- At Centre, the extraordinary happens
everyday. It might be as internationally extraordinary as when
the candidates for vice president of the United States debated
at our Norton Center for the Arts in the fall of 2000. Or it might
be as personal as the five Centre students—a record number—who
won Fulbright Awards to study abroad after graduation in 2002
 .
As it has since 1819, Centre opens doors for its students and
takes them to extraordinary destinations.
Many elements contribute to the extraordinary at Centre: outstanding
students; challenging and supportive teachers; excellent facilities;
financial strength; an alumni body known for national leadership,
achievement, and loyalty; a friendly, family-like environment;
a living sense of connection with the past; a vision of new levels
of achievement for the future.
Our combination of first-quality academics and an all learning,
all the time environment that is stimulating, supportive, and
rich in opportunities to participate gives students the intellectual
and social skills they need to succeed—both in graduate and
professional school and in their careers. Our alumni then show
their appreciation for the educational advantages they received
by supporting Centre financially at the highest rate of any college
or university in the nation.
In this way the College continues to evolve as each generation
of students gives its support to further enhance Centre’s
extraordinary tradition.
Centre
People
Students. Centre students are an unusually talented, energetic,
and diverse group. They come from 37 different states and 10 foreign
countries. And they have far-ranging interests—from thermodynamics
to dance, from Frisbee golf to philosophy, from plays to computers.
They're enthusiastic and good at what they do. Almost 60 percent
were in the top 10 percent of their high school class. And they
like to win, from national academic awards such as the Rhodes,
Fulbright, and Goldwater to the football team's outstanding 9-1
record.
 Faculty.
Ninety-six percent of Centre’s faculty members hold the Ph.D.
degree or other final degree. They received their graduate training
at the nation’s finest universities, and in addition to top-notch
credentials, Centre’s faculty members are dedicated teachers
who are active in research in their particular areas of interest.
At Centre, there are no teaching assistants; classes are taught
by members of the faculty.
Graduates. Centre graduates are extremely successful in
gaining admission to graduate school, and approximately 75 percent
pursue advanced degrees, primarily in medicine, law, and business.
Our alumni have risen to positions of leadership in virtually
every field, and they're willing and eager to share their experience
and knowledge with current students. Alumni frequently come back
to campus to participate in “career conversations,”
“career days,” and other events designed to help students
identify and reach their goals.
Centre
Facilities
Centre offers outstanding facilities that reflect and reinforce
the quality of a Centre education. Old Centre, our main administration
building, was begun in 1819 and is one of the finest examples
of Greek Revival architecture (tall, white columns and brick construction)
in the country. Our contemporary Norton Center for the Arts has
been widely acclaimed as one of America’s best performance
and exhibition centers. In addition, our residence halls are varied
and appealing, and our classroom buildings are convenient and
contain the latest equipment and instrumentation.
But Centre never stands still, and we continue to enhance our
115-acre campus. The College's master plan for building and renovation
guides a program of physical improvements into the coming decade.
Tops on that list are major renovations planned for the main athletic
building and the library.
The following list describes some of the major buildings on campus.
For more information on campus buildings and a campus map, go
to http://www.centre.edu/web/glance/map/campusmap.html.
For a printable walking tour of campus, go to http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/walkingtour.pdf.
 Old
Centre
The first building of the College, Old Centre is listed individually
in the National Register of Historic Places and included in the
Smithsonian Guide to Historic Places. The six-column Greek Revival
front portico and wings were added to the original Federal building
in 1841. During the Civil War, first Confederate and then Union
troops used the building as a hospital before and after the nearby
Battle of Perryville. Old Centre now houses the offices of the
president, vice president for academic affairs, and vice president
for college relations.
Horky House
Built as a private residence in the mid-19th century, Centre’s
admission and financial aid offices have occupied the Greek Revival
Horky House since 1992.
