Furman University#Timmons Arena

{{Short description|Private university in Greenville, South Carolina, US}}

{{Infobox university

| name = Furman University

| image = Furman U Seal.png

| former_names = Furman Academy and Theological Institution
(1826–1829)
Furman Theological Institution
(1829–1834)
Furman Institution
(1837–1851)

| motto = Christo et Doctrinae

| mottoeng = For Christ and Learning

| established = {{Start date and age|1826}}

| type = Private liberal arts university

| president = Elizabeth Davis

| city = Greenville, South Carolina

| country = U.S.

| undergrad = 2,283 (fall 2022){{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=furman&s=all&id=218070|title=College Navigator - Furman University}}

| postgrad = 160 (fall 2022)

| faculty = 321

| endowment = $812.3 million (2022)As of June 28, 2022.{{cite report |url=https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=87daad7db96dd5f0JmltdHM9MTY4NzkxMDQwMCZpZ3VpZD0xZWEwZmI4OS1jYjVjLTYxYjYtMTQwNi1lOTJiY2E4YTYwMGEmaW5zaWQ9NTE4NA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=1ea0fb89-cb5c-61b6-1406-e92bca8a600a&psq=2022+ntse+public+table&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmFjdWJvLm9yZy8tL21lZGlhL05hY3Viby9Eb2N1bWVudHMvcmVzZWFyY2gvMjAyMi1OVFNFLVB1YmxpYy1UYWJsZXMtLUVuZG93bWVudC1NYXJrZXQtVmFsdWVzLS1GSU5BTC5hc2h4P2xhPWVuJmhhc2g9MzYyREMzRjlCREVCMURGMEMyMkIwNUQ1NDRBRDI0RDFDNDRFMzE4RA&ntb=1 |title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2022 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY21 to FY22 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA |date=February 19, 2022 |access-date=June 28, 2023}}
(Beneficiary of the Duke Endowment, 1924)

| campus = Suburban

| campus_size = {{Convert|750|acre}}

| colors = {{nowrap|{{color box|#582C83}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}} Purple & white{{cite web|url=http://www2.furman.edu/sites/marketing/standards/Pages/Logo.aspx |title=Logo Use |publisher=Furman.edu |date=2012-07-22 |access-date=2015-07-18}}}}

| sports_nickname = Paladins

| mascot = Paladin

| academic_affiliations = {{hlist||ACS|CIC|NAICU|Annapolis Group|Oberlin Group}}

| website = {{URL|www.furman.edu}}

| logo = Furman Logo.png

}}

Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman,{{cite web |url=http://www.furman.edu/general/history.htm |title=Furman University History |publisher=Furman University |access-date=2010-11-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910073113/http://www.furman.edu/general/history.htm |archive-date=2010-09-10 }} the liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became a secular university in 1992, while keeping Christo et Doctrinae (For Christ and Learning) as its motto. As of Fall 2021, it enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students on its {{convert|750|acre|0|adj=on}} campus.

History

=Beginnings (19th century)=

Furman Academy and Theological Institution was established by the South Carolina Baptist Convention and incorporated in December 1825 in Edgefield. With 10 students, it held its first classes January 15, 1828;"Furman University" in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, (Volume 17: Education), Clarence L. Mohr, ed. (UNC Press Books, 2011) p221 although another source says it opened in January 1827.{{cite encyclopedia

|contribution=Furman University

|first=A. Scott

|last=Henderson

|title=South Carolina Encyclopedia

|contribution-url=http://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/furman-university/

|date=2016}} Through 1850, average enrollment was 10 students, and it was at constant risk of insolvency. From 1829 to 1834, it operated in the High Hills of the Santee (now Stateburg, South Carolina). Furman closed from 1834 to 1837. When the school reopened, at the urging of the Reverend Jonathan Davis, chairman of the Board of Agents, the school moved to his native Fairfield County, near Winnsboro.

