Brenau University is a private university in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, that was founded in 1878 as Georgia Baptist Female Seminary, though it has never been affiliated with the Baptist Church. The total enrollment of Brenau University tops 2,500 students in its four schools (Education, Fine Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Business and Mass Communication). It offers programs through its historic Women’s College, Accelerated High School Academy, and co-educational graduate and undergraduate programs (offered online, during the evenings and weekends). In 2011, it was ranked as the twelfth best value for colleges in the South by U.S. News. Brenau was founded in 1878 as a private institution for the education of women. W.C. Wilkes, the institution’s first administrator, is credited with building many of the historic buildings that still stand today. In 1900 H. J. Pearce purchased the institution and renamed it Brenau, a linguistic blend formed from the German word brennen, “to burn”, and the Latin aurum, “gold”. Its motto is “As Gold Refined by Fire”.