About the Program

Take from the Lafayette College Flickr Chuck Zovko / Zovko Photographic llc Sept 4, 2013

In 1960 the College acquired the magnificent stone mansion called Oakhurst at 200 High Street on a site overlooking the Delaware River. In 1961, the mansion was renamed McKelvy House in honor of the family who had last lived in it, and the college opened the McKelvy Scholars Program. The program was designed to provide a small number of students, interested in being a part of an intellectual community, an opportunity to participate in a residential program of study, discussion, and daily interaction that would significantly enhance the intellectual lives of all members of the program.

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Professor Rachel Goshgarian, Faculty Adviser, speaking at the 2014 McKelvy Garden Dedication.

     Each semester the members of the Program organize a series of seminar discussions, usually centered around some broad topic of concern. Every Sunday evening the members gather in the large living room at McKelvy House and engage in discussion or otherwise pursue the specific topic prepared by the members responsible for the program of that meeting. Discussions and arguments that begin before or during these meetings often last long into the night or the next week.

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