The building included classrooms, auditoriums, a chapel, library, principal's office, cafeteria, living quarters, literary societies, a music room, and parlors.

[10] Original tuition was $76.05 for a term of nine months, and although the school attracted a wide variety of students with varied interests, its focus centered around ministerial education.

[11] The high school became Boiling Springs Junior College on September 3, 1928 due to the changing educational needs of the area.

The Great Depression created many obstacles for the college, but its survival was secured by the sacrifices of loyal supporters.

[13] In 1942, Governor O. Max Gardner began devoting his energy, time, and wealth to strengthening the college.

On June 15, the trustees voted to change the name to Gardner–Webb Junior College in honor of Gardner and his wife, Fay Webb-Gardner.

[14] The decades following World War II were years of physical growth and academic development.

The institution officially became known as Gardner–Webb University in January 1993, culminating years of preparation, and by the early 2000s the school had more than 3,200 students and 135 faculty members.

[17][18][19] In 2009, the schools gained autonomy from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and established a "good faith and cooperative" relationship with it.

[22] In February 2014, openly gay minister and Gardner–Webb alumnus Cody Sanders[23] was invited to speak about his recent book Queer Lessons for Churches on the Straight and Narrow: What All Christians can Learn from LGBTQ Lives[24] as a part of the Life of the Scholar speaker series.

was published in The Biblical Recorder, the bi-weekly newspaper of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC).

[27] The main campus in Boiling Springs is situated on 225 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlotte and Asheville.

Out of these students, 66% are female and 34% are male, and in all come from a total of 42 foreign countries, 37 states and 90 North Carolina counties.

[38] GWU's core curriculum ranks in the nation's top two percent for quality and breadth, according to the What Will They Learn?

[44] Gardner–Webb students are expected to follow a strict honor code, signing a pledge upon enrollment to "uphold honesty, integrity, and truthfulness in all realms of University life.

[54][55] Gardner–Webb offers recreational activities designed to "enrich the quality of physical, mental, spiritual, and social life of University community members.

This conference is divided up into academic fields such as Religion & Philosophy, Natural Sciences, and English Language & Literature to name a few.

[59] Gardner–Webb offers 21 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, swimming, track and field, cross country, softball, tennis, volleyball, lacrosse, cheerleading, and golf.

Athletic marks, living animals, and costumed versions of the mascot have represented Gardner–Webb on the field of play and within the community.

[85][citation needed] Throughout the decades, the Gardner–Webb live bulldog mascots have carried names like Butch, Chins, Victor, Barney, Roebuck and Bo.