Centre College: A Legacy of Liberal Arts in the Heart of Kentucky

Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, stands as a testament to the enduring power of liberal arts education. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the college has cultivated a rich history marked by academic excellence, national recognition, and a commitment to preparing students for lives of learning, leadership, and service. The college is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.

A Historic Foundation

The Kentucky General Assembly established Centre College on January 21, 1819. The college was named for its approximate location in the geographic "centre" of the Commonwealth, using early-nineteenth-century America's contemporaneous spelling of the word. The legislature placed many of Kentucky's most prominent citizens in charge of Centre College's Board of Trustees, including James G. Birney, who represented Danville in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and chairman Isaac Shelby, the Commonwealth's first governor. Classes began in the fall of 1820 in Old Centre, the first building on campus and the oldest college administration building west of the Allegheny Mountains. Construction on Old Centre began in 1819 and was completed in 1820 at a cost of $8,000. It was designed to hold up to 400 students in the College and a grammar school. It has been used continuously since Centre's beginning and today houses administrative offices, meeting rooms, and the Admission Office's welcome area for prospective students.

The roots of the College lie deep in the history of the region. Eighteenth-century Presbyterians, eager for an educated clergy and educated people to teach their children, began laying the groundwork for the establishment of a college in what was then the Kentucky County of Virginia. In 1780, the Virginia Assembly set aside 8,000 acres of land for this “seminary of learning.” Three years later, a board of trustees met at John Crow’s Station to organize the school. Instruction began at the Transylvania Seminary near Danville in 1785. But the seminary fell on hard financial times. Unable to raise proper funding in the small community of Danville, the trustees moved the school to the larger settlement of Lexington in 1789. By 1794, the founding group of Presbyterians, alarmed by what it viewed as secular philosophies invading public institutions, moved to establish a more Christian school near Pisgah, Kentucky. The Kentucky Academy opened in 1795, funded by donations from the faithful. George Washington and John Adams gave $100 each to the new school, and Aaron Burr donated $50. By 1819, the Presbyterians began to realize that they had again lost control of their institution and its board of trustees.

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. Dr. John C. Young, Centre’s president during the later period, found “the College without reputation, without endowment, without students…. But, he was young, hopeful, and earnest,” according to Dr. Ormond Beatty, who served as Centre president from 1870 to 1888. Dr. Young’s qualities and the support of loyal alumni and friends of the College helped Centre advance under his presidency. “Before his death, Dr. Young saw a permanent fund of $100,000 provided for the support of the school,” Beatty noted. This occurred along with additions to the curriculum, enlargement of the faculty, and a fivefold increase in the student body. Under Dr.

Navigating Challenges and Change

In its early years, Centre navigated financial hardships, disputes within and outside the Presbyterian Church, and six wars, including the occupation of Old Centre by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. Classes at Centre are held in spite of several federal holidays-including Presidents, Labor, Columbus, and Veterans Days-and rarely cancelled, which are points of pride among students, staff, and alumni. During the Confederate occupation of Old Centre in 1862, classes were held at Old Sayre library. However, the Battle of Perryville eventually forced the faculty to suspend classes for 13 days, the college's only cancellation during the Civil War. Classes were cancelled one day due to the Great Blizzard of 1978. In 1994 and 1998, when severe snow and ice storms shut down much of the Commonwealth, classes were delayed by half a day. In 2000, classes were cancelled before the Vice Presidential Debate. In spring 2001, the entire campus was evacuated after a hazardous chemical spill on the train tracks at the end of Greek Row.

A Centre alumnus, John Todd Stuart, played a formative role in American history by encouraging Abraham Lincoln to study for the bar, providing his first set of law books, and serving as Lincoln's professional and political mentor. In 1835, future Liberian Vice President James M. Priest applied to study theology; his application, like all those from Black people, was rejected. From 1830 to 1857, President John C.

Following the Civil War, Centre affiliated itself with several other educational institutions. From 1894 until 1912, J. congressman, operated a law school at Centre as its dean.

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. The Kentucky School for the Deaf, also in Danville, was founded in 1824 as the first state-supported institution for the deaf, and in its early years was controlled by Centre’s board. From the 1890s until 1912, a law school was operated at Centre with J. Procter 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 “woman’s department” of the College.

During the early and mid-20th century, many of the educational resources of Kentucky and the nation were committed to the establishment and expansion of state-supported land-grant universities. These institutions were often vocationally oriented. But Centre remained steadfast in its mission of providing superior education in the liberal arts tradition. Centre’s image as a tiny school capable of startlingly large achievements was enhanced in this period by its 1921 football victory over Harvard, then ranked No. 1. In a 1971 article marking the game’s 50th anniversary, the New York Times called it “Football’s Upset of the Century.” At Centre, the game is recalled simply by its score: C6-H0.

During the 1960s the college's financial resources doubled. Eleven new buildings were added to the campus and enrollment increased from 450 to 800. Integration came to Centre in 1962, with the arrival of Timothy Kusi ’65, a slightly older student from Ghana. In 1964 Centre enrolled its first integrated freshman class: 214 white students and three African Americans-Sharon Gill Gaskins ’68, Joyce Cross Marks ’68, and Jim Davis ’68-who all graduated four years later.