In 1850, the state legislature chartered Furman University. It was not until 1851 that South Carolina Baptists were able to raise the necessary funds for the removal of the school to Greenville, South Carolina.

The university closed from 1861 to 1866, when "most students and several faculty members enlisted in the Confederate forces."

The Furman Institution Faculty Residence serves as a visible reminder of the early history of Furman University and its brief establishment in Fairfield County.{{cite web | author = unknown | title = Furman Institution Faculty Residence| work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date = n.d.| url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/fairfield/S10817720013/S10817720013.pdf | access-date = 5 July 2012}}{{cite web | title =Furman Institution Faculty Residence, Fairfield County (int. of S.C. Hwy. 213 & S.C. Sec. Rds. 70 & 23, Winnsboro vicinity)| work = National Register Properties in South Carolina | publisher = South Carolina Department of Archives and History | url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/fairfield/S10817720013/index.htm | access-date = 5 July 2012}}

=Growth and expansion (20th century)=

File:Furman Lake.jpg

File:Furman University, Greenville, United States.jpg, Furman University often gets snow in the winter, as seen in 2016.]]

The first school building from the downtown Greenville campus was transported to the current campus, where it still stands. In 1933, students from the Greenville Women's College began attending classes with Furman students. Shortly thereafter, the two schools merged to form the present institution.

In 1924, Furman was named one of four collegiate beneficiaries of the Duke Endowment. Through 2007, Furman has received $110 million from the endowment, which is now one of the nation's largest philanthropic foundations. Three other colleges—Duke, Davidson and Johnson C. Smith—also receive annual support and special grants from the endowment.{{cite web |url=http://www2.furman.edu/about/about/Pages/DukeEndow.aspx|title=Duke Endowment: Partners in Progress| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091012120610/http://www2.furman.edu/about/about/Pages/DukeEndow.aspx | archive-date= 2009-10-12|access-date=2014-09-05}}

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education found the "separate but equal" policy to be unconstitutional, starting the lengthy process of desegregating public schools. As of that date, Furman, like most Southern colleges, did not accept African Americans as students. Some Furman students began to press for change.{{cite web| title= Furman reflects on desegregation| date= September 5, 2014| url= http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2014/09/04/furman-reflects-desegregation/15099773/| publisher= The Greenville News | first= Nathaniel |last=Cary|access-date=2014-09-05}} In 1955, some students wrote short stories and poems in The Echo, a student literary magazine, in support of integration; school administrators destroyed all 1,500 printed copies. In 1953, Furman began construction on its new campus,Furman University: Our History. http://www.furman.edu/about-furman/history/ {{Convert|5|mi|0|spell=in}} north of downtown Greenville. Classes on the new campus began in 1958.

By 1963, enough faculty were siding with the students over racial desegregation that Furman's board of trustees voted to admit Black students. Action on the trustees' decision was postponed and it was later overturned by South Carolina's Baptist Convention; desegregated admission was not implemented at Furman until its incoming president, Gordon W. Blackwell, a past president of Florida State University, made it a condition of his acceptance of the new position. In 1965, Joseph Vaughn was the first black undergraduate to enroll.

In 1992, the South Carolina Baptist Convention ended its affiliation with Furman.{{cite web |url=http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/HST21/ReligiousContro/split.htm |title=History 21: Religious Controversies: Split with the SBC |website=library.furman.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614041758/http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/HST21/ReligiousContro/split.htm |archive-date=2010-06-14}} Furman's "heritage is rooted in the non-creedal, free church Baptist tradition which has always valued particular religious commitments while insisting not only on the freedom of the individual to believe as he or she sees fit but also on respect for a diversity of religious perspectives, including the perspective of the non-religious person."{{cite web | url= http://www2.furman.edu/sites/marketing/standards/Pages/PositioningStatement.aspx | title= Positioning Statement | publisher= Furman University | access-date= 2014-09-05 | archive-date= 2015-10-18 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151018203254/http://www.furman.edu/sites/marketing/standards/Pages/PositioningStatement.aspx | url-status= dead }}

