University of Mount Olive


The University of Mount Olive is a private university in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Chartered in 1951, the university is sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention. A member of the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, its sports teams compete as the Mount Olive Trojans.

History

Founding

From its inception as a junior college, the University of Mount Olive has been sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention. The institution was chartered in 1951 and opened in 1952 at Cragmont Assembly, the Free Will Baptist summer retreat grounds near Black Mountain, North Carolina, under the direction of the Reverend Lloyd Vernon. The school was originally called Mount Allen Junior College, taking its name from the mountain near Cragmont.

1953–1970

In September 1953, the college moved to Mount Olive, North Carolina, nearer the center of denominational strength in the eastern region of the state. Under the leadership of the Reverend David W. Hansley, Chairman of the Board of Directors, plans were made to develop a junior college offering programs in arts and sciences and in business. The Reverend W. Burkette Raper was elected president in the summer of 1954, and in September the college began its first collegiate year with an enrollment of twenty-two students.
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In 1956, the name "Mount Allen Junior College" was changed to "Mount Olive Junior College". In that same year, plans were launched for an enlarged campus which today consists of 250 acres. In September 1970, the college's name was officially changed to Mount Olive College.

1971–1990

In 1977, the Original Free Will Baptist Convention requested that the Board of Trustees of Mount Olive College work aggressively toward making the college a four-year institution. The 1979 session of the convention endorsed the projected timetable set by the college's board of trustees to add the junior year in 1984 and the senior year in 1985.
In 1975, the college began an educational program in Goldsboro, North Carolina at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
In 1986, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accredited Mount Olive College as a four-year institution to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.

1991–2008

In the fall of 1994, the transfer of all operations to the main campus was complete and the original downtown campus was sold. In addition to the satellite campuses at New Bern and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the college expanded operations to reach non-traditional students at four other locations in North Carolina.
In January 1995, the board of trustees selected J. William Byrd as the third president. Dr. Byrd assumed the duties of office on January 31 and was inaugurated on September 30.

2008-Present

In July 2009, an additional location was opened in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 2009, and academic delivery of some of the college's programs became available online in 2012. The same month, Philip P. Kerstetter, Ph.D. was named the college's fourth president. He assumed the duties of office on July 1, 2009 and was inaugurated on March 19, 2010.
Mount Olive College officially changed its name to the University of Mount Olive as of January 1, 2014.
In July 2018, David L. Poole, Ed.D. was named as the university's fifth president. He assumed the duties of office on July 1, 2018 and was inaugurated on October 5, 2018.
In February 2020, H. Edward Croom, Ed.D. was named the university's interim president.

Campus

The university's main campus is nestled within 250 acres of land at the edge of the Mount Olive Historic District in the town of Mount Olive, NC. The campus is separated by a large common with the university's chapel at its center. Mount Olive is 60 miles southeast of the capital city of Raleigh, North Carolina and 75 miles northwest of the coastal town of Wilmington, North Carolina. The past decade has yielded a period of significant growth and expansion for the main campus. With greater investment in housing and residence halls, academic and recreational buildings, as well as administrative offices.
An additional Education Service Centers is located in Goldsboro on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Academic, recreational, and cultural buildings

Juniors and seniors can choose to live off campus or in the residence halls designated for upperclassmen, but all freshman and sophomores in the University's traditional program must live in campus housing for their first two years at the university. The university's residence facilities can accommodate up to 650 students.

2017

The University of Mount Olive educates over 4,000 students per year. It is governed by a 30-member board of trustees with five members being elected each year to a six-year term. At least 18 of the trustees are members in good standing in churches affiliated with the Original Free Will Baptist Convention. The president of the convention serves as an ex officio member of the board.

Athletics

The University of Mount Olive is a member of NCAA Division II and the Conference Carolinas. The University has intercollegiate teams in the women's sports of lacrosse, track and field, volleyball, cross country, soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, and softball as well as in the men's sports of lacrosse, track and field, volleyball, cross country, soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, and baseball. Cheerleading is offered as a co-ed sport. Men's Wrestling and Women's Field Hockey are being added in the 2019–2020 season.

Athletic facilities

The university is organized into three schools: the Robert L. Tillman School of Business, the School of Arts & Sciences, and the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences.

Library system

Moye Library is named for Reverend and Mrs. J. C. Moye who were active in the Free Will Baptist denomination. In 2006, the library facilities were expanded with the completion of the companion Communications Building. The first floor of the facility houses the reference desk, reference collection, periodicals collection, the Everett Room, the Sawyer Room, and most staff offices. The Circulation Desk is located on the first floor of the main lobby joining the Communications Building and Moye Library.
The library's special collections include:
In addition to the facilities and resources provided directly to its student and faculty population, Moye Library has established cooperative agreements with libraries in the surrounding areas to allow resources subject to their local regulations. Current cooperative agreements have been established with the following institutions:

Student organizations

The University of Mount Olive offers a wide variety of student organizations, including arts and culture organizations, performance groups, sports groups, and religious organizations.

Campus Activity Board (CAB)

The Campus Activity Board is responsible for planning activity events on the campus. This student led group is advised by the Director of Student Activities and works hard to provide weekly programs for the campus. On-campus events have included hypnotist, comedians, concerts, bingo, trivia night, carnivals, and sponsored trips that have visited: Orlando, New York City, Costa Rica, Great Britain, France, and Italy.

Student government

A single governing body represents students at Mount Olive:
While the University of Mount Olive is affiliated with the Original Free Will Baptist Church, it welcomes students of other faiths and denominations. The university was principally founded on providing an education that allowed students to explore their faith through a liberal arts education.

Songs

Alma mater

The alma mater, written by Daniel W. Fagg, Jr., former academic dean and professor of social sciences, and set to music by Eugene S. Mauney, professor of music, was first published in the college's annual yearbook Olive Leaves in 1958.

Notable alumni

Academia