Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2001-08-09

Samford University will observe its 160th anniversary during the 2001-02 academic year with special events and activities.

Founded by Alabama Baptists in Marion in 1841, the school has grown from a student body of nine Alabama men to its present enrollment of some 4,500 men and women from 39 states and 26 foreign nations.

Beginning Aug. 16, Samford anniversary banners will be displayed on campus and along the streets of Homewood. Special events to celebrate Samford's 160th year along with the city of Homewood's 75th anniversary are planned during the Sept. 15 football game in Seibert Stadium.

A new pictorial history, 160 Years of Samford University, written by alumnus Sean A. Flynt, tells the Samford story largely through photographs from the school's three campuses in Marion, East Lake and Homewood. Published by Arcadia Publishing, the book is available in bookstores for $19.99.

Birmingham composer K. Lee Scott has been commissioned to compose an anniversary anthem which will be premiered by Samford musicians at a Dec. 7 concert.

Other plans call for playwriting students to each write a 10-minute play based on Samford history.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.