DAVIDSON COLLEGE 1990-91 * Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil http://www.archive.org/details/davidsoncollegec19901991 ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1990-91 OFFICIAL RECORD FOR THE YEAR 1989-90 DAVIDSON Published by the Davidson College Office of College Relations Edited by Polly W. Griffin, Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs Official Record Edited by Davidson College Office of Institutional Research 2 — Academic Calendar ACADEMIC CALENDAR 1990-91 Fall Semester 1990 August Orientation 19 Returning students arrive 21 Classes begin, 8a.m. October 3 Fall Break begins, 5 p.m. 8 Classes resume, 8 a.m. 13-14 Homecoming 26-27 Parents' Weekend Nov. 20 Thanksgiving holiday begins, 5 p.m. 26 Classes resume, 8 a.m. December 10 Classes end, 5 p.m. 11 Reading day 12 Exams begin, 8:40 a.m. 19 Exams end, Noon Spring Semester 1991 January Classes begin, 8 a.m. March 22 Spring break begins, 5 p.m. April 1 Classes resume, 8a.m. 29 Classes end, 5 p.m. 30 Reading day May 1 Exams begin, 8:40 a.m. 8 Exams end, Noon 11 Baccalaureate 12 Commencement IMPORTANT NOTE consists This catalogue describes an academic calendar for Davidson College which and course descrip- of two 15-week semesters. The degree requirements, curriculum, catalogue apply to students tions reflect a calendar conversion; the requirements in this graduate entering Davidson the Fall of 1990. Students enrolled prior to this date will Academic upon successful fulfillment of transition requirements described in the enrolled at David- Regulations. All efforts will be made to assure that students presently and calendar. son are fairly treated as a result of these changes in curriculum Davidson Col- Information in this catalogue is accurate as of the date of publication. fees, giving due lege reserves the right to make changes in policies, regulations, and notice, in accordance with sound academic and fiscal practice. ACCREDITATION Davidson College is accredited by: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY Davidson College admits qualified students and administers all educational and religion, national employment activities without discrimination because of race, color, allowed by law. origin, age, handicap, or sex except where exemption is appropriate and Table of Contents — 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Academic Calendar 1990-91 2 HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 5 ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION 11 Admission Information and Procedures 11 Financial Aid 16 Scholarship Programs 16 Tuition and Fees 20 CAMPUS LIFE 25 The Honor Code and the Code of Responsibility 25 Campus Living 28 Religious Activities 29 Career Guidance 32 ACADEMIC PROGRAM AND POLICIES 39 The Curriculum 39 Standards of Progress 40 Degree Requirements 41 Academic Support 53 General Information and Regulations 57 COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 61 OFFICIAL RECORD 147 Trustees 147 Emeriti 149 Faculty 150 Administrative Staff 160 Scholarships 167 Curricular Enrichment 176 Book Funds 177 Honor Societies 183 Awards 184 Scholarship Holders 187 Class of 1990 193 Honorary Degrees, 1989 196 Enrollment Statistics 196 Alumni Association Chapters 197 Student Body 1989-90, by zip code 203 Index 226 Map 228 Capsule Information 232 HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE HISTORY "When the peculiar circumstances of a community demand it, and their benevolence will justify it, the establishment of a College having the Bible for its first charter, and the prosperity of the Church and our country for its great design, ought to be regarded as an enterprise of no common grandeur." — Davidson's first president, Robert Hall Morrison, in his inaugural address, August 2, 1838 Founded by Concord Presbytery Davidson Col- lege opened as a manual labor institute in 1837. The college's name memorializes General William Lee Davidson, whose son provided the initial acreage. The elder Davidson died at the nearby Revolutionary War battle of Cowan's Ford in 1781. The college seal and the college motto, Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas ("Let learning Be Cherished Where Libert}' Has Arisen"), recall the Mecklenburg Declaration of In- dependence; both seal and motto resulted from the suggestion of Peter Stuart Ney an elusive Frenchman believed by some to have been Napoleon's Marshal Ney. Original academic subjects included moral and natural philosophy, evidences of Christianity, classical languages, logic, and mathematics. Three professors, including Morrison, taught this curriculum to Davidson's sixty-five students. Although Presbyterian-originated, the college maintained from the beginning its intent to educate students without regard to their denominational affiliation. This nonsectarian