University of Charleston history

In 1901, it was renamed Morris Harvey College, in honor of a devoted supporter.

In a major decision that saw the board of trustees reverse itself three times within one week, the college accepted an invitation from the Charleston Education Center and opened in temporary quarters in downtown Charleston on September 11, 1935.

In 1951, it purchased the Young-Noyes House as the home of the college president.

South Carolina Baptists made its establishment a matter of official deliberation at a meeting of the General Board in September 1955.

Doctor John A. Hamrick, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston and founder of First Baptist Church School, was elected the first president of the university by the Board of Trustees in November 1964.

The first semester of Charleston Southern University was in the fall of 1965, in buildings of the First Baptist Church of North Charleston.

By September 1966, buildings on the campus were ready, and the university’s second year began amid construction, landscaping and the physical development of the campus.

For the College, the first black students enrolled in 1967.

On December 13, 1978, Morris Harvey College was renamed the University of Charleston.

It was expanded to include concentrations in elementary and secondary education beginning with the 1988 spring term.

Beginning with the inauguration of President Doctor Edwin H. Welch in 1989, the school has undergone a physical and academic transformation.

In 1990, the school achieved university status and changed its name to Charleston Southern University.

The University of Charleston was established in 1992 and provides graduate studies and other programs for the College of Charleston.

In 1993, the College of Education began offering a Master of Education in Educational Administration.

On September 7, 1997, fifty years after Morris Harvey College first occupied the current location, the Clay Tower Building was dedicated.

Four new residence halls, a parking garage, a fitness center, an academic building housing the library, computer and science labs, and a new school of pharmacy have been built since 1998.

Football returned to campus in 2003, and new structures were built, including Brotherton Hall, Ratrie Hall, Middle Hall, East Apartments and the parking garage.

The Riggleman Hall library was transformed into the Erma Byrd Gallery, home to the West Virginia Women Artists Collection, in 2004.

From 2005 to the present, several significant buildings have been added including the Science building, the Whitfield Center for Christian Leadership, the Athletic Performance Center, the Singleton Baseball Complex and the Health Science building.

New programs were also introduced, including the school’s first doctoral program, with the opening of the School of Pharmacy in 2006.

In 2012, UC established locations in Beckley and Martinsburg through a teach-out agreement when Mountain State University lost its accreditation and closed.

UC established campuses on Mountain State University's former Beckley and Martinsburg, West Virginia, locations on January 1, 2013.

2014 Chick-fil-A Express opens, and Hunter Reception Center expanded and renamed the Jairy C. and Carolyn K. Hunter Center, in recognition of Doctor and Mrs.

On December 15, 2017, the board of trustees named Martin S. Roth to succeed Doctor Edwin Welch as the president of the university.

The University named Doctor Martin Roth as its 26th President, and President Roth took office in July 2018.