147-562: The history of Cornell University begins when its two founders, Andrew Dickson White of Syracuse and Ezra Cornell of Ithaca , met in the New York State Senate in January 1864. Together, they established Cornell University in Ithaca, New York , in 1865. The university was initially funded by Ezra Cornell's $ 400,000 endowment and by New York's 989,920-acre (4,006.1 km) allotment of
294-728: A college for women at Geneva, N. Y., to be known as the William Smith College for Women The institution will be in the most beautiful section. One building is to cost $ 150,000. Mr. Smith maintains the Smith observatory there." In 1903, Hobart College President Langdon C. Stewardson learned of Smith's interest and, for two years, attempted to convince him to make Hobart College the object of his philanthropy. With enrollments down and its resources strained, Hobart's future depended upon an infusion of new funds. Unable to convince Smith to provide direct assistance to Hobart, President Stewardson redirected
441-705: A contiguous campus. Founded as Geneva College in 1822, Hobart College was renamed in honor of its founder John Henry Hobart , bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York in 1852. William Smith College was founded in 1908 by Geneva philanthropist and nurseryman William Smith. They are officially chartered as "Hobart and William Smith Colleges" and informally referred to as "HWS" or "the Colleges". Although united in one corporation with many shared resources and overlapping organizations, they have each retained their traditions. Today, students are free to participate in each of
588-459: A dormitory and a library, but it was converted into a space for classrooms, labs, and offices later in the 19th century. It presently is home to the Salisbury Center for Career Services. Merrit Hall, completed in 1879, was built on the ruins of the old medical college. Merrit was the first science building on campus and housed the chemistry labs. Merrit also housed a clock atop the quad side of
735-519: A hearty and equal welcome, to the educational facilities possessed by the Cornell University. Coeducation of the sexes and entire freedom from sectarian or political preferences is the only proper and safe way for providing an education that shall meet the wants of the future and carry out the founders' idea of an Institution where "any person can find instruction in any study." I herewith commit this great trust to your care. Between 1872 and 1875,
882-615: A junior, White won the Yale literary prize for the best essay, writing on the topic "The Greater Distinctions in Statesmanship;" this was a surprise as traditionally a senior was chosen for the winning essay. Also as a junior, White joined the junior society Psi Upsilon . In his senior year, White won the Clark Prize for English disputation and the De Forest prize for public oratory, speaking on
1029-483: A lasting reputation as a pioneer in the history of higher education. According to professor Geoffrey Blodgett , White confronted a series of complex challenges in his long career: Above all, the creation from scratch of a large, high-quality, coeducational, nonsectarian public university in the cockpit of post-Civil War, educational politics was an organizational chore of awesome subtlety for man of White's genteel background and soaring ideals." Earned degrees White
1176-545: A member of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Agricultural College at Ovid , wanted half the grant to go to that school. However, White "vigorously opposed this bill, on the ground that the educational resources of the state were already too much dispersed". He felt that the grant would be most effective if it were used to establish or strengthen a comprehensive university. Still working to send part of
1323-529: A new university. White pressed for the university to be located on the hill in Syracuse, the current location of Syracuse University , because of the city's transportation hub. That could help attract faculty, students, and other persons of note. However, as a young carpenter working in Syracuse, Cornell had been robbed of his wages, and insisted for the university to be in his hometown of Ithaca . He proposed to donate land on his large farm on East Hill, overlooking
1470-568: A popular view among critics of religion. While at Cornell, in 1871, he took leave to serve as a Commissioner to Santo Domingo , along with Benjamin Wade and Samuel Howe , at the request of President Ulysses Grant to determine the feasibility of an American annexation of the Dominican Republic . Their report ( available here ) supported the annexation, but Grant was unable to gain sufficient political support to take further action. Later, White
1617-589: A position as a professor of History and English literature at the University of Michigan , where he remained on faculty until 1863. White made his lasting mark on the grounds of the university by enrolling students to plant elms along the walkways on The Diag . Between 1862 and 1863, he traveled to Europe to lobby France and Britain to assist the United States in the American Civil War or at least not to aid
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#17330852358791764-709: A professor in the Department of History . He commissioned Cornell's first architecture student , William Henry Miller , to build his president's mansion on campus. White was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1869 and American Antiquarian Society in 1884. In 1891, Leland and Jane Stanford asked White to serve as the first president of Stanford University , which they had founded in Palo Alto, California . Although he refused, he recommended his former student David Starr Jordan . At
1911-457: A prolonged series of illnesses; Clara (White) Newbury, who died before her father; and Ruth (White) Ferry. After his wife died in 1887, White went on a lecture tour and traveled in Europe with his close friend, Daniel Willard Fiske , librarian at Cornell. After three years as a widower, in 1890, White married Helen Magill , the daughter of Edward Magill, Swarthmore College 's second president. She
2058-455: A result, a number of national Greek organizations dropped racial or religious barriers to their membership. In 1873, the cornerstone of Sage Hall was laid. This new hall was to house the Sage College for Women and thus to concretely establish Cornell University's coeducational status. Ezra Cornell wrote a letter for posterity—dated May 15, 1873—and sealed it into the cornerstone. No copies of
2205-428: A role in the rapid opening of the university. The Cornell Free Library , a public library in downtown Ithaca which opened in 1866, served as a classroom and library for the first students. Also Cascadilla Hall, which was constructed in 1866 as a water cure sanitarium, served at the university's first dormitory. Cornell was among the first universities in the United States to admit women alongside men. The first woman
2352-561: A separate entrance and lounges in Willard Straight Hall, a separate student government, and a separate page (edited by women) in The Cornell Daily Sun . The male students were required to take "drill" (a precursor to ROTC ), but the women were exempt. One account of the history of coeducation at Cornell claims that in the very beginning, "[m]ale students were almost unanimously opposed to co-education, and vigorously protested
2499-525: A small frontier settlement. It is believed to be the first school formed in Geneva. The area was considered "the gateway to Genesee County" and was in the early stages of development from the wilderness. In 1809, the trustees of the academy appointed Rev. Andrew Wilson, formerly of the University of Glasgow in Scotland as head of the school. He remained until 1812 when Ransom Hubell, a graduate of Union College ,
2646-731: A small percentage of the student body, women students per capita were found to outperform their male counterparts in terms of scholarships, fellowships, and other academic honors. Some early notable women Cornell students included embryologist Susanna Phelps Gage , engineer Kate Gleason , Bryn Mawr president M. Carey Thomas , Wellesley president Julia Irvine , social reformer Florence Kelley '82, naturalist Anna Botsford Comstock '85, psychologist Margaret Floy Washburn Ph.D. '94, surgeon Emily Barringer '97, M.D. '01, lawyer/suffragist Gail Laughlin L.L.B. '98, editor and poet Jessie Redmon Fauset '05 and educator Martha Van Rensselaer '09. In 1911, philanthropist Olivia Sage donated $ 300,000 for
