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Haverford College

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Haverford College
File:Haverfordlogo.JPG
MottoNon doctior, sed meliore doctrina imbutus
(Rough translation: "Not more learned, but steeped in a better learning")
TypePrivate
Established1833
Endowment$450 million [Source?]
PresidentThomas R. Tritton
Undergraduates1168
Postgraduates0
Location
Haverford
,
Pennsylvania
CampusSuburban
AthleticsFords (traditional)
Black Squirrels (de jure)
Bears (Men's Squash)
Honor Goats (Men's Track)
Bees (Women's Track)
Big Donkey Ultimate (Men's Ultimate)
ColorsScarlet and black
Websitehaverford.edu

Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. The college is known for its academic excellence, exceptionally close relationship between students and faculty, and sense of community and values. Haverford consistently ranks as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country in terms of academics, percent doctorates earned by graduates, placement among select professional schools, student satisfaction/quality of life, and social impact on America according to US News, Princeton Guide, NSF data, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Monthly, respectively.

The college was founded in 1833 by Philadelphia members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Haverford is the oldest college or university in North America with Quaker origins. Although no longer religiously affiliated, the Quaker philosophy still influences campus life. Originally an all-male institution, Haverford admitted its first female students in 1980. The reason for this was not because of a disinterest in coeducation but rather a concern for how such a change would impact neighboring Bryn Mawr College. Today more than half of Haverford's students are women. All students at the college are undergraduates. The current enrollment is 1168 students.

Haverford is a member of the Tri-College Consortium, which allows students to register for courses at both Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore College. Haverford enjoys an especially close and storied relationship with Bryn Mawr which is one mile away. Students may also take classes at the University of Pennsylvania College of General Studies (CGS).


Honor Code

In 1896, the students and faculty of Haverford voted to adopt an Honor Code to govern academic affairs. The social part of the Code was first clearly outlined in the 1980's. The code does not list specific rules of behavior, but rather outlines a philosophy of trust, respect, integrity, and concern for others that students are expected to follow in both academic and social matters. When a student (or other community member) feels that another student has broken the Code, he or she is encouraged to not look the other way but rather "confront" the possible offender and engage in a dialogue with them, before taking matters to an Honor Council which can help through mediation. Ideally, many potential violations are worked out through dialogue (mediated or not) and common understanding.

Student government officers administer the code, and all academic matters are heard by student juries. Although students formerly heard trials regarding sexual assault, students and administrators agreed to allow college deans to hear cases pertaining to all types of violent crimes. Abstracts from cases heard by students and joint administrative-student panels are distributed to all students and faculty and are available on the Honor Council website. The trial abstracts are made anonymous by the use of characters from entertainment or history such as "Charlie's Angels", "Dawson's Creek" and "Smurfs".

The student body convenes an annual Spring Plenary to amend and ratify the Honor Code.

Academics

Haverford is one of a few liberal arts colleges that has a student to faculty ratio of 8:1.

Haverford offers the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degree. Students may choose between 31 majors in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities.

In addition to majors and minors, Haverford offers numerous concentrations: Africana studies, biochemistry, biophysics, computer science, East Asian studies, education, feminist and gender studies, health and society, Latin American and Iberian studies, mathematical economics, neural and behavioral sciences, peace studies. Students may pursue pre-medical, pre-law or pre-business intentions through any major; special advising is offered in these areas.

An additional option is the "3/2 liberal arts and engineering" course of study [1]. This allows students to take three years of liberal arts and science courses at Haverford and then two years of engineering courses at the California Institute of Technology.

There is very little grade inflation at Haverford, and a straight "4.0" student is a rare find. Summa Cum Laude awards students who graduate with GPAs between 3.9-4.0 and approximately 1-2 students receive such honors each commencement. According to student discussion on the Go! Boards (see below in student life), Haverford's office of the registrar annually reports the average cumulative GPA to be around 3.30; however, there has been no official publication regarding the fact.

