Timeline of Adelphi University’s History

1863

Adelphi can trace its roots to Adelphi Academy (founded in 1863), a private preparatory school located at 412 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn.

1893

Charles H. Levermore becomes the Principal of Adelphi Academy, a private preparatory school located at 412 Adelphi Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Levermore’s goal is to expand the academy, known for its innovative curriculum, into a four-year, coeducational liberal arts college.

1894

Timothy L. Woodruff becomes President of the Board of Trustees of Adelphi Academy and petitions the Board of Regents of the State of New York to establish a liberal arts college in the city of Brooklyn. Woodruff would later serve three terms as the Lieutenant Governor for the State of New York.

1896

Through the efforts of Dr. Charles H. Levermore and Timothy Woodruff the Charter for Adelphi College is granted on June 24, 1896—one of the earliest granted to a coeducational college by the Board of Regents. Dr. Charles Levermore becomes the first president of Adelphi College, and Woodruff, a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State, served as president of the Board of Trustees.

Classes begin in September with 57 students and 16 instructors.

1908

Timothy L. Woodruff steps down as president of the board of trustees, but remains a member until 1913. James H. Post, philanthropist and sugar magnate, succeeds him.

1912

Adelphi had been known since its inception as a premier school for women. In 1912, the Board votes to make Adelphi a college exclusively for women.

1915

Frank D. Blodgett receives unanimous Board approval to become the second president of Adelphi, succeeding Charles H. Levermore.

1922

Faced with increasing enrollment, Adelphi seeks to raise $1 million to expand the facilities.

1925

The College severs all financial and academic ties with Adelphi Academy. The monogram in the school seal is changed from “AA” to “AC” and the founding date is changed from 1869 to 1896.

1928

Enrollment surges. 652 students are attending classes in a building designed to accommodate 560 students. Looking ahead to the future, President Blodgett and a committee of trustees search for a new site for the college. The committee selects 68 acres in Garden City, Long Island. On October 8, 1928, the cornerstone of the first new college building is laid.

1929

Classes begin on Monday, September 30 on Adelphi’s new Garden City campus in three buildings designed by the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White.

1937

In the midst of the Depression, Adelphi is forced into receivership. A new president, Paul Dawson Eddy is faced with the task of saving the College. He redesigns the curriculum to include practical and vocational skills, adds prominent Long Island businessmen to the Board of Trustees and reduces the size of the faculty. Eddy’s strategy of meeting the demands of the community will dominate Adelphi’s development for the next half century.

1938

Internationally renowned choreographer and dancer Ruth St. Denis becomes the head of one of the first dance departments at an American university. It has since become a cornerstone of the Department of Performing Arts.

1943

Under the direction of Mildred Montag, Adelphi establishes the first Central Collegiate School of Nursing and the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps in New York State. Created in response to the need for nurses after the United States’ entry into World War II, the Nursing School extends Adelphi leadership in professional education.

1944

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt dedicates Harvey and Alumnae, two new dormitories financed by the Federal Works Agency needed to house the increasing number of nursing students.

1946

After the end of World War II, Adelphi again opens it doors to men, giving an opportunity to the many veterans seeking to further their education under the GI Bill.

1947

The post-war period is marked by expansion into new areas relating to business. The admission of men spurs the creation of basketball, football, swimming, wrestling, baseball, and track teams.

1949

Adelphi’s School of Social Work is founded.

1952

Adelphi’s program in clinical psychology is formally organized.

1955

The College marks its 60th anniversary with a three-day series of lectures and cultural events.

Enrollment hits 3,667.

A Ford Foundation grant for $407,000 supports increasing faculty salaries.

1957

On June 1, Adelphi hosted the first National Wheelchair Games with team and individual events including javelin throwing, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, and archery.

1963

Adelphi is granted university status by the Board of Regents of the State of New York.

The Leon A. Swirbul Library opens, named for Adelphi trustee and Grumman Corporation founder.

The faculty grows to 209, and the campus expands from the original three buildings to 16 on 70 acres of land.

1964

The Board of Regents establishes the School of Business Administration (now the School of Business) as a distinct unit, conferring baccalaureate and master’s degrees.

1965

Arthur Brown named president of Adelphi following Paul Dawson Eddy’s retirement.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is established.

1966

The Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies (since rededicated as the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology) becomes the world’s first university-based professional program in clinical psychology.

1967

Robert Olmsted, a member of the board of trustees, is appointed interim president.

1969

Charles Vevier is appointed president.

1971

Trustee Randall McIntyre becomes acting president.

1972

Timothy Costello is named president of Adelphi.

The Ruth S. Harley University Center is dedicated. Harley’s association with Adelphi would span over eight decades as a student, professor, Registrar, and Dean of Women (later Dean of Students), a post she held from 1942 to 1970, and distinguished alumna. Following her retirement in 1970, she was appointed Dean Emeritus, a scholarship fund and student center were named in her honor, and the Ruth Stratton Harley Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award was established in 2004. She died July 4, 2005 at the age of 103.

Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies became the nation’s first university-based professional school of psychology. Since then, the Derner School of Psychology has emerged as an internationally recognized leader in scientific and clinical psychology.

1973

Adelphi establishes ABLE (Adult Baccalaureate Learning Experience), one of the earliest adult education baccalaureate programs.

Adelphi’s School of Social Work opens a satellite program in Poughkeepsie, New York.

1979

President Tim Costello establishes an Honors Program in Liberal Studies.

Adelphi University’s Learning Resource Program is established. This program provides services to students who have learning disabilities and was one of the first of its kind nationwide.

1980

The Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program is established.

1984

The Institute for Teaching and Education Studies is created.

1985

Peter Diamandopoulos is selected as president.

1990

The University establishes a core curriculum, an interdisciplinary approach to general education. Required courses are taken throughout the four-year course of study to provide the context in which knowledge advances understanding.

The Institute for Teaching and Education Studies is reorganized as the School of Education.

1993

The Society of Mentors is established to provide every freshman and sophomore with a distinguished faculty adviser to enhance their University experience and guide them beyond the requirements of the curriculum.

1995

The Honors College is established to educate American leaders. The rigorous course of study includes small classes, a specially selected faculty, and co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

1999

Steven L. Isenberg is named interim president.

2000

Dr. Robert Allyn Scott is inaugurated as Adelphi’s ninth President. He is one of the few people ever to hold all three top positions in higher education: head of an independent university, a public institution, and a state higher education coordinating board.

Adelphi celebrates 25 years of Performing Arts in the Olmsted Theatre.

2002

Adelphi’s Hauppauge Center opens in Suffolk County.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for a new residence hall is held.

Adelphi joins the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta and its 75-acre Garden City campus is designated the Arboretum at Adelphi.

2003

The building that houses Adelphi’s School of Business is dedicated as the Hagedorn Hall of Enterprise.

Adelphi honors Mildred Montag and the 60th anniversary of its School of Nursing.

The Honors College celebrates 25 years at Adelphi.

The United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the Department of Public Information approved Adelphi as a non-governmental organization in recognition of the University’s commitment to bringing “global awareness of international issues and the United Nations to the University community and the public.”

2004

Adelphi celebrates its 75th anniversary in Garden City.

University Professor of Music Paul Moravec is awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

The Women’s Lacrosse team wins the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Championship, the first national title for a women’s program at Adelphi.

Women’s Soccer advances to the NCAA Championship Game for the first time since 1992.  The Panthers finish as National Runners-up.

Adelphi Men’s Soccer turns 50.

2005

The visual arts at Adelphi are given a new home, with the construction of a new state-of-the-art Fine Arts and Facilities Building, later named the Adele and Herbert J. Klapper Center for Fine Arts.

Swirbul Library gets a makeover, thanks to an extensive interior renovation.

A $1 million gift from Amy and Horace Hagedorn paves the way for Adelphi’s new Early Learning Center.

Adelphi celebrates 30 years of women’s athletics.

Adelphi receives the “Leadership in Higher Education” award from Long Island Works Coalition.

President Robert A. Scott is named one of Long Island’s 100 most influential Long Islanders by Long Island Business News.

2006

The School of Education is named in honor of alumna Ruth S. Ammon ’42, mother of Carol A. Ammon M.B.A. ’79, Adelphi Trustee and benefactor.

Adelphi University receives a $5 million grant from New York State, the largest public grant in its 110-year history, to help fund the construction of the new Performing Arts Center.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers the University’s 110th Commencement address at Nassau Coliseum.

Adelphi is recognized as a “Best Buy” in the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

New multiple-building instructional, performing arts, and sports complexes, slated for 2008-2009 completion, will enhance Adelphi’s academic, artistic, athletic, and recreational programs.

Adelphi becomes the only university on Long Island, and one of a handful in New York State, to offer a Ph.D. in nursing.

New York Times reporter Bruce Lambert chronicles Adelphi’s recent success in an article in the Metro Section.

Women’s Lacrosse repeats as NCAA Division II National Champions.

Women’s Soccer celebrates 25 Years at Adelphi.

Adelphi University created the Levermore Global Scholars Program to emphasize international learning as a crucial facet of an Adelphi undergraduate education. The undergraduate program, named for Adelphi founder Charles Levermore, centers on global learning and international studies.

2007

The Ruth S. Ammon School of Education is awarded National Accreditation by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the premier accrediting body in the field.

Adelphi’s School of Business earns accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the longest serving and largest global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

2008

Three new state-of-the art buildings open: the Performing Arts Center (PAC), the Center for Recreation and Sports and the Alice Brown Early Learning Center. Woodruff Hall renovations are completed and Motamed Field opens.

2012

Adelphi University School of Business is named after $9.5 million donor and board chairman Robert B. Willumstad ’05 (Hon.).

2013

The School of Nursing became the College of Nursing and Public Health.