Davidson College

The college's athletic teams, the Wildcats, compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in the Pioneer Football League and Southern Conference 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. The college also operates a 110-acre (44.5 ha) lake campus on the shores of nearby Lake Norman. The college offers 37 majors and 39 minors in liberal arts 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 and is among the top undergraduate institutions whose graduates receive Fulbright Scholarships.

• Name — Davidson College • Motto — Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas (Latin) • Motto Eng — Let Learning Be Cherished Where Liberty Has Arisen • Type — Private liberal arts college • Religious Affiliation — Presbyterian Church (USA) • Endowment — $1.46 billion (2025) • President — Douglas A. Hicks • Faculty — 207 • Undergrad — 2,079 • City — Davidson • State — North Carolina • Country — United States • Campus — Suburban, 665 acre main campus and a 110 acre Lake Campus • Sports Nickname — Wildcats • Mascot — Roary the Wildcat • Colors — Red and black • Sporting Affiliations — NCAA Division I – A-10, Pioneer Football League • Academic Affiliations — * APCU • NAICU • ACS • Annapolis Group • Oberlin Group • CLAC • Website — https: davidson.edu

An institution of higher learning of The Presbyterian Church (USA), Davidson College was founded in 1837 by The Concord Presbytery after purchasing 469 acre 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. • Illustration — 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Princeton Review 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 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 for domestic applicants.

• Usnwr La — 14 • Wamo La — 12 • Forbes — 48 • The Wsj — 10 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 ' 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 rated Davidson College as the #1 best college for value across all colleges and universities in America. 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. 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)."

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).

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, 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 in all sports other than football and wrestling. Sports that compete in other conferences include football in Division I Football Championship Subdivision Pioneer Football League, and wrestling in the Southern Conference.

There are two main student publications on campus. The first is Quips & Cranks, the college yearbook, and the second is the newspaper on campus, the Davidsonian, which is published weekly. Quips and Cranks was first published in 1885 (covering the 1884–1885 academic year) by the Eumenean and Philanthropic Literary Societies to preserve the memories and traditions of Davidson for students and alumni alike. The Davidson annual was named “Quips and Cranks” after the following verse from Milton’s L’Allegro: “Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee / Jest and youthful jollity, / Quips and Cranks, and wanton wiles, / Nods and becks, and wreathed smiles.” Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the yearbook ceased publication, but in 2025 the book was officially revived and is set to cover the 24/25 school year as well as the preceding lost half decade. Davidson College ensures that each student on campus receives a free copy of the book to make the memories of the year accessible to all, reflecting Davidson’s commitment to student voice, equity, and campus-wide participation in storytelling and history. The Davidsonian was founded in 1914 and has published a volume every year since then. Digital archives of the newspaper and yearbook are available online. • Illustration — Alvarez College Union, Davidson College 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.

The fraternity and eating house system at Davidson is known as Patterson Court. There are several fraternities and eating houses at Davidson College. Approximately 80% of the female students and 40% of male students belong to a fraternity or an eating house.

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.

In 2002, the Royal Shakespeare Company performed William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice 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 and Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, 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 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In February 2007, the Royal Shakespeare Company performed Shakespeare's Pericles and The Winter's Tale, 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 developed a new play, Little Eagles.

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 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.

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 • White House Press Secretary Tony Snow • US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx • Deputy White House Counsel in the Bill Clinton administration, Vincent Foster • North Carolina Agricultural Commissioner and Farmer's Alliance leader Leonidas L. Polk • Mystery writer Patricia Cornwell • Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Wright • The 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, attended Davidson for one year before transferring to Princeton University • American novelist and essayist William Styron • NBA Champion and MVP Stephen Curry • The German politician Kurt Biedenkopf, former Minister President of Saxony and former President of the Bundesrat, attended Davidson College for a year as an exchange student. • Japanese diplomat Koji Tomita served as the ambassador of Japan to Israel (2015–2018), South Korea (2019–2020), and the United States (2020–2024). He attended Davidson as an international student during the 1977–78 academic year.