Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over 1000 acre and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International, designed over the course of the college’s history by a range of prominent architects, including James Renwick Jr., Eero Saarinen, Marcel Breuer, and Cesar Pelli. In a designated arboretum, the campus features more than 200 species of trees, a native plant preserve, and a 400 acre ecological preserve.

Overview
Vassar was founded as a women's college in 1861 and became coeducational in 1969.

Vassar was the first of the Seven Sisters colleges, higher education schools then strictly for women, and historically sister institutions to the Ivy League. It was founded by its namesake, brewer Matthew Vassar, in 1861 in the Hudson Valley, about 70 mi (115 km) north of New York City. The first person appointed to the Vassar faculty was the astronomer Maria Mitchell, in 1865. Vassar adopted coeducation in 1969. However, immediately following World War II, Vassar accepted a very small number of male students on the G.I. Bill. Because Vassar's charter prohibited male matriculants, the graduates were given diplomas via the University of the State of New York. These were reissued under the Vassar title after the school formally became co-ed. The decision to formally become co-ed followed the rejection of its trustees to merge with Yale University, its sibling institution, in the wave of mergers between the historically all-male colleges of the Ivy League and their Seven Sisters counterparts.



Vassar's campus, also an arboretum, is 1,000 acres (4 km²) marked by period and modern buildings. The great majority of students live on campus. The renovated library has unusually large holdings for a college of its size. It includes special collections of Albert Einstein, Mary McCarthy, and Elizabeth Bishop.

In its early years, Vassar was associated with the social elite of the Protestant establishment. E. Digby Baltzell writes that "upper-class WASP families educated their children at colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Vassar." Before becoming President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Trustee.

In recent freshman classes, minority students have composed up to 27% of matriculants. International students from over 45 countries compose 8% of the student body. In May 2007, falling in with its commitment to diverse and equitable education, Vassar returned to a need-blind admissions policy wherein students are admitted by their academic and personal qualities, without regard to financial status.

Roughly 2,400 students attend Vassar. About 60% come from public high schools, and 40% come from private schools (both independent and religious). The overall female-to-male ratio is about 60:40, slightly above the standard for a liberal arts college. More than 85% of graduates pursue advanced study within five years of graduation. They are taught by more than 270 faculty members, virtually all of whom hold terminal degrees in their fields.

Vassar president Frances D. Fergusson served for two decades. She retired in the spring of 2006, and was succeeded by Catharine Bond Hill, former provost at Williams College.

Academics
Vassar confers the B. A. degree in more than 50 majors, including the Independent Major, in which a student may design a major, as well as various interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of study. Students also participate in such programs as the Self-Instructional Language Program (SILP) which offers courses in Hindi, Irish/Gaelic, Korean, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, and Yiddish. Vassar has a flexible curriculum intended to promote breadth in studies. While each field of study has specific requirements for majors, the only universal requirements for graduation are proficiency in a foreign language, a quantitative course, and a freshman writing course. Students are also strongly encouraged to study abroad, which they typically do during one or two semesters of their junior year. Students (usually juniors) may apply for a year or a semester away either in the U.S. or abroad. Vassar sponsors programs in China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Morocco, Spain and Russia; students may also join preapproved programs offered by other colleges. Students may also apply for approved programs at various U.S. institutions, including the historically Black colleges and members of the Twelve College Exchange.

All classes are taught by members of the faculty, and there are no graduate students or teachers' assistants. The most popular majors are English, biology, political science, psychology and economics. Vassar also offers a variety of correlate sequences, or minors, for intensive study in many disciplines.

Rankings
Vassar is highly selective. The annual ranking of U.S.News & World Report places it in the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation and categorizes it as 'most selective'. Forbes Magazine places Vassar in the top 25 of its "America's Best Colleges" ranking which includes military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges. Kiplinger's Personal Finance places Vassar in the top 10 of its ranking of best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.

In an article in The Christian Science Monitor on the subject, Vassar's current president, Catharine Bond Hill, argued that rankings "will always be limited in what they can tell consumers. Part of higher education's role about the rankings should be to remind students and their families that these are only one piece of information that they should take into account in deciding where to go to college. Intangibles will and should play a role in these decisions, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't also look at the tangibles".

