Community matters at Pfeiffer University. In the classroom, through classroom traditions, and by undertaking community-building efforts together, connections grow between students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Pfeiffer University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees.
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1866 Southern Lane Decatur, G.A. 30033-4097 (404) 679-4500
Pfeiffer University is currently accredited as a private, not-for-profit university. Its next reaffirmation will occur in 2023.
Pfeiffer University History
Pfeiffer University originated from the Oberlin Home and School, a homeschool developed by Miss Emily C. Prudden in 1885. In 1903, the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church assumed responsibility for the Oberlin property, and the Oberlin school was renamed the Ebenezer Mitchell Home and School. The Mitchell Home and School then moved to the current property in Misenheimer, issuing the first high school diplomas in 1913.
A junior college curriculum was added in 1928, and the school was renamed Mitchell Junior College. The introduction of elementary studies by county schools permitted the school to eliminate lower grades and to direct its efforts toward collegiate level work.
In honor of Henry and Annie Merner Pfeiffer of New York City, the name Pfeiffer Junior College was first used for the 1935–1936 academic year. Pfeiffer broadened its program to include senior college work in 1960. Thirty-six years later in May of 1996, the Board of Trustees voted to reorganize Pfeiffer’s academic structure toward university status.
The Charlotte campus opened in 1977 with undergraduate classes in Criminal Justice, and the first graduate program followed in 1985. Additionally, the Raleigh-Durham campus opened in 2004, offering a variety of graduate programs.
Since its founding, Pfeiffer has consistently grown in academic excellence, developing new programs to meet student needs and emphasizing the ideals of Christian service.
