Lafayette 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
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware Ri ...
. Founded in 1826 by
James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832.
The founders voted to name the college after
General Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution.
Lafayette is considered a
Hidden Ivy as well as one of the
northeastern Little Ivies.
Located on College Hill in Easton, the campus is in the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
, about west of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and north of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. Lafayette College guarantees campus housing to all enrolled students.
The college requires students to live in campus housing unless approved for residing in private off-campus housing or at home as a commuter.
The student body, consisting entirely of
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
s, comes from 46
U.S. states and
territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
and nearly 60 countries.
Students at Lafayette have access to more than 250 clubs and organizations, including athletics, fraternities and sororities, special interest groups, community service clubs, and honor societies.
History
Founding
A group of
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware Ri ...
residents, led by James Madison Porter (son of General Andrew Porter of
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located along the Schuylkill River, approximately from the Philadelphia city li ...
), met on December 27, 1824, at White's Tavern to discuss founding a college in town.
The recent visit of
General Lafayette to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
during his
grand tour of the US in 1824 and 1825 prompted the founders to name the college after the renowned French
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
, a hero of the American Revolutionary War, as "a testimony of respect for
istalents, virtues, and signal services... in the great cause of freedom".
The group established a 35-member board of trustees, a system of governance that continues at the college to the present.
[Skillman, David B. ''The Biography of a College Being the History of the First Century of the Life of Lafayette College.'' Easton, PA: Lafayette College, 1932. Print.] They selected Porter, lawyer Jacob Wagener, and
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
-educated lawyer Joel Jones to come up with an education plan.
The charter gained state approval from the legislature and, on March 9, 1826,
Pennsylvania Governor John Andrew Shulze.
Along with establishing Lafayette as a
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 ...
, the charter provided for religious equality among professors, students, and staff.
The board of trustees met on May 15, 1826, for the election of officers: Thomas McKeen as Treasurer, Joel Jones as Secretary, and
James Madison Porter as the first president of the college.
Over the next few years, the board met several times to discuss property and funding for the college's start-up.
Six years after the first meeting, Lafayette began to enroll students.
The college opened on May 1, 1829, with four students under the guidance of
Rev. John Monteith.
At the start of the next year, the Rev.
George Junkin
Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washingt ...
, a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
minister, was elected first official president of the college. He moved the all-male Manual Labor Academy of Pennsylvania from Germantown (near Philadelphia) to Easton.
Its first two professors were
Charles F. McCay and James I. Coon.
Classes began on May 9, 1832, with instruction of 43 students in a rented farmhouse on the south bank of the
Lehigh River.
Junkin supported
colonization of Liberia by ex-slaves from the United States. He proposed Lafayette for educating free African Americans for missionary work in the new American colony established by the
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
. Between 1832 and 1844, ten black students were enrolled at Lafayette, four of whom later served as missionaries in
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
.
Most African Americans, however, wanted to gain their legal rights in the United States, for many their homeland for generations.
During the college's first years, students were required to work in the fields and workshops in order for the college to earn money to support its programs.
This manual labor was retained as part of the curriculum until 1839, as the college was focused on preparing students for Military and Civil Engineering.
Later that year, Lafayette purchased property on what is now known as "College Hill" – nine acres of elevated land across
Bushkill Creek
Bushkill Creek (Dutch for "bushy" or "forest creek") is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania.Gertler, E ...
.
The college's first building was constructed two years later on the current site of South College.
A dispute between Porter and Rev. Junkin led to the latter man's resignation from the presidency in 1841.
The trustees considered the possibility of religious affiliation to achieve financial stability for the college.
In 1854, Lafayette College became affiliated with the
Presbyterian Church. By relinquishing their control, the college was able to collect
$1000 a year from the Presbyterian Church Board of Education as regularly as the latter could pay it.
In the time from 1855 to 1856, Lafayette had a peak enrollment of 112 students in total.
The class of 1857, a close-knit group of 27 men, worked in secrecy to establish charters in national fraternities, thus founding the first Greek fraternities at Lafayette College.
