Guilford College

Guilford College was founded by a group of Quakers in 1873 in the town of Greensbro in North Carolina, USA. The college replaced the New Garden Boarding School, build to educate the children of local Quaker families. The original students wore traditional Quaker dress and spoke the ‘plain speech’ of the Quaker community. The school became a fully-fledged liberal arts college in 1888 and today the campus resembles any other American liberal arts university. Despite this the college reflects the core Quaker ethos in its institutional principles of Community, Diversity, Equality, Excellence, Integrity, Justice and Stewardship. 

The college campus covers 300 acres of wooded and open space on the edge of the thriving town of Greensbro. The campus is over 100 years old and the traditional red brick buildings reflect that. As well as the academic and administrative buildings the campus is also home to the library, sports and leisure facilities and the college’s own farm. The campus also has its own bike shop offering repair and rentals to students.

The college is home to a couple of thousand students, and offers around 40 majors as well as pre-health, pre-law and pre-ministerial programs. The college welcomes international students and encourages learning about other ways of life through its Multicultural Education Department. There are also mentors on hand to help new international students and an English Language adaptation course and a program allowing international students to spend time with local families to learn more about American customs and ways of life.