News Releases

In the waning days of the Confederacy, President Jefferson Davis issued an order that the South's gold reserve be moved to a new, safe location, to keep it from falling into Yankee hands. Instead, somewhere between Abbeville, SC and Washington, Ga., it disappeared.

Lander University alumni and friends are invited to gather at the State House in Columbia on Thursday, March 29, for a Legislative Day program hosted by the university's Alumni Association. Current Lander students and members of the faculty and staff are also invited to attend.

February is Black History Month, and Lander University's Wind Ensemble will mark the occasion by including several tunes by African-American composers in its Thursday, Feb. 23 show.

Lander University will play host to the annual College Goal South Carolina, which is an opportunity for high school seniors and graduates, returning college students and their families to obtain help filing the necessary forms to apply for financial aid. The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the university's Johnston Commons.

The first female general officer in the history of the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCANG); last year's winner of the state's Young Lawyer of the Year award; and the individual whose name adorns Lander University's new sports complex are this year's winners of the Lander Alumni Association's top awards.

Lander University is presenting a special six-part lecture series exploring the topics relevant to our current national political scene. "The Politics of Democracy: A Political Symposium" will feature sessions led by members of Lander's faculty as well as speakers from a variety of educational-, political- and business-related fields.

Talent, beauty and grace were abundant at the annual "Miss Lander University" pageant, held January 23 in Lander's Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium. Seven students took to the stage to compete for the crown, and this year's pageant incorporated elements of Mardi Gras, drawing on the theme of Lander's 2012 Homecoming festivities.

Lander Performing Arts' 65th season takes a dramatic turn on Monday, Feb. 20, with the Aquila Theatre production of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." Based in New York City, the Aquila Theatre is a critically acclaimed British-American company whose self-described mission is "to bring the greatest works to the greatest number." Aquila is the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States, visiting 60-70 American cities each year.

Four student-directed one-act plays -- Jonathan Denn's "Holier Ground," Louise Bryant's "The Game," Alice Gerstenberg's "Overtones" and Walter Wykes' "Family 2.0" -- premiere Sunday, Feb. 12, at Lander University, with matinee showings at 3 p.m. and evening performances at 8 p.m. Evening performances follow at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, through Wednesday, Feb. 15.

Middle and high school students and teachers from across South Carolina converged on Lander University Jan. 21 for the presentation of the 2012 Scholastic Art Awards, an event which Lander has hosted for more than 20 years. There were nearly a thousand entries, in categories such as painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography, and 204 were chosen for display in Lander's Monsanto Gallery, where they can be seen through Feb. 3.