Grove City College

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Grove City College
File:Grove City College seal.png
MottoLux Mea
TypePrivate liberal arts
Established1876
Endowment$102,768,663
PresidentRichard G. Jewell
ProvostWilliam P. Anderson
Academic staff
approx. 210
Students2,500
Address
100 Campus Drive
Grove City, Pennsylvania 16127
,
Grove City
,
PA
,
USA
CampusRural
ColorsCrimson and White
NicknameWolverines
AffiliationsNCAA Division III
MascotWillie the Wolverine
Websitewww.gcc.edu

Grove City College is a private liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, with a population of about 2,500 undergraduate students. The college is located about sixty-five miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The main defining attributes that Grove City College emphasizes are rigorous academics and an authentic Christian environment at an affordable cost. The two tenets that Grove City College is most about are faith and freedom [1].

The school emphasizes a humanities core curriculum, which endorses the Judeo-Christian Western tradition and the free market. While loosely associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the college is non-denominational and does not require students to sign a statement of faith, though they are required to attend sixteen chapel services per semester.

Many students choose Grove City explicitly for its Christian environment and politically conservative humanities curriculum. A three-year required humanities sequence focuses on the origin, development and implications of civilization’s seminal ideas and worldviews. The courses cover content that includes religion, philosophy, history and philosophy of science, literature, art and music.[2] Because of its strong adherence to freedom and minimal government interference, Grove City College is considered to be one of America's foremost colleges that teach the ideas of the Austrian School of Economics.[3]The post-1938 personal papers written by Ludwig Von Mises, the uncontested dean of the Austrian School of Economics, are collected in the archive of Grove City College.[4]

Grove City ranks third in the 2008 Princeton Review's The Best 361 Colleges 2007 listing of most politically conservative colleges [5]. Human Events Magazine ranks it as one of the cream of the crop in America's conservative colleges. [6] For two consecutive years (2006 and 2007), The Young America's Foundation has placed Grove City in its Top 10 Conservative Colleges list. The schools on this list offer coursework and scholarship in conservative thought and emphasize principles including smaller government, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. [7]Fiske Guide to Getting Into the Right College concurs and lists Grove City among its top 10 conservative colleges. [8] However, not all Grove City students and professors are politically, socially, religiously, and ideologically conservative.

In 2005 Grove City founded its Center for Vision and Values[9], further advancing its programs in the humanities. The Center aims to educate the world about faith and freedom by giving its faculty members the opportunity to share their scholarship with a community beyond Pennsylvania. One of the center’s initiatives is to establishing an annual conference aimed at attracting some of the best minds from around the world to talk about topics of national and international importance.[10]

According to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's most recent publication of Choosing the Right College, the most recent US News and World Report college guide ranks Grove City the number one "best value" among northern comprehensive colleges -- the fifth year running the school has earned that distinction. The school has a total cost (including tuition, room, and board) of around $17,600 a year. Barron’s Educational Series has called Grove City College a “Best Buy” in recognition of the College’s quality education and affordable price[11]. It has also been positively reviewed in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's guide -- Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools.Princeton Review also ranks Grove City College as among the Top 20 in career/job placement services based on satisfaction of students who graduate from the school. [12] It is considered one of the most home school friendly colleges in the Northeast [13][14]. Grove City College is also considered one of the most selective Christian colleges in the nation. [15] Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges - 2004 also lists Grove City College as one of the 65 Most Competitive Colleges and Universities in the nation.[16]

Grove City offers 55 majors in the liberal arts, sciences and engineering. [17] The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education [18], the unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region of the United States. The college's electrical and computer and mechanical engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET).[19]


In two consecutive nationwide studies made by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in cooperation with researchers from the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy to determine the extent of civic literacy in higher education [20],Grove City College students ranked among the top 5 nationally in terms of knowledge of U.S. history, government, economy and international relations. The study was based on the results of a multiple-choice test given to some 14,000 randomly chosen freshmen and seniors on 50 college and university campuses.[21]In two consecutive years of ISI's study,Grove City was ranked number 4 in 2006 [22] and number 2 in 2007 [23],above most Ivy league universities.[24]


Grove City has an acceptance rate around 45% [25]. As many as 80-90% of students choose to interview on campus. The average SAT score of the incoming freshman class was around 1300 [26]. About 14% of its most recent freshman class are either high school valedictorians or salutatorians.[27] Each Grove City College full-time student is given a Hewlett Packard Tablet PC/printer upon arrival, which is theirs to keep upon graduation [28].

