Agnes Scott College is a private liberal arts
women's college in Decatur, Georgia, near Atlanta. The college currently enrolls 914 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 10:1.[1]
It is considered one of the Seven Sisters of the South and is one of forty
college profiled in the book Colleges That Change Lives, by
Loren Pope.
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 (Main) 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 is Elizabeth Kiss, the founding director of Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics.
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 that 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. If there is dissatisfaction with a class
mascot, the class is given the option to revote and choose a different mascot their second year.
Class mascots are often popular culture icons:
The class ring is given to students during the spring of their sophomore year in a special
ceremony. The ring design, with its rectangular engraved black onyx stone, has remained essentially
the same since its introduction in the 1920s with minor choices (metal, size, and antiquing) emerging in recent years.
The honor code is held in high regard among Agnes Scott students and faculty. At the
beginning of every academic year, new 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 NCAA Division III sports teams include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and
volleyball.
Special curricula
Coeducational graduate programs:
- Master of Arts in teaching secondary English
- Master of Arts in teaching secondary math and science
- Post-baccalaureate pre-medical program
Undergraduate programs:
Rankings
In April 2007, Kiplinger named Agnes Scott as one of the top 50 private liberal arts colleges.
According to the 2007 US News and World
Report, Agnes Scott is ranked the 61st best liberal arts college in the country. It is the highest ranked women's college
in the southeast. The report also ranked Agnes Scott as No. 28 for "Great School, Great Price."
Princeton Review's 2007 The Best 361
Colleges ranks the college as follows:
No. 4 for "Most Beautiful Campus"
No. 8 for "Dorms Like Palaces"
No. 11 for "Diverse Student Population"
No. 13 for "Students Happy with Financial Aid"
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."
- In 2004, the college ranked second among women's colleges, seventh among national liberal arts colleges, and 27th overall in
endowment per full-time enrolled student.
- Agnes Scott's $125 million building program has led to the creation of a new parking facility, Public Safety office,
planetarium, student campus center, science building, tennis courts, and improved landscaping and the renovation of the dining
hall, observatory, and library. $1.6 million was spent on renovating three Victorian homes for student housing. Renovation of the
Alumnae House and creation of a new chapel, office space, residence hall, theatre, and dance facilities have also been
planned.
- In 1995, approximately 600 students were enrolled at Agnes Scott. In fall 2004, for the first time in the school's history,
enrollment reached 1,000 students.
Notable alumnae
- Nathalie Anderson (1970), poet and author of Following Fred Astaire
- Osjha Anderson, (1996) Miss Georgia 1999
- Mary Brown Bullock (1966), president emeritae and only alumna to serve as
president
- Ila Burdette (1981), Georgia's first female Rhodes scholar
- Faith Yao Yu Chao (1961), founder and director of the Evergreen Educational Foundation, a
recent Bill and Melinda Gates foundation award winner
- Daphne Faulkner (1983), religious and political activist, founder and first president of the
Georgia chapter of People of Faith for the ERA
- Katherine Harris (1979), U.S. Representative
- Rachelle Henderlite, the first woman to be ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Bertha "B" Holt (1938), former North Carolina State Representative and children's rights
advocate
- Amy Kim (1997), Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for
"Best Live Action Short Film" for her work as a producer on West Bank Story
- Katherine "Kay" Krill (1977), CEO of Ann
Taylor
- Michelle Malone, musician (did not graduate)
- Catherine Marshall (1936), author of the novel Christy, later made into a
TV series
- Joanna Cook Moore, actress and mother of Tatum
O'Neal
- Jennifer Nettles (1997), country music star
- Marsha Norman (1969), playwright
- Susan Philips, the first woman to chair a financial regulatory agency (the Commodity Futures Trading Commission)
- Margaret Evans Porter, (1980), romance novelist
- Louise Röska-Hardy (1972), Phi Beta Kappa,
philosopher specializing in philosophy of languange and
of mind
- Agnes White Sanford (SPEC 1919), author of the book The Healing Light
- Saycon Sengbloh, Broadway star and
recording artist.
- Jean H. Toal (1965), Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
Trivia
- According to a 2006 study conducted by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, approximately 4,000 alumnae living
in Georgia earn an estimated $143.9 million annually.
- The college's science building contains a three-story rendering of part of the nucleotide sequence from Agnes Scott's
mitochrondrial DNA. The DNA came from a blood sample of an ASC alumna who is a direct descendant of the college's namesake.
- 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. A collection of Frost's poetry and letters can be viewed at
McCain Library.
- The college was featured in Scream 2, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, and A
Man Called Peter, as well as several TV shows and made-for-TV-movies filmed in the Atlanta area.
- 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. This tradition dates from the '80s when the tower acquired its bell during the administration of President Ruth
Schmidt. Students who ring the bell sign their names on the walls of the tower.
- The Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott
houses the Beck Telescope, a 30 inch Cassegrain reflector, as well as a modern
planetarium with 70-seat capacity and a radio telescope.
References
- Earnshaw, Rebecca Lee. Students at Agnes Scott College During the 1930s. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott College, 1988.
- McNair, Walter Edward. Lest We Forget: An Account of Agnes Scott College. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott College, 1983.
- Noble, Betty Pope Scott. The Story of George Washington Scott, 1829-1903: A Family Memoir. Decatur, GA: Agnes Scott
College, 2002.
- Pope, Loren. "Agnes Scott College." In Colleges That Change Lives. New York: Penguin, 2000.
- Sayrs, M. Lee. A Full and Rich Measure: 100 Years of Educating Women at Agnes Scott College, 1889-1989. Atlanta, GA:
Susan Hunter, Inc., 1990.
External links
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