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.[4] Following the Civil War, the Yadkin College fell into financial difficulty, and had by the 1890s become a preparatory high school.[5] Yadkin College would be called in 2024 the predecessor of High Point University during its 100th anniversary in 2024.[6]
Early years
In 1921, after some years of consideration, the statewide governing body of the Methodist Protestant Church voted to establish a new college.[7] Shortly afterward, the church accepted an offer from the citizens of High Point to contribute 60 acres (240,000m2) of land and $100,000 to the project, placing the new school in the city of High Point.[8] The Georgian-style[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
Transition to university
On October 9, 1991, High Point College was renamed to High Point University to reflect its expansion beyond a traditional college curriculum. 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.[12] Since Dr. 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.[13]
Since 2005, High Point University has grown from three academic schools to fifteen: 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, the Teresa Caine School of Nursing and the Norcross Graduate School.
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.[14]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.[14] 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.[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. At that time, HPU had 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 was the tenth contribution of $10 million or more that Qubein has received during his tenure.[16]
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. The Warning status was lifted in July 2025.[17]
In 2022, 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.[18] In 2023, the university receiving money from Bergmann & Moore, LLC, a law firm that practices in the area of veterans' benefits and started a pro bono law clinic in the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law focused on helping veterans receive military benefits after they are denied.[19] In 2024, Doug Witcher, the founder and CEO of Smart Choice, an insurance network based in the Piedmont Triad, 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]
On August 18, 2025, High Point University welcomed the largest freshman class and largest total enrollment in HPU's history. The freshman class grew by 9.4% to 1,671 students. High Point University's total new undergraduate students grew by 8% to 1,780 students and the total enrollment grew 3.4% from 6,335 to 6,550 students.[21] One week later, the university broke ground on the new John and Lorraine Charman Library, a $100 million library that will serve as the university’s flagship library when it opens in 2027. HPU received a $35 million lead gift from John and Lorraine Charman to help fund the four-story, 150,000-square-foot library that will be named in honor of them.[22]
Academics
Main campus at High Point University
HPU offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, 68 undergraduate minors,plus a series of graduate programs.
High Point University earned three No. 1 rankings in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges 2025" HPU was named the No. 1 Best Regional College in the South for the 13th consecutive year and the No. 1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South for the 10th consecutive year.[23]
Student Life
High Point University is a residential campus, with 23 residence halls in total. In 2025, the Princeton Review ranked High Point University #2 in the nation for Best College Dorm Rooms.[24] All High Point University students are required to reside on campus until senior year.
The High Point Panthers include HPU's 16 athletic teams that compete at the NCAADivisionI 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.[25] 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 Millis Center
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.[26] 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.[27]
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 (172–2ft).[28]
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.[29]
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).[30]
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, Nido 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,[31] but construction was delayed due to COVID-19 issues.[32] The facility opened in late September 2021,[33] with the first basketball game to be played on November 4.[34] The Qubein Center includes 4,500 arena seats, 2,500 conference center seats.[35] 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.[36]
↑ 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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