Georgetown College

Georgetown College is a private, Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains.[2][3] Georgetown College has produced five Rhodes Scholars over its history, and 38 Fulbright Scholars since just 1989.

For the institution in Washington, D.C., see Georgetown University. For the undergraduate school within that university, see Georgetown College (Georgetown University).
Georgetown College
MottoVim Promovet Insitam (Latin)
Motto in English
[Learning] promotes one's innate power – from Horace, Ode 4.4
TypePrivate liberal arts
Established1829 (1829)
PresidentWilliam Jones
Academic staff
117
Students1,517[1]
Undergraduates978[1]
Postgraduates539[1]
Location
Georgetown
,
Kentucky
,
United States

38.207°N 84.554°W / 38.207; -84.554
CampusSuburban, 104 acres
Athletics22 varsity teams
ColorsBlack and orange
   
NicknameTigers
AffiliationsNAIA – Mid-South Conference
Websitegeorgetowncollege.edu

The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in education. Georgetown College offers degrees in areas of visual and performing arts, math and sciences, humanities, language and culture, business, medicine and healthcare, and others.

History

In 1829, the Kentucky General Assembly chartered the Kentucky Baptist Education Society with the purpose of establishing a Baptist college in the state. 24 trustees under the leadership of Silas Noel selected the town of Georgetown as the site for the new school.

Giddings Hall

Georgetown College’s early years were defined by perseverance in the face of hardships. The first president hired by the college in 1829, William D. Staughton, died before assuming his duties. The second president, Rev. Joel Smith Bacon, stayed two years (1830–1832), fighting court cases to release funding for the college before leaving out of frustration. The third president, Benjamin Farnsworth, endured a power struggle with the Campbellites and resigned in 1837.

In 1838, Rev. Rockwood Giddings became the fourth president of the college. During his short tenure, Giddings began construction on Recitation Hall, the school's first permanent building, and made many other advances that put the college on sound footing. Giddings died of exhaustion after a year in office and was replaced by Rev. Howard Malcolm in 1840.

Malcolm oversaw the completion of the construction of the building, now known as Giddings Hall. He also expanded the educational offerings beyond the classics and encouraged the founding of literary societies and the Georgetown Female Academy. He resigned in 1849 when his anti-slavery vote at Kentucky's third constitutional convention resulted in much criticism from slavery proponents and a threat on his life.

The college experienced steady growth until the Civil War, when a clear divide established between students and faculty. Partisan differences at the start of the war became so hostile, the College was forced to shut down until 1863. By 1867, enrollment had grown to seventy-six students, and, that same year, one of the earliest female seminaries was founded at the college.

The college saw steady growth for the next century but experienced a major boom following World War II and the GI Bill, and, by 1958, enrollment had jumped to 1,397 students. Georgetown continued its growth into the 1960s and 1970s, with several new academic buildings and dormitories constructed on campus to accommodate the rise in enrollment.

As the student population grew in the late 20th century, the administration sought ways to diversify the campus and protect academic freedom. In 2005, Georgetown College and the Kentucky Baptist Convention redefined their formal relationship. With the approval of the new agreement by the Convention, the college reverted to its original arrangement with Kentucky Baptists.

Distinctions

In its history, Georgetown College has produced five Rhodes Scholars and, since 1989, has produced 38 Fulbright Scholars.[4] The college also has an honors program and a partnership with Regent's Park College, Oxford. In 2014, the college became one of only 18 schools nationwide to earn the highest rating for protecting free speech on campus.[5] Georgetown College became a member of the Southern University Conference in 2010.

Academics
Georgetown College Conference Center

Georgetown College currently offers Bachelor of Arts Degrees, Bachelor of Science Degrees, and several dual-program degrees in 38 undergraduate majors. The College also offers a Master of Arts degree in Education.

Accreditations

Georgetown College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master's degrees.[6]

Programs of Distinction

Maskrafters Academy

Maskrafters Academy allows students to participate in plays and production of films.

Student organizations

Georgetown College has 58 student clubs and organizations, including four national fraternities. The college offers a chapel and several Christian and other religious groups for students. Its social organizations cover a wide range of interests, including government, recreation, community service, activism, the arts, and academics.[7]

Student life

Georgetown College has three national fraternities (Kappa Alpha Psi, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Pi Kappa Alpha) and five national sororities (Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, Sigma Kappa and Zeta Phi Beta) on campus. It also has an independent brotherhood known as the President's House Association, which was formed in 1964 as an alternative to the traditional fraternity system. An Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council are also part of Greek life at Georgetown College.[8]

Government-minded students can join the College Democrats, College Republicans, United Nations Georgetown, and the Student Government Association.[9]

Recreation and activity oriented groups include the Georgetown Activities Council, intramurals, Georgetown College Equestrian Team, Georgetown College Film Club, Outdoor High Adventure Club, Social Plug, and the Georgetown College Disc Golf Club.[7]

Activist groups include the Georgetown Sustainability Initiative, Campus Spectrum, Habitat for Humanity, Student Abolitionist Movement, and the American Red Cross Club.[9]

Students interested in the arts can participate in the Dance Marathon, George-Tones, Gospel Choir, Lyric Theatre Society, Maskrafters/Alpha Psi Omega, MTNA piano club, Praise Dance Ministry, and the Step Team.[9]

Religious organizations include Common Ground and Campus Outreach.[7]

Academic groups include Alpha Lambda Delta, American Chemical Society Club, Biology Club, Brokmeyer Society (philosophy), Delta Omicron, Georgetown College Athletic Training Students, Kentucky Education Association, Math/Physics/Computer Science Club, Nat'l Association for Music Education, Psi Chi/Psi Alpha Omega, Sigma Tau Delta (English honorary, Eta Alpha Chapter, est. 1925), Sociology Club, Student Women and Gender Society, Students of National Association for Teachers of Singing, and the Academic Team.[7]

Other student organizations include Ambassadors of Diversity, Pre-Health Association, SHAC, SHMAC, Tiger Squad, Commuter Club, and the Real Food Coalition.[7]

Maskrafters

The Georgetown College Maskrafter theatre group is the oldest collegiate theatre company in Kentucky and offers traditional theatre, an emphasis on creating original work, and new initiatives in digital motion picture art. As of 2007, the Maskrafters had produced a feature-length movie entitled Surviving Guthrie, and had put on the musical She Loves Me. Recent plays include Proof, The Fantasticks, Grease, and Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Maskrafters are primarily students at Georgetown, and are guided by staff.[10]

Media

A student-run newspaper, called The Georgetonian, publishes multiple issues per semester.[11] A student-run radio station, WRVG, is housed on campus in the Cralle Student Center.[12]

Traditions

Songfest is an evening of skits written by, starring, and produced by Greek and independent groups on campus. Skits are centered on the Homecoming theme, and also incorporate singing, dancing, and acting. Groups engage in competitions to win awards.[13]

John L. Hill Chapel

Chapel Day and Men's Bid Day takes place each January. Chapel Day is a sorority event letting the active members know which pledges have accepted their bid to join the sorority. The pledges dress in their new sorority's colors and run through the doors of the chapel into the waiting arms of their sisters. The fraternities' version of Chapel Day occurs the following week. Referred to as Men's Bid Day, it operates in a similar fashion and is held at Cooke Memorial. Even independent students, faculty, staff, family, and sometimes pets brave the cold to enjoy the excitement of this special campus tradition.[13]

Homecoming is an annual tradition, highlighted by Songfest and a football game. Every year, alumni head back to Georgetown's campus. On Saturday morning they have brunch, listen to live music, and visit with fellow alumni, professors and current students. A Homecoming King and Queen, elected by the student body, are crowned during halftime of the football game.[13]

Belle of the Blue is Georgetown's small-scale version of Miss America. It is an annual scholarship pageant that any freshman through junior woman can participate in. Each residence hall, including the male dormitories, nominates a woman to compete as their representative in the February event. On pageant night, the women are judged based on scholarship, interview, talent, poise and appearance. A "Miss Congeniality" title is awarded, as well as an overall scholarship to Georgetown College.[13]

Midnight Brunch – The Caf, each semester, selects one night during finals week to open at midnight. Students listen to music that blares and games are played, and the professors serve students platefuls of comfort food to help fuel their late-night study sessions.[13]

Grubfest happens each September. Students join the annual battle to see which team can complete the most challenges. In a matter of hours, the Quad, a lush, green open area for socializing and studying, is turned into a slimy, muddy arena covered with food products. At the end of Grubfest, the two dirtiest and most creative participants are crowned king and queen of the year's festivities.[13]

Opening Convocation is held in the chapel in the early fall and is a campus-wide assembly intended to create a sense of academic community and common purpose as the academic year begins.[13]

Hanging of the Green is held each December, and students, faculty, and staff gather together in the chapel on the first Monday night of the month for a worship service including an advent wreath lit by faculty and staff, an upperclassman offering the service's message, and a Christmas tree trimmed on stage with ornaments representing various organizations on campus. At the end, the attendees sing "Silent Night".[13]

Commencement, or the graduation ceremony, takes place every May on Giddings Lawn. Seniors troop through the doors of Giddings Hall and fan out onto the front lawn, where commencement proceeds.[13]

Athletics
Main article: Georgetown Tigers

The athletics teams at Georgetown College are known as the Tigers. They participate in the NAIA and in the Mid-South Conference (MSC).[14]

The Tigers participate in 18 varsity sports.[15]

  • 3 NAIA Football national championships (1991, 2000, and 2001)[16]
  • 3 NAIA men's basketball national championships (1998, 2013, 2019)[16]

Football
Main article: Georgetown Tigers football
Toyota Stadium

Notable alumni

References
  1. As of fall 2016. "Student headcount by level: All independent institutions (2006-16)" (PDF). Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  2. Georgetown College History
  3. "Giddings Hall". Historic Campus Architecture Project. Council of Independent Colleges. November 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  4. "Georgetown College Information and Quick Facts". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  5. Georgetown College Earns Highest Rating for Free Speech
  6. "CCSAC Accreditation". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  7. Student Organizations
  8. "Greek life". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  9. "Interested groups". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  10. "Maskrafters: Theatre & Film". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  11. Georgetonian
  12. "WRVG". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  13. "Georgetown College Traditions". Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  14. "Members: Georgetown College". 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  15. Sports teams
  16. National Championships
  17. William Lynwood Montell, Tales from Kentucky Doctors. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. 14 March 2008. ISBN 978-0-8131-2482-7.
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