Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia.
History
Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Midway, just south of Milledgeville, then the state capital. The school was built and, at that time, governed by the Presbyterian Church, making it one of the South's earliest denominational institutions. The American Civil War led to the school's closing in 1862.
The college followed the relocation of the capital to Atlanta. In 1870, it began holding classes at the present site of Atlanta City Hall. Plagued by financial difficulties, the school closed its doors for a second time in 1872.
Oglethorpe College was re-chartered as a non-denominational institution in 1913 by Thornwell Jacobs. In 1915 the cornerstone to the new campus was laid at its present location on Peachtree Road in Brookhaven. The cornerstone-laying ceremony took place at North Avenue Presbyterian Church. The person behind rebuilding Oglethorpe was Thornwell Jacobs, whose grandfather Ferdinand Jacobs had served on the faculty of Old Oglethorpe. Jacobs would serve as president for nearly 30 years.
In the early 1940s Oglethorpe University had a medical school. Under the direction of John Bernard, the university was given several elephants for research that were discovered to have been poisoned at a Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus event nearby. After the students finished dissecting the animals they were buried under what is known today as the Philip Weltner Library.
In 1936, William Randolph Hearst gifted to the university, and in 1948 he made a donation of $100,000; The university administration building was subsequently named in honor of Hearst's mother, Phoebe Hearst.
Oglethorpe University became Oglethorpe College in 1965, and reclaimed the designation "university" in 1972. Oglethorpe's campus buildings were built in a Gothic revival architecture style. This area of the campus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Academics
The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Coat of arms
Oglethorpe's collegiate coat-of-arms is emblazoned with three boars' heads and the Latin inscription Nescit Cedere, meaning "He does not know how to give up."
Campus
The Conant Performing Arts Center, completed in 1997, served as the seasonal home of Georgia Shakespeare until fall 2014.
The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art opened in 1984 and is located on the top floor of the Philip Weltner Library. The two galleries, the South and Skylight, and gift shop cover 7,000 square feet. Bringing in thousands of visitors each year, the museum has become an important point of interest in Atlanta's art community.
In 1994, Lupton Hall, Phoebe Hearst Hall, Lowry Hall and Hermance Stadium were added to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, a historic district including part or all of the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Other academic buildings include Goslin Hall, primarily used for science courses, and J. Mack Robinson Hall, primarily used for Communication and Art classes.
Oglethorpe University is home to the Crypt of Civilization, the first and most complete time capsule ever created, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Scheduled to be opened in AD 8113, it is located in the basement of Phoebe Hearst Hall. Oglethorpe University is also home to the International Time Capsule Society, a repository of time capsule projects worldwide.
The Turner Lynch Campus Center opened in the fall of 2013. The IW "Ike" Cousins Center for Science and Innovation (an expansion of a building constructed in 1970) opened in 2019. In addition to science facilities, it houses the Q. William Hammack Jr. School of Business.
From its opening in 1990 until 2003, the Seigakuin Atlanta International School was located on the property of Oglethorpe University, in a former public school building.
Study abroad
Oglethorpe University promotes the concept of international education and travel as an essential component of an academic education. Oglethorpe University Students Abroad sponsors trips for-credit, short-term, partnerships and agreements. Oglethorpe University offers a selection of opportunities in four divisions: International Exchange Partnerships, Independent Study Abroad-Non Partnerships, Short Term Trips, and Associate Student Programs for Special Study Abroad.