Statement of Purpose
Centre College is a small, independent, and selective educational community dedicated to study in the liberal arts as a means to develop the intellectual, personal, and moral potential of its students. Centre nurtures in its students the ability to think logically and critically, to work creatively, to analyze and compare values, and to write and speak with clarity and grace. It acquaints students with the range of accomplishments of the human mind and spirit in a variety of arts and theoretical disciplines. It enables students to choose and fulfill significant responsibilities in society. In short, Centre’s highest priority is to prepare its students for lives of learning, leadership, and service.
A long and rich tradition of tolerance, freedom of enquiry, and community, informs all aspects of college life. Centre accomplishes its goals in an atmosphere of caring and respectful relationships among faculty, students, and staff, aided by its broadly conceived, non-sectarian, Judeo-Christian heritage. This tradition commits Centre to a belief in the unconditional value of each human being, to an appreciation of the differences among people, and to a recognition of the close connection between responsible self-development and community well-being.
Mission Statement
First adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1999 and reaffirmed in 2015, the College’s mission stems from the broader Statement of Purpose. Centre College’s mission is to prepare students for lives of learning, leadership and service.
History
Centre College opened its doors in the fall of 1820, with a faculty of two and a student body of five. Classes reflected the classical curriculum of the day, which included Latin, Greek, rhetoric, and logic. They were held in Old Centre, a building which has been used continuously since Centre’s beginning and which today houses some of the College’s administrative offices, as well as, the Admission Office Welcome Centre.
Despite early financial hardships, disputes within and without the Presbyterian Church, and six wars (including the occupation of Old Centre by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War), Centre has remained open and committed to its educational mission.
While the first 10 years of Centre’s history was a period of preparation and planning, its second phase, from 1830 to 1857, was an era of consolidation and growth. Founded primarily as an institution devoted to training young men for the ministry, Centre has changed throughout its history to keep pace with the educational demands of a growing region and nation. From the 1890s until 1912, a law school was operated at Centre with J. Proctor Knott, a former Kentucky governor, as its dean. In 1901, the Central University at Richmond was consolidated with Centre. Danville’s Kentucky College for Women merged with Centre in 1926, becoming the College’s women’s department. (The department maintained a separate campus until the early 1960s when a unified campus organization was formed.)
Throughout the 20th Century, Centre has remained steadfast in its mission of providing superior education in the liberal arts tradition. During this period, Centre continued to educate persons who went on to achieve distinction in a variety of fields, many of whom later served as leaders in helping the College further advance its tradition of alumni loyalty and support.
Throughout its long history, Centre has been supported and enhanced by its alumni, who have taken positions of prominence and usefulness in a variety of fields. Centre alumni have figured prominently in U.S. history. They include two U.S. vice presidents, one Chief Justice of the United States, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 13 U.S. Senators, 43 U.S. Representatives, 10 moderators of the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, and 11 governors. Other Centre alumni have been and are leaders in a variety of other fields including teaching, business, medicine, law, and journalism.
We have much to be proud of and thankful for in our past: outstanding leaders who demonstrated a consistent preference for quality over quantity; generations of devoted, caring faculty, staff and students; and an exceptionally successful body of alumni. But equally important among these qualities is a sense of connection with the past, giving added meaning to the present and providing inspiration for this tradition to be continued in the future.