History

Founded in 1876 by Isaac C. Ketler, the school was originally chartered as Pine Grove Normal Academy. By charter, the doors of the College were open to qualified students "without regard to religious test or belief." The founders of Grove City College, consciously avoiding narrow sectarianism, held a vision of Christian society transcending denomination, creeds, and confessions. Isaac Ketler was a devout Presbyterian with a passion for education and a strong ambition to become an influential teacher and educator. His significance to the college was enormous. Ketler served as president until 1913 -- 37 years altogether, during a very formative period for the school.[29]

Grove City was heavily supported by Joseph Newton Pew, founder of the Sun Oil Company. Pew was one of Ketler's grade-school teachers and a lifelong mentor and friend of the educator. Ketler and Pew would ultimately forge a remarkable relationship that would profoundly influence the purpose and character of Grove City College. Pew, like Ketler a devout Presbyterian and strong believer in the importance of good education, later accepted the presidency of the school's board of trustees. Pew and Ketler's influence continued with their sons, Weir Ketler (Grove City president from 1916 to 1956) and Joseph Howard Pew, who was graduated from the college in 1900 and like his father became trustee-board president. J. Howard Pew continued his father's legacy, richly contributing to the school's programs. A Presbyterian as devout as his father had been, and a conservative, J. Howard Pew insisted that the college operate only on what it received in tuition and fees. In the 1930's, J. Howard Pew, who became the president of Sun Oil Company, was one of the nation's most outspoken critics of the New Deal, so it also was natural that Grove City College look unfavorably upon federal aid and involvement in education and that it would strive to remain the highly independent institution it is today. [30]

Joseph Howard Pew once said that his two major philanthropic causes were GCC and The Pew Charitable Trusts. In October 2004, the college dedicated a statue to his memory outside of the college's Harbison Chapel.

Grove City's central quad in the spring

Supreme Court Case

Under President Dr. Charles S. MacKenzie, the college was the plaintiff-appellee in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1984, Grove City College v. Bell. The ruling came seven years after the school's refusal to sign a Title IX compliance form, which would have subjected the entire school to federal regulations, even future ones not yet issued. The court ruled 6-3 that acceptance by students of federal educational grants did fall under the regulatory requirements of Title IX, but limited the application to the school's financial aid department. Although the college's materials call this a victory for the school, the Court ruled against it on two out of the three claims it advanced. In 1988, new legislation subjected every department of any educational institution that received federal funding to Title IX requirements. In response, Grove City College pulled out of the Stafford loan program entirely, and established its own loan program in association with PNC Bank. The move earned the respect and admiration of many influential academics, including David Warren, the president of the National Association of Colleges and Universities. Warren said in a 1996 interview that Grove City has a “history of making bold and principled decisions. And a lot of colleges sympathize with what they’ve done.” [31] In standing firm against government "help" Grove City College became a hero to conservatives and others across America concerned about federal control of education. But this act of independence wasn't something new at the college. It was in keeping with its 125-year history of strong Christian faith and traditional American individualism.[32] Grove City does not allow its students to accept federal financial aid of any kind, including grants, loans, and scholarships yet heavily influences local politics often determining outcomes beneficial to the campus community.

Recent History

Grove City College adopts a strong policy in regard to alcohol use on campus, with first time offenders receiving a one week suspension from all activities. Legal age students are permitted to consume alcohol off campus, provided that they do not appear inebriated upon their return. Current student organizations must agree to a strong policy regarding alcohol use both on and off campus, their violation resulting in the loss of their charter.

Along with alcohol use, other activities which are against the historically Christian morality of the school are banned. This includes pre-marital sex and homosexual activity. The school's official stance on homosexuality has subtly changed over the years, changing wording from condemning 'homosexuality' to focusing on same-sex 'activity.' Off-campus housing was disallowed in the 1980s, an early indicator of the school's change in organizational culture.

In recent years, the college has engaged in many new construction projects, including an expansion to the college's music and arts center in 2002, a new academic building in 2003, a new student union/bookstore in 2004, and new apartment style housing in 2006. Even more construction projects, and renovations of existing buildings are planned for the next few years.

