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Goucher College ( ') is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual ca ...
in
Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincor ...
. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...
.https://archive.org/details/historyofgoucher00knip page 10 Goucher was a women's college until becoming
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
in 1986. , Goucher had 1,480 undergraduates studying 33 majors and six interdisciplinary fields and 700 graduate students. Goucher also grants professional certificates in writing and education and offers a postbaccalaureate premedical program. Originally situated in central Baltimore, Goucher moved to its current campus in downtown Towson in 1953. Goucher is a member of the
Landmark Conference The Landmark Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the eastern United States in the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, plus Washington, D.C. ...
and competes in the NCAA's Division III in sports including
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
,
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and horseback riding. Goucher is among the few colleges in the United States to require
study abroad International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...
of all undergraduates and was one of forty institutions profiled in ''
Colleges That Change Lives ''Colleges That Change Lives'' began as a college educational guide first published in 1996 by Loren Pope. Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) was founded in 1998 is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) based on Pope's book. The book ''Colleges That Change Lives ...
'' by Loren Pope. Its alumni include journalist Jonah Goldberg, former
First Lady of Puerto Rico First Lady or First Gentleman of Puerto Rico ( es, Primera Dama o Primer Caballero de Puerto Rico) is the official title given by the government of Puerto Rico to the spouse of the governor of Puerto Rico or the relatives of the governor, should t ...
Lucé Vela, Judge
Ellen Lipton Hollander Ellen Frances Lipton Hollander (born May 24, 1949) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Early life and education Born Ellen Frances Lipton on May 24, 1949 in New York, New Yor ...
of the District Court for the District of Maryland, 27th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Sally Brice-O'Hara, former president of
First Republic Bank First Republic Bank is an American full-service bank and wealth management company offering personal banking, business banking, trust, and wealth management services, catering to low-risk, high net-worth clientele, and focusing on providing p ...
Katherine August-DeWilde Katherine August-deWilde is an American business executive, board member, and philanthropist. She was the president of First Republic Bank from 2007 to 2015 and currently serves as its vice chair. Early life and education August-deWilde was born o ...
, and the third president of California State University, San Marcos,
Karen S. Haynes Karen Sue Haynes (born c. 1946) is an American academic and college administrator who previously served as the president of California State University San Marcos. She also served as president of the University of Houston–Victoria. Education ...
.


History


19th century

In 1881, the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church passed a resolution to found a seminary. The proposal was met with some objection, with one member stating, "I would not give a fig for a weakling little thing of a seminary. We want such a school, so ample in its provisions, of such dignity in its buildings, so fully provided with the best apparatus, that it shall draw to itself the eyes of the community and that young people shall feel it an honor to be enrolled among its students." Minister and conference member John B. Van Meter asserted "that the Conference houldmake the foundation and endowment of a female college the single object of its organized effort." Van Meter was joined by fellow minister John Franklin Goucher (1845–1922) and together they eventually persuaded the conference to found a college, instead.Knipp, Anna Heubeck, and Thaddeus P. Thomas. ''The History of Goucher College.'' Baltimore: Goucher College, 1938. https://archive.org/details/historyofgoucher00knip Subsequently, the Women's College of Baltimore City ("City" was later dropped) was chartered on January 26, 1885. It opened its doors in 1888, and four years later graduated its first class of just five students. John F. Goucher, despite being the school's namesake and co-founder, was not the college's first president. Although offered the post, he declined, and it went to William Hersey Hopkins, who had served as president of St. John's College in
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
. After Hopkins resigned in 1890 to join the faculty, the board of trustees voted unanimously to renominate Goucher. Under pressure from the board, Goucher relented and accepted the position, which he held for nearly two decades. Goucher and his wife Mary Cecilia Fisher made significant financial contributions to the college, including the bequest of a portion of his estate.