These fraternities remained secret until 1915, as they were discouraged by the authorities as divisive of group unity.
World War I
In preparation for United States entry into the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, which had involved European nations from 1914, Lafayette announced that current students would be awarded their degrees ''in absentia'' if they enlisted or went to work for farms to support the war effort. Professor Beverly Kunkel organized The Lafayette Ambulance United, Section 61,
United States Army Ambulance Corps. During the summer of 1917, Dr. MacCracken arranged to adapt the campus as a war camp for the War Department. Men trained to serve in mechanical trades. Lafayette remained a war camp until January 2, 1919, when the regular course of study was re-established there.
Lafayette during the Great Depression
![Lafayette College Easton PA 68 building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_68_building.jpg)
Between 1930 and 1934, during 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 ...
, the number of students declined dramatically. The college created new scholarships and scholarship loans to enable more students to attend. It also founded an Engineering Guidance Conference for boys. The conference was two weeks long and introduced twenty-one high school students to the concepts of engineering. This program continued until the outbreak of
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1941. Though the college faced its own deficits during the depression, it aided the larger community by offering a series of classes free to unemployed men beginning in 1932. They also made athletic facilities available for free to unemployed members of the community. Enrollment began to rise again for the 1935–1936 academic year.
Decade of Progress campaign
As the college moved out of the great depression, the college's new president,
William Mather Lewis
William Mather Lewis (March 24, 1878 – November 11, 1945) was an American teacher, university president, local politician, and a state and national government official. He was mayor of Lake Forest, Illinois from 1915 to 1917, President of Ge ...
, began what was called the Decade of Progress capital campaign, in order to fund delayed improvements. It started as a celebration of the 70th anniversary of Lafayette's engineering program. President Lewis regarded this 70-year span as a period which "covers the great development in American engineering which has now seemed to reach its peak."
The goal of this campaign was to raise $500,000 for payments on Gates hall, renovation of Van Wickle Memorial Library, and equipment upgrades in other departments. By the time the campaign closed in 1944, the college had received a total amount of $280,853.34.
World War II
Initially, most of the faculty and students at Lafayette wanted the U.S. to stay out of the conflict in Europe. When President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
addressed the
Pan-American Congress, saying that the US had a duty to protect Americans' science, culture, freedom and civilization, thirty-seven Lafayette faculty members wired the president objecting to his speech. After the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
and declaration of war by the US, the
Northampton County Council of Defense organized a College Council of Defense at Lafayette. The college took official action as well. It bolstered its
ROTC program and improved facilities to prepare for air raid tests. The college continued its academic programs until the US lowered the draft age from 20 to 18 in November 1942. While more students enlisted, Lafayette College was one of 36 academic institutions selected by the War Department to train engineering and aviation cadets. After the war, the
Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 (known as the GI Bill) resulted in a new wave of enrollment at Lafayette by veterans: in 1949 the college had approximately 2000 students.
Coeducational institution
In 1967, in consideration of cultural changes that included women seeking more participation in society, faculty requested that a special committee be formed to discuss making Lafayette a co-educational institution. That committee issued a formal recommendation the following year. In September 1970 Lafayette College welcomed its first official coeducational class with 146 women (123 freshmen, and 23 transfers).
21st century
In 2004, a report on religious life at Lafayette College was compiled, recommending a review of the college's formal relationship with the
Presbyterian church.
The college has retained its affiliation, although it is not a member of the
Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities
The Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities is a private, not-for-profit organization of colleges and universities associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), a Mainline Protestant, Mainline Protestant Christian denomination, Chris ...
.
In 2007, the college commemorated the 250th birthday of General Lafayette through a series of lectures and campus dedications.
Major festivities were held on September 6, 2007, Lafayette's birthday. They were started the night before with a lecture by renowned historian
David McCullough
David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States ...
. On March 9, Lafayette commemorated approval of the college charter by the Pennsylvania Legislature with a campus-wide and alumni toast around the world.
