Davidson College

History

An institution of higher learning of The Presbyterian Church USA, Davidson College was founded in 1837 by The Concord Presbytery after purchasing 469 acres (1.90 km²) of land from the family of a Revolutionary War commander, Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, for whom the college is named. Church records show a meeting on May 13, 1835, among subsequent meetings, by members of the Concord Presbytery making plans to purchase and perform initial construction on the land, with land payments starting Jan. 1 of the following year. The first students graduated from Davidson in 1840 and received diplomas with the newly created college seal designed by Peter Stuart Ney, who is believed by some to be Napoleon's Marshal Ney.

In the 1850s, Davidson overcame financial difficulty by instituting "The Scholarship Plan," a program that allowed Davidson hopefuls to purchase a scholarship for $100, which could be redeemed in exchange for full tuition to Davidson until the 1870s. The college's financial situation improved dramatically in 1856 with a $250,000 donation by Maxwell Chambers, making Davidson the wealthiest college south of Princeton. The Chambers Building was erected to commemorate this gift. On November 28, 1921, the Chambers Building was destroyed in a fire but was reconstructed eight years later with funds provided by a generous gift from the Rockefeller family. The Chambers Building continues to be the primary academic building on campus.

In 1923, the Gamma chapter in North Carolina of Phi Beta Kappa was established at Davidson. Over 1500 men and 500 women have been initiated into Davidson's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1924, James Duke formed the Duke Endowment, which has provided millions of dollars to the college, including a $15 million pledge in 2007 to assist with the elimination of student loans.

On May 5, 1972, the trustees voted to allow women to enroll at Davidson as degree students for the first time. Women had attended classes as early as the 1860s but did not enjoy degree privileges. The first women to attend classes at Davidson were the five daughters of its president, the Rev. John Lycan Kirkpatrick. The first women were permitted to attend classes to increase the size of the student body during the American Civil War. However, art major Marianna "Missy" Woodward became the first woman to graduate from Davidson. She graduated in 1973 and was the only woman in a class of 217.

In early 2005, the College's Board of Trustees voted in a 31–5 decision to allow 20% of the board to be non-Christian. John Belk, the former mayor of Charlotte and one of the heirs of Belk Department Store, was a casualty of this decision, resigning in protest after more than six decades of affiliation with the college. Belk, however, continued his strong relationship with his alma mater and was honored in March 2006 at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Belk Scholarship.

On 19 March 2007, Davidson became the first liberal arts college in the country to eliminate the need for loans in financial aid packages. All demonstrated need is met through grants, student employment, and parental contribution.

Admissions profile

Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report regard Davidson's admission process as "most selective".

For the class of 2018 (enrolled fall 2014), Davidson received 5,560 applications and accepted 1,200 (21.6%). The yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) was 42.3%. In terms of class rank, 85% of enrolled freshmen reporting rank were in the top 10% of their high school classes. The middle 50% range of SAT scores for admitted students was 640–750 for critical reading, 650–750 for math, and 650–750 for writing, while the ACT Composite range was 30–34. Caucasians represented 67.9% of the incoming class, and 38.9% of enrolled freshmen were from the Southeast.

Rankings

The 2016 annual ranking by U.S. News & World Report rates it as tied for the 9th best among "National Liberal Arts Colleges" and 3rd in "Best Undergraduate Teaching" in the nation. For 2016, Davidson College was ranked 25th overall on Forbes ' list of "America's Top Colleges," and 1st in the South.

According to The Princeton Review, Davidson is ranked among the top twenty colleges nationally for the following categories: "Best Overall Academic Experience For Undergraduates," "Professors Get High Marks" (1st), "Professors Make Themselves Accessible" (16th), "Students Study the Most" (10th), "School Runs Like Butter" (4th), "Town-Gown Relations are Great" (3rd), "Easiest Campus to Get Around" (3rd), and "Best Quality of Life (16th)."

Faculty

Davidson has a student-faculty ratio of 10:1, 89% of its classes are under 30 students, and no classes have more than 50 students.

Davidson has 170 full-time faculty members. Almost all faculty members have terminal degrees in their field, with 96% of full-time members holding PhDs.