2793-473: A study area and library, the space is now used for classrooms in the absence of more planning for classroom space), Demarest was designed by Richard Upjohn 's son, Richard M. Upjohn. (Upjohn's grandson, Hobart Upjohn would design several of the college's buildings as well). Demarest served as the college's library until the construction of the Warren Hunting Smith Library in the early 1970s. In
2940-420: A sum of $ 250,000 on the condition that Cornell admit women on equal footing as men. This financial incentive, together with the support of both Cornell and White, led the trustees to formally vote to admit women starting April 1872. This decision caused Goldwin Smith , Cornell's most illustrious professor, to resign; Smith was convinced that admitting women would destroy Cornell's academic reputation. In May 1873
3087-435: A tunnel in the side of the gorge to power up to 1.9 megawatts of electricity. The plant continued to serve the campus's electric needs until 1970, when local utility rates placed a heavy economic penalty on independently generating electricity. The abandoned plant was vandalized in 1972, but renovated and placed back into service in 1981. Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918)
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#17330852358793234-417: A uniquely American institution, that would help drive some of the changes seen at other universities throughout the next few decades, and would lead educational historian Frederick Rudolph to write: Andrew D. White, its first president, and Ezra Cornell, who gave it his name, turned out to be the developers of the first American university and therefore the agents of revolutionary curricular reform. In 1892,
3381-574: Is a prominent feature of the historic William Smith campus. Located at the top of a large sloping hill to the West of Seneca Lake and the Hobart Quad, the Hill houses three historic William Smith dorms and one built in the 1960s (Comstock, Miller, Blackwell, and Hirshson Houses). At its peak resides William Smith's all-female dorms. The Hill was the site originally conceived for William Smith College. Unveiled in 2008 for
3528-547: Is formed to the east by Trinity and Geneva Hall, the two original College buildings, and to the south by the Science compound, and Napier Hall. Geneva Hall (1822) and Trinity Hall (1837) were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 2016, the schools announced they were going solar by building two solar farms to create enough electricity for about 50 percent of HWS' needs. The Hill (or William Smith Hill)
3675-419: Is home to Sciences and Mathematics. The building is named after John Ernest Lansing, Professor of Chemistry (1905–1948), who twice served as acting president. Eaton Hall, is named for Elon Howard Eaton , a Professor of Biology (1908–1935). Eaton, one of New York's outstanding ornithologists, was one of the professors brought to campus with William Smith grant funds. Eaton Hall is a part of the science complex at
3822-461: Is now extending beyond the allotted span of threescore and ten, I have been engaged after the manner of my countrymen, in many sorts of work, have become interested in many conditions of men have joined in many efforts which I hope have been of use; but, most of all, I have been interested in the founding and maintaining of Cornell University, and by the part, I have taken in that, more than by any other work of my life I hope to be judged. Until at least
3969-407: Is unmatched by any other institution outside the church itself and its flagship Brigham Young University . White married twice. His first marriage, on September 27, 1857, was to Mary Amanda Outwater (February 10, 1836 – June 8, 1887), daughter of Peter Outwater and Lucia M. Phillips of Syracuse. Mary's maternal grandmother Amanda Danforth, daughter of Asa Danforth Jr. and wife of Elijah Phillips Jr.,
4116-503: Is worth noting that coeducation did not catch on broadly with elite northeastern schools, including other Ivy League schools, until the 1960s) Oberlin College and University of Michigan were two coeducational colleges which predated Cornell's founding, and provided models for Cornell. The carnage of the American Civil War had introduced women into new areas of experience and leadership, and because of war casualties women outnumbered men in
4263-466: The College of Human Ecology . In 1895, a study was conducted to review the first twenty years of coeducation at Cornell. The study found that a total of 990 women had attended the university; of these, 325 received degrees, of which fifty-five were graduate degrees. Seventeen Cornell graduates went on to further advanced study, many of whom were the first women to gain admission to those institutions. Although
4410-640: The Confederate States . In 1863, White returned to reside in Syracuse for business reasons. In November, he was elected to the New York State Senate on the Union Party ticket. In the Senate, White met the fellow upstate Senator Ezra Cornell , a self-taught Quaker farmer from Ithaca who had made a modest fortune in the telegraph industry. Around then, the senators were called on to decide how best to use
4557-561: The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 . However, even before Ezra Cornell and Andrew White met in the New York Senate, each had separate plans and dreams that would draw them toward their collaboration in founding Cornell. White believed in the need for a great university for the nation that would take a radical new approach to education; and Cornell, who had great respect for education and philanthropy, desired to use his money "to do
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4704-602: The Smithsonian Board of Regents and the trustees of the Carnegie Institution . Over the course of his career, White amassed a sizable book collection . His library included an extensive section on architecture , which then represented the largest architecture library in the United States. He donated all 4,000 books to the Cornell University Library for the purpose of teaching architecture as well as
4851-641: The Sorbonne , the Collège de France , and the University of Berlin . He also served as the translator for Thomas H. Seymour , the U.S. Ambassador to Russia , following Gilman's term as translator, although he had not studied French ( the language of diplomacy and the Russian royal court) prior to his studies in Europe. After he returned the United States, White enrolled at Yale to earn an M.A. and be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1856. In October 1858, White accepted
4998-710: The U.S. Signal Corps , and for whom Fort Myer, Virginia , is named; General E. S. Bragg of the Class of 1848, colonel of the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment and a brigadier general in command of the Iron Brigade who served one term in Congress and later was ambassador to Mexico and consul general of the U.S. in Cuba; two other 1848 graduates, Clarence A. Seward and Thomas M. Griffith, who were assistant secretary of state and builder of
5145-507: The Venezuela Boundary Commission (1895–1896). His roommate was Thomas Frederick Davies Sr. , who later became the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan , 1889–1905. Other members of White's graduating year included Edmund Clarence Stedman , the poet and essayist; Wayne MacVeagh , Attorney General of the United States and U.S. Ambassador to Italy ; and Hiram Bingham II , the missionary, collectively comprising
5292-470: The applied sciences , veterinary medicine and engineering, and in finding opportunities for the poor to attain such an education. Andrew Dickson White entered college at the age of 16 in 1849. White dreamed of going to one of the elite eastern colleges, but his father sent him to Geneva Academy (later known as the Hobart and William Smith Colleges ), a small Episcopal college. At Geneva, White would read about