=21st century=

In 2012, a new facility, named for alumni Sarah and Gordon Herring, was built for continuing education.{{cite web|title=Furman Univ. opens new $6.4M facility|url=http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/19859692/furman-university-opens-new-64-million-facility|publisher=Fox Carolina|access-date=2018-07-07|archive-date=2018-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724093106/http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/19859692/furman-university-opens-new-64-million-facility|url-status=dead}} The student center was expanded and renovated in 2012. David Trone, a Furman alumnus, together with his wife June, participated through a $3.5 million gift resulting in the center being named the Trone Student Center.{{cite web|title=Furman dedicates Trone Student Center|date=September 20, 2013|url=https://news.furman.edu/2013/09/20/trone-student-center-dedication/|publisher=Furman University|first=John|last=Roberts|access-date=2018-07-07|archive-date=2020-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130053524/https://news.furman.edu/2013/09/20/trone-student-center-dedication/|url-status=dead}}

In October 2018, the Task Force on Slavery and Justice set up by Provost George Shields issued Seeking Abraham, a report making recommendations "to acknowledge the role slavery and racism had in the school's history."{{cite news

|title=Furman University to rename James C. Furman Hall, erect statue of first black student

|first=Ariel

|last=Gilreath

|date=May 22, 2019

|newspaper=Greenville Journal

|url=https://greenvillejournal.com/2019/05/22/furman-university-to-rename-james-c-furman-hall-erect-statue-of-first-black-student/

|access-date=May 24, 2019

|archive-date=May 23, 2019

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523040615/https://greenvillejournal.com/2019/05/22/furman-university-to-rename-james-c-furman-hall-erect-statue-of-first-black-student/

|url-status=dead

}} The task force was a response to the article, "Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation: What is the Furman Legacy?" published in October 2016 in the university newspaper, which pointed out that Richard Furman, the university's namesake, and even more so his son James Clement Furman, Furman's first president, were slave owners and active defenders of slavery. "Abraham" is a reference to Abraham Sims, a slave at the house of James Furman. The task force issued 19 recommendations, which were unanimously accepted by Furman's board of trustees.{{cite web

|title=President announces Board of Trustees resolution – May 2019

|first=Elizabeth

|last=Davis

|date=May 22, 2019

|publisher=Furman University

|url=https://www.furman.edu/about/task-force-on-slavery-and-justice/}} James C. Furman Hall was renamed Furman Hall, and a statue was erected to honor Joseph Vaughn, "the first Black student to attend the school".

Campus

File:James C Furman Hall - panoramio.jpg

Furman University's campus is located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the upstate region of South Carolina.

Furman's campus has been named one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation.{{Cite web|title=40 of the Most Beautiful College Campuses in the World|url=https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g4637/most-beautiful-college-campuses-worldwide/?slide=13|website=House Beautiful| date=3 May 2019 |publication-date=2019}}{{Cite web|year=2020|title=Top Of The Most Beautiful Universities In The World|url=https://www.e-architect.com/articles/top-of-the-most-beautiful-universities-in-the-world|website=e-Architect}}{{Cite web|year=2017|title=The 10 most beautiful universities in the US|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/10-most-beautiful-universities-us|website=Times Higher Education}} In 2016, USA Today named Furman's campus as the 4th most beautiful campus out of 10.{{Cite web|year=2016|title=USA Today Best Beautiful College Campus (2016)|url=https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-beautiful-college-campus/|website=10Best}} Times Higher Education named it ninth out of the ten most beautiful campuses in the nation in 2017. In 2019, Travel + Leisure listed Furman as 23rd out of 25 of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.{{cite web|title=America's Most Beautiful College Campuses|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/colleges-universities/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses?slide=d1e29e7a-cbb5-429d-8f9a-210f8ed293bb#d1e29e7a-cbb5-429d-8f9a-210f8ed293bb|access-date=26 January 2015|work=Travel + Leisure}}

