THE NORTH CAROLINA INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (NCICU) EASTERN TOUR
JUNE 19 TO 24, 2011
After completing the NCICU Central Tour in 2010, I knew that completing the next leg of the tour would be valuable. On Sunday, June 19th we began the Eastern Tour at Barton College in Wilson, NC. They wined and dined and entertained us with an amazing musical group. After spending the night in a Barton dorm, we shared breakfast, toured the Barton campus.
Barton is located in a lovely small town. Some of their unique majors include gerontology and an education major for deaf/hard of hearing. After our tour we then boarded our bus. Doug Neiry was again our bus driver. This would be his 20th year as the tour’s driver. Our college admissions counselors were again Zaire McCoy from Elon Univesity and Ernie Rushing from Methodist University. Zaire and Ernie provided us with a constant stream of beverages and snacks.
North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, NC was our midday stop. They are actively rebranding their institution and hoping to eventually grow to 1,000 undergraduates. The world’s largest serpentine wall borders this campus.
Chowan University in Murfreesboro was our late afternoon destination. There is a variety of architectural styles on this campus which is part of a sleepy Southern town. One of their unique majors is packaging design within graphic arts. In 2013 they will introduce women’s lacrosse
Louisburg College in Louisburg was our evening destination. After dinner, we were treated to hotel rooms at the Days Inn. Tuesday morning began with breakfast at Louisburg and then a campus tour. Louisburg is the only two-year residential college in North Carolina. It is also the oldest two-year residential institution in the United States. It was founded in 1787, which is two years before Washington was inaugurated as President of the United States.
Louisburg is very strong in athletic participation. They also have a program modeled after Landmark College which serves the needs of students with learning issues.
Tuesday afternoon found us in Raleigh, NC at Saint Augustine’s College. Founded in 1867 by the Episcopal Church to educate freed slaves, it is a HBCU. There are several unique majors: forensic science, Mandarin Confucius, and real estate management in the business department. Saint A’s gets the ribbon for serving the best food! Shrimp salad, chicken salad, and huge brownies were served along with many other delicious dishes. The best Southern cooks must work at St. A’s.
Meredith College, also in Raleigh, was our evening stop. It is an historic women’s college with many traditions. A palazzo in Italy was recently purchased and renovated for students who wish to study abroad in this area. A unique major for Meredith is environmental sustainability. They also have a program that allows students to work with autistic children.
Meredith’s president shared dinner with us. As of the end of June, she is retiring.
Wednesday morning we went to Peace College, which is just down the street from Meredith. Their relatively new female president greeted us over breakfast. Peace is a women’s college that has transitioned to a four-year college. Their new buildings are lovely, bright and airy. Best of all is the fact that the new buildings blend with the architecture of the campus. The newest major at Peace is musical theater.
The new president has put several new initiatives in place on the campus. This includes four years of writing and English, a personal financial management course, a portfolio program, a required internship and statistics course.
Campbell University in Buies Creek is home of the Camels. This school is affiliated with the Baptist church. This school is a good fit for a home schooled student. Spread out on 850 acres, this campus offers diverse educational and athletic opportunities.
Mount Olive College in Mount Olive hosted us in the afternoon. They are located in the town as the pickle company of the same name. The strongest and largest major on this campus is science. A session with the chairman of this department was very impressive. Agribusiness is a unique major to this school.
The staff was very cordial to the group. Ollie the Pickle greeted us. We were treated to a variety of pickles. Before our departure we were served orangeade, lemonade or ice cream. All of this was graciously provided by an alumnus who has a successful food business.
Mount Olive was one of my treasure finds on this tour.
Methodist University in Fayetteville was our evening stopover. They hosted dinner for us at the Huskie Warehouse Restaurant. We were housed in some of their upper class men apartments for the night. Methodist is an institution that is growing in many ways. They are adding new Greek housing to their campus. In 2011 they will be constructing a state-of-the art nursing building that contains a simulated hospital facility.
There are many exceptional things at Methodist: an Honors program based on the Great Books, a golf management and tennis management major, and a unique environmental disaster management simulated lab.
Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg was our lunch stop. They have an expansive 600-acre campus constructed around a series of large lakes. At one time this campus was built exclusively for wheelchair access for students. Due to recent financial and accreditation circumstances, they are in the process of merging with Weber International in Florida.
While on campus we visited the world’s largest science lab. After a lunch that was topped with the freshest, sweetest summer peach ever, we drove to the new equestrian center. In addition to having competitive equestrian teams, there is an equine business management and equine therapeutic major offered. The equestrian facility is first rate. After our visit to the horses, we boarded the bus. We were sent off with individual bags of homemade brownies and peanut butter cookies. Yum!
We once again headed back to Raleigh to visit Shaw University. This HBCU was founded in 1865. It is set within the city. Shaw is trying to recover from the devastation of a tornado that occurred in the spring.
Religion and philosophy are the oldest majors at Shaw. This is a school that will give anyone who wants an opportunity to attend college the chance.
The evening was spent at the ball park cheering on the Durham Bulls. Several counselors went on their own for other activities. I was among a small group who found a lovely, local Italian restaurant. We enjoyed good company, conversation and food.
Our tour wrapped up on Friday morning at Duke University in Durham. The Dean of Admissions spent some extended time with our group. We then toured the lovely campus. When you receive 30,000 applications for an entering class of 1700, you must be doing something right.
This was a week full of learning and interaction with colleagues. Once again I have found some gems to add to my ever-growing list of colleges. The tour next summer to the western part of North Carolina is reputed to be even better. I can’t wait to see!!
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