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The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a
public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in New Paltz,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
in 1833.


History

The university's origins can be traced back to the New Paltz Classical School, which originally opened in 1828. After changing its name to the New Paltz Academy in 1833, the school was decimated by a fire in 1884, after which the school offered their land to the state government of New York contingent upon the establishment of a normal school. In 1885, one year after the fire, the New Paltz Normal and Training School, or New Paltz Normal School, was established to prepare teachers to practice their professions in the public schools of New York. It was granted the ability to award baccalaureate degrees in 1938, after which it was renamed as the State Teachers College at New Paltz; the inaugural class of 112 students graduated in 1942. In 1947, a graduate program in education was established. When the State University of New York was established by legislative act in 1948, the Teachers College at New Paltz was one of 30 colleges associated under SUNY's umbrella. An art education program was added in 1951. The school experienced another name change in 1959, becoming the State University College of Education at New Paltz. One year later, in 1960, the college was authorized to confer liberal arts degrees. Just one year after that, in 1961, the school updated its name yet again, to the State University of New York College of Arts and Science at New Paltz. The college's general education program (including then-vanguard introductory surveys of African and Asian cultures) was eliminated in 1971; a distribution requirement was re-instituted in 1993. A program in
African American studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...
was established in 1968. Three years later, the experimental studies program (reorganized as the innovative studies program in 1975) began. It encompassed then-unusual disciplines including
video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...
(under
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
),
dance therapy Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in USA and Australia or dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in the UK is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. As a modality of the cre ...
,
clowning A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
,
camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...
, and
ecodesign Ecological design or ecodesign is an approach to designing products and services that gives special consideration to the environmental impacts of a product over its entire lifecycle. Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan define it as "any form of d ...
. Instructors in the program were hired by students and compensated through student activity fees. A environmental studies site operated by students and community members under the aegis of the program at the southern periphery of the campus included
geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The rigid triangular elements of the dome distribute stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy ...
s, windmills,
kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...
s, a solar-powered house funded by the
Department of Energy A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...
, and more inchoate variants of sustainable architecture. Upon ascending to the college presidency in 1980, Alice Chandler characterized the edifices as "shacks and hovels" and abolished the program in the early 1980s, demolishing most of the site in the process. The ''
Legislative Gazette The ''Legislative Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper covering New York state government and politics located in Albany, New York. Published on Mondays from September through June, the publication bills itself as "The weekly newspaper of the New York ...
'', a journalism and political science internship in which students live and work in Albany and produce a weekly newspaper about state politics, was established in 1978. On December 29, 1991, the campus was the scene of a widely reported
PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * P ...
incident that contaminated four dormitories (Bliss, Gage, Capen and Scudder halls), as well as the Coykendall Science Building and
Parker Theatre The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an a ...
. Under the direction of the county and state health departments, the university began a massive, thorough cleanup effort. As an additional precaution, 29 other buildings were thoroughly tested and, if necessary, cleaned. The clean-up process lasted until May 1995. Since 1994, PCBs have not been used on the SUNY New Paltz campus. The college was rebranded as the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1994. In November 1997, two events on campus attracted nationwide media attention. The first, a feminist conference on sex and sexuality sponsored by the
women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...
department entitled "Revolting Behavior: The Challenges of Women's Sexual Freedom", featured an instructional workshop on
sex toys A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate Sexual stimulation, sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or Vibrator (sex toy), vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and ma ...
and a lecture panel on
sadomasochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
. The second, a seminar entitled "Subject to Desire: Refiguring the Body", was sponsored by the School of Fine and Performing Arts. One presenter,
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental performance art, art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finishe ...
performance artist and longtime New Paltz resident
Carolee Schneemann Carolee Schneemann (October 12, 1939 – March 6, 2019) was an American visual experimental artist, known for her multi-media works on the body, narrative, sexuality and gender. She received a B.A. in poetry and philosophy from Bard College and ...
, was best known for ''Interior Scroll'' (1975), a piece that culminated in her unrolling a scroll from her vagina and reading it to the audience; at the seminar, Schneemann exhibited abstract photographs of her vagina as part of ''Vulva's Morphia'' (1995). Political conservatives were outraged that a public university had hosted such events, and Governor
George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...
and SUNY chancellor Robert King expressed their displeasure. The controversy escalated when the theatre arts department staged ''
The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores ...
'' shortly afterwards. The college's then-president, Roger Bowen, defended freedom of expression on campus and refused to apologize, doing little to allay conservative ire. "The real issue," he said, "is whether some ideologues, however well-intentioned, have the right to dictate what we say and what we do on this campus." SUNY trustee Candace de Russy called for him to be dismissed. Bowen later resigned. In 2023, the institution was officially reclassified as a university by the State University of New York. The change took effect January 1, 2023, exactly seventy-five years after the SUNY system was founded; New Paltz was a founding member.


