Motto | Respice Finem (Latin) |
---|---|
Motto in English | look to the end (in the sense of "consider the consequences," or "think about the end result") |
Type | Private college |
Established | 1787 |
President | Rosemary A. Allen |
Academic staff | 77 full-time and 68 part-time [1] |
Students | 1,565 [1] |
Undergraduates | 1,109 [1] |
Postgraduates | 456 [1] |
Location | , U.S. 38°12′25″N84°33′14″W / 38.207°N 84.554°W |
Campus | Suburban, 104 acres (42 ha) |
Colors | Black & Orange |
Nickname | Tigers |
Affiliations | NAIA – Mid-South |
Website | georgetowncollege |
Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1787, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. [2] [3]
The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in education. It offers degrees in areas of visual and performing arts, math and sciences, humanities, language and culture, business, medicine and healthcare, and others.
Georgetown College is associated with five Rhodes Scholars and its alumni have included 38 Fulbright Scholars since 1989.
In 1829, the Kentucky General Assembly chartered the Kentucky Baptist Education Society with the purpose of establishing a Baptist college in the state. 24 trustees under the leadership of Silas Noel selected the town of Georgetown as the site for the new school.
Georgetown College's early years were defined by perseverance in the face of hardships. The first president hired by the college in 1829, William D. Staughton, died before assuming his duties. The second president, Rev. Joel Smith Bacon, stayed two years (1830–1832), fighting court cases to release funding for the college before leaving out of frustration. The third president, Benjamin Farnsworth, endured a power struggle with the Campbellites and resigned in 1837.
In 1838, Rev. Rockwood Giddings became the fourth president of the college. During his short tenure, Giddings began construction on Recitation Hall, the school's first permanent building, and made many other advances that put the college on sound footing. Giddings died of exhaustion after a year in office and was replaced by Rev. Howard Malcolm in 1840.
Malcolm oversaw the completion of the construction of the building, now known as Giddings Hall. He also expanded the educational offerings beyond the classics and encouraged the founding of literary societies and the Georgetown Female Academy. He resigned in 1849 when his anti-slavery vote at Kentucky's third constitutional convention resulted in much criticism from slavery proponents and a threat on his life.
The college experienced steady growth until the Civil War, when a clear divide established between students and faculty. Partisan differences at the start of the war became so hostile, the college was forced to shut down until 1863. By 1867, enrollment had grown to seventy-six students, and, that same year, one of the earliest female seminaries was founded at the college. Basil Manly Jr. was president of Georgetown College from 1871 to 1879. [4]
The college saw steady growth for the next century but experienced a major boom following World War II and the GI Bill, and, by 1958, enrollment had jumped to 1,397 students. Georgetown continued its growth into the 1960s and 1970s, with several new academic buildings and dormitories constructed on campus to accommodate the rise in enrollment.
The college is associated with five Rhodes Scholars and, since 1989, its alumni have included 38 Fulbright Scholars. [5] The college also has an honors program and a partnership with Regent's Park College, Oxford.
As the student population grew in the late 20th century, the administration sought ways to diversify the campus and protect academic freedom. In 2005, Georgetown College and the Kentucky Baptist Convention reached an agreement on a separation plan, due to the college's desire to elect non-Baptist members to the board of trustees. [6] In 2013, the Kentucky Baptist Convention officially ended its partnership with the college. [7]
In 2014, the college became one of only 18 schools nationwide to earn the highest rating for protecting free speech on campus. [8]
Georgetown College offers Bachelor of Arts Degrees, Bachelor of Science Degrees, and several dual-program degrees in 38 undergraduate majors. The college also offers a Master of Arts degree in education.
