n the Spring of 1993, Davidson professors, Dr. Clark Ross (Economics) and Dr. Janet Shannon, (Sociology) team-taught Community Building: Charlotte at Johnson C. Smith University. The course prompted students from both schools to study urban growth in southern cities, and required them to volunteer with an organization featured in the curriculum (Ross, Shannon, np).
Community-based learning is an experience developed in partnership with nonprofit and community organizations where students connect their academic work to projects that focus on community-defined need and enhance their understanding of social, civic and ethical issues.
Reverend John Rood Cunningham, D.D., LL.D. was fifty years old when he accepted the presidency of Davidson College in 1941. A native of Williamsburg, Missouri, Cunningham obtained his B.A. degree from Westminister (Presbyterian) College in 1914 and his D.D. from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in 1917. He was later honored with doctor’s degrees from Westminister, King, Duke, Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina, and, on his retirement, Davidson. Prior to becoming president of Davidson College, Cunningham served as the pastor of several large churches and as president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.