20th century

During President Goucher's tenure, enrollment grew but the college suffered financial deficits. In 1904, the college became the second in Maryland to establish a
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
chapter, after
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
. Goucher stepped down in 1908 to resume his international missionary work but remained involved with the school as president emeritus until his death in 1922. In 1910, the school was renamed Goucher College in his honor. In 1913, the college inaugurated its fourth president, William W. Guth, who oversaw the construction of several new residence halls and a successful million-dollar fundraising campaign. Around this time, U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, whose daughter Jessie was a Goucher alumna, expressed support for the college's fundraising efforts in correspondence with the administration, writing in March 1913, "It would, indeed, be ... evidence that our great educational public does not fully understand its own interests if an institution which has served with such faithfulness ... in the cause of woman's iceducation should be allowed to break up for the lack of money." By 1914, Goucher was one of six "Class I" colleges for women in the U.S. In 1921, Goucher purchased 421 acres of land in nearby Towson that had belonged to the estate of a prominent Baltimore family for $150,000, some of which was later resold to provide funding for construction and other expenses. The move from Baltimore to the Towson suburbs was completed in 1953 after having been delayed by financial restraints imposed by the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Before 1950, Goucher hosted nearly a dozen sorority chapters on campus including
Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States ...
, Kappa Alpha Theta, Gamma Phi Beta, and
Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...
. They were disbanded as of the move to Towson. Goucher turned coeducational in 1986 when the board of trustees voted to admit men, citing declining enrollment and reduced national interest by women in single-sex colleges. The decision was controversial among some students and alumnae, but was followed by increased enrollment and sustained support from the school's donors, with Goucher's endowment growing nearly five-fold from $45 million in 1986. Then-president Rhoda M. Dorsey, who also initially resisted the proposal, presided over the transition.


Old Goucher

Goucher's former Baltimore campus is now known as Old Goucher. The school maintained no affiliation with the property after its sale. The complex was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1978. Many of its Romanesque structures have been preserved and re-purposed for commercial, public, and residential use. The school's Towson campus was added to the historic register in 2007.


Campus

Goucher occupies a green, wooded campus that is proximate and northeast to downtown Towson. Surrounding the central campus infrastructure is a dense forest, owned by the school, which features low hills and hiking and jogging trails. The
non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...
Haebler Memorial Chapel lies near the center of campus. A single road, Van Meter, connects to most of the college's residential, academic, recreational, and athletic buildings. ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine described the campus as "unusually bucolic." It has also been referred to by
CBS Baltimore WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios and offices on Televi ...
as one of
Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City ...
’s most scenic college campuses. A scene at the fictional Hammond University from the fourth season of the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series ''House of Cards'' was filmed on Goucher's campus, with most shots taking place at the Athenaeum and the Rhoda M. Dorsey College Center.


Academic buildings

Goucher's main academic buildings, including Van Meter Hall and Julia Rogers, are located at the northern portion of campus, called the "academic quad". The Hoffberger Science Building houses the school's science departments and is adjacent to the Meyerhoff Arts Building, which contains a theater, photo studio, and several galleries and out of which the dance, theater, and art departments are based. Student Administrative Services and the admissions office are located in the Rhoda M. Dorsey College Center. Near the center of the campus and opposite Mary Fisher Hall is the Athenaeum, or "the Ath," a modern, multipurpose facility built in 2009, comprising the main library, an on-campus restaurant, exercise equipment, classrooms, lecture halls, and an open auditorium. The Athenaeum is where speakers who visit the campus are typically hosted. The Merrick Lecture Hall, a partial amphitheater situated near Van Meter Hall, is also a regular venue for on-campus recitals, performances, sponsored political debates, and other productions.


Housing and residential halls

The college's residence halls are concentrated on the south side of campus. They are Heubeck, Froelicher, Stimson, Mary Fisher, Sondheim, Stimson, Welsh Hall, known by students as "the T" for its T-shaped design, which was completed in 2005, and the newer Pagliaro Selz Hall, completed in 2016. In 2018, the school completed construction of the "First-year Village" for freshmen. Campus housing for students includes singles, doubles, triples, suites, and on-campus apartments. Sondheim is the sole residence hall designated as substance-free. In July 2018, Goucher announced a campus-wide
ban Ban, or BAN, may refer to: Law * Ban (law), a decree that prohibits something, sometimes a form of censorship, being denied from entering or using the place/item ** Imperial ban (''Reichsacht''), a form of outlawry in the medieval Holy Roman ...
on
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
s and all smoking devices, including
electronic cigarette An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As su ...
s.