Georgetown College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master's degrees. [9]
Georgetown College was ranked #156-201 in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Colleges ranking. [10]
Georgetown College has 58 student clubs and organizations, including four national fraternities. The college offers a chapel and several Christian and other religious groups for students. Its social organizations cover a wide range of interests, including government, recreation, community service, activism, the arts, and academics. [11]
Georgetown College has four national fraternities (Kappa Alpha Psi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Tau, and Pi Kappa Alpha) and five national sororities (Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Sigma Kappa and Zeta Phi Beta) on campus. It also has an independent brotherhood known as the President's House Association, which was formed in 1964 as an alternative to the traditional fraternity system. An Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council are also part of Greek life at Georgetown College. [12]
Government-minded students can join the College Democrats, College Republicans, United Nations Georgetown, and the Student Government Association. [13]
Recreation and activity oriented groups include the Georgetown Activities Council, intramurals, Georgetown College Equestrian Team, Georgetown College Film Club, Outdoor High Adventure Club, Social Plug, and the Georgetown College Disc Golf Club. [11]
Activist groups include the Georgetown Sustainability Initiative, Campus Spectrum, Habitat for Humanity, Student Abolitionist Movement, and the American Red Cross Club. [13]
Students interested in the arts can participate in the Dance Marathon, George-Tones, Gospel Choir, Lyric Theatre Society, Maskrafters/Alpha Psi Omega, MTNA piano club, Praise Dance Ministry, and the Step Team. [13]
Religious organizations include Common Ground and Campus Outreach. [11]
Academic groups include Alpha Lambda Delta, American Chemical Society Club, Biology Club, Brokmeyer Society (philosophy), Delta Omicron, Georgetown College Athletic Training Students, Kentucky Education Association, Math/Physics/Computer Science Club, Nat'l Association for Music Education, Psi Chi/Psi Alpha Omega, Sigma Tau Delta (English honorary, Eta Alpha Chapter, est. 1925), Sociology Club, Student Women and Gender Society, Students of National Association for Teachers of Singing, and the Academic Team. [11]
Other student organizations include Ambassadors of Diversity, Pre-Health Association, SHAC, SHMAC, Tiger Squad, Commuter Club, and the Real Food Coalition. [11]
The Georgetown College Maskrafter theater group is the oldest collegiate theater company in Kentucky and offers traditional theater, an emphasis on creating original work, and new initiatives in digital motion picture art. As of 2007, the Maskrafters had produced a feature-length movie entitled Surviving Guthrie, and had put on the musical She Loves Me . Recent plays include Proof , The Fantasticks , Grease , and Shakespeare's The Tempest . The Maskrafters are primarily students at Georgetown, and are guided by staff. [14]
A student-run newspaper, called The Georgetonian, publishes multiple issues per semester. [15] A student-run radio station, WRVG, is housed on campus in the Cralle Student Center. [16]
Songfest is an evening of skits written by, starring, and produced by Greek and independent groups on campus. Skits are centered on the Homecoming theme, and also incorporate singing, dancing, and acting. Groups engage in competitions to win awards. [17]
Chapel Day and Men's Bid Day takes place each January. Chapel Day is a sorority event letting the active members know which pledges have accepted their bid to join the sorority. The pledges dress in their new sorority's colors and run through the doors of the chapel into the waiting arms of their sisters. The fraternities' version of Chapel Day occurs the following week. Referred to as Men's Bid Day, it operates in a similar fashion and is held at Cooke Memorial. Even independent students, faculty, staff, family, and sometimes pets brave the cold to enjoy the excitement of this special campus tradition. [17]
Homecoming is an annual tradition, highlighted by Songfest and a football game. Every year, alumni head back to Georgetown's campus. On Saturday morning they have brunch, listen to live music, and visit with fellow alumni, professors and current students. A Homecoming King and Queen, elected by the student body, are crowned during halftime of the football game. [17]
Belle of the Blue is Georgetown's small-scale version of Miss America. It is an annual scholarship pageant that any freshman through junior woman can participate in. Each residence hall, including the male dormitories, nominates a woman to compete as their representative in the February event. On pageant night, the women are judged based on scholarship, interview, talent, poise and appearance. A "Miss Congeniality" title is awarded, as well as an overall scholarship to Georgetown College. [17]
Midnight Brunch – The Caf, each semester, selects one night during finals week to open at midnight. Students listen to music that blares and games are played, and the professors serve students platefuls of comfort food to help fuel their late-night study sessions. [17]
Grubfest happens each September. Students join the annual battle to see which team can complete the most challenges. In a matter of hours, the Quad, a lush, green open area for socializing and studying, is turned into a slimy, muddy arena covered with food products. At the end of Grubfest, the two dirtiest and most creative participants are crowned king and queen of the year's festivities. [17]
Opening Convocation is held in the chapel in the early fall and is a campus-wide assembly intended to create a sense of academic community and common purpose as the academic year begins. [17]
Hanging of the Green is held each December, and students, faculty, and staff gather together in the chapel on the first Monday night of the month for a worship service including an advent wreath lit by faculty and staff, an upperclassman offering the service's message, and a Christmas tree trimmed on stage with ornaments representing various organizations on campus. At the end, the attendees sing "Silent Night". [17]
Commencement, or the graduation ceremony, takes place every May on Giddings Lawn. Seniors troop through the doors of Giddings Hall and fan out onto the front lawn, where commencement proceeds. [17]
The Georgetown athletic teams are called the Tigers. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) since the 1995–96 academic year. [18] The Tigers previously competed in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) from 1916–17 to 1994–95.
