Francis Marion's 468-acre main campus is rightly known for its beauty and serenity. The campus includes acres of mixed pine-hardwood and bottomland forests accessed by a series of trails.
The “woodsy” feel is a fit with the surrounding countryside, but the campus trees were carefully cultivated during the early years. Thousands were planted, on what was, at inception, largely farmland. Combined with an equal number of complementary ornamental shrubs and small trees, an oasis of beauty was created.
As the flora matures, the natural palette is constantly changing, a delight for those who work and study at FMU. Indeed, the campus is something of a laboratory. Several forested acres have been set aside as an Arboretum, and a common sight on campus is a Biology class collecting specimens around the three-fingered pond behind the Lee Nursing Building.
Facilities
Francis Marion University is located on what many believe is one of the most scenic campuses in South Carolina, if not the Southeast. The university was carved from field and forest less than 50 years ago, with extensive landscaping added over the years. Nestled amongst the pines, azaleas and dogwoods are the facilities that house all the academic and support activities that comprise the contemporary university. FMU devotes substantial time and resources to maintaining those buildings, and sustaining the beauty and vibrancy of the campus.
The university has added ten new facilities to campus — seven on the main campus and three on the downtown campus in Florence — in the past decade. All were designed by nationally or regionally renowned architects and are aesthetically integrated into the settings around them. Most incorporate internal and/or external water features which enhance the tranquility of the buildings.
But they are all highly functional facilities, and they were all paid for before construction was started. Raising money before building something new, rather than borrowing from future generations to retire debt, has played an essential role in making FMU South Carolina’s most affordable university.
The Carter Center is a 51,000-square foot building in downtown Florence. It houses FMU’s graduate programs in the health sciences and allied programs associated with the USC School of Medicine. It opened in the fall of 2016. Key features of the building include the Dr. Sompong Krakit Simulation Laboratory, and Haigh Porter Auditorium. The building is named for Dr. Luther F. Carter, FMU’s fourth president.
The FMU PAC opened in 2011 and is located in downtown Florence. Its main elements include an 849-seat main auditorium with a fly tower and orchestra shell, a 100-seat experimental theater, and an academic wing with classrooms, offices, and rehearsal spaces for the Department of Fine Arts Music Industry degree. The surrounding grounds include the 500-seat BB&T Amphitheatre and the Beverly Hazelwood and Starr Ward Garden Courtyard. FMU’s Music Industry program, a division of the Department of Fine arts, is housed at the PAC along with resident performing companies (the Florence Symphony Orchestra, Masterworks Choir, South Carolina Dance Theatre) and Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation.
Wallace House is the oldest building in regular use on the FMU campus. It is the residence of the University’s president and family, and is also the site of a number of special events throughout the year. The antebellum-style home was rebuilt in 1924 after the original J. Eli Gregg home, built in 1836, was destroyed by fire. The house was the home of Joseph Wilds Wallace Sr. and Sallie Gregg Wallace. In 1960, in their memory, the Wallace family donated the house as the founding site of the University of South Carolina at Florence, the precursor institution that eventually became FMU. Then named Wallace Hall, the structure housed classrooms and meeting space for the Florence campus. When Francis Marion University was established in 1970, the house served as a facility for administrative offices. It was renovated as a permanent residence for the president of FMU in 1983.
Stokes was the first building constructed for the Florence Regional Campus of the University of South Carolina. It was built with funds contributed by citizens from across the Pee Dee area and was transferred to the Francis Marion University (then Francis Marion College) in 1970. An addition was completed in 1990. The building houses most of the university’s administrative offices.
Founder's Hall is FMU's largest academic classroom building. It is named in honor of the men and women whose efforts and energies led to the founding of the University. Founders Hall houses offices and classrooms for many of the University’s academic programs including English, geography, history, philosophy and religious studies, political science, sociology, and the School of Business. The Center for Academic Success and Advisement (CASA) is also located in this building.
The Smith Center opened in 1974 and is named for the first president of FMU. The complex provides comprehensive facilities for student activities and services including the offices of Student Affairs, Athletics, Dean of Students, Student Life, Student Newspaper, Campus Recreation Services, Multicultural Student Affairs, and Army ROTC. It also provides space for meetings, social activities, recreation and athletic programs (including a 2,547-seat gymnasium, weight/fitness rooms, game room, and swimming pool), FMU’s Student Health Center, and the Patriot Bookstore.
The "CEMC" is named for the late pioneer of educational television in South Carolina, John K. Cauthen, and was opened in 1977. The building contains facilities for the production and presentation of audiovisual materials as well as a resource area multimedia materials. It also provides classroom and office space for the mass communication, modern languages, psychology programs and the School of Education. The Ashpy Lowrimore Auditorium and the J.R. Bryan Jackson Innovation Place are also located in Cauthen.
