Product Code Database
Amherst College ( ) is a Private college liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts. The institution was named after the town, which in turn had been named after Jeffery, Lord Amherst, Commander-in-Chief of British forces of North America during the French and Indian War. Originally established as a men's college, Amherst became coeducational in 1975.
Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution; 1,914 full-time students were enrolled in fall 2024. Admissions are highly selective. Students choose courses from 42 major programs in an open curriculum and are not required to study a core curriculum or fulfill any distribution requirements; students may also design their own interdisciplinary major.
Amherst competes in the NCAA Division III as a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Amherst has historically had close relationships and rivalries with Williams College and Wesleyan University, which form the Little Three colleges. The college is also a member of the Five College Consortium, which allows its students to attend classes at four other Pioneer Valley institutions: Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
During the fundraising for the project, it became clear that without larger designs, it would be impossible to raise sufficient funds. This led the committee overseeing the project to conclude that a new institution should be created. On August 18, 1818, the Amherst Academy board of trustees accepted this conclusion and began building a new college.
Founded in 1821, Amherst College developed from Amherst Academy, first established as a secondary school. The college was originally suggested as an alternative to Williams College, which was struggling to stay open. Although Williams survived, Amherst was formed and developed as a distinct institution.
Williams alumni are fond of an apocryphal story ascribing the removal of books from the Williams College library to Amherst College. In 1995, Williams president Harry C. Payne declared the story false, but many still nurture the legend.
In 1826, Edward Jones became Amherst's first Black graduate.
Amherst grew quickly, and for two years in the mid-1830s, it was the second largest college in the United States, behind Yale College. In 1835, Amherst attempted to create a course of study parallel to the classical liberal arts education. This parallel course focused less on Greek language and Latin, instead emphasizing contemporary English, French, and Spanish languages, chemistry, economics, etc. The parallel course did not take hold and replace the classical, however, until the next century.
Amherst was founded as a non-sectarian institution "for the classical education of indigent young men of piety and talents for the Christian ministry" (Tyler, A History of Amherst College). One of the hallmarks of the new college was its Charity Fund, an early form of financial aid that paid the tuition of poorer students. Although officially non-denominational, Amherst was considered a religiously conservative institution with a strong connection to Calvinism; the still controlled much of Massachusetts life.
As a result, there was considerable debate in the Massachusetts government over whether the new college should receive an official charter from the state. A charter was not granted until February 21, 1825, as reflected on the Amherst seal. Religious conservatism persisted at Amherst until the mid-nineteenth century: students who consumed alcohol or played cards were subject to expulsion. A number of religious revivals were held at Amherst. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, however, the college began a transition toward secularism. This movement was considered to culminate in the 1949 demolition of the college church.
The college established the Black Studies Department in 1969. In 1973, it launched the nation's first undergraduate neuroscience program. In 1983, it established a Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, which was later to become the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations.
In 1984, on-campus fraternities were abolished. The former fraternity buildings, which were owned by the college, were converted into residence halls. The Department of Women's and Gender Studies, which later became the Department of Sexuality, Women's, and Gender Studies, was established in 1987, and the Department of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought in 1993.
In March 2013, the faculty adopted an open-access policy. Eight years later, the college ended its practice of legacy admissions and increased financial aid to increase access to low and middle-income students and diversify the college.
| + ! !class=unsortable | Image !President !Term start !Term end !class=unsortable | ||||
| 1 | Zephaniah Swift Moore | 1821 | 1823 | ||
| 2 | Heman Humphrey | 1823 | 1845 | ||
| 3 | Edward Hitchcock | 1845 | 1854 | ||
| 4 | William Augustus Stearns | 1854 | 1876 | ||
| 5 | Julius Hawley Seelye | 1876 | 1890 | ||
| 6 | Merrill Edwards Gates | 1890 | 1899 | ||
| 7 | George Harris | 1899 | 1912 | ||
| 8 | Alexander Meiklejohn | 1912 | 1924 | ||
| 9 | George Olds | 1924 | 1927 | ||
| 10 | Arthur Stanley Pease | 1927 | 1932 | ||
| 11 | Stanley King | 1932 | 1946 | ||
| 12 | Charles Woolsey Cole | 1946 | 1960 | ||
| 13 | Calvin Plimpton | 1960 | 1971 | ||
| 14 | John William Ward | 1971 | 1979 | ||
| 15 | Julian Gibbs | 1979 | 1983 | ||
| acting | G. Armour Craig | 1983 | 1984 | ||
| 16 | Peter Pouncey | 1984 | 1994 | ||
| 17 | Tom Gerety | July 1, 1994 | June 30, 2003 | ||
| 18 | Anthony Marx | July 1, 2003 | June 30, 2011 | ||
| acting | Gregory S. Call | July 1, 2011 | July 31, 2011 | ||
| 19 | Carolyn Martin | August 1, 2011 | July 31, 2022 | ||
| 20 | Michael A. Elliott | August 1, 2022 | present | ||
Table notes:
The college also owns the Emily Dickinson Museum, operated as a museum about the life and history of poet Emily Dickinson, and the Inn on Boltwood near to the main campus.
