Converse Receives $2 Million Gift to Support Educational Mission
Converse College has received a gift for $2 million to support Converse’s future educational mission. The gift, from an anonymous alumna and her husband, is to express their deep appreciation to Converse for the alumna’s educational experience.
“Through the generosity of donors, we further the reach of Converse’s distinctive educational experience and programming,” said Krista L. Newkirk, Converse president. “Such generosity allows Converse to remain focused on strategically and thoughtfully upholding a vibrant future for Converse, as we prepare students to become engaged, adaptable, global citizens committed to progress within our society and the communities in which they live and work.”
“Through the generosity of donors, we further the reach of Converse’s distinctive educational experience and programming.”
In February 2020, Spartanburg’s historic women’s college declared that it would add a co-educational undergraduate residential program alongside the Converse College for Women, change its name to Converse University, and expand its international school into an international college. Converse announced in late April 2020 that it would accelerate the admission of the co-educational undergraduate cohort to fall 2020, one year earlier than anticipated and to respond to the needs of the Upstate and South Carolina citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Converse provides a world-class, personalized educational experience at an affordable price and is home to newly-launched master’s and doctoral programs in professional leadership, as well as award-winning, history-making programs that include business with a strong emphasis in data analytics, science classes that utilize virtual reality goggles to enhance the learning experience, and education programs that have produced a legacy of award-winning teachers and school administrators across the nation. It is home to one of South Carolina’s leading undergraduate music programs, South Carolina’s first Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative and professional writing, the Upstate’s only undergraduate deaf and hard of hearing education degree and one of only two undergraduate music therapy degree programs in the state.