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In 1988, Centre set a national record when it achieved a 75.4% participation rate for alumni giving, a mark that remains unbroken to this day. From the late twentieth century to the present, strong levels of alumni giving and participation-often the highest in the nation-fueled the college's growth.

A Thriving Campus and Community

Today, Centre College is situated on a 178-acre campus in Danville, Kentucky. The physical campus has changed substantially during the 21st century. In 2005, the college completed The College Centre, a $22-million project to expand and renovate Suttcliffe Hall, the Crounse Academic Center and Grace Doherty Library, which was the largest construction project on campus since the Norton Center was built in 1973. Additionally, a new student residence, Pearl Hall, was completed in 2008; a new campus center opened in October 2009; and the construction of a new science wing in Young Hall was completed in the fall of 2010. In August 2011, Centre announced the construction of Brockman Residential Commons, a 125-bed facility offering apartment and townhouse living for upperclassmen. As Centre looks to the future, its focus on thoughtful growth, modernization, and sustainability remains strong. The campus, now covering more than 200 acres, seamlessly blends historic architecture with forward-thinking facilities, reflecting a vision of excellence in academics, athletics, and student well-being. Key developments include the expansion of the College’s athletic fields and the 2024 dedication of Champions Hall, a groundbreaking athletic and wellness hub that features an Olympic-sized swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness facilities, and innovative sustainability technologies to support the College’s environmental goals. Other campus enhancements include LEED-certified residence halls, like Brockman Residential Commons, Pearl Hall, and Northside Hall, all designed with a focus on sustainability and student well-being.

About 96 percent of Centre's students live on campus and participate in athletics, academic organizations, student government, and volunteer work. There are about 100 clubs, societies, teams and other formal and informal groups and more than 2,000 campus events each year. The Student Government Association of Centre College (SGA) represents Centre students as their voice on academic, extracurricular, and social issues. SGA consists of an Executive Council of officers and committee chairs, a Student Senate that handles academic issues, and a House of Representatives that oversees all clubs and organizations on campus. Each class elects representatives, who serve on committees that deal with specific aspects of campus and who approve all club funding, establishment of new student organizations, and other pieces of legislation that impact campus life. Centre also has a Student Judiciary that hears cases that are referred to it by the Dean's Office or brought voluntarily by students themselves.

Iconic Landmarks

Completed in 1820, Old Centre is the oldest continuously operated academic building west of the Alleghenies. Today it houses the offices of the president, vice president for academic affairs, and vice president for college relations, in addition to several classrooms and the college's Admissions Welcome Centre. At various times it has served as a library, dormitory, law school, faculty residence, and, during the Civil War, a hospital for both Confederate and Union soldiers.

Built in 1913 with a $30,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie, Old Carnegie was the college library until 1966. It currently houses the Center for Career & Professional Development and the Center for Global Citizenship, as well as the special-occasion Evans-Lively dining room.

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The Norton Center for the Arts was built in 1973 and originally named the Regional Arts Center (RAC). The 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2) complex was designed by architect William Wesley Peters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. It was later renamed for Jane Morton Norton, a former trustee of Centre College. The Norton Center for the Arts has hosted performers such as violinist Itzhak Perlman, dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Twyla Tharp, the Boston Pops, the New York Philharmonic, Henry Mancini, jazz vocalists Pearl Bailey and Sarah Vaughan, the Orchestre de Paris with Daniel Barenboim, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Yo-Yo Ma, Beach Boys, Huey Lewis and the News, Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt, LeAnn Rimes, Lyle Lovett, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, crooner Tony Bennett, The Chieftains, Three Dog Night, David Copperfield, Dolly Parton, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ben Folds, They Might Be Giants, Ana Gasteyer, Kate Flannery, and musicals such as Rent, Cats, Titanic, Annie Get Your Gun, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, My Fair Lady and Ain't Misbehavin featuring Ruben Studdard.

The College Centre is composed of two buildings, Crounse Hall and Sutcliffe Hall, both of which received multimillion-dollar expansions and renovations completed in the spring of 2005.

The Old Bookstore was the first chapter house of any fraternity in Kentucky, housing the brothers of the Epsilon chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Before Centre obtained the property, the structure functioned as a funeral home and as a shoe store. The college later converted it to the Campus Bookstore. In 2005 the bookstore moved to its current downtown Danville location, leaving the building empty. In 2008, Centre rededicated the building as Stuart Hall, an upperclassmen residential facility, naming it in honor of John T. Stuart, of the class of 1826.

Built in 1853 and renovated in 1958, Craik House is the president's home. Originally a private residence, Henry Craik bought the home in 1937 with a bequest in honor of his Centre Class of 1890. Robert L. McLeod, the 14th president of Centre, was the first president of the college to occupy the residence.

