{"id":1471,"date":"2013-08-12T18:15:02","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T22:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2013\/08\/12\/one-of-americas-most-beautiful-campuses\/"},"modified":"2022-11-07T20:07:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T01:07:30","slug":"one-of-americas-most-beautiful-campuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/one-of-americas-most-beautiful-campuses\/","title":{"rendered":"One of America’s most beautiful campuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Person<\/a><\/p>\n

Harrison Goudiss can still remember the first time he saw Furman’s campus. He was 14 years old when he attended summer camp at the institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impressive part is I actually remember the campus,\u201d said Goudiss \u201814 (Atlanta, Ga.) \u201cEven then, it was memorable enough to remember the lake, the fountains, and the rose garden.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years later, when Goudiss was searching for a college, Furman\u2019s beautiful setting was still on his mind.<\/p>\n

“I had a chance to visit some larger state schools, but I was looking for a place where I could get away and go run or bike,” Goudiss said. “Furman does a great job of keeping everything clean and looking good. It influenced my decision to come here.”<\/p>\n

Goudiss isn\u2019t the only one who\u2019s been taken in by Furman\u2019s natural charm. In annual rankings crafted by Forbes, Travel and Leisure and other publications, the small liberal arts college in Greenville, S.C. is routinely recognized among America\u2019s most beautiful universities.<\/p>\n

The 750-acre campus owes much of its good looks to its modern architecture, tree-lined streets, and vast amount of green spaces. One of the most vivid scenes resides just past Furman\u2019s front gates, where campus visitors are immediately greeted by a cascading water fountain. The school also features a Florentine bell tower, an Asian garden, a replica of Henry David Thoreau\u2019s cabin, 13 miles of paved trails, and an 18-hole golf course.<\/p>\n

However, some of Furman\u2019s beauty can be attributed to its basic DNA thanks to a great natural setting. The university\u2019s signature space is a spring-fed lake that includes Paris Mountain as part of its magnificent backdrop. The campus also gets a dramatic makeover every fall when the foliage begins to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite time of year is when the seasons start to change and the leaves on (Furman Mall) change colors,\u201d said Mary Van Wert \u201814 (Peach Tree City, Ga.). \u201cDriving through campus is always beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say everything just happens on its own. Furman\u2019s groundskeepers play a pivotal role in maintaining the school\u2019s setting, from preserving the Jane Earl Furman Rose Garden to clearing leaves before major campus events.<\/p>\n

Furman\u2019s green space is a prime example of their exemplary work. Throughout the year, the lawn is a vibrant green, leading some members of the school\u2019s surrounding community to conclude that the grass must be painted. But Furman’s groundskeepers don’t take shortcuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t use dye in our spray tanks,” said David Manning, Furman\u2019s campus ground supervisor.<\/p>\n

Instead, Manning and his team start with a great blend of grass seed. From there, it\u2019s a regimen of irrigation, fertilization, and aeration. Manning said the finished product takes hours of hard work.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something Manning and his staff take pride in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m out and people are talking about how amazing the campus is, my wife says, \u2018I bet you like that,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWell, I do like that. That\u2019s what I want to happen. It\u2019s definitely a love affair.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rose garden, which is located between the Trone Student Center and the Daniel Dining Hall, gets plenty of attention from Furman\u2019s grounds crew, as well. \u00a0The garden features a 25,000-square foot area, which is home to 30 to 40 different varieties of roses. That doesn\u2019t include a 2,000-square foot upper garden that is set aside for one variety of rose, givenchy.<\/p>\n

Sheree Wright, Furman\u2019s master rosarian and self-proclaimed rose geek, is responsible for monitoring the garden. Wright is modest about her contribution. If you ask her, the real star is the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we do beautifies the campus,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut you need good-looking grass in order for the flowers to look good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others might disagree. Mention the rose garden to any student or alumni, and they\u2019ll mention that you can pick up free, freshly cut roses off the hedges. Wright and her colleagues leave the flowers for students as they cut across the garden between classes.<\/p>\n

Cutting the roses isn\u2019t just good for student morale. It\u2019s good for the roses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the rose petals start to fall apart, that\u2019s called a blast,\u201d said Bruce Fox, supervisor of the grounds\u2019 horticulture department. \u201cWe try to catch them just before they do that. It keeps tricking those rose bushes into producing more roses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rose garden, like other campus scenes, plays a pivotal role in attracting new students to Furman. Though the school\u2019s academics are the ultimate draw for any student, the setting doesn\u2019t dissuade anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just fell in love when I looked at Furman,\u201d said John Kiser \u201814 (Atlanta, Ga.) \u201cI loved the size and the beauty, and I couldn\u2019t see myself anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Furman, a campus with brains and beauty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":1472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}