Kickin' it Old School

All of my posts deal with what's going on with present day Guilford College. I thought it would be a nice change to take it back to when Guiford was first founded- take it all the way back to 1837 and share a little bit of history behind Guilford with all of my readers.

"Quakers, as social reformers and pacifists, created the Native American rights movement after 1755, the crusade to abolish slavery and the temperance, women's rights, and peace movements."

The Underground Railroad ran actively through what would eventually become Guilford's campus. Abolitionists/Quaker Levi Coffin and his family lived on the land at that time. Coffin's family s well as other New Garden Quakers in the area aided slaves with a place to stay on their journey to freedom in the North. 

(Levi Coffin -->)

In 1837 the Quakers living around the New Garden area opened New Garden Boarding School. This coeducational institution was initially established for the children on the Religious Society of Friends As the years progressed, New Garden Boarding School started to serve adolescents of all religious affiliations and eventually transitioned into Guilford College, a four-year liberal arts college, by 1888.

Guilford has drastically changed over the centuries but has managed to never lose sight of the 5 main Quaker testimonies which are 

• integrity
• simplicity
• peace
• equality
• direct and immediate access to  God/Truth. 

These testimonies have been incorporated into Guilford's curriculum and also share a close relationship with the schools seven core values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship.

Quaker schools are rare around the country but are becoming more a more popular choice of interest amongst parents and students when considering different colleges. 

"We chose a Quaker school for our son because the environment stimulates students' intellect and creativity but also engenders an awareness of the larger world, encourages personal responsibility, and celebrates human differences while affirming the dignity and value of each human being."

Guilford is now focusing as a college on becoming more "green" and eco-friendly. Sustainability plans are in full effect with recycling bins being placed in every dorm room as well as in different places around campus, solar panels on top of several dorms and buildings and a garden is even being grown on Guilford's very campus. It helps supply the cafeteria with vegetables and also saves money on food products.

Guilford has certainly come a long way from when it was first established in 1837, however with the changes that have been made, it is till able to remain true to its Quaker heritage and core values. 

RESOURCES

-"Quaker Education for a Socially Just World; Pulitzer Prize Winners Anthony Shadid and Caroline Elkins; Dean of Harvard College Evelynn Hammonds; Former Chair of Quaker UN Committee Don McNemar; MIT Professor Helen Elaine Lee Explore Social Justice in Quaker Education." Internet Wire 9 Dec. 2008. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.  

-"The Library Quarterly." p.54. Chicago Journals. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.guilford.edu/openurl?volume=60&date=1990&spage=44&issn=00242519&issue=1>.

-Keiser, Melvin R. "Holiness: the Soul of Quakerism; an Historical Analysis of the Theology of Holiness in the Quaker Tradition." EBSCO Host. 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

-"Quaker Heritage." Guilford College. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.guilford.edu/about-guilford/quaker-heritage/>