Francis Marion University is located on a 300-acre tract of land
originally included in an English royal land grant. The initial
100-acres were a gift from the Walter G. and J. W. Wallace families.
The University is situated adjacent to U.S. Highways 301/76, seven
miles east of Florence, South Carolina. Campus facilities include:
Wallace House (President's Home) Rebuilt in 1924
after the original 1836 J. Eli Gregg home was destroyed by fire,
this antebellum-style house was the home of Joseph Wilds Wallace
Sr. and Sallie Gregg Wallace. In 1960, in their memory, the Wallace
family donated the house for the founding site of the University
of South Carolina at Florence. Then named Wallace Hall, the structure
housed classrooms and meeting space for the Florence campus. When
Francis Marion College was established in 1970, the house served
as a facility for administrative offices. It was renovated as a
permanent residence for the president of Francis Marion University
in 1983 and was renamed Wallace House in 1994.
J. Howard Stokes Administration Building Named in
honor of one of the prime movers in establishing higher education
for the Pee Dee area, this was the first building to be built on
the Florence Regional Campus of the University of South Carolina.
It was built with funds contributed by citizens from across the
Pee Dee area and transferred to the University in 1970 and an addition
was completed in 1990. It was last renovated in 1992-1995. The building
houses administrative offices including the offices of Academic
Advising and Retention, Administrative Computing Services, Accounting/Cashier,
Administration, Admissions, Alumni Affairs, Business Affairs, Communications
Services, Community Relations, Development and FMU Foundation, Financial
Services, Financial Assistance, Human Resources, Institutional Research,
Payroll and Inventory, Registrar, President, Provost, Purchasing,
Telecommunications, and University Auditor.
Office Services Building The Office Services Building,
located on the east side of Stokes Administration Building, was
constructed in the early 1960s. Formerly known as the "Grey
Pods," the facility served as the canteen/student center for
the University of South Carolina at Florence. The building was acquired
by Francis Marion University in 1970 and was converted to Office
Services soon afterward. The publications, printing, and mail services
operations are housed in this facility.
Physical Plant/Public Safety Building
Occupied in 1972, this building provides certain utility services
to other buildings and houses the Department of Public Safety and
certain offices of the Physical Plant Department. The Public Safety
Department provides around-the-clock law enforcement services from
this location.
Walter Douglas Smith University Center
Named in honor of the first president of Francis Marion University,
this facility was occupied in 1974. Designed to house under one
roof all phases of the student life program, the complex provides
comprehensive facilities for student activities and services including
the offices of Student Affairs, Athletics, Campus Recreation Services,
Career Development, International Student Affairs, and Multicultural
Student Affairs. It also provides space for recreation and athletic
programs, the University Center Café, and the Patriot Bookstore.
The Edward S. Ervin III Dining Hall
Named in honor of a former chairman of the Board of Trustees
of Francis Marion University, this facility was occupied in 1986.
It serves students, faculty, and staff of the University as well
as community groups.
John
K. Cauthen Educational Media Center Named in honor of the late pioneer
of educational television in South Carolina, this building was occupied in 1977.
Designed to provide comprehensive facilities for the production and presentation
of audiovisual materials, the building also provides classroom and office space
for the education, modern languages, and psychology programs. The Dooley planetarium,
two distance learning classrooms, and the J.R. Bryan Jackson Innovation Place
(a 20-computer lab equipped with state-of-the-art teaching and multimedia instructional
technology) are also in the building.
Founders Hall Named
in honor of those whose efforts and energies led to the founding of the University,
this building was occupied during 1974. The building houses offices and classrooms
for many of the University's academic programs including English, political
science, history, geography, philosophy and religious studies, and sociology.
The School of Business complex is located on the second floor.
The Peter D. Hyman Fine Arts Center
Named in honor of a community leader who was instrumental in the
founding of the institution and who was the first chairman of the Francis Marion
University Board of Trustees, this facility was occupied in November 1980. It
houses the John W. Baker Art and Music Wing and includes faculty offices for
the Department of Fine Arts and Mass Communication, classrooms, and studios
for teaching art and music. The south wing includes the Adele Kassab Recital
Hall and the University Theatre, which has a working stage and the capability
for quick changes from a proscenium to a thrust stage. The Hyman Fine Arts Center
houses public art galleries to display two- and three-dimensional art.
Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Science
Facility Named in honor of Senator Hugh K. Leatherman Sr., for many
years a state senator from Florence County and member emeritus of the University's
Board of Trustees, this facility was completed in 1994 and provides office,
classroom and laboratory space for biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
A greenhouse is located on the rooftop.
Robert E. McNair Science Building
Named in honor of the former Governor of South Carolina who played
a significant role in making the University possible, this structure was occupied
during 1972. This building provides classroom, laboratory, and office space
for biology, chemistry, physics, and nursing.
The Observatory Built
in 1982, this is a two-story, precast concrete structure with a 12-foot rotating
dome. Permanently mounted in the dome is a 14-inch reflecting telescope. Located
on the second-floor porch are six mounts for 8-inch reflecting telescopes. The
first floor houses a small classroom-orientation area. Free public viewing sessions
are held periodically to examine the planets, stars, and special astronomical
events such as comets and eclipses.
James A. Rogers Library
Named in honor of the first chairman of the State College Board of Trustees,
the library opened on December 13, 1971. The structure houses a library collection
of more than 376,000 volumes and provides access to a variety of electronic
databases including the Internet and DISCUS (Digital Information for South Carolina
Users). The library building was expanded in 1988 by adding a wing named in
honor of the first director of the library, J. Mitchell Reames.
Thomas C. Stanton Academic Computer
Center Named in honor of the second president of Francis Marion University,
this facility was occupied in 1988. The building provides computer classrooms
and a 60-station general-use computer laboratory.
The Village The first
student housing on campus was occupied in the fall of 1980. It consists of two-story
apartment buildings and vending facilities. The apartment buildings (Anderson,
Baxter, Cade, Dalton, Ervin, Ferguson, Galliten, Henderson, Ingram, Johnston,
Kidwell, Logan, and Moultrie) consist of 16 apartments designed to accommodate
two persons, each sharing bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bath, or eight
apartments designed to accommodate four persons each in individual bedrooms
with a common living room, kitchen, and bath. Some apartments of each type include
provisions for persons with disabilities. The Village currently accommodates
418 residents. To receive an assignment in the Village Apartments, a student
must have attained 24 credit hours, maintain a 2.0 grade point average, and
have an acceptable disciplinary record. Additional information regarding the
Village apartments can be found in the Housing and Residence Life sections of
this catalog.
Residence Halls The
University has two sets of residence halls. Each set consists of three residence
halls linked to each other by exterior breezeways. Built in 1986, one set (Marion
State, Palmetto, and Swamp Fox) forms a courtyard with the Edward S. Ervin III
Dining Hall. The other (Belle Isle, Snow Island, and Ellen C. Watson), built
in 1992, forms a courtyard with the Allard A. Allston Housing Office Complex,
which was built at the same time. Residence halls provide for 700 residents.
A Resident Assistant is assigned to each residence hall floor to provide support
for students. Additional information regarding the residence halls can be found
in the Housing and Residence Life sections of this catalog.
Allard A. Allston Housing Office
Complex The Allard A. Allston Housing Office Complex, built in 1992
along with one of the two sets of residence halls, was named after a longtime
Board of Trustees member. The complex includes the offices of Housing and Residence
Life as well as a Study Hall and the Tutoring Center.
BB&T/Amelia Wallace Faculty/Alumni
Cottage The Faculty/Alumni Cottage, completed in 2003, is operated
by the FMU Foundation as a faculty/alumni facility and guest house for the benefit
of Francis Marion University. The 4,000-square foot facility is named in honor
of BB&T, a major benefactor, and Amelia Wallace, whose family donated Wallace
House and the first 100 acres of the land on which the university is located.
Clifford S. Cormell Field
Named in honor of one whose leadership was a contributing factor to the
establishment of the University, this field is a lighted baseball complex with
a natural grass field.
John Kassab Courts Named
in honor of one whose leadership was a contributing factor to the establishment
of the University, this facility consists of eight tennis courts surfaced with
plexipave, four of which are lighted.
Other exterior athletic-recreational
facilities include a reslite eight-lane track, a regulation soccer field,
a regulation softball field, two natural grass intramural fields, an outdoor
recreational field near the housing area, and an outdoor recreational pool.
Back
to top