 Norton
Center for the Arts (1973)
Each year the Norton Center offers a breath-taking array of entertainment:
cellist Yo-Yo Ma, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, trumpeter Wynton
Marsalis, actress Lynn Redgrave, singers Willie Nelson and Art
Garfunkel, Broadway musicals My Fair Lady and Titanic, and the
Boston Pops, to name a few. In October 2000, vice presidential
candidates Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman faced off in the Norton
Center for the year’s only vice presidential debate. Students
often work backstage during these events or help take important
visitors to and from the airport. In addition, some artists—actress
Lynn Redgrave and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, to name two—offer
master classes for small groups of interested students.
The 85,000-square-foot Norton Center complex was designed by the
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and includes the 1,500-seat Newlin
Hall. At the back of the complex is the more intimate 360-seat
Weisiger Theatre and Grant Hall, which includes classrooms, studios,
and faculty offices for drama and music faculty.
 Crounse
Academic Center and
Grace Doherty Library
Crounse Academic Center, entered from either end of the building,
includes offices for humanities and social science faculty members,
classrooms, and the Bijou, a small movie theater on the lower
level.
The front and main section of Crounse is occupied by Grace Doherty
Library. The library holds a strong academic collection of 300,000
items, including books, journals, CDs, microforms, government
documents and more. The library also offers online access to more
than 10000 electronic journals, electronic newspapers, and scholarly,
electronic databases.
The library's Web page, available from the “quick links”
feature of the Centre College home page (www.centre.edu)
provides campus-wide access to such online databases as Academic
Search Premier, Biological Sciences, Encyclopedia Britannica Online,
Grove's Dictionary Of Art, Medline, and Lexis-Nexis among many
others. To view a complete list of databases available, click
on “electronic databases," on the library's Web page.
All electronic resources are available via the campus network
24 hours per day, seven days a week. Students and faculty now
have complete access to all library badatabses from off campus
(a tremendous advantage when studying abroad, for example).
The library's traditional print resources represent one of the
oldest scholarly collections in the South. In addition to our
contemporary resources, Doherty also houses the College archives,
which includes college records, oral history interviews, rare
photographs, historical papers, and other materials from Centre's
long history.
As might be expected from one of Kentucky's oldest library collections,
the Grace Doherty Library is an outstanding combination of the
old, the rare, and the new.
 Franklin
W. Olin Hall (1988).
Olin Hall was built with a $3.5-million grant from the F.W. Olin
Foundation of New York City. It houses the chemistry, physics,
mathematics, and computer science programs. In the foyer is a
two-story Foucault pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of
the earth beneath the plane of the pendulum’s swing.
Young Hall
Named for two early Centre presidents—John C. Young and his
son William Young, Class of 1859—Young Hall houses the biology
and psychology programs. It also includes a small natural history
museum that features some outstanding examples of dinosaur fossils
and unusual minerals.
Jones Visual Arts Center
The Jones Visual Arts Center houses the art and art history programs.
It includes a state-of-the-art hot glass studio and the Aegon
Gallery for exhibitions of work by student and visiting artists.
The drawing and painting studios offer outstanding natural light.
There are also studios for ceramics, sculpture, and other media,
as well as a slide library and classrooms.
Sutcliffe Hall
Originally built in 1915, the building was dramatically expanded
in 1962 and is slated for another substantial renovation in the
near future. At present, Sutcliffe includes two gyms, a work-out
facility with both free-weight and exercise machines, athletic
offices, and the Athletic Hall of Fame room.
Old Carnegie
Built in 1913 as a library (the industrialist Andrew Carnegie
provided $30,000 toward its construction), Carnegie served that
purpose until the construction of Doherty Library in 1967. It
currently houses the offices of international study and career
services as well as a special-occasion dining room. The building
is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Cowan Dinning Commons
The octagonal building is the main dining hall on campus. Since
Centre is a residential campus, most students eat at least one
meal a day in Cowan. Faculty and staff members often join students
in Cowan during lunch.
Other more casual dining opportunities are available at the Starbucks
Cafe in the Centre Shoppes and at the Grainery in the Combs Center.
 Combs
Center or the Warehouse
The Combs Center student center is officially named for Leslie
L. Combs II, Class of 1925, a Lexington horse breeder whose gift
helped convert a turn-of-the-century hemp warehouse into one of
the nation's most distinctive student centers. Original plank
flooring, brick walls, and one-foot-square oak columns remain
from its warehouse days. There are also game tables, video rentals,
dance space, chairs for lounging, and other amenities. The second
floor includes the Grainery, a cybercafe that offers light refreshments
and meals, while the third floor has offices for student organizations.
