Lander University was founded in 1872 as the Williamston Female College, in Williamston, SC. In 1904, the college moved to Greenwood, SC, and renamed Lander College, in honor of its founder, Samuel Lander. Currently, Lander University is a fully accredited institution by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's and master's level degrees.
Full-time enrollment is approximately 2,800 with a student body representing 30 states and 17 foreign countries. A $13million science/mathematics/computer science complex was completed in 1997 and houses the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Division of Biological and Physical Sciences.