Libraries


Vassar is home to one of the largest undergraduate library collections in the U.S. The library collection today - which actually encompasses eight libraries at Vassar - contains about 1 million volumes and 7,500 serial, periodical and newspaper titles, as well as an extensive collection of microfilm and microfiche. Vassar has been a Federal depository library for selected U.S. Government documents since 1943 and currently receives approximately 25% of the titles available through the Federal Depository Program. Since 1988, Vassar has been a New York State Reference Center, part of the New York Depository Program. The library also selectively purchases United Nations documents.

Athletics


Vassar competes in Division III of the NCAA, as a member of the Liberty League.

Vassar College currently offers the following varsity athletics: basketball, baseball, cross-country, fencing, field hockey (women only), golf (women only), lacrosse, rowing, rugby, soccer, squash, swimming/diving, tennis, track, and volleyball. Club sports include Ultimate (men's and women's), equestrian team (competes in IHSA), polo team (USPA), cycling team (competes in ECCC), Quidditch, and co-ed USFSA synchronized skating team.

Basketball plays in Vassar's new Athletics and Fitness Center. Volleyball plays in Kenyon Hall, reopened in 2006. Soccer, baseball, field hockey and lacrosse all play at the Prentiss Fields, which have been completely renovated in 2007 to feature a lighted turf, four grass fields, a baseball field and a track surrounding the turf. Also in 2007, a varsity weight room was opened in the basement of Kenyon Hall, exclusively for the training of varsity athletes.

In 2008, the Vassar men's volleyball team made the school's first appearance in a national championship game, beating UC-Santa Cruz 3-0 in the semifinal before falling to Springfield in the championship game.

On April of 28th and 29th, the Vassar Cycling Team hosted the Eastern Conference Championships in Collegiate Cycling in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz, NY. The competition included a 98 mi road race over the Gunks in New Paltz as well as a Criterium in Poughkeepsie just blocks from the school's campus.

In a controversial move, the Vassar Athletics Department decided to revoke the varsity status of the men's and women's rowing team on November 5, 2009, choosing instead to investigate the option of a club team.

