Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lenoir–Rhyne University is a private Lutheran liberal arts university in Hickory, North Carolina. Founded in 1891, the university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

To expand the university's mission, the Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville, North Carolina was opened in fall 2012; the Center for Graduate Studies of Columbia, South Carolina was launched in 2014; and SACSCOC approved the merger of LR and the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) on December 9, 2013. Lenoir–Rhyne University participates in Division II NCAA athletics.

Lenoir–Rhyne fields 20 intercollegiate teams and competes in National Collegiate Athletics Division II (NCAA Division II) as a member of the South Atlantic Conference. The school nickname is the Bears; its mascots are Joe and Josie Bear.

The school's swimming programs compete in the Bluegrass Mountain Swimming Conference and the men's lacrosse program was a member of the Deep South Lacrosse Conference until the conference dissolved in 2013. The men's and women's track & field and women's lacrosse teams compete as NCAA Division II Independents.

There are over 60 student clubs and organization on campus.

Undergraduate students are required to live on campus for their first three years. Living on campus gives students the chance to enrich their academic experience through interaction with their peers, easy access to student clubs and organizations, and other opportunities for experiential and service learning.