The Dooley Planetarium features a 33-wide, 24-foot high dome and seats 64 for classes or shows. The planetarium’s digital projection system is a boon to students in the University’s astronomy classes, and also provides entertaining shows to the general public on a regular basis. The planetarium was opened in 1978 and named after its first director.
The Leatherman Science Facility was completed in 1994 and is home to classroom and laboratory space for FMU’s biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics programs. FMU’s industrial engineering lab is located in the building. It is named for Senator Hugh K. Leatherman Sr., who for many years has been a state senator from Florence County and member emeritus of the University’s Board of Trustees.
The McNair Science Building is named for former South Carolina Gov. Robert E. McNair, who played a significant role in making the University possible. It opened in 1972. The McNair Building provides classroom, laboratory, and office space for biology, chemistry, and physics. It also houses FMU’s mechanical engineering lab, it’s supercomputing facility, and the David Peterson Nuclear Lab, sponsored by Duke Energy. Chapman Auditorium, named for former FMU Provost Richard N. Chapman, is located in the west end of the building.
Chapman Auditorium is located in the Robert E. McNair Science Building and is named for former FMU Provost, Dr. Richard N. Chapman. The auditorium can be configured as a single space, seating more than 400, or separated into three separate classroom spaces. The stage has a tongue-and-groove satin finish maple floor, with performance-level light and sound capabilities. Chapman opened in 1972.
The Fine Arts Center is named in honor of Peter D. Hyman Sr., who was instrumental in the founding of the institution and who was the first chairman of the Francis Marion University Board of Trustees. It houses the John W. Baker Art and Music Wing and includes faculty offices for the Department of Fine Arts, classrooms, and studios for teaching art, art education, theatre, and music. The south wing includes the Adele Kassab Recital Hall and the University Theatre, which has a working stage and the capability for quick changes from a proscenium to a thrust stage. It opened in 1980.
FMU's 77,000 -square foot Library is named for the first chair of the State College Board of Trustees. The library opened in December 1971 and was expanded in 1988 by the addition of the J. Mitchell Reames wing. The library’s collection includes more than 398,000 volumes, more than 550 print journal subscriptions, access to 35,000 e-journals, more than 343,000 e-books, and 142 electronic databases. Students can access information from almost anywhere. Membership in PASCAL, the statewide academic library consortium provides access to millions of articles and to a statewide virtual library of more than 12.5 million volumes.
FMU's primary computer center is named for the second president of Francis Marion University. This facility opened in 1988. It provides computer classrooms and a 30-station general-use computer laboratory. It also houses a number of offices for the Campus Technology group.
FMU's Nursing Building is named for Dr. Frank B. Lee, the chairman of the board of trustees of the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, the local philanthropic foundation which largely funded the building’s construction. This facility opened for the fall 2006 semester. Lee is a two-story facility located on the north side of the campus pond and houses offices, classrooms, the Elizabeth W. Barnes Clinical Laboratory, a computer lab, three seminar-conference rooms, and the Dr. John M. Thomason Auditorium.
The Grille is a casual dining option and gathering place with indoor and outdoor seating available. FMU’s outdoor pool and sand volleyball court is adjacent. It was opened in 2006.
The Cottage, completed in 2003, is a faculty/alumni facility and guest house. The facility is named for BB&T, a major benefactor, and Amelia Wallace, whose family donated Wallace House and the first 100 acres of the land on which the University is located. Lunch is served daily, Monday through Friday (unless otherwise announced), for faculty, staff, alumni, and guests. It also serves as a regular meeting space for a variety of events and on campus conferences.
Hanson Park was established in 2005 and is named for the late Dr. Gary Hanson, a long-time FMU faculty member and administrator. This tranquil space is located between The Cottage and the President’s House and provides a quiet getaway for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
The campus' main dining spot opened in 1986 and was renovated in 2011. It serves students, faculty, and staff of the University as well as community groups. The P.O.D. Café, quick convenience market, is located on the south side of Ervin. The facility is named for a former chairman of the Board of Trustees for Francis Marion University.
The Forest Villas Apartments are modern, apartment-style residential units available to upperclassmen at FMU. It’s located in a quiet, wooded nook on the extreme southeast corner of campus, but it is still just a short walk to classrooms, the UC, and more. The Villa’s five, three-story buildings are situated around Turner Park, one of the prettiest spots on campus. It’s a memorial to FMU grad Farrah Turner, an investigator with the Florence County Sheriffs Office who was killed in the line of duty. The Villa’s offer private spaces in communal clusters. Each apartment includes single bedrooms along with shared living, dining and kitchen facilities.
