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Guilford College

Guilford College is a small, private, four-year liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina founded by the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers). Founded in 1837 as the New Garden Boarding School, its name was changed to Guilford College in 1888 when the academic program expanded considerably. Guilford is the third-oldest coeducational institution in the country and the oldest such institution in the South.

Guilford College is listed in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives.

Student body

Only about ten percent of the student body are Quakers; however, the institution is governed by Quaker principles. It is the oldest co-educational institution of higher learning in the Southeast, and the fourth-oldest institution of higher learning in North Carolina. Its academic atmosphere, like that of many Quaker colleges, is open and informal; for example, many professors encourage students to call them by their first names.

The college strives to uphold its core values of equality, diversity, community, integrity, stewardship, justice, integrity and excellence. The student body is diverse as Guilford intentionally draws students from a wide geographic, political, religious, ethnic and socioeconomic background. The college seeks to maintain an environment where all perspectives are valued and respected. Its current president is Kent John Chabotar, the first non-Quaker to hold the position.

The school does not allow fraternities or sororities to be formed on campus.

Athletics

Guilford competes as an NCAA Division III and Old Dominion Athletic Conference member. The school has won five national championships, including the 1973 NAIA men's basketball title, the 1981 NAIA women's tennis title and the 1989 (NAIA), 2002 and 2005 (NCAA Division III) men's golf titles.

Campus events

In the past decade, Guilford's Bryan Series has brought many notable speakers to the campus and city for an annual public lecture series. Past speakers have included Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright and Ken Burns. Bryan series speakers for the 2006-2007 year will include former president of Ireland Mary Robinson and Pulitzer Prize winning authors David McCullough and Toni Morrison.

Probably the largest campus-wide party of the year, besides Homecoming, is "Serendipity", held annually in the spring. The significance of the weekend-long festival has faded in recent years but in its heyday during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the festival was attended by Guilford students and alumni as well as thousands of students from other local institutions in the Triad area. Musical acts who have played this event include: De La Soul, Luscious Jackson, The Violent Femmes and The Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Every summer, the college hosts the five-week-long Eastern Music Festival, where both professional and student musicians come together for seminars and public performances. In 2005, EMF featured more than 70 concerts and music-related events on- and off-campus.

The Quaker Mascot

"Nathan" is the mascot of Guilford College. He is often depicted with a tall hat and buckled shoes reminiscent of the Quaker Oats man. You will see him at athletic contests wearing the uniform of the appropriate sport at the time.

The Fighting Quaker

One of the more notable nicknames for "Nathan" is the "Fighting Quaker." This name is more well known and popular than the official name; "Nathan." "Nathan" is named after Nathaniel Greene, who led colonist troops in the Revolutionary War Battle of Guilford Courthouse just miles from the campus. Greene was describe as "The Fighting Quaker" in David McCullough's book "1776." This name is oxymoronic as Quakers, by nature, are pacifists. "Nathan" is also representative of Nathan Hunt, the founder of Guilford College.

Notable alumni

Jody Torres: '00, Catalan film producer
Junior Lord '98, Arena Football player
Brian Lowit: '98, owner of Lovitt Records
Chip Hester: '92, head football coach, Catawba College
Tony Womack: '92, major league baseball player
Arthur L. Chase: '91, Sports Information Director, Duke University
Mike Waddell: '91, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, University of Cincinnati
Heidi Meroth: '91, Tennis Professional, USPTA
Mary Ann Akers: '91, reporter for Roll Call
Steve Wilmot: '83, tournament director, Verizon Heritage (PGA Tour)
William Queen: '81, author of New York Times bestseller Under and Alone
World B. Free (née Lloyd Free): '76, former NBA player
Keith Holliday: '75, mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina
Harrison Hickman: '75, political advisor and pollster
Rick Elmore: '74, Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals
Greg Jackson: '74, former [NFL] player
M.L. Carr: '73, former ABA/NBA player, head coach and executive
Ronnie Lowenstein: '73, director, New York City Independent Budget Office
Marilyn McIntyre: '71, actress in stage, television and film
E.V. "Rick" Goings: '70, chairman and CEO of Tupperware
Penelope W. Kyle: '69, president of Radford University
Doc Searls: '69, journalist, Cluetrain author
Bob Kauffman: '68, three-time NBA All-Star and former NBA head coach/general manager
Dave Odom: '65, head men's basketball coach, University of South Carolina
Warren Mitofsky: '57, inventor of the exit poll
Howard Coble: '53, member of U.S. House of Representatives (6th District, N.C.)
Rick Ferrell: '28, former major league baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Ernie Shore: '13, former major league baseball player and teammate of Babe Ruth
Joseph M. Dixon: 1889, U.S. representative, Senator and Governor of Montana

Notable students

Nathaniel Heatwole, a Guilford student, pleaded guilty in 2003 of placing box cutters and other banned items in commercial aircraft. In e-mail to the Transportation Security Administration, he stated his "public disobedience" was intended to highlight flaws in airport security.
On January 31, 2005, sophomore Jordan Snipes, a guard on the Guilford basketball team, made an full-court shot to win the game against Randolph-Macon College with 0.6 seconds remaining. Video footage was caught by WRIC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Richmond, Virginia, and was widely broadcast, including on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays and Marv Albert's Sports Bloopers on "The Late Show with David Letterman."