Extra-curricular organizations

 * The Vassar Student Association (VSA) includes all students as its members, and is headed by the VSA Council. As the legislative body of the student government, the Council certifies and provides funds to all student organizations on campus. The VSA Executive Board oversees the VSA system and advocates on behalf of students. Students elected via the VSA election process take active roles in governance by participating on College committees.
 * The Miscellany News, founded in 1866, is the oldest publication of Vassar College, and one of the oldest college weekly newspapers in the United States. Known as 'The Misc' among students, the paper comes out each Thursday. The paper has twice won the Pacemaker Award given by the Columbia University School of Journalism.
 * The College has multiple political clubs, including the Vassar College Democrats and the Moderate, Independent, Conservative Alliance (MICA).
 * The Vassar Night Owls, founded in 1942, is the oldest continuing female a cappella group in the US. They arrange, rehearse, perform and record concerts at Vassar, other colleges, the US and abroad. The Night Owls were invited to sing at both of Pres. Clinton’s inaugurations, and have been featured on Comedy Central. Membership is by audition.
 * Matthew's Minstrels, founded in 1978, was Vassar's first co-ed a cappella group. The Minstrels repertoire includes a large variety of songs, including from doo-wop of the 1950s, pop songs from the 80s, and today's chart topping hits. In 1990, Matthew's Mintsrels were featured on MTV's Head of the Charles weekend special.
 * The Philaletheis Society is the oldest theater group on campus, which was founded in 1865 as a literary society. It has now become a completely student run theater group. Others include Unbound, Woodshed, Idlewild (an all-female ensemble), Future Waitstaff of America (for musical theater), and two Shakespeare-specific troupes. Performances are done all over campus including in the Susan Stein Shiva Theater, which is an all student run black box theater. The college also hosts the Powerhouse Summer Theater workshop series.
 * ViCE (Vassar College Entertainment) books outside entertainers for on-campus performances, with the College Campus Activities staff acting as facilitators. In recent years, ViCE has brought acts like Wyclef Jean, M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, Beirut, The Flaming Lips, Beach House, and Broken Social Scene to campus. During the late 1990s, talks were briefly in the works to bring Extreme Championship Wrestling to the Walker Field House, but the company opted instead to remain at the nearby Mid-Hudson Civic Center.
 * AirCappella is an all-whistling a cappella group. Since its conception in 2005, AirCappella has played outside the College, having represented Vassar at the 2007 and 2009 International Whistlers Convention in Louisburg, North Carolina. Advil pharmaceutical hired the group to whistle "Eye of the Tiger" at their annual sales meeting in Atlanta in January 2008.
 * Vassar Filmmakers, one of the newest extra-curricular organizations, offers film and video equipment to any film or non-film major with a proposed idea and brings guest lectures by filmmakers such as Eugene Jarecki, Albert Maysles and J. J. Murphy.
 * Vassar Quidditch: Vassar College also boasts a successful quidditch team, the Butterbeer Brewers. Established in 2007, the Brewers won second place at the 2008 US College Quidditch Cup held at Middlebury College. Quidditch practices are open to any member of the Vassar community and often receive a mixture of confusion and admiration from bystanders.
 * The Barefoot Monkeys is Vassar's Circus Arts, Firespinning, and Juggling Club. Most frequently found at 'playtime' on the quad, or indoors in Main building or UpCDC during the winter, The Monkeys perform on and off campus and strive to bring the fun of circus arts to the Vassar community.
 * The Vassar Greens is Vassar's environmental group. This group strives to create real and lasting change on campus and in the greater Poughkeepsie community through initiatives like banning bottled water, on campus composting, and encourage local policy makers to adopt more sustainable waste management practices. Recently, the group opened the 'Free Market' on campus. This a store that students can donate to and take from freely to promote recycling and reduce waste.

Campus Publications

 * The Vassar Chronicle is the College's only political journal, published monthly by the Moderate, Independent, Conservative Alliance (MICA), which seeks to expand the breadth of political dialogue on campus by publishing long-form opinion columns. The Chronicle is the revivification of a student publication that appeared from 1944-1959 and during the 70s; the modern-day Chronicle has been published monthly since 2010 and currently has a 1,000-copy circulation.


 * The Miscellany News, has been the weekly paper of the College since 1866, making it one of the oldest college weeklies in the United States. It is available for free most Thursdays when school is in session. In 2008-09, it became one of the only college newspapers in the country to begin updating its Web site daily.


 * Mads Vassar is an unofficial student-run blog, created in 2007. The site is updated with posts about news, current events, and campus culture at Vassar. Since its inception, the site has received over 800,000 visits. For two consecutive years, the U.S. News and World Report's "Paper Trail" nominated Mads for Best Alternative Media Outlet. The site is on hiatus as of August 2011.


 * Helicon is an annual literary and art magazine featuring works (fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, artwork, photography, essays, etc.) by Vassar students. It is the oldest student-run literary publication in the college's history. Its purpose is to serve the needs and expand the creative voice of Vassar’s literary and art community. Helicon also orchestrates events and activities garnered towards the enrichment of Vassar’s writers community. Some past events have included regularly scheduled Writing Workshops and Writer’s Nights in the Cafe as well as the sponsoring of various relevant speakers brought by other organizations.


 * Squirm "is a submissions-based [Erotic] magazine about sex and sexuality. Squirm seeks to create a sex-positive forum on campus for the artistic, literary, and creative exploration of sex." The magazine, published annually since 1999, typically runs around 60 pages and is only distributed to the campus-community.


 * The Vassar Spectator (defunct) long-running campus publication of opinion and commentary, published quarterly. During the 60s and 70s it acquired a conservative editorial bent, and came into controversy with campus activists of the time.

