TIMELINE 1892 – 2018
Take a scroll down memory lane to see what has happened at NGU over the past 125 years.
The North Greenville Baptist Association founded a high school on 10 acres of land in Tigerville, SC. The original school building had three rooms, two porches, and one piano. 1st Principal – Hugh Lafayette Brock Classes began at North Greenville High School (NGHS). 2nd Principal – John Silas Miles Finch 3rd Principal – Oscar Peterson NGHS had its first graduating class. By this year, around 22 percent of NGHS students taught in summer schools throughout Greenville County. 4th Principal – S. Frank Boyles NGHS came under the authority of the Southern Baptist Convention through the Home Mission Board. 5th Principal – William Fletcher Scott 6th Principal – Leslie Augustus Jones 7th Principal – John Dean Crain The school purchased 90 acres of land, tended by students who could take care of the farm in exchange for tuition. 8th Principal – Leonard Simpson North Greenville High School became North Greenville Baptist Academy (NGBA). 9th Principal – Henry Clayton Hester Students published the first edition of a North Greenville yearbook, titled “The Moonshiner.” 10th Principal / 1st President – Murphree Claude Donnan Governance of North Greenville returned to the North Greenville Baptist Association. North Greenville Baptist Academy became North Greenville Baptist Academy and Junior College. North Hall (Renamed White Hall in 1952, this is one of the oldest buildings on campus.) First edition of the “Aurora” yearbook Neves Dining Hall (now Neves Academic Hall) North Greenville transferred its property to the ownership of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, becoming part of the convention’s cooperative program. Gymnasium (now Hayes Gymnasium) – Already, the school had developed intercollegiate sports teams in football, basketball, and baseball. North Greenville Baptist Academy and Junior College became North Greenville Junior College (NGJC). Jean Martin Flynn wrote the school’s first history book: “A History of North Greenville Junior College.” Donnan Administration Building Turner Auditorium (now Turner Chapel) Crain Science Building 2nd President – Thomas L. Neely Foster Student Center (now Foster Education Center) Henry J. Howard wrote the school’s second history book: “From These Roots: The Story of North Greenville Junior College, 1892-1967.” 3rd President – Harold E. Lindsey North Greenville Junior College became North Greenville College (NGC). Averyt/Wood Learning Center 4th President – George Silver Interim President – Herbert Sierk 5th President – Dr. James D. Jordan, Jr. Baseball Field (later dedicated Ashmore Field) Interim President – Dr. John A. Fincher 6th President – Dr. Paul Talmadge NGC ranked first in summer missions among colleges in South Carolina and seventh in the nation, with 18 appointees. Younts Athletic Center (now Younts Fitness Center) 7th President – Dr. Jimmy Epting NGC send out its first group of summer Foreign Missionaries. NGC began a record enrollment streak of 21 years. NGC gained accreditation as a four-year institution. North Greenville Baptist Association sponsored a tent crusade at NGC during the first week of school, which became an annual tradition. Centrifuge hosted at NGU reached a participation of 3,500 youth and leaders that summer. Baptist Student Union ministries served in 235 South Carolina Baptist churches during this school year. NGC unveiled the “Divine Servant” sculpture, the first of many “Jesus sculptures” located across campus. Hayes Ministry Center Hayes Christian Fine Arts Center NGU Athletic Complex, including Younts Football Stadium, Fogle Field, Sullivan President’s Box, Mitchell Visitor’s Center, Hendricks Athletic Center, and Pepsi Soccer Stadium. A Steinway Gala celebrated NGC’s designation as an “All-Steinway” institution. Todd Dining Hall and Tingle Student Center NGC introduces its first graduate degrees: the Master of Christian Ministry (MCM) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). Runion Creative Arts Center, Studio at Ole 414, and Einstein Bros. Bagels Tigerville School of Theatre North Greenville College became North Greenville University, now with seven distinct colleges, as well as online and graduate programs. Billingsley Theatre Craft-Hemphill Center (also called the “Worldview Center”) Todd Prayer Chapel Vance Tennis Complex Track and Field Facility Kelly Strength and Conditioning Center Tigerville General Store Interim President – Dr. Randall Pannell Slackline park, sand volleyball and basketball courts, fire pit, and a landscape feature of the university icon McDonald Softball Field NGU opened a new campus for online and graduate programs at 405 Lancaster Ave. in Greer, SC. Christian Universities Online named NGU a best Christian university in the South. 8th President – Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. Dillard Baseball Field
1892
1892-1895
1893
1895-1898
1898-1902
1902
1902-1904
1905
1904
1906
1910-1912
1912
1912
1915
1919-1928
1919
1928-1962
1929
1934
1936
1938
1943
1949
1950
1950
1953
1955
1958
1962
1962
1965
1967
1970-1975
1972
1974
1975
1980
1981-1987
1984
1987-1988
1988-1991
1988
1990
1991-2015
1993
1993
1994
1994
1994
1995-1996
1996
1996
2001
2005
2005
2005
2006
2006
2006
2006
2010
2011
2012
2014
2015
2015
2015
2015-2017
2016
2016
2017
2017
2017-Present
2018
