Davidson College

Davidson College, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Davidson, North Carolina, U.S. It is a liberal arts college with bachelor’s degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Junior-year students can study at the University of Tours in Tours, France, or the Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg, Germany. The college also operates summer programs in a variety of overseas locations. Campus facilities include an art gallery and the Lake Campus recreational area at nearby Lake Norman. Total enrollment is approximately 1,600.

The college was founded in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and opened as a manual labour institute. Though it is supported by the Presbyterian Church, Davidson has always maintained a nonsectarian approach to learning. Women were first admitted into degree-granting programs in 1972. Dean Rusk, U.S. secretary of state in 1961–69, was a graduate of the college.