Forty-five percent of Amherst students in the class of 2019 were double majors. Amherst College has been the first college to have undergraduate departments in the interdisciplinary fields of American studies; Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought; and Neuroscience and has helped to pioneer other interdisciplinary programs, including Asian Languages and Civilizations. Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were:
The Amherst library is named for long-time faculty member, poet Robert Frost. The student-faculty ratio is 7:1 and 84% of classes have fewer than 30 students.
Notable faculty members include, among others, modern literature and poetry critic William H. Pritchard, Beowulf translator Howell Chickering, Jewish and Latino studies scholar Ilan Stavans, novelist and legal scholar Lawrence Douglas, physicist Arthur Zajonc, Pulitzer Prize-winning Nikita Khrushchev biographer William Taubman, African art specialist Rowland Abiodun, Natural Law expert Hadley Arkes, Mathematician Daniel Velleman, Biblical scholar Susan Niditch, law and society expert Austin Sarat, Asian American studies scholar and former Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Franklin Odo, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan, professor emeritus of the music faculty.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance places Amherst 11th in its 2016 ranking of best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Amherst ranked 6th in the 2021 Washington Monthly liberal arts college rankings, which focus on contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
Martin disagreed, citing past debates over the college's position on the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa—issues on which the college initially remained silent but eventually took a public position. In such times, she said, colleges should "avoid taking institutional positions on controversial political matters, except in extraordinary circumstances" and should simultaneously both "protect their communities from discrimination and disrespect" and "cherish a diversity of viewpoints". President's Reflections | Amherst College . Amherst.edu. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.
The Five Colleges share resources and develop common academic programs. Museums10 is a consortium of local art, history and science museums. The Five College Dance Department is one of the largest in the nation. The joint Astronomy department shares use of the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, which contributed to work that won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum to undergraduates in the Five Colleges.
Despite its high cost of attendance – comprehensive tuition, room, and board fee for the 2022–23 academic year was $80,250 – Amherst College meets the full demonstrated need of every admitted student. Sixty percent of current students receive scholarship aid, and the average financial aid package award amounts to $62,071; college expenditures are approximately $109,000 per student each year.
In July 2007, Amherst announced that grants would replace loans in all financial aid packages beginning in the 2008–09 academic year. Amherst had already been the first school to eliminate loans for low-income students, and with this announcement it joined Princeton University, Cornell University and Davidson College, then the only colleges to eliminate loans from need-based financial aid packages. Increased rates of admission of highly qualified lower income students has resulted in greater equality of opportunity at Amherst than is usual at elite American colleges.
In the 2008–2009 academic year, Amherst College also extended its need-blind admission policy to international applicants. In 2021, it also eliminated Legacy admission.
Students pursue their interests through student-led organizations funded by a student fee and distributed by the student government, including a variety of cultural and religious groups, publications, fine and performing arts and political advocacy and service groups. Groups include a medieval sword-fighting club, a knitting club, and a club devoted to random acts of kindness, among others. Community service groups and opportunities (locally—through the Center for Community Engagement, nationally, and internationally) have been a priority at Amherst and for former President Anthony Marx, who helped start a secondary school for black students in apartheid South Africa.
One of the longstanding traditions at the college involves the Sabrina statue. Even year and odd year classes battle for possession of the historic statue, often engaging in elaborate pranks in the process.
After a complaint was filed by Epifano and an anonymous former student in November 2013, the US Department of Education opened an investigation into the college's handling of sexual violence and potential violations of Title IX. In May 2014, the Department of Education announced a list of 55 colleges and universities (including Amherst) currently under investigation.
A report from Amherst College stated that 2009 to 2011, Amherst reported 35 instances of "forcible sex offenses", a term that encompasses rape, attempted rape, and lesser forms of sexual contact. "Amherst College Police: Annual Report, Calendar Year 2011" . Retrieved July 2, 2013.
In 2022, in response to the anonymous sharing of sexual assault experiences at Amherst College on the Instagram account @amherstshareyourstory, then President Biddy Martin announced the launch of a new comprehensive review of the issue of sexual misconduct and assault on campus. According to the 2023 NECHE Interim Crediting Report listening sessions and interviews were conducted, and a website for anonymous reporting of concerns was created. The NECHE interim report also suggested that the review was expected to be published in Spring 2023. However currently there has been no update or public disclosure of the 2022 review.