Notable Alumni and Professors

Past Presidents

  • Isaac Conrad Ketler (1876-1913)
  • Alexander T. Ormond (1913-1915)
  • Weir Carlyle Ketler (1916-1956)
  • John Stanley Harker (1956-1971)
  • Charles Sherrard Mackenzie (1971-1991)
  • Jerry H. Combee (1991-1995)
  • John H. Moore (1996-2003)

Alma Mater

‘Mid the pines in columns growing, By the stream so deeply flowing, Dear to hearts with mem’ries glowing, Stand the halls, the halls we love.

Chorus:

Hail to thee our Alma Mater, Praises from each son and daughter, Pledges of love and honor Grove City still shall own, Pledges of love and honor Grove City still shall own, Pledges of love and honor Grove City still shall own.

Tho’ the land and sea may part us, Far remove thy towers and campus, Staunch and true there dwells within us, All the spirit of thy life, Staunch and true there dwells within us, All the spirit of thy life.

Chorus

Academics

Students are required to take general requirements courses, with science, mathematics/reasoning, and several other courses. The base of the general requirements are centered around a humanities core, with courses on Western Civilization, Art, Literature, and Biblical Revelation. Requirements for majors differ, but typically a student is also required to gain mastery in a foreign language and reach some mathematical proficiency. Many Grove City students take one to three general requirements classes in their freshmen, sophomore, and sometimes junior years, along with classes for their respective major.


Chapel

Grove City students must attend a minimum of 16 chapel services each semester. These requirements may be accomplished on Tuesday mornings, Thursday mornings, and Sunday nights (through a "vespers" service). Recently, students have been given the opportunity to receive a chapel credit for attending lectures on the first and last Monday night of each month; chapel staff is still working on this option. These chapel services vary greatly, and feature many touring singers and worship groups. Nearly all chapel and vespers services are held inside the Harbison Chapel; occasionally chapel may be held in Crawford Hall or the student union instead.

Failure to attend the required number of chapel services results in a graduating student's diploma being withheld until the offending student has completed a corresponding number of single-page book reports. While the college maintains this requirement, it has become less stringent than in years past.

It should be noted that Grove City College has been under administrative censure by the American Association of University Professors since 1963, based upon the college's dismissal of a professor without sufficient due process.

Athletics

Known as the Wolverines, Grove City College competes in the Presidents' Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III and plays host to a wide range of varsity, club, and intramural sports, including football, volleyball, soccer, tennis, cross country, basketball, swimming, baseball, softball, water polo, track, Grove rugby, golf, and lacrosse [74].

List of Varsity Sports

Men’s:

Women’s:

List of IM Sports

Men’s:

Women’s:

Groups and Organizations

Grove City's various student organizations are numerous. The following is a list of some of the more notable groups:


Greek Life

Fraternities and sororities live on campus, in pre-selected upper class halls. Strict regulations apply to students joining a Greek organization. Grove City's fraternities and sororities are not affiliated with any national groups. Over the years, many sororities and one fraternity, Chi Delta Epsilon, have permanently died out. The most recent sorority to become defunct was the short-lived Delta Chi Omega, which was founded in 1980 and lasted approximately one decade. Fraternities which have died out (meaning all their active members graduated or left the college) and been reinstituted via block classes include Beta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Sigma and Adelphikos. All three of these fraternities are currently in existence. Other fraternities, such as Nu Lambda Phi, have retained an unbroken line of membership throughout their histories.

Both fraternities and sororities are overseen by governing bodies. The fraternities each send delegates to weekly meetings of the Interfraternity Council. The sororities' counterpart organization, the Pan-Hellenic Council, also meets each week. In the spring, the two councils hold joint meetings to plan the annual Greek Games.

The Greek Games, a multi-day event which involved such activities as water balloon tossing and egg dropping, have declined in notoriety at Grove City College along with the size of Greek organizations; until the 1990s they were well-known on campus, with the majority of the student body either participating or spectating.

Fraternities

Sororities

Housing Groups

Male students who do not join fraternities can obtain block housing privileges through one of nine organizations known as housing groups. Grove City College housing groups are collections of similarly-interested students which enjoy block housing, yet are not fraternal or Greek in nature. Such groups were founded in the 1970s and given permission to use Greek letters by the extant fraternities on campus and the Grove City College administration. Greek organizations have taken issue with the purported failure of housing groups to abide according to the original founding stipulations, which include having a common purpose and limiting membership to those living in groups' respective dorm halls. Fraternities and housing groups are distinctly different organizations that serve different roles in the student body at Grove City College.