On January 16, 2013,
Dr. Alison R. Byerly was announced as Lafayette's 17th and first female president. She took office on July 1, 2013, replacing outgoing president
Daniel Weiss. She formerly was a professor at
Middlebury College.
In the mid-2010s, the college began to undertake plans for expansion of the student body to 2,900 students and the construction of new dorms and academic buildings, with the stated goal of raising funds for financial aid.
Nicole Hurd
Nicole Hurd is an American academic who became the 18th president of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 2021. She is the founder and CEO of College Advising Corps (CAC), the largest college access program in the country which ...
, the founder of the College Advising Corps, was announced as Byerly's successor as president on May 15, 2021.
Academics
![Lafayette College Easton PA 60 Skillman Library](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_60_Skillman_Library.jpg)
Lafayette College offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in 37 fields. Lafayette also offers 14 Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees, 10 in areas of science and four in fields of engineering. The most popular majors are in the fields of Social Sciences, Engineering, Biology, English, and Psychology. Students may also create their own major by combining courses from different programs.
Lafayette College offers engineering programs within its liberal arts setting. The engineering programs offer five concentrations: chemical, civil, electrical & computer, mechanical, and engineering studies. In 2012, 94% of Lafayette's candidates (currently enrolled) passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination. This is the first requirement toward getting a professional engineering license. The national average varies from 70 to 87%, depending on the type of engineering.
Lafayette's team was undefeated in the academic
College Bowl
''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl'' ...
in 1962, retiring after beating the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
for its fifth victory. In recent years, Lafayette College students earned numerous national and international scholarships,
For the class of 2012, Lafayette gave financial aid to 66% of the students, with the average package amounting to $26,850 for all students.
The college also offers merit-based academic scholarships: the Marquis Fellowship, a full-tuition scholarship, and the Marquis Scholarship, a half-tuition scholarship.
Lafayette's
endowment is more than $830 million, with total assets amounting to nearly $1.2 billion.
Rankings and reputation
Admissions
![Lafayette College Easton PA 27 library with tall shelves](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_27_library_with_tall_shelves.jpg)
Note: The SAT range for the Class of 2021 is based on a highest score of 1600, in accordance with the new SAT.
Campus
Lafayette College occupies College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania, located in the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
. It is about west of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and north of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. Its 340-acre campus houses 69 buildings, comprising approximately 1.76 million square feet. This includes a 230-acre athletic campus.
Lafayette's campus buildings range in architectural style from Pardee Hall's Second Empire design and Hogg Hall's Collegiate Gothic, to the late modern architecture of the Williams Center for the Arts, the William E. and Carol G. Simon Wing of Skillman Library, and the Farinon College Center.
Academic facilities
![Lafayette College Easton PA 67 Skillman Library coffee area](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_67_Skillman_Library_coffee_area.jpg)
Williams Center for the Arts is the college's performing arts center. Completed in 1983, the building houses the Performance Series, the Williams Art Gallery and College Collections, the College Theater program, the departments of Art and Music, and the student-led Arts Society.
The centerpiece of the Williams Center is the 400-seat theater/concert hall and also contains a versatile art gallery, a 100-seat black box theater, and classrooms and studios for music and art.
Pardee Hall
The Lafayette College campus is a 110-acre suburban area located on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. Lafayette College also owns and maintains a 230-acre athletic complex, the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex. The school is rou ...
, funded by
Ario Pardee
Ariovistus Pardee (November 19, 1810 – March 26, 1892) was an American engineer, coal baron, philanthropist, and director of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. In the 1840s he began purchasing land in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, suspecting it to contain ...
and completed in 1873, is one of the earliest buildings constructed at Lafayette College. When initially constructed, it was one of the largest academic buildings of its era.
Pardee was designed to hold all of the science programs. Today it is used for most of Lafayette's humanities and social science departments.
The Kirby Hall of Civil Rights was constructed in the late 1920s between the First World War and the Great Depression.
The cost of the building was donated by Kirby. The design was "rumored to be per square foot the most expensive building of its day."
