Cedar Crest College

Cedar Crest College

Motto	Religio, Libertas et Scientia (Latin)
Motto in English	Divinity, Liberty and Knowledge
Type	liberal arts college
Established	1867
Affiliation	United Church of Christ (historically related)
Endowment	US $14.5 million[1]
President	Carmen Twillie Ambar
Academic staff	92 full-time
Students	1,885
Undergraduates	1,800 students
Location	Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Campus	Suburban, 84 acres (34 ha)
Colors	Yellow and White
Nickname	Falcons
Affiliations	United Church of Christ
Website	www.cedarcrest.edu

Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.^[2] During the 2006-2007 academic year, the college had 1,000 full-time and 800 part-time undergraduates and 85 graduate students. It also admits male students for evening classes.^[3]

Founded in 1867, the college is historically tied to the United Church of Christ, though it remains academically independent.^[4]

Cedar Crest is one of two four-year colleges located in Allentown. Muhlenberg College, a liberal arts college loosely affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, like Cedar Crest, is located in Allentown's West End.^[5]

Academics

For the past two decades, Cedar Crest has been ranked among the nation's top liberal arts colleges in U.S News & World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges" survey.^[6] The college's Bachelor of Arts and science programs span more than fifty majors, from Fine Arts and Environmental Biology to Nursing Science and Business Administration. The curriculum also includes programs in Pre-Law, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. In addition, Cedar Crest offers master's degrees in Nursing, Education, and Forensic Science.^[3][7] Undergraduate and graduate programs are also offered to adult students through the college's Center for Lifelong Learning.^[8]

Cedar Crest College has many different majors for students to choose from. The Communications department offers different majors such as New Media and Media Studies. The Communications department at Cedar Crest College is run by Doctor Jim Brancato, Professor Elizabeth Ortiz, and Doctor Precious Yamaguchi. New Media focuses on adapting to new technology and trends, while maintaining traditional skills and work ethics. Media Studies looks at how people understand and experience media content. The Communications department is also in charge of the school's newspaper, The Crestiad, and the Cedar Crest College radio station. At Cedar Crest College you can also minor in Communications and Film Studies. The Communications department as has a studio open for students to use. Students can borrow equipment such as cameras, camcorders, tripods, lighting equipment, and microphones. There is also a Media Convergence Lab that is open for students to use with equipment such as IMac computers, a LCD projection screen, and media production software.^[9]

Campus

Cedar Crest is located off Cedar Crest Boulevard at 100 College Drive on the western edge of Allentown.^[2] The 84-acre (34 ha) campus is adjacent to the city's Cedar Beach Park.^[10]

Some campus buildings include:

Blaney Hall Administration Building

Blaney Hall was named after President Dorothy G. Blaney. She was the president of Cedar Crest college for 17 years and championed the cause of elevating the education of women to the kinds of rigorous academic achievement once reserved only for men. She took over the Allentown women's college in October 1989 and gave it new stature and renewed vigor.During Blaney's tenure, the college's enrollment doubled from 700 to more than 1,400 students, the number of honor students rose 35 percent, and the endowment grew fourfold, from $1.2 million to $5.7 million, with a current goal of $3.5 million. For almost all her career at the 139-year-old school, she contributed opinion columns to The Morning Call, writing on women's and local issues.During the ceremony that made her Cedar Crest's 11th president, she told the crowd to "transform knowledge into wisdom and wisdom into action. We need to expand our minds to embrace the diversity of other cultures and the ideas of the world."

Donald P. Miller Family Building for Art, Science and Peace

On the anniversary of Donald P. Miller's death, the executive committee of Cedar Crest College's trustees announced that the school would name its planned $4 million art, science and health complex after his family.Miller, who died at 89 from natural causes on Jan. 23, 1996, was The Morning Call's former publisher and chief executive officer.Over the years, the Miller family has provided funding and services to such Lehigh Valley institutions as the Allentown Public Library, the Allentown Art Museum, the Allentown Symphony, the Boy Scouts, the Phoebe Home and Muhlenberg College, which is Donald Miller's alma mater. Its ties to Cedar Crest College are deep. Miller was a college benefactor every year and for every campaign from the 1950s until he died. He was named a Cedar Crest honorary doctor of humane letters in 1968.The college's original location at 4th and Turner streets in Allentown had previously been the family homestead of Marjorie Wright Miller, Donald Miller's first wife. Marjorie Miller was a 1930 graduate of Cedar Crest who served on the Board of Trustees in the 1940s, '50s and '60s and was her class agent for decades. After she died in 1977, Miller honored her passion for poetry in 1980 through a memorial fund that helped establish the "Poet's Corner" inside the college's Cressman Library.^[11]

