Piedmont University began in 1897 in Demorest, a new town in the northeast Georgia foothills, as a school that taught everyone from first graders to college juniors. Congregational churches kept it alive through lean decades. Today it is a private university with a residential campus in Demorest and a second campus in downtown Athens. Its Demorest campus has an art museum, a performing arts center and an outdoor amphitheater, and baseball great Johnny Mize played here.
About this site
Piedmont University is a college & university in Demorest, Habersham County. It is one of 94 historic sites cataloged in Habersham County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 34.5653, -83.5417 near Demorest. The nearest cataloged historic site is Pyle--Davis House (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Piedmont College, Home of Johnny Mize, and Demorest Commercial Historic District.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
What makes Piedmont University different
When it opened in 1897, the school enrolled 367 students ranging from first graders to college juniors. georgiaencyclopedia.org
Soong Mei-ling, later Madame Chiang Kai-shek, spent a year in Demorest as a girl and was enrolled at Piedmont as an eighth grader. en.wikipedia.org
Hall of Fame slugger Johnny Mize played baseball for Piedmont. The Johnny Mize Athletic Center and a museum honoring him are on campus. en.wikipedia.org
Piedmont runs the Lillian E. Smith Center, a retreat for artists and writers on more than 150 acres in Clayton, where the author of 'Strange Fruit' lived and worked. Smith studied at Piedmont in 1915–16. piedmont.edu
Its first president, Charles C. Spence, had earlier led Young Harris College, and an early Piedmont president, John C. Campbell, is the namesake of the John C. Campbell Folk School. georgiaencyclopedia.org
The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art opened in 2011 to house art given by alumnus Bill Mason (Class of 1957) and Bob Scharfenstein. piedmont.edu
Demorest was laid out in 1889 by a development company that wanted schools for its new town. In 1897 the company opened the J. S. Green Collegiate Institute with 367 students, from first graders to college juniors. The first president, Charles C. Spence, was a former Methodist circuit rider who had led Young Harris College. Money ran short quickly. In 1901 the Congregational Church's American Missionary Association took over the school and renamed it Piedmont College. Its presidents in those years included John C. Campbell, whose name lives on in the John C. Campbell Folk School. As public schools improved, Piedmont closed its elementary grades in 1920 and its high school in 1928.
In 1949 the missionary association withdrew and planned to close the college. The new president, a young Congregational minister named James E. Walter, raised support church by church. Over 34 years he put up nine buildings, cleared the college's debt and won its first regional accreditation in 1965. Piedmont later affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the United Church of Christ.
Growth came fast after 1994. Piedmont added business, nursing and graduate programs and opened a campus in Athens in 1996. The Demorest campus gained a library, a science center, the Swanson Center for the performing arts and a student commons. The college became Piedmont University in April 2021, and Marshall Criser, a former chancellor of Florida's state university system, is its 14th president.
#1 Best College with Forensic Science & Technology Degrees in Georgia — Niche, 2026source
Majors & programs
Piedmont organizes its programs into four colleges: Arts and Sciences, the Harry W. Walker College of Business, Education, and the R. H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Its directory lists more than 90 majors, graduate degrees and teaching certifications. Below is a sample from each college; the full directory is on piedmont.edu.
Known for
Forensic Science
Niche ranked Piedmont the #1 college in Georgia for forensic science and technology degrees in 2026. It offers a B.S. and an M.S.
Known for
Nursing
Taught in the R. H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences, whose students mark the start of clinical work with a White Coat ceremony.
Known for
Theatre, Musical Theatre and Film
Productions play in the Swanson Center's main stage and black box theaters, and film and documentary production is its own major.
Known for
Music
The campus chapel, valued for its acoustics, is the main concert hall for Piedmont's choirs, orchestra and chamber ensembles.
Known for
Education
Bachelor's through doctoral degrees, including an Ed.D., plus art, music and drama education.
Known for
Speech-Language Pathology
A master's program that builds on the undergraduate major in communication sciences and disorders.
All degree programs at Piedmont University (4)
College of Arts and Sciences
Majors include Art + Design (BA/BFA), Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, Environmental Science, Film & Documentary Production, Forensic Science, History & Government, Mass Communications, Musical Theatre, Music Performance, Neuroscience, Psychology and Theatre Arts
Harry W. Walker College of Business
Majors include Accounting, Actuarial Science, Business Administration, Business Analytics, Finance, Management, Marketing and Sport & Fitness Administration; graduate MBA and M.S. in Management
College of Education
Elementary, middle grades, secondary and special education plus art, music and drama education; M.A., M.A.T., Ed.S. and Doctor of Education
R. H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Nursing, Applied Health Science, Exercise & Sport Science, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Care Administration; M.S. programs in athletic training, clinical mental health counseling and speech-language pathology
Johnny Mize — 'The Big Cat,' Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman for the Cardinals, Giants and Yankees; played baseball at Piedmont en.wikipedia.org
Lillian Smith — author of the 1944 novel 'Strange Fruit' and an early white Southern voice against segregation (studied at Piedmont, 1915–16) en.wikipedia.org
Soong Mei-ling — First Lady of the Republic of China as the wife of Chiang Kai-shek (enrolled as a young student, 1908–09) en.wikipedia.org
Phillip M. Landrum — twelve-term U.S. congressman from Georgia and co-author of the Landrum–Griffin Act (A.B., 1939) en.wikipedia.org
Marvin Hudson — longtime Major League Baseball umpire who worked the 2016 World Series (business administration, 1986) en.wikipedia.org
Diana Palmer — bestselling romance novelist, who went back to college and graduated summa cum laude in history (B.A., 1995) en.wikipedia.org
Brian Rickman — judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2016 to 2026, including chief judge in 2021–23 (B.A.) en.wikipedia.org
Jonathan Clark Rogers — president of North Georgia College and later of the University of Georgia (Class of 1906) en.wikipedia.org
Athletics: Piedmont Lions
NCAA Division III · Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS)
Piedmont College History 2 · Piedmont UniversityAn Inconvenient Woman: The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith by Keri Leigh Merritt · GPBStalking the Big Cat of Georgia: A New Look at Baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny Mize · Hal Jacobs
It's a small private liberal arts university in Demorest known for nursing, education, forensic science and the arts. It has a performing arts center, an art museum and an active music program. It also has a second campus in Athens.
Is Piedmont University the same as Piedmont College?
Yes. Piedmont College changed its name to Piedmont University in April 2021.
How big is Piedmont University?
It enrolled 1,857 students in fall 2024, including 698 graduate students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
What division is Piedmont in?
The Piedmont Lions compete in NCAA Division III as members of the Collegiate Conference of the South.
Is Piedmont University religious?
It has historic ties to the Congregational tradition and is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.
Can the public visit the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art?
Yes. The museum in downtown Demorest is open Thursday through Saturday afternoons and by appointment. Check piedmont.edu for current exhibitions.
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