Lenoir-Rhyne College
Encyclopedia
Lenoir–Rhyne University is a co-educational, private liberal arts
university
founded in 1891 and located in Hickory
, North Carolina
, USA. The university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA).
In 2010-2011 Lenoir-Rhyne enrolled approximately 1,980 students of which 1,653 were undergraduate with a gender distribution of 35.4 percent male students and 64.6 percent female students. 55.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 45.0 percent of students live off campus. Lenoir-Rhyne University is part of the NCAA II athletic conference.
In 2011 the U.S. News & World Report rankings placed the university 11th in the South in the category Best Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s. Lenoir-Rhyne University was ranked first in North Carolina in its category in its America’s Best Colleges issue. In 2005, Lenoir-Rhyne University was also selected as a "College of Distinction" by Colleges of Distinction based on student engagement, quality teaching, community, and successful outcomes.
. The school nickname is the Bears; its mascots are Joe and Josie Bear.
The school's swimming programs compete in the Bluegrass Mountain Swimming Conference while the men's lacrosse program is a member of the Deep South Lacrosse Conference
. The men's and women's track & field and women's lacrosse teams compete as NCAA Division II Independents.
Prior to competing in the NCAA, the university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA). The L-R football team won the NAIA National Championship in 1960 and made three trips to the title game in four years. In 1980, the Bears' women's basketball team reached the NAIA Final Four while the men's basketball squad made it to the NAIA Elite Eight in 1992.
Recently, the Lenoir-Rhyne softball team has seen five straight trips to the NCAA Division II Playoffs including reaching the Southeast Region Finals in 2010. Also the Bears' women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2010 after the program's most successful season to date. The L-R men's and women's basketball teams have both reached Division II postseason play several times in the 2000's with the Bear women hosting the Southeast Region Tournament in 2009.
L-R cross country/track & field team member Kate Griewisch is a two-time (2009, 10) NCAA Division II All-American in cross country and finished ninth in Division II in the 10,000-meter run at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships.
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
founded in 1891 and located in Hickory
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA. The university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
(ELCA).
In 2010-2011 Lenoir-Rhyne enrolled approximately 1,980 students of which 1,653 were undergraduate with a gender distribution of 35.4 percent male students and 64.6 percent female students. 55.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 45.0 percent of students live off campus. Lenoir-Rhyne University is part of the NCAA II athletic conference.
In 2011 the U.S. News & World Report rankings placed the university 11th in the South in the category Best Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s. Lenoir-Rhyne University was ranked first in North Carolina in its category in its America’s Best Colleges issue. In 2005, Lenoir-Rhyne University was also selected as a "College of Distinction" by Colleges of Distinction based on student engagement, quality teaching, community, and successful outcomes.
Students and Faculty
Lenoir-Rhyne University enrolls approximately 1,980, 13% of which are minorities. 70% of faculty hold doctoral degrees. The student-faculty ratio at Lenoir-Rhyne University is 12:1, and the school has 60.9 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Lenoir-Rhyne University include: Business, management, marketing, and related support services; Education; Health professions and related clinical sciences; Psychology; and Social sciences. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 69.5 percent.Athletics
Lenoir-Rhyne fields 20 intercollegiate teams and competes in NCAA Division II as a member of the South Atlantic ConferenceSouth Atlantic Conference
The South Atlantic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II...
. The school nickname is the Bears; its mascots are Joe and Josie Bear.
The school's swimming programs compete in the Bluegrass Mountain Swimming Conference while the men's lacrosse program is a member of the Deep South Lacrosse Conference
Deep South Conference
The Deep South Conference is a NCAA Division II men's lacrosse-only college athletic conference. The conference is currently made up of seven member schools in Southeastern United States.-History:...
. The men's and women's track & field and women's lacrosse teams compete as NCAA Division II Independents.
Prior to competing in the NCAA, the university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
(NAIA). The L-R football team won the NAIA National Championship in 1960 and made three trips to the title game in four years. In 1980, the Bears' women's basketball team reached the NAIA Final Four while the men's basketball squad made it to the NAIA Elite Eight in 1992.
Recently, the Lenoir-Rhyne softball team has seen five straight trips to the NCAA Division II Playoffs including reaching the Southeast Region Finals in 2010. Also the Bears' women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2010 after the program's most successful season to date. The L-R men's and women's basketball teams have both reached Division II postseason play several times in the 2000's with the Bear women hosting the Southeast Region Tournament in 2009.
L-R cross country/track & field team member Kate Griewisch is a two-time (2009, 10) NCAA Division II All-American in cross country and finished ninth in Division II in the 10,000-meter run at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships.
