Centre College - Definition


Centre College - Definition

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Centre College Seal

Centre College is an accredited, private, four-year liberal arts college located in Danville, Kentucky. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders in 1819 and ranks 42nd nationally among top liberal arts schools in the 2005 US News & World Report list, and is the highest-ranking private Kentucky institution.

Contents

1 History

2 Academics

3 Norton Center for the Arts

4 Student Life

5 Alumni

6 See Also

History

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2000 Vice Presidential Debate

Centre College received its charter from the Kentucky Legislature on January 21, 1819 and classes began in the fall of 1820 in Old Centre, the first building on campus which today is a Kentucky Landmark, and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The name reflects the College's location in the geographic center of Kentucky.

Centre has been affiliated with various institutions including the Kentucky School for the Deaf, also in Danville, which was originally controlled by the Centre board of trustees. In 1901, Central University in Richmond, Kentucky was consolidated with Centre, and the Kentucky College for Women merged with Centre in 1926.

In 1921, Centre upset Harvard University's undefeated football team six to zero which The New York Times later called "Football's Upset of the Century."

During the 1960s the College's financial resources doubled. Eleven new buildings were added to the campus and enrollment increased from 450 to 800. Today, enrollment hovers around 1070, with just over 100 faculity members.

In 2000, Centre became the smallest college ever to host a national election debate. Dick Cheney and Senator Joe Lieberman debated on October 5 at Centre's North Center for the Arts. The event was moderated by CNN's Bernard Shaw.

John Roush, who took office in 1998, is the college's 20th president. In 2003, the College broke ground on The College Centre, a $22-million project to expand and renovate the athletic center, academic center and library, scheduled for completion by fall 2005.

Academics

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Norton Center for the Arts

97% of Centre professors have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, and the student/faculty ratio is 11 to 1. The campus has active chapters of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, and has produced two-thirds of Kentucky's Rhodes Scholars and 23 Fulbright Scholar winners in the last 10 years.
The study-abroad program that attracts about 70% of the students and the college maintains permanent, residential sites in England, France, Japan, and Latin America, and short-term study program locations include India, Vietnam, Greece, and Sal Salvador Island.

Norton Center for the Arts

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Old Centre

Centre's Norton Center for the Arts has hosted performers such as violinist Itzhak Perlman, dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Twyla Tharp, the Boston Pops, Chieftains, Three Dog Night, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ben Folds, and musicals such as Rent, Titanic, Annie Get Your Gun, and My Fair Lady. In October 2000, the Norton Center hosted the Vice-Presidential Debate with Dick Cheney and Senator Joe Lieberman. The Norton Center for the Arts was built in 1973 and named for Jane Morton Norton, a former trustee to Centre College. The 85,000 square-foot complex was designed by architect William Wesley Peters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Student Life

Centre has an active greek life on campus with chapters of Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. About 96% of Centre's students live on campus and participate in athletics, academic organizations, student government, and volunteer work.

Alumni

Centre ranks first in the country for the percentage of former students making gifts.
Notable alumni include:
Joshua Fry Bell: The first alumnus to serve in Congress, among the 43 Centre alumni who have been elected to the House and 13 to the Senate.
John Cabell Breckinridge: Vice President of the United States under Buchanan; Candidate for President in 1860.
John Marshall Harlan: Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court for 34 years. Harlan cast the dissenting vote in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896; the text of his dissent became the basis for Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
Adlai E. Stevenson: Vice President of the United States under Cleveland.
Frederick M. Vinson: Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.