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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Erskine College
Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina, United States. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its sports teams compete in NCAA Division II as a member of Conference Carolinas.

History

Erskine College was founded by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in 1839. Prior to this time the church had established an academy for men in Due West, S.C., in 1835, and a seminary in 1837. The academy became Erskine College, the first four-year church-related college in South Carolina. It was named for Ebenezer Erskine, a pastor and one of the founders of one of the antecedent bodies of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Erskine had led a group of separatists from the Church of Scotland to found an Associate Presbytery.

Erskine began to admit women in 1894 and officially became coeducational in 1899. In 1927, it merged with Due West Female College, founded in 1859. In 1929, Bryson College closed and merged with Erskine College.

A planned merger of the college, the seminary, and the Due West Woman's College paved the way for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges in 1925. By 1927 the three schools had merged into one institution called Erskine College, with the seminary serving as its graduate theological school.

During World War II Erskine served as a cadet training school for the United States Army Air Corps. A substantial enrollment effort in the late 1950s brought Erskine's undergraduate enrollment to over 700 students throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. In 2014, Erskine celebrated 175 years as a Christian academic community, and in the 2022–2023 school year, enrollment was at an all-time high of 830 undergraduate and 137 graduate seminary students.

On March 11, 2014, a website article on Outsports detailed the coming out of two gay male players on the college's volleyball team. On February 27, 2015, Erskine College released a statement that students are expected to "follow the teachings of scripture concerning matters of human sexuality."

Presidents
1. E.E. Pressly 1839–1847
2. R.C. Grier 1847–1859
3. E.L. Patton 1859–1861
R.C. Grier 1865–1871
4. W.M. Grier 1871–1899
5. F.Y. Pressly 1899–1907
6. J.S. Moffatt 1907–1921
7. R.E. Grier 1921–1954
8. J.M. Lesesne 1954–1966
9. Joseph Wightman 1966–1973
10. M. Stanyarne Bell 1973–1981
11. William Bruce Ezell, Jr. 1981–1989
12. James W. Strobel 1990-1998
13. John L. Carson 1998–2005
Luder Whitlock 2005–2006
14. Randall T. Ruble 2006–2010
15. David Norman 2010–2013
N. Bradley Christie 2013–2014
16. Paul Kooistra 2014–2016
17. Robert Gustafson 2016–2021
Tom Hellams 2021–2022
18. Steve Adamson 2022–

Charter schools

In 2017, Erskine College began sponsoring charter schools in South Carolina through the Charter Institute at Erskine. The president of Erskine College serves as the chairman of the institute, while Cameron Runyan serves as superintendent and CEO. The Charter Institute attracted media attention in 2024, when it formed Teach Right USA, a nonprofit which shares leadership with the institute and sought to found charter schools sponsored by the institute. Through the nonprofit, leaders of the institute explored starting charter schools in Tennessee. State legislators requested information to determine of state funds or hours were used in the endeavor.

In 2021, Erskine College loaned one million dollars to a for-profit charter school management organization, which defaulted on their loan, ultimately only repaying $35,000. The transaction was not made public until 2024, when Erskine filed a lawsuit seeking to recover the full amount.

Academics

Academic rankings
Regional
U.S. News & World Report43 of 90
National
Washington Monthly442 of 442

Erskine College offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Minors are offered in several fields of study. A Christian Education concentration is offered within the Bible and Religion major and special minors are offered in Family Studies, Computer Science, Non-Western Studies, and Information Technology. The college also offers pre-professional programs in medicine, law, pharmacy, and dentistry. The student to faculty ratio is 15:1.

Erskine is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It was placed on "warning" status following its decennial accreditation review in December 2013. The college's status was reviewed in December 2014, and the sanction was then escalated to "Probation" status, due to continued failure to comply with accreditation standards related to fiscal stability and institutional effectiveness in student learning outcomes. SACSCOC removed all accreditation sanctions and reaffirmed Erskine's regional accreditation in December 2015.

In 2023, Erskine was once again placed on "warning" status following review. SACS cited financial issues and board control as determining factors. Steve Adamson, president of Erskine, said he fully expected "to have the warning lifted in December 2023 and the institution’s reaffirmation granted." However, in December 2023, Erskine was continued on warning status.

Athletics

Erskine College participates in NCAA Division II sports as a member of Conference Carolinas.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, track and field, and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Co-educational sports include bass fishing, e-sports, and rodeo.

Flying Fleet football

Main article: Erskine Flying Fleet football

In 1896, Erskine College began its first American football team. They had successful seasons between 1917 and 1921. During those seasons they had wins against Wofford, Presbyterian, South Carolina, Clemson, and the Citadel. Notably, it was during a game against Furman University in 1929 that Erskine was first referred to as "The Flying Fleet", a nickname given to them by a Greenville reporter who was impressed by their passing performance. On October 18, 1948, they defeated Florida State 14–6. The Flying Fleet ended their football program in 1951.

In 2018, Erskine College announced the return of the football program for the 2020 season competing as an Independent in NCAA Division II. In 2021, The Flying Fleet played its first football game in 70 years.

Notable people

Alumni

Members of the class of 2007

See also