Harold and Miriam Oberkotter Center for Health and Wellness

The Harold and Miriam Oberkotter Center for Health and Wellness, a 10,000 square foot building on the western edge of the Cedar Crest campus, adds much needed laboratory and classroom space. Since 2001, Cedar Crest has experienced a 50 percent increase in traditional-aged science and nursing students. The number of students interested in forensic science alone has increased tenfold since its inception in 2000. The lifelong learning population at Cedar Crest has increased as well. Since the launch of the evening weekend nursing program in 2000, the number of lifelong learning students in the College's nursing major has increased more than 105 percent. The main features of the facility include the 100-seat, state-of-the-art, Berta and Harold Keen Multi-Media Classroom; faculty offices including one dedicated to Lorraine Clark Laicha and given by Tom and Stephanie Zimmerer, Ed.D. '72; a forensic science-biological science lab; a biochemistry lab; a student lounge and restrooms.^[12]

Lees Hall & Fitness Center

Lees Hall is named in honor of Fortunetta Schlough Lees from the Class of 1897. The Basketball and Volleyball teams both compete in the gym which is located in Lees Hall. The athletic offices and Fitness Center are also located in Lees Hall. Lees has a seating capacity for athletic events for more than 300; for other events, 750. Other facilities in Lees Hall include a fitness center, athletic training room and offices for the athletic department staff. Fitness Center hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Starting in the Spring of 2014, Cedar Crest College will be updating its basketball court (design to be released).

Other campus buildings include Cressman Library, Tompkins College Center, Dorothy Rider Pool Science Center, Alumnae Hall for Art and Performing Arts, Rodale Aquatic Center for Civic Health.^[13] Additional classroom and faculty buildings include Hartzel Hall, Curtis Hall and Hamilton Boulevard Building.^[13][14] The college also has four residence halls: Butz Hall, Moore Hall, Steinbright Hall and the upper level of Curtis Hall.^[15]

Cedar Crest's collection of 140 species of trees is designated as the William F. Curtis Arboretum, which is registered with the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta.^[13] The arboretum is named for the college's seventh president, who after purchasing the property in 1915, beautified the campus by planting flowers, shrubs and trees from all over the world.^[16]

The campus is also the site of the Da Vinci Science Center, an independent science demonstration facility that opened in 2005.^[17]

Clubs and Organizations

Cedar Crest also has a variety of student clubs and organizations for students to participate in. Some active organizations include, but are not limited to, Alpha Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (community service fraternity), Art Therapy Alliance, Arts Society, Black Awareness Student Union, Biology Club, Cedar Crest Christian Fellowship, Chemistry Club, Commuter Awareness Board, Criminal Justice Club, First Book, Great Outdoor Women, Honor and Judicial Board, Latin American Students Organization, Needles and Hooks, Out There, Step Team, Student Activities Board, Student Dietetic Association, and Student Nursing Association,Buskin Society,Marketing Club, Preterite: The Literary Club,Radio Club (WCCC), Society for Asian Animation, Student Athlete Advisory Committee.^[18]

Global Initiatives and International Programs

The office of Global Initiatives and International Programs at Cedar Crest College has been in existence since August 2010. It handles everything from study abroad to international student services, to international partnerships with institutions overseas. Moreover, the office manages all matters related to campus internationalization, international scholarships, and internationalization of the curriculum.

Office Services

The Global Initiatives and International Programs office advises students who are interested in studying abroad . Cedar Crest also runs some short-term study abroad programs to places like Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, Guyana, England, Ireland and Korea. Cedar Crest also has exchange programs with universities in Sweden, Germany and Korea. Cedar Crest students are also able to take study abroad programs through outside organizations or universities.

School History with International Students

Cedar Crest College had Japanese students attend in the 1930s. Also, Cedar Crest had a local donor who sponsored international students in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. However, Cedar Crest College had an exchange program with Turkey in the 1940s, and by the early 1950s, Cedar Crest College had several students from China, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, India and other countries.

Now

Cedar Crest has 32 Students on F-1 visas. They also have other international students on another type of visa. Additionally, there are a considerable number of students who are originally "international" students but are U.S. green card holders or U.S. citizens and therefore don’t count as international students in terms of visa status.

