William Peace University, founded in 1857 as Peace Institute, was where girls got a primary education and young women were schooled from high school to college. It later became a two-year women’s college, Peace College. It added four-year degrees in the 1990s.
However, the most recent and, some say, most notable changes came in the Summer of 2011. Peace began admitting male students, and the school changed its name to William Peace University. The changes were big. Enrollment increased 20 percent; the number of full-time professors dropped by 40 percent; the use of adjuncts soared.
The name change was meant to more strongly emphasize the name of William Peace, who founded the institution in 1857. Just two years after the initial change that allowed men into the night program, Peace then announced that it would allow men to enroll as full-time students.
In the Spring of 2016, the first class that entered as co-ed will graduate.
“Coming in we had a lot of strides from both sides, but we also had some good and the good outweighed the bad, and it is such an honor to be a part of the first group of girls and guys to come in and graduate together,” said senior Aaron Mull.
From the first time William Peace University enrolled male students into its undergraduate program to now, much has changed, including the addition of men’s sports. These athletes are marking their mark as well.
Just last season three student athletes from the Men’s Basketball Team were named to the USA South 2014-15 All-Conference Team. The selections are historically significant for the University, marking the first-ever time a William Peace University Men’s Basketball player has been named to the All-Conference team.
“It is awesome; we get to make history,” Senior and men’s basketball team member Nate Strother said. “It is something that I will always look back on and say I was a part of that.”
Peace continues to grow as a university. Over the past many years, evaluations by students have continuously placed William Peace University among the top 10 percent nationally in: student-faculty interaction, supportive campus environment and enriching educational experiences. William Peace University is excited to see what the next four years will bring.