Haverford College

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Haverford College


Motto	Non doctior, sed meliore doctrina imbutus (Rough translation: "Not more learned, but steeped in a better learning")
Established	1833
Type	Private
Endowment	$500 million ^[1]
President	Thomas R. Tritton (ending July 1) Stephen G. Emerson (beginning July 1)
Faculty	146
Undergraduates	1168
Postgraduates	0
Location	Haverford, Pennsylvania
Campus	Suburban
Athletics	Fords (traditional) Black Squirrels (de jure)
Colors	Scarlet and black
Website	haverford.edu

Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The College is known for its academic excellence, exceptionally close relationship between students and faculty, and sense of community and values. 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 Review, NSF data, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Monthly, Haverford has consistently ranked in the top 10 of liberal arts colleges in America, and sometimes, among undergraduate institutions (including universities) as well.

The college was founded in 1833 by area members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to ensure an education grounded in Quaker values for their young men. Haverford is the oldest college or university in the United States with Quaker origins. Although the college is no longer religiously affiliated, the Quaker philosophy still influences campus life. Originally an all-male institution, Haverford became co-ed in 1980 when the board came to consensus on a proposal initiated by former president John R. Coleman. The reason for the delay was not because of a disinterest in coeducation prior 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 and most live on campus. The current enrollment has been expanded to 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 sister school Bryn Mawr. Haverford is also a member of the Quaker Consortium which allows students to cross-register at the University of Pennsylvania College of General Studies (CGS). Haverford also has a 3-2 engineering program with Caltech which allows a dual degree from Haverford and Caltech.

Though the smallest of the "elite" colleges and with the smallest alumni base (about 12,000 living alumni), Haverford has produced four Nobel Laureates.

1 Honor Code
2 Academics
3 Campus
4 Student life
5 Athletics
6 Notable alumni (in alphabetical order)
7 Notes
8 External links
9 Further reading

[edit] Honor Code

In 1896, the students and faculty of Haverford voted to adopt an Honor Code to govern academic affairs. Since then every student has been allowed to schedule his or her own final exams. Common at Haverford are take-home examinations which may include strict instructions such as time limits, prohibitions on using assigned texts or personal notes, and calculator usage.

Originally conceived as a code of academic honesty, the Honor Code had expanded by the 1980s to govern social interactions. The code does not list specific rules of behavior, but rather outlines a philosophy of trust, concern, and respect for others that students are expected to follow. 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 every semester in a plenary session held at the Athletic Field House. At these meetings the Honor Code can be amended, and at Spring Plenary it must be re-ratified by the entire student body.

Haverford President, Thomas R. Tritton, is fond of saying, "The Honor Code works because everyone comes in expecting it to work." Though hard data on academic dishonesty are rare, the consensus among students is the Honor Code works very well.^{[citation needed]} The Honor Code is touted by the Office of Admissions, and every student is required to sign a pledge agreeing to the Honor Code prior to matriculation. Unlike Honor Codes at institutions such as the University of Virginia and Brigham Young University, where honor codes are imposed on the students by the administration, the Haverford Honor Code is entirely student-run. It was the students who proposed it in 1896, and the current students re-ratify it each year. Students can change it at plenary by two-thirds vote and if they ever tire of it, they could eliminate it completely.

[edit] Academics

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.^[2] 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.

[edit] Campus

The campus is a national arboretum. 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 Douglas Gardner Athletic Center (the "Doug"). 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 arbitrary given that all students are adults. 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 which is unusual for liberal arts colleges. Haverford is very proud of the close relationships that arise between students and faculty, with students often visiting or dining at professors' homes.

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.

Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.009476° -75.304208°
- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
- Campus Map

[edit] Student life

Activities range from the usual small college options of a cappella singing group performances, alternative concerts, student film screenings, and improv comedy, to smaller 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 with students at Bryn Mawr College and serves both campuses; 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 is overwhelmingly 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 college has no fraternities or sororities, but Drinker House is considered to be the closest resemblance to one on campus.

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 an online discussion forum called the Go! Boards. Amid controversy, the boards have become a major venue for discussion on campus as well as providing a popular method of 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.

[edit] Athletics

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

The men's and women's track and field and cross country teams are perennial powerhouses in their division. Both the men's cross country and outdoor track and field teams have won the last 14 Centennial Conference championships. The women's team has captured the last three Conference titles. In 1997, Karl Paranya ('97) became the first (and only) Division III athlete to run a four-minute mile clocking 3:57.6. The history of Haverford track also includes former team captain Philip Noel-Baker (1908) who later captained Great Britain's "Chariots of Fire" Olympic team upon 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. It is also of interest to note Harvard's team was founded by Haverford alumni in graduate school.

Haverford boasts the only varsity cricket team in the United States and ESPN Magazine has called Haverford "the epicenter of Philadelphia's cricket craze".^[3] The team, which was started in 1833, has a rivalry with the University of Pennsylvania's club team. The first match in this series was played in 1864 and is believed to be the 3rd oldest intercollegiate game in America after the 1852 Harvard-Yale crew and 1859 Amherst-Williams baseball contests.