Men's
- BaseballCollege baseballCollege baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- LacrosseCollege lacrosseCollege lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- Swimming and DivingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor)
Women’s
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- LacrosseCollege lacrosseCollege lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- SoftballCollege softballCollege softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.As with other intercollegiate...
- Swimming and DivingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor)
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Student organizations
There are over 100 student clubs and organizations on campus. Club sports teams are popular among students and have received national recognition in recent years.Fraternities
- Phi Beta SigmaPhi Beta SigmaPhi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
- Beta Beta Zeta Chapter - Pi Kappa PhiPi Kappa PhiPi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
– Epsilon Rho Chapter - Theta XiTheta XiTheta Xi was founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York on 29 April 1864. Theta Xi Fraternity was originally founded as an engineering fraternity, the first professional fraternity...
– Kappa Omicron Chapter - Theta ChiTheta ChiTheta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
- Delta Chi Chapter - inactive - Kappa SigmaKappa SigmaKappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
- Interest Group - Tau Kappa Epsilon- former fraternity
Sororities
- Delta ZetaDelta ZetaDelta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...
- Zeta Xi Chapter - Kappa DeltaKappa DeltaKappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...
– Gamma Chi Chapter - Sigma KappaSigma KappaSigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
- Zeta Phi BetaZeta Phi BetaZeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
- Theta Tau Chapter Chapter Website - Zeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau AlphaZeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
– Delta Omicron Chapter
Scholars
- Richard L. Lael, former Cotton Endowed Professor of Humanities at Westminster CollegeWestminster College, MissouriWestminster College is a private, selective, liberal arts institution in Fulton, Missouri, USA. It was founded by Presbyterians in 1849 as Fulton College and assumed the present name in 1851. The are located on the campus. The National Churchill Museum is a national historic site and includes...
in Fulton, MissouriFulton, MissouriFulton is a city in Callaway County, Missouri, the United States of America. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,790 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Callaway County...
, and the author of several award-winning books on American military and diplomatic history.
College basketball
- Rick BarnesRick BarnesRichard Dale Barnes is the current head coach of the University of Texas Longhorns men's basketball team. He has coached Texas for the last twelve seasons, taking the team to the NCAA Tournament each year, including a Final Four appearance led by T. J. Ford in 2003...
, current head coach of the University of Texas men's basketball team - Bryan Lentz, son of John Lentz, special assistant coach to Rick Barnes at Texas
- John Lentz, class of 1974, current head coach of Lenoir–Rhyne University
- Daniel Willis, class of 2001, current Assistant Coach at Virginia Military InstituteVirginia Military InstituteThe Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
and 2010 inductee to the SAC Hall of Fame
NFL players
- John Milem, DE, 49ers/Panthers 2000-01
- Jeremy Phillips, OG, Falcons 2004-05
- Craig Keith, TE, Steelers/Jaguars 1993-95
- Shannon Myers, WR, Dolphins 1994
- Tim Clarke, LB, Rhein Fire (NFL Europa) 2007
Other
- David W. HoyleDavid W. HoyleDavid W. Hoyle is a North Carolina politician who served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-third Senate district, including constituents in Gaston County...
, NC state senator - Mike Pope, New York Giants tight ends coach
- David R. Thomas, British Tigers FC, Goal Keeper
- Perry FewellPerry FewellPerry Fewell is an American football coach who currently serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the New York Giants. Before that he served as the interim head coach and defensive coordinator of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills...
, New York Giants Defensive Coordinator - Mike HogewoodMike HogewoodMichael "Mike" Hogewood is an American sportscaster. He is a freelance play-by-play announcer who is primarily associated with Raycom Sports . Hogewood is best known for his work on ACC football games, ACC men's and women's basketball, as well as for anchoring Raycom's coverage of Nextel Cup...
, Sports Announcer - Barry G. Hastings, corporate president and chief operating officer, Northern Trust
- John Moretz, President and CEO of GoldToeMoretz
Presidents
- Dr. Robert Anderson Yoder (1891 – 1901)
- Robert L. Fritz (1901 – 1920)
- Dr. J.C. Perry (1920 – 1925)
- H. Brent Schaeffer (1926 – 1934)
- Dr. Pleasant Edgar (P.E.) Monroe (1934 – 1949)
- Dr. Voigt R. Cromer (1949 – 1967)
- Dr. Raymond M. Bost (1967 – 1976)
- Albert Allran (1982 – 1984) interim
- Dr. John E. Trainer, Jr. (1984 – 1994)
- Dr. Ryan A. LaHurd (1994 – 2002)
- Dr. Wayne B. Powell (2002 –)