Davidson College Catalog
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1 993/1 994 D/S/IDSON olitical science mus E >/hi a y/Sociology m Digitized by the Internet Archive ' in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil http://www.archive.org/details/davidsoncollegec19931994 ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1993-94 OFFICIAL RECORD FOR THE YEAR 1992-93 DAVIDSON Published by the Davidson College Office of College Relations Edited by Polly W. Griffin, Registrar Official Record Edited by Davidson College Office of Institutional Research 2 — Academic Calendar ACADEMIC CALENDAR 1993-94 Fall Semester 1993 August 26 Orientation August 29 Orientation ends August 30 Qasses begin, 8:30 am October 15 Holiday begins, 4:30 p.m. October 20 Holiday ends, 8:30 a.m. October 23 Homecoming October 29-30 Parents Weekend November 23 Thanksgiving Break begins, 4:00 p.m. November 29 Thanksgiving Break ends, 8:30 a.m. December 10 Qasses end December 13-15 Optional class days December 16 Reading day December 17 Exams begin December 23 Exams end, 12:15 p.m. December 23 Semester Break begins Spring Semester 1994 January 19 Qasses begin, 8:30 am March 18 Spring Break begins, 4:00 p.m. March 28 Spring Break ends, 8:30 am. May 3 Qasses end, 4:00 pm. May 4-10 Optional class days May 11 Reading Day May 12 Exams begin May 18 Exams end, 12:15 pm. May 22 Commencement IMPORTANT NOTE This catalogue describes an academic calendar for Davidson College which consists of two 15-week semesters. The degree requirements, curriculum, and course description reflect a calendar conversion the Fall of 1988; the requirements in this catalogue apply to students entering Davidson the Fall of 1993. Information in this catalogue is accurate as of the date of publication Davidson College reserves the right to make changes in policies, regulations, and fees, giving due 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 American Q\emical Society NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY Davidson College admits qualified students and administers all educational and employment activities without discrimination because of sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law. Table of Contents — 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Academic Calendar 1993-94 2 HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 5 ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION 11 Admission Information and Procedures 11 Financial Aid 15 Scholarship Programs 17 Tuition and Fees 21 CAMPUS LIFE 27 The Honor Code and the Code of Responsibility 27 Residence Halls 28 Religious Activities 31 Career Guidance 36 ACADEMIC PROGRAM AND POLICIES 43 The Curriculum 43 Standards of Progress 44 Degree Requirements 45 Academic Support 56 General Information and Regulations 60 COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 65 OFFICIAL RECORD 159 Trustees 159 Faculty Emeriti 161 Faculty, 1992-93 162 Named Professorships 173 Administrative Staff 174 Scholarships 182 Curricular Enrichment 192 Book Funds 193 Honor Societies 198 Awards 199 Scholarship Holders 203 Class of 1993 209 Honorary Degrees, 1992 212 Enrollment Statistics 212 Alumni Association Chapters 214 Student Body, 1992-93, by zip code 218 Index 245 Capsule Information 246 ' l , — '*^ ^ " — fl E T,!tJ Tf u v • • 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 College 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 Liberty Has Arisen"), recall the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence; 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 mis 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 6 — History and Statement of Purpose fortune much impaired and a student body of only twenty-four men by 1866. Gradual post-war recovery encompassed expansion of curriculum and faculty. 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 departmental honors programs. The college first admitted women as degree-seeking students in 1972. By the 1980s, the college had grown to approximately 1,400 students. This growth has been accompanied by changes in the campus's physical plant. The 1980s saw the completion of six new residence halls and the Baker Sports Complex. Two additional residence halls were added in 1991 and a new Visual Arts building was completed in 1993. The college's strategic plan calls for growth to 1,600 on-campus students in the year 2000. 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 College extends beyond the bounds of denomination to the Christian Community 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. History and Statement of Purpose— 7 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 opportunity for personal relationships between students and teachers. It is vital that all students, freshmen as well as upperclassmen, know and study under mature a 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