View text source at Wikipedia
Former names | Lehigh Female Academy (1867–1868) Allentown Female College (1868–1893) Allentown College for Women (1893–1913)[1][2] |
---|---|
Motto | Religio, Libertas et Scientia (Latin) |
Motto in English | Divinity, Liberty and Knowledge |
Type | Private liberal arts college |
Established | July 12, 1867 |
Religious affiliation | United Church of Christ (historically related) |
Academic affiliation | LVAIC |
Endowment | $41.5 million (2022)[3] |
President | Elizabeth M. Meade |
Academic staff | 92 full-time |
Students | 1,324 |
Undergraduates | 953 |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Suburban, 84 acres (34 ha) |
Colors | Yellow and white |
Nickname | Falcons |
Website | www |
Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the start of the 2022-2023 academic year, the college had 953 undergraduate and 371 graduate students. Men may pursue various degrees at the college, but are sometimes limited to evening or weekend programs.
What would become Cedar Crest College was founded in 1867 by members of Allentown’s Zion’s Reformed Church of Christ as the Lehigh Female Academy. Classes started on September 5 with just 5 students that grew to 14 by the end of the inaugural semester.[4] Classes were initially offered in the basement of the Zion's Reformed Church, which the school outgrew going into the second year, leading to the school's purchase of the Clover Nook estate of Robert Emmett Wright. The academy moved classes there in 1868 and was renamed Allentown Female College.[4]
In 1872, the Cedar Crest Alumnae Association was founded; it later registered as a non-profit in 1933. In 1884, the campus was expanded to include 25 rooms, a gym, library, art room, and a chapel. The school was renamed to the Allentown College for Women in 1893.[4]
on June 4, 1913, the school would move again, this time to its present location. It again changed its name, this time to Cedar Crest College. Classes began on the new campus on September 29, 1915. With the start of classes at the new campus, then-president William F. Curtis started an Arboretum that would eventually be recognized by the American Public Gardens Association in 1985, two years after a storm nearly destroyed it.[4]
In 1927, president Curtis's house was transformed into a library and later an office building named in honor of William and Roberta Ritter Allen from the class of 1936.[4]
In 2001 ,the school picked the falcon as its mascot, replacing the old team name the "Classics". Two years later, Cedar Crest began offering graduate courses and degrees with an MBA program that would be expanded to include doctoral-level degrees in nursing that later grew into an entire school of nursing.[4]
The college's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs span more than 50 majors. The curriculum also includes programs in Pre-Law, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine, and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Cedar Crest College also offers master's degrees.[5][6] Its MBA Program offers a focus on Women's Leadership.[7] The Pan-European MFA Program in Creative Writing is the first MFA low-residency program in the United States with entirely international residencies. [8]
Undergraduate and graduate programs are also offered to adult students through the college's School of Adult and Graduate Education.[9]
Cedar Crest is located off Cedar Crest Boulevard at 100 College Drive on the western edge of Allentown, Pennsylvania.[10] The 84-acre (34 ha) campus is adjacent to the city's Cedar Beach Park.[11]
The campus includes buildings containing libraries, classrooms, administrative offices, pools, theaters, fitness studios, and dining halls.[12] Additional classroom and faculty buildings include Hartzel Hall, Curtis Hall and Hamilton Boulevard Building.[12][13] The college also has four residence halls: Butz Hall, Moore Hall, Steinbright Hall, and the upper level of Curtis Hall.[14]
Cedar Crest's collection of 140 species of trees is designated as the William F. Curtis Arboretum, which is registered with the American Public Gardens Association.[12] 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.[15]
Cedar Crest, known athletically as the Falcons, competes in NCAA Division III athletics and has teams in basketball, cross country running, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, swimming and diving, track and field, wrestling, and volleyball. The Rodale Aquatic Center on campus is home to the college's swimming and diving team.
Cynthia L. Blaschak is a member of the class of 1984 and was a champion badminton player for Cedar Crest, but claimed softball was her "main love" and regretted there was no softball team at Cedar Crest when she attended.[16] Blaschak would work for Cedar Crest's administration over a 25 year period from 1984 to 2009 and in 1997 made a sizable donation to construct a softball field to kick-start the College's softball team.[16][17] In 2024 the field would undergo a $2.5 million renovation to install all-weather turf, and lighting to allow night-games.[17][18] $1 million of which came from a grant from Pennsylvania State Redevelopment Assistance Capitol Program.[18]