Georgetown College (Kentucky)

For the institution located in Washington, D.C., see Georgetown University.

Georgetown College
Motto	Live, Learn, Believe.
Established	1829
Type	Private
President	Dr. William H. Crouch Jr.
Academic staff	167
Undergraduates	1,284
Postgraduates	567
Location	Georgetown, KY, USA
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Orange, Purple and Black
Mascot	Tigers
Website	www.georgetowncollege.edu

Georgetown College is a small, private liberal arts college located in Georgetown, Kentucky, United States. Chartered as a college in 1829, Georgetown College was the first Baptist college west of the Allegheny Mountains.^[1][2] The school offers many undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in Education.

History

In 1829, the Kentucky Legislature chartered the Kentucky Baptist Education Society with the purpose of establishing a Baptist college in the state. Twenty-four trustees under the leadership of Silas Noel selected the town of Georgetown as the site for the new school. Georgetown was selected because the community agreed to raise $20,000 and to donate the assets of Rittenhouse Academy, a failed land-grant school that had recently closed. Rittenhouse Academy was the predecessor of Royal Springs School.^[1]

Early history

Giddings Hall

Georgetown College had numerous difficulties and changing leadership in its early years. The first president hired for the college, William D. Staughton, died before assuming his duties. The second president, Rev. Joel Smith Bacon, stayed two years before leaving out of frustration. In 1839, Rev. Rockwood Giddings was selected as the third president of the college. During his short tenure, Giddings began construction on Recitation Hall, the first permanent building for the school. He made many other advances that put the college on sound footing. Giddings died of exhaustion after a year in office and was replaced by Rev. Howard Malcolm.^[1]

School Facts

• 11:1 student to teacher ratio (undergraduate)
• 15 undergraduate students per class (average)
• Nearly 90% of students live in housing on campus
• Georgetown classes are taught only by professors, over 96% of which have their PhD or the highest degree in their field.
• Georgetown's graduation rate is 68%, higher than average for most state and regional universities and colleges.
• 85% of graduating students complete their degree in four years or less.

Student organizations

Georgetown College has four national fraternities (Kappa Alpha Order, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Tau and Pi Kappa Alpha) and four national sororities (Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu and Sigma Kappa) on campus. It also has an independent brotherhood known as the President's House Association, which was formed in 1964 as an alternative to the traditional fraternity system. The college also traditionally has a number of students who remain independent, competing in events such as songfest and intramurals against other independents as well as members of the Greek organizations.

Religious Affiliation

Georgetown College, historically linked with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, has recently changed its relationship with the Convention. The college retains its Baptist heritage, and is still affiliated with the KBC, but no longer receives money from the Convention. It has the right to elect its own trustees independently, without the Convention's approval. [1]

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Tigers and they participate in the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference. The football and basketball programs have long been regarded as perennial powerhouses. The Georgetown football program takes pride in its state-of-the-art football facilities that doubles as the summer training camp home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Football

Main article: Georgetown Tigers football

Basketball

• 1998 National Champions
• 30 appearances in NAIA National Tournament
• 52 wins in National Tournament History
• 20 Sweet Sixteen appearances
• 13 Elite Eight appearances
• 11 Fab Four appearances
• 4 National Title games
• Georgetown Baseball - Notable Alumnus - Billy Ray Cyrus

Maskrafters

The Georgetown College Maskrafter theatre group is the oldest collegiate theatre company in Kentucky and offers traditional theatre, an emphasis on creating original work, and new initiatives in digital motion picture art. As of 2007, the Maskrafters have produced a feature-length movie entitled "Surviving Guthrie", and have put on the musical "She Loves Me". The Maskrafters have also done recent plays including Proof,The Fantasticks, Grease, and Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Maskrafters are primarily students at Georgetown, and are guided by staff.

Student Events

Georgetown College offers several events every year that give students the option to participate. The biggest of these is Songfest, a stage performance put together by the individual dorm houses, including (but not limited to) the fraternities and sororities. It is part of Georgetown's homecoming celebration. Other events include the Belle of the Blue, a scholarship pageant, and Greek Week, part of the rush and pledging tradition.

Notable alumni

• LaVerne Butler, Southern Baptist pastor and former president of Mid-Continent University in Mayfield, Kentucky^[3]
• Forest Shely, physician and long-time trustee of Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky^[4]
• Blanton Collier, National Football League head coach of the Cleveland Browns, 1963-1970.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "A History of Georgetown College". Georgetown College. http://www.georgetowncollege.edu/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-05. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Giddings Hall". Historic Campus Architecture Project. Council of Independent Colleges. November 2006. http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/cgi-bin/cic/library?a=d&d=p643. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
3. ^ Michael Foust, Obituary of LaVerne Butler, Baptist Press, December 21, 2010
4. ^ William Lynwood Montell, Tales from Kentucky Doctors. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, ISBN: 978-0-8131-2482-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=XWdRi04qV7EC&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=Dr.+Forest+Shely&source=bl&ots=9-1oYl_zsx&sig=ovkLHjyAU9fIVoot_BpD42-Be-8&hl=en&ei=LC06Tf_6AcKclgfT_dSDBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBzgU#v=onepage&q=Dr.%20Forest%20Shely&f=false. Retrieved June 30, 2011. 

http://www.georgetowncollege.edu/about/history.htm

External links

	Kentucky portal
	University portal

• Georgetown College web page