Agnes Scott College

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Agnes Scott College


Motto:	"Now add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge." (2 Peter 1:5)
Established:	1889
Type:	liberal arts women's college
Endowment:	$287 million
President:	Elizabeth Kiss
Faculty:	82
Undergraduates:	914
Location:	Decatur, Georgia, United States
Campus:	Suburban
Colors:	Purple and white
Nickname:	Scotties
Mascot:	Scottish Terrier
Affiliations:	Presbyterian Church (USA)
Website:	agnesscott.edu

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Buttrick Hall

Looking across the quad

McCain Library at dusk

Bradley Observatory

Agnes Scott College is a private liberal arts women's college in Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta. The college currently enrolls 914 students. Agnes Scott is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The undergraduate school offers 30 majors and 25 minors. Students who graduate from Agnes Scott receive a Bachelor of Arts degree. 87% of the faculty are full-time, and 100% of the tenure-track faculty hold terminal degrees. In 2006, the student to faculty ratio was 10:1.^[1] It is considered one of the Seven Sisters of the South. The current mission statement, adopted in 2002, is: Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. ^[2]

1 History
2 Undergraduate campus life
3 Special curricula
4 Rankings
5 Notable achievements
6 Notable alumnae
7 Trivia
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links

[edit] History

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The college was founded in 1889 as Decatur Female Seminary by Presbyterian minister Frank H. Gaines. In 1890, the name was changed to Agnes Scott Institute to honor the mother of the college's primary benefactor, Col. George Washington Scott. The name was changed again to Agnes Scott College in 1906. Agnes Scott (Main) Hall, the oldest building on campus, was built in 1891 and once housed the entire school. This is documented in the history of Agnes Scott by Dr. McNair entitled Lest We Forget published in 1983.

Agnes Scott is considered the first higher education institution in the state of Georgia to receive regional accreditation. The current president is Elizabeth Kiss, the founding director of Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics.

On July 27, 1994, the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the South Candler Street-Agnes Scott College Historic District.

[edit] Undergraduate campus life

Students at Agnes Scott are known as "Scotties." The school colors of Agnes Scott are purple and white, while the mascot is Irvine, a Scottish Terrier. Each incoming class is assigned a class color out of red, yellow, blue, or green and votes on a class mascot that correlates with that color. The colors and mascots are intended to establish class pride, particularly during one week of activities called Black Cat. Black Cat occurs every fall and culminates in a series of skits written, directed, and performed by the junior class. If there is dissatisfaction with a class mascot, the class is given the option to revote and choose a different mascot their second year.

The class ring is given to students during the spring of their sophomore year in a special ceremony. The ring design, with its rectangular engraved black onyx stone, has remained essentially the same since its introduction in the 1920s with minor choices (metal, size, and antiquing) emerging in recent years.

The honor code is held in high regard among Agnes Scott students and faculty.^{[citation needed]} At the beginning of every academic year, new students must sign the honor code and recite a pledge promising to uphold the high academic and social standards of the institution. Those students who uphold the code are allowed to take unproctored class tests and take-home examinations.^{[citation needed]}

Agnes Scott's NCAA Division III sports teams include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.

[edit] Special curricula

Coeducational graduate programs:

Master of Arts in teaching secondary English
Master of Arts in teaching secondary math and science
Post-baccalaureate pre-medical program

Undergraduate programs:

combined bachelor and master's degree in art and architecture with Washington University
BA/BSN degree with Emory School of Nursing
BA/BS degree in engineering with the Georgia Institute of Technology
exchange program with Mills College
Washington Semester: students spend one semester at American University in Washington DC
Irene K. Woodruff return-to-college program - a program for Non-traditional students

[edit] Rankings

In April 2007, Kiplinger named Agnes Scott as one of the top 50 private liberal arts colleges.

According to the 2007 US News and World Report, Agnes Scott is ranked the 61st best liberal arts college in the country. It is the highest ranked women's college in the southeast. The report also ranked Agnes Scott as No. 28 for "Great School, Great Price."

Princeton Review's 2007 The Best 361 Colleges ranks the college as follows:
No. 4 for "Most Beautiful Campus"
No. 8 for "Dorms Like Palaces"
No. 11 for "Diverse Student Population"
No. 13 for "Students Happy with Financial Aid"

[edit] Notable achievements

Agnes Scott pulled off what is considered^{[citation needed]} the biggest upset in the history of the televised quiz show College Bowl when they shocked Princeton University, 220-215, on March 6, 1966. (See the entire program on YouTube: [1], [2], [3].)

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered Agnes Scott's May 2005 commencement address.^{[citation needed]} At the ceremony, she and playwright Marsha Norman received the first honorary degrees conferred by the college.

The 2004 edition of US News and World Report's rankings for best liberal arts colleges placed Agnes Scott as tied for number 50 in the country, and that year promotional information and school merchandise advertised the college's place among the "top 50."

