2014 Meeting Information 
5 
Benjamin F. Wilson as the first president. The first faculty roster was comprised of sixteen 
members and the student body numbered one hundred sixty-eight. 
On January 2, 1892, the main building was destroyed by fire, but was immediately 
reconstructed and enlarged. The work of the college hardly suffered interruption. In 1896, 
by the voluntary act of the stockholders, Converse College was incorporated under the 
laws of the state of South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was 
established. This meant that Converse was converted into a permanent gift to the cause 
of higher education for women. 
Beginning in the 1900s, Converse matured into one of the leading colleges for women in 
the South. Academic requirements were strengthened, the ablest teachers supplemented 
the faculty and new buildings were constructed. It was during this period that the college’s 
The School of Music received a national rating as a professional school of music. 
Converse became a charter member of the National Association of Schools of Music, 
which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the accrediting agency for 
music curricula. 
In 1964 Converse introduced graduate programs, including the Master of Art in Teaching 
(MAT) program, the first degree of its kind in South Carolina. The graduate program would 
later become the School of Education and Graduate Studies and offer a wide range of 
degrees in fields such as music, education, the liberal arts, and marriage and family 
therapy. 
In 1983 the college introduced Converse II to fit the schedules and ambitions of adult 
women, whether they are a few semesters shy of a bachelor’s degree or a freshman 
taking college-level courses for the first time. 
In 2003, the college completed the most successful capital campaign in its history with 
$82.5 million in private gifts. The campaign led to the establishment of the Nisbet Honors 
Program, the Chapman Study Abroad Experience endowment, and an endowment to fund 
faculty initiatives for innovative teaching and scholarly achievement; renovation of 
residence halls and the Montgomery Student Center; and construction of The Rose 
Physical Activity Complex, the Justine V. R. “Nita” Milliken Addition of Milliken Fine Arts 
Building and Phifer Science Hall. 