=Timmons Arena=

{{anchor|Timmons Arena}}Timmons Arena is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena.[http://www.timmonsarena.com/ Official Site]; Timmons Arena It is home to the Furman University Paladins basketball team since its opening on December 30, 1997.{{cite web|title=Furman To Begin Play In Timmons Arena Tuesday Versus Northeastern Illinois|url=http://eweb.furman.edu/athletics/basketball_mens/pressrel/dec29.htm|publisher=Furman University|date=December 29, 1997|access-date=April 17, 2014}}[http://www.furmanpaladins.com/athletics/facilities/timmons_arena Timmons Arena - FurmanPaladins.com]

=Cliffs Cottage=

A Southern Living showcase home called Cliffs Cottage opened in 2008. The building is solar-powered using two panels, and features geothermal heating.{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/kaplan-new-campus-environmentalism-88221|title=Kaplan: The New On-Campus Environmentalism|date=17 August 2008|publisher=Newsweek|access-date=2018-03-14}}{{cite web|url=https://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/idea-houses/cliffs-cottage-furman-south-carolina|title=Our Most Innovative House Ever|publisher=Southern Living|access-date=2018-03-14|archive-date=2021-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315161451/https://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/idea-houses/cliffs-cottage-furman-south-carolina|url-status=dead}} Cliffs Cottage was the first sustainable showcase home for Southern Living magazine, which featured it in the article Our Most Innovative House Ever, detailing how to create a house that requires less energy and generates power.

=Place of Peace and Asian garden=

The campus also includes an Asian garden, the centerpiece of which is the Place of Peace, a Buddhist temple moved to the site from Japan. A replica of the cabin that Henry David Thoreau inhabited while writing On Walden Pond is located on the west side of the lake.{{cite web|url=http://www2.furman.edu/Visitors/Visitors/Pages/default.aspx|title=The Simple Cabin by the Lake|publisher=Furman.edu|access-date=2010-01-05|archive-date=2013-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810232824/http://www2.furman.edu/Visitors/Visitors/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}

File:Furman library.jpg|James B. Duke Library

File:Furman Hall.jpg|John E. Johns Hall

File:Furman University - Place of Peace 1.JPG|Place of Peace

=Environmental sustainability=

Furman works to conserve, reduce, and recycle on campus, has constructed green buildings and provided students with alternative transportation. Furman has a farm on campus. The Furman Farm is a quarter-acre garden located beside the Cliffs Cottage and the Furman Lake. A wide variety of produce is grown throughout the year using sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotations, composting, drip lines, natural fertilizers, and integrated pest management.{{cite web| title=The Furman Farm| url=http://www.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/CommunityOutreach/Pages/FurmanFarm.aspx| access-date=2016-06-01| archive-date=2020-02-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213044632/http://www2.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/CommunityOutreach/Pages/FurmanFarm.aspx| url-status=dead}} Furman also has installed a 6-acre solar farm with a 743 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) array near the campus entrance. The university hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2026.{{cite web| title=Our Vision, Furman Sustainability| url=http://www.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/ourvision/Pages/default.aspx| access-date=2016-06-01| archive-date=2020-02-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213044407/http://www2.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/ourvision/Pages/default.aspx| url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last1=Relations|first1=Vince Moore, Director, News & Media|last2=Relations|first2=Vince Moore, Director, News & Media|date=2017-04-30|title=Furman's solar farm is online|url=https://news.furman.edu/2017/04/30/furmans-solar-farm-is-online/|access-date=2020-10-25|website=Furman News|language=en-US}}

