Hobart and William Smith Colleges

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Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts institution. The Colleges adhere to a "coordinate system," which retains some elements of the original single-sex institutions, though the student experience is largely co-ed. The Colleges offer Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. Legally, the combined corporation of the two colleges, Hobart College and William Smith College, is The Colleges of the Seneca.

[edit] History

Hobart College traces its roots to Geneva Academy, founded in 1796. Hobart College proper was founded in 1822 as Geneva College and renamed in honor of its founder, Episcopal bishop John Henry Hobart, in 1852.

The Colleges’ campus, looking toward Seneca Lake.

Geneva at the time was a bustling Upstate New York city on the main land and stage coach route to the West. When John Henry Hobart, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, visited Geneva in 1818, Geneva Academy (founded by the Rev. Henry Axtell) had temporarily closed its doors. 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 the school to college status. By 1822, sufficient community funds had been raised to complete the stone structure, Geneva Hall, still in use today.

[edit] Geneva College

Known as Geneva College until 1852, when it was renamed in memory of its most forceful advocate and founder. 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 "agriculture, merchandise, mechanism, and manufacturing," while at 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 who "invented" the United States Weather Bureau, founded the International Meteorological Organization and the U.S. Signal Corps, and for whom Fort Myer, Va., 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 Seward and Thomas M. Griffith, who were assistant secretary of state and builder of the first national railroad across the Mississippi River, respectively; and Charles J. Folger, Class of 1836, who was United States secretary of the treasury in the 1880s.

Bishop Hobart.

Until the mid-20th Century, Hobart was strongly affiliated with the Episcopal Church and produced many of its clegy. This affiliation continues to the present, but the last Episcopal clergyman to serve as President of Hobart(1956-1966)was Dr. Louis Melbourne Hirshson. Since then, the president of the colleges has been a layperson.

[edit] Elizabeth Blackwell

Amid those distinguished male graduates was one woman. In an era when the prevailing conventional wisdom was that no woman could withstand the intellectual and emotional rigors of a medical education, Elizabeth Blackwell applied to and was rejected - or simply ignored - by 17 medical schools before being admitted in 1847 to the medical college then affiliated with 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, perhaps as a joke on the faculty, voted to admit her - but the point of the story, of course, is not so much how Blackwell's admission came about but what she did with it: she graduated two years later, on January 23, 1849, at the head of her class, the first woman doctor in the hemisphere. 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 the first college of medicine for women to be established there.

[edit] Founding of William Smith

Toward the end of nineteenth century, Hobart College was on the brink of bankruptcy and suffering through a period of financial uncertainty. It was through the presidency of Langdon Stewardson that the college obtained a new donor, nurseryman William Smith. William Smith had already built the Smith Opera House in downtown Geneva and the Smith Observatory on his own property when he became interested in founding a college for women, a plan that he pursued to the point of breaking ground before realizing that the plan was beyond even his means. In 1903, Hobart College President Langdon C. Stewardson learned of Smith's interest and, for two years, attempted without success to convince him to make Hobart College the object of his philanthropy. With enrollments down and its resources strained, Hobart's future depended upon a transfusion of new funds.

William Smith.

Unable to convince Smith to provide direct assistance to Hobart, President Stewardson redirected the negotiations toward founding a coordinate 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 coordinate, 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 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.

[edit] Development of the Coordinate System

Despite some sharing of facilities, at the beginning of their relationship the two colleges were quite separate. Classes were conducted in duplicate, and women students were not allowed on the Hobart campus. Those who required access to Trinity and Merritt halls (where chemistry and physics classes were held), the library, and the Chapel traveled there on public sidewalks along the campus perimeter.

The enforced separation of the Colleges eroded gradually over the years. In 1922, the first joint commencement was held, but baccalaureate services remained separate until 1942. By then, the practice of holding duplicate classes was less observed, particularly in upper-level courses with few students. In 1938, first-year courses were held in common, without any of the dire consequences that some had predicted, and by 1941 coeducational classes had become the norm.

In 1943, during the administration of President John Milton Potter, William Smith College was elevated from its original status as a department of Hobart College to that of an independent college, co-equal with Hobart. At President Potter's suggestion, the two colleges established a joint corporate identity, adopting a "family name," The Colleges of the Seneca, which still is the legal name of the combined corporation.

[edit] World War II

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 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 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 the country, eventually becoming Saga Corporation, a nationwide provider of institutional food services.