 Student
Residences
Most students live on campus in accommodations that vary from
traditional residence halls to townhouse-style apartments. Students
also live in the fraternity and sorority houses in Greek Park.
All campus rooms include voice mail and high-speed T1 Internet
connections (Windows or Mac) that link to the campus network and
the World Wide Web.
Centre Life
Our all-learning, all-the-time campus provides outstanding opportunities
for entertainment and participation. The College annually presents
internationally known performing artists in operas, symphony orchestra
concerts, individual performances, Broadway plays and musicals,
dance company performances, and ballets in Newlin Hall in the
Norton Center for the Arts. These world-class programs are available
to students at no additional cost above their annual general fee.
In addition, each year Centre’s Musica da Camera series sponsors
chamber and ensemble concerts by regional, national, and international
artists. Our convocation program regularly features speakers and
performers who present a wide range of interesting, informative
programs.
Along with these events, there are numerous opportunities for
participation in more than 100 campus clubs, societies, and other
groups. These student groups focus on a variety of special interests
and include such organizations as the American Chemical Society,
Law Society, Outdoors Club, Photographic Society, and CARE (Centre
Action Reaches Everyone). Beyond the meetings and activities of
these groups are many formal and informal events organized by
residence halls and fraternities and sororities. In addition there
are the athletic events of nine intercollegiate teams for men,
10 intercollegiate teams for women, and an extensive intramural
program in which about 60 percent of all students participate.
Six national men’s fraternities (Beta Theta Pi, Delta Kappa
Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon,
and Sigma Chi) and four national women’s sororities (Alpha
Delta Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa
Gamma) contribute to the total campus social program. These organizations
encourage academic achievement among their members, perform community
service projects, and organize parties and special events such
as the Greek Week/Carnival Week co-sponsored with the Student
Activities Council. Their contract with the College is spelled
out in a "Statement of Mutual Responsibility." The assistant
director of student life for Greek affairs serves as an advisor
to the Greek organizations. The Student Life Office encourages
volunteer service through CARE, a student organization that supports
adult literacy education; food and clothing drives; projects to
assist residents of the Boyle County Senior Citizens Center; elementary,
middle-school, and adult tutoring; and trick-or-treat nights for
community children, among other projects. Centre is also affiliated
with several national volunteer service organizations.
 Centre
College Statement of Community
As an academic community Centre encourages an atmosphere of diversity
and mutual respect. To promote these goals the College Council
approved the following Statement of Community: "We pledge
continuing efforts to build and strengthen a community enriched
by our differences and founded upon our common humanity. Centre
respects the right of all members of the community to express
their individuality in a manner that is consistent with the dignity
and welfare of others. Centre strives to create an environment
where differences are celebrated rather than discouraged, where
individuals have the opportunity to exchange ideas and share in
the richness of mutual experience. By valuing the individual’s
total character over any single characteristic, Centre will maintain
its unique community."
Clubs and Honoraries
We have many interest groups and honoraries that organize a wide
variety of events and activities on campus. Some groups, such
as the Pre-Med Society, the Law Society, the American Chemical
Society, the Economics Society, and language clubs are directly
related to academic life. They enhance classroom instruction through
field trips, guest lectures, and volunteer work.
 Other
organizations include the Diversity Student Union, the Student
Activities Council, the Outdoors Club, Centre Helping to Achieve
Respect and Gender Equality, and various religious organizations.
Centre’s honorary societies recognize students for outstanding
leadership, character, and academic ability. These societies include
Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa (for recognition of outstanding
scholars and leaders), Sigma Delta Pi, Phi Sigma Iota, Phi Sigma
Tau, Phi Alpha Theta, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Pi Sigma Alpha, and
Psi Chi (honoraries for students in Spanish, foreign languages,
philosophy, history, economics, political science, and psychology,
respectively), and Order of Omega (a Greek honorary/leadership
society).
