Brand Values

Lives of Leadership and Service

The primary purpose of Davidson College is to assist students in developing humane instincts and disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service. 

What makes that possible is our community of smart, driven, and kind people.

A set of applied ideals—bedrock principles—help form that community. Upholding each of those ideals are essential attributes familiar to the Davidson community, such as these examples below.

Quest for Truth

Faculty mentors
Interdisciplinary studies
Cultivating deep, human skills—
    with technical, experiential skills
Learning how to learn

How We Talk About Davidson

Below are a few examples of how we can talk about who we are—our mission, community, ideals and attributes.

At Davidson College, community is anchored by relationships and experiences—connections that cultivate curiosity and empathy. These are qualities our world desperately needs.

We don’t seek a set of answers. We pursue a way of being: deep sincerity, intellectual bravery, unquestioned integrity, fundamental decency.

The Davidson experience transcends the charm of campus beauty. It leans into the expectations of learning in a liberal arts setting. We cultivate the courage to navigate the unfamiliar. We confront big problems with boldness and humility.

At Davidson, we’re connected by dynamic strengths that coexist:

• Confident humility: We don’t brag, and we know our students and alumni can solve big problems in the world.
• Innovative tradition: We are a residential, liberal arts college, and we push boundaries in areas such as interdisciplinary studies, undergraduate research, and entrepreneurship.
• Culture of individuals: We honor the dignity and worth of every individual, and we are a closely tied community.
• Winning together: We are competitive and aim to succeed, and we do so as a team, a campus or a community.

Here is how that plays out:

• We focus on how to learn, not what to know.
• Integrity is doing right when no one is watching.
• Leadership is not about a title. It’s a commitment to others.
• At Davidson, spirited debaters also are best friends.
• When we say scholar-athlete, we mean it.
• Genuine understanding is more about questions than answers.
• Our scholars seek the discomfort of venturing into the unknown.

The only way to tackle today’s challenges is by learning from one another. No matter where you call home, you’ll know you belong in Davidson’s community of smart, driven, and kind people.

We connect our students to immediate challenges across the globe, empowering them with resources, leadership skills and courage to lead and serve beyond the brick pathways of our campus.