List of Men’s Housing Groups

Orientation Board

Orientation Board, often referred to as “OB”, is a group of roughly 100 upper classmen students chosen each year to welcome the incoming students beginning on move-in day and throughout the year. Orientation Board is divided into 5 different committees: Social, Outreach (formerly Academic), Religious, Co-Rec, and Publicity. The group also plans and holds numerous events the first week freshmen arrive on campus. These events include the street dance, graffiti dance, carnival, and co-recreational games.

Student Government Association

The student body elects members to serve on this board, which acts as the primary communication link between the students and the administration.

The current Executive President is Andrew Miller.

Publications and Media

The Bridge

The purpose of the Bridge, the college yearbook, is to produce an accurate account of the school year in words and pictures. Weekly staff meetings and work times help the staff to meet deadlines and produce a quality publication. Staff positions are open to all students and provide experience for those writers, photographers, and those wishing to learn computer-aided graphic design. Published in the Fall semester the book is partially financed through the Student Activities Committee.

The Collegian

The student newspaper, The Collegian, is owned and published by The College. The paper is published weekly, free of charge, with the purpose 1) reporting happenings on campus and beyond and 2) teaching students responsible journalistic practices. It contains sections for news, perspectives, features, entertainment, religion and sports. Student editors and staff handle writing, editing, photography, layout and all other aspects of newspaper production, except the actual printing. Students may apply for the staff at the Organizational Fair or by contacting the editor. [75]

The Echo

The Echo is a student-produced creative review, which features student poetry, prose, fiction, photography and artwork. The magazine is published during the Spring semester. Students are urged to submit works to the magazine or join the various committees involved in producing The Echo. The Echo reached its apogee when colleagues Dr. Eric Potter and Dr. Joe Tanner, Professor Emeritus of Public Transportation Administration, waged a full scale literary revolution on campus in the 2005-2006 academic year.

The Entrepreneur

The Entrepreneur promotes free market economics through student and faculty articles. Provided free of charge to GCC students, the publication is supported by outside funding. The newsletter has a readership of four hundred people across the nation.

WSAJ Radio

Main article: WSAJ

Assigned its call letters in April 1920, the Grove City College radio station, WSAJ-AM, was one of the first radio stations in the country. The call-letters were predated by experimental stations at the college dating back to 1914. In 1968, WSAJ-FM was put on the air and currently broadcasts at 91.1 FM, functioning as a learning tool for all students, but especially those in the communication and engineering majors. The 100-watt AM station, operating from a longwire antenna on 1340 khz, was one of the few remaining stations in the U.S. to share time. It surrendered its broadcast license in 2006. The 1,600-watt FM signal covers a 30-mile radius in Western Pennslyvania. The station broadcasts fine arts programming, college football and basketball games. It also airs community events and high school sports. Students host weekly music shows during the evening hours when school is in session [76].

Traditions and Trivia

The Quad

Lying in the center of Grove City College Campus is the quadrangle, or "quad." Students have historically been prohibited by the administration from walking on the grass in this area. In recent years, restrictions have laxed, and the quad has been the subject of controversy among students and faculty. In the fall of 2005, the student government association voted to open the Upper Quad to "light athletic activities" and the administration established new policies for quad use. The Lower Quad remains off-limits and is only used for such events as baccalaureate, commencement, and homecoming. There is a long-standing legend of the "Tower Sniper" which is passed from upperclassmen to freshmen. The Tower Sniper lives in the clock tower of Rockwell Hall and is said to shoot at anyone who walks across the quad.

Rainbow Bridge

Greek Village

Each fall during Homecoming Weekend, the fraternities and sororities set up tents in which to meet, greet, and sometimes eat with their returning alumni. These tents make up Grove City College's Greek Village. The Greek Village has typically been set up on Lower Campus, near the football field, but in 2005 the tents were set up on Upper Campus, on the Quad. While most of the tents belong to fraternities and sororities, some other organizations also have been known to share a space in the Village.

"Creeking"

Creeking takes place on two occasions, typically. The first is when a male Grove City student becomes engaged. The second occasion for creeking is when a fraternity man has been elected as the sweetheart of a sorority. Creeking is done by a group of men, who are typically the subject's friends, subduing the man to be creeked and carrying him from his dorm building down to Wolf Creek in the center of campus while chanting, "Wolf Creek." The friends then toss the subject into the creek. If the bride-to-be does not reach her fiance with a towel when he is coming out of the creek, then he is allowed to throw her in as well.

Co-Education

When it opened, Grove City College was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the United States to admit both male and female students.

External links and references


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