Greenville College - History

History

Greenville College was founded in 1855 as an all-female Baptist school, Almira College, which was begun by the Rev. John Brown White. White named the school after his friend Stephen Morse's wife, Almira Blanchard Morse, who donated the initial $6,000 that allowed the school to open. GC history professor Donald Jordahl has written that Almira College was "one of the earliest extensions westward of an eastern idea favorable toward female education, an early step in the women's suffrage and liberation movement."

The school was acquired by the Central Illinois Conference of the Free Methodist Church in 1892 after Almira College faced financial struggles and was forced to close for a short period of time. It was at this time the school gained the name Greenville College, with one of the main differences being that it became co-educational at this point. Throughout much of the school's history, the main areas for study were in primary and secondary education, with a strong secondary area in preparing students for careers in the fields of medicine and the sciences.

The current student body contains over 1,000 students; most are from various Christian denominations. The college currently offers undergraduate degrees in over 50 different programs of study and graduate degrees in education.

In 1992, Greenville College celebrated its 100th anniversary and was featured on NBC's Today Show. In 2006, the college was again featured prominently in a Today Show story about the rapid growth of Christian colleges and universities. In 2007, GC had a record enrollment of an estimated 1,100 traditional students. Enrollment topped 1,000 students for the first time in the college's history in 2006.

Greenville College is a member of the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

The College's original mascot was the Gremlins but changed in the early 20th century to the Panthers. Greenville's colors are orange and black, a recent decision based upon a student body vote. Previous, the college had used four colors rather than two, with orange and black representing the athletic programs and forest green and gold representing many non-athletic parts of the college. All of its athletics teams compete in the NCAA's Division III St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.

Greenville College was the first campus in America to go completely wireless with its Internet. Greenville's network spans the entire campus, making internet access available from any point on campus.