Campus

The SUNY New Paltz campus consists of about in the small town of
New Paltz, New York New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,407 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also with ...
. There are 14
residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...
s, centered mostly in two
quads The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...
. The main campus has two dozen academic buildings, including the Haggerty Administration Building, a lecture hall, Old Main,
Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...
Library, one main dining hall, the
Student Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...
Building, Science Hall and extensive gymnasium and sports areas. The college also operated the Ashokan campus in
Olivebridge, New York Olivebridge is a hamlet in the town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, United States, within Catskill Park and the Catskill Mountains. The community's name is sometimes written “Olive Bridge,” but the United States Board on Geographic Na ...
, consisting of another . In 2008 it was sold by Campus Auxiliary Services to the Open Space Conservancy; it is now operated as the Ashokan Center. SUNY New Paltz has undergone extensive construction projects since 2008, totaling nearly $300 million.


Campus theaters

SUNY at New Paltz has three on-campus theaters.


McKenna Theater

McKenna Theatre is a fully equipped proscenium theatre, with seating for 366. The theater is named in honor of Dr. Rebecca McKenna, professor of English and drama and the founder of the theatre arts program at New Paltz. At the rear of the theater is a sound booth for digital audio equipment which has the capabilities to play back, mix, and amplify audio. There is also a lighting booth with a computerized light board (controlling over 200 dimmers) and LCD video projection equipment behind the audience (and upstairs). There are 32 line sets in the fly space above the stage. There is also a scene shop behind the stage, storage area for scenery, a paint shop, and other technical facilities.


Parker Theater

The building was originally built as a dining hall. Parker was then converted to a theatre venue and teaching space. In 1972 it was made into a theatre production facility. The building was renovated in 1994, featuring a modified thrust stage surrounded by a three-quarter audience configuration seating up to 200 people. In the rear are lighting and sound booths with computerized light board (controlling over 90 dimmers) and digital audio equipment. To both sides of the stage are performance studio spaces. Classes are offered in acting, voice, movement, and musical theatre. On the same floor of the theater are a costume studio, dressing rooms, costume maintenance, storage facilities, and faculty offices. Parker Theatre was built in 1962. It houses the Raymond T. Kurdt Theatrical Design Collection.


Max and Nadia Shepard Recital Hall

Max and Nadia Shepard Recital Hall is located in College Hall, the oldest residence hall on campus. Built in 1951, it is a landmark, and is the closest hall to the village of New Paltz. Its basement, now used primarily for storage, was built as a fallout shelter, and was stocked as such until the 1980s. The only remaining remnant are the " fallout toilets". The facility contains 125 seats and is named in honor of patrons of the performing arts programs at SUNY New Paltz. The hall offers a delicate setting for student recitals and chamber music performances. The rear of the hall contains a small studio equipped with Pro-tools HD and a Control 24 sound board used for recording professional performances. Max and Nadia Shepard Recital Hall is an important facility for the community. It hosts many recitals and is an integral part of the Piano Summer program.


Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art

At the center of campus is the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, which opened in 2001. With more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space in six galleries, the Dorsky is one of the largest art museums in the SUNY system. The East Wing includes the Morgan Anderson Gallery, Howard Greenberg Family Gallery, Sara Bedrick Gallery, and the Corridor Gallery, and the West Wing includes the Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery and the North Gallery. The Dorsky's permanent collection comprises more than 7,000 works of American Art (with emphasis on the Hudson Valley and Catskill Regions), 19th, 20th and 21st century photography, metals, and a "world collection" of art and artifacts dating back to ancient times and representing diverse cultures. Through its collections, exhibitions, and public programs, the Dorsky supports and enriches the academic programs at the college, presents a broad range of world art for study and enjoyment, and serves as a center for Hudson Valley arts and culture. The Dorsky's facilities include research and seminar rooms for visitors, students and professors at SUNY New Paltz.