Athletic and recreational facilities

The campus's outdoor sports facilities include a 107,000 square foot turf stadium field known on campus as Gopher Stadium, a track, eight tennis courts as well as separate courts for racquetball and squash, and an equestrian center. The Decker Sports and Recreation Center contains a six-lane, 25-yard pool, dance studios, a basketball court, gymnasium, varsity locker rooms, a fully equipped weight room, and a cardio fitness center. The equestrian center lies on the northernmost edge of campus and contains a set of stables and a riding arena.


Design, layout, and sustainability

The architectural design firm responsible for planning the campus, Moore and Hutchins, elected to group buildings together into informal zones based on function, departing from the Romanesque style of the previous Baltimore campus. The buildings on campus are clad in tan-colored Butler stone, which was chosen to reflect a
Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
theme. Over the years, the architecture of the campus has won numerous awards. The campus has also been recognized for its commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency, being called a "Top 25 Green College." In 2009, Goucher announced a goal for all new and existing buildings to achieve at least a Silver rating according to the
U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
(LEED) green building certification system. In 2007, the campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The campus underwent significant changes when in 2017 several of its primary residential buildings were relocated as part of an extensive plan to construct a "First-year Village" comprising modernized residential halls and recreational facilities for newly matriculated freshmen. The new freshmen dorms have a capacity of 450 and opened in the fall of 2018. These developments coincided with substantial renovations to Mary Fisher Hall, with its campus cafe upgraded to a full-fledged, 550-seat dining hall. Goucher also announced plans to build a new Science Research Center to provide additional lab space and resources for expanded biology, chemistry, and environmental science departments. In order to raise capital for these projects, Goucher initiated a fundraising campaign to raise $100 million from alumni and other donors, of which it has raised $43 million to date.


Academics


Rankings and reputation

In the '' U.S. News & World Report'' annual college rankings for 2021, Goucher tied for 120th among national liberal arts colleges, 11th in Most Innovative Schools, 72nd in Social Mobility, and 5th in Study Abroad. ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' in 2019 ranked Goucher at 138 in Liberal Arts Universities, 161 in the Northeast, 272 nationally among private colleges, and 410 overall among the best 650 colleges and universities in the U.S. ''
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...
'' ranked Goucher 67th among liberal arts colleges in 2019. The ''Princeton Review'' included Goucher in its 2019 edition of the "Best 384 Colleges" and ranked it No. 5 in "Most Popular Study Abroad Program.” Goucher was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright scholars by ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...
'' in 2018. It was also profiled in the book ''Colleges that Change Lives'' by Loren Pope as one of forty institutions. The school was one of the first in the country to require a study abroad of all undergraduates, along with Susquehanna University and Soka University of America.


Admissions

Goucher's admissions process is rated as "selective" by ''U.S. News & World Report''. For the class of 2022, Goucher received 3,474 applications and had an acceptance rate of 79%. Goucher has been SAT-optional since 2006. In 2014, the school received national coverage when it announced it would accept video-only applications without transcripts, essays, or test scores. The decision was criticized by some who suggested that doing so represented a lowering of standards. The school defended the decision as part of an effort to increase diversity among the student body and later reported that the average GPA of students admitted via the video application process met or exceeded that of students who submitted traditional applications. For 2021, the average matriculated student's GPA was 3.14, with those reporting, the average SAT score was 1200, and average ACT score was 25.