Athletics

Cedar Crest, known athletically as the Falcons, competes in NCAA Division III athletics and has teams in basketball, cross country running, equestrian, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, swimming, and volleyball. In addition, the Rodale Aquatic Center on campus is home to the college's swimming team.

During the 2007 season, the Cedar Crest Falcons tennis team placed 4th in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC), now known as the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC). The team also broke two school records, one for the most wins in a season (12) and one for the most PAC wins (7). The team's record was 12-3. Coach Lynn Pigliacampi is two games away from becoming Cedar Crest's winningest tennis coach. Pigliacampi played both at local Easton Area High School (class of 1999), where she was undefeated, and at Division I Drexel University. Her father, Jules Pigliacampi, is an assistant coach. The United States Tennis Association named her Coach of the Year in 2008.^[19]

Cedar Crest's Falcons basketball team finished the 2008-09 season at 13-11 overall and 8-8 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. The team posted more conference victories than in the previous nine seasons combined, earning a CSAC playoff berth for the first time in a decade. Head coach Valerie Donohue (Cedar Crest, '95) led the Falcons in tying the school record of 13 season wins set in 1998-99, the last time the team made the playoffs. The 6th-seeded Falcons beat Centenary College's women in the 2009 tournament's opening round.^[20] Donohue was subsequently named Colonial States Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

During the 2013-2014 athletic season, Cedar Crest College enjoyed success on all levels. Jamie Wojiechowski was named CSAC Rookie of the Year, Field Hockey Goal Keeper Kaitlyn Brendlinger was named the NCAA D-III Statistical Champion in Saves Per Game. More recently Margaret "Maggie" Olock was awarded the conference Rookie and Swimmer of the Year in February 2014.

Hall of Fame

In the spring of 2013, the Cedar Crest College Athletic Department inducted five individuals and one team into their Hall of Fame. The Class of 2013 included: Cynthia Blaschak, Gracia Perilli, Jane Tyler Ward, Lisa Tinucci Barnett, and Megumi Yokoyama. Also inducted was the 1997 PAC Championship Lacrosse Team. The nominees for the Class of 2014 were recently released and names included were: Nellie Manges, Jacqueline J. Sham, Robyn Kulp, Heidi Bright Butler, Mari Gillespie Whalen.

List of Head Coaches:

Basketball - Ty Taylor

Cross Country - Ty Taylor

Field Hockey - Cindy Joseph

Lacrosse - Cindy Joseph

Soccer - Sarah Wolcott

Softball - Lisa McGuirk

Swimming - Greg Vossler

Tennis - Lynn Pigliacampi

Volleyball - Mary Rotimi

Traditions

• Under the college's "Big Sis, Little Sis" program, each freshwoman is assigned a "Big Sister," who serves as her mentor.
• A strawberry festival is held in the fall for all incoming students. The entire campus enjoys strawberries and whipped cream, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry lemonade, and related refreshments. The event is held on the front lawn of the President's home.
• Incoming students introduce themselves on the steps of Blaney Hall, where they are welcomed by the entire Cedar Crest community.
• Each year, juniors receive their class rings at a special ceremony. The design of the rings has not changed in decades. As a result, many students have rings identical to those of their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers.
• Free road trips are offered to students to the neighboring cities of Philadelphia and New York City, as well as to college sporting events.

Notable alumnae

• Alice Holland—director of Student Health Services at Quinnipiac University and television host of GET SOME on WPSB TV^[21]
• Judy McGrath - Former CEO, MTV Networks '74^[22]
• Andrea Joel - CBS Four-Time Emmy Award-winning Set Designer '72^[22]
• Suzanne Fisher Staples—author and international news reporter^[23]
• Dr. Blenda Wilson - Former Chancellor of California State University-Northridge and University of Michigan '62^[24]
• Julie Reynolds Willey - Director, Delaware State Police Crime Lab '88^[22]

Notable faculty

• Fred Benjamin Gernerd, Former Congressman and former Cedar Crest trustee
• Frank Reed Horton, First national president of Alpha Phi Omega and former professor
• Diane Moyer, former Olympic field hockey player, current associate professor in the psychology department
• Barton C. Shaw, Historian
• Pauline Tompkins, First female president of Cedar Crest College

See also

• Historical and Notable Sites in Allentown, Pennsylvania

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cedar Crest College.

• Cedar Crest College Official Website.
• Cedar Crest College Official Athletics Website.
• Cedar Crest College profile at collegedata.com.
• Cedar Crest College profile at NNDB.

Coordinates: 40°35′13″N 75°31′08″W / 40.587°N 75.519°W / 40.587; -75.519