Alfred University
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Alfred University |
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| Motto | Fiat Lux |
| Established | 1836 |
| Type | Private |
| Faculty | 164 |
| Students | 2,367 |
| Undergraduates | 2,055 |
| Location | Alfred, NY, USA |
| Campus | Rural, 232 acres (0.9 km²), plus another 400 acres of nearby recreational land |
| Athletics | 22 teams |
| Mascot | Saxon |
| Website | www.alfred.edu |
Alfred University (Alfred) is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in western New York State, USA, an hour south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students.
Though the institution boasts five separate schools and colleges, the institution's reputation is grounded in the arts and engineering. On April 14, 2005, the University announced it had received a gift of $35 million from alumnus Marlin Miller '54, and his wife, Ginger, to further support arts education. The gift is the largest ever in the university's history and is one of the largest endowment gifts made to a U.S. institution to support arts education. Ten million dollars is earmarked for a new theatre at the Miller Performing Arts Center, previously funded by the Millers, and $25 million will go towards endowment.
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[edit] History of Alfred
Alfred was founded in 1836 as the Select School by Seventh Day Baptists as a non-sectarian institution. Unusually for the time, the school was co-educational. It was also racially integrated, and enrolled its first African-American student and two Native American students in the 1850s, becoming the second college in the nation to do so.
The origin of the name "Alfred" is uncertain. Residents of the town and students at the two schools believe that the town received its name in honor of Alfred the Great, king of the Saxons, although the first documented occurrence of this connection was in 1881, 73 years after the first record of the name being used. State records which could verify the connection between the Saxon king and the university were lost in a fire in 1911.[1] Regardless of whether the connection is historically accurate, Alfred University has embraced King Alfred as a symbol of the school's values, and a statue of the king stands in the center of the campus quad.
Alfred is a member of the Rochester Area Colleges consortium along with Alfred State College, the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint John Fisher College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Nazareth College, Monroe Community College, SUNY Brockport, and SUNY Geneseo.
Alfred University, together with Corning Glass Works and the State of New York created the Ceramic Corridor, a high-tech incubator project designed to take advantage of the emerging ceramics industry and to create new jobs. This unique industrial development program is the only one in the United States concentrating on one single aspect of technology - high-tech ceramics - and it is the only major industrial development project centered in a rural area in the U.S.
[edit] Colleges and Schools
Alfred University is not to be confused with SUNY College of Technology at Alfred; each institution is autonomous, and in fact Alfred State College was at one point a school of agriculture administered by Alfred University. Alfred State College gained independence in 1948 when enrollment demanded future growth of both. Students of Alfred University or Alfred State College who are enrolled in at least twelve credit hours at their home institution may cross-register at the other institution at no additional cost.
Alfred University offers over 60 majors and areas of concentration at it's four colleges and schools.
[edit] Private Colleges and Schools
- The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- The College of Business
- The Inamori School of Engineering
- The Graduate School
[edit] Statutory Colleges
[edit] Facilities
Alfred is especially well-known for its programs in ceramic art, ceramic engineering, glass engineering, and has a strong astronomy program due in part to the presence on campus of the 7-telescope Stull Observatory.
There are two libraries on Alfred's campus, the Herrick Memorial Library, which primarily serves the private colleges, and the Scholes Library, which primarily serves the New York State College of Ceramics. The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art has a collection of 8,000 ceramic objects, including both ancient and modern ceramic art and craft.
Alfred University also has a new Performing Arts Center, dedicated by Marlin Miller.
[edit] Alumni and Faculty
Notable alumni include:
- George P. Darrow, United States Congressman from Pennsylvania
- Librarian Melvil Dewey, creator of the Dewey Decimal System, who attended in 1870 but did not graduate
- Biomedical engineer Samuel Hulbert, pioneer in ceramic devices and president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Nathan Lyons '57, founder, Director Emeritus of Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
- Actor and comedian Robert Klein
- Author Peter Jenkins, whose book "A Walk Across America" begins in Alfred
- Robert Littell, who has written several spy novels
- Award-winning ceramic artist Robert Archambeau
- Illustrator Taylor Lee of Winchell Cuts The Cheese and the Clueless Groom's Guide
In business:
- Robert H. Benmosche '66, Chairman, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- Peter Cuneo '67, Chairman of Cuneo and Co., and Marvel Enterprises, Inc
- Jeffery S. Maurer '69, CEO, Lehman Brothers Trust Company
- Robert R. McComsey '66, Founding Shareholder, Neuberger Berman, LLC
- Joel P. Moskowitz '61, President & Chairman of the Board, Ceradyne, Inc.