William Smith College was founded in 1908 (the charter was signed in 1903) as a women's college sharing certain facilities and faculty with Hobart College but self-identifying not as a single college but as two “coordinate” institutions. Beginning at the Founder's Day dinner in December 2006 and until September 2008, William Smith College will be engaging in their centennial celebration.

[edit] Campus

Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ campus is situated on 170 acres in Geneva, NY, along the shore of Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes.

The iconic Coxe Hall, fronting the Hobart Quad. The building, named for Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe, is an excellent example of Jacobean architecture.

The campus is notable for the style of Jacobean architecture represented by many buildings, notably Coxe Hall, which houses the President’s Office and other administrative departments. In contrast, the earliest buildings and the chapel are gothic in style.

In the center of the campus, the Warren Hunting Smith Library houses 385,000 volumes, 12,000 periodicals and more than 8,000 VHS and DVD videos.

The surrounding eco-system plays a major role in the Colleges’ curriculum and acquisitions. The Colleges’ owns the 108 acre Hanley Biological Field Station and Preserve on neighboring Cayuga Lake as well as playing host to the Finger Lakes Institute, a non-profit focusing on education and ecological preservation for the Finger Lakes area.

Seneca Lake also plays host to the ‘’William Scandling’’, a 65-foot research vessel used to monitor lake conditions and serve as a platform for student and faculty research.

The Colleges also own and operate WEOS FM, a public radio station broadcasting throughout the Finger Lakes and worldwide, on the web.

[edit] The Coordinate System

When many single-sex institutions became co-ed in the 1960s and '70s, both Hobart and William Smith retained their separate identities while integrating many aspects of student life in an arraignment called the “Coordinate System.”

The Colleges' campus borders Seneca Lake.

This tradition remains strong to this day. While the colleges share most administrative offices (there is only one President’s Office, for example) they maintain separate deans' offices, athletics programs, student governments and until recently, admissions offices. Even some regulations about student life vary. Hobart College allows fraternities and Greek organizations while William Smith does not allow sororities.

A male graduate receives a degree from Hobart College and a female graduate from William Smith College. Alums are always referred to in the single-sex sense of the word, as “alumnae and alumni” and any reference to the institution is always in the plural. (“colleges”)

Each college celebrates their own traditions. During the academic year, William Smith College celebrates annual events such as Founder's Day and Moving Up Day. Hobart has Charter Day, which celebrates the 1822 founding and its own honor societies: The Druid Society for Seniors (founded 1903), Chimera Society (Juniors, 1910) and Orange Key (Sophmores,1926). Each society has specific roles and functions on campus.

[edit] Academics

Hobart and William Smith Colleges offer degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts in Teaching. The colleges follow the semester calendar.

The colleges are known for the number of students that study abroad for a semester during the academic year; in recent years, between 40% and 60% of students have spent at least one semester studying off-campus.

The Colleges have long been recognized for the high quality of their education and in 1961 were National Champions on the GE College Bowl, only one of three institutions in the United States to achieve this distinction at the time. In 2004, a William Smith student was selected as a Rhodes Scholar.

[edit] Elizabeth Blackwell Award

Given in her memory, the Elizabeth Blackwell Award is presented periodically by Hobart and William Smith Colleges to a woman who has demonstrated "outstanding service to humankind." Its recipients have included Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright (2001), tennis great Billie Jean King (1998), Wilma Mankiller (1996), first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation; the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan (1993), the late Senator Margaret Chase Smith (1991), former Surgeon General Antonia Novello (1991), and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (1985), among many others.

[edit] Athletics

Hobart's athletic teams became known as the "Statesmen" in 1936. The first time this was in print was a reference to the statesmen of the League of Nations located in Geneva, Switzerland, and the nickname has endured. The nickname for William Smith's athletic teams comes from a contest held in 1982. Several names were submitted, but "Herons" was selected because of the strong and graceful birds that lived near Odell's Pond. These ominous birds frequently flew over the athletic fields as the teams were practicing.

Hobart's archrival in Football is Union College in Schenectady, New York. Other team rivalries include Rensselaer (football, basketball), Elmira and Manhattanville (hockey), and Syracuse and Georgetown (Lacrosse). William Smith has rivalries in St. Lawrence (Lacrosse, Basketball, Field Hockey), Union (Soccer, Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse) and Hamilton (Field Hockey, Basketball, and Lacrosse).

