Huntingdon College, founded in 1854, is a coeducational liberal arts college
affiliated with the United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama,
United States.
History
Woman's College of Alabama in 1918
Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as
"Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature and Governor John A. Winston. The first president was
Andrew Adgate Lipscomb. Dr. Lipscomb laid
the foundation of the college as a teaching college rather than a
research institution.
In 1872 the name was changed to "Alabama Conference Female
College" as the college came under the auspices of the United Methodist Church. As the
college and the South struggled to rebuild following the Civil War, it became clear to
college leaders that growth and stability were dependent upon
relocation to a more populous city—and they chose the state's
capital. A 58-acre (235,000 m²) parcel of land on what was
then the outskirts of town and is now the beautiful Old Cloverdale
neighborhood of Montgomery was selected in 1908. The design for the
landscape of the campus was provided by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., who
had also planned the Biltmore Estate. The college, renamed once
again to "Woman's College of Alabama," moved all of its furniture,
lab chemicals, and records into Hamner Hall in Montgomery August
24, 1909, but the building burned to the ground that night,
destroying the records of the college's first 50 years and all of
its belongings. As the students and President William Martin moved
to Sullins College in Virginia for that school year, construction
continued on the college's first building, John Jefferson Flowers
Memorial Hall. Completed in 1910 and designed by Harvard architect
H. Langford Warren, Flowers Hall was designed to emulate the
collegiate Gothic architecture of Oxford and Cambridge, England,
and of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and set the tone for the pervasive
architectural style of campus buildings henceforth.
The college admitted its first male students in the aftermath of
World War I, graduating the first male student in 1934. Realizing
that the name Woman's College of Alabama no longer fit its student
body, the college's final name change came in 1935 when
Huntingdon College was adopted in honor of Selina,
Countess of Huntingdon, a notable supporter of John Wesley and
of Methodism.
Huntingdon today offers more than 20 undergraduate programs of
study and 15 NCAA-III intercollegiate athletic teams that
participate in the USA South Athletic Conference. Between 2002 and
2012, enrollment jumped by 53% in the traditional day program and
88% overall (594 to 1118), prompting the Chronicle of Higher
Education to list Huntingdon among their 2014 list of "Fastest
Growing Colleges in America." Realignment of the College with its
historic roots as a college of the United Methodist Church;
NCAA-III athletic programs; the establishment or re-establishment
of selected majors; and expansion of the college's evening program,
the Evening Bachelor's Degree, are catalysts that affected
enrollment growth.
The College's Huntingdon Plan provides for each student "Fixed
Tuition," a promise that full-time day student tuition will not
increase during four consecutive years of enrollment, as well as a
laptop computer for use all four years (theirs to keep at
graduation); travel-study opportunities within regular tuition and
fees as part of the junior or senior year of study; and small
classes and personal attention from Huntingdon faculty, where
students can know and be known.
The core curriculum focuses on the development of critical
thinking and communication skills. The Joyce and Truman Hobbs
Honors Program, Departmental Honors, Senior Capstone experiences,
the Staton Center for Learning Enrichment, and the Center for
Career and Vocation enrich academic life at Huntingdon.
Long-standing strengths in the liberal arts, pre-medical sciences
and pre-law have led to successful graduate placement into
professional, medical and law schools, and seminaries. In 2014, the
College continued an 18-year tradition of 100% placement among
candidates who wished to enter pharmacy schools.
Campus
Huntingdon's campus is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places as the Huntingdon College Campus Historic
District.[1]
The district contains thirteen contributing buildings, built in the
Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles, and one
site.[3]
The district was placed on the NRHP on February 24, 2000.[1]
Accreditation
Houghton Memorial Library
Huntingdon College is accredited by the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Bachelor
of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and the Associate of Arts. Contact
the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia
30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the
accreditation of Huntingdon College. The Teacher Education program
is accredited by the Alabama State Department of Education. The
Music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools
of Music.
The College is listed as an approved institution by the
University Senate of the United Methodist Church.
Rankings
As has been the case for many years, the College ranks in the
top tier of "Best Regional Colleges—South," by U.S. News
& World Report and is listed among "America’s Best
Colleges—Region by Region (Southeast)," by the Princeton
Review. Huntingdon has for three years been recognized on the
President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
Washington Monthly, which ranks colleges on the basis of their
contributions to the public good, places Huntingdon in the top 15%
of 346 baccalaureate colleges.
Athletics
Huntingdon College teams participate as a member of the
National
Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The
Hawks are a member of the USA South Athletic Conference.
Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf,
lacrosse, soccer, tennis and wrestling; while women's sports
include basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and
volleyball. Huntingdon is the only four-year college in the state
of Alabama to offer collegiate wrestling.[4]
Huntingdon
alumni
Notable Huntington alumni include: