Samford University

Samford University is a private, coeducational, Baptist university located in Homewood. Samford ranks third in the South among master's degree institutions in the 2006 U.S. News & World Report rankings of America's Best Colleges. [1]

History

Samford was founded as Howard College on January 3, 1842, in Marion.

In 1887 the school relocated to East Lake.

Women were first admitted to Howard College in 1895, and the college officially became coeducational in 1913. One year later the school established its Teacher Education Division. In 1920 the school joined the Southern Association of Colleges and in 1927 it added a pharmacy school.

In 1951, the school acquired the Cumberland School of Law from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Under the leadership of President Harwell Goodwin Davis the college looked to relocate again and on June 11, 1953 Howard College broke ground on its third campus in Shades Valley just south of Birmingham. The school moved itno its new campus in 1957.

In 1965 Howard reinstituted its master's degree program. This led to the college's elevation to university status on November 9, 1965. The school was renamed in honor of Frank Park Samford, chairman of the Board of Trustees and to that time, the institution's most generous individual benefactor, because there was already a Howard University in Washington, D.C..

The Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, owned by the Baptist Medical Center of Birmingham, was added to the University in 1973. In 1988, the Beeson School of Divinity was established through donations from Ralph W. Beeson.

On January 29, 2004, in his Founder's Day Address, then-President Thomas E. Corts announced a multi-year improvement plan called, "The Promise." According to Dr. Corts, "Samford University will be an academically vigorous Christian university that coordinates a strong, effective educational program and encouragement of Christian belief and service, within a community that respects its individual members and encourages each to highest and best levels of performance and conduct -- academically, socially, spiritually, physically."

The plan calls for Samford to invest some $200 million to "enrich and enhance the educational experience of its students." Since June 1, 2003 more than $37 million has been contributed in philanthropic gifts toward the campaign.

Campus

The college -- and now University -- is presently located approximately 5 miles south of downtown Birmingham in Homewood, Alabama's Shades Valley area. The campus lies along Lakeshore Drive in Homewood, just 2 miles from Interstate 65.

Besides its lush lawns and well-maintained gardens, Samford boasts one of the most distinctive examples of Georgian style architecture in the United States. Samford's uniform style, based upon Colonial Williamsburg, was the vision of President Harwell Davis when he moved the campus to the Shades Valley area in 1953-55.

Today, that vision is maintained in each new building project, even if the project in question would not have been possible in the time-period of the style (as with the new Hanna Arena, under construction on the southwest side of campus).

Organization

Board of Trustees

Samford University, as a private corporation, is wholly governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. The Board appoints the President of the University, who serves as chief executive officer. The Board is comprised of its regular members and the President.

President

Andrew Westmoreland is the current President of Samford University. Appointed by the Board of Trustees, he is the chief executive officer of the university, and serves only at the pleasure of the Board. Prior to his taking office on June 1, 2006, Westmoreland served as president of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

See List of Samford University presidents for a complete listing.

Colleges and schools

Samford University is currently divided into degree-granting units. These include the Howard College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, Metro College, Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, School of Performing Arts, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Beeson School of Divinity, and Cumberland School of Law.Each division is headed by a dean. The divisions of the university (and their current heads) are:

Student life

As of fall 2005, the last semester for which comprehensive data have been published, the university had an enrollment of 2,941 undergraduate students and 1,565 graduate and professional students.

Approximately 37% of the total student body comes from Alabama, 20% come from Tennessee and 17% come from Georgia. As a result, Samford's flavor, though leavened with students from across the United States (40 states are represented, along with 21 foreign countries), is overwhelmingly Southern. Almost 90% of Samford's students are caucasian, and about 6% are African American. About 10% of Samford students are minorities, and 38% are male.

Organizations

Samford students are encouraged to select from more than 100 honors, religious, professional, educational, service and social student organizations. These groups, overseen by the Office of Student Involvement, offer Samford students an opportunity to explore their interests with like-minded individuals.

Samford's diversity of programming runs the gamut from a student-led group of Amnesty International, a human-rights activist organization, to the Samford Young Life chapter, an Evangelical Christian group.

Greek life

As of spring 2004, 33% of the undergraduate student body was affiliated with one of 14 social Greek organizations. Specifically, 29% of men were members of fraternities and 34% of women were members of sororities.

The local chapters are supported by active alumni bases that continue to involve former active members in both the life of the social organization and the life of the University. Many members of Samford's administration, along with several notable alums, were members of Greek organizations.

