History
In 2006-2007, Newberry College celebrated its 150th anniversary of service and educational leadership to the Newberry community, South Carolina, and to the Lutheran Church.
Newberry's heritage began in 1828 at the annual meeting of the Lutheran Synod in South Carolina and Adjacent States—nearly 30 years before it was chartered as a college by the State of South Carolina. At that 1828 meeting the Rev. John Bachman, President of the Synod, recommended the establishment of a seminary to train Lutheran ministers. The following year the Synod followed his advice and voted to establish a seminary and classical academy.
The new seminary-academy opened its doors in February 1831, near Pomaria, South Carolina (about 15 miles (24 km) from the College's present location); it moved to neighboring Lexington, South Carolina in 1834 and remained there for more than 20 years.
In 1854 the Synod voted to make the institution a degree-granting college, in 1855 to move it to Newberry, and in 1856—just before the granting of the charter—to name it Newberry College. A preparatory department opened in 1858, and the College and Seminary began operation in February 1859.
It prospered until the Civil War when nearly all faculty and students were called into military service. At the end of the war, the only college building was occupied by federal troops. In 1868, as a result of the physical condition of the building, the military occupation, and the depletion of the endowment funds, the College faced a severe financial crisis. St. John's Lutheran church in Walhalla, South Carolina, in the extreme northwestern corner of the state, offered the College a new home and the offer was accepted. In 1877 through the efforts of Newberry residents, the College returned to its original site in Newberry, where it has prospered since.
During World War II, Newberry was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
The College has maintained its association with the Lutheran Church. Today Newberry is affiliated with the South Carolina, Southeastern, Florida-Bahamas, and Caribbean Synods of the ELCA.
In the spring of 2009, the college launched its Newberry FastForward program, which is an adult degree completion program. The program includes a course format with few visits to campus, an accelerated schedule, and a reduced tuition structure for older returning students seeking a bachelor's degree.
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