A Bright Future

From its modest beginnings in 1897, Piedmont grew steadily. In 1971, the College completed a building program and for the first time began to build a significant endowment. In recent years, the College has set its sights on larger dreams that are now coming true. In 1992, a new 38,000-square-foot, 100,000-volume library opened, signaling a new era in academic resources and support at Piedmont College. The library includes computerized indexes and databases, two computer labs, conference rooms and offices.

In 2000 and 2001, the college built Stewart Hall, a three-story math, science and technology center that houses state-of-the-art laboratories and analysis equipment. The college also opened the Mize Athletic Center with a new basketball and volleyball arena, fitness center and locker rooms. More recently, Piedmont completed a major renovation of the college chapel, which included the installation of a 3,675-pipe organ and constuction of a wing to house additional classrooms and a recital hall. Five new residence halls have been added to house a total of about 500 students.

The Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communications opened in October 2007, providing the Demorest campus with two theatre venues and classroom space for the mass communications department.

In the summer of 1996, Piedmont opened a campus in Athens, Ga., designed for students who want a small-college atmosphere but also want the amenities that a larger city like Athens can offer. Athens is a great academic and intellectual community, and our students are a part of that, while still having the benefit of small classes and more interaction with their professors. PC-Athens began with just 64 students and today has grown to about 800 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in day and evening classes.

The Athens campus offers undergraduate degrees in education, sociology, criminal justice, psychology, nursing, and business, as well as master of arts degrees in early childhood, secondary education, and special education E/BD. The Athens campus also offers the master of business administration (MBA) degree, as well as specialist and doctoral degrees in education.

Piedmont College is part of a global educational community made possible by the Internet and satellite telecommunications. Piedmont students may no longer arrive on campus to barter cows for an education, but they arrive just as ready to learn, just as thirsty for knowledge as their predecessors did some 115 years ago.