The campus

The campus is a national arboretum and has a natural beauty and simple elegance. Its 216 acres contain a nature trail, a pinetum with 300 different conifers, a duck pond, historic trees of diverse species, sculpture, flower and Asian gardens. The buildings on campus are mostly stone and reflect Quaker and colonial design principles. Recent renovations and additions within the last 5 years include the Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center, Stokes Hall renovation, and the "Doug" athletic center. Planned additions in the future include a renovation of Ryan Gym to house a humanities center and new performing arts space, a new dorm to decompress current housing and also the relocation of the fieldhouse.

Almost the entire student body (97%) lives on campus, where housing options include apartments, themed houses and traditional dormitories. Housing policy is very liberal and many non-freshman suites are co-ed. In 2000, at the urging of Haverford's InQueery, co-ed roommate options were also allowed for the first time. This was because the single sex roommate policy was argued to be "hetero-sexist". While not particularly controversial at Haverford, this change in policy was covered on CNN, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and several college newspapers including those of Dartmouth (pro), Yale (pro), Swarthmore (pro) and Villanova (con).

Approximately 70% of faculty live on campus as well.

Local attractions within walking distance include the Wawa and IHOP. Merion Golf Club and Suburban Square are also located within walking distance.

Haverford is located on the Main Line about 10 miles west of Philadelphia. The school is connected to downtown by the SEPTA R5 commuter rail system and Norristown High Speed Line.

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Student life

While the workload is considered heavy, students usually manage to find time to relax and have fun, especially on weekends. Activities range from the usual college options of a cappella singing groups (e.g. Humtones), indie bands, student films, and improv comedy, to more unusual adventures, such as tag or sardines in the KINSC.

Free music events are often presented in the basement of Lunt (a student dorm), adjacent to the always-popular Lunt Cafe. Professional funk, rock, blues, and jazz bands are brought in by the Federation of United Concert Series, a student organization. Student musicians have created a vibrant musical community on campus, forming (in 2005) at least ten bands with eclectic styles. Haverford boasts excellent practice facilities, a recording studio and a record label, Black Squirrel Records, which in April released a compilation album that featured Haverford student bands. Students also run their own radio station, WHRC Radio, which broadcasts through the internet.

Student publications include the Bi-College News, a newspaper that is a collaboration of Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges; The Haverford Review, a student literary magazine (available here); Without a Noun, the Haverford satire/humor magazine; the Haverford Journal, an academic journal; and The Record, the student yearbook.

Many students are involved in volunteering, either on their own or through Haverford's volunteer coordination organization, Eighth Dimension. Volunteer opportunities are especially plentiful due to Haverford's proximity to Philadelphia. Activism is also a part of student life, and groups such as the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA), Students Toward a New Democracy (STAND), Amnesty International, College Republicans, and College Democrats have a presence on campus. The student body tends to be politically liberal, but is not without its vocal conservative elements. High value is placed in listening to many sides without disrespect or vitriol.

Major student social events on campus include Screw Your Roommate, Snowball, La Fiesta, Sundance, Drag Ball, and Haverfest (a weekend-long party at the end of the year). The school's Lunt 14 residence also puts on number of parties each year. The college has no fraternities or sororities, but Drinker House is considered to be the closest resemblance to one on campus. Drinker House is the host to First Drinker, Pong Tournaments and a Holiday Party that marks the end of the Drinker Toy Drive each winter.

In 2002, a group of students founded a computing club called FIG (a recursive acronym for FIG Is Good). Services provided by FIG include the college's first student portal, Go!, server space for students, and discussion boards as a part of Go!, called the Go! Boards. Amid controversy, the boards have come to constitute much of the discussion on campus as well as providing a place for procrastination.

Of the nation's 357 "best" colleges, the Princeton Review ranks Haverford as #6 for Best Overall Undergraduate Experience. In addition, Haverford, unlike many of its peers, is located within easy travel of a large metropolitan center and the opportunities that Philadelphia offers.

Athletics

Haverford competes at the NCAA Division III level in the Centennial Conference.

