Originally called “the brick chapel,” Griffin was dedicated in 1828 and served as both the college chapel (until Goodrich Hall was built in 1859) and library (until Lawrence Hall opened in 1847) . The building was later named Griffin Hall in honor of the college’s third president, Edward Dorr Griffin. It houses both seminar and Socratic lecture classrooms, as well as a large lecture hall for panels and speakers.
With 36 majors and 600 to 700 courses offered every year across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, opportunities to discover and pursue academic passions are unbounded.
One of the most distinctive elements of a Williams education is the tutorial, a class in which a professor and two students engage in a semester-long examination of a single topic. More than 70 such classes are offered across the curriculum.