Lafayette selected the architectural firm
Warren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866 – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and w ...
, known for their projects of designing the New York Yacht Club, the
New York Biltmore Hotel
The New York Biltmore Hotel was a luxury hotel at 335 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel was developed by the New York Central Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and operated from 1913 to 1981. ...
, and
Grand Central Station
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
.
The building's exterior embraces styles of Republic Rome, the Renaissance, 17th English classicism, and Beaux-Arts. The interior lobby area contains broad staircases and is constructed of
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...
marble.
The building currently houses the Government and Law department. Students have access to the Kirby library, which has 20-foot ceilings and oak-paneled book cases.
Markle Hall, now the main administrative building, holding Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid, was designed as the Hall of Mining Engineering. The college's Special Collections maintains an online historical overview of all the campus buildings.
The David Bishop Skillman library, built in 1961, is the main library on campus; the Simon Wing was added in 1986, and a $22 million renovation and expansion was completed in 2004.
The library contains over 500,000 volumes in its collections and subscribes to thousands of magazines, journals, and newspapers in the electronic and paper format.
In addition, the college's Special Collections and College Archives holds materials and displays holdings related to the Marquis de Lafayette.
Reading and study areas and computer labs are available to the students.
East Asia Image Collection
The East Asia Image Collection (EAIC) is an open-access digital repository of images from all areas of the history of the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
. It is curated by the Digital Scholarship Services of Lafayette College. Rare materials include prewar picture postcards, high-quality commercial prints, and colonial era picture books.
Housing and student life facilities
![Lafayette College Easton PA 7 Student dorm room](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_7_Student_dorm_room.jpg)
Lafayette College guarantees campus housing to all enrolled students.
The school requires students to live in campus housing unless approved for residing in private off-campus housing, or at home as a commuter.
The college offers on-campus housing options, including traditional halls, Greek chapter houses, suite-style halls, and group living units. Some halls are single gender, while others may be co-ed by floor, wing, room, or suite.
In addition, Lafayette College provides specialty housings that ties to specific academic departments, student organizations, or religious affiliations. Other residences include the McKelvy House, the Arts Houses, the Hispanic Society of Lafayette, and the Hillel House.
Lafayette College offers a variety of dining options for campus residents. Farinon College Center houses two of the main dining halls on campus. The top floor of Farinon is an "all-you-can-eat" style buffet, while ground level is a food court.
Marquis Hall, the second-largest dining hall on campus, is the second dining hall with an "all-you-can-eat" style buffet. Marquis also houses regularly themed events and contests.
Gilbert's Cafe, a coffeehouse located on the ground floor of Kirby House, was opened in 1999 to provide a late-night hangout and food for students. Simon's, a sandwich shop, is located in the ground floor of Kamine, a residence hall.
The Skillman Café, located in the Skillman Library, sells
Starbucks coffee and fresh-baked items made by the college.
Lafayette also maintains an off-campus organic farm, LaFarm, which provides vegetables to the dining halls and employment for interested students.
Athletics
![Lafayette2006PLchampsboard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Lafayette2006PLchampsboard.JPG)
The Lafayette Leopards compete in the
Patriot League under the guidance of current Athletic Director Sherryta Freeman. Lafayette offers students participation in 23
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...
sports, 18 club sports, and over 30 intramural sports. Student-athletes are considered students first, and athletes second. Lafayette currently ranks third nationally in student-athlete graduation success rate, according to the most recent
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
study.
In 1896 Lafayette was the first non-
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
school to win a national football championship. It was the first to use the "huddle", and the head harness, precursor to the football helmet.
The men's basketball program also has a decorated history. It had achievements peaking in the late 1990s under the leadership of
Fran O'Hanlon
Francis Brian O'Hanlon (born August 24, 1948) was an American college basketball coach who was the head men's basketball coach at Lafayette College from 1995 to 2022.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Hanlon played college basketball at Villa ...
, who led the Leopards to back-to-back Patriot League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000. These seasons were documented by
John Feinstein
John Feinstein (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator.