The track and field and cross country teams are perennial powerhouses in their division. In 1997, Karl Paranya('97) became the first (and, until spring 2006, the only) Division III athlete to run a 4:00 mile clocking 3:57.6. The history of Haverford track also includes former team captain Lord Phillip Noel Baker (1908) who later captained Great Britain's "Chariots of Fire" Olympic team from which the movie is based.

The men's soccer team, the nation's oldest, won the first intercollegiate soccer match in 1905, beating Harvard College. Of interest is that the losing team was founded by Haverford Alumni in graduate school at that other school that begins with an "H".

Haverford boasts the best (and only) varsity cricket team in the country.[2] The team, which was started in 1833, has a rivalry with the University of Pennsylvania. The first varsity game of this local competition was played in 1864 and is thought to be the third oldest intercollegiate game in America (after Harvard/Yale Crew and Princeton/Rutgers football).

The first intercollegiate basketball game played east of the Mississippi occurred in Ryan Gym in 1895 between Haverford and Temple.

The fencing team has competed since the early 1930s and is a member of both the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) and the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA). Coached by only three fencing masters in over 70 years, Haverford men's team was the conference champion in 1983, and again in 2004.

The men's club volleyball team recently attained a national Top-25 ranking in NIRSA's Division II (enrollments under 15,000). The team competes in the Mid-Atlantic Club Volleyball Conference (MACVC), which is a 34 team super-conference of teams in PA and NJ.


Notable alumni (in alphabetical order)

Haverford is a small college that quietly carries a lot of weight. What makes this list more impressive is that Haverford is the smallest of the elite colleges and has approximately half of the alumni population of its peers. In addition, because expansion occurred in the 1980's, most of Haverford's alumni are still quite young. Despite this, as of 2005, Haverford alumni boast 4 Nobel Prizes, 19 Rhodes Scholarships, 9 Luce Fellowships, 48 Watson Fellowships, 1 Mitchell Fellowship, 2 Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellowships, 13 All Americans and 17 NCAA Post-graduate winners, to name a few accolades won by alumni.

Notable faculty, current and past

  • Kathleen Write, Professor of Continental Philosophy, student of late Prof. Goddamer in Freiburg, Germany
  • Claude Wintner, Professor of Organic Chemistry, Visiting Professor of Chemistry at Harvard
  • Julio de Paula, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, co-author of a popular textbook "Physical Chemistry" with Prof. Peter Atkins (Lincoln College, Oxford).
  • Jerry Gollub, Professor of physics, member of National Academy of Sciences since 1992
  • Bruce Partridge, Professor of Astronomy, Rhodes Scholar
  • Cornel West, visiting professor in philosophy (before moving to Princeton and Harvard)
  • Elizabeth Young-Bruehl, visiting professor of general studies (psycho-analysis, prejudice), a disciple and scholar of Annah Arendt
  • Michael Sells, professor of comparative religion who wrote the book on the Koran required as summer reading by UNC students which caused much national debate in 2002
  • Kim Benston, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English
  • Wilson Carey McWilliams, political scientist
  • Elaine Tuttle Hansen, Middle English scholar, president of Bates College
  • Rufus Jones, professor of philosophy, Quaker historian and theologian, founder of American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
  • Richard Ball, Economist
  • Roger Lane, professor of history extensively quoted by the Unabomber
  • Ariel G. Loewy, the late professor of biology, founder of Factor XIIIa an important enzyme in the blood clotting cascade, founded one of the first molecular biology department at Haverford.
  • Ashok Gangadean, professor of philosophy
  • Lucius Outlaw, professor of philosophy
  • Robert Fairman, professor of biology

Notable Administrators

  • Isaac Sharpless, president of Haverford, noted historian
  • John R. Coleman, President of Haverford, Author of The Blue Collar Journal, Economist, Innkeeper


Further reading

Jones, Rufus Matthew. Haverford College: A History and Interpretation. New York: Macmillan, 1933.

Kannerstein, Gregory, ed. The Spirit and the Intellect: Haverford College 1883-1983. Haverford, Pa.: Haverford College, 1983.

Langlieb, David M. Haverford College Off the Record. Pittsburgh, PA : College Prowler, 2005.

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