Hobart and William Smith Colleges compete in NCAA Division III athletics, with the exception of men's lacrosse and squash, who compete in the NCAA Division I. The men's lacrosse squad is a storied NCAA program. This year will be their 104th competitive season. The Statesmen lacrosse team has compiled sixteen men's Division II and Division III lacrosse national titles.

Hobart also fields a very successful sailing team and the college is a member of the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. In 2005 Hobart won the Intercollegiate Sailing Association National Championships. The Statesmen and the Herons are members of the Liberty League, with the exception of Men's Hockey and Lacrosse, which belong to the ECAC Conference.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman awarded a Doctor of Medicine degree in the United States, graduated from the medical school of Geneva College in 1849.
• Dr. Willis A. Adcock,Invented the Silicon Transistor, Member of Team that Developed the Atomic Bomb
• Horace D. Allen,Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer of TeamPact]]
• Jeffrey L. Amestoy 1968,Former Vermont attorney General and Chief Justice
• Lauren Bessette, prominent New York City investment banker and the late sister-in law of John F. Kennedy Jr.
• Eric Bloom, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist, most recently of Blue Öyster Cult.
• General Edward S. Bragg, Iron Brigade leader and Congressman from Wisconsin.
• Edward "Joe" Crone WWII POW who served as Kurt Vonnegut's model for Billy Pilgrim in Slaughter House Five.
• Chris Carlin, sportscaster for the nationally syndicated radio show Imus in the Morning.
• Dr. Harry Coover, the inventor of "super glue".
• Pascal C.J. DeAngelis - Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New York
• Rodney Frelinghuysen, United States Congressman representing New Jersey's 11th congressional district.
• Holman W. Jenkins Jr, Wall Street Journal editorial board member, policy commentator
• Abigail Johnson, heir apparent to Fidelity Investments
• Richard R. Kenney - U.S. Senator, Delaware 1895 - 1900
• Matthew Ketaineck, sports journalist and ESPN researcher.
• Alan Kalter, actor (notable for being the announcer from The Late Show with David Letterman)
• Matt Lamanna, palentologist responsible for several major discoveries.
• Eric Lax, Biographer and author, most notable of Woody Allen and Humphrey Bogart.
• Reynold Levy, President of New York City Lincoln Center.
• Christopher McDonald, actor (Happy Gilmore, Requiem for a Dream, The Perfect Storm)
• Dewitt Parshall, artist, known primarily for his western landscapes.
• Florence Sabin, graduated Smith College 1893. Notable scientist, medical researcher, anatomist, author, public health officer, first woman professor at Johns Hopkins University.
• Jonas Schwartz, WNBC-TV Sports Anchor.
• Judge Herbert J. Stern, Federal Judge, US Attorney, prosecuted Malcolm X killers.
• Jeffrey Talbot, Epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society headquartered in Atlanta, GA
• Evelyn Tooley Hunt, Originator of American style of Haiku; Her poem Taught Me Purple was the inspiration for the book "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker.
• Ben J. Wattenberg, Journalist, PBS Host, and former speech writer for President Lyndon Johnson.
• Bill Whitaker, CBS News Correspondent for the CBS Evening News.
• Andrew Dickson White (transferred to Yale University after one year), co-founder and first president of Cornell University, diplomat, and historian.
• Dorothy H. Wickenden, Executive Editor of The New Yorker.
• George Washington Woodward, US Congressman from Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Brock Yates, screenwriter of the film Cannonball Run and editor in chief of Car and Driver magazine

[edit] Notable faculty

• H. Wesley Perkins, Professor of Sociology and the "Father of Social Norms Marketing."
• Michael Dobkowski, Professor of Religious Studies, author of multiple works including "The Tarnished Dream". Official Faculty Bio
• David Weiss, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, author of "The Mensch" and noted poet
• Deborah Tall, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, noted poet and editor of "The Seneca Review". Official Website
• Jack Harris, Professor of Sociology, Researcher on Vietnam and masculinity studies. Official College Bio
• David Ost, Professor of Political Science, author of multiple works, including "The Defeat Of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in Postcommunist Europe. Official College Bio
• Mark Gearan, President of Colleges, former White House Chief of Staff for President William Jefferson Clinton as well as former President of the Peace Corps
• Maynard Smith, philosopher.

[edit] External links

• Hobart and William Smith Colleges website
• Solidarity, 25 Years Later by David Ost
• WEOS Radio website