BUIES CREEK, N.C. Campbell University’s first classes of
the fall semester begins Wednesday, and 124 of its 1,156 new students, along
with 18 current students, will be spearheading the school’s first ever
engineering and nursing programs.The university also says that this year’s incoming class is academically the strongest it has ever had. The 858 first-year students and 258
transfer students have a cumulative GPA of 3.9 and averaged 1,030 on the two-part SAT
(+22 compared to last year), 1510 on the three-part SAT (+20 compared to last
year), and 22.5 on the ACT (+1 over last year). Campbell’s School of Engineering will include 78 incoming
students and 18 current students transferring from other programs within
Campbell. The second engineering school at a private university in N.C.,
Campbell’s Bachelor of Science in General Engineering degree will allow
students to choose concentrations in mechanical engineering and
chemical/pharmaceutical engineering. The university says that 77 students from the incoming class
plans to study mechanical, while the other 19 are headed into the
chemical/pharmaceutical program. “This is a historic moment for Campbell University,” said J.
Bradley Creed, the university’s president. “These programs grew out of the
state’s and region’s needs for engineers and health professionals. We are
thrilled to finally have on campus our first engineering and nursing students. They
will help advance Campbell’s mission to prepare servant leaders who make an
immediate impact in the communities where they live.” The Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing welcomes 46 new
students on Wednesday in the freshly opened Tracey F. Smith Hall of Nursing and
Health Sciences, located on Campbell’s Health Sciences Campus. The engineering program
will take over the university’s Carrie Rich Memorial Hall, which was renovated
over the summer.”The buzz about our learning spaces, labs, equipment and
innovative designs has already attracted significant attention,” said Jenna P.
Carpenter, the founding dean of Campbell Engineering. “I long ago lost count of
how many drop-in tours I have given of Carrie Rich this summer.” Campbell officials say the School of Engineering will pursue
accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology when it
becomes eligible following the first engineering class graduation in 2020. The School
of Nursing is available to students who have reached their junior year and meet
all of the programs requirements and prerequisites, adding to Campbell’s
pre-existing pre-nursing track for freshmen and sophomore students.