The Princeton Review featured Furman in its 2023 list of 455 Green Colleges; it received a green rating of 90, within a possible range of 60-99 .{{Cite web|url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=green-colleges&sort=name|title=Green Colleges|website=Princeton Review}} In. 2015, the Sierra Club included Furman in its list of the top 50 eco-friendly universities in America.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2015-5-september-october/cool-schools-2015/full-ranking|title=America's Greenest Universities|website=Sierra Club|date=26 March 2020}} Furman received a grade of "A−" from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card in 2011 along with 52 other institutions.{{cite web|url=http://www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2011/awards.html|title=2011 College Sustainability Report Card|access-date=2016-06-01|archive-date=2021-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414144140/http://greenreportcard.org/report-card-2011/awards.html|url-status=dead}} Furman takes part in the voluntary self-reporting Sustainability Tracking Assessment Ratings System (STARS), in which it received a gold rating in 2021.Furman University, Sustainability: Our Vision. http://www2.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/ourvision/Pages/OurCommitment.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213044612/http://www2.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/ourvision/Pages/OurCommitment.aspx |date=2020-02-13 }}

Organization and administration

{{See also|List of Furman University people#Presidents|label 1=List of Furman University Presidents}}

class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.4em; id:Presidents_of_Furman_University" ! colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background:#7851a9" \| University presidents
width="55%"\|President \|width="45%"\|Years
colspan="2" \| ----
James Clement Furman	1859–1879
Charles Manly	1881–1897
Andrew Philip Montague	1897–1902
Charles Hallette Judson	1902–1903 (acting)
Edwin McNeill Poteat	1903–1918
Sidney Ernest Bradshaw	1918–1919 (acting)
William Joseph McGlothlin	1919–1933
Bennette Eugene Geer	1933–1938
Robert Norman Daniel	1938 (acting)
John Laney Plyler	1939–1964
Gordon Williams Blackwell	1965–1976
John Edwin Johns	1976–1994
David Emory Shi	1994–2010
Rodney Alan Smolla	2010–2013
Carl F. Kohrt	2013–2014 (interim)
Elizabeth Davis	2014–present

Image:Oldfurmanpostcard.jpg

Leadership and guidance to the university is provided by a board of trustees, whose 36 members meet at least three times per academic year and are elected for three-year terms.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} Former board members may be designated as 'Trustees Emeriti'. These include former Governor and U.S. secretary of education Richard Riley.Trustees Emeriti. http://www.furman.edu/about-furman/university-leadership/board-of-trustees/trustees-emeriti/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013172159/https://www.furman.edu/about-furman/university-leadership/board-of-trustees/trustees-emeriti/ |date=2018-10-13 }} {{as of|2023}}, current board members include David Trone, U.S. representative for Maryland's 6th congressional district, and William Byrd Traxler Jr., Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals.Board Members. http://www.furman.edu/about-furman/university-leadership/board-of-trustees/board-members/. Board members also come from private companies

Under the governance of the board of trustees, Furman is led by a President. Elizabeth Davis became Furman's president on July 1, 2014. She is the 12th president of the institution, or 16th when also counting interim presidents. {{as of|2023}} eleven senior administrators manage academic and administrative departments. These administrators are composed of a provost, a dean of faculty, and nine other members.Senior Administrators. http://www.furman.edu/about-furman/university-leadership/senior-administrators/

Academics

Image:Furman-Belltower2.jpg

Furman offers majors and programs in 42 subjects. All students must complete general education requirements as part of the liberal arts curriculum. The general education requirements include mind and body wellness, textual analysis, two natural sciences, math/formal reasoning, two empirical studies of human behavior, history, ultimate question, foreign language, and world culture. Furman is not divided into colleges, but includes centers and four institutes. Furman's four institutes are the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Richard W. Riley Institute, the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, and the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were:{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Furman&s=all&id=218070#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Furman University |access-date=February 27, 2023}}

Health Sciences (58)
Biology/Biological Sciences (51)
Speech Communication and Rhetoric (48)
Political Science and Government (47)
Business Administration and Management (46)
Psychology (41)

