PC Presidents

Presbyterian College (otherwise known as PC) was founded in 1880 by Dr. William Plumer Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs arrived in Clinton, South Carolina in 1864, following the devastation of the Civil War, and he dreamed of building an orphanage in the area. In October of 1875, Thornwell Orphanage opened its doors to 10 orphaned children. Five years after establishing the orphanage, Dr. Jacobs was faced with another challenge; sending those children to a proper college to continue their education.  The institution—first called Clinton College—was organized under the ownership and management of local Presbyterians. Clinton College was coeducational from the beginning and its founding purpose was to care for young men and women from the local area. After operating its first 25 years under the sponsorship of the Clinton First Presbyterian Church, PC officially became the Presbyterian College of South Carolina in 1904 with the synod’s vote to assume ownership. By 1909, Presbyterian College offered a curriculum leading to a B.A. degree, post-graduate work for the M.A., and a B.S. degree.