Haverford College

Haverford College was founded in 1833 by members of the Orthodox Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends to ensure an education grounded in Quaker values for young Quaker men. It was the earliest Quaker liberal arts college. [ 13 ] The college's seal bore the likeness of William Penn , which remains on the seal today. [ 14 ] In 1849 it opened enrollment to non-Quakers. [ 15 ] Originally an all-male institution, Haverford began admitting female transfer students in 1969 and became fully co-educational in 1980. The first woman to graduate (the wife of a faculty member) was a member of the class of 1971. The first Black student to graduate from Haverford, Osmond Pitter, a Jamaican Quaker, did so in 1926. He became a doctor and returned to practice medicine in his native land. [ 6 ] [ 16 ] The second (and first African-American to receive a bachelor's degree ) was Paul B. Moses , class of 1951, who became an art history professor at the University of Chicago . During the intervening quarter century, a number of other Black men, including Howard Thurman , enrolled as graduate students. [ 16 ] For most of the 20th century, Haverford's total enrollment was kept below 300, but the college went through two periods of expansion during and after the 1970s, reaching a total of about 1350 students in 2020. Thomas R. Tritton was president of the college between 1997 and 2007 and oversaw the construction of several new buildings, including the Marian E. Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center and the Douglas B. Gardner Integrated Athletic Center. [ 6 ] In the fall of 2020, much of the student body went on strike, sparked by anger at the administration's response to the killing of Walter Wallace in Philadelphia. [ 17 ] The strike later expanded into a broader protest over concerns of racial injustice at the college. Some students opposed the strike, arguing that strikers were demonizing students who expressed concerns and suppressing dissenting views.

[ 18 ] After two weeks, the strike ended when the administration agreed to most of the organizers' demands. [ 19 ] Wendy Raymond has been president of the college since 2019. [ 4 ] On May 7, 2025, testifying at a hearing of the United States House Committee on Education and Workforce , Raymond was questioned regarding her handling of antisemitism on campus. Representative Elise Stefanik noted that "while the other presidents’ statements outlined specific steps taken to prevent antisemitism and specific disciplinary measures in particular, Haverford has not", [ 20 ] and president Raymond was criticized in part because she repeatedly refused to answer questions about aggregate statistics or specific instances of students and faculty who were suspended or otherwise disciplined by the college for antisemitic conduct. [ 21 ] As a result, Representative Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania threatened to withdraw federal funding from the college. [ 21 ] To Jewish Haverford students, Raymond stated, “I wish to make it unmistakably clear that you are valued members in our community … I am sorry that I have let you down.” [ 20 ] In November 2025, Raymond announced her retirement effective in June 2027. [ 22 ]

In 1897, the students and faculty of Haverford voted to adopt an honor code to govern academic affairs. Since 1963, every student has been allowed to schedule his or her own final exams. Take-home examinations are also standard at Haverford and may include strict instructions such as time limits, prohibitions on using assigned texts or personal notes, and calculator usage. All students are bound to follow these instructions by the code. [ 23 ] Founders Hall, completed in 1833 Originally conceived as a code of academic honesty, the honor code had expanded by the 1970s to govern social interactions. The code does not list specific rules of behavior, but rather emphasizes a philosophy of mutual trust, concern and respect, as well as genuine engagement, that students are expected to follow. A student (or other community member) who feels that another has broken the code, is encouraged not to look the other way but rather to confront and engage in a dialogue with the potential offender, before taking matters to an honor council which can help mediate the dispute. [ 24 ] Every student is required to sign a pledge agreeing to the honor code prior to matriculation. The honor code is entirely student-run. It originated with a body of students who felt it necessary and it is amended and ratified by current students annually at an event called "Plenary". [ 24 ] Student government officers administer the code and all academic matters are heard by student juries. More severe matters are addressed by administrators. Abstracts from cases heard by students and joint administrator-student panels are distributed to all students by several means, including as print-outs in mailboxes. The trial abstracts are made anonymous by the use of pseudonyms who are often characters from entertainment or history. [ 24 ] The honor code failed to be ratified in 2013, 2018, and 2023 although on all occasions it was reinstated following special assemblies of the student body. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ]

Haverford offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 31 majors across humanities , social sciences and natural sciences . [ 28 ] All departments require a senior thesis , project or research for graduation, [ 29 ] and many departments also have junior-level seminar or year-long project such as in biology (superlab) and chemistry (superlab). [ 30 ] [ 31 ] The college also maintains a distribution requirement, spreading course work in all three areas of humanities , social sciences and natural sciences , in addition to major course works. [ 28 ] Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were: [ 32 ] Chemistry (34) Computer science (31) Economics (31) Political science & government (29) Biology/biological sciences (27) Psychology (25) English language & literature (21) Mathematics (20) Consortium Haverford's consortium relationship with Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and the University of Pennsylvania (the Quaker Consortium ) greatly expands its course offerings. Haverford and Bryn Mawr have a particularly close relationship (the Bi-College Consortium), with over 2,000 students cross-registering between the two schools. [ 33 ] The campuses are only 1 mile apart and a shuttle called the Blue Bus runs frequently back and forth. [ 34 ] Some departments, such as Religion and Music, are housed at Haverford, while others like Theatre and Growth and Structure of Cities are at Bryn Mawr. Students can major in these departments from both colleges. Furthermore, students of one of the Tri-Collegiate Consortium Schools (Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford) are allowed to pursue a major in a subject at a Tri-Collegiate institution apart from the one they are a student of.