Message From the President
As I enter my sixth year as president and professor of political science of Guilford College, I invite you to join me in exploring this unique community of higher education, which has faithfully served thousands of students since 1837.
What differentiates Guilford from other fine colleges? Three factors come quickly to mind:
• For starters, our core values encompass both academic excellence and a dedication to Quaker values such as social justice, tolerance, community and diversity as well as the integrity to have our actions match our words. Guilford students volunteer more than 50,000 hours of community service each year.
• At Guilford, teaching matters most. Being called a "great teacher" is about the highest accolade that a faculty member on this campus can receive, and many do. I teach a class each spring semester because it's one way this president can stay connected with the academic program and with students and their concerns.
• Guilford is a superb liberal arts college that also teaches business and other practical skills. A student can only graduate after sampling a broad spectrum of courses, so an art major might enroll in a computer science course and an accounting major might take religious studies.
Trustees, faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends have shown incredible loyalty to Guilford. Stories of longstanding connections to the college are wonderful. Hearing about families with five and six generations of Guilford graduates is as inspiring to me as faculty talking about their commitment to teaching and the students they have affected so profoundly. That's what makes a small college: the ability to change lives in concrete ways that can be seen and heard and felt.
Guilford has indeed changed many lives since its founding as the New Garden Boarding School 167 years ago. By choosing this college, I am confident the same can happen to you. We would welcome the opportunity to have you enroll at Guilford, and I invite you to explore the college further by visiting our Web site, www.guilford.edu, or speaking with a representative of our Office of Admission or Center for Continuing Education.
My very best wishes in all your academic pursuits,
Kent John Chabotar
President and Professor of Political Science