Quaker Elements: Influence on the History of the College
Haverford College had its beginnings in 1833 as a modest academy opening with 17 faculty and 21 male students. The school also had a small library that included the seven Quaker books that form the nucleus of what is now a collection of more than 40,000 books by and about Quakers. The founders of Haverford College, who placed a high value on intellectual excellence, stated at an organizational meeting in 1830 that they envisioned a school with a course of instruction "as extensive as given in any literary institution in this country" (Jones, History, 3).
In reflecting on Haverford's first 100 years, Rufus Jones (a Haverford graduate and major contributing figure in the history of the College) described the motto of the College's founders as "Be bold, be bold, and everywhere be bold, but not too bold" (Jones, History, 3). Jones' "not too bold" refers to the founders' intention to provide a "guarded education" which would shield young minds from corruption by avoiding art, music, fiction or anything else seen as a distraction from the search for Christian truth. Within these carefully limited boundaries, the earliest College leadership hoped to graduate young men of high integrity, firm self-discipline, and a deep respect for elements of divinity in the earthly community.
Continue reading "Quaker Influence on the History of Haverford College" 
by Professor Emma J. Lapsanky-Werner, Molly Higgins-Biddle '07, and Anna Marschalk-Burns '07.