In 2004, the college ranked second among women's colleges, seventh among national liberal arts colleges, and 27th overall in endowment per full-time enrolled student.^{[citation needed]}

Agnes Scott's $125 million building program has led to the creation of a new parking facility, Public Safety office, planetarium, student campus center, science building, tennis courts, and improved landscaping and the renovation of the dining hall, observatory, and library. $1.6 million was spent on renovating three Victorian homes for student housing. Renovation of the Alumnae House and creation of a new chapel, office space, residence hall, theatre, and dance facilities have also been planned.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, approximately 600 students were enrolled at Agnes Scott. In fall 2004, for the first time in the school's history, enrollment reached 1,000 students.^{[citation needed]}

Agnes Scott is one of forty colleges profiled in the book "Colleges That Change Lives", by Loren Pope.

[edit] Notable alumnae

Nathalie Anderson (1970), poet and author of Following Fred Astaire
Osjha Anderson, (1996) Miss Georgia 1999
Mary Brown Bullock (1966), president emeritae and only alumna to serve as president
Ila Burdette (1981), Georgia's first female Rhodes scholar
Dorothy Cave (1949), prominent New Mexico author and historian
Faith Yao Yu Chao (1961), founder and director of the Evergreen Educational Foundation, a recent Bill and Melinda Gates foundation award winner
Constance Curry (1955), civil rights activist and author of the award-winning Silver Rights
Daphne Faulkner (1983), religious and political activist, founder and first president of the Georgia chapter of People of Faith for the ERA
Mamie Lee Ratliff Finger (1939), president of the foundation that funds Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea, the largest women's university in the world
Karen Gearreald (1966), Agnes Scott's first blind student, who answered the final question to beat Princeton (see above) and was named Outstanding Alumna for Distinguished Career in 1997
Sophie Haas Gimble (1912), Fashion designer and merchandiser at Saks Fifth Avenue, appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1947
Katherine Harris (1979), former Florida Secretary of State and U.S. Representative
Rachelle Henderlite, the first woman to be ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Bertha "B" Holt (1938), former North Carolina State Representative and children's rights advocate
Amy Kim (1997), Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for "Best Live Action Short Film" for her work as a producer on West Bank Story
Katherine "Kay" Krill (1977), CEO of Ann Taylor
Michelle Malone, musician (did not graduate)
Catherine Marshall (1936), author of the novel Christy, later made into a TV series
Joanna Cook Moore, actress and mother of Tatum O'Neal
Jennifer Nettles (1997), country music star
Marsha Norman (1969), playwright
Jessica Daves Parker (1914), editor in chief of Vogue magazine 1952-1962
Susan Philips (1967), the first woman to chair a financial regulatory agency (the Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
Carolyn Forman Piel (1940), elected in 1986, she is the first female president of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Margaret Evans Porter, (1980), romance novelist
Mia Puckett, (1986), first female, black District Attorney in the state of Alabama, currently state director of human resources
Louise Röska-Hardy (1972), Phi Beta Kappa, philosopher specializing in philosophy of languange and of mind
Agnes White Sanford (SPEC 1919), author of the book The Healing Light
Saycon Sengbloh, Broadway star and recording artist.
Jean H. Toal (1965), Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
Leila Ross Wilburn 1904, Architect

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

According to a 2006 study conducted by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, approximately 4,000 alumnae living in Georgia earn an estimated $143.9 million annually.
The college's science building contains a three-story rendering of part of the nucleotide sequence from Agnes Scott's mitochrondrial DNA. The DNA came from a blood sample of an ASC alumna who is a direct descendant of the college's namesake.
American poet Robert Frost was an annual visitor at Agnes Scott from 1945 to his death in 1962. During his visits, he would read poetry in Presser Hall. A statue of the poet sculpted by George W. Lundeen sits in the alumnae gardens. A collection of Frost's poetry and letters can be viewed at McCain Library.
The college was featured in Scream 2, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, A Man Called Peter, and "Why Did I Get Married?" as well as several TV shows and made-for-TV-movies filmed in the Atlanta area.
Tradition dictates that students who get engaged are thrown into the alumnae pond by their classmates.
Seniors at Agnes Scott traditionally ring the bell in Agnes Scott Hall's bell tower upon acceptance to graduate school or a job offer. This tradition dates from the '80s when the tower acquired its bell during the administration of President Ruth Schmidt. Students who ring the bell sign their names on the walls of the tower.
The Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott houses the Beck Telescope, a 30 inch Cassegrain reflector, as well as a planetarium with 70-seat capacity and a radio telescope.

[edit] Notes

^ Common Data Set 2006-2007 (pdf).
^ Strategic Plan 2007 (pdf).

[edit] References

Earnshaw, Rebecca Lee. Students at Agnes Scott College During the 1930s. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott College, 1988.
McNair, Walter Edward. Lest We Forget: An Account of Agnes Scott College. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott College, 1983.
Noble, Betty Pope Scott. The Story of George Washington Scott, 1829-1903: A Family Memoir. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott College, 2002.
Pope, Loren. "Agnes Scott College." In Colleges That Change Lives. New York: Penguin, 2000.
Sayrs, M. Lee. A Full and Rich Measure: 100 Years of Educating Women at Agnes Scott College, 1889-1989. Atlanta, GA: Susan Hunter, Inc., 1990.