The College
Founded in 1896, Delaware Valley College is an independent, coeducational four-year college enrolling approximately 1700 undergraduate students and more than 250 students in its graduate programs.
The college is accredited by the Commission of Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, its Chemistry program is approved by the American Chemical Society, and its Food Science Specialization in the Food Science and Management Department is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists. Delaware Valley College is a member of the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs; the business programs are in candidacy for ACBSP accreditation.
Delaware Valley College is a member of the American Council on Education, the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Middle Atlantic Conference, and the National Intramural Association, as well as numerous professional organizations related to its major programs.
The college offers baccalaureate programs in Agriculture (with designated degree programs in Agribusiness, Agronomy and Environmental Science, Animal Science, Animal Biotechnology and Conservation, Dairy Science, Food Science and Management, Horticulture, and Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design), English and Communications, Business Administration, Computer and Business Information Systems, Counseling Psychology, Criminal Justice Administration, Biology, Chemistry, and Secondary Education. The College can prepare students for secondary school certification in eight different areas of specialization. Associate of Science programs in Business Administration, Equine Studies, and Information Technology and Management are also offered. Additionally, in cooperation with Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, the College offers an associate’s degree and certificate in Culinary Arts and Technology.
Delaware Valley College provides a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership. This graduate program is primarily designed for practicing educators who want to become administrators or supervisors in the K-12 school system.
Delaware Valley College also provides a Master of Science degree in Teaching and Learning to allow teachers to advance their individual knowledge and skills required to design and incorporate instructional teaching and learning modifications into the daily process of instruction essential to meeting the needs of all levels of learners in the classroom.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is available with concentrations in Food and Agribusiness, General Business, and Global Leadership. MBA students study in the core areas of an MBA program including accounting, finance, management, marketing, and information systems. Specialty courses focus on topics and issues related to the concentration selected.
In addition to its academic programs the College offers a wide range of extracurricular activities and affairs-including student publications, the Band, the Chorale, a full range of both Division III intercollegiate teams and intramural athletic programs and both major-oriented and interest-focused student clubs. All of these elements of the College’s program are aimed at the objective of developing an open-minded, career professional capable of expanding his or her horizons in a future of unlimited possibilities.
History
In 1896, Joseph Krauskopf, D.D., purchased a 100-acre farm, arranged for the construction of a small classroom building, employed a faculty of two, enrolled six students, and so founded The National Farm School. The National Farm School provided a three-year program combining academics and work experience that continued through World War II. Then, in 1945, the school was reorganized to strengthen its academic program, and it became The National Farm School and Junior College. Before its revamped three-year program had completed a full cycle, it was recognized that advances in the pure and applied sciences mandated further expansion of the program. In 1948, the senior college level was approved by the State Council of Education and the institution’s name was changed to National Agricultural College.
The growth of the College and its programs following World War II, undertaken under the leadership of James Work, a 1913 graduate of The National Farm School, included the addition of new programs in Food Industry (1951), Biology and Chemistry (1958) and Business Administration (1965). To reflect these additions to its program the College’s name was changed to Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture in 1960. The College continued to expand its program offerings, adding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, the Bachelor of Science degrees in Criminal Justice Administration and Secondary Education, and added new majors to the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. To reflect its broadened educational program, in 1989 the Board of Trustees approved an abbreviation of the College’s name to Delaware Valley College. In 1998, the College embarked on graduate education with the Master of Science Degree program in Educational Leadership, added the Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Biotechnology and Conservation in 2001, the Associate degree in Culinary Arts in 2002, the Master’s in Business Administration in 2004. Most recently, the college added the Hydroponics major to the Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture, the Entrepreneurship major to the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, the Bachelor of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology, the Master of Science degree in Teaching and Learning, and the specialization in Sustainable Agriculture Systems for students in the college’s Natural Resources and Biosystems Management department.
Delaware Valley College Mission Statement
We are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. Our historical commitment to experiential learning integrates theory and practice and prepares undergraduate and graduate students to meet the challenges of a complex global environment and to engage in lifelong learning. We provide students with the requisite skills and a spirit of inquiry that enrich and inform their lives, prepare them to pursue meaningful careers, and fulfill societal, community and family responsibilities.
