News Releases

For the second year in a row, Lander University's Physical Education and Exercise Studies (PEES) Club will host the Annual Bearcat Breakout 5K. This year's 3.1-mile run will begin at 9 a.m., on Feb. 23.

Lander University has converted a little-used indoor swimming pool into an ultramodern fitness center that should see a lot of traffic. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Jan. 4, to formally introduce the center, which became available for use with the start of the spring semester. The new facility is located in the Joe V. Chandler Center, home of the university's Department of Physical Education and Exercise Studies (PEES).

In the spring, Lander University's Physical Education and Exercise Studies (PEES) Club, hosted its first Bearcat Breakout 5K. The race is intended to be an annual event that promotes the health and fitness of the community by adopting an active lifestyle.

The names of 10 Lander University students will be included in the 2011-12 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, recognizing their selection as outstanding campus leaders. The 10 were honored recently at Lander's annual Academic and Student Life Awards ceremony.

More than 50 Lander University students were honored recently for their scholastic accomplishments during the 2011-2012 academic year, receiving the top discipline and special awards from the university's four academic colleges. The awards were presented during Lander's annual Academic and Student Life Awards ceremony.

Christin Moss, of Williamston, finished at the top of her graduating class in December, qualifying her for Lander's prestigious Thayer Award, presented on behalf of the family of Dr. Henry K. Thayer to the graduating senior achieving the highest scholastic average.

A group of Lander University students who are members of Kappa Sigma Fraternity spent Fridays in January cleaning a stretch of Highway 72 in Greenwood, between Bojangles and Starbucks, as part of an Adopt-a-Highway community service project.

Lander Panhellenic Women recently held a month-long drive to collect items for U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan. Among the goods collected were toiletries, DVDs, books, snacks and other essentials, as well as Valentine's Day cards, photographs and sorority T-shirts.

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.

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.

More than 50 Lander University students were honored recently for their scholastic accomplishments during the 2010-2011 academic year, receiving the top discipline and special awards from the university's four academic colleges. The awards were presented during Lander's annual Academic and Student Life Awards Ceremony.

Lander University recently honored its cocurricular standouts for the 2010-11 academic year, presenting student life awards to the university's top students and student organizations. The awards were announced during Lander's annual Academic and Student Life Awards Ceremony.

Family and friends gathered at Lander University on April 20 to witness the spring induction of 44 students into Lander’s Alpha Chi National College Honor Scholarship Society. Dr. John Moore, associate professor of philosophy and the chapter coordinator, said the inductees are juniors or seniors in the top 10 percent of their class

The Lander Magazine is a publication distributed primarily to alumni, donors and friends of the university to inform them of recent Lander activities and the accomplishments of faculty, staff, students and alumni. Started in 1972, the magazine is produced with diligent consideration by the Office of University Relations two times each year, with issues in spring and fall.

An army major, a recognized hospice care expert and the manager of Lander’s newest athletic facility are the 2011 recipients of the Lander Alumni Association’s top awards. The honorees are Major Cory Plowden, a 17-year South Carolina National Guard and U.S. Army veteran; Nancy Boyter Corley, chief executive officer of HospiceCare of the Piedmont in Greenwood; and Steve Grogan, Lander’s assistant athletic director and manager of the Jeff May Complex.

Gina Barton, chair of Lander University's Department of Physical Education and Exercise Science, has received a prestigious award for promoting quality physical education during her 26-year career as an educator. The South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (SCAHPERD) presented Barton its 2010 Honor Award at the organization's recent convention in Myrtle Beach. The citation accompanying the award said she has demonstrated "an outstanding commitment to the individuals she has taught and coached and to the profession in which she has invested so much time, energy and talent."

Lander University recently honored its cocurricular standouts for the 2009-10 academic year, presenting student life awards to the university's top students and student organizations. The awards were announced during Lander's annual Academic and Student Life Awards Ceremony.

Lander University students took home the top prize in the second annual South Carolina Athletic Trainers' Association (SCATA) Quiz Bowl, which was held in March in conjunction with the SCATA College/University Workshop in Lexington.

Kariana Smith of McCormick died tragically in a boating accident in Lexington County in September of 2007, one year after she graduated from Lander University. On March 21, on what would have been her 26th birthday, her family and friends created a scholarship at Lander to honor her memory.

The names of seven Lander University students will be included in the 2010 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, recognizing their selection as outstanding campus leaders.