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

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). David Littell, the current coach fenced in the 1988 olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In 2007, the Haverford Fencing team fenced an undefeated MACFA season (a school record) and won its third championship. Other championships were won in 2004 and 1983.

[edit] Notable alumni (in alphabetical order)

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 1980s, 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.

Nicholson Baker, novelist, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Dave Barry, ('69 English), Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist
David Scull Bispham, (1876) Baritone, Metropolitan Opera soloist
Henry J. Cadbury, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Charles Canady, former member of Congress. Florida Judge who coined the term "partial-birth abortion".
John Carroll,'63, former Editor-in-Chief of the Los Angeles Times
Steve Cary, Quaker and former president of the American Friends Service Committee, Nobel Laureate as representative of the AFSC for their work during World War II
Chevy Chase, comedian, attended for one semester
Ron Christie, '91, Executive Vice President Ruder Finn
Frank Conroy, author, director of the Iowa Creative Writing Program
Daniel Dae Kim, actor, Lost
Armando Daniels, biologist and paleobotanist.
Vincent Desiderio, contemporary artist.
Stephen G. Emerson '74, stem cell researcher, UPenn Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, and current President-elect to succeed current President Thomas R. Tritton, becoming the college's 13th President.
Mark Geragos, defense attorney for Winona Ryder and Michael Jackson
Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas
Roy Gutman, Pulitzer prize winning journalist, author
Norman Hill, civil rights activist, Black labor leader
Fredric Jameson '54, Marxist cultural and literary critic, William A. Lane Professor of Comparative Literature and Romance Studies at Duke University.
Rufus Jones, (class of 1885) author, philosopher and founder of the American Friends Service Committee
Gerald M. Levin, ('60 Religion), former Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Lewis, Former CEO Union Pacific, Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan
Michael Lewis, Architectural historian at Williams College, Culture critic for The New Criterion, Commentary, etc.
Ken Ludwig, Tony Award-winning playwright of Lend Me a Tenor and Crazy for You
Howard Lutnick, '83, CEO and Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., the firm that lost most employees from 9/11
J. Howard Marshall, '24, the late Texan billionaire oil tycoon, who married Anna Nicole Smith in his late 80s
Charles Mathias, Former Maryland Senator
Koïchiro Matsuura, '61 Economics, former Japanese Ambassador to France, 1999-now, Director-General of UNESCO
Judd Nelson, actor, did not graduate
Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker (class of 1908, MP of British Parliament, leader of the British Labour Party, Nobel Laureate in Peace 1959), architect of the League of Nations; Olympian and captain of Great Britain's Chariots of Fire Olympic track team
Maxfield Parrish, (attended 1888-1891), American painter
Norman Pearlstine, '64, former Editor-in-Chief of Time Inc., senior advisor at the Carlyle Group
Paul R. Rablen, '88, Chair, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swarthmore College.
Jack N. Rakove, ('68 History), Coe Professor of History, Stanford University, Pulitzer Prize '97.
Hunter R. Rawlings III, ('66 Classics), President of Cornell University from 1995-2003 (made interim president again in 2005), former President of University of Iowa
Theodore William Richards, (class of 1885), Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1914), first American to win a Nobel in Chemistry
Ed Sikov, film scholar and author of Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers and On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder
Rob Simmons, former Congressman (Republican of Connecticut)
Ken Stern, CEO of NPR
Michael Stoll, Famed FPS Coach, the only coach in the history of Illinois to make a State Champion team on his first year. This team is known in FPS circles as the "Dream Team"
Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (physics '63), Astrophysicist, Nobel (Physics, 1993), Dean of Faculty at Princeton University,
Arn Tellem, Chief Executive Officer SFX Sports Group
John C. Whitehead, ('43) former Co-Chairman of Goldman Sachs, deputy U.S. Secretary of State under Reagan and current chairman of Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
Julius Katchen, ('46) concert pianist, recognized by Eugene Normandy at his debut concert playing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D-Minor (age 10)
Juan Williams, class of '76 Philosophy, NPR senior correspondent
Barry L. Zubrow, ('75) former Chief Administrative Officer of Goldman Sachs and current New Jersey politician

[edit] Notes

^ Bi-Co News: HC to Hire New Asst. VP of Finances URL accessed April 1, 2007.
^ Physics and Astronomy: Options for Engineering at Haverford www.haverford.edu. URL accessed February 9, 2007.
^ The Capital of Cricket sports.espn.go.com. URL accessed February 9, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

Haverford College Alumni Association. A History of Haverford College For the First Sixty Years of Its Existence. Philadelphia, Pa: Porter & Coates, 1892.
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.
Sharpless, Isaac. The Story of a Small College. Philadelphia, Pa: The John C. Winston Company, 1918.

Centennial Conference
Bryn Mawr • Dickinson • Franklin & Marshall • Gettysburg • Haverford • Johns Hopkins • McDaniel • Muhlenberg • Swarthmore • Ursinus • Washington Col.

National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association
Army • City • Cornell • Drew • Fairleigh Dickinson • Florida • Haverford • Hunter CUNY • Johns Hopkins • Marist • Maryland College Park • New Jersey Institute of Technology • Queens CUNY • Smith • Stevens Institute of Technology • Temple • Tufts • Virginia • Virginia Tech • Yeshiva