Delaware Valley College Vision Statement
- Delaware Valley College will be an exemplary small, private, teaching university.
- We will have an uncompromising commitment to the education of our students.
- We will provide intellectual leadership and be an ethical example.
- We will be champions of interdisciplinary inquiry and the art and science of personal teaching.
- We will imbue all of our educational programs with the practical application of knowledge through experiential learning, fully utilizing our unique campus, including its distinctive facilities and location.
- Our faculty, staff and administration will be committed to innovation and empowered to distinguish themselves through creative collaboration and excellence.
- We will deploy state-of-the-art technologies and processes to continuously improve and renew ourselves.
- As stewards, we will secure the financial resources that are the investments in our future that will excite and inspire.
- In our design and delivery of compelling educational models, we will be uncompromisingly attentive to the issue of affordability, which reflects our genuine commitment to our students and their families.
- While assiduously attending to the quality of the education provided students, we will be outward-focused and build relationships with alumni, the community, and partners to garner the broadest possible engagement in our mission and to have an impact on the wider world.
Delaware Valley College Core Values
As an Educational Community We:
- Respect All People
Our community serves all our stakeholders with care and dignity. We are intensely focused on both the welfare and growth of each of our students, and we support their development as global citizens who achieve meaningful success in their careers and in their lives.
- Value the World of Ideas and Differences
Our community recognizes the necessity of cultivating curiosity and honoring diversity. We engage with ideas that challenge us and with people different from ourselves, showing deep respect for diverse points of view and backgrounds.
- Pursue Excellence
As an institution dedicated to teaching and learning, we are committed to seeking excellence in all we do in academics, student life, and all support services, which leads to life-changing educational experiences. We live in a learning environment that nurtures scholarship, imagination and creativity and embraces innovation and change, allowing each one of us and our whole community to thrive in a challenging world.
- Live Each Day with Integrity
As stewards of our institution’s greater good, we are individually accountable for each of our commitments, taking the right path over the expedient one. We stand up for what is right, for ourselves, for others, and for the natural world.
- Teach, Learn and Serve with Passion and Commitment
Our community creates an environment in which educating our students and serving our constituencies are responsibilities we embrace with passion and commitment.
- Act As One Learning Community with One Purpose
We practice higher education as a team-we are all invested in one another’s success and intend to make a difference in the world!
Programs
The uniqueness of the Delaware Valley College programs extends well beyond the subjects of its majors. First, there is the intensity of focus on the major itself. Professional courses typically encompass more than 40 credits at Delaware Valley College (the professional credit requirement for a major at many institutions is just 24 credits). All of those courses are taught-both lecture and laboratory or practicum-by professional instructors, most of whom are full-time members of the faculty and all of whom are devoted to the teaching profession.
That focus on professional studies is supported, on one hand, by a strong thrust in basic sciences (mathematics, biology, chemistry, etc.), and, on the other hand, by a set of unique courses designed specifically to familiarize the student with the technology utilized by career professionals in his or her major. It is here that Horticulture majors learn to prune fruit trees, Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design majors learn the art and the technique of transplanting, Dairy Science majors obtain the experience of full management responsibility for cows on the production line and Business majors learn to do case studies of Fortune 500 companies.
By virtue of a strong Core Curriculum , each student also has an opportunity to expand his or her horizons through a carefully constructed set of subjects that focuses both on communicative skills and on the accomplishments of individuals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Finally, each program has built into it sufficient general electives to permit the student to tailor his or her program to meet specific career objectives. Also, a number of optional course tracks are available to enable the student to specialize in a particular direction.
A student may minor in any subject area outside his or her academic major (thus, for example, a student in Horticulture might elect to minor in Biology or in Business). A minor consists of a minimum of 15 elective credits in a discipline outside the student’s major.
Courses in the minor are selected with the advice of the Chairperson or Director of the minor Department or Program. In addition to these disciplinary minors, interdisciplinary minors are offered in Plant Protection Management (see Horticulture) and in Turf and Grounds Management (see Agronomy and Environmental Science Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design).