Student life


Athletics

SUNY New Paltz teams participate as a member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. ...
's
Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...
. The Hawks are a member of the
State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, consisting of schools in the State University of New York ...
(SUNYAC), but are currently in a two-year process of exiting the conference. The Hawks will join the New Jersey Athletics Conference (NJAC) in the 2026-27 season. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, volleyball and lacrosse; women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis and volleyball. For the first time in program history, New Paltz men’s volleyball team captured the NCAA Division III Tournament title in 2016. The win also marked the first NCAA title for any New Paltz team. Three years later, they defeated UC Santa Cruz to win their second championship in the sport and second for the school overall.


Clubs and traditions

The student governance is operated by the Student Association, which funds most student activities through a mandatory fee. There are many clubs,
fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...
, and
sororities In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...
. Clubs that are recognized by the Student Association are organized into one of six boards: academic, advocacy, athletic, fine and performing arts, media, and social and cultural. There is also an on-campus government, the Residence Hall Student Association (RHSA). The college has an auxiliary services corporation common to many state campuses in New York, called Campus Auxiliary Services, Inc. This on-campus company operates the dining halls and bookstore, as well as being the source of discretionary funds for spending by the college president and the RHSA. The college has a foundation and an active alumni association. The Center for Student Media at SUNY New Paltz consists of six clubs in the organization: The college's official student newspaper is ''The Oracle''. In 2010, it was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists for having the Best Affiliated Website for four-year college or university (Region 1 competition). It was named as a runner-up for the National Title. The campus TV station was WNPC TV. The college's radio station, WFNP, is known as "The Edge." It broadcasts part-time at FM 88.7, and also streams online.


Greek life

There are several recognized fraternities and sororities at the university.


Student activism


Vietnam War

The
Cambodian Campaign The Cambodian campaign (also known as the Cambodian incursion and the Cambodian liberation) was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia in mid-1970 by South Vietnam and the United States as an expansion of the Vietnam War ...
and concomitant
Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years before (Ma ...
in May 1970 led to a protest that culminated in a five-day student occupation of the Administration Building, subsequently renamed Old Main after the opening of the Haggerty Administration Building two years later. A March 1974 sit-in at the Haggerty Building reacted against perceived discriminatory hiring practices, the state-mandated reintegration of Shango Hall (which then housed underrepresented students), and the threatened cessation of the experimental studies program in the wake of a budget shortfall.


Israel-Gaza War

Protests at the university over the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
began in early 2024. On February 28, 2024, members of the
Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...
were invited to campus by the Jewish Student Union with the assistance of the New Paltz chapter of Students Supporting Israel, to discuss their experiences serving, as well as their opinions of the war. In response a protest rally was organized by New Paltz Students for Palestine, in which over 150 students, alumni, and activists protested during and after the event. Following the event and the protest, President Wheeler released a statement, saying, "I write today to share a brief note of gratitude to those within our community who helped ensure that all participants’ safety and rights were protected during the event organized yesterday by our Jewish Student Union and the corresponding counter demonstration." On May 1, 2024, over 100 students, faculty and others pitched in to establish an encampment on Parker Quad, spurred on by the Gaza Solidarity encampments established at other colleges across the country. President Wheeler visited the encampment and asked them to dismantle the tents, but students refused. He then wrote down notes regarding the demands of the organizers, which included divestment from companies doing business with Israel, amnesty for people disciplined by the school, and disclosure of the investments the school makes. The following day, on May 2, two members of Student Affairs visited the encampment in an effort to get students to dismantle it by 7:00 p.m. The protesters refused, and were later told to leave by 9:00 p.m. When the time came, they refused to leave, and administration called the police. Officers including New York State troopers, the NYSUP, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Paltz Police Department all participated. Police brought K-9s, batons, and nonlethal firearms. Over 100 people were arrested, with at least three people injured; one student being kicked in the face and an elderly woman allegedly knocked unconscious.


Notable alumni and faculty

See List of State University of New York at New Paltz people


See also

*
List of university art museums and galleries in New York State A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:State University Of New York At New Paltz 1828 establishments in New York (state) Education in Ulster County, New York Educational institutions established in 1828 New Paltz, New York New Paltz, State University of New York
State University of New York at New Paltz The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an ...
Tourist attractions in Ulster County, New York