William Peace University
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William Peace University is a
History
The institution that eventually became William Peace University was founded in 1857 as Peace Institute by a group of men within the
Additionally, Peace donated 8 acres (32,000 m2) for the campus site.[6] Main Building, a red brick, white-columned Greek revival building, was built between 1859 and 1862, but was commandeered by the Confederate States government early in the American Civil War to be used as an army hospital. The Main Building was designed and built by the Holt Brothers, Thomas and Jacob, who were notable builders from nearby Warrenton, NC.[citation needed]
The Civil War and
The name of the school changed from Peace Institute to "Peace College" in 1943.[7]
A member of the Women's College Coalition, Peace College was one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. It was the second-oldest in North Carolina, predated only by Salem College (the first school for girls in the United States, founded in 1772).[8]
Name changes
The school began admitting men in the fall of 2012.[9] Initial announcements of the change included a controversial promise to "offer select single-gender courses in targeted disciplines, where research shows that women and men learn differently and that each benefit from a single-gender classroom," a plan that critics believe may run afoul of equal opportunity laws such as Title IX,[10] Concurrent with its announcement that it will begin admitting men, Peace College changed its name to "William Peace University" in 2011,[9] but the class years of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 had the option to receive diplomas from Peace College or William Peace University.[11]
Timeline of name changes
- Peace Institute (1872–1930), Awards first junior college degrees in 1925
- Renamed in 1930: Peace, a Junior College for Women
- Peace Junior College renamed Peace College in 1943
- Peace College accredited by SACS in 1947
- Peace College adds the School of Professional Studies in 2009 (which admits men)
- Peace College renamed William Peace University, July 2011
University president Brian Ralph said on March 22, 2022, that "listening sessions" were planned to determine whether the university's name should be changed again. A statue of Peace was taken down that same day because Peace owned slaves and a major campus building was built with slave labor.[12][13]
Becoming coeducational
The college has always educated women, with the only exception being the admittance of some boys in primary grades from its opening years through the 1920s when the school served levels from kindergarten through junior college years. Today, the college maintains records of nearly 10,000 living alumnae, including many who were pioneers in public service. In the 1930s,
The administration announced it planned to begin admitting male students at the start of the fall 2012 semester.[needs update] It was determined that this transition would make the college a more attractive option for potential applicants, stating that only 2% of female applicants are likely to consider applying to a women's college, whereas 98% would only consider attending coeducational institutions.[15][16]
Academics
As an exclusively undergraduate college, Peace offers only
Athletics
William Peace University competes in the
William Peace fields men's sports in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field.[18]
Peace has been a full member of the NCAA since 2002, after having been granted provisional membership in 1995. Prior to that, Peace had competed in Region X of the
Notable alumni
- Lisa Stone Barnes (born 1966), businesswoman, politician, and member of the North Carolina General Assembly
- Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham (1867–1917), philanthropist and heiress
- Alice Willson Broughton (1889–1980), First Lady of North Carolina
- Carrie Lougee Broughton (1879–1957), North Carolina State Librarian
- Eleanor Layfield Davis (1911–1985), painter
- Fortune Feimster (born 1980), actress and comedian
- Gail Godwin (born 1937), writer
- Mary Hilliard Hinton (1869–1961), historian, painter, and anti-suffragist
- Mary C. Kubeny, writer
- North Carolina State Senate
- Jane Simpson McKimmon (1867–1957), writer and educator
- Lily Morehead Mebane (1869–1943), politician and relief worker
- Jacqueline Novogratz (born 1961), businesswoman and writer
- Annie Land O'Berry (1885–1944), philanthropist and activist
- Agnes Sanford (1897–1982), writer
- Fanny Slater, Food Network personality, writer
- Lura S. Tally (1921–2012), politician and member of the North Carolina General Assembly
- Faye (1956–2015) and Kaye Young (1956–2010), identical twins and professional basketball players
References
- ^ "Phantom Talks Philanthropy: A Student's Guide to WPU's Day of Giving | William Peace University". April 5, 2022.
- ^ "College Navigator - William Peace University".
- ^ Bristol, Ed (November 30, 2015). "Spotlight: A capital landmark's bicentennial". WALTER. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Peace, William". NCpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ Hebbler, Kerry (Spring 2019). "Finding a Place of Peace". PEACE Magazine. p. 29. Retrieved August 18, 2020 – via Issuu.
- ^ "William and Joseph Peace of Raleigh, NC". AP.net. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan. "Peace College". North Carolina History Project. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "Women's Colleges". womenscolleges.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Peace College (July 21, 2011). "Peace College to Become William Peace University". Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Scott Jaschik (July 25, 2011). "Experts consider Peace College plan to offer separate sections by gender". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- News & Observer. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ^ "William Peace University considering name change after removing statue of founder from campus". WRAL-TV. March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ Jaschik, Scott (March 25, 2022). "William Peace U confronts history of William Peace". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Women in the General Assembly" (PDF). North Carolina Legislative Library. May 17, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
- ^ "Peace College – Peace College to Become William Peace University". Peace.edu. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- News & Observer. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ "Peace College". Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "William Peace University - William Peace University". GoPeacePacers.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "William Peace University". GoPeacePacers.org. Retrieved September 6, 2015.