High Point University (HPU) is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in 1991. HPU offers 66 undergraduate majors, 68 undergraduate minors, and 21 graduate majors.
History
Roberts Hall at High Point UniversityCaine ConservatoryNido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference CenterCottrell Hall at High Point University
In the mid-19th century, the Methodist Protestant Church, which is now part of the United Methodist Church, became active in educational pursuits in North Carolina, and at the 1852 state annual convention in Fayetteville, Yadkin College was founded in northern Davidson County.[3] Following the Civil War, the Yadkin College fell into financial difficulty, and had by the 1890s become a preparatory high school.[4] In 1921, after some years of consideration, the statewide governing body of the Methodist Protestant Church voted to establish a new college.[5] Shortly afterward, the church accepted an offer from the citizens of High Point to contribute 60 acres (240,000 m2) of land and $100,000 to the project, placing the new school in the city of High Point.[6] The Georgian-style[7] campus, featuring some architectural elements of Colonial Revivalism, was designed by R. E. Mitchell of Washington, D.C., with assistance from Herbert B. Hunter of High Point.The school was founded in 1924 as High Point College, a joint venture between the Methodist Protestant Church and the citizens of High Point, and officially opened on September 14, 1924. When the college opened, the campus consisted of three buildings, attended by nine faculty members, with a student enrollment of 122. The same year, Yadkin College closed its doors, and its assets including its library and bell were transferred to High Point College.[8]
The steadfast growth that characterized the birth of the college ended abruptly with the Great Depression. In 1932–33, faculty salaries were cut and expenses were sometimes bartered. Despite a $50,000 fundraising campaign, the college declared bankruptcy on June 15, 1934, and reorganized in an effort to reduce its indebtedness.[9]
On October 9, 1991, under the guidance of President Jacob C. Martinson Jr., and the board of trustees, High Point College changed its name to High Point University to reflect post-graduate degree programs. Coinciding with the offering of graduate studies, every building on the campus was renovated and new ones were constructed with a campus quadrangle added to replace a former city street that bisected the campus,[10] and by 2004 the university's endowment increased to $40 million.
In 2005, the university was 92 acres and landlocked with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,450. Its operating budget was $35 million with approximately 100 faculty members.[11] Since Nido R. Qubein became president of High Point University in 2005, the growth of the university has had significant impact on the city, region and state.[citation needed] Qubein is the fourth highest-paid college president in the United States, paid $2.9 million a year.[12]
Since 2005, High Point University has grown from three academic schools to 14: the Congdon School of Health Sciences, the Earl N. Phillips School of Business, the Wanek School of Natural Sciences, the David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design, the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, the School of Optometry, the Webb School of Engineering, the David S. Congdon School of Entrepreneurship, the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, the Stout School of Education, the Workman School of Dental Medicine and Oral Health, the Douglas S. Witcher School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, and the Teresa Caine School of Nursing.
In early 2012 Businessweek reported that about $700 million in new building and campus upgrades was financed by heavy borrowing and Moody's Investors Service downgraded the school's bonds to junk status in 2009 due to the school's position as one of the most heavily leveraged colleges in the country.[13]Businessweek responded by inviting the school to make financial documents available to support any challenges to the article's accuracy, but none were offered in response.[13] In addition to questioning debt levels, Businessweek challenged whether the school's relationships with its lenders and vendors were at an appropriate arm's length, citing in particular that the school spends large amounts on marketing with a public relations firm headed by Qubein's daughter. The college's claims to a growing reputation in higher education were challenged as based more on high-end student amenities and marketing strategy than on academics.[13] The U.S. Department of Education's "financial responsibility" score for the 2012 and 2013 fiscal year has High Point University scoring the highest possible score of 3, putting the university ahead of Elon University, Duke University, and Davidson College.[14]
The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac of April 19, 2016, noted that Qubein was the third highest-donor university president in the country from 2006 to 2016. He committed $10 million to High Point University.[15] In 2010, the university announced plans to invest about $2.1 billion in overall growth in the next decade. To date, HPU has spent $1.2 billion on four new schools plus facilities, faculty and student services.[16]
Ashley Furniture Industries Chairman Ron Wanek donated $10 million to HPU in 2013 after visiting Qubein. Wanek's gift to the university is the tenth contribution of $10 million or more that Qubein has received during his tenure.[16]
In April 2016, HPU announced plans to invest $160 million in new building projects including a 5,000-seat arena and conference center, undergraduate science center and residence hall.[17] The Caine Conservatory opened in the spring of 2020 to support botanical research and the growth of HPU’s arboretum and gardens. The facility also includes HPU’s newest eatery, the Butterfly Café. The following year, the $170 million Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center, and the adjoining Jana and Ken Kahn Hotel, opened. It is home to HPU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as a venue for major events, speakers, concerts, entertainment, academic symposia and recreational activities.
