courses of instruction - Lafayette College

LAFAYETTE COLLEGE
Revolution as "a testimony of respect for
(his) talents, virtues, and signal services ..
.. the great cause of freedom."
The governor of Pennsylvania signed
the new college's charter on March 9,
1826, but getting the charter proved to
be considerably easier than launching the
College. In 1832, the Rev. George Junkin,
a Presbyterian minister, agreed to move
the curriculum and student body of the
Manual Labor Academy of Pennsylvania
from Germantown to Easton and to take
up the Lafayette College charter. On May
9,1832, classes in mathematics and the
classics began in a rented farmhouse on
the south bank of the Lehigh River, where
the 43 students labored in the fields and
workshops to earn money in support of
the educational program.
In their original petition the planners
of the College had cited mathematics as
an example of their educational philoso
phy. "Such branches will be selected and
so pursued, as will not only discipline
the mind, and induce habits of patient
investigation, but also directly subserve
the purposes of life." That sound princi
ple animated much of the subsequent
curricular development at Lafayette as,
indeed, it does today.
The founders noted in 1824 that "the
language most neglected in our seminar
ies of learning is the English." In 1857
Lafayette became the first American
college to establish a chair for the study
of the English language and literature,
with emphasis on philology. Francis A.
March, its first incumbent, achieved inter
national fame for his work in establishing
English as a pivotal subject in the liberal
arts curriculum.
Similarly, the founders complained
that "civil engineering has of late become
a very prominent branch of education,
and what is remarkable, not a College in
our country (if we are correctly informed)
has made it a part of their course." In
1866 Lafayette secured funds from Ario
Pardee, a mining magnate and industrial
ist, to establish a new course in science
and engineering, one of the first in any
liberal arts college. The resulting union
of arts, sciences, and engineering remains
perhaps the most unusual feature of the
Lafayette curriculum.
In 1832 the College acquired nine acres
of land on an eminence across Bushkill
Creek from Easton. Formally named "Mt.
Lafayette," the elevation soon became
more familiarly known as "College Hill."
On its summit in 1834 rose the first of the
College's own buildings, on a site now
incorporated into South College. Today
the campus comprises about 100 acres of
land and more than 50 buildings, as well
as various outlying properties and struc
tures on College Hill and elsewhere.
Like the physical plant, enrollment
grew steadily. By the turn of the century
it stood at about 300, passed the 500 mark
in 1910, and reached 1,000 during the
1920s. It more than doubled again as
returning veterans swamped the College
after World War II. As the GI tide ebbed,
the enrollment dropped back to about
1,500 men.
Addition of women to the student
population they now make up about
48 percent of the student body raised
the total enrollment to about 2,100, where
it remains today. Enrollment as of August
31,1998, was 2,103.
LAFAYETTE TODAY
Lafayette College offers only undergrad
uate programs. It grants the Bachelor of
Arts degree in 25 established major
fields, the Bachelor of Science in nine
fields of science and four of engineering.
Interdisciplinary majors have been estab
lished in American Studies, Behavioral
Neuroscience, Biochemistry, International
Affairs, Mathematics and Economics,
and Russian and East European Studies;
in addition, a number of departments
have joined others in offering coordinate
majors. Many departments also permit a
minor in the field. A five-year, two-degree
plan is also available. Descriptions of major
programs and requirements may be found
on pp. 37-177.
The governing body of the College is
the Board of Trustees, which holds title
to the College's properties, manages and
allocates its funds, determines the broad
policies under which programs are offered,