Furman has produced 20 Truman Scholars,{{Cite web|url=https://www.truman.gov/search-our-scholars?field_profile_name_at_award_value=&field_profile_selection_year_value=&field_profile_selection_state_tid=All&field_institution_name_value=Furman+University|title=Search Our Scholars- The Harry Truman Scholarship|website=Truman.gov}} as well as several Rhodes scholars and recipients of Goldwater, Fulbright and National Science Foundation Awards.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qed1lmdzZrYC&q=Truman+scholars+furman+university&pg=PA63|title=Furman University|last=Tollison|first=Courtney|year=2004|pages=63|publisher=Arcadia |isbn=9780738517254}}

=Reputation and rankings=

{{Infobox US university ranking

| Wamo_LA = 68 of 194

| USNWR_LA = 45 (tie) of 211

| Forbes = 149 of 500

| WSJ_NU = 271 of 500

}}

In 2025, Furman was ranked tied for 45th out of 211 in U.S. News & World Report's 2023 National Liberal Arts Colleges rankingsUS News, Furman University.https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/furman-university-3434/overall-rankings

As of 2023, Furman is also featured in The Princeton Review's "Best 378 Colleges" list and was named as one of 143 "Best Southeastern Colleges"{{Cite web|url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college/furman-university-1022904|title=The Princeton Review- Furman University|website=Princeton Review}} The Princeton Review also ranked Furman in 5th place on its list of universities committed to national service in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/princeton-review-top-colleges-for-making-an-impact-2016-2|title=Best colleges for students who want to change the world|website=Business Insider}}

In 2019, Furman University was ranked 21st in a list of the top 25 colleges and universities in the South by Forbes.{{Cite web|title=Top 25 Colleges In The South 2019|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2019/08/15/25-top-colleges-and-universities-in-the-south-2019-ranked-by-academics-and-outcomes/?sh=1b960ab4ada7|website=Forbes}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/#5b9c1d821987|title=America's Top Colleges 2022|website=Forbes}}

Furman ranked 23rd among all liberal arts colleges in number of graduates who went on to receive PhDs from 1990 to 1995.{{Cite web|title=Furman Tops Among Southern Liberal Arts Colleges For Grads Earning Ph.D. Degrees|url=http://www.collegenews.org/x5417.xml|url-status=live|website=Collegenews.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005094153/http://www.collegenews.org/x5417.xml|archive-date=2006-10-05}} Furman ranked 76th among all universities in the nation of graduates that went on to receive PhDs from 2008 to 2017.{{Cite web|title=Baccalaureate Origins of Doctorate Recipients 2008-2017. Top 100 Institutions|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Top%20100%20Tot%20Sci%20Rankings%20-Summary%20to%202017.pdf|url-status=live|website=Swarthmore.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101025429/https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Top%20100%20Tot%20Sci%20Rankings%20-Summary%20to%202017.pdf|archive-date=2020-11-01}}

Student life

=Athletics=

{{See also|Furman Paladins men's basketball|Furman Paladins football}}

File:Timmons Arena.jpg

Furman competes in NCAA Division I athletics, and at the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) level in football. Furman fields seven men's teams and nine women's teams, as well as 16 club sports and many intramural teams.{{cite web |url=http://www2.furman.edu/About/About/Pages/default.aspx |title=About Furman | Furman University |publisher=Furman.edu |date=2012-07-22 |access-date=2015-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018203254/http://www2.furman.edu/About/About/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=2015-10-18 }} The university is a member of the Southern Conference.