Early life
Feinstein was born to a Jewish family in New York City on July 28, 1956. His father was heavily involved in the arts having been the Ge ...
in his book, ''
The Last Amateurs
''The Last Amateurs'' is a book by John Feinstein. First published in 2000, the book chronicles the 1999–2000 Patriot League basketball season.
It emphasizes the efforts of the true scholar-athletes at the highly respected institutions t ...
'' (2001).
![Lafayette College Easton PA 31 Stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_31_Stadium.jpg)
* Affiliation:
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...
, Football:
Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...
* Conference:
Patriot League
* Team name: Leopards
* Team colors: Maroon and white
* Arch rival:
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
* Other rivals:
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
,
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...
,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
* Facilities:
Fisher Stadium
Fisher Stadium is a 13,132-seat multi-purpose stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania. The stadium is home to the Lafayette College Leopards football team. It opened in 1926 as Fisher Field.
During 2006 and 2007, Fisher Field underwent a $33-million re ...
(football),
Kirby Sports Center (basketball), Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex
Varsity sports
Men's sports
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Cross Country
*
Football
* Golf
* Lacrosse
* Soccer
* Swimming & Diving
* Tennis
* Track & Field, Indoor
* Track & Field, Outdoor
Women's sports
* Basketball
* Cross Country
* Field Hockey
* Lacrosse
* Soccer
* Softball
* Swimming & Diving
* Tennis
* Track & Field, Indoor
* Track & Field, Outdoor
* Volleyball
* Cheerleading
Co-ed sports
* Fencing
Chief rivalry (Lafayette-Lehigh)
Lafayette College's athletic program is notable for
"The Rivalry" with nearby
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
. Since 1884, the two football teams have met 150 times. This rivalry has had the most games in the history of
American college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
. It is also one of the oldest (when including
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
or
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
contests). It is also the longest-running rivalry in college football, with the teams playing at least once every year since 1897.
The Rivalry is considered to be one of the best in college athletics by
ESPNU. It recently ranked this as #8 among the Top Ten College Football Rivalries.
Lafayette leads the all-time series 79–71–5. In the most recent contest, on November 23, 2019, Lafayette defeated Lehigh by a score of 17–16.
Student life
![LafayetteCollegeTheQuad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/LafayetteCollegeTheQuad.JPG)
Students at Lafayette are involved in over 200 clubs and organizations including athletics, fraternities and sororities, special interest groups, community service clubs and honor societies.
The Lafayette College Student Government, consisting of 40 representatives, selected by 12 elected students, is responsible for chartering and supporting most of the student organizations on campus, and is responsible for allocating their budgets to allow these clubs to create programming and events for the campus community. Student Government collaborates with different administrative bodies on campus to improve the community, and is one component of the shared governance model with the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees, which operates in order to best meet the needs of the students.
Greek life
Lafayette College has a Greek community. Though students are not eligible to join these organizations until sophomore year, approximately 39% of eligible students join the school's fraternities and sororities. All but two of the Greek organizations at Lafayette are located on campus, making it a viable living option. Additionally, members of each house commit themselves to various philanthropic ventures throughout the academic year as these groups work together with the college, local, and national affiliates to help achieve the goals and ideals their organizations were founded upon.
Fraternities
Sororities
In addition to the social fraternities and sororities, there are also a number of academic honor societies on campus.
Academic honor societies
Newspaper
''The Lafayette'', Lafayette's weekly student newspaper, was founded in 1870 and is the oldest college newspaper in Pennsylvania.
It is available in both print and online form. Published every Friday during the academic year, print editions can be found around campus. All articles printed will also be available to read online and are uploaded every Friday. The newspaper has been published continuously since its creation, with the exception of during World War II, when operations were suspended between fall 1943 and March 1945. Over 4,200 digitized issues of ''The Lafayette'' are available online. The newsroom is located in the Farinon College Center.
Campus radio
The college radio station, which was founded in 1946, is
WJRH
WJRH (104.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a college radio station licensed to Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It is one of the last college radio stations in the United States that is fully stu ...
and broadcasts to the campus and greater
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
area at 104.9FM.