In May 2014, after a wild moose found its way onto the Amherst College campus and into the backyard of the house of the college president, students organized a Facebook campaign to change the mascot of the school to a moose. The page grew rapidly in popularity, receiving over 900 "likes" in under two weeks, and inspiring both a Twitter and Tumblr account for the newly proposed mascot. At the Commencement ceremony for the class of 2014, the moose mascot was mentioned by Biddy Martin in her address, and the Dining Hall served Moose Tracks ice cream in front of an ice sculpture of a moose.//scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/59303_10203747867714073_6503822668927316018_n.jpg
In February 2015, discussion of a mascot change continued when the editorial board of the Amherst Student, the college's official student-run newspaper, came out in favor of "the moose-scot". In November 2015 the student body and the faculty overwhelmingly voted to vacate the mascot. That same month, several hundred students who staged a sit-in protest against racism at the college library included among their demands a call for the college to cease use of the Lord Jeff mascot. The decision to drop the mascot was made official by the college's trustees on January 26, 2016.
In April 2017, Amherst announced that their official mascot would be the mammoth.Boswell, Thomas.
Changing a nickname seems like a seismic shift, but it's rarely a Mammoth deal . Washington Post. December 14, 2017. Mammoths beat the other finalists "Valley Hawks", "Purple and White", "Wolves", and "Fighting Poets" in a ranked-choice election process. The mammoth is linked to Amherst due to the long-standing presence of a Columbian Mammoth skeleton on display in the Beneski Museum of Natural History on campus, which dated back to the 1920s excavation of the skeleton by Amherst professor Frederic Brewster Loomis in Melbourne, Florida.
Amherst participates in the NCAA's Division III, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and the New England Small College Athletic Conference, which includes Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts University, Wesleyan, and Williams College. Amherst is also one of the "Little Three", along with Williams and Wesleyan. A Little Three champion is informally recognized by most teams based on the head-to-head records of the three schools, but three-way competitions are held in some of the sports.
Amherst claims its athletics program as the oldest in the nation," Amherst College and Amherst Athletics Quickfacts", amherst.edu . Retrieved October 31, 2007. pointing to its compulsory physical fitness regimen put in place in 1860 (the mandate that all students participate in sports or pursue physical education has been discontinued)."[10] ", A History of Amherst College During the Administrations of its First Five Presidents. Amherst and Williams played the first college baseball game July 2, 1859.
Amherst's growing athletics program has been the subject of controversy in recent years due to dramatic contrasts between the racial and socioeconomic makeup of its student athletes and the rest of its student body, the clustering of athletes in particular academic departments, and a perceived "divide" on campus between varsity athletes and other students. Athletic skill plays a factor in the admissions decisions of between 28% and 35% of each incoming class.
Amherst fields several club athletic teams, including ultimate, soccer, crew, rugby union, water polo, Equestrianism, mountain biking, fencing, sailing and skiing. Intramural sports include soccer, tennis, golf, basketball, volleyball and softball.
The sport of Ultimate was started and named at Amherst College in the mid-1960s by Jared Kass.
Among its alumni, faculty and affiliates are six Nobel Prize laureates and twenty Rhodes Scholars. President Calvin Coolidge, Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone, and other notable writers, academics, politicians, entertainers, businesspeople, and activists have been graduates as well.
There are approximately 23,000 living alumni, of whom about 45% make a gift to Amherst each year—one of the highest alumni participation rates of any college in the country.
Athletics
Basketball Cross Country Field Hockey Golf Ice Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Squash Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field Volleyball
Alumni
Although a relatively small college, Amherst has many accomplished alumni, including Nobel Prize, Crafoord Prize and Lasker Award laureates, MacArthur Fellowship and Pulitzer Prize winners, National Medal of Science and National Book Award recipients, and Academy Awards, Tony Award, Grammy Award and Emmy Award winners; a U.S. President, the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco, two Prime Ministers and one Foreign Minister of Greece, a President of Kenya, a President of El Salvador, a Chief Justice of the United States, three Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives, a U.S. Poet Laureate, the legal architect of Brown v. Board of Education and the inventor of the blood bank; leaders in science, religion, politics, the Peace Corps, medicine, law, education, communications, and business; and acclaimed actors, architects, artists, astronauts, engineers, human rights activists, inventors, musicians, philanthropists, and writers.
Bibliography
External links
Categories: 1821 Establishments In Massachusetts, Universities And Colleges In Amherst, Massachusetts, Educational Institutions Established In 1821, Universities And Colleges Established In The 1820s, Liberal Arts Colleges In Massachusetts, Private Universities And Colleges In Massachusetts, Need-blind Educational Institutions
|
|