Georgetown competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: [19] Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include archery and cheerleading. Former sports included women's acrobatics & tumbling. Club sports include bass fishing and dance.
On April 28, 2012, the college officially announced that after a year-long study, it had decided to transfer its athletics program to NCAA Division II. It was presumed they would join the newly formed Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). [20] However, on July 24, 2012, the college announced that its application to join the NCAA was denied. The membership committee had notified them on July 12 that "it felt that Georgetown College was not ready to enter the process at this time." [21] As of 2021, Georgetown hasn't yet re-applied to transition into NCAA Division II.
Anderson University is a private Christian university in Anderson, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Church of God. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate majors as well as graduate programs in business, music, and theology.
Wilmington College is a private college in Wilmington, Ohio. It was established by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1870 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college is still Quaker-affiliated and has seven core Quaker values. In fall 2018, the college set an enrollment record, bringing in 450 new students for the academic year, totaling 1,103 students on Wilmington's main campus, and 139 students at Wilmington's two Cincinnati branches at Blue Ash and Cincinnati State.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is a public college with three campuses in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System, enrolls about 2,000 students, and offers over 50 areas of study. The main campus is in Bluffton, South Carolina. The institution's campus in Beaufort houses the school's honor programs and the Department of Visual Arts & Design. The campus location on Hilton Head Island is home to the institution's program for hospitality management.
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, and Owensboro. The main campus, which has been undergoing expansion and renovation since the 1990s, sits atop a hill overlooking the Barren River valley.
California State University, Monterey Bay is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and Marina, about one mile inland from Monterey Bay along the Central Coast of California. CSUMB also has locations in the cities of Monterey and Salinas. Founded in 1994, CSUMB is part of the California State University system and is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
Dartmouth College is host to many fraternities and sororities, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. In 2005, the school stated that 1,785 students were members of a fraternity, sorority, or coeducational Greek house, comprising about 43 percent of all students, or about 60 percent of the eligible student body. Greek organizations at Dartmouth provide both social and residential opportunities for students, and are the only single-sex residential option on campus. Greek organizations at Dartmouth do not provide dining options, as regular meals service has been banned in Greek houses since 1909.
Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It closed at the end of the 2022–23 academic year due to financial challenges.
Young Harris College is a private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States.
McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 1,960 students representing 25 countries and 29 states. In the undergraduate program, on average there are 51% females and 49% males. The institution remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The school was renamed McKendree University beginning in the 2007–08 academic year. McKendree University comprises a College of Arts and Science, a School of Business, a School of Health Professions, and a School of Education.
Franklin College is a private liberal arts college in Franklin, Indiana. It was founded in 1834 and has a wooded campus spanning 207 acres (84 ha) including athletic fields and a 31-acre (13 ha) biology woodland. The college offers its approximately 1,000 students Bachelor of Arts degrees in 49 majors from 25 academic disciplines, 43 minors, 11 pre-professional programs, and five cooperative programs. The college also offers a Master of Science in Athletic Training and a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. In 1842, the college began admitting women, becoming the first coeducational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College has historically maintained an affiliation with the American Baptist Churches USA.
Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study. This may be contrasted with service fraternities and sororities, whose primary purpose is community service, and social fraternities and sororities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.
Howard Payne University is a private Baptist university in Brownwood, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Howard Payne College was founded by Noah T. Byers and John David Robnett in 1889. The institution is named for its first major benefactor, Edward Howard Payne, who was the brother-in-law of Robnett.
Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Academy. In 1856, David H. Hickman helped secure the college's charter under the name The Columbia Female Baptist Academy In the late 19th century it was renamed Stephens College after James L. Stephens endowed the college with $20,000. From 1937 to 1943, its Drama Department became renowned under its chairman and teacher, the actress Maude Adams, James M. Barrie's first American Peter Pan. The Warehouse Theater is the major performance venue for the college. The campus includes a National Historic District: Stephens College South Campus Historic District. It enrolled 593 students in Fall 2021.
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is a state university public university in Americus, Georgia. Founded as the Third District Agricultural and Mechanical School in 1906, the university was established and is administrated by the Georgia Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The historic core of the campus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Nellie Pratt Russell was an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American college women. The sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 110 years.