Established 1837 Endowment US $70.7 million Acceptance rate 62.2% (2014) President Jane Fernandes | Affiliation Quakers Academic staff 118 Mascot Quaker Undergraduate tuition and fees 33,430 USD (2015) | |
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Motto I am striving for wisdom and virtue. Type Private liberal arts college Address 5800 W Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC 27410, USA Profiles | ||
Guilford College is a small liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Guilford's program offerings include such majors as Peace and Conflict Studies and Community and Justice Studies, both rooted in the college's history as a Quaker institution.
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weareguilford guilford college
History
Guilford College is the only Quaker-founded college in the southeastern United States. Opening in 1837 as New Garden Boarding School, the institution became a four-year liberal arts college in 1888. Levi Coffin, a well-known abolitionist, Quaker, and political dissenter grew up on the land, which is now considered a historical site. The woods of New Garden, which still exist on campus today, were used as a meeting point for the Underground Railroad in the 19th century, run by Coffin.
Athletics
Guilford competes as an NCAA Division III as an Old Dominion Athletic Conference member. The school has won five national championships, including the 1973 NAIA men's basketball title, the 1981 NAIA women's tennis title and the 1989 (NAIA), 2002 and 2005 (NCAA Division III) men's golf titles.
Campus events
Bryan Series. In the past decade, Guilford's Bryan Series has brought many notable speakers to the campus and city for an annual public lecture series. Past speakers have included Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Ken Burns, Mary Robinson, David McCullough, and Toni Morrison. The 2008–09 Bryan Series lecturers were Khaled Hosseini, Christiane Amanpour and James Rubin, Salman Rushdie, and Anna Quindlen. The 2009–10 lecturers were Garry Trudeau, Paul Krugman, Anna Deavere Smith, David Gregory, and Yo-Yo Ma.
Eastern Music Festival (EMF). Every summer, the college hosts the five-week-long Eastern Music Festival (EMF), where both professional and student musicians come together for seminars and public performances. Each year, EMF features more than 70 concerts and music-related events on- and off-campus.
Serendipity. The largest campus-wide event of the year is "Serendipity", held annually in the spring. It began in 1972 as a replacement to the somewhat antiquated May Day festivities, and has featured games, musical performances, and "general mayhem." During its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the weekend festival was attended by Guilford students and alumni, as well as thousands of students from other local institutions in the Triad area. Musical acts who have played this event include: Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, Hootie and the Blowfish, Common, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Luscious Jackson, The Violent Femmes, Man Man, The Village People and The Squirrel Nut Zippers. Despite the fact that Serendipity is considered by alum to be a hallmark of the Guilford experience, as of December 2014, its future remains uncertain. Following concerns expressed by the interim Dean of Students Jenn Agor about music festival culture, school officials have begun to discuss to possibility of discontinuing the tradition. This has led to a sizable student backlash. The dispute over Serendipity is indicative of the tensions between the very liberal student body and its more conservative administration.
WTH?! Con This event has been occurring annually since 2001. Major guests include a host of webcomic creators and wrock bands. The most recent Con, held February 10–12, 2012, attracted around 300 attendees. Peak attendance has been around 500 people.