5439-566: The mechanic arts ". Yet their eventual partnership seemed unlikely. Although both valued egalitarianism, science, and education, they had come from two very different backgrounds. Ezra Cornell, a self-made businessman and austere, pragmatic telegraph mogul, made his fortune on the Western Union Telegraph Company stock he received during the consolidation that led to its formation. Cornell, who had been poor for most of his life, suddenly found himself looking for ways that he could do
5586-407: The "experiment" to which Cornell referred was that of coeducation, given that Sage Hall was to be a women's dormitory and that coeducation was still a controversial issue at the time. However, when the letter was finally unearthed in 1997, its focus was revealed to be the university's nonsectarian status—a principle which had invited equal controversy in the 19th century, given that most universities of
5733-544: The "first locality in America, if not the world, to have a permanent installation of electric arc lamps." The lamps were "visible for many miles around, and it excited the wonder of the inhabitants." In 1883, Cornell was one of the first university campuses to use electricity to light the grounds from a water-powered dynamo. In 1904, a hydroelectric plant was built in the Fall Creek gorge. The plant takes water from Beebe Lake through
5880-627: The 1960s it was expanded to hold the college's growing number of volumes. Today, it also houses the Fisher Center for the Study of Gender and Justice, an intellectual center led by such scholar faculty as Dunbar Moodie (Sociology), Betty Bayer (Women's Studies), and Jodi Dean (Political Science). Trinity Hall built in 1837, was the second of the colleges' buildings. Trinity Hall was designed by college president Benjamin Hale, who taught architecture. Trinity served as
6027-416: The 1970s, male students resided in west campus dormitories while women were housed in the north campus. As of 2019, the only remaining women's dormitory is Balch Hall , due to a restriction in the gift that funded it. Lyon Hall (which for most of its history was a men-only dormitory), also currently disallows male residents on its lower floors. All other dormitories were converted to co-educational housing in
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6174-534: The Biology and Psychology Departments. It is now home to the Dean's Offices of both colleges, along with the departmental offices of Writing and Rhetoric and the various modern language departments. Smith Hall was the first building constructed with funds from William Smith on the William Smith College campus, but it is also the first building that has always been shared by both colleges. Williams Hall, completed in 1907, housed
6321-405: The Board of Trustees on November 21, 1866, began making plans for the administrative and educational policies of the university. To this end, he traveled to France, Germany, and England "to visit model institutions, to buy books and equipment, to collect professors". White returned from Europe to be inaugurated as Cornell's president in 1868, and he remained leader of Cornell until his retirement from
6468-533: The Finger Lakes area. On Seneca Lake, one will find the William Scandling , a Hobart and William Smith 65-foot (20 m) research vessel used to monitor lake conditions and in the conduct of student and faculty research. The Colleges also own and operate WEOS -FM and WHWS-LP , public radio stations broadcasting throughout the Finger Lakes and worldwide, on the web. Hobart and William Smith Colleges offer
6615-555: The Medical Institution of Geneva College. The medical faculty, largely opposed to her admission but seemingly unwilling to take responsibility for the decision, decided to submit the matter to a vote of the students. The men of the college voted to admit her. Blackwell graduated two years later, on January 23, 1849, at the top of her class to become the first woman doctor in the Northern Hemisphere. "The occasion marked
6762-566: The President's Office and other administrative departments. In contrast, the earliest buildings were built in the Federal style and the chapel is Neo-Gothic. The Quad, the core of the Hobart campus, was formed by the construction of Medbery, Coxe, and Demarest. Several years later, Arthur Nash, a Hobart professor, designed Williams Hall, which would be constructed in the gap between Medbery and Coxe. The Quad
6909-635: The Registrar. Completely renovated in 1991, Gulick now houses both the Office of the Registrar and the Psychology department, which was moved from Smith Hall in 1991 before its renovation in 1992. Stern Hall, named for the lead donor, Herbert J. Stern '58, was completed in 2004. It houses the departments of economics, political science, anthropology & sociology, environmental studies, and Asian languages and cultures. Smith Hall, built in 1907, originally housed both
7056-677: The State Senate "to establish the Cornell University", which appropriated the full income of the sale of lands given to New York under the Morrill Act to the university. But, while Cornell and White had come to an agreement, they faced fierce opposition, including from the People's College in Havana, the Agricultural College at Ovid, and dozens of other institutions across the state vying for a share of
7203-481: The United States. Central New York, and especially nearby Seneca Falls , was the center of the 19th-century women's rights movement. Cornell's founders Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White favored coeducation and had deliberately included language in the school's charter specifying that it would offer instruction to "any person". Still, the school had no explicit policy about accepting women, and Cornell enrolled its first class in 1868 with 412 men and no women. In theory,
7350-594: The University Charter provides, "Persons of every religious denomination, or of no religious denomination, shall be equally eligible to all offices and appointments". Through the 20th century, the University Charter also required that a majority of trustees could not be of any single denomination. Sage Chapel , a non-denominational house of worship opened in 1875. Since 1929, the Cornell United Religious Works (CURW) has been an umbrella organization for
7497-655: The Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896) in which he asserted the conflict thesis of science being against dogmatic theology . Initially less popular than John William Draper 's History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874), White's book became an influential text in the 19th century on the relationship between religion and science . White's conflict thesis has been widely rejected among contemporary historians of science. The warfare depiction remains
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#17330852358797644-613: The William Smith Centennial is a statue of the college's founder and benefactor, William Smith. A fifteen-million-dollar expansion of the Scandling Campus Center was completed in the autumn of 2008. This renovation added over 17,000 additional square feet, including an expanded cafe, a new post office, and more meeting areas. In 2016 the Gearan Center for Performing Arts was completed for 28 million dollars, becoming
7791-625: The acquaintance of author Leo Tolstoy . Tolstoy's fascination with Mormonism sparked a similar interest in White, who had previously regarded the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) as a dangerous cult . Upon his return to the United States, White took advantage of Cornell's proximity to the religion's birthplace in Palmyra to amass a collection of LDS memorabilia (including many original copies of the Book of Mormon ); it
7938-527: The addition of multimedia centers, and the addition to its south side of the L. Thomas Melly Academic Center, a spacious, modern location for "round the clock" study. Napier Hall, attached to the Rosenberg Hall, houses several classrooms and was completed in 1994. Rosenberg Hall, named for Henry A. Rosenberg (Hobart '52), is an annex of Lansing and Eaton Hall, the original science buildings. Rosenberg houses many labs and offices. Lansing Hall, built in 1954,
8085-560: The arrival of a group of 16 women, who promptly formed a women's club with a broom for their standard, and ' In hoc signo vinces ' as their motto." In the 1870s and 1880s, female Cornell students on campus were generally ignored by male students. Women did not have a formal role in the annual commencement ceremony until 1935, when the senior class selected a woman to be Class Poet. In 1936, the Willard Straight Hall Board of Managers voted to allow women to eat in its cafeteria. Until