FMU’s six residence halls — Palmetto Hall, Swamp Fox Hall, Marion State Hall, Belle Isle, Snow Island, and Watson Hall — form the heart of the on campus living space. They’re located close to Allard Housing Office and the Ervin Dining Hall. All six halls include both single and double rooms.
The Village Apartments, the first student housing on campus, include 12, two-story apartment buildings and a one-story apartment and can house approximately 400 residents students. Each building contains eight apartments designed to accommodate four persons each in individual bedrooms with a common living room, kitchen, and bath. They remain among the most popular housing options at FMU because of their convenient and peaceful location. The entire complex was renovated in 2018.
The residential community center is named for Dr. Joseph E. Heyward, who served the University as Vice President of Student Affairs and as interim Provost. The facility was built in 2004 and is available to all students but is located between the residence halls and the Forest Villas, in the residential end of campus. The facility includes a large common lounge for social functions and meetings, a smaller meeting/study area, a fitness room, a laundry facility, and an enclosed mail pickup area.
The cabins are a legacy of the Wallace Gregg family property that was gifted to FMU as a site for the new college in the 1960s. They also a local historical treasure that remembers the contributions, trials, and lives of the African Americans who lived and worked on the Wallace Gregg farm. They are on the National Historical Register and open to the public for tours on an occasional basis. The cabins currently on display were originally part of a group of eight. They were moved from their original site when the University was founded.
FMU's sports complex is named for the University’s long-time athletic director and baseball coach. It was completed in the Spring of 2012. The complex includes Clifford S. Cormell (baseball) Field at Sparrow Stadium, Murray G. Hartzler (soccer) Field, the FMU Softball Stadium, Marion L. “Spyder” Webb Plaza, Lake (“W”) Coleman, and a field house with office space and locker rooms.
The Kassab Tennis Courts at FMU include eight tennis courts, four of which are lighted. It is named in honor of John Kassab, whose leadership was a contributing factor to the establishment of the University. FMU’s men’s and women’s tennis play and practice as Kassab. The facility is also open to members of the FMU community.
This new, state-of-the-art facility utilizes both classic analogue and modern digital equipment. The studio is focused around a fully loaded ProTools 11 HD rig with an Avid C24 console and ADAM A7 monitoring. There is a full complement of industry standard microphones from AKG, Sennheiser, Rode, Audio Technica, Neumann, and many others. Classic analogue preamps are provided by Neve, API, Universal Audio, and Audient. The studio features two isolation booths and a great room large enough to handle ensembles of any size.
The Richardson Center houses a childcare program, FMU classrooms, a developmental clinic, research facilities and community program space. It opened in 2008. This facility is named in honor of Gail Ness Richardson, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees for Francis Marion University, and Terry E. Richardson Jr., a Barnwell attorney.
The Pee Dee Education Center is the office for a consortium of 16 school districts created by Coker College, and Francis Marion University, to provide support for the school districts in the region.
The FMU Education Foundation is sited on four acres of land on Highways 301/76, adjacent to the main FMU campus across Francis Marion Road. The building houses the FMU Foundation/Development Office, Alumni Affairs, Community Affairs, and several non-profit organizations including the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) are located in this building. The Education Foundation Building also houses the University’s offices of Counseling and Testing and Student Health Services.
This 36,000-square foot facility is located in downtown Florence and houses classrooms, laboratories, and office space for FMU’s School of Health Sciences. The facility is named for the late Senator Hugh Leatherman who represented Florence in the South Carolina Senate from 1981 until his death in 2021, and his wife, Jean Leatherman, a real estate executive in Florence.
The FMU Freshwater Ecology Complex opened in 2022. This 146-acre property includes the John G. Rae III Freshwater Ecology Center as well as a spacious conference center. Classes and labs offered at the Freshwater Ecology Complex include wildlife biology, entomology, and toxicology. The Complex also has a range of technological equipment that the students train with, giving them necessary workforce experience.
Located at 142 N. Dargan Street in downtown Florence, University Place houses the Steven F. Gately Gallery and Kelly Center for Economic Development. The Steven F. Gately Gallery, named for the late Steven F. Gately, a long time art professor at the University, hosts rotating visual art exhibitions from a variety of artists. The Kelly Center for Economic Development has been dedicated to the economic growth of the Pee Dee Region through small business support/incubation and various regional economic development initiatives since 2016. University Place is also home to the Florence County Legislative Delegation Office and the North Eastern Strategic Alliance.
The Honors Center is the most recent addition to FMU’s Main Campus. Completed in Fall 2020, the building features a stunning, 40-foot high atrium and is home to five state-of-the-art classrooms, as well as meeting and office space. In addition to housing the Honors Program, Francis Marion’s International Programs and the McNair Center for Research and Service can also be found here.
