Piedmont University

Main article: History of Piedmont College The college opened as the J.S. Green Collegiate Institute [ 12 ] in 1897, founded by residents of Habersham County, Georgia . The first president was Reverend Charles C. Spence. The American Mission Board of the mostly New England Congregational Churches (later Congregational Christian Churches ) operated the college from 1901 to 1948 and changed the name to Piedmont College to represent the eponymous geographic region . In 1948, under president James Walter, the college became an independent institution, although it maintains an affiliation with the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC), both of whom claim descent from the Congregational tradition. [ 13 ] Congregationalists took over the school from the Methodists in the early 20th century. [ 14 ] In 1994 the college began to expand, adding schools for Business and Nursing & Health Sciences to its existing programs in the Arts and Sciences and Education. The college also opened a campus in Athens, Georgia, and began offering off-campus graduate education courses across the state. The Demorest campus grew substantially with the addition of the Arrendale Library; Stewart Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology; Swanson Center for Communications and the Performing Arts, Mize Athletic Center, the Smith-Williams Art Studios, and in 2015 the Student Commons. The college also added five new dormitories and 48 apartment-style residences. In 2019, Piedmont College then president James Mellichamp was accused of sexual harassment by tenured professor Rick Austin, who was also the mayor of Demorest. [ 15 ] However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was unable to conclude that Austin's accusations stated any claim for violating law. [ 16 ] Piedmont College sued the City of Demorest, demanding that Austin forfeit his tenured position and resign as mayor.

[ 17 ] [ 18 ] Piedmont filed the lawsuit in December 2020. The college argued that the mayor and city council of Demorest violated its constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when the city instituted a rate hike in water and sewage fees targeted solely at the college beginning in 2019. [ 18 ] In April 2021, Piedmont College changed its name to Piedmont University. [ 19 ] On February 7, 2023, the city and Piedmont University settled the lawsuit in the university’s favor including a payment from Demorest to the university of $70,000 to cover disputed water and sewer fees. [ 20 ] Austin had stepped down as mayor when his term ended in 2021, and both Mellichamp and Austin had left the university. [ 20 ]

Piedmont has two campuses, the original one in Demorest and a newer expansion in Athens. Piedmont's Demorest campus is located on roughly 300 acres (121.4 ha) in Habersham County . The Athens campus is located on Prince Avenue near downtown Athens, on the site of the original Prince Avenue Baptist Church. Demorest Stewart Hall, one of Piedmont's classroom buildings, houses labs and classroom space for the mathematics and sciences departments The Demorest campus is primarily a residential campus, with ten dormitories , including Getman-Babcock, [ 21 ] Purcell, Wallace, Swanson, Johnson, Mayflower, New Bedford, Plymouth and Ipswich [ 22 ] halls that together house about 600 students. The Piedmont Village (apartment-style living which opened in 2015) houses an additional 180 students. The academic buildings include Daniel Hall, which houses the R.H. Daniel School of Nursing, the Humanities Department, and administrative offices. Stewart Hall houses the Science and Math Departments. The School of Education is located in the Arrendale Library. The Walker School of Business is located in Camp Hall, which is adjacent to the President's Home. The Music department is located in the Center for Worship and Music, which includes classroom and performance space, as well as the Sewell Pipe Organ, a 3,675-pipe organ built by the Casavant Frères company of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec . The Art Department is located in the Smith-Williams Studios and adjacent Martens Hall. The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art is located in downtown Demorest. It features a large permanent collection and hosts numerous exhibits throughout the year. The Mass Communications and Theatre Departments are located in the Swanson Center for Performing Arts and Communication, a $14-million building [ 23 ] which features two theaters and editing rooms for print, video and web productions. Next door is the Arrendale Amphitheater, a 500-seat outdoor venue .

[ 24 ] WPCZ, the student-run radio station, is housed in the Swanson Center, along with the student-run TV station, PC60. The campus also includes Walker Fields for softball , soccer and lacrosse , as well as Loudermilk Baseball Stadium for baseball . The Johnny Mize Athletic Center houses the O’Neal Cave Arena for basketball and volleyball . The Mize Center includes a museum featuring displays of Mize's baseball memorabilia collected during his career at Piedmont and as a Hall of Fame player in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals , New York Giants and New York Yankees . The pedestrian footbridge at Piedmont College connects to pieces of campus which are separated by Historic U.S. 441 Highway. There are also a few general purpose buildings. Lane Hall, which faces the quad, is the remodeled old gym, which houses the Student Success Center. There is also the President's House, the Admissions building and the pedestrian bridge which crosses Historic U.S. 441 . [ 25 ] The bridge was assembled off-site and lowered into place by crane, [ 26 ] and was modeled after the Vanderbilt University 21st Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. The installation of the bridge was a joint project of the Georgia Department of Transportation, Piedmont College and the city of Demorest. Much of Piedmont's Demorest property is now wetlands . The wetlands area was once the site of Lake Demorest (from 1890 – 2008). [ 27 ] The lake was drained due to an irreparable dam, and the property was turned into a wetlands for students and faculty to use in their studies. The heart of student life at Piedmont is the new Student Commons, which opened in the fall of 2015. The 58,000 square foot commons features the campus dining hall, fitness center (complete with a full-size basketball court with a walking track, a rock-climbing wall and a racquetball court), the official Piedmont College bookstore and a Starbucks cafe.