8232-456: The building. On the eve of the Hobart centennial in 1922, students climbed to the top and made the bell strike 100 times. Merrit Hall was also one of the first buildings shared by Hobart and William Smith. Today Merrit Hall houses a lecture hall and faculty offices. St. John's Chapel , designed by Richard Upjohn the architect of Trinity Church in New York City, served as the religious hub of
8379-499: The campus chaplains sponsored by different denominations and faiths. Perhaps the most newsworthy of the chaplains was Daniel Berrigan who, while Assistant Director of CURW, became a national leader in protesting the Vietnam War . In 1971, the social activism aspects of CURW were spun off into a separate Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP). In 2006, CRESP was reorganized as Cornell's Center for Transformative Action. In
8526-480: The campus, replacing Polynomous, the original campus chapel. In the 1960s, St. John's was connected to Demarest Hall by St. Marks Tower. Houghton House, the mansion, known for its Victorian elements, is home to the Art and Architecture departments. The country mansion was built, in the 1880s by William J. King . It was purchased in 1901 by the wife of Charles Vail (maiden name Helen Houghton), Hobart graduate and professor, as
8673-500: The center as well as serving kosher food on the North Campus. Since the 1870s, Cornell's system of fraternities and sororities grew to play a large role in student life, with many chapters becoming a part of national organizations. As of 1952, 19 fraternities had national restrictions based on race, religion or national origin, and of the 32 fraternities without such national requirements, 19 did not have "mixed" memberships. In response,
8820-825: The collections on the Reformation , witchcraft , and the French Revolution . Today, White's collection is housed primarily in the Cornell Archives and in the Andrew Dickson White Reading Room (formally known as the "President White Library of History and Political Science") at Uris Library on the Ithaca Campus. The A.D. White Reading Room was designed by William Henry Miller , who had also designed White's mansion on campus. While serving in Russia , White made
8967-429: The college obtained a new donor, nurseryman William Smith. Smith had built the Smith Opera House in downtown Geneva and the Smith Observatory on his property when he became interested in founding a college for women, a plan he pursued to the point of breaking ground before realizing it was beyond his means. As publicized in The College Signal on October 7, 1903, "William Smith, a millionaire nurseryman, will found and endow
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#17330852358799114-431: The colleges' customs and traditions based on their preferred gender identities. Students can graduate with diplomas issued by Hobart College, William Smith College, or Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, private colleges in Geneva, New York, began on the western frontier as the Geneva Academy. After some setbacks and disagreement among trustees, the academy suspended operations in 1817. By
9261-454: The construction of a second women's dormitory, Risley Residential College . The building was named for her late husband's mother. The requirement that women (at least freshman women) must live in dormitories, which started in 1884, served to constrain female student admissions until 1972, when Cornell dropped its freshman dorm residency requirement. As a result, the academic admission standards for women in each college were typically higher than
9408-411: The construction of the Smith Hall of Science, to be used by both colleges, and permitted the hiring, also in 1908, of three new faculty members who would teach in areas previously unavailable in the curriculum: biology, sociology, and psychology. Between 1943 and 1945, Hobart College trained almost 1,000 men in the U.S. Navy's V-12 program , many of whom returned to complete their college educations when
9555-408: The cornerstone was laid for Sage College for Women , a residence built specially to accommodate 120 women students. In the fall of 1875, Cornell admitted forty-nine women. Twenty-nine lived in the newly opened Sage College; another twenty lived in boarding houses or with relatives. In 1895, 224 women were enrolled in the university, 104 of whom lived in Sage College. As women entered the university,
9702-465: The corresponding standards for men. In general, women have been over-represented in certain schools and under-represented in others. For example, the NYS College of Home Economics and the Cornell School of Nursing historically drew a disproportionate number of women students, while the College of Engineering attracted fewer women. Early in the history of the university, female students were separated from male students in many ways. For example, they had
9849-399: The country's great universities there was "too much reciting by rote and too little real intercourse." In the late 1850s, while White served as a professor of history at the University of Michigan , he continued to develop his thoughts on a great American university. He was influenced by both the curriculum, which was more liberal than at the Eastern universities, and by the administration of
9996-421: The country, eventually becoming Saga Corporation , a nationwide provider of institutional food services. Hobart and William Smith Colleges' campus is situated on 170 acres (0.69 km ) in Geneva, New York , along the shore of Seneca Lake , the largest of the Finger Lakes . The campus is notable for the style of Jacobean Gothic architecture represented by many of its buildings, notably Coxe Hall, which houses
10143-412: The culmination of years of trial and disappointment for Miss Blackwell, and was a key event in the struggle for the emancipation of women in the nineteenth century in America." Blackwell went on to found the New York Infirmary for Women and Children and had a role in the creation of its medical college. She then returned to her native England and helped found the National Health Society and taught at
10290-634: The degrees of Bachelor of Arts , Bachelor of Science , and Master of Arts in Teaching . The colleges follow the semester calendar, have a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, and average class size of 16. Hobart and William Smith Colleges was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools until 2023. It is now accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were: Economics (82), Mass Communication/Media Studies (42), Psychology (41), Biology/Biological Sciences (34), History (31) and Political Science & Government (30). The curriculum
10437-405: The early years, even though William Smith College was a department of Hobart College for organizational purposes until 1943. That year, after a gradual relaxation of academic separation, William Smith College was formally recognized as an independent college, co-equal with Hobart. Both colleges were reflected in a new, joint corporate identity. Geneva Academy was founded in 1796 when Geneva was just
10584-422: The estate on May 19, 1890, with Justice Samuel Blatchford giving the majority opinion. However, Sage then donated $ 500,000 to build the library instead. In the mid 19th century, coeducation was still a new and controversial idea. Most colleges were exclusively male, and several women's colleges had been founded as a response. But prior to Cornell's charter in 1865, few colleges were devoted to coeducation. (It
10731-569: The family's summer home. Mrs. Vail remodeled the Victorian mansion's interior to the present classical decor in 1913. The family's "townhome" is 624 S. Main Street and is now the Sigma Phi fraternity. Helen Vail's heirs donated the house and its grounds to the colleges to be used as a women's dormitory. After many years as a student dorm, the house became home to the art department after the original art studio