Architecture


The Vassar campus has several buildings of architectural interest. Main Building, formerly housed the entire college, including classrooms, dormitories, museum, library, and dining halls. The building was designed by Smithsonian architect James Renwick Jr. and was completed in 1865. It was preceded on campus by the original observatory. Both buildings are National Historic Landmarks. The Rombout House was purchased by the college in 1915 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Many beautiful old brick buildings are scattered throughout the campus, but there are also several modern and contemporary structures of architectural interest. Ferry House, a student cooperative, was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1951. Noyes House was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. A good example of an attempt to use passive solar design can be seen in the Mudd Chemistry Building by Perry Dean Rogers. More recently, New Haven architect César Pelli was asked to design the Lehman Loeb Art Center, which was completed in the early 1990s. In 2003, Pelli also worked on the renovation of Main Building Lobby and the conversion of the Avery Hall theater into the $25 million Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, which preserved the original 1860s facade but was an entirely new structure.

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center


Matthew Vassar was known for declaring that "art should stand boldly forth as an educational force." The art collection at Vassar dates to the founding of the College, when Vassar provided an extensive collection of Hudson River School paintings to be displayed in the Main Building. Referred to as the Magoon Collection, it continues to be one of the best in the nation for Hudson River School paintings. The Frances Lehman Loeb Gallery displays a selection of Vassar's 18,000 articles of art in the building designed by Cesar Pelli (see Architecture). Today, the gallery's collection displays art from the ancient world up through contemporary works. The collection includes work by European masters such as Brueghel, Doré, Picasso, Balthus, Bacon, Vuillard, Cézanne, Braque and Bonnard, as well as examples from leading twentieth-century American painters Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, and Ben Shahn. The Loeb's works on paper represent a major collection in the United States, with prints by Rembrandt (including important impressions of the "Hundred Guilder Print" and the "Three Trees") and Dürer as well as photographs by Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, and others. Students at the college can act as liaisons between the art center and the wider college community through work on the Student Committee of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, to which incoming freshman can apply.

After Vassar
Over 85% of Vassar graduates plan to pursue advanced study within 5 years of graduation; seventy percent of graduates actually do. Of the seniors who applied to medical school, 75% were accepted. Of the seniors who applied to law school, 82% were accepted. Vassar offers a database of 3,000 volunteer alumni where students may seek career advice and opportunities.

Future
Davison, one of Vassar's nine residence houses, was renovated during the 2008-2009 school year. The dorm went offline for that year and its residents were absorbed into the college's remaining residence houses. This is the second dorm to be renovated as part of the school's master plan to renovate all dorms, following Jewett a few years earlier. Lathrop was scheduled to be renovated during the 2010-2011 school year, but renovation has been put off indefinitely due to the economic downturn.

The interior and exterior of the Van Ingen Art Library was renovated from June 2008 - May 2009 in an effort to restore its original design and appearance. This was the library's first major renovation since its construction in 1937.

The school's bookstore, currently located on campus and operated by Barnes and Noble, was to be moved during the 2009-2010 school year to an off-campus location. The expanded bookstore was expected to carry a wider range of merchandise and will serve as a venue for appropriate entertainment. The relocation has been put on hold due to financial restrictions. There are also preliminary plans for a new science building. Mudd, the chemistry building, may be demolished to make room for the new construction.

Notable faculty and alumni
Notable Vassar alumni include poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917), computer pioneer Grace Hopper (1928), poet Elizabeth Bishop (1934), physician Beatrix Hamburg (1944), psychiatrist Bernadine P. Healy (1965), actress Meryl Streep (1971), CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Chip Reid (1977), television personality Andrew Zimmern (1984), actress Lisa Kudrow (1985), actress Hope Davis (1986), musician Mark Ronson, journalist Evan Wright (1988), writer-director Noah Baumbach (1991), Flickr founder Caterina Fake (1991), What Not to Wear host Stacy London (1991), Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn (1996), gallerist, art advisor, and Work of Art judge Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn (1989), writer Neil Strauss (author of The Game) Actress Lecy Goranson.

Notable attendees who did not graduate from Vassar include First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, president of the Ford Foundation Susan Berresford, actresses Jane Fonda and Anne Hathaway, actor Justin Long, member of the Beastie Boys Mike D and professional chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain.

Notable Vassar faculty include pioneering female astronomer Maria Mitchell and composer Richard Edward Wilson.