The fraternities represented on campus are Sigma Chi (first chartered on campus in 1872), Sigma Nu (1879), Lambda Chi Alpha (1911), Pi Kappa Phi (1925), Sigma Phi Epsilon (1930), Kappa Alpha Psi (1998), and Alpha Phi Alpha (2000),

The sororities represented on campus are Alpha Delta Pi (1910), Delta Zeta, (1924, now closed), Phi Mu (1924), Chi Omega (1963), Zeta Tau Alpha (1964), Kappa Delta (1968, now closed), and Alpha Omicron Pi (1995)

Student housing

All undergraduate students are required to live on campus to the extent that on-campus student housing facilities can accommodate them. Therefore, in reality, approximately 66% of undergraduates -— freshmen, sophomores, and many juniors -— live on campus. Many senior undergraduates also live on campus, and those that do not join the graduate and professional students in living near campus.

Media

There are several media outlines at Samford, with administration, faculty, and students producing different publications.

Inside Samford is the official newsletter of the university administration and faculty. Published ten times each year, it does not publish opinion.

Other media at Samford include:

• The Samford Crimson, the student-run, campus-wide newspaper. With a circulation of 4,000, it is available free to all full-time, undergraduate students and is distributed at key locations on campus.
• The Belltower, the official online news source of the University administration, published once per month during the summer and weekly during the academic year.
• Seasons, the alumni magazine, published quarterly.
• Cumberland Law Review [2] whose members are selected by write-on from the top 15% of the Cumberland School of Law's first-year class to write articles and comments on newly decided cases and recently passed laws.
• The American Journal of Trial Advocacy [3], also published by the Cumberland School of Law, which is a national journal focusing on developments in trial law, technique, and practice.
• Keeping Faith is a newsletter for Alabama Baptists about current events at Samford University. It is produced by the Office of Public Relations and published regularly in The Alabama Baptist newspaper.
• Samford Business is a semiannual publication of the School of Business, produced by the Office of University Communications.
• PBL Insight is the newsletter for the Beeson School of Education's Center for Problem-Based Learning, published by the Office of University Communications.
• Exodus magazine is published by journalism majors from Samford's Howard College of Arts and Sciences.

Athletics

Samford fields teams in 13 varsity sports (6 men's and 7 women's). The Bulldogs have done well in recent years in both football and men's basketball. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (in which it is the only private school) in Division I of the NCAA (I-AA in football).

Mascot and school colors

Samford's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Bulldogs, and the team is represented by a costumed bulldog called "Spike". The school's colors are red and blue.

Traditions

• Southern-style sports. One aspect of Samford sports (particularly football) is the propensity of many students, especially those who are Greek, to dress in jacket and tie (for men) and sundresses (for women) for the games. Pre-game tailgates at the fraternity houses and areas surrounding the stadium remain popular, as well, despite the school's strict "dry campus" policy. Football games are often as much a social opportunity as they are a sporting event.
• Fight song. The Samford fight song reflects the school which it salutes in that it is spirited and good-natured. The lyrics are: "Fight, Fight, Fight / For Samford Bulldogs, / Go onward to victory. / Oh, we’ll wear the red and blue, / Samford, we’re all for you / And we love you, too! / Fight, Fight, Fight, / For Samford Bulldogs, / Go onward to victory. / Oh, we’ll give a cheer (or two!), / Samford, we’re all for you! / Fight! Fight for Samford U!"
• Alma mater. The Samford Alma Mater is both a hymn of praise to God, reflecting the University's Baptist heritage, and a song honoring the institution itself. The lyrics are: "Oh, Samford Alma Mater true / Her halls shall ever ring, / With sounding glories of the past / With plans and future dreams. / On knowledge that we seek, O Lord, / We pray thy blessings true. / With pride we pledge our hearts and minds, / To the Samford Red and Blue!"

Facilities

Seibert Stadium

Seibert Stadium has been home to Samford's football team since 1958. Over the years, Seibert has seen some memorable football, including the Bobby Bowden era (1959-62), a one-loss season in 1971 and the Terry Bowden era, which ended with a 14-game Bulldog winning streak in the stadium.

In Fall 2005, the playing surface, which had always been natural grass, was replaced by a new LSR Blade Synthetic Surface. The artificial turf also includes an extensive drainage system.

The stadium is named for F. Page Seibert, a Daytona Beach, Fla., businessman, who donated the money for the completion of the stadium in 1961 with the addition of the stands of the west side.

The largest crowd in Seibert Stadium history was in 1994 against Steve McNair and Alcorn State when 11,189 fans showed up. The stadium holds 6,700.

Seibert Hall

Originally opened in 1959, the lower floor played host to Samford basketball until the main gym was added in 1961. At that time, the basketball teams moved upstairs and have used the facility for the past 41 years. It has been home to Samford volleyball since 1987. It will be replaced by Hanna Arena (see below) when that facility is completed in Fall 2007.