10878-632: The first campus gymnasium and, after the construction of Bristol gymnasium, served several other uses as a campus post office, book store, IT services, and location of the Music Department. Demarest Hall, connected to St. John's Chapel by St. Mark's Tower, houses the departments of Religious Studies and English and Comparative Literature as well as the Women's Studies Program. Also home to the Blackwell Room, named in honor of Elizabeth Blackwell (once used as
11025-567: The first college of medicine for women to be established there. The school was known as Geneva College until 1852, when it was renamed in memory of its most forceful advocate and founder, Bishop Hobart, to Hobart Free College. In 1860, the name was shortened to Hobart College. Hobart College of the 19th century was the first American institution of higher learning to establish a three-year "English Course" of study to educate young men destined for such practical occupations as "journalism, agriculture, merchandise, mechanism, and manufacturing", while at
11172-583: The first national railroad across the Mississippi River , respectively; and Charles J. Folger , Class of 1836, a United States Secretary of the Treasury in the 1880s. Until the mid-20th century, Hobart was strongly affiliated with the Episcopal Church and produced many of its clergy. While this affiliation continues to the present, the last Episcopal clergyman to serve as President of Hobart (1956–1966)
11319-465: The foundation of an institution which shall combine practical with liberal education. ... I believe we have made the beginning of an institution which will prove highly beneficial to the poor young men and the poor young women of our country." His speech included another statement which later became the school's motto, "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study." Two other Ezra Cornell-founded, Ithaca institutions played
11466-507: The founders of the conflict thesis , which states that science and religion have historically been in conflict, and tried to prove it over the course of approximately 800 pages in his History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom . White was born on November 7, 1832, in Homer, New York , to Clara (née Dickson) and Horace White. Clara was the daughter of Andrew Dickson, a New York State Representative in 1832 and his wife. Horace
11613-556: The funds among the numerous small state colleges of their districts. White fervently argued that the money would be more effectively used if it endowed only one university. Ezra Cornell agreed and told White, "I have about half a million dollars more than my family will need: what is the best thing I can do with it for the State?" White immediately replied, "The best thing you can do with it is to establish or strengthen some institution of higher learning." The two thus combined their efforts to form
11760-405: The grant for Genesee College . They agreed to a quid-pro-quo donation of $ 25,000 from Ezra Cornell in exchange for their support. Cornell insisted the bargain be written into the bill. The bill was signed into law by Governor Reuben E. Fenton on April 27, 1865. On July 27, the People's College lost its claim to the land grant funds, and the building of Cornell University began. From 1865 to 1868,
11907-583: The grant to the Agricultural College, on September 25, 1864, in Rochester, New York , Cornell announced his offer to donate $ 300,000 (soon thereafter increased to $ 500,000) if part of the land grant could be secured and the trustees moved the college to Ithaca. White did not relent; however, he said he would support a similar measure that did not split up the grant. Thus began the collaboration between Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White that became Cornell University. On February 7, 1865, Andrew D. White introduced an act to
12054-431: The great colleges at Oxford University and at the University of Cambridge ; this appears to be his first inspiration for "dreaming of a university worthy of the commonwealth [New York] and of the nation." This dream would become a lifelong goal of White's. After a year at Geneva, White convinced his father to send him to Yale University . For White, Yale was a great improvement over Geneva, but he found that even at one of
12201-404: The greatest good for with his money. He wrote, "My greatest care now is how to spend this large income to do the greatest good to those who are properly dependent on me, to the poor and to posterity." Cornell's self-education and hard work would lead him to the conclusion that the greatest end for his philanthropy was in the need of colleges for the teaching of practical pursuits such as agriculture,
12348-493: The greatest good." Abraham Lincoln 's signing of Vermont Senator Justin Morrill 's Land Grant Act into law was also critical to the formation of many universities, including Cornell, in the post– Civil War era. The first person to conceive of a single great university for the state of New York, a generation before Cornell, was the visionary, abolitionist, and philanthropist Gerrit Smith , from very much Upstate Peterboro . When
12495-552: The higher education funding provided by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act , which allocated timberland in the Midwest , which states could sell as they saw fit. Through effective management by Cornell, New York, generated about $ 2.5 million (equivalent to $ 62 million in today dollars ) from its allotted scrip, a greater yield per acre than any state except perhaps California . The senators initially wanted to divvy
12642-464: The hill for classes. This was an arduous task in Ithaca's harsh weather, considering the condition of the roads and the bulky Victorian dress of the time. Spencer reluctantly left Cornell without graduating, but her situation raised awareness of the need for housing and facilities for women on campus. Henry W. Sage , local businessman and philanthropist, was an advocate for coeducation and promised to donate
12789-486: The initial meeting of the very unpopular New York State Anti-Slavery Society was driven out of Utica (Oneida County) by the Mayor, it continued the next day in Smith's house. A new college was to be established in upstate New York. This Central College , as it came to be called, was the abolitionists' college, taking over that role from the failed Oneida Institute (whose other descendent was Oberlin College ). Like Oneida, it
12936-528: The land grant funds; from religious groups, who opposed the proposed composition of the university's board of trustees; and even from the secular press, some of whom thought Cornell was swindling the state out of its federal land grant. To placate legislators representing Ovid, White arranged for the Willard State Asylum for the Insane to be located on the land held for the Agricultural College. The bill limited
13083-573: The larger New England universities". White dropped out in 1850. After a period of estrangement, White persuaded his father to let him transfer to Yale College . At Yale, White was a classmate of Daniel Coit Gilman , who later served as the first president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore . The two were members of the Skull and Bones secret society and would remain close friends. They traveled together in Europe after graduation and served together on
13230-411: The largest project in the history of the college. Coxe Hall serves as the main administrative hub of the campus. Constructed in 1901, the building is named after Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe, a benefactor of the school, and houses the president's office, Bartlett Theater, The Pub, and a classroom wing, which was added in the 1920s. Arthur Cleveland Coxe was closely affiliated with the school. The building
13377-514: The late 1950s, the National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) leased a house across the street from the university and established a Jewish living center and kosher dining hall. The Cornell Young Israel chapter became the Center for Jewish Living, and a new Foundation for Kosher Observance at Cornell, Inc. was established so that the university's dining department would operate both a kosher kitchen at
