Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York, United States. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in all of its programs in 1969. In fall 2024, the college has an enrollment of approximately 786 students.

The school's colors, purple and gold, are seen throughout the traditional campus, consisting mainly of buildings of the Victorian and Collegiate Gothic architectural styles. The colors purple and gold come from both the banners of the women's suffrage movement and the iris, the college flower.

The octagonal study in which Mark Twain wrote many of his most widely read novels is located on campus, as well as a research facility for Twain scholars.

History

thumb|left|Elmira Female College c. 1874–90

According to Thomas Woody, Elmira College is "the oldest existing women's college in the United States which succeeded in attaining standards in a fair degree comparable with men's colleges at the very beginning of her career".

Alexander MacKenzie was suggested as a possibility for Elmira's next president. He told the board that he was in the process of raising $100,000 with $53,000 already raised. While he wanted to remain in Owego, he accepted the presidency.

Elmira College became coeducational in 1969.

In 1995, Elmira College was sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors "for infringement of governance standards".

21st Century

The college has an enrollment of under 850 students, down from its all-time high enrollment of just under 1,200 in 2014.

In 2016 the United States Department of Education determined the college had violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, for failure to promptly and equitably respond to complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Specifically, the Office of Civil Rights investigation determined that in fifteen of the sixteen incidents reported at the college over three years, the college's response was either in violation of Title IX or another serious concern was raised.

Buildings

thumb|right|Cowles Hall, showing octagonal center

  • Cowles Hall - The original building of the campus, built in 1855 and designed by a man named Farrar, has an octagonal center, seventy feet in diameter, and four arms in the shape of a Greek cross. Only three of these wings were built; the eastern and western arms were completed in 1855, while the northern arm was built in 1880. Its cornerstone, containing a copy of the college's charter and various other documents, was laid on July 6, 1854, during a ceremony. In 1882, construction on the north arm of Cowles Hall was completed. As the first building of the college, Cowles Hall served as a dormitory, dining hall, and classroom. On May 10, 1917, the building was dedicated to Augustus Cowles, the college's first president, and was given the name which remains today. Cowles Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Gillett Memorial Hall - Built in 1892, a gift of Solomon Gillett. Located next to the Gannett-Tripp Library. Gothic style architecture similar to Tompkins Hall, Hamilton Hall, and the Speidel Gymnasium. Co-ed dormitory with two penthouses, single rooms with adjoining baths, two triples with a kitchen and bath, and adjoining double rooms.

Academic buildings

  • Harris Hall - Constructed as an academic building for $175,000 in 1950 and named for Dean Martha Harris. The dedication ceremony, held in October 1950, was attended by Harris, who was then ninety-four.
  • Kolker Hall - Built in 1962 as the science hall. Today, several chemistry and biology labs are inside this building.

thumb|right|Watson Fine Arts Building

  • Watson Fine Arts - Construction on this building was finished in 1958. Today it is used primarily by the music and math departments. There are practice rooms for piano students and a small black box theatre. The student-run radio station WECW was originally located in this building on the third floor before it was moved to the Campus Center in the mid-80s. This building was named for Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Watson.

thumb|right|Gannett-Tripp Library

  • Gannett-Tripp Library - The college library built in 1969. It has more than 300,000 books. The second floor of the library contains the Mark Twain Archive.

The college will add both men's and women's wrestling as intercollegiate programs for the 2020–21 academic year. Elmira College sponsored men's wrestling in the early 1970s but the sport was later discontinued.

Elmira College holds several NCAA Division III National Championships in Women's Ice Hockey as well as in NCA Competitive Cheerleading. Elmira College is a member of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) which has postponed conference competition until January 1, 2021, due to the COVID pandemic.

Notable alumni and former students

thumb|170px|Statue of Olivia Langdon Clemens, a gift of the Class of 2008

  • Patty Abramson, venture capitalist
  • Anne Kendrick Benedict, author of children's literature focusing on scientific topics
  • M. Katharine Jones Bennett (1864 – 1950), American philanthropist and church leader
  • Gandy Brodie (1924–1975), fine artist described as a "Second Generation Abstract Expressionist"
  • Olivia Langdon Clemens, wife of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and the daughter of Jervis Langdon, one of the college's founding trustees
  • Chip Coffey, psychic and parapsychologist who has speaking tours with Patti Starr, Coffey was awarded a Pigasus Award "For the psychic who tricked the most people with the least effort".
  • Lena Guilbert Ford, poet, and lyricist of the song "Keep The Home Fires Burning"
  • Wilhelmina Holladay (1922–2021), art collector, co-founder of National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
  • Fay Kanin, screenwriter/play author/producer and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983
  • Harry Palmer, developer of the Avatar Course, a personal development system translated into 19 languages and taught in over 60 countries. Founder of Star's Edge, Inc.
  • Mary Gray Peck (1867–1957; BA, 1889) journalist, suffragist, and clubwoman
  • Annah G. Pettee (1874–1959) politician in Denver, Colorado
  • Anna Beach Pratt, educator and social worker; elected to Elmira College's board of trustees in 1887
  • Alice Robertson (1854–1931) first congresswoman from Oklahoma who supported the rights of Native Americans and opposed certain women's groups
  • Emma Paddock Telford (1851–1920), writer
  • Jane Meade Welch (1854–1931) journalist, lecturer
  • Sheila Williams (born 1956) editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine

See also

  • Elmira College Old Campus
  • New-York Central College – short-lived pioneer in higher education for women

References

Bibliography

  • Barber, William Charles (1955). Elmira College: The First 100 Years. New York: McGraw Hill. LCCN 55–009100.
  • Athletics website