My Experience at Guilford College
I attended Guilford College from 1991 through September of 1995. I received my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from GC. Prior to that I attended several other schools, but Guilford was the place that I finally learned how to learn!
That is what Guilford College is all about…an education. The faculty and staff at this school do the unusual in academia…they care about the students, not about research. The school is composed of teachers and educators, not professors. Sure, they all have the title of professor (or associate professor or assistant professor), but they do not "profess,"
they educate.
For example, one required class was IDS 401, an interdisciplinary course. Many different versions were offered, but I chose one entitled "The Legal System." This course was taught by the Assistant US Attorney for Guilford County. The class was composed of 15 different speakers. Each speaker was an expert in one of the areas of our legal system…from "street" lawyers to police officers to medical examiners. The only thing our "professor" cared about was that we understood more about the legal system when we finished the class.
The Chemistry Department
As I was a chemistry major (and received my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1995), I would be remiss to not mention the department. The professors in the Chemistry Department while I was there, Dr. Dave MacInnes and Dr. Anne Glenn, define the word, "mentor." Mentors are more than educators, they are friends, teachers, confidantes, coaches, taskmasters, and, when necessary, disciplinarians. Both Dave and Anne were this and more. I positively enjoyed every class that I took from either of them. Amazingly, even though my enrollment was several years ago now, both of these wonderful people still remember me.
The students in the Chemistry Department were also remarkable. The scholars that I had the honor of studying with
ranged from 18 year old kids to 40 year old adults and everything in between (with me falling in there in my early 30s). The astonishing
thing about this varied student body was the ability to integrate. Whether you had an 18 year old lab partner or a 40 year old lab partner, it did not matter…everyone worked together (this, in and of itself, is a tribute to the tutelage of Dave and Anne).
Finally, the curriculum in the Chemistry Department was challenging and fun. My first two classes as part of this group were CHEM 221 - Chemical Analysis and CHEM 225 - Modern Analytical Techniques. These classes were a matched pair with 221 being lecture and 225 being lab. Well, in this class, the second weekend of school, the students are asked to go on a camping trip. Yes, I said a camping trip!!! We went to a state park and analyzed the ground water in the park. This was a graded lab! It was at this point that I knew that I had found the innovative educator that I had been looking for, Dr. Dave MacInnes. In addition to the analysis work, we also hiked up the ridge and did some caving…I got into places that I never thought I would!!
The Facts
Guilford College is a small, liberal arts school located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The schools was founded
in 1837 by the Religious Society of Friends (commonly referred to as Quakers). The school is non-sectarian, but is still related to the Quakers.
The school rests on a 340 acre campus on the western side of Greensboro. The campus is restful, not hustle-bustle
like many college campuses. The buildings are compactly spaced within the 340 acres, providing tremendous expanses of trees and
greenery in which to get lost. Above and beyond all else, the beauty of the campus is astonishing, considering it resides in the 3rd largest city in North Carolina. A city of approximately 200,000 people.
The college enrolls nearly 1500 students each fall. The student body blends traditional age students (1150) and adults who work full time (350). The students come from many of the states in the US and quite a few countries (30), too.
The adult students typically enroll through the Center for Continuing Education. CCE offers (I think) 7 or 8 different
degree programs at night. These degrees range from Business Administrationto Chemistry. The CCE gives adult students tremendous opportunities that would otherwise not be available. Additionally, the staff members in CCE are very helpful and supportive. They realize that stress does not begin to describe the condition of a person attending school and working full time. Thus, they work hard
at easing people through the rough spots, particularly as you have to deal with administrative types (like any other large organization,
Guilford has its share of bureaucracy in the administration…I had problems with the registrar's office, but that is another story).
One other note…on the Guilford College web page, they discuss the "tiny" size of the classes. No class that I enrolled in had more than 12 people. The student-professor ratio is really very good.
To learn more about the school and all of its programs, people, etc. go to the Guilford College webpage.
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