13524-779: The late 1970s. The NYS College of Veterinary Medicine was an early pioneer in educating women, bestowing the first DVM degree on a woman in the United States, Florence Kimball, in 1910. However, until the early 1980s, the Vet College limited the number of women in each entering class to four or less, regardless of female applicants' qualifications. With the implementation of Title IX in the mid-1970s, Cornell significantly expanded its athletic offerings for women. The Department of Physical Education and Athletics moved from having all women's activities housed in Helen Newman Hall to having men's and women's programs in all facilities. Up until
13671-490: The legislature had granted the proceeds of the land grant to the People's College in Havana (now Montour Falls ), with conditions that would need to be met within a certain time frame. Because the Morrill Act set a five-year limit on each state identifying a land grant college, and it seemed unlikely that the People's College would meet its conditions, the legislature was ready to select a different school. Initially, Cornell, as
13818-503: The letter were made, and Cornell kept its contents a secret. However, he hinted at the theme of the letter during his speech at the dedication of Sage Hall, stating that "the letter deposited in the cornerstone addressed to the future man and woman, of which I have kept no copy, will relate to future generations the cause of the failure of this experiment, if it ever does fail, as I trust in God it never will." Cornell historians largely assumed that
13965-519: The mid-20th century, Cornell undergraduates with the surname 'White' were traditionally given the nickname 'Andy' in reference to White. Notably, E. B. White , author of the world-famous children's book Charlotte's Web , continued to go by the nickname 'Andy' for the rest of his life after his undergraduate years at Cornell. Historian Benjamin G, Rader argues that in creating Cornell: White championed nondenominationalism, coeducation, an elective curriculum, and academic freedom. These positions won him
14112-613: The minister to Russia (1892–1894), president of the American delegation to The Hague Peace Conference (1899) , and again as ambassador to Germany (1897–1902). In 1904, White published his Autobiography , which he had written while he was relaxing in Italy after his retirement from the Department of State with the change in administrations. Cornell's third president, Jacob Gould Schurman , was appointed as ambassador to Germany from 1925 to 1929. At
14259-425: The negative outcomes resulting from any attempt on the part of religion to interfere with the progress of science . Over the next 30 years, he refined his analysis, expanding his case studies to include nearly every field of science over the entire history of Christianity but also narrowing his target from "religion" through "ecclesiasticism" to "dogmatic theology." The final result was the two-volume A History of
14406-414: The negotiations toward founding a coordinated institution for women, a plan that appealed to the philanthropist . On December 13, 1906, he formalized his intentions; two years later William Smith School for Women – a coordinated, nonsectarian women's college – enrolled its first class of 18 students. That charter class grew to 20 members before its graduation in 1912. In addition, Smith's gift made possible
14553-513: The onset of World War I , White supported the German cause within Europe because he had strong professional and emotional ties to Germany. By the summer of 1915, he retreated from this position and refrained from offering any support either publicly or privately. In the fall of 1916, President Woodrow Wilson appointed White to a peace commission to prepare a treaty with China. As of December 1916, White had reduced some of his obligations, resigning from
14700-401: The popular Art Nouveau style. It features crests of countries and institutions that played important roles in White's life. For example, the adjacent picture shows the crests of the two countries where White was an ambassador; the coat of arms of Imperial Germany is on left and Saint George , a variation on the coat of arms of Moscow , representing Russia, is on the right. The sarcophagus
14847-408: The post office, offices of student activities, a cafe, and Vandervort room (a large event space). Gulick Hall was built in 1951 as part of the post-war "mini-boom" that also included the construction of the Hobart "mini-quad" dormitories Durfee, Bartlett, and Hale (each named for a 19th-century Hobart College president). Gulick Hall originally housed the campus dining services and, later, the Office of
14994-417: The post-World War II GI Bill swelled the enrollments of American colleges and universities. In 1948, three of those veterans – William F. Scandling , Harry W. Anderson, and W. P. Laughlin – took over the operation of the Hobart dining hall. Their fledgling business was expanded the next year to include William Smith College; after their graduation, in 1949, it grew to serve other colleges and universities across
15141-440: The presidency in 1885. The university's Inauguration Day took place on October 7, 1868. The previous day, each of the candidates who showed up in Ithaca was given an entrance examination. There were 412 successful applicants; with this initial enrollment, Cornell's first class was, at the time, the largest entering class at an American university. On the occasion, Ezra Cornell delivered a brief speech. He said, "I hope we have laid
15288-452: The remainder of his 30,000-book collection. In 1879, White enlisted George Lincoln Burr , a former undergraduate assistant for one of his seminars, to manage the rare books collection. Though Burr would later hold other positions at the university, such as Professor of History, he remained White's collaborator and head of this collection until 1922 by traveling over Europe, locating and amassing books that White wanted. In particular, he built
15435-604: The same time maintaining a traditional four-year "classical course" for those intending to enter "the learned professions." It also was the first college in America to have a dean of the college. Notable 19th-century alumni included Albert James Myer , Class of 1847, a military officer assigned to run the United States Weather Bureau at its inception, was a founding member of the International Meteorological Organization , and helped birth
15582-458: The school to college status. Roughly following this plan, Geneva Academy reopened as Geneva College in 1822 with conditional grant funds made available from Trinity Church in New York City . Geneva College was renamed Hobart College in 1852 in honor of its founder, Bishop Hobart. William Smith College was founded in 1908, originally as William Smith College for Women. Its namesake and founder
15729-449: The school would accept any person who could pass the admission requirements, but no facilities existed for women at its start, and the reality of admitting women was not immediately clear. In September 1870, one Jennie Spencer, of Cortland, New York, passed a state scholarship examination thus becoming Cornell's first female student. Because of the lack of housing for women on campus, Spencer lived in downtown Ithaca, requiring her to walk up
15876-489: The so-called "famous class of '53." According to White, he was deeply influenced in his academic career and life by Professor Noah Porter (later, Yale's president), who personally instructed him in rhetoric and remained a close personal friend until Porter's death. He also served as an editor of The Lit., known today as the Yale Literary Magazine . He belonged to Linonia , a literary and debating society. As
16023-478: The south end of the Hobart Quad, which consists of Lansing, Rosenberg, and Napier. The surrounding ecosystem plays a major role in the Colleges' curriculum and acquisitions. The Colleges own the 108-acre (0.44 km ) Hanley Biological Field Station and Preserve on neighboring Cayuga Lake and hosts the Finger Lakes Institute , a non-profit institute focusing on education and ecological preservation for
16170-402: The standard curriculum were made at Cornell under the leadership of Andrew D. White. In 1868, Cornell introduced the elective system , under which students were free to choose their own course of study. Harvard University would make a similar change in 1872, soon after the inauguration of Charles W. Eliot in 1869. It was the success of the egalitarian ideals of the newly established Cornell,