In several of the College’s programs, designated majors and specializations are available. These are elective course tracks within the student’s curriculum that enable the student to acquire additional depth of preparation in a sub-discipline. These specialized programs are available through many of the different academic departments. Please review the individual departmental sections later in this catalog for further information.
The College has long required that all of its graduates demonstrate competence in communications (both written and oral) and computation. In recognition of the increasing role of electronic technology in our society, the College has also adopted the requirement that all of its graduates demonstrate computer literacy as well. This may be accomplished by successfully completing the introductory computer courses, IT 1011 - Information Technology Concepts and IT 1012 - Computer Applications , or by passing a proficiency examination.
Campus
Delaware Valley College is located in central Bucks County, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia and 80 miles south of New York City.
Bucks County is rich in historic tradition, having been settled under grants initially made by William Penn. Nearby New Hope and environs remain popular tourist attractions with their unique blend of historic and artistic attractions.
The College lies immediately outside of Doylestown, the county seat. Doylestown, too, is rich in historic attractions and its history-minded people have taken great pains to preserve those values in the community while at the same time successfully accommodating one of the fastest population growth rates in the country.
The campus is served by the SEPTA Lansdale/Doylestown Line (offering excellent commuter connections with Philadelphia, including a stop on campus) as well as bus service in Doylestown. Most of the campus proper lies on the 80 acres situated between the rail line and U.S. Route 202. The campus buildings, featuring an attractive neo-Georgian architectural theme, are arranged around a central green. Administrative offices are housed in the Admissions Center and in Lasker Hall on the east side of the campus. There, too, are the major classroom, laboratory, and faculty office facilities, housed in Allman Building, Mandell Science Building, and Feldman Agricultural Building. On the opposite side of the green are several residence halls (Ulman Hall, Centennial Hall, Cooke Hall, Barness Hall, and Work Hall), Segal Hall (houses the College’s Academic Services) and the College’s two gymnasiums. Along the south side of the campus are the Feldstein Horticulture Building, the Arthur Poley Greenhouse Complex, the Krauskopf Memorial Library, the Levin Dining Hall, Eisner Hall (the Media Center), and additional residence halls (Goldman Hall, Samuel Hall, South Hall, and Berkowitz Hall). Finally, along the west side of the campus are the James Work Stadium, and the Student Center.
The teaching facilities are modern and well-equipped. All classrooms are equipped with data projectors and there are several computer labs on campus. The Samuel P. Mandell Science Building was constructed in 1966 and enlarged by over one-third in 1997. It houses biology and chemistry laboratories and instrument rooms, a physics laboratory, a food science laboratory and a food processing pilot plant as well as classrooms and faculty offices. The Feldman Agriculture Building, built in 1972, houses the College’s Computer Center, plant science and animal science laboratories, freshman biology and chemistry laboratories, and numerous classrooms and faculty offices.
The greenhouse-laboratory complex, initially constructed in 1974, is located behind the Library. The complex includes five individually climatized greenhouses connected by a common headhouse, a floral design laboratory, a landscape design studio, faculty offices and the Poley Greenhouse addition. The horticultural programs of the College are also supported by the Henry Schmieder Arboretum, which is a member of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta.
Named after the College’s founder, the Joseph Krauskopf Memorial Library is situated at the center of the campus, befitting the central role it plays in the educational mission of the College. Its graceful Georgian exterior and oak paneled interior evoke an earlier age, but the library’s e-collections are on the forefront of technology. Students today expect to do their research in an online environment, and Delaware Valley College students have a wide array of full-text electronic resources available to them any time of day or night, both on campus and off. From the College’s website, students have access to the library’s electronic collections and catalog of the 70,000 volume print collection.
Study space and computer work areas are located throughout the building, and laptops that connect to the library’s wireless network can be checked out from the circulation desk. Service is the top priority, and a friendly and knowledgeable library staff member is always available to help students with their research needs. In the classroom librarians work with faculty to teach research skills targeted at specific assignments. The Krauskopf Library is part of a fifty member local College library consortium that shares resources. The library also houses an archives and a small museum dedicated to the College’s history.