Honor code

Davidson students are bound by a strict honor code, signed by each student at the start of their Freshman year.

The Davidson College Honor Code states: "Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from cheating (including plagiarism). Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from stealing. Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from lying about College business. Every student shall be honor bound to report immediately all violations of the Honor Code of which the student has first-hand knowledge; failure to do so shall be a violation of the Honor Code. Every student found guilty of a violation shall ordinarily be dismissed from the College. Every member of the College community is expected to be familiar with the operation of the Honor Code."

As one of the most obvious manifestations of the Honor Code, Davidson students take self-scheduled, unproctored final exams. Some exams (known as "reviews" in Davidson vernacular) are take-home, timed, and closed book. Other take-home exams may be open book or untimed. Often take-home exams may take students days to complete. Every assignment submitted at Davidson includes either an implicit or (more often) explicit pledge that the student neither gave nor received assistance on the assignment beyond the bounds of the Honor Code. The Honor Code extends beyond 'reviews,' essays, or research papers. Notes around campus are commonly seen, whether on a bulletin board or taped to a brick walkway, describing an item found at the location and the finder's contact information so that the property may be recovered.

Majors and minors

Davidson offers majors in 27 subject areas. Students can also design their own major through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. In addition to the one major required for graduation, students may pursue a second major, a minor, or a concentration. 17 Interdisciplinary concentrations are offered in Archaeology, Applied Mathematics, Asian Studies, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Education, Environmental Studies, Ethnic Studies, Film and Media, Gender Studies, Genomics, International Studies, Medical Humanities and Neuroscience.

In February 2002, the Royal Shakespeare Company opened on campus the Duke Family Performance Hall, one of the premier performance spaces in the Southeast. In 2007 and 2008, the Cunningham Fine Arts building, home to several smaller performance spaces, faculty offices, classrooms and set construction facilities, was completely renovated.

Davidson's former President, Tom Ross, has repeatedly credited Davidson's Classics Abroad program with redirecting his life. Begun by Professor George Labban in the 1960s, the program has survived the retirement of Labban and his successor Dirk French. Presently, it is the most popular of the college’s study abroad programs, along with the Semester in India program. Davidson students may also take advantage of the wealth of outside study abroad programs available, applying their Davidson financial aid package to their program of choice.

Athletics

Davidson competes at the NCAA Division I level in 21 sports. Of these sports, 11 are men's and 10 are women's. Approximately 24% of the Davidson on-campus student body participates in varsity sports. Davidson has the fourth-smallest undergraduate enrollment of any school in Division I football, behind Presbyterian, VMI (Virginia Military Institute), and Wofford (smallest to largest).

Davidson's sports teams are known as the Wildcats. Their colors are red and black, although since 2008, many sports including football, men's basketball, and men's soccer have moved towards a brighter hue of red and white. The Wildcats participate as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports other than football and wrestling. Sports that compete in other conferences include football in Division I Football Championship Subdivision Pioneer Football League, and wrestling in the Southern Conference.

Student organizations

The main student newspaper on campus is the Davidsonian, which is published weekly. The Davidsonian was founded in 1914 and has published a volume every year since then. In 2007, Davidson's Library completed a project to digitally archive all past issues of the Davidsonian.

Davidson offers over 150 student organizations on campus, including arts & culture organizations, performance groups, sports groups, political organizations, gender and sexuality groups, religious organizations, and social action groups. The Student Activities Office encourages and is available for students wishing to develop an organization not yet established at Davidson.

Most student events are sponsored by the Union Board, the student organization in charge of the student union. In addition to hosting concerts throughout the Fall and Spring semesters, the Union Board organizes events such as pancake breakfasts at midnight, movies, and Freshmen welcome events.

Davidson College a cappella

Davidson has four a cappella singing groups: the Generals, the Delilahs, Androgyny, and the Nuances.

The Davidson Generals, an all-male group, took first place in the "Rockin' the Forest" intercollegiate a cappella competition at Wake Forest University in 2005. Following the release of their third CD, "Alpha-Kappa-Pella" in 2006 they were selected for the Voices Only 2006 collegiate a cappella compilation CD with their cover of John Legend's "Used 2 Love U." They released their fourth album, titled "General Consensus," in the Spring of 2008, their fifth album, "Decorated" in Spring 2010, and most recently "Outlaws" in the Spring of 2014.