16317-496: The state senate, Cornell chaired the Committee of Agriculture, and White was the chair of the Committee of Literature, which dealt with educational matters. Hence, both chaired committees with jurisdiction over bills allocating the land grant, which was to be used for instruction in "without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactic , to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and
16464-590: The state's land-grant institution .In 1865, White also authored "...The Negro's Right to Citizenship - a very detailed legal, ethical and logical argument for citizenship for the Negro." A staunch abolitionist, White was also the author of "abolition of Slavery the Right of Government under the War Powers Act" as well as several other legal arguments in favor of the Negro." White became the school's first president and served as
16611-414: The time Bishop John Henry Hobart , of the Episcopal Diocese of New York , first visited the city of Geneva in 1818, the doors of Geneva Academy had just closed. Yet, Geneva was a bustling Upstate New York city on the main land and stage coach route to the West. Bishop Hobart had a plan to reopen the academy at a new location, raise a public subscription for the construction of a stone building, and elevate
16758-650: The time had specific religious affiliations. Cornell wrote: On the occasion of laying the cornerstone of the Sage College for women of Cornell University, I desire to say that the principle [ sic ] danger, and I say almost the only danger I see in the future to be encountered by the friends of education, and by all lovers of true liberty is that which may arise from sectarian strife. From these halls, sectarianism must be forever excluded, all students must be left free to worship God, as their concience [ sic ] shall dictate, and all persons of any creed or all creeds must find free and easy access, and
16905-464: The time of Cornell's founding, White announced that it would be "an asylum for Science —where truth shall be sought for truth's sake, not stretched or cut exactly to fit Revealed Religion." Until then, most of America's private universities had been founded as religious institutions and generally were focused on the liberal arts and religious training. In 1869, White gave a lecture on "The Battle-Fields of Science" in which he argued that history showed
17052-482: The time of Cornell's founding, most prominent American colleges had ties to religious denominations. Cornell was founded as a non-sectarian school, but had to compete with church-sponsored institutions for gaining New York's land-grant status. A.D. White noted in his inaugural address, "We will labor to make this a Christian institution, a sectarian institution may it never be." However, the university has made provision for voluntary religious observance on campus. Currently,
17199-444: The topic "The Diplomatic History of Modern Times". Valued at $ 100, the De Forest prize was then the largest prize of its kind at any educational institution, American or otherwise. In addition to academic pursuits, White was on the Yale crew team, and competed in the first Harvard–Yale Regatta in 1852. After graduation, White traveled and studied in Europe with his classmate Daniel Coit Gilman. Between 1853 and 1854, he studied at
17346-405: The total amount of property or endowment that Cornell University could hold to $ 3 million. The bill was modified at least twice in attempts to attain the votes necessary for passage. In the first change, the People's College was given three months to meet certain conditions for which it would receive the land grant under the 1863 law. The second came from a Methodist faction, which wanted a share of
17493-421: The town and Cayuga Lake . White convinced Cornell to give his name to the university "in accordance with [the] time-honored American usage" of naming universities after their largest initial benefactors. On February 7, 1865, White introduced a bill "to establish the Cornell University" and, on April 27, 1865, after months of debate, Governor Reuben E. Fenton signed into law the bill endowing Cornell University as
17640-480: The undergraduate Interfraternity Council passed a resolution condemning discrimination. In the 1960s, the Trustees established a Commission to examine the membership restrictions of those national organizations. Cornell adopted a policy that required fraternities and sororities affiliated with nationals that discriminated based on religion or race to either amend their national charters or quit the national organizations. As
17787-428: The university as a secular institution. White had been duly impressed by a bill introduced by Cornell in one of his first actions as a state senator: the incorporation of a large public library for Ithaca for which Cornell had donated $ 100,000. White was struck by not only his generosity, but also "his breadth of mind". He wrote: The most striking sign of this was his mode of forming a board of trustees; for, instead of
17934-438: The university library was opened. Known today as Uris Library, it was the result of a gift from Henry W. Sage in memory of Jennie McGraw . In her will , she left $ 300,000 to her husband Willard Fiske , $ 550,000 to her brother Joseph and his children, $ 200,000 to Cornell for a library, $ 50,000 for construction of McGraw Hall, $ 40,000 for a student hospital, and the remainder to the university for whatever use it saw fit. However,
18081-406: The university made accommodations for them. In 1884, Henry Sage endowed several of the first scholarships in the nation earmarked especially for women. In 1885, Cornell established a course in social work, a field seen as suited to women's academic interests. In 1900, a correspondence course for farmer's wives was begun by Martha Van Rensselaer , which evolved into the College of Home Economics, later
18228-490: The university's charter limited its property holdings to $ 3,000,000, and Cornell could not accept the full amount of McGraw's gift. When Fiske realized that the university had failed to inform him of this restriction, he launched a legal assault to re-acquire the money, known as The Great Will Case. The United States Supreme Court eventually affirmed the judgment of the New York Court of Appeals that Cornell could not receive
18375-463: The university's first professor of physics William Arnold Anthony and student George S Moler (later, a professor at Cornell) installed two electric arc lamps on campus, one of which was in the Sage Chapel tower. The set-up represented many firsts, the first dynamo and outdoor electric lighting in the United States, and the world's first underground electricity distribution system. It was said to be
18522-409: The usual effort to tie up the organization forever in some sect, party or clique, he had named the best men of his town—his political opponents as well as his friends; and had added to them the pastors of all the principal churches, Catholic and Protestant. Yet, Cornell and White soon found themselves on opposite sides of a battle that would in the end lead to the creation of Cornell University. In 1863,
18669-439: The year the university opened, Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White worked in tireless collaboration to build their university. Cornell oversaw the construction of the university's first buildings, starting with Morrill Hall, and spent time investing the federal land scrip in western lands for the university that would eventually net millions of dollars, while White, who was unanimously elected the first President of Cornell University by
18816-510: Was Louis Melbourne Hirshson. Since then, the president of the colleges has been a layperson. During World War II , Hobart College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Toward the end of the 19th century, Hobart College was on the brink of bankruptcy. It was through the presidency of Langdon Stewardson
18963-537: Was a wealthy local nurseryman, benefactor of the arts and sciences, and philanthropist. The school arose from negotiations between William Smith, who sought to establish a women's college, and Hobart College President Langdon C. Stewardson, who sought to redirect Smith's philanthropy toward Hobart College. Smith, however, was intent on establishing a coordinated, nonsectarian women's college, which, when realized, coincidentally gave Hobart access to new facilities and professors. The two student bodies were educated separately in
