Dear Friends, 
In 1918, during one of Guilford College's most challenging periods, President Raymond Binford posed a provocative question to North Carolina Quakers: "Who gave us Guilford College?" His article in The Friends Messenger was both historical reflection and urgent plea — the college needed Friends' support to survive.

More than a century later, as I write from the porch of Friends Center on Guilford's beautiful campus, surrounded by ginkgos and oaks, with New Garden Friends Meeting visible in the distance, Binford's question echoes with fresh urgency. The streets around me — Friendly Avenue, New Garden Road — and the buildings bearing names like King, Hobbs, Binford, and Campbell all testify to generations of Quakers invested in this College.

But Guilford's current crisis mirrors 1918 in striking ways. Once again, the college faces financial uncertainty. Once again, we ask: Who gave us Guilford College? And more importantly: Who will ensure it continues?

Binford's answer in 1918 was clear: North Carolina Yearly Meeting had a moral responsibility for the institution as its founders and spiritual ancestors. Today, I believe the answer — and responsibility — has grown far beyond the borders of North Carolina.

Binford understood that North Carolina Friends had created something vital in Guilford. As he wrote, "Most of our leaders believe that we could not long exist as a church in North Carolina without a college." For Binford, Guilford was built through sacrifice and sustained by a conviction that Quaker education was essential to their faith community's survival.

In the century since Binford's plea, Guilford's reach has extended far beyond what those founding Friends could have imagined. Just months ago, I traveled to Phoenix for the Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas meeting. There, Guilford's fingerprints were everywhere: I met young alumni for the first time, worked alongside other graduates, spoke with parents of alumni, discussed some of our challenges with past board members, and witnessed the leadership of our new FWCC executive secretary, Evan Welkin ’06 — himself a Guilford graduate and alumnus of our Quaker Leadership Scholars Program.

A growing footprint

This isn't unusual. With over 20,000 Guilford graduates and 400+ who have participated in the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program over the past 30 years, the college's impact on American Quakerism far exceeds its 300-acre footprint in Greensboro. From yearly meeting clerks to meeting pastors, from Quaker organization leaders in well-established and brand new organizations to peace activists, Guilfordians serve throughout the Religious Society of Friends.

Guilford has become a crown jewel of American Quakerism — if Quakers were ever caught wearing such decorations! It remains the only Quaker college in the South, a nationally recognized site marking the Underground Railroad's interracial collaboration here, and home to one of the world's finest Quaker archives. For four decades, the Friends Center has nurtured young Quaker leaders who now serve meetings and organizations across the country and beyond. Friends Center staff work to infuse the college with Quaker ethos through their leadership, trainings, worship, workshops, retreats, classes, and community-building. The undergraduate Quaker studies offerings on campus remain strong with plenty of interest from students both Quaker and non-Quaker.

Binford was right that North Carolina Yearly Meeting couldn't survive without its college. But today, something larger is at stake: American Quakerism itself has been shaped and strengthened by Guilford's continued existence. The college no longer belongs just to North Carolina Friends—it belongs to all of us.

The truth is that having been a cornerstone of American Quakerism for nearly two centuries, Guilford's pulse has slowed. Some challenges stem from past leadership mistakes, others from forces largely beyond our control, but none of these challenges would suggest the college is dying or that its mission has become invalid.

I agree with Binford who wrote: "In spite of its faults, in spite of mistakes that may have been made, in spite of many improvements that should be made, Guilford College is a unique institution." The spirit of Guilford lives on — in the silence that begins and ends classes, in the Quaker testimonies that guide decision-making, in the ongoing formation of students who carry these values into the world.

Your support is needed

But legacy alone is not enough. Guilford needs seeds for the future. Just as North Carolina Friends responded to Binford's 1918 call with "heroic sacrificial effort," today's crisis demands action from the broader Quaker community that has benefited from Guilford's witness.

I am reminded of the words of Judith Weller Harvey, founding Director of the Friends Center, when she wrote to Guilford Trustees, many of whom were Quakers at the time, "Our heritage is our responsibility and our opportunity (1982)."

If you are a Quaker, or someone who supports the Quaker tradition and education, would you consider an unrestricted gift to help bring Guilford out of this challenging time? Whether as individuals, meetings, or yearly meetings, your support can help lift the college from its current challenges and ensure it continues educating future generations of Quaker leaders and allies.

The hour is upon us. In the last century, Guilford has strengthened Quakerism far beyond North Carolina's borders. Now Quakerism beyond North Carolina's borders must strengthen Guilford. As Binford wrote to his generation of Friends: "We look to you. We have confidence in you. Let us go forward to victory."

Who gave us Guilford College?

North Carolina Quakers gave it to us in 1837, built from local clay and sustained by faithful sacrifice. The broader Quaker community has nurtured and shaped it across nearly two centuries.

Today, the answer is clear: Quaker faithfulness gave and has sustained Guilford College. And if it is to continue its vital work among Friends, our faithfulness must sustain it still. I hope you will consider a gift to Guilford in its time of need.

Sincerely,

C. Wess Daniels

William R. Rogers Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies at Guilford College