In 2018, Furman was placed 73rd out of 291 colleges in the NACDA Directors' Cup Division I Final Standings, highest among Southern Conference members.{{Cite web|url=https://nacda.com/documents/2018/7/18//June29overallDI.pdf?id=1799|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702183307/https://nacda.com/documents/2018/7/18//June29overallDI.pdf?id=1799|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2021|title=2018 Learfield Directors' Cup Division I Final Standings|website=Nacda}} In the 2019–2020 season, Furman finished in 32nd place out of 157 institutions in the NACDA Director's Cup Final Fall Standings.{{Cite web|title=2019-20 Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup Division I Final Fall Standings|url=https://nacda.com/documents/2020/1/15//Jan16DI.pdf?id=3854|website=NACDA}}

Notable people

=Notable alumni=

Alexander Stubb, President of Finland
Ben Browder, actor, writer and director
Brad Cox, computer scientist, creator of the Objective-C programming language
Thomas T. Cullen, United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia
Clint Dempsey, professional soccer player
Brad Faxon, professional golfer
Billy Napier, college football head coach
David C. Garrett Jr., businessman, CEO of Delta Air Lines
Jamie Lee Henry, first openly transgender officer in the United States Armed Forces
Jay Jackson, Major League Baseball pitcher{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/30705 |title=Jay Jackson |website=ESPN |access-date=December 13, 2021 }}
Victoria Jackson, actress and comedian
Ryan Ken, screenwriter
Herman W. Lay, founder of Frito-Lay potato chips
Keith Lockhart, music director and conductor
Jordan Loyd (born 1993), professional basketball player
John Michael McDonnell, Admiral, Director of the National Security Agency, and Director of National Intelligence in George W. Bush's administration
Julie McElrath, HIV immunology and vaccine researcher
John F. Mulholland Jr., CIA associate director
Eleanor Beardsley, bilingual journalist and foreign correspondent
Amy Grant, contemporary Christian/pop artist
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., television pioneer, the co-inventor of the first arcade game to use a cathode-ray tube
Judy Clarke, criminal defense attorney
Robert Blocker, dean of the Yale School of Music
Mark Sanford, politician, former Governor of South Carolina and former U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st district
Tomiko Brown-Nagin, legal historian, former dean at Harvard University
Beth Daniel, professional golfer
Robert G. Owens Jr., U.S. Marine Corps major general and flying ace
Bear Rinehart, musician
Richard Riley, United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton
John E. Sloan, US Army major general, attended as a member of the class of 1907{{cite news |date=26 September 1946 |title=Furman Alumni Bulletin Out |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-greenville-news-bulletin/171002172/ |work=The Greenville News |location=Greenville, South Carolina |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Allie Beth Stuckey, podcast host, blogger, and conservative commentator
Charles H Townes, physicist, 1964 Nobel Prize winner in physics
Letitia H. Verdin, Associate Justice-elect of the South Carolina Supreme Court
John B. Watson, psychologist, founder of Behaviorism
Xavier Woods, professional wrestler and YouTube personality
Sam Wyche, professional football coach
Walker Zimmerman, professional soccer player

Charles Townes and first maser.jpg|Charles H. Townes received his BS in physics from Furman. A Nobel Laureate in Physics, he invented the maser and laser.

Mark Sanford, Official Portrait, 113th Congress.jpg|Mark Sanford received his BA in business from Furman. He was the Governor of South Carolina.

Amy Grant - West Wendover, Nevada.jpg|Amy Grant won six Grammy Awards. Her first ticketed concert took place during her first year at Furman.

=Notable faculty=

Jay Bocook, composer and arranger, whose work was heard during the 1984 Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies in Los Angeles
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., physicist, who helped pioneer the invention of color television, and inventor of the first video game
Richard Riley, politician, Governor of South Carolina and sixth U.S. Secretary of Education
Mark Kilstofte, musician, winner of the American Academy in Rome's Rome Prize for 2002–2003[http://www.aarome.org/rome_prize/2003winners.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214161222/http://www.aarome.org/rome_prize/2003winners.htm|date=February 14, 2006}}
Charles H Townes, physicist, 1964 Nobel Prize winner in Physics
Alan Axelrod, historian and author of business and management books
Brent Nelsen, political scientist and professor
Anthony Ensolen, writer and translator of classical works
Edvard Tchivzhel, conductor and music director
William Preucil, composer, violinist and Grammy Award winner