Centenary College of Louisiana

History

Centenary College of Louisiana is the oldest college in Louisiana and is the nation's oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River. Centenary traces its origins to two earlier institutions. In 1825, the Louisiana state legislature issued a charter for the College of Louisiana in Jackson. Its curriculum included courses in English, French, Greek, Latin, logic, rhetoric, ancient and modern history, mathematics, and natural, moral, and political philosophy. In 1839, the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, established Centenary College, first located in Clinton, Mississippi, then relocated to Brandon Springs. When the College of Louisiana lost the financial support from the state legislature in 1845, Centenary College purchased the facility and moved to Jackson.

In 1846, the college’s trustees changed the institution’s name to Centenary College of Louisiana and adopted the alumni of the two predecessor colleges. During the 1850s, enrollment reached 260, and the college constructed a large central building, which included classrooms, laboratories, literary society rooms, a library, a chapel, offices, and an auditorium with seating for over 2,000 people. This prosperity halted with the American Civil War. Following a meeting on October 7, 1861, the faculty minute book states, “Students have all gone to war. College suspended; and God help the right!” During the war, both Confederate and Union troops occupied the campus’s buildings. Centenary reopened in the fall of 1865, though struggled financially through the remainder of the nineteenth century. In 1906, the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, accepted an offer from the Shreveport Progressive League to relocate the college. The Jackson campus now serves as the Centenary State Historic Site operated by the Louisiana Office of State Parks; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Centenary opened in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1909. Enrollment and course offerings increased during the 1920s, and Centenary received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1925. During the 1920s and 1930s, the college’s football program earned fame for defeating such teams as Baylor, LSU, Rice, SMU, and Texas A & M. The Centenary College Choir, formed in 1941, began performing throughout the region and eventually expanded to making national as well as international tours. In 1942, Centenary acquired a satellite campus, the former Dodd College, which served as a pre-flight training facility for air force cadets. Following the Second World War, the college undertook many new construction projects – dormitories, a cafeteria, a science building, a religious education center, a chapel, an expanded student center, a library, a theater, and a music building.

Campus

Centenary College's campus spans sixty-five acres and is located two miles south of downtown Shreveport. The Dr. Ed Leuck Academic Arboretum, located in the heart of campus, is home to more than 300 species of plant life.

Major buildings

Academics

Centenary is a selective liberal arts college with 22 majors in the arts and sciences, numerous academic concentrations, a variety of pre-professional programs, and two graduate programs.

Accreditation

Centenary College of Louisiana is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelors’ and master's degrees. The College also maintains membership in the American Council on Education, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Association of University Women, the Conference of Louisiana Colleges and Universities, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the Institute of International Education, the Louisiana Academy of Science, the Association of Departments of English of the Modern Language Association, the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages of the Modern Language Association, the National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church, the Associated Colleges of the South, and the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Centenary College is a participant in the Common Application Program. The music program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

Programs

Majors

Bachelor of Arts: Studio Arts, Art History & Visual Studies, Biology, Communication, Economics, English, French, Geology, History, Individualized Major, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Theatre.

Bachelor of Science: Biochemistry, Biology, Biophysics, Business Administration, Chemistry, Geology, Individualized Major, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Psychology. B.S., B.A. combined degree in Engineering.

Pre-Professional Programs

Christian Leadership Center, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Mathematics, Medical Technology, Medicine/Pre-medicine, Museum Management, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Veterinary Medicine

Graduate Programs

Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Business Administration

Reputation

In 2013 Princeton Review named Centenary one of the “Best 376 Colleges” and “Best Southeastern Colleges," putting the College in the top 15% of all four-year colleges in the country. Forbes.com recognized Centenary as one of "America's Best Colleges" overall, “Best Private Colleges,” and “Best Colleges in the South,” and awarded an "A" grade for financial fitness. U.S. News & World Report placed the College in Tier One of its annual National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. Other accolades include recognition for community service and financial sustainability.

Statistics (as of 2013)

Total Enrollment: 583

Full-time Undergraduate Enrollment: 510 (fall, 2014)

Student/Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Men/Women Ratio: 44/56

Louisiana Residents: 63%

Minority Students: 30%

States Represented: 27

Countries Represented: 8

First Year Students: 140

ACT (Middle 50%): 22-28

Average Core High School GPA: 3.52

Student life

Centenary puts emphasis on co-curricular activities and gives its students an unlimited number of opportunities on and off campus from Greek life to student media, and service to politics.