The Davidson Delilahs, an all-female group, have produced five albums to date: "Falling into Place" (2001); "Head over Heels" (2004); "Kickin' Off our Heels" (2006); "Davidson Delilahs" (2008); and "Small Town, Big Voices" (2011). The Delilahs also perform regularly throughout the year.

in 1998 Davidson Androgyny was created as a response to the absence of a co-ed a cappella group on campus. Androgyny has released four albums, "Everything But The Piano" (2001), "The A Capocalypse" (2003), "A Class Act" (2008), and their latest album "iCapella" in spring 2011. The group also sang "I'm Yours" with platinum recording artist Jason Mraz on his "Music, Magic, and Make Peace Tour" stop at Davidson College on April 19, 2008.

The Davidson Nuances, a co-ed a cappella group on campus, was organized in 2009. In addition to performing on campus and in the community, the group released its debut album "Shaken, Not Stirred" in spring 2012.

Fraternities and eating houses

The fraternity and eating house system at Davidson is known as Patterson Court and is governed by the Patterson Court Council. Sigma Phi Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Order, Phi Gamma Delta, Connor House, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Warner Hall, Kappa Sigma, Black Student Coalition, Rusk House, and Turner House all currently occupy houses on Patterson Court.

Additionally, Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Delta Sigma Theta maintain a presence on campus. The NPHC sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first sorority of Davidson College's social community, receiving its charter in the Fall of 2008. The NPHC sorority Delta Sigma Theta is the newest member to Davidson's Patterson Court, having received its charter in the Spring of 2011.

In total, there are eight national fraternities, four local women's eating houses, and two sororities on campus. Approximately 55% of the female students and 35% of male students belong to a fraternity or an eating house.

The Farm

The College Farm offers fresh, naturally grown, local produce to Davidson College students through the college's Dining Services operation. The farm is a stand-alone, business-based unit of the college and does not introduce additional costs to Dining Services.

Dining

Vail Commons – The on-campus dining hall. Patterson Court – The area where the fraternities and eating houses are located.

Royal Shakespeare Company Residencies

In 2002, the Royal Shakespeare Company performed William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in residency at Davidson College, the RSC's second residency at a US college or university. The performance inaugurated the Duke Family Performance Hall. In March 2005, the RSC returned to Davidson and was in residency for most of the month, performing The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, as well as numerous educational activities, many of which were open to the general public. In February 2006, their artists directed scenes from Shakespeare's plays and other theatrical materials inspired by Shakespeare, entitled For Every Passion, Something, with Davidson students as actors. The productions Infinite Variety and For Every Passion Something were presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. In February 2007, the Royal Shakespeare Company performed Shakespeare's Pericles and The Winter's Tale, as well as Roy Williams's Days of Significance, in the Duke Family Performance Hall. In 2008, the RSC conducted educational programs, similar to those they presented in 2006. Also during this residency, playwright Rona Munro developed a new play, Little Eagles.

Financial aid

On 19 March 2007, Davidson College announced that all students would have their demonstrated financial need met by grants and student employment; loans would no longer be a component of any Davidson financial aid package. On 7 June 2007, the Duke Endowment pledged $15,000,000 to support the initiative. In March 2008, the initiative was named The Davidson Trust.

In addition to not including loans in their financial aid packages, Davidson recently completed a capital campaign adding 156 new scholarships funded with $88 million. Davidson states that they are committed to providing 100% of demonstrated need of all students, with 44% of students receiving need-based aid and over 50% receiving some form of financial aid.

Notable alumni

Davidson has many notable graduates, particularly in politics, athletics, and the arts. These include U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, several governors of North and South Carolina, a former White House Press Secretary, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Charles Wright. Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, attended Davidson for one year before transferring to Princeton University. American novelist and essayist William Styron, author of Sophie's Choice and The Confessions of Nat Turner, attended Davidson but transferred to Duke University. The 2015 and 2016 National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry also attended and has stated he intends to graduate. George Osborne, the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, attended Davidson College for one semester as an exchange student.