College of Charleston facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

{{Infobox university | name = College of Charleston | image = CoCharleston seal.png | image_upright = 0.8 | motto = Sapientia Ipsa Libertas (Latin)
Ædes Mores Juraque Curat (Latin) | mottoeng = "Wisdom Itself Is Liberty"
"She Cares for Her Temples, Customs and Rights" | established = 1770; 255 years ago (1770) | type = Public university | president = Andrew Hsu | city = Charleston | state = South Carolina | country = United States | campus = Midsize city |campus_size = 80 acres (0.32 km²) | undergrad = 9,972 | postgrad = 913 | administrative_staff = 836 | endowment = $135.9 million (2021)

| sporting_affiliations =

| academic_affiliations =

ORAU
Sea-grant
Space-grant

| website = | logo = College_of_Charleston.svg | logo_size = 250px

| embedded = }

The College of Charleston (often called CofC or just Charleston) is a public university located in Charleston, South Carolina. It was started in 1770 and officially opened in 1785. This makes it the oldest university in South Carolina. It is also the 13th-oldest college in the United States. It is the oldest college in the country that was started by a city.

Some very important people helped create the College of Charleston. These included three Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Their names were Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge. Three others who signed the Constitution of the United States in 1788 also helped. They were Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and John Rutledge.

History of the College of Charleston
What You Can Study
Exploring the Campus
Bully Pulpit Series

Presidential Candidates in 2008
Presidential Candidates in 2016
Presidential Candidates in 2020

Significant dates

College of Charleston
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

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Location	Glebe, George, St. Philip and Green streets, Charleston, South Carolina
Area	4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built	1827
Architect	Edward B. White; George E. Walker
Architectural style	Early Republic
NRHP reference No.	71000748
Added to NRHP	November 11, 1971
Designated NHL	November 11, 1971

College Sports: The Cougars
Greek Life
Famous People Who Went Here
Campus Buildings

Buildings on the Historic Register
- Historic Buildings
- Other Buildings

See also

History of the College of Charleston

The College of Charleston began in 1770. This makes it one of the oldest places for higher education in the nation. The first building looked a bit like a military barracks. In 1785, the state of South Carolina gave the college its official permission to operate. The college then opened in 1790. Its first graduation ceremony was held in 1794. Robert Smith was the college's first president.

In 1791, another rule was made. This rule said that the college would welcome students of all religions. Later, more buildings like Randolph Hall were added. These buildings were built a long time ago. In 1837, the city government of Charleston took control of the college. For a while, the college did not allow all students to attend. However, starting in 1967, students of all backgrounds were welcomed.

What You Can Study

U.S. university rankings

Forbes	323

The College of Charleston has seven main schools. It also has an Honors College and a Graduate School. These schools offer many different subjects for students to learn.

The School of the Arts
The School of Business
The School of Education
The School of Health Sciences
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences
The School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
The School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering
The Honors College
The Graduate School

Exploring the Campus

The main campus of the College of Charleston is in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. It has 156 buildings. These buildings are a mix of old and new, built between 1770 and 2009. Many buildings are over 100 years old. About 20 buildings are even protected as historic sites. The downtown campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Outside of the main city, the college has other cool places. There's the Grice Marine Lab on James Island. There's also the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Center. The Patriots Point Athletic Complex is in Mount Pleasant. The college also owns the large Stono Preserve, which is about 881 acres.

In 2017, Travel + Leisure magazine called it "America's Most Beautiful College Campus."

The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is on campus. It's a public museum with over 30,000 fossils. The museum mostly shows fossils of ancient mammals from North America. It focuses on fossils found in the South Carolina Lowcountry area.

Bully Pulpit Series

The Bully Pulpit Series is a special event at the College of Charleston. It is put on by the Political Science and Communication departments. This series invites people running to be U.S. president to speak on campus.

Presidential Candidates in 2008

During the 2008 election, many important candidates visited. These included John McCain, Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Over 6,000 people came to these events that year.

Presidential Candidates in 2016

For the 2016 election, candidates like Lindsey Graham and Martin O'Malley spoke at the college.

Presidential Candidates in 2020

In the 2020 election, the series hosted several candidates. These included Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, and Bernie Sanders.

College Sports: The Cougars

The college has 19 different sports teams. They are called the Cougars. These teams play in NCAA Division I and are part of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Cougars play at various sports places in Charleston. These include the TD Arena and the J. Stewart Walker Sailing Complex.

The College of Charleston Athletic Club helps support the sports teams. It was started in 1974. In the 1970-71 school year, students voted to change the team name from the Maroons to the Cougars. This was to honor a cougar that had just arrived at the Charles Towne Landing zoo. The current mascot is named Clyde the Cougar.

Oliver Marmol, who manages the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, used to play baseball for the College of Charleston.