Religious Life
Centre has always been dedicated to the development of the whole
student. From 1819, when the institution was founded by pioneer
Presbyterians, to the present time, the College has recognized
the importance of the full intellectual, social, physical, and
spiritual development of its students. As the College’s statement
of purpose affirms, "Centre’s highest priority is to
prepare its students for lives of learning, leadership, and service."
The religious programs on campus are a crucial component of the
College’s effort to achieve this goal.
Centre’s Office of Religious Life is located in Wiseman Hall
and staffed by the College chaplain as well as several ministers
from local churches. The Office of Religious Life works to 1)
promote vital religious life and greater religious understanding
on campus; 2) encourage and coordinate the work of six campus
religious groups; 3) strengthen students’ links to their
own religious traditions by facilitating the student ministries
of local congregations; 4) enhance the College’s mission
to educate its students as morally and socially responsible citizens;
5) provide pastoral care and religious counseling for the campus
community; and 6) advise students considering religious vocations
and divinity school programs. In addition to retreats, speakers,
worship services, dinners, and discussion groups, the Office of
Religious Life sponsors events such as the Advent service of Lessons
and Carols, Lenten observances, Passover Seder, and Baccalaureate.
Religious groups on campus include Baptist Student Union, Centre
Catholic Community, Centre Christian Fellowship, Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, Chi Alpha Fellowship, and Habitat for Humanity.
While the College is proud of its Presbyterian connection, Centre
is governed by an independent board of trustees and offers much
religious diversity. The religious denominations with the largest
representations on campus are Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, and
Presbyterian. In addition to these denominations, the following
faiths were represented in a recent freshman class: Assembly of
God, Buddhist, Christian, Church of Christ, Church of God, Disciples
of Christ, Episcopal, Jewish, Latter Day Saints, Lutheran, and
Muslim.
Student Publications
Students publish a biweekly newspaper, The Cento, covering
campus activities and opinions. The yearbook, Olde Centre,
offers students the opportunity to gain practical experience in
writing, photography, and graphic design. Vantage Point
is a publication of student creative writing, photography, and
artwork.
Shared Responsibility
Among the abundant opportunities for growth and experience outside
the classroom that Centre offers, perhaps the most significant
is shared responsibility in campus governance. At Centre, students,
faculty, and staff members work together to create a community
that brings freedom and responsibility into a healthy balance.
Through careful attention to the organization of a strong student
government and by making available to students positions of significant
responsibility, Centre gives concrete meaning to terms such as
democratic values and civic duty. Students take an active part
in College decision-making through their roles as members of the
student government or as members of the College Council. Students
serve as members of each academic program committee, advising
their faculty colleagues on curriculum and major requirements.
They also take the primary responsibility for regulating the conduct
of their peers through the Student Judiciary. Such shared decision-making
and responsibility is an essential part of the Centre education.
It is a liberal education in the true sense, educating the whole
person, building self-esteem and self-confidence, and teaching
concepts such as democracy and civic responsibility on a practical
level.
Campus Governance
The Council of the College. Although Centre is legally
governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees, its academic
and community life is governed in large degree by the Council
of the College. The council consists of all full-time members
of the faculty, certain designated College administrators, and
20 students who serve as undergraduate fellows. (It is highly
unusual among colleges and universities for students to be voting
members of such a decision-making body, but this reflects Centre's
strong commitment to student involvement in governance in positions
of significant responsibility and authority.) Each of the three
academic divisions nominates candidates for undergraduate fellows,
who are then elected by the student body at large; the president
and vice president of Student Congress also serve as undergraduate
fellows.
Three undergraduate fellows, elected by the council, serve on
the executive committee of the council. Undergraduate fellows
are appointed in reasonable proportion to all committees of the
council and carry equal responsibility with other members. The
one exception is that they do not participate in consideration
of matters involving the confidential records of other students.
Student Congress. Student Congress is the official executive
and legislative body for student discussion, decision, and action.
It is composed of elected student representatives and the undergraduate
fellows. A major responsibility of Student Congress is to allocate
funds to student activities and service groups. The College allots
a part of each student’s general fee to Student Congress,
which in turn reviews funding requests from campus organizations.
