Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter, son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and the citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832. In an environment that fosters the free exchange of ideas, Lafayette College seeks to nurture the inquiring mind and to integrate intellectual, social, and personal growth. The College strives to develop students’ skills of critical thinking, verbal communication, and quantitative reasoning and their capacity for creative endeavor; it encourages students to examine the traditions of their own culture and those of others; to develop systems of values that include an understanding of personal, social, and professional responsibility; and to regard education as an indispensable, lifelong process.