The Media Center is located in Eisner Hall and provides students and faculty with the necessary resources and equipment to support their classroom needs. Students are assisted in producing their own videos, slides, overhead transparencies and graphic materials for classroom presentations.
Delaware Valley College is surrounded by rich farmland and open space, all available to enrich teaching and learning and to provide students with opportunities to learn through “science with practice.” The nearly 1000 acres of college land has just one purpose: to support the educational growth of students. Through classroom instruction, field trips, research projects and work experience, students can help shape the landscape of DelVal. From wildlife habitats to production agriculture, our land can teach many lessons.
Nearly 500 acres are dedicated to field crops and pasture, grown to support our equine, dairy and livestock. The Dairy Science Center, features the latest milking parlor technology allowing production data to be transmitted real-time to the classroom, for student analysis. The Kenneth and Helen Gemmill Center for Animal Husbandry offers a complete facility for the management of beef, sheep and swine and the Sidney J. Markovitz horse facility houses a breeding herd of standardbred horses. The Equestrian Center houses horses that are used in the college’s Equine programs and features a large indoor arena. The agricultural and environmental sciences program also include acres of horticultural plantings, including a new high-density apple orchard to teach contemporary fruit production, peaches, greenhouses, a certified organic production area and an apiary, to support the college’s beekeeping courses.
Students have learning opportunities to participate in the management and operation as an integral part of their learning. There are opportunities for students to participate in applied research projects and current sponsored research projects being conducted by faculty members in soil and water conservation, cover crops, water quality studies, evaluation in grassland, management, livestock feed efficiency trials, turf grass management, effectiveness of various plant nutrients and much more.
The college is fortunate to have received several beautiful farms over the years. The latest gift from the Warwick Foundation included 398 acres of the Gemmill Farm in Warwick Township, which is used to teach soil morphology, conduct Kestrel research and migratory bird surveys and to teach Limnology and Herpetology classes. In addition, the Roth Farm is being transitioned to sustainable agriculture and will provide students with the opportunity to explore the differences in food and crop production.
The Alumni
Since its founding on February 27, 1910, the Alumni Association has been an active and positive force for the school and the college. Its members are located throughout the world and fill prominent positions in industry, education and government. Alumni have played a significant role in supporting annual giving, an endowment fund, and providing scholarships. Throughout the years, alumni have given generously of their income and time to further the advancement of their alma mater. The various alumni funds are sources of financial support that help to ensure a sound future for the college. Additionally, the Alumni Association has made recent strides to improve programming for the current students of DelVal. Through its efforts the Alumni Association is helping to make students aware of the importance of the role each person plays in the future of the College.
There are numerous facilities that stand as examples of the loyalty of DelVal graduates. The alumni have enthusiastically supported the construction of the James Work Memorial Stadium, the Alumni Field, remodeled Alumni House, Feldstein Horticulture Science Center, Agricultural Machinery Building, Arthur Poley Greenhouse Complex, and the Student Center. Many other contributions are of a material nature and indicate the feelings of the graduates.
All Alumni activities and meetings, such as class reunions, class agents, regional chapters, events, and Homecoming are coordinated by the College’s Office of Alumni Relations.
The College publishes Horizons two times a year to keep alumni informed about college developments and events.
During the year, the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association meets to develop and discuss potential programs. All alumni are invited to participate in any standing committee of the Executive Committee. An annual business meeting is held for all alumni during Homecoming Weekend.
If you would like more information on how you can become involved please call the Office of Alumni Relations at 215-489-2917.
Officers of the Alumni Association
President: Peter Duane ‘72
First Vice President: Melissa Frank ‘96
Second Vice President: Nicole DeFAzio ‘04
Recording Secretary: Joanne DaCunha ‘86
Representative to the Board of Trustees: Ray Funkhouser ‘72
Treasurer: James Parsons ‘82
Executive Secretary: Jackie Gear ‘05 |