Guilford College - Campus Life

Campus Life

Quaker Heritage. Guilford College has the distinction of being the only Quaker founded college in the southeastern United States. Originally opening in 1837 as New Garden Boarding School, the institution transformed itself into a four year liberal arts college in 1888. Guilford College continues to place its Quaker heritage at the center of its mission, though it has broadened its outlook beyond North Carolina and the Religious Society of Friends – to include students from a wide variety of faith traditions, regions, and life experiences and strives to educate creative leadership for the twenty-first century. Throughout its history, the institution has endeavored to offer a practical liberal arts education informed by Quaker testimonies. Like New Garden Boarding School, Guilford College adapts and grows to meet the educational needs of a community. While fewer than ten percent of the student body are Quakers, Guilford's Quaker heritage and the Quaker testimonies continue to serve as a guide for the Guilford community. Guilford's 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. Guilford's current president is Kent John Chabotar, the first non-Quaker to hold the position.

Friends Center. Friends Center at Guilford College is a collaborative endeavor of the College and the Religious Society of Friends to strengthen Friends and their institutions. As a Quaker resource center for the Southeast and beyond, Friends Center provides programs that nurture servant-leaders both at Guilford College and in the wider community. These activities are grounded in prayer, informed by Friends' faith and practice, nourished by worship and spiritual formation, and brought to fullness in Quaker community.

Diversity. The college's Diversity Plan guides the community. Guilford states that exploring and celebrating the many facets of diversity and multiculturalism is encouraged and enriched at the College. 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. The work of the Multicultural Educational Department and the Diversity Plan reflects the community's desire for an institution characterized by substantive equality and other aspects of our vision of multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion. Substantive equality focuses on the acceptance of many identities, desire for inclusive engagement, and assurance that entitlements, opportunities, and access are fairly and justly distributed throughout an organization. It builds on cultural pluralism, defined as a condition of community in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups interact constructively.

Sustainability. Guilford's sustainability initiatives make it one of the most "Green" campuses in America. Guilford College signed the American Colleges and Universities Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in May 2007, one of the first four North Carolina colleges and the first Quaker-founded college nationally to do so. The goal of Guilford's Climate Action Plan is to reach carbon neutrality by 2047. Guilford's 200 panels on eight buildings are the largest solar thermal system on a college campus in the U.S. 12 solar thermal panels installed in 2007 and 188 in 2010 (in partnership with FLS Energy) heat 60 percent of water needed by campus residents. The Energy Use Limitation Program caps energy usage and 85 percent of campus buildings are individually metered, allowing precise documentation of electrical energy usage. In addition to the President's Climate Commitment and energy and emissions, transportation initiatives, the curriculum, composting, water conservation, recycling, dining services, and the work of the Sustainability Council are also among the institutional support for sustainability.

Clubs and student organizations. A wide variety of student clubs and organizations exist at Guilford College.

The Early College and Guilford. The Early College at Guilford is hosted at the College.

Colleges that Change Lives. Loren Pope listed Guilford College in his book Colleges That Change Lives.