In June 2023 the university was placed on Warning status by its educational accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, after the accreditor's board found significant non-compliance with its standards of student support, student outcome, and disclosure of accreditation status. This Warning status was continued in June 2024.[18]
HPU received a $32 million gift from the Rick and Angie Workman Foundation to establish the new dental school, which will welcome its first cohort of students in the fall of 2024. HPU named its dental school the Workman School of Dental Medicine.[19]
Doug Witcher, the founder and CEO of Smart Choice, an insurance network based in the Piedmont Triad, has donated $20 million to HPU, his alma mater. HPU’s School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences and its 36,000-square-foot athletic center are named after him.[20]
High Point University has started a pro bono law clinic within the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law that will focus on ethically helping veterans receive military benefits after they are denied. It was established after receiving a generous gift from Bergmann & Moore, LLC, a law firm that practices in the area of veterans’ benefits.[21]
On May 1, 2024, Madison Crowell, a senior at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, announced that she had decided to attend High Point University after being accepted into 231 colleges and universities and receiving nearly $15 million in scholarships. Crowell received national attention for the number of schools she got accepted into and the total amount of scholarships she received.[22]
Location
Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem, along with the surrounding suburbs and townships, form the Piedmont Triad region, an area with a population over 1.7 million. Of that number, approximately 108,285 live in High Point. Both Greensboro and Winston-Salem are 20 minutes from campus. East of the university are Raleigh (11/2 hours away) and the Atlantic Ocean (31/2 hours away); south are Charlotte (11/2 hours away) and Atlanta, Georgia (5 hours away); west are the Appalachian Mountains (2 hours away); and north is Washington, D.C. (5 hours away).
Academics
Main campus at High Point University
High Point University has a student-to-faculty ratio of 17:1. The average freshman retention rate is 81%.[23]
HPU offers 61 undergraduate degree programs (Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science), 65 undergraduate minors, and 14 graduate degree programs (Master of Arts, Master of Education, Master of Public Administration, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science, Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Doctor of Pharmacy, and Doctor of Physical Therapy).
Rankings
High Point University has been recognized as a College of Distinction for the 2024-25 academic year, marking the 14th consecutive year that HPU has received the honor.[24]
For the third consecutive year, The Princeton Review ranked HPU’s game design program as one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs in the country in 2024.[25]
High Point University earned three No. 1 rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 “Best Colleges” edition. HPU was named the No. 1 Best Regional College in the South for the 13th consecutive year, the No. 1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South for the 10th consecutive year and the No. 1 Best Undergraduate Teaching for Regional Colleges in the South for a second consecutive year.[26]
Schools
High Point University has ten schools: School of Dental Medicine and Oral Health, Congdon School of Health Sciences, Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, Webb School of Engineering, Wanek School of Health Sciences, Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design, Earl N. Phillips School of Business, School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, and School of Education. Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law will have their first classes in 2024.
Student life
High Point University is a residential campus, with 19 residence halls in total. In 2019, The Princeton Review ranked High Point University #5 in the nation for Best College Dorm Rooms.[27] All High Point University students are required to reside on campus until senior year, unless they commute from their parent's permanent address.
Greek life
There are currently 17 Greek organizations on campus.[28]
The High Point Panthers include HPU's 16 athletic teams that compete at the NCAADivision I level, mostly in the Big South Conference. HPU's 16 varsity sports are baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and women's outdoor track & field and women's volleyball.[29] In recent years, HPU has won nine Big South Conference Championships, produced 10 Conference Players of the Year; and more than 130 HPU athletes have received Big South All-Academic Honors.