In 1969, Centre celebrated the college's sesquicentennial year by dedicating and installing, at the center of campus, the Flame-a large sculpture that symbolically represents the torch of knowledge that appears on Centre's official seal. A plaque at the base of the statue quotes Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: "Where the light is brightest, the shadows are deepest." The statue quickly became an ode to the liberation of the body as well as the mind. By the early 1970s, students began spontaneously running naked to and from dorms and Greek houses while passing the Flame.

A Host for National Debates

On Thursday, October 5, 2000, Centre College hosted the vice presidential debate, becoming the smallest college in the smallest town ever to serve as a host site for a general election debate. Dubbed "The Thrill in the Ville", the debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman took place in the college's Norton Center for the Arts. In 2000, Centre became the smallest college ever to host a national election debate. Dick Cheney and Senator Joe Lieberman debated on October 5 at Centre's Norton Center for the Arts with CNN's Bernard Shaw acting as moderator. In 2012, Centre again hosted a vice presidential debate in the Norton Center for the Arts, which featured Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan.

Academics and Rankings

Centre offers a liberal arts education, requiring the completion of a general education curriculum and a major area of study. The college hosts active chapters of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa and has produced over 70% of Kentucky's Rhodes Scholars in the last 50 years. Classes operate on a 4-1-4 schedule. Students take four courses each during the fall and spring semesters and one course during CentreTerm, which is a three-week period of intensive study during January. In addition to 29 majors and 38 minors, Centre offers double majors, which about 25% of graduates complete, self-designed majors, and dual-degree engineering programs with Columbia University, University of Kentucky, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Admission to Centre is competitive. For the class of 2018, incoming first-years had a midrange ACT score of 26-31, with an average ACT score of 29. In the 2026 edition of Best Colleges, Centre College is ranked No. #55 in National Liberal Arts Colleges. It's also ranked No. #20 in Best Value Schools. U.S. News & World Report also ranked the College No. 19 for Best Value and tied for No. 22 for Study Abroad.

Student Life and Athletics

Currently, enrollment is around 1,300 with nearly 150 faculty members. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,407 (fall 2024), its setting is city. The student-faculty ratio at Centre College is 11:1, and it utilizes a 4-1-4-based academic calendar. Centre College accepts the Common Application and has a test-optional admissions policy.

Centre is a national leader in study abroad with 84% of students studying abroad and away at least once and 43% do so more than once. Becoming a Centre student includes study abroad, participation in hands-on research or internships locally and around the world, community engagement and the chance to engage with alumni and industry leaders as part of our career readiness program.

The Centre athletic teams are called the Colonels. Centre competes in 25 intercollegiate varsity sports: men's teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field. Intercollegiate women's teams include basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and Esports. 40 percent of the student body participates in intercollegiate athletics. Competing since 1880, the Centre Colonels football team, also historically known as the "Praying Colonels", ranked as the 12th winningest program in NCAA Division III history with a 509-374-37 all-time record as of 2008. The Colonels claimed the 1919 college football championship following a 9-0 season and selection by Sagarin Ratings. On January 1, 1921, the Colonels defeated Texas Christian University 63-7 in the Fort Worth Classic, a postseason college football bowl game in Fort Worth, Texas played only once. On January 2, 1922, Centre College made the postseason trip to Texas again, this time taking on Texas A&M in the Dixie Classic, the forerunner of the Cotton Bowl Classic. From 1923 to 2022, the Colonels played their home games at Farris Stadium.

Finances and Affordability

The school's tuition and fees are $55,490. Forty-nine percent of first-year students receive need-based financial aid, and the average net price for federal loan recipients is $22,024. The four-year graduation rate is 76%. Six years after graduation, the median salary for graduates is $50,073. Endowment$414.3 million (2025). Financial aid and scholarship efforts have grown - with 90% of students receiving some form of assistance - including new initiatives centered on first-generation student opportunity, and the innovative "Centre Promise" that guarantees financial need is met for all incoming students.

A Legacy of Achievement

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. representatives, and 11 state governors. Other Centre alumni have been and are leaders in a variety of fields, including teaching, business, medicine, law, and journalism. Centre alumni are widely known as the most loyal in the nation, for years leading all of America’s colleges and universities in the percentage who give financial support each year.

In his book Colleges That Change Lives, Loren Pope says, "No university faculty compares with Centre's in the impact it has on the growth of young minds and personalities."

As Centre moves into its third century, its trajectory of achievement continues, with an increased focus on student access and opportunity. By 2024, the College enrolled approximately 1,400 students, with 25% identifying as students of color and an increasing number of students arriving from across the globe.

Current Leadership

Milton C. Moreland, who took office in 2020, is the current president, Centre's 21st. As part of Centre’s 2019 bicentennial celebration, the College initiated its "Third Century" campaign and surpassed an ambitious $200 million fundraising goal, strengthening its dedication to student success and fueling the completion of major campus updates and initiatives. In 2020, the College ushered in a new era of leadership as Milton C. Moreland was inaugurated as the College’s 20th president, upholding a commitment to lead Centre forward with a vision focused on innovation, inclusivity, and academic excellence.

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