- Arthur L. Powell '43, President of Kravco, Inc.
Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo, received an honorary doctorate from Alfred in 1969.
- Notable Faculty Include:
Artist Robert C. Turner, an influential ceramics artist and teacher who founded the ceramics program at Black Mountain College. Along with Val Cushing, Wayne Higby, and Daniel Rhodes, Turner was a key member of the Alfred ceramics facualty in the 50's-70's, which is considered by some to be the "golden age" of the Alfred ceramics program.
Artist Wayne Higby, considered to be one of the defining ceramic artists of the 80's. Known for his work in Raku ceramics, Higby attained considerable attention with his large bowl forms that toyed with the notion of vessel and landscape imagery.
Poet Ben Howard, author of six books of poetry.
Artist and printmaker Joe Scheer.
[edit] Traditions
The school's mascot is the Saxon, a knight in shining armor. Since the year 871 is when King Alfred the Great succeeded his brother, Ethelred I as King of Wessex and Mercia (see Alfred the Great's childhood), the phone exchange of Alfred University is 871 (i.e., all Alfred U numbers take the form 1-607-871-xxxx).
Hot Dog Day is held in early April of each year since 1972 at Alfred to raise money for local charities and community-based civic organizations. It is a joint project with Alfred State College coordinated by students and staff from both schools. Typical events include a carnival, small amusement park rides, mud olympics, concerts, a parade, and the consumption of hot dogs. In recent years approximately $7,000 to $8,000 has been raised for charities including the local fire departments, public library, and day care centers. This weekend is typically regarded as the weekend responsible for the highest amount of alcohol consumption for both Alfred University and Alfred State College, similar to a St. Patrick's Day sort of holiday for the rest of the country.
Alfred's Davis Memorial Carillon, erected in 1937 as a tribute to longtime president Boothe C. Davis, can often be heard while on campus. The bells of the carillon, purchased from Antwerp, were thought to be the oldest bells in the western hemisphere. Research later (2004) showed that the bells were of a more recent vintage, and that Alfred had been the victim of a fraud. On the brighter side, the non-historic nature of the bells allows the university to replace those which have a poor quality tone. Concerts continue four times a week when school is in session, and during the summer months at least once a week. Besides the resident carilloneur, guest carilloneurs have in the past frequently visited and played during the summer.
[edit] Fight Song
On Saxon Warriors
On Saxon Warriors
The Purple and the Gold defend
On Saxon Warriors
Ever on like men
Crash thru the opponent's line
And vict'ry will come our way
Fight, fight for Alfred
And you will win the day. YIP!
[edit] Greek Social Organizations at Alfred
Fraternities and sororities were established at Alfred University for nearly 100 years prior to 2002, when they were discontinued, partially in response to the death of Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity member Benjamin Klein under suspicious circumstances and charges of gross negligence on behalf of the fraternity.
Prior to Klein's death, in 1978, student Chuck Stenzel died in a hazing-related incident at Alfred's Klan Alpine fraternity. After Stenzel's death, his mother, Eileen Stevens, created a lobbying organization to increase awareness of hazing and promote anti-hazing laws, as documented in Hank Nuwer's book "Broken Pledges" and a later TV movie of the same name (in which Alfred was not named for legal reasons). Stevens later served as an advisor to Alfred on hazing-related issues, and received an honorary doctorate from the school in 1999.
During the summer of 2002, Greek social organizations lost recognition after an in-depth analysis of the Alfred University Greek system by an eight-member task force appointed by the Board of Trustees. More than 50% of the task force were themselves members of a fraternity or sorority while in college, and 82% of the Board of Trustees are Alfred University alumni.[2]
Alpha Phi Omega is still recognized, as are academic fraternities, because they do not fall under the same category of restrictions as social fraternities.
[edit] External links
- Alfred University homepage
- Alfred Daily Jolt Student Life online
- The Stull Observatory
- Histories and Chronologies of Alfred
- Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art
- In Memory of Chuck Stenzel
- Press Release - Alfred University trustees vote to eliminate fraternities and sororities
- The Miller Performing Arts Center
- The Bells of Alfred, NY - Stories of Alfred University's Carillon
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| Alfred University • Elmira College • Hartwick College • Ithaca College • Nazareth College • Rochester Institute of Technology • Saint John Fisher College • Stevens Institute of Technology • Utica College Affiliates: Norwich University • Springfield College • Washington & Jefferson College |