Student government
Lafayette College Student Government is composed of four executive members (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary), the board of directors, and committee members. With approximately 60 members, the student government covers a wide range of topics. Each committee has one elected director and three to seven committee members that are chosen through an application process and vetted by the elected members.
Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega, an international co-educational service fraternity, was founded at Lafayette in 1925 by Frank Reed Horton in Hogg Hall. The chapter regained its charter in 2018 after the efforts of student leaders, and maintains a mission to provide service work on campus and in the Easton community.
Investment club
Founded in 1946, it is the oldest
student-run investment club in the country. The club made national news in 2016, when CNN profiled their investment skills that led to returns of over 175 times their initial investment over 70 years (from $3,000 in 1946 to $530,000 in 2016), thereby beating the
S&P 500 Index
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of D ...
. As of March 2016, the portfolio contains 41 stocks.
Engineers Without Borders
![Lafayette College Easton PA 47 campus view fence](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Lafayette_College_Easton_PA_47_campus_view_fence.jpg)
The club was founded in 2003 and is a member of
EWB-USA.
Members of the club represent many disciplines in engineering and the liberal arts. The club is linked with rural villages in the
Yoro
Yoro, with a population of 25,560 (2020 calculation), is the capital city of the Yoro Department of Honduras and the municipal seat of Yoro Municipality. It is notable for a local event known as Lluvia de Peces, where it is claimed that strong ...
region of
Honduras.
EWB's mission is to design and implement projects in these villages that help promote better life. The club has focused its efforts on water treatment systems.
El Convento, which is located in the Yoro district of central Honduras, will be the third sustainable water project EWB-LC students have worked on in the country since 2003 when the club was founded.
The group has implemented gravity-fed water systems in neighboring Lagunitas and La Fortuna. In La Fortuna, the group utilized a
slow sand filter
Slow sand filters are used in water purification for treating raw water to produce a potable product. They are typically deep, can be rectangular or cylindrical in cross section and are used primarily to treat surface water. The length and bre ...
in its system. The group's previous work garnered national media exposure for being one of six national institutions to receive a $75,000 grant from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...
.
Volunteer opportunities
Landis Center
The Landis Center, Lafayette College's community outreach program, provides students with service opportunities.
Alternative School Break
Another volunteering alternative to the aforementioned Engineers Without Borders and Landis is Alternative School Break (ASB). Students travel in teams during the January interim or spring break and help communities build homes, paint, and tutor. Recent destinations have included the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, New Orleans, Chicago, and New York City. Students raise money through various fundraising events to mitigate the cost of the trip.
Lafayette Activities Forum
The Lafayette Activities Forum is a student-run organization to "promote campus interaction and student relations by incorporating programs and entertainment that reflect the interests of the general student body". LAF is made up of five committees: Class Year Experience, Culture, Media, & Entertainment, Traditions, Music & Coffeehouse, and Marketing. They are in charge of planning events such the Spring Concert, Fall Fest, the Spot Underground, Open Mic nights, and Live Comedy.
Notable people
Notable alumni of Lafayette College include CEOs Ian Murray (
Vineyard Vines
Vineyard Vines is an American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, by brothers Shep and Ian Murray. The brand markets high-end ties, hats, belts, shirts, shorts, swimwear, bags for men, women, an ...
) and Chip Bergh (
Levi Strauss & Co.), author
Jay Parini
Jay Parini (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels, poetry, biography, screenplays and criticism. He has published novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, Paul the Apostle, and Herman Melville.
Early ...
, major league baseball manager
Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball.
Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...
, and politicians
William E. Simon
William Edward Simon (November 27, 1927 – June 3, 2000) was an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the 63rd United States Secretary of the Treasury. He became the Secretary of the Treasury on May 9, 1974, during the Nixon admi ...
(Secretary of the Treasury),
John W. Griggs
John William Griggs (July 10, 1849 – November 28, 1927) was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician, who served as the 29th governor of New Jersey, from 1896 to 1898. As Governor of New Jersey Griggs gained a reputation for siding wi ...