Greek Life

The Greek social organizations at Centenary College are five national fraternities: Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Theta Chi; and two national sororities: Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha. In addition to encouraging academic excellence, the Greek system provides opportunities to form lifelong friendships, develop leadership skills, and participate in community service projects and social activities.

Living Learning Communities

Centenary students are working to address some of the 21st Century’s greatest challenges through Living Learning Communities.

LLC students join with a team of faculty, professionals, and community members to "identify a problem, understand it, and take steps to overcome it." To be effective, students work together to employ the wide range of skills and knowledge provided by a Centenary liberal-arts education. Taking responsibility for all stages of their project, students step beyond the classroom to engage community members, government officials, and anyone else who can help them complete their work.

Current Communities:

Fitness and Intramurals

The Centenary Fitness Center contains a basketball/volleyball court, a 6 lane 25 yard swimming pool, an indoor track, an exercise area with weight machines and cardiovascular equipment, an aerobic room, a dance studio, and two racquetball courts. The center offers exercise classes, such as spinning, abs, yoga, and Pilates. There is also a 52’ climbing tower outside the fitness center.

Intramural activities are offered through the fitness center. Some of the sports the students participate in are flag football, bowling, outdoor soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball, racquetball, and swimming.

Athletics

Centenary is currently a member of the NCAA Division III's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), having moved from the American Southwest Conference (ASC) after the 2011–12 academic year. Prior to July 2011, the college was a member of The Summit League in NCAA Division I.

The first official records of athletic teams at Centenary College are to be found in the 1908–1909 college catalog and the November 1909 issue of the Maroon and White, a monthly publication edited by the students.

Centenary fields 17 intercollegiate athletic teams including baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis for men; and basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball for women.

The school is well known for its basketball prominence in the late 1970s being the college for NBA great Robert Parish, and golf ability—in the early 1980s PGA Tour golfer Hal Sutton played there.

U.S. Olympics Women's Gymnastics Coach (Tokyo, 1964) Vannie Edwards coached the Centenary women's gymnastics team from 1964 to 1968 and again from 1977 to 1985. Coach Edwards was also the team manager for the U.S. Olympics Women's Gymnastics teams in 1968 (Mexico City) and 1972 (Munich). He was inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1986.

Centenary previously fielded a college football team. From 1927 thru 1936, the team compiled a record of 73-22-11, including two undefeated seasons (1927 & 1932). The 1927 team featured wins over four powers in the Southwest Conference: Southern Methodist, Baylor, Rice, and Texas Christian. The 1932 team featured wins over Louisiana State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Mississippi. Head Coach Homer Norton left Centenary after the 1933 season, and success and fan interest dwindled. After an 0-8-2 season in 1941, the team was discontinued for the duration of World War II due to budget deficits. Football resumed in 1947, but after winning only one game during the season, the football program was halted for good in December 1947.

The school sport's nickname is the Gents; the women's sports' nickname is the Ladies. Prior to adopting the Gents nickname, Centenary's football team was known as the Old Ironsides and had a reputation as a fearsome and powerful team with a penchant for playing rough. To clean up their image, they selected the Gents nickname.

In 2013, the Centenary Gents baseball team won the SCAC regular season. It was the school's first regular season championship in any sport since 1991. The Gents baseball team also won the SCAC regular season in 2015. Also, former Centenary Pitcher, Seth Lugo made his MLB debut for the New York Mets on July 1, 2016. Former Centenary Gents pitcher James Hoyt (baseball) was called up by the Houston Astros on August 2, 2016. This marked the first time that two Centenary alumni had played in Major League Baseball at the same time. Hoyt and Lugo were teammates on the 2009 and 2010 Centenary Gents teams.

Presidents

College of Louisiana (Jackson, LA)

Centenary College (Brandon Springs, MS)

Centenary College of Louisiana (Jackson, LA)

Centenary College of Louisiana (Shreveport, LA)

Notable alumni

Faculty and staff

Other