Undergraduate level

As of 2018, students choose from 33 different majors and six interdisciplinary programs; there are also special orientation courses for first-year students. The most popular majors are in the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...
and
social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...
s,
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
s, biological sciences, and
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...
. Goucher is also well-known for its creative writing,
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
, and pre-med departments. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1, and the average class size is 17. Goucher is accredited by the
Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...
. Goucher began requiring all undergraduates to study abroad in 2006, which was the most notable of several reforms to the school's curriculum in that period. A popular choice for students is a three-week course abroad during the winter, spring, or summer. Goucher offers over 60 semester and yearlong study-abroad programs in 30 countries but allows students to register in programs by other schools. Undergraduates are also expected to either complete an internship, participate in community engagement work, or work as a faculty research assistant. Goucher sponsors a competitive grant program for students participating in summer internships. In 2017, Goucher instituted a revamped set of general education requirements into the curriculum called "Goucher Commons" including a first-year seminar, emphasis on writing, data analytics, and foreign language and culture, a
capstone course A capstone course, also known as senior synthesis, capstone unit, capstone module, capstone project, capstone subject, or capstone experience, serves as the culminating and usually integrative experience of an educational program. It may also be r ...
, and inquiry into at least two areas. In 2018, Goucher announced plans to eliminate seven majors, including mathematics, physics, religion, music, and Russian studies, following a "Program Prioritization Process" involving faculty which cited low overall interest in those majors among students. The school said that advanced courses in these subjects will remain part of the overall curriculum and that the class of 2022 and students that were studying in those majors will be unaffected by the change.


Graduate level

Goucher's graduate program is run out of the Welch Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, which is named for late former acting president
Robert S. Welch Robert Stephen Welch II (1944 – February 28, 2016) was an American academic and college administrator who served as dean and later as interim president of Goucher College. Early life and education Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Welch gr ...
. The school grants
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
, Master of Education, and
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...
degrees in fields including art and technology and historic preservation.


Certificate and other programs

Since 1993, Goucher has offered a full-time post-baccalaureate pre-medical program with 96% of students over the course of its history gaining acceptance to medical school and 99.7% over the past decade. The program accepts approximately 32 students annually. It has linkage agreements with several schools including the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
, Pritzker School of Medicine,
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
,
Alpert Medical School The Warren Alpert Medical School (formerly known as Brown Medical School, previously known as Brown University School of Medicine) is the medical school of Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island. Originally established in 1811, it ...
,
George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School or SMHS) is the professional medical school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. SMHS is one of the most selective medi ...
,
Weill Cornell Medicine The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with ...
, Stony Brook, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Hofstra, and the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
. Goucher also grants certificates through a program for teachers called the AP (Advanced Placement) Summer Institute recognizing specialties with at-risk learners, middle school, reading instruction, improving school leadership, and educational technology. In 2012, Goucher founded the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP), a division of the college that expands the academic community to include individuals incarcerated in two Maryland state prisons. In 2015, GPEP hosted the Department of Education at the Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup (MCI-J) to announce the Second Chance Pell Grant pilot program and became one of 67 colleges selected in 2016 to provide individuals incarcerated in the U.S. the opportunity to use federal Pell grants to earn college credits. Goucher offers a bachelor's degree in American Studies to students enrolled through GPEP. The division primarily operates on private grants and donations raised by its staff, with some funds provided through federal Pell grants.


Student life


Clubs and extracurriculars

Goucher has over 60 student-run clubs including the Chem Club, which is the oldest continuously operating club on campus, Hillel, an a capella group called Red Hot Blue, a poetry club, a black student union called Umoja,
Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
, and a student-labor action committee. The college also publishes a bi-weekly
student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also rep ...
called ''The Quindecim'' and a literary arts journal called ''Preface''. Other media run by the school is Goucher Student Radio, which contains a host of student, staff, and faculty programming and is streamed online. Many students also participate in Goucher Student Government, which holds elections, oversees the activities of clubs, passes resolutions, and votes on matters affecting the general student body. Similar to several other private liberal arts schools in the
northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
, Goucher does not recognize any fraternities or sororities on campus.


