Davidson College

An institution of higher learning of The Presbyterian Church (USA) , [ 12 ] Davidson College was founded in 1837 by The Concord Presbytery after purchasing 469 acres (1.90 km 2 ) 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. [ 13 ] William Lee Davidson II was the son of Revolutionary War commander Brigadier General William Lee Davidson , for whom the college is named. [ 14 ] 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. [ citation needed ] 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 . [ 15 ] Philanthropic Hall (shown) and Eumenean Hall are on the National Register of Historic Places 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 . [ citation needed ] The Chambers Building was erected to commemorate this gift. On November 28, 1921, the Chambers Building was destroyed in a fire but was reconstructed eight years later with funding from the Rockefeller family . [ 16 ] The Chambers Building continues to be the primary academic building on campus. In 1923, the Gamma chapter in North Carolina of Phi Beta Kappa was established at Davidson.

Over 1500 men and 500 women have been initiated into Davidson's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. [ 17 ] In 1924, James Duke formed the Duke Endowment, which has provided millions of dollars to the college. In 1954, the president of Georgia Tech Blake R. Van Leer and Davidson's president John Rood Cunningham arranged the first-of-its-kind joint engineering program. [ 18 ] 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 . 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. [ 19 ] 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. [ 20 ]

Admissions Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report regard Davidson's admission process as "most selective". [ 21 ] For the class of 2027 (enrolled fall 2023), Davidson received 7,363 applications and accepted 1,068 (14.5%). [ 22 ] Of those, 1,005 applied early decision and 338 were accepted. [ 23 ] The yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) was 49.3%. [ 24 ] The middle 50% range of SAT 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. [ 23 ] Enrolled freshmen represent 41 states and 35 countries; 35.9% were from the American South. The college is need-blind for domestic applicants. [ 25 ]

Quick facts Academic rankings, Liberal arts ... Academic rankings Liberal arts U.S. News & World Report [ 26 ] 14 Washington Monthly [ 27 ] 12 National Forbes [ 28 ] 48 WSJ /College Pulse [ 29 ] 10 Close 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". [ 30 ] Davidson College was ranked 48th overall on Forbes ' 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. [ 31 ] In 2018, Kiplinger's Personal Finance rated Davidson College as the #1 best college for value across all colleges and universities in America. [ 32 ] In 2024, Washington Monthly 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. [ 33 ] According to The Princeton Review , 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)." [ 34 ]