(
Attorney General), and
Marcia Bernicat
Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (born 1953) is an American diplomat who is the current Director General of the Foreign Service. She is a former United States Ambassador to Bangladesh. She served as Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau from 2008 ...
(
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh). Additionally, Lafayette counts among its alumni two Nobel Laureates (
Philip S. Hench,
Haldan K. Hartline), two billionaires, one MacArthur Fellow, and dozens of prominent bankers, judges, and scientists.
Notable alumni
![William E Simon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/William_E_Simon.jpg)
Since the college's establishment in 1826, and in conformity with the changing role of higher education in the U.S., the occupations of its graduates have shifted greatly from mainly clergymen, to rail road engineers, to lawyers, and then in the early-mid 20th century to the more diversified roles across the occupational spectrum seen presently. A non-exhaustive list of alumni achievements known to be deserving of recognition is as follows:
In government: Seventeen United States Congressmen, six governors, more than fifty members of state legislatures, four members of the
President's cabinet, four ambassadors of the United States, countless diplomats, judges, mayors, and local government officials
In business: Several executives have attended including
Captains of Industry
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
at the turn of the century such as the founding members or directors of
Carnegie Steel
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed ...
,
Dow Jones & Company, and
Woolworth's
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
. In more recent times, graduates have held executive positions at a variety of
Fortune 500 companies including
ExxonMobil,
Asbury Automotive Group,
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
,
Citigroup,
Merrill Lynch and
Goldman Sachs.
In technology:
Sarkis Acopian
Sarkis Acopian ( hy, Սարգիս Յակոբեան; December 8, 1926 – January 18, 2007) was an inventor, industrialist, environmentalist, and humanitarian.
Early life
Acopian was born in the Iranian city of Tabriz in a family of Armenian refug ...
, inventor of the solar radio;
William C. Lowe, supervisor of the team that launched the first IBM PC;
Don Lancaster
Donald E. Lancaster is an American author, inventor, and microcomputer pioneer.
Background
Lancaster is a writer and engineer, who authored multiple articles for computer and electronics magazines of the 1970s, including ''Popular Electronics' ...
(class of 1961) author of numerous electronic books including ''TTL Cookbook'' and ''CMOS Cookbook''
In academia:
James McKeen Cattell, the first professor of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
in the United States;
Frank Reed Horton
Frank Reed Horton (July 17, 1896 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania – August 28, 1966 in Easton, Pennsylvania), was a United States educator. He is best known as the founder and first national president of Alpha Phi Omega, an international service frater ...
, founder of the
Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity;
Steven Kuehl, Professor of marine geology;
Barry Wellman
Barry Wellman (born 1942) is a Canadian-American sociologist and is the co-director of the Toronto-based international NetLab Network. His areas of research are community sociology, the Internet, human-computer interaction and social structur ...
, founder of the
International Network for Social Network Analysis The International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) is a professional academic association of researchers and practitioners of social network analysis. Members have interests in social networks as a new theoretical paradigm, in methodologi ...
In literature:
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...
, author of ''
The Red Badge of Courage
''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ove ...
'';
Jay Parini
Jay Parini (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels, poetry, biography, screenplays and criticism. He has published novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, Paul the Apostle, and Herman Melville.
Early ...
, professor and a leading innovator in biographical fiction;
Ross Gay, poet and professor;
Kameisha Jerae Hodge
Kameisha Jerae Hodge (pronounced /kəmiːʃə dʒɛreɪ hɒdʒ/; born November 1, 1989) is an American writer, publisher, poet, and spoken word artist from Washington, D.C. She is the founder and CEO of Sovereign Noir Publications, a publishing ...
, writer, editor, and poet
In medicine: Two Nobel Prize winners,
Philip S. Hench and
Haldan K. Hartline
In military: Two four-star generals,
Peyton C. March
General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplish ...
and
George H. Decker
George Henry Decker (February 16, 1902 – February 6, 1980) was a general in the United States Army, who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962.
