One of the rituals surrounding the start of each academic year is opening convocation. For a good number of years, this has been a full-dress convocation, with faculty, librarians, and administrators processing in academic regalia.
One of the rituals that we have observed in more years than not is the annual photo on the steps of Main Building. The tradition of taking a photo of the faculty is a fairly old one. Below, I'm sharing the oldest faculty photo in our collection.
Pictured, from left to right: Whitefoord Smith, professor of English, 1855-93; James H. Carlisle, professor of mathematics, 1854-1875 and president of the college, 1875-1902; David Duncan, professor of ancient languages, 1854-1881; A. H. Lester, professor of history and Biblical literature, 1866-1873; Warren DuPre, professor of natural science, 1854-1875; and A. M. Shipp, president of the college and professor of mental and moral philosophy, 1859-1875. Click on the photo for a larger version in a pop-up window.) This group served together for an extended period of time; in fact, with the exception of Lester, they were together from 1859 to 1875. Three of them were elected to the original faculty.
The modern faculty is considerably larger and more diverse than this group, with 118 full-time professors teaching at the college this fall.