About Guilford

Guilford College draws on Quaker and liberal arts traditions to prepare men and women for a lifetime of learning, work and constructive action dedicated to the betterment of the world.

Toward that end the college provides:

• student-centered instruction that nurtures each individual amid an intentionally diverse community.
• a values-rich education that explores the ethical dimension of knowledge and promotes honesty, compassion, integrity, courage and respect for the individual.
• a challenging academic program that fosters critical and creative thinking through the development of essential skills: analysis, inquiry, communication, consensus-building, problem-solving and leadership.
• a global perspective that values people of other cultures and the natural environment in which we all live.
• access to work and service opportunities that forge a connection between thought and action.

History

The land, described as "this majestic wilderness," was settled in the 1750s by Quakers who named it New Garden. John Woolman, the Quaker missionary who visited the settlers shortly thereafter, called them "planters of truth in the province."

During the American Revolution this peaceful scene was disturbed by the decisive Battle of Guilford Courthouse, four miles to the north. Quakers cared for the wounded of both sides and buried the dead in New Garden Meeting's cemetery. Today one can see a marker to the unknown British soldiers interred there as well as visit the battlefield, now a national military park.

By the 1830s the majority of Quakers in North Carolina lived in and around Guilford County. They decided to establish a school on a coeducational basis that was chartered in 1834 and opened in 1837 as New Garden Boarding School. The campus later became a station on the Underground Railroad as well as a center of resistance to Confederate conscription and requisitioning efforts. The school never closed during the Civil War, and during Reconstruction, with support from Friends in the North and Great Britain, soon recouped its strength.

This led to the development of Guilford College, the fourth oldest degree-granting institution in North Carolina. The college remained largely isolated until the 1920s, when the old trail to Greensboro became the Friendly Road. The street name still symbolizes the longstanding friendship between town and gown. Today the campus is an area of greenery, quiet and scholarship within Greensboro's city limits. It is one of the very few college campuses in the nation listed by the United States Department of the Interior as a National Historic District.

The City and Its Educational Environment

Guilford College is located in northwest Greensboro, which is the third largest city in North Carolina. The city's population is approximately 234,000, with approximately 1.4 million people living in the metropolitan area.

Within a 25-mile radius, there are seven other colleges and universities at which Guilford students may take courses: Bennett College, Elon University, Greensboro College, Guilford Technical Community College, High Point University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lectures, concerts, symposia and films offered by these institutions are usually open to Guilford students.