Dowling College

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Dowling College is a private college on Long Island, New York, with more than 7,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students through four schools: the School of Arts & Sciences, Townsend School of Business, School of Education and School of Aviation.

[edit] History

Dowling College originated in 1955 when Adelphi College offered extension classes in Port Jefferson, Riverhead, and Sayville. In 1959, at the urging of community leaders, Adelphi Suffolk College became the first four year, degree granting liberal arts institution in Suffolk County, housed in an old public school building in Sayville. In January 1963, Adelphi Suffolk College purchased the former W.K. Vanderbilt estate in Oakdale and began developing as an important private college on Long Island. In 1968, the College severed its ties with Adelphi and was renamed after its chief benefactor, Robert Dowling, a noted city planner, philanthropist, and aviator. In response to increased enrollment, the Racanelli Learning Resource Center was constructed in 1974 to house the library, cafeteria and additional classrooms. One month after the LRC opened, a devastating fire started in the mansion. The ornate ceremonial rooms of the College (the Hunt Room, the Foyer and Ballroom) were substantially damaged. A College committee, led by Dowling Trustee Alan Fortunoff, guided the restoration of the ornate woodwork, precious marble, and the elaborately carved stonework. While many of the fine details were lost, the grandeur and fine proportions remain. The building was named in honor of Max and Clara Fortunoff. The mansion was designed to be entered from the side facing the river where the Vanderbilts once maintained a floating mahogany dock for their steamship "Mosquito. " Guests arriving by water would ascend the wide stairway from the river and cross the Great Lawn to the entrance guarded by ancient carved lions. Take time to cross the lawn and enjoy the view from the top of the marble stairs. The Restoration Committee for W.K. Vanderbilt's "Idle Hour" continues to raise funds to preserve and restore historic and artistic elements of the Gilded Age such as renown sculptor Karl Bitter's "Diana" in the Hunt Room. Today, Dowling's campuses include Rudolph Campus in Oakdale, the Brookhaven Center in Shirley, and the Melville Campus in Melville.