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Catawba College

Catawba College, founded in 1851, is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. Catawba has deliberately chosen to remain a four-year institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition. Its purpose is to enrich the educational experiences of students and to prepare these students for productive and meaningful lives of purpose following their graduation.

In 2007, Catawba College was ranked #16 by U.S. News and World Report in the category "Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South. Catawba College has been consistently named as one of the "361 Best Colleges" by the Princeton Review. The school's Theatre program is consistently rated as one of the top 10 in the nation. For the second year in the row, In Tune Monthly has named Catawba College as one of the best music school in the country.

Location

Catawba College was founded in Newton, North Carolina in 1851 and moved to Salisbury, North Carolina in 1925.

History

Catawba College was founded by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States in 1851. The years following the opening of the college proved to be years of growing prosperity for the new school. The Civil War, however, brought drastic changes, reducing the availability of funds and students. During the war years, the College became an academy, operating as Catawba High School from 1865 to 1885. In the latter year, it resumed operations under its original charter as Catawba College. After the Civil War had ended, Catawba continued to make changes to the institution including the decision to make Catawba College a coeducational institution in 1890. Even with the addition of women to the student body, the College struggled to overcome the ravages and depletion brought on by the war. Responding to the offer of a partially constructed dormitory-administration building and several acres of land in Salisbury, trustee, college, and church officials closed the campus in Newton in 1923 and re-opened in Salisbury in 1925.

The college is now affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the successor to the Evangelical and Reformed Church, itself the successor to the Reformed Church in the United States.

Academics

Through its residential day program, Catawba College offers the B.A., B.S., and B.F.A. degrees in over 30 undergraduate majors, with 22 concentrations available, in a variety of disciplines, including:

Athletic Training
Biology
Business Administration (concentrations in Accounting; General Management; Information Systems; and Marketing)
Chemistry
Communication Arts
Education (concentrations in Elementary K-6; Middle School 6-9, with specializations in Language Arts; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; and Secondary Education)
English (concentrations in Literature; Writing)
Environmental Education
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
French
History
Mathematics
Medical Technology
Music (concentrations in Music Business; Music Education; Music Performance; and Sacred Music)
Musical Theatre
Physical Education
Political Science (emphases in the American Political Experience; Pre-Law; International Relations; and Public Administration)
Pre-Health (Dentistry; Nursing; Medicine; Veterinary Medicine)
Pre-Ministerial
Pre-Pharmacy
Psychology
Recreation
Religion and Philosophy (concentrations in Christian Education; Outdoor Ministries; and Religion and Philosophy)
Sociology
Spanish
Sports Management
Sustainable Business & Community Development
Theatre Arts
Theatre Arts Administration
Therapeutic Recreation

A variety of minors are also available. Students may also participate in the College's Study Abroad Program through the Center for International Studies, and selected students may be invited to participate in the College's Honors Program. Other programs include the Lilly Center for Vocation and Values; Leadership Catawba; Center for the Environment; Center for Career and Service Learning; First Year Experience; and Summer School. Additionally, Catawba's theatre arts program has been ranked fourth in the nation, according to The Princeton Review. Catawba was recently chosen to be included as one of the 18 institutions to offer a N.C. Teaching Fellows program.

For working adults, Catawba's School of Evening and Graduate Studies offers the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), with concentrations in Business Management, Information Systems, and Administration of Justice. In conjunction with the Department of Teacher Education, the Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A.E.) degree may be earned with a major in Birth - Kindergarten Education; at the graduate level, the Master of Education degree in elementary education is also offered.

Athletics

Catawba's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference. The mascot of the school, the Catawba Indian, was named after the Catawba Indian tribe that was native to the original location of the school.

Catawba features 18 NCAA Division II sports teams. The men's teams are Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Tennis, and Swimming. The women's teams are Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball.

Catawba College was awarded the 2005 South Atlantic Conference Cup of Excellence.

Catawba recently won an appeal with the NCAA to keep the Indians nickname.