Agnes Scott College Information

Agnes Scott College (commonly known as Agnes Scott) is a private womens liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 students. Agnes Scott is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is considered one of the Seven Sisters of the South.

The college was founded in 1889 as Decatur Female Seminary by Presbyterian minister Frank H. Gaines. In 1890, the name was changed to Agnes Scott Institute to honor the mother of the colleges primary benefactor, Col. George Washington Scott. The name was changed again to Agnes Scott College in 1906, and remains today a womens college.

Agnes Scott is considered the first higher education institution in the state of Georgia to receive regional accreditation. The ninth and current president since July, 2018 is Leocadia I. Zak, who previously worked as director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

On July 27, 1994, the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the South Candler Street-Agnes Scott College Historic District. The historic district boundaries are East College Ave., South McDonough St., S. Candler St., East Hill St. and East Davis St. It includes the entire campus, as well as historic homes adjacent to the campus. The campus is also designated by the City of Decatur as a historic district.

Agnes Scott College is located within walking distance of downtown Decatur. A MARTA subway station, located in downtown Decatur, allows students to travel to Atlanta.

Agnes Scott (Main) Hall, the oldest building on campus, was built in 1891 and once housed the entire school. This is documented in the history of Agnes Scott by Dr. McNair entitled Lest We Forget published in 1983.

Agnes Scott occupies more than 90 acres (360,000 m2) in Decatur. The college also owns the Avery Glen apartments as well as more than a dozen houses in the surrounding neighborhoods housing faculty, staff, and students. There are also six dedicated undergraduate dormitories located on campus.

The Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott houses the Beck Telescope, a 30-inch (760 mm) Cassegrain reflector, as well as a planetarium with 70-seat capacity and a radio telescope. Recently Agnes Scott College and the Georgia Tech Research Institute have collaborated on a project that added a LIDAR facility to the observatory.

The colleges science building contains a three-story rendering of part of the nucleotide sequence from Agnes Scotts mitochrondrial DNA. The DNA came from a blood sample of an ASC alumna who is a direct descendant of the colleges namesake.

American poet Robert Frost was an annual visitor at Agnes Scott from 1945 to his death in 1962. During his visits, he would read poetry in Presser Hall. A statue of the poet sculpted by George W. Lundeen sits in the alumnae gardens. A collection of Robert Frosts poetry and letters can be viewed at McCain Library.

Agnes Scott has committed to becoming a carbon-neutral institute by the colleges 150th anniversary in 2039 and has taken steps such as partnering with the Clean Air Campaign to reduce its impact on the local environment.

As of 2015[update], the college has five solar arrays, four of which are part of Georgia Powers Advanced Solar Initiative. The fifth array is on the rooftop of the Bradley Observatory and is also used for student research. The renovation of Campbell Hall into a mixed use residence hall, learning center, and office space was concluded in 2014 and included installation of a hydro-geothermic HVAC system.

The college hosts a Zipcar.

The library at Agnes Scott College was an original Andrew Carnegie Library built in 1910. It was renamed in 1951 for James McCain, on the occasion of his retirement as the 2nd President of the College.

Non-commuter students are expected to live in on-campus housing for all four years as an undergraduate at Agnes Scott College. There are six resident halls situated around the Northern edge of the campus: Winship, Walters, Inman, Rebekah, Campbell and Agnes Scott Hall (nicknamed "Main"). Agnes Scott also owns off-campus apartments one block from campus called Avery Glen. Winship and Walters are traditionally reserved for first-year students. Upperclasswomen participate in a numeric room selection process, where students choose to live in loft-style dorms, tower rooms, or apartments with their friends. Single rooms are available in Inman, Main and Rebekah, while triple rooms are available exclusively in Main. Beginning in August 2014, Campbell offers students suite-style rooms for four, with two students per room and a shared restroom. Hopkins Hall was retired as a residence hall after the 2014–2015 academic year due to increased need for office space on campus.

Due to the small size of the Agnes Scott College community, students are encouraged to start any organization or group that does not yet exist on campus.

The Silhouette is the yearbook published by the students of Agnes Scott College. All students are invited to join the staff.

Aurora is the Agnes Scott literary magazine. The magazine is published once a year and includes student poetry, prose, and artwork. The magazine has also considered publishing musical compositions.

Psychobabble is the student-run newsletter of Agnes Scotts Department of Psychology. The newsletters goal is to create an informed and united community within the discipline by promoting coordinated activities and facilitating communication and relationships among faculty, students and staff. Psychobabble gives psychology majors and minors an opportunity to involve themselves in their interest and form an identity as undergraduate students, while benefiting the department as a whole and supporting the educational experience of their peers.

The Profile, the colleges independent student newspaper, is published bi-weekly during the academic year. All students interested in writing, photography, editing, layout and design, cartoons, advertising or circulation are encouraged to join the staff.

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