Agnes Scott College
From Freepedia
Agnes Scott College is a women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta. As of 2004, the college enrolls over 1,000 students. Agnes Scott is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The undergraduate school offers 30 majors and 25 minors. Students who graduate from Agnes Scott receive a Bachelor of Arts degree. 87% of the faculty are full-time, and 100% of the tenure-track faculty hold terminal degrees. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1.
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History
The college was founded in 1889 as Decatur Female Seminary by Presbyterian minister Frank H. Gaines. In 1890, the name was changed to Agnes Scott Institute to honor the mother of the college's primary benefactor, Col. George Washington Scott. The name was changed again to Agnes Scott College in 1906. Agnes Scott Hall, the oldest building on campus, was built in 1891 and once housed the entire school.
Agnes Scott is considered the first higher education institution in the state of Georgia to receive regional accreditation. The current President of Agnes Scott College is Dr. Mary Brown Bullock, a 1966 Phi Beta Kappa graduate. President Bullock will be stepping down from her decade long position effective August 1, 2006.
Undergraduate campus life
Students at Agnes Scott are known as "Scotties." The school colors of Agnes Scott are purple and white while the mascot is Irvine, a Scottish Terrier. Each incoming class is assigned a class color out of red, yellow, blue, or green and votes on a class mascot that correlates with their color. The colors and mascots are intended to establish class pride, particularly during one week of fun-filled activities called Black Cat. Black Cat occurs every fall and culminates in a series of skits written, directed, and performed by the junior class.
Class mascots were often popular culture icons:
- 1956: blue: Pogo
- 1957: yellow: Dennis the Menace
- 1958: red: Droopy
- 1959: green: Casper
- 1960: blue: Charlie Brown
- 1961: yellow: Eloise
- 1962: red: Yogi Bear
- 1963: green: Winnie-the-Pooh
- 1964: blue: Harvey the Invisible Rabbit
- 1965: yellow: Dennis the Menace
- 1966: red: Madeline
- 1967: green: Peter Pan
- 1968: blue: Popeye
- 1969: yellow: Raggedy Ann
- 1970: red: Christopher Robin
- 1971: green: Jiminy Cricket
- 1972: blue: Huckleberry Hound
- 1973: yellow: Daisy Mae Scraggs
- 1974: red: Mickey Mouse
- 1975: green: Johnny Appleseed
- 1976: blue: Raggedy Ann
- 1977: yellow: Dennis the Menace
- 1978: red: Hot Stuff (the Little Devil)
- 1979: green: Jiminy Cricket
- 1980: blue: Keystone Kops
- 1981: yellow: Yellow Pages
- 1982: red: Peppermint Patty
- 1983: green: Scout troops
- 1984: blue: Cracker Jack sailors
- 1985: yellow: Sundance kids
- 1986: red: Scottish Highlanders
- 1987: green: Merry Men
- 1988: blue: Pilots
- 1989: yellow: Cheshire Cat
- 1990: red: Mighty Mounties
- 1991: green: Jiminy Cricket
- 1992: blue: Blues Brothers
- 1993: yellow: Woodstock
- 1994: red: Cat in the Hat
- 1995: green: Peter Pan
- 1996: blue: Road Runner
- 1997: yellow: Solid Gold Dancers
- 1998: red: Wonder Women
- 1999: green: Green Berets
- 2000: blue: Blues Brothers
- 2001: yellow: Sun Goddesses
- 2002: red: Queen of Hearts
- 2003: green: Poison Ivy
- 2004: blue: Sirens
- 2005: yellow: Queen of the Nile
- 2006: red: Vixens
- 2007: green: 007
- 2008: blue: Luna, Moon Goddess
- 2009: yellow: Muses of Apollo
The honor code is held in high regard among Agnes Scott students and faculty. At the beginning of every academic year, students must sign the honor code and recite a pledge promising to uphold the high academic and social standards of the institution. Those students who uphold the code are allowed to take unproctored class tests and take-home examinations.
Agnes Scott's varsity sports teams include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.
Rankings
As of the recently released 2006 US News and World Report rankings, Agnes Scott was ranked the 55th best liberal arts college in the country.
Princeton Review's 2006 The Best 361 Colleges ranked the college as the nation's second most beautiful campus, behind Pepperdine University in Malibu.
Post-graduate and dual degree studies
Agnes Scott offers one graduate program, a Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary English, and one post-baccalaureate pre-medical program. In 2004, Emory School of Nursing and Agnes Scott formed a new dual degree BA/BSN partnership. The program gives students the opportunity to earn both a bachelor of arts degree from Agnes Scott and a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Emory University in five years. Other special curricula include: a dual degree program with the Georgia Institute of Technology, a dual degree program in art and architecture with Washington University, an exchange program with Mills College, and Washington Semester, in which students spend one semester at American University in Washington DC. In addition, Agnes Scott students may participate in the Air Force or Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Financial status
In 2004, Agnes Scott's endowment was $297.8 million. The college ranks second among women's colleges, seventh among national liberal arts colleges, and 27th overall in endowment per full-time enrolled student.
A high percentage of students receive academic scholarships to this selective private institution.
Notable achievements
- The 2004 edition of US News and World Report's rankings for best liberal arts colleges placed Agnes Scott as tied for number 50 in the country, and that year promotional information and school merchandise advertised the college's place among the "top 50."
- New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, herself a graduate of Wellesley College, a women's college, delivered Agnes Scott's May 2005 commencement address. At the ceremony, she and playwright Marsha Norman received the first honorary degrees conferred by the college.
- Under the guidance of President Bullock, Agnes Scott's student body has increased by 50% in four years and its faculty body has increased by 25%. A $120 million building program has also led to a new dining hall, campus center, science building, tennis court, renovated observatory, and improved landscaping.
Notable alumnae
- Katherine Harris, U.S. Representative
- Rachelle Henderlite, the first woman to be ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Marsha Norman, playwright
- Jean H. Toal, Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
- Ila Burdett, Georgia's first female Rhodes scholar
- Susan Philips, the first woman to chair a financial regulatory agency (the Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
Miscellaneous
- The college was featured in Scream 2, as well as several TV shows and made-for-TV-movies filmed in the Atlanta area.
- American poet Robert Frost was an annual visitor at Agnes Scott from 1945 to his death in 1962. During his visits, he would read poetry in Presser Hall. A statue of the poet sculpted by George W. Lundeen sits in the alumnae gardens.
- Tradition dictates that students who get engaged are thrown into the alumnae pond by their classmates.
- Seniors at Agnes Scott traditionally ring the bell in Agnes Scott Hall's bell tower upon acceptance to graduate school or a job offer. Students who ring the bell sign their names on the walls of the tower.
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