19110-547: Was admitted to Cornell in 1870, although the university did not yet have a women's dormitory. On February 13, 1872, Cornell's board of trustees accepted an offer of $ 250,000 from Henry W. Sage to build such a dormitory. During the construction of Sage College (now home to the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management as Sage Hall) and after its opening in 1875, the admittance of women to Cornell continued to increase. Significant departures from
19257-455: Was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University , one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States , and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricula. A politician, he had served as New York state senator and was later appointed as U.S. ambassador to Germany and Russia . He was one of
19404-472: Was appointed as the American ambassador to Germany (1879–1881). After returning to the United States, he was elected as the first president of the American Historical Association (1884–1886). Upstate New York Republicans nominated him for governor in 1876 and for Congress in 1886, but he did not win either primary. Following his resignation in 1885 as Cornell's president, White served as
19551-996: Was awarded numerous honorary degrees, including: Cornell University links Other links Pound sign (#) denotes interim president Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are private liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York . They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 majors and 68 minors with degrees in Bachelor of Arts , Bachelor of Science , Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Science in Management, and Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership. The colleges were originally separate institutions – Hobart College for men and William Smith College for women – that shared close bonds and
19698-588: Was baptized in 1835 at the Calvary Episcopal Church on the town green in Homer. One of Andrew's cousins, Edwin White , became an artist of the Luminism style and Hudson River School . His nephew was Horace White , governor of New York. Beginning in the fall of 1849, White enrolled as an undergraduate at Geneva College, known today as Hobart and William Smith Colleges , at the insistence of his father. He
19845-399: Was built by William J. King in 1882 and was renovated in 2006 to house a digital imaging lab and a photo studio with a darkroom for black-and-white photography. Warren Hunting Smith Library, in the center of the campus, houses 385,000 volumes, 12,000 periodicals, and more than 8,000 VHS and DVD videos. In 1997, the library underwent a major renovation, undergoing several improvements, such as
19992-510: Was completed in 1926 by sculptor Lee Oskar Lawrie (1877–1963), who also created sculptures adorning Myron Taylor Hall at Cornell. Lawrie is perhaps best known for his Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center in New York City. In his will, White left $ 500,000 ($ 10.1 million in 2023) to Cornell University, in addition to the considerable sums donated to the institution earlier in his life. In his 1904 autobiography, The Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White , White wrote: During my life, which
20139-559: Was designed by Clinton and Russell Architects. Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, named in honor of President Mark D Gearan and Mary Herlihy Gearan, was in 2016. It includes a lobby that links three flexible performance and rehearsal spaces for theater, music, and dance. Also included are faculty offices, practice and recital rooms, and a film screening room. Scandling Campus Center, named after William F. Scandling '49 , renovated and expanded in 2009, houses Saga (the dining hall),
20286-452: Was founded on September 15, 1834, as a department of Geneva College. The medical school was founded by Edward Cutbush , who also served as the first dean of the school. In an era when the prevailing conventional wisdom was no woman could withstand the intellectual and emotional rigors of medical education, Elizabeth Blackwell , (1821–1910) applied to and was rejected – or simply ignored – by 29 medical schools before being admitted in 1847 to
20433-484: Was inducted as a member of Alpha Sigma Phi in 1850 and he served as editor of the fraternity's publication, The Tomahawk . White remained active in the fraternity for the rest of his life, founding the Cornell chapter and serving as the national president from 1913 to 1915. In his autobiography, he recalled that he had felt that his time at Geneva was "wasted" by being at the small Episcopalian school instead of at "one of
20580-464: Was interred at Sage Chapel on the Cornell campus. The chapel was filled to capacity by faculty, trustees, and other well-wishers. White's body resides in a sarcophagus in the Memorial Room with those of other persons deemed influential in the founding and early years of the university, including co-founder Ezra Cornell and benefactor Jennie McGraw-Fiske . His marble sarcophagus was designed in
20727-418: Was made principal. The Regents granted the full charter on February 8, 1825, and at that time, Geneva Academy officially changed its name to Geneva College. Rev. J. Adams was president of the college as of 1827. The "English Course," as it was known, was a radical departure from long-established educational usage and represented the beginning of the college work pattern found today. Geneva Medical College
20874-492: Was not. It was also the first to hire black faculty, and have them teaching a class with white students. That it allowed female students was just as unusual as allowing black students. Central was financially unviable and victim of a lot of racial prejudice; some parents would not have their children study at "a nigger college", as it was called. When bankrupt, the entire college was taken over by Smith, who assumed its debts along with its meager assets. As newly elected members of
21021-422: Was part of the manual labor college movement, in which students were to work for some hours each day in addition to study, such work being spiritually and economically beneficial. In McGraw , it was 40 miles (64 km) west of Peterboro. Central (1849–1860) was the first college in the United States that from its very first day was open to women, blacks, and Native Americans on an equal basis, something Oberlin
21168-573: Was razed to make way for the new Scandling Campus Center. The building is now home to the Davis Art Gallery, with lecture rooms, multiple faculty offices, and architecture studios on the top floor. Katherine D. Elliot Hall, was constructed in 2006. The "Elliot" houses 14,600 square feet (1,360 m ) contain art classrooms; offices; studios for painting, photography, and printing; and wood and metal shops. Goldstein Family Carriage House,
21315-600: Was the first white child born in what would become Onondaga County, New York . Her great-grandfathers included General Asa Danforth, an early pioneer of upstate New York and leader of the State Militia , as well as Elijah Philips Sr., who had responded to the alarm to Lexington, Massachusetts , in 1775 and later served as the High Sheriff of Onondaga County. Andrew and Mary had three children together: Frederick Davies White, who committed suicide in his forties in 1901 after
21462-493: Was the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. Like her husband, Helen was a social scientist and educator; the two met at a conference where she was presenting a paper. Together, Helen and Andrew had three children. On October 26, 1918, White suffered a slight paralytic stroke following a severe illness of several days. On the morning of Monday, November 4, White died at home in Ithaca. Three days later, on November 7, on what would have been White's 86th birthday, White
21609-441: Was the son of Asa White, a farmer from Massachusetts , and his wife. Their once-successful farm was ruined by a fire when Horace was 13. Despite little formal education and struggles with poverty after his family lost their farm, Horace White became a businessman and wealthy merchant. In 1839, he opened what became Syracuse Savings Bank in Syracuse . Horace and Clara White had two children: Andrew Dickson and his brother. Andrew
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