High Point dancers during a 2009 basketball game at Qubein Center
In the spring of 2021, the Division I athletic department won 13 of 16 possible conference championships. Led by a 2nd round appearance by the men’s soccer team in the NCAA Tournament. Just two seasons later the feat was accomplished again with a 2-0 first round win against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Prior to the Spring of 2021, the 2010-2011 season was the most successful since High Point University joined NCAA Division I in 1999–2000. In the fall, the women's soccer team and women's volleyball team won Big South Tournaments and the men's soccer team won the Big South regular season.[30] In the spring, the women's lacrosse team won the National Lacrosse Conference tournament and set a record for wins by a first-year program, with 15.[31]
The 2010-2011 women's lacrosse team success led to other accomplishments in 2013. Women's lacrosse assistant coach Lauren Norris was selected to coach the 2013 Israel National Lacrosse Team in the 2013 FIL Women's World Cup.
In the fourth round of the 2013 Major League Soccer (MLS) Supplemental Draft, the Columbus Crew picked High Point University senior midfielder Shawn Sloan.
In 2016, Christine Rickert of the High Point University women's track and field team qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Rickert placed 12th in the javelin throw, just nine places away from a spot on the Olympic Team. She remains the Big South Conference Record Holder in javelin with a throw of 52.47m (172–2 ft).[32]
High Point University also fields the following sports at the club level: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rowing, running, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's field hockey, softball, ultimate frisbee, equestrian and ice hockey.[33]
In the fall of 2013, the High Point University field hockey team qualified for the national tournament in Virginia Beach with a 6-2-0 season. The club equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
Donations to High Point University's Athletic Department have exceeded $30 million. The primary athletics facilities at High Point University are the Qubein Center (basketball), Millis Center (volleyball), Williard Stadium (baseball), and the Witcher Athletic Center at Vert Stadium (track, soccer, lacrosse).[34]
At the beginning of 2017, High Point University announced plans for a new basketball arena and conference center to be built on campus. The facility will be named for High Point University president, Dr. Nido R. Qubein, and his wife, Mariana Qubein. Construction on the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center began in 2018; the facility was originally projected to open in 2020,[35] but construction was delayed due to COVID-19 issues.[36] The facility opened in late September 2021,[37] with the first basketball game to be played on November 4.[38] The Qubein Center includes 4,500 arena seats, 2,500 conference center seats.[39] It was also announced in early 2017 that the basketball court in the new arena was named after High Point men's head coach and High Point University alumnus Tubby Smith. Smith and his wife, Donna, donated $1 million to the construction of the new facility.[40]
In spring 2018, HPU announced the hire of hiring of Hall of Famer and NCAA Championship Winning coach Orlando 'Tubby' Smith as the Panthers' head coach for men's basketball. Smith, who becomes the 12th head men's basketball coach in HPU history, joins the Panthers after serving as the head coach at Memphis for two seasons.
Dan Hauser has served as the HPU athletic director since 2014.
Publications and media
High Point University Magazine, for alumni
The Apogee, the literary magazine
Black Script
Hi-Po, a monthly publication by students for fellow students
Zenith, yearbook
HPU Vision, on-campus broadcast club
HPU Sports Link, broadcasts HPU athletics live online
HPU+, online professional and personal coaching
Sechrest Gallery
A permanent collection of original works was donated to the university by High Point Alumnus Darrell L. Sechrest. The collection includes works by Christian Dietrich, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Allesandro Gherardini, El Greco, George Harvey, Emile Louis Picault, Elsie Popkin, and Antonio Zucchi and Angelica Kauffman. The gallery is housed within the Hayworth Fine Arts Center.[41]
^Ruth Little and Paul Touart (1983–1987). "Yadkin College Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2024-04-06. Section 8, Page 1.
^Ruth Little and Paul Touart (1983–1987). "Yadkin College Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2024-04-06. Section 8, Page 3.
^Sizemore, F. J., ed. The Buildings and the Builders of a City: High Point, North Carolina. High Point: Hall Printing Company, 1947. p. 318-319
^Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Greensboro: The Guilford County Bicentennial Commission, 1980. p. 233
^Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. "The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. To 1980, A.D." Greensboro: The Guilford County Bicentennial Commission, 1980. p. 235
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