Early life
Decker was born in Catskill, New York, and attended Lafay ...
, and two three-star generals,
Edgar Jadwin and
Stuart Risch
In science: Chief Chemist, USDA,
William McMurtrie
William McMurtrie (March 10, 1851 – May 24, 1913) was an American chemist. His work helped launch the sugar beet industry in the United States.
Life and career
Born on a farm near Belvidere, New Jersey, the son of Abram McMurtrie and Almira Smi ...
; inventor of Corningware, S. Donald Stookey; MacArthur Fellows Program, MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychiatry; Jay Weiss; Leidy Klotz, professor and author
In sports: Five members of The College Football Hall of Fame, eight NFL players, seven professional baseball players, and an Olympic gold medalist, including two-time World Series champion
Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball.
Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...
(2002 World Series, 2002, 2016 World Series, 2016); and Charlie Berry, Charlie Berry Jr, who played for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics and is the only person to officiate an NFL Championship, World Series, and College All-star game in the same year.
Notable faculty
![Br Guy in Lab](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Br_Guy_in_Lab.jpg)
* Eugene C. Bingham, former chemistry department head, pioneer in Rheology, rheology theory
* John Franklin Bruce Carruthers, former head of the Bible department, reverend to early aviators
* Lyman Coleman, former chair of ancient languages, scholar of religion
* Guy Consolmagno, assistant professor, physics and astronomy
* Thomas Messinger Drown, former professor of chemical engineering, analytical chemist and metallurgist
* Clement Eaton, Chair of History Department, 1931–1942
* Terry Jonathan Hart, visiting lecturer of engineering
* Robert Higgs, former professor of economics, known for his ratchet effect theory
* Caspar Wistar Hodge, Jr., former professor of religion, theological scholar
*
George Junkin
Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washingt ...
, first and third president of Lafayette College
* Ed Kerns, former head of the art department, known for his contributions to Abstract expressionism
* Chawne Kimber, mathematician and quilter
* William Sebring Kirkpatrick, former lecturer of municipal law, member of the United States House of Representatives
* Francis March, first professor of English Literature at any American college or university
* Donald L. Miller, writer and war historian
* Michael H. Moskow, former professor of economics, eighth president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
* Bruce Allen Murphy, Supreme Court Scholar
* Arnold A. Offner, historian of foreign policy, former president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
* Alix Ohlin, Canadian novelist, associate professor of English
* Thomas Conrad Porter, former professor of botany and zoology
* Theodore Roethke, poet
* Len Roberts, former professor of English, Fulbright Program, Fulbright scholar and fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities
* Anna Rubin, former professor of music, composer
* Rosemarie Tong, former professor of philosophy, known for her contributions to bioethics and health care reform
* Lee Upton, poet, writer in residence, professor of English
* Laura Walls, former professor of English, researcher of Transcendentalism, American Transcendentalism
* Hana Wirth-Nesher, former professor of English, American-Israeli literary scholar
Notable coaches
* George Barclay (sportsperson), George Barclay, head football coach (1908); inventor of the football helmet
* Butch van Breda Kolff, head men's basketball coach (1952–1956)
* Tom Davis (basketball, born 1938), Tom Davis, head men's basketball coach (1971–1977)
* Tim Lenahan, head men's soccer coach (1998–2000)
* Herb McCracken, head football coach (1924–1935)
* Tim Murphy (American football coach), Tim Murphy, assistant football coach (1981)
* Edward Mylin, head football coach (1937–1942, 1946)
* Steve Spagnuolo, assistant football coach, (1984–1986)
* Jock Sutherland, head football coach (1919–1923)
* Gary Williams, head men's soccer coach and assistant men's basketball coach (1972–1977)
* Hal Wissel, head men's basketball coach (1967–1971)
References
External links
*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control
Lafayette College,
Easton, Pennsylvania
Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
Educational institutions established in 1826
Patriot League
Universities and colleges in Northampton County, Pennsylvania
1826 establishments in Pennsylvania
Liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania