Davidson College is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...
in
Davidson, North Carolina
Davidson is a suburban town in Mecklenburg, Iredell, and Cabarrus counties, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 15,106 at the 2020 census, up from 10,944 in 2010. The town was ...
, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery
and named after
Revolutionary War general
William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby
Battle of Cowan's Ford
The Battle of Cowan's Ford took place in the Southern Theater of Cornwallis's 1780–1782 Campaign during the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on February 1, 1781, at Cowan's Ford on the Catawba River in northwestern Mecklenburg ...
.
Davidson is a four-year
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
institution and enrolls 1,973 students from 50 states and territories, Washington, D.C., and 46 countries.
Of those students, 95 percent live on campus, 71 percent study abroad, and about 25 percent participate in 21
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
sports.
The college's athletic teams,
the Wildcats, compete in the
Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...
for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in the
Pioneer Football League
The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...
and
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
respectively. Davidson's 665-acre (269 ha) main campus is located in a suburban community 19 miles (30 km) north of downtown
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
.
The college also operates a 110-acre (44.5 ha) lake campus on the shores of nearby
Lake Norman
Lake Norman is an man-made lake, artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station, Cowans Ford Dam by ...
.
The college offers 37
majors and 39 minors in
liberal arts
Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...
disciplines as well as other interdisciplinary academic programs. Academic life at Davidson is governed by an honor code that allows students to take self-scheduled, unproctored final exams. Davidson has graduated 23
Rhodes Scholars
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Established in 1902, it is ...
and is among the top undergraduate institutions whose graduates receive
Fulbright Scholarships
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
.
History
An institution of higher learning of The
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...
, Davidson College was founded in 1837 by The Concord Presbytery after purchasing of land from William Lee Davidson II, who claimed possession of at least 25 enslaved individuals in Mecklenburg County and 65 in Alabama. Davidson II owned the Beaver Dam plantation in Davidson, North Carolina where approximately 16-26 enslaved individuals lived and labored. William Lee Davidson II was the son of
Revolutionary War commander
Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, for whom the college is named. Church records show a meeting on May 13, 1835, among subsequent meetings, by members of the Concord Presbytery making plans to purchase and perform initial construction on the land, with land payments starting Jan 1 of the following year. The first students graduated from Davidson in 1840 and received diplomas with the newly created college seal designed by Peter Stuart Ney, who is believed by some to be Napoleon's
Marshal Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The son of ...
.
In the 1850s, Davidson overcame financial difficulty by instituting "The Scholarship Plan," a program that allowed Davidson hopefuls to purchase a scholarship for $100, which could be redeemed in exchange for full tuition to Davidson until the 1870s. The college's financial situation improved dramatically in 1856 with a $250,000 donation by Maxwell Chambers, making Davidson the wealthiest college south of
Princeton
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
. The Chambers Building was erected to commemorate this gift. Maxwell Chambers was known to have owned a large number of enslaved people.
[Hilary Green, ''Maxwell Chambers and His Complicated Connections to Davidson College'' (Davidson College, 2023). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OVtbzpFBGa43WHL0aXKUhdkazcMJoQ_1/view?usp=drive_link] On November 28, 1921, the Chambers Building was destroyed in a fire but was reconstructed eight years later with funding from the
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...
. The Chambers Building continues to be the primary academic building on campus.
In 1923, the Gamma chapter in North Carolina of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
was established at Davidson. Over 1500 men and 500 women have been initiated into Davidson's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1924, James Duke formed the Duke Endowment, which has provided millions of dollars to the college. In 1954, the president of
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
Blake R. Van Leer and Davidson's president
John Rood Cunningham arranged the first-of-its-kind joint engineering program.
On May 5, 1972, the trustees voted to allow women to enroll at Davidson as degree students for the first time. Women had attended classes as early as the 1860s but did not enjoy degree privileges. The first women to attend classes at Davidson were the five daughters of its president, the Rev. John Lycan Kirkpatrick. The first women were permitted to attend classes to increase the size of the student body during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. However, art major Marianna "Missy" Woodward became the first woman to graduate from Davidson. She graduated in 1973 and was the only woman in a class of 217.
In early 2005, the college's board of trustees voted in a 31–5 decision to allow 20% of the board to be non-Christian.
John Belk, the former mayor of
Charlotte and one of the heirs of
Belk Department Store, resigned in protest after more than six decades of affiliation with the college. Belk, however, continued his strong relationship with his alma mater and was honored in March 2006 at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Belk Scholarship.
In 2007, Davidson eliminated the need for students to take out loans from the college to pay for their tuition. All demonstrated need is met through grants, student employment, parental contribution, and federal student loans. The college claims to be the first liberal arts college in the United States to do this.
Academics
Admissions
''
Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
'' and ''
U.S. News & World Report'' regard Davidson's admission process as "most selective".
For the class of 2027 (enrolled fall 2023), Davidson received 7,363 applications and accepted 1,068 (14.5%). Of those, 1,005 applied early decision and 338 were accepted.
The yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) was 49.3%. The middle 50% range of
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores for enrolled students was 670–740 for Evidence-Based Reading & Writing, and 690–750 for Math, while the
ACT Composite range was 31–33.
Enrolled freshmen represent 41 states and 35 countries; 35.9% were from the American South. The college is
need-blind
Need-blind admission in the United States refers to a college admission policy that does not take into account an applicant's financial status when deciding whether to accept them. This approach typically results in a higher percentage of accepted ...
for domestic applicants.
Rankings
The 2025 annual ranking by ''
U.S. News & World Report'' rates Davidson College as tied for the 14th best among "National Liberal Arts Colleges" in America, tied for 4th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" and 10th for "Best Value". Davidson College was ranked 48th overall on ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ' list of "America's Top Colleges," for the 2024-25 rankings. Davidson was also ranked as the 11th best liberal arts college, and 10th best in the South. In 2018,
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
''Kiplinger Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It off ...
rated Davidson College as the #1 best college for value across all colleges and universities in America. In 2024, ''
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
'' ranked Davidson College 12th among 194 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
According to
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
, Davidson is ranked among the top twenty colleges nationally for the following categories: "Best Overall Academic Experience For Undergraduates," "Professors Get High Marks" (1st), "Professors Make Themselves Accessible" (16th), "Students Study the Most" (10th), "School Runs Like Butter" (4th), "Town-Gown Relations are Great" (3rd), "Easiest Campus to Get Around" (3rd), and "Best Quality of Life (16th)."
Faculty
Davidson has a student-faculty ratio of 8:1, 69% of its classes are under 20 students.
Davidson has 201 full-time faculty members. Almost all faculty members have terminal degrees in their field, with 97% of full-time members holding PhDs.
Honor code
Davidson students are bound by an honor code, signed by each student at the start of their first year.
The Davidson College Honor Code states: "Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from cheating (including plagiarism). Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from stealing. Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from lying about College business. Every student shall be honor bound to report immediately all violations of the Honor Code of which the student has first-hand knowledge; failure to do so shall be a violation of the Honor Code. Every student found guilty of a violation shall ordinarily be dismissed from the College. Every member of the College community is expected to be familiar with the operation of the Honor Code."
As one of the most obvious manifestations of the Honor Code, Davidson students take self-scheduled, unproctored final exams. Some exams (known as "reviews" in Davidson vernacular) are take-home, timed, and closed book. Other take-home exams may be open book or untimed. Often take-home exams may take students days to complete. Every assignment submitted at Davidson includes either an implicit or (more often) explicit pledge that the student neither gave nor received assistance on the assignment beyond the bounds of the Honor Code. The Honor Code extends beyond 'reviews,' essays, or research papers. Notes around campus are commonly seen, whether on a bulletin board or taped to a brick walkway, describing an item found at the location and the finder's contact information so that the property may be recovered.
Majors and minors
Davidson offers majors in 31 subject areas.
Students can also design their own major through the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. In addition to the one major required for graduation, students may pursue a second major, a minor, or a concentration. Its three most popular majors, by 2024 graduates, were Econometrics & Quantitative Economics (89), Biology (83), and Political Science (54).
Student life
Athletics
Davidson competes at the NCAA Division I level in 19 sports. Of these sports, 10 are men's and 9 are women's. Approximately 24% of the Davidson on-campus student body participates in varsity sports.
Davidson has the fourth-smallest undergraduate enrollment of any school in Division I football, behind
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
,
VMI (Virginia Military Institute), and
Wofford (smallest to largest).
Davidson's sports teams are known as the Wildcats. Their colors are red and black, although since 2008, many sports including football, men's basketball, and men's soccer have moved towards a brighter hue of red and white. The Wildcats participate as a member of the
Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...
in all sports other than football and wrestling. Sports that compete in other conferences include
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
in Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Pioneer Football League
The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...
, and wrestling in the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
.
Student organizations
The main student newspaper on campus is the ''Davidsonian'', which is published weekly. The ''Davidsonian'' was founded in 1914 and has published a volume every year since then. Digital archives of the newspaper are available online.
Davidson offers over 150 student organizations on campus, including arts & culture organizations, performance groups, sports groups, political organizations, gender and sexuality groups, religious organizations, and social action groups. The Student Activities Office encourages and is available for students wishing to develop an organization not yet established at Davidson.
Greek life and eating houses
The fraternity and eating house system at Davidson is known as Patterson Court. There are several sororities and sororities at Davidson College. Approximately 80% of the female students and 40% of male students belong to a fraternity or an eating house.
College Farm
The Farm at Davidson College supplies local, organic produce to students through the college's Dining Services operation. The farm covers three acres and is a stand-alone, business-based unit of the college.
Royal Shakespeare Company residencies
In 2002, the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
performed
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...
'' in residency at Davidson College, the RSC's second residency at a US college or university. The performance inaugurated the Duke Family Performance Hall. In March 2005, the RSC returned to Davidson and was in residency for most of the month, performing ''
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...
'' and ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
'' by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, as well as numerous educational activities, many of which were open to the general public. In February 2006, their artists directed scenes from Shakespeare's plays and other theatrical materials inspired by Shakespeare, entitled ''For Every Passion, Something'', with Davidson students as actors. The productions ''Infinite Variety'' and ''For Every Passion Something'' were presented at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland. In February 2007, the Royal Shakespeare Company performed Shakespeare's ''
Pericles
Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...
'' and ''
The Winter's Tale
''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...
'', as well as
Roy Williams's Days of Significance, in the Duke Family Performance Hall. In 2008, the RSC conducted educational programs, similar to those they presented in 2006. Also during this residency, playwright
Rona Munro
Rona Munro (born 7 September 1959) is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television. Her film work includes Ken Loach's '' Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994), '' Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010) for Jim Loach and '' Aimée ...
developed a new play, ''Little Eagles''.
Financial aid
In 2007, Davidson College announced that all students would have their demonstrated financial need met by grants and student employment; loans would no longer be a component of any Davidson financial aid package. The
Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. It supports selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and spiritual life in North Carolina and South ...
pledged $15,000,000 to support the initiative and it was named The Davidson Trust.
In addition to not including loans in their financial aid packages, Davidson's 2014 capital campaign adding 156 new scholarships funded with $88 million.
Davidson states that they are committed to providing 100% of demonstrated need of all students, which is calculated by the federal FAFSA program, with 44% of students receiving need-based aid and over 50% receiving some form of financial aid.
Notable alumni
Davidson has many notable graduates, particularly in politics, athletics, and the arts. These include:
* IX Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of California,
Austin K. Rios
* Congressman
Greg Murphy
* North Carolina Governor
James G. Martin
* North Carolina Governor
James Holshouser
* Representative
Beth Gardner Helfrich
* US Secretary of State
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States secretary of state from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving secretary of state after Cordell Hull from the ...
* White House Press Secretary
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony Snow (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) was an American journalist, political commentator, anchor, columnist, musician, and the 25th White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, from May 2006 until his resignation ...
* US Secretary of Transportation
Anthony Foxx
* Deputy White House Counsel in the
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
administration,
Vincent Foster
Vincent Walker Foster Jr. (January 15, 1945 – July 20, 1993) was an American attorney who served as deputy White House counsel during the first six months of the Clinton administration.
Foster had been a partner at Rose Law Firm in Littl ...
* North Carolina Agricultural Commissioner and Farmer's Alliance leader
Leonidas L. Polk
* Mystery writer
Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders ...
* Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
Charles Wright
*
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, the 28th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, attended Davidson for one year before transferring to
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
* American novelist and essayist
William Styron
William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.
Early life
Styron was born in the Hilton Village historic district of Newport News, Virginia, the so ...
* Basketball player
Stephen Curry
Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...
also attended and completed his BA in May 2022.
* The German politician
Kurt Biedenkopf
Kurt Hans Biedenkopf (; 28 January 1930 – 12 August 2021) was a German jurist, academic teacher and politician of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) party. He was rector of the Ruhr University Bochum.
Biedenkopf made a political career ...
, former Minister President of Saxony and former President of the Bundesrat, attended Davidson College for a year as an exchange student.
See also
*
Davidson College Arboretum
Davidson College Arboretum is located on Davidson College's 600-acre campus in Davidson, North Carolina. The campus was designated a national arboretum in 1986, but the origins of the arboretum stretch to 1855, when “a few ladies of Davidson C ...
References
External links
*
Official athletics website
{{authority control
Universities and colleges in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Liberal arts colleges in North Carolina
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Private universities and colleges in North Carolina
Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Universities and colleges established in 1837
1837 establishments in North Carolina
Need-blind educational institutions