policy also emerged in contributors' backgrounds: Maxwell Chambers, the college's first substantial benefactor, apparently belonged to no church, though he supported the Presbyterians in his hometown of Salisbury N.C., where he conducted a large mercantile business in addition to his pro- fession as cotton planter and buyer. By his will in 1856, he left Davidson a quarter of a million dollars, making the institution for the time being the richest college south of Princeton. Over a third of Chambers's endowment went into the con- struction of the central academic building which bears his name. Prosperity, however, did not linger. The Confederate defeat left Davidson's fortune much impaired and a student body of only twenty-four men by 1866. 6 — History and Statement of Purpose Gradual post-war recovery encompassed expansion of curriculum and facul- ty. Newly added academic disciplines included chemistry English, history, and physics; the teaching staff incorporated its first Ph.D.-holding professors by 1890. Subsequent increasing enrollment permitted further growth in other areas. Within a decade, the size of the student body tripled from its 1900 figure of 100 students. An accompanying strengthened financial base and the generosity of the Rockefellers provided reconstruction funds for Chambers Building following the fire which destroyed the original edifice in 1921. North Carolina's Duke En- dowment also aided the college as it began to provide annual support during the 1920s. Curricular development also marked this period: Davidson began offering four degree programs. Students could earn Bachelor of Arts degrees in either the traditional classical course requiring two years of Greek or Latin study or a newer two-year modern language study. Degree candidates could earn a Bachelor of Science in science or social sciences. New specific courses appeared during this decade in accounting and music. Broader academic changes included addition of seminar courses and depart- mental honors programs. The college first admitted women as degree-seeking students in 1972. By the 1980s, the college size stabilized to approximately 1,400 students. With the increase in size came additional changes in the campus's physical plant. The 1980s saw the completion of six new dormitories and the Baker Sports Complex. Davidson's underlying philosophy appears in the college's official statement of purpose which follows. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Davidson College is an institution of higher learning established by the Presbyterians of North Carolina in 1837. Since its founding the ties which bind the College to the Presbyterian Church have remained close and strong. It is the desire of all concerned that this vital relationship be continued in the future, to the mutual advantage of church and school. The primary loyalty of the Col- lege extends beyond the bounds of denomination to the Christian Communi- ty as a whole, through which medium it would seek to serve the world. Davidson recognizes God as the source of all truth. As a college committed to the historic Christian faith, it sees Jesus Christ as the central fact of history, giving purpose, order, and value to the whole life. Davidson is dedicated to the quest for truth and would set no limits to the adventures of the mind. Hence, it encourages teachers and students to explore the facts of the universe through the full dedicated use of their intellectual powers. Faith and reason must work together in mutual respect if Davidson is to realize and maintain her vision of excellence in the field of Christian higher education. In implementing its purpose to promote higher learning, Davidson has chosen to be a college, to maintain itself as a small community of learners, to emphasize the teaching responsibility of all professors, and to ensure the op- portunity for personal relationships between students and teachers. It is vital History and Statement of Purpose — 7 that all students, freshmen as well as upperclassmen, know and study under mature and scholarly teachers who are able and eager to provide for each of them stimulus, instruction, and guidance. In meeting its responsibilities, the College must constantly endeavor to pro- vide adequate physical facilities, and to increase its financial resources; but more important, it must seek persons of the highest caliber for student body and faculty alike. Davidson must always seek students of character, of general as well as academic ability, of loyalty to the ideals of the College, and of promise for future usefulness. In the selection of teachers, it must seek individuals of ge- nuine spirituality who are outstanding intellectually, who have the best train- ing available in their fields of study, and whose interest in the students and in teaching is unfeigned