Gardner-Webb is a liberal-arts-based university located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The Forum belongs to the Life of the Scholar program at Gardner-Webb, which seeks to enrich the life of faculty, staff, students, and community with intellectual and artistic programs. The event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the University Theater, the M. Christopher White Divinity School, and the School of Nursing.
Location:
50 miles west of Charlotte in the Piedmont area of western North Carolina. Main campus of 200 acres is located in Boiling Springs, NC.
General Contact Info:
110 S. Main St., P.O. Box 997, Boiling Springs, NC 28017
(704) 406-4000
Recognitions:
Most recently, GWU was one of only three N.C. colleges to be named “exemplary” in the Portfolio of Excellence, produced by Lynne Cheney, wife of Dick Cheney; special recognition in U.S. News and World Report’s Guide to America’s Best Colleges; a Templeton Foundation Character-Building Institution; one of three “Executive Forum” Emerging U.S. Business Schools recognized on national television.
Accreditation:
Gardner-Webb University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: Telephone number 404-679-4501) to award Associate, Baccalaureate and Master's degrees. In addition several departmental programs are accredited by the appropriate state or national agencies. The Education program is accredited by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The Music and Nursing programs are accredited, respectively, by the National Association of Schools of Music and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. The M. Christopher White School of Divinity is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools of the United States and Canada. The University is authorized by the immigration authorities of the United States for the training of foreign students.
Enrollment:
3,564 including the day program, graduate studies and the GOAL program. Incoming freshman: 55% female, 45% male. Geographic distribution: 30 states, 30 foreign countries.
Faculty:
135 full-time, 80% with Ph.D. or equivalent. Faculty to student ratio is 1 to 15.
Cost:
Tuition, room and board: $18,200 (2002-2003 cost). Financial aid awards are need-based. Approximately 85 percent of all students receive some assistance from university sources.
Degrees Offered:
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Arts in Education, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Business Administration, Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in Counseling, and Master of Science in Nursing. The Doctor of Ministry began in 2001 as GWU’s first doctoral program.
Budget:
$39.6 million. No federal funds sought or accepted.
Curriculum:
A total of 13 departments offer 45 major fields of study. Approximately 37% of students major in business field; 29% in social sciences and history.
Facilities:
A growing and progressive main campus in Boiling Springs has seen continual construction and modification over the last decade to serve the technological, housing and classroom needs of the University community. Among the notable additions are: the Broyhill Adventure Course (ropes course and climbing wall): Hamrick Hall, which is home to the School of Business and is the most moden structure on campus; the Lake Hollifield Complex, featuring recreational facilities and America’s most modern bell tower; a new baseball and tennis office and practice facility (new tennis courts included); a new Communication Studies Hall to house the fastest-growing major on campus, the Millennium Playhouse theater and the innovative Center for Congregational Enrichment; and a computer network infrastructure hailed as one of the most modern of its kind in North Carolina.
Athletics:
NCAA Division I; member of the Atlantic Sun Conference
History Highlights:
Founded in 1905 as Boiling Springs High School; became Boiling Springs Junior College in 1928; renamed Gardner-Webb College in 1942 in honor of Governor O. Max Gardner and his wife, Fay Webb Gardner; became a university in 1993; hosted 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials-Cycling; completed $34 million capital campaign in 1998; began the reclassification to NCAA Division I athletics in 2000; added first doctoral program (Doctor of Ministry) in 2001.
President:
Dr. Frank Bonner
Affiliation:
Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