Seibert Hall is also named for F. Page Seibert, a Daytona Beach, Fla., businessman, who donated the money for the completion of the upper floors.

It was the largest donation at the time to then-Howard College.

Hanna Arena

A new, state-of-the-art multi-purpose facility is under construction as a part of Samford's improvement campaign, The Promise, next door to Seibert Hall and its Bashinsky Field House. The new building, christened Hanna Arena, is scheduled for completion in Fall 2007.

The new facility, one of the largest buildings ever built to strictly conform to Georgian style architecture, will hold 5,000 for basketball and will cost $32 million.

It is named after Birmingham businessman Pete Hanna, who played football for Howard College in the 1950s.

Griffin Stadium

In the spring of 2000, the Bulldogs baseball team opened its newly remodeled Joe Lee Griffin Field. Renamed Joe Lee Griffin Stadium, the 1,000-seat facility, constructed in Samford's Georgian-Colonial style, is complete with the baseball offices and locker room housed in the facility

Other facilities

• Darwin C. Hardison Tennis Center
• Bulldog Soccer Field, across Lakeshore Drive from the main campus
• Lady Bulldog Softball Field

Notable alumni and faculty

Samford University graduates -- now numbering more than 50,000 in 164 years -- have served around the world as missionaries, ministers, teachers, business leaders, politicians, pharmacists, lawyers, physicians and community leaders. Today, the Samford University Alumni Association counts more than 27,000 graduates among its membership and works to nurture lifelong relationships with Samford alumni.

• Bobby Bowden, Class of 1953. Head Football Coach, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. Bobby Bowden, Howard College’s Little All-American Quarterback, returned to his alma mater to serve as head football coach from 1959 to 1962. After a successful coaching career at then-Howard College, he went on to national prominence as head coach at West Virginia University and Florida State University.
• R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Class of 1982. President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. Albert Mohler is one of the nation's most prominent evangelical Christians, with regular appearances on CNN's Larry King Live and other broadcast and cable news shows. He currently serves as President of the Southern Baptist Convention's flagship seminary in Lexington.
• Francois Coutu, Class of 1981. Pharmaceutical Corporation Executive. Francois Coutu, a 1981 graduate of Samford’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy, is President and CEO of the Quebec-based Jean Coutu Group, the fourth-largest drugstore chain in North America with a combined network of 2,196 stores. In 2001, Samford recognized Coutu as its first International Alumnus of the Year. He has served on the McWhorter School of Pharmacy advisory board for more than a decade.
• Deidre Downs, Class of 2002. Miss America 2005. When Deidre Downs was crowned Miss America 2005, she immediately achieved a national platform for her advocacy in helping pediatric cancer victims, a program she already had started in Alabama. Downs earned an undergraduate degree in history in 2002 and plans to pursue a medical degree when she completes her term as Miss America in late 2005. Downs was instrumental in the Curing Childhood Cancer car tags in Alabama that raise funds for pediatric cancer research at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.
• Dr. J. Wayne Flynt, Class of 1961. Distinguished University Professor, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Wayne Flynt, who is both a Samford alumnus and former faculty member, is the award-winning author of 10 books on Southern political history, poverty and religion. His 1990 book, Poor But Proud, won the Lillian Smith Award for nonfiction, presented by the Southern Regional Council, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2000, Samford conferred upon Flynt an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
• Susan Pace Hamill, Class of 2002. Professor, University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Susan Pace Hamill used a year-long academic sabbatical to earn a master of theological studies degree from Samford’s Beeson Divinity School. Her master’s thesis, an exhaustive study of Alabama’s tax system from a theological perspective, drew international attention and acclaim. In 2003, Samford published and distributed more than 35,000 copies of a condensed version of Hamill’s challenging thesis.
• A. Gerow Hodges, Class of 1942. War Hero, Retired Insurance Executive and Former Chairman, Samford University Board of Trustees, Birmingham, Alabama. Gerow Hodges was a promising Howard College football player before a shoulder injury permanently sidelined him and prevented him from serving in combat during World War II. Hodges was determined to serve his country, however, and as a Red Cross liaison to the 94th Infantry Division in Europe, he negotiated the release of 149 allied prisoners of war. For his courage and contribution, he was awarded two Bronze Stars, the highest military honor available to civilians at the time. Hodges returned to Alabama after the war and began a decades-long career with Liberty National Life Insurance Company, retiring as executive vice president in 1984.

External links

• Samford University
• Samford Bulldogs Athletics
• Ohio Valley Conference
• Alabama Baptist Convention

References

• History of Samford at Samford.edu
• Samford University Student Handbook. Birmingham, Alabama: Samford University, 2005.