The Student Congress president serves as a nonvoting representative
to the board of trustees. Student Congress represents the student
body primarily in matters relating to the standards and practices
of nonacademic student activities and services.
The Student Judicial System. The judicial powers of the
student government are exercised by the student judicial system.
The student judicial system consists of the Student Judiciary,
which hears cases involving violations of College regulations;
the Interfraternity Judiciary, which hears cases involving violations
of Interfraternity Council regulations; and the Panhellenic Association
executive committee, which hears cases involving violations of
Panhellenic Association regulations.
The Fraternity and Sorority Systems. By its approval of
the Interfraternity Council constitution, the College has granted
a substantial degree of self-governance to the campus fraternity
system, of which the Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the executive
and legislative body. The IFC regulates and coordinates the affairs
and activities of the six social fraternities on campus in conformance
with the published campus and residence regulations of the College.
Both the IFC and the College subscribe to the policies and positions
of the Association of Fraternity Advisors, National Interfraternity
Conference, and Fraternity Executives Association.
The Panhellenic Association regulates and coordinates the affairs
and activities of the four social sororities on campus in conformity
with the published campus regulations of the College. The Panhellenic
Association subscribes to the National Panhellenic Conference
guidelines.
A special contract between the men’s and women’s Greek
organizations and Centre is spelled out in the "Statement
of Mutual Responsibility."
Athletics
At Centre, we believe athletic participation is important because
it contributes to the education of the whole student. Athletics
serve as a learning experience, as a healthy activity, and as
just plain fun. Our program offers athletic competition for the
novice, the expert, and everyone in between.
Intramurals. An extensive intramural sports program with
15 activities gives the Centre student a chance to meet fellow
students on the playing field, as well as a large number of faculty
 and
staff members who participate in the program. Approximately 60
percent of students take part in intramural activities annually.
Intercollegiate Competition. We also offer intercollegiate
athletic competition on a nonscholarship basis with 19 intercollegiate
varsity teams for men and women. For men, Centre offers baseball,
basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming and
diving, tennis, and track teams. Women’s intercollegiate
teams are basketball, cross country, field hockey, soccer, golf,
swimming and diving, tennis, track, volleyball, and fast-pitch
softball.
Centre is a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
(SCAC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division
III. SCAC members with Centre are Millsaps College, Southwestern
University, Hendrix College, Oglethorpe University, Rhodes College,
Trinity University, University of the South, DePauw University,
and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
All SCAC member institutions adhere to a policy of not awarding
financial aid to a student for participation in athletics.
Residence Life
To promote the atmosphere of closeness and community that is an
important part of Centre, the College requires that students live
in College residences and take their meals in Cowan Dining Commons
or the Combs Center Grille. (For exceptions, see the "College
Regulations" section.) Cowan serves three meals Monday through
Friday and two meals on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night is
a special meal (steak or shrimp, for example). Vegetarian selections
are available at all meals. Students may choose a 16-, 13-, or
10-meal-per-week plan. All meal plans include $275 in Flex Dollars
that can be used at Cowan or the Combs Center Grainery.
Health Services
We make on-campus health services available in the Parsons Wellness
Center. Through the Wellness Center, the College provides medical
care for the effective treatment of acute common illnesses and
minor injuries. The Wellness Center can also provide continuing
maintenance of medication for routine chronic ailments. We also
give assistance in securing the care of specialists in the community
for illnesses that require special examinations or more extensive
treatment than can be provided through the Wellness Center or
the College’s physicians.
The Wellness Center makes available certain routine medications
at minimal expense in order to save students both time and money.
Also, team medical coverage, including physical examinations for
new athletes and treatment of injuries, is provided by certified
athletic trainers. Students requiring emergency care of serious
injuries or illnesses of a medical or surgical nature not provided
by the Wellness Center and not covered under the College’s
athletic program are financially responsible to the physician
providing the service.
Centre College
- Office of Admission
- 600 West Walnut Street
- Danville, KY 40422
- 1-800-423-6236
- admission@centre.edu
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