COLUMBIA, SC. . .Columbia College will begin a celebration of its 150th anniversary at the College's annual Medallion Dinner on Thursday, September 16, at the Adam's Mark Hotel.
Columbia College was founded as Columbia Female College on February 8, 1854 by representatives of the South Carolina Methodist Conference. The General Assembly of South Carolina granted a charter for the College on December 21, 1854.
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R. Wright Spears |
Spears served as the College's 12th president from 1951 until his retirement in 1977. He is particularly remembered for his leadership in strengthening the College financially; increasing enrollment from 150 to more than 900 students; enlarging the campus from three buildings to 19; increasing the number of faculty with earned doctorates by 80 percent; and achieving a racially diverse student body. During the College's disastrous fire in 1964, which destroyed much of the campus, he brought peace and calm to frightened students, huddled in College Place United Methodist Church in the middle of the night, with his oft-quoted words, "Nothing has been destroyed that cannot be rebuilt."
A lifelong advocate for individual and civil rights, he is well known for his many contributions to the City of Columbia, the State of South Carolina, and the local and national United Methodist Church. A native of Clio, S.C., and a graduate of Wofford College and Duke Divinity School, he served in a number of rural Methodist parishes before assuming the presidency of Columbia College.
Since his retirement, he has served as interim minister of Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia and interim president of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. He is the author of two books, Journey Toward Unity: The Christian Action Council 1933-1982, and his autobiography, One in the Spirit: Ministry for Change in South Carolina. He has worked with numerous community programs, including teen suicide prevention and drug prevention, and has become heavily involved in the efforts of the Alzheimer's Foundation since the loss of his wife of 60 years, Mary Blue Smith Spears, to Alzheimer's in 1993.
