Cedar Crest College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

. In the fall of 2024, the college enrolled 886

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and 362

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

s. Students of all genders can pursue degree programs through the School of Adult and Graduate Education (SAGE) at the undergraduate and graduate level.

History

Lehigh Female Academy

Following discussions in the Zion Reformed Church in 1866 to establish a seminary for women, the church appointed a committee of five members to investigate the matter. At the annual meeting of the East Pennsylvania Classis at the Zion Reformed Church the following year, members discussed a proposal set forth by neighboring

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

recommending the need to establish an institution to serve women.

Allentown Female College

The college moved to its current location in 1868 after having outgrown its former location. The academy bought Robert Emmett Wright's Clover Nook Estate in Allentown and changed its name to the Allentown Female College. In 1872, the Cedar Crest Alumnae Association was founded; it later registered as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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.

Cedar Crest College

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. In 1927, the Allen House was built as the president's residence. The building was later transformed into a library and administrative building. The Allen House was named in honor of college supporters and alumnae William and Roberta Ritter Allen, class of 1936. 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 A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

program that would be expanded to include doctoral-level degrees in nursing that later grew into an entire school of nursing.

Academics

The college's

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

programs span more than 35 majors. The curriculum also includes professional advising programs in Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine, and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. In 1974, the college offered its first bachelor’s degree in nursing. The first nursing class graduated in 1978. This program was the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley. Cedar Crest College also offers over 15 programs at the graduate level. Its MBA Program offers a focus on Women's Leadership. The Pan-European MFA Program in Creative Writing is the first MFA low-residency program in the United States with entirely international residencies. Cedar Crest College is also home to the first Master of Crime Science degree in the United States. The College expanded again to offer its first doctorate program in 2017. Starting with a Doctor of Nursing practice, the college now offers four doctoral degrees in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Practice, Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nursing Practice, Nurse Anesthesia, and Occupational Therapy.

The Carmen Twillie Ambar Sophomore Expedition

Started in 2016 by college president Carmen Twillie Ambar, each sophomore class at Cedar Crest is offered a 7- to 10-day study abroad experience in the spring of their second year at no cost to the student, excluding passport and personal spending costs. All full-time, traditional students are eligible for the Sophomore expedition as long as they remain in good academic, social, and financial standing with the college. In 2023, the Sophomore Expedition received the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA) Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization.

Sophomore Expedition destinations

Source: * 2018:

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

* 2019:

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

* 2020: San Jose,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

* 2021:

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* 2022:

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

* 2023:

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* 2024:

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

* 2025:

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

* 2026:

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

Campus

Cedar Crest is located off Cedar Crest Boulevard at 100 College Drive on the western edge of

. The campus is adjacent to the city's Cedar Beach Park. Buildings include Blaney Hall, The Narrows, Curtis Hall, and Hamilton Boulevard Building. The college also has four residence halls: Butz Hall, Moore Hall, Steinbright Hall, and the upper level of Curtis Hall. 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. 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. File:Cedar Crest College (6).JPG, Blaney Hall File:Cressman Library Cedar Crest College.JPG, Cressman Library file:Hamilton Building.jpg, Hamilton Building file:Cedar Crest College south gate.JPG, South gate

Athletics

Cedar Crest, known athletically as the Falcons, competes in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III athletics. The college fields teams in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, swimming and diving,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. The Rodale Aquatic Center on campus is home to the college's swimming and diving team.

Notable alumni

* Jane Amsterdam, editor of '' Manhattan, inc.'' and the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' * Rita Kogler Carver, theater and lighting designer * Jane Dyer, illustrator of children's books * Judy McGrath, CEO of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

* Dorothy Page, actress * John Pressman, member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

* Suzanne Fisher Staples, author and international news reporter * Blenda Wilson, university administrator

Notable faculty

* Chrystelle Trump Bond, former American dancer, choreographer, and dance historian * Anthony S. Caprio, former president, Western New England University * Richard Druckenbrod, former theology professor and Pennsylvania German language scholar * Fred Benjamin Gernerd, former

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and former Cedar Crest trustee * Frank Reed Horton, first national president of

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national Mixed-sex education, coeducational Service fraternities and sororities, service Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It is the largest College fraterniti ...

service fraternity * Diane Moyer, former Olympic

player and current associate professor in the psychology department * Barton C. Shaw, historian * Pauline Tompkins, former president of Cedar Crest College

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{coord, 40.587, -75.519, region:US-PA_type:edu, display=title 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania Cedar Crest Boulevard Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Allentown, Pennsylvania Women's universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1867