as one of the South's best regional universities, earning it a spot in US News and World Reports America's Best Colleges.
Read more about this topic: Francis Marion University
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