Athletics

Goucher's athletic teams are known as the Gophers. In 2007 the college joined the
Landmark Conference The Landmark Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the eastern United States in the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, plus Washington, D.C. ...
after competing as a member of the
Capital Athletic Conference The Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C; officially stylized as Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference), formerly named Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member ...
from 1991 to 2007. Goucher competes in the NCAA's Division III, fielding men's and women's teams in lacrosse, soccer, basketball, track and field, cross country, swimming, and tennis, as well as women's teams in field hockey and volleyball. Goucher also competes nationally in co-ed equestrian sports through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.


Demographics

Approximately 68% of undergraduates are female. About 35% of the student body identifies as
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, Asian,
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
, or Native-American. Goucher also has one of the highest percentages of
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
students in the country at 31% according to Hillel International. Goucher attracts students both nationally and internationally; undergraduates in 2017 came from 46 states and 50 countries. Twenty-five percent of students qualify for Pell Grants, and Goucher has been recognized for its success in graduating Pell Grant recipients as compared to the national average. For the class of 2021, the top five represented home states were Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York (state), New York, New Jersey, and California, and 24% of the incoming class were First-generation college students in the United States, first-generation college students.


Other activities on campus

Goucher has hosted the
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
Center for Talented Youth summer program for gifted students. The school also regularly conducts the Goucher Poll, which operates under the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center. The polling is performed by Goucher students out of a 40-station computer-aided telephone interviewer lab. Goucher students are credited with conceiving the nationally popular campus game Humans vs. Zombies, which is organized by students annually, and the commercial party game ''Cards Against Humanity''. Another of the school's annual traditions is known as GIG, "Get into Goucher," in which students participate in campus-wide celebrations, concerts, and other festivities. Goucher also hosts English as a second or foreign language, English as a second language and computer literacy classes under a program called the Futuro Latino Learning Center, run by students and college instructors.


Notable faculty and alumni

Well-known Goucher faculty and professors emeritus include Jean H. Baker and Julie Roy Jeffrey of the history department, Nancy Hubbard from the business and accounting department, president emeritus Sanford J. Ungar, and authors Madison Smartt Bell and Elizabeth Spires, who oversee the college's Kratz Center for Creative Writing. Goucher has over 21,000 living alumni, and many of its graduates have gone on to make contributions in the arts and literature, sciences, journalism, business, academia, government, and other fields. Prominent alumni include conservative commentator and senior editor for the ''National Review'' Jonah Goldberg, Baltimore County Executive, 14th Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr., John Olszewski, former
First Lady of Puerto Rico First Lady or First Gentleman of Puerto Rico ( es, Primera Dama o Primer Caballero de Puerto Rico) is the official title given by the government of Puerto Rico to the spouse of the governor of Puerto Rico or the relatives of the governor, should t ...
Lucé Vela, 27th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Sally Brice-O'Hara, 26th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy, Chief of Chaplains for the United States Navy Margaret G. Kibben, former president of Public Citizen Joan Claybrook, third president of California State University, San Marcos,
Karen S. Haynes Karen Sue Haynes (born c. 1946) is an American academic and college administrator who previously served as the president of California State University San Marcos. She also served as president of the University of Houston–Victoria. Education ...
, former president of
First Republic Bank First Republic Bank is an American full-service bank and wealth management company offering personal banking, business banking, trust, and wealth management services, catering to low-risk, high net-worth clientele, and focusing on providing p ...
Katherine August-DeWilde Katherine August-deWilde is an American business executive, board member, and philanthropist. She was the president of First Republic Bank from 2007 to 2015 and currently serves as its vice chair. Early life and education August-deWilde was born o ...
, United States federal judge, federal judges
Ellen Lipton Hollander Ellen Frances Lipton Hollander (born May 24, 1949) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Early life and education Born Ellen Frances Lipton on May 24, 1949 in New York, New Yor ...
for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and Phyllis A. Kravitch for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and former chairwoman of the United States International Trade Commission Paula Stern.


References


External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control Goucher College, Former women's universities and colleges in Maryland Liberal arts colleges in Maryland Universities and colleges in Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County, Maryland landmarks Educational institutions established in 1885 Towson, Maryland 1885 establishments in Maryland Historic districts in Baltimore County, Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore County, Maryland Private universities and colleges in Maryland