Our History

History

Since the college’s founding, graduates have used their Converse experience as launching pads for successful careers and active citizenship. Among Converse alumnae are a Pulitzer Prize winner, a renowned heart researcher, a Texas Supreme Court Justice, a prominent civil rights attorney, Broadway performers, the deputy crew commander for Titan IV Rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, and the first female circuit court judge in South Carolina.

Although the doors of Converse opened October 1, 1890, the first step towards the founding of the college was taken in 1889 when a prominent attorney assembled a group of Spartanburg citizens to discuss the project. Among the 13 men was Dexter Edgar Converse, a native of Vermont who had settled in Spartanburg before the Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in the cotton mill industry.

Mr. Converse was especially interested in establishing a college for women because his daughter, Marie, was approaching college age and he wanted her to have every possible educational advantage. His initial and subsequent contributions to the cause were so valuable that the college was given his name.

Initially, the college was operated as a stock company and Mr. Converse headed the first board of directors, comprised entirely of Spartanburg citizens. They elected the Rev. Benjamin F. Wilson as the first president. The first faculty roster was comprised of sixteen members and the student body numbered one hundred sixty-eight.

On January 2, 1892, the main building was destroyed by fire, but was immediately reconstructed and enlarged. The work of the college hardly suffered interruption. In 1896, by the voluntary act of the stockholders, Converse College was incorporated under the laws of the state of South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was established. This meant that Converse was converted into a permanent gift to the cause of higher education for women.

Beginning in the 1900s, Converse matured into one of the leading colleges for women in the South. Academic requirements were strengthened, the ablest teachers supplemented the faculty and new buildings were constructed. It was during this period that the College’s Petrie School of Music received a national rating as a professional school of music. Converse became a charter member of the National Association of Schools of Music, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the accrediting agency for music curricula.

In 1964 Converse introduced graduate programs, including the Master of Art in Teaching (MAT) program, the first degree of its kind in South Carolina. The graduate program would later become the School of Education and Graduate Studies and offer a wide range of degrees in fields such as music, education, the liberal arts, and marriage and family therapy.

In 1983 the college introduced Converse II to fit the schedules and ambitions of adult women, whether they are a few semesters shy of a bachelor’s degree or a freshman taking college-level courses for the first time.

In 2003, the college completed the most successful capital campaign in its history with $82.5 million in private gifts. The campaign led to the establishment of the Nisbet Honors Program, the Chapman Study Abroad Experience endowment, and an endowment to fund faculty initiatives for innovative teaching and scholarly achievement; renovation of residence halls and the Montgomery Student Center; and construction of The Rose Physical Activity Complex, the Justine V. R. “Nita” Milliken Addition of Milliken Fine Arts Building and Phifer Science Hall.

Momentum continues today as Converse focuses on providing distinct educational experiences that enable creativity and develop the adaptive capacity necessary for students to succeed in the ever-changing world.

Converse Model Programs (Arab League, NATO) are national leaders having defeated such institutions as Harvard, UC–Berkeley, Northeastern, Ohio State, and three U.S. military academies. Converse is home to the Southeast Region Model Arab League competition, headquarters of the Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations, and helped establish and run a high school Model Arab League program in Amman, Jordan.

The Daniels Center for Leadership and Service is a partnership between academic affairs and student affairs to provide leadership development training and opportunities to learn, serve and lead on campus and in the community.

In 2006, Converse became the first women’s college to attain the prestigious All-Steinway School distinction.

Since the fall of 2008, the Valkyries have competed as a member of Conference Carolinas at the NCAA Division II level and represent the only Division II athletics program in the Upstate of South Carolina.

The curriculum supports more than 30 majors including South Carolina’s only Master’s in gifted education program, only low-residency MFA in creative writing and first Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative and professional writing, and the Upstate’s first undergraduate music therapy degree program.

In 2013, Converse made national headlines by announcing a 43% reduction in tuition – leading the national movement for transparent college pricing and making a top-quality private education accessible at a public-university price.

In 2017, construction was completed on Converse’s new junior housing complex. It is named after former Converse President Betsy Fleming.

In 2018, Converse expanded its reach by joining the University Center in Greenville. Converse provides a rapidly growing array of co-educational degree programs on the UCG campus, which began with the MAT in Early Childhood Education and expanded in 2019 to include an undergraduate degree completion program, the Master of Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Doctorate in Professional Leadership.

2019 marked a historic milestone as the College announced its new status as a doctoral degree-granting institution following approval of its request for a level-change by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).  In addition, SACSCOC approved Converse’s first doctoral program, a Doctorate of Education in Professional Leadership. The program began with cohorts on the Converse campus and at UCG.

On February 7, 2020, after many months of careful deliberation and research, Converse College decided to expand its undergraduate residential program from single-gender to co-ed beginning in Fall 2020. The Board of Trustees also approved a name change from college to university, effective July 1, 2021. Under the university umbrella, Converse will maintain a Converse College for Women and expand its international school into an international college.

On July 1, 2021, Converse officially changed its name to Converse University. The name change acknowledges Converse’s long-held university status and positions the institution to lead the charge for educational and economic excellence in the region.

Presidents of Converse