Binghamton University

Binghamton University

Logo of Binghamton University

Established	1946
School type	Public
President	Lois B. DeFleur
Location	Binghamton, NY
Enrollment	11,034 undergraduate, 2,822 graduate and professional
Faculty	504
Campus	Suburban, 887 acres (3.6 km²)
Sports teams	19
Mascot	Bearcat
Homepage	www.binghamton.edu

Binghamton University, also known as the State University of New York at Binghamton, is a public university located in the Binghamton, New York, USA area. It is one of the largest universities in the State University of New York system. Binghamton University offers a wide variety of programs to its 11,000 undergraduate and 2,600 graduate students. Binghamton University is considered one of the top schools in New York State's public university system.

Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY

History of Binghamton University

Binghamton University (BU) was established in 1946 as the Triple Cities College, to serve the needs of local veterans returning from World War II. Established in Endicott, New York, the college was a branch of Syracuse University. When the college was incorporated into SUNY in 1950, it was renamed as Harpur College, in honor of Robert Harpur, a Colonial teacher and pioneer who settled in the Binghamton area. In 1961, the college was moved to its current location in Vestal, New York. After Harpur was selected as one of the four university centers of SUNY in 1965, it was renamed as the State University of New York at Binghamton. As other schools were added to the university, Harpur College remained the liberal arts college of Binghamton University. Harpur College is still the largest of Binghamton University's schools with over 7000 students. Harpur is often still considered BU's nucleus, housing much of the University's administrative structure.

The university today

The Glenn G. Bartle Library Tower is home to offices as well as the Library. The antenna atop the building transmits WHRW, the campus' FM radio station, to an approximate 30-mile radius.

The campus is spread over 887 acres (3.6 km²) along the Susquehanna River. It features a 190 acre (0.8 km²) Nature Preserve, a forest and wetland area that includes a six acre (24,000 m²) pond that adjoins the campus.

The school's sports teams are called the Bearcats (formerly the Colonials). They participate in NCAA Division I athletics through the America East Conference.

The school features five dorm style residential communities and two appartment style residential communities. The dorm communities, in order of completion, are:

• Dickinson Community (ostensibly named for the city of Dickinson)
  • Opened in 1959, originally as Dickinson College, but change in 1975 by student demand to Dickinson Community.
  • Individual dorms: Champlain, Digman, Johnson, O'Connor, Rafuse, Whitney
  • Dorms named for local residents of importance when the community was constructed
  • Dorms are made up of double-occupancy rooms
• Newing College
  • Opened in 1962
  • Individual dorms: Bingham, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Endicott
  • Broome, Chenango, and Delaware are named for surrounding counties. Bingham is named for the founder of Binghamton. Endicott is named for the bordering town.
  • Dorms are made up of double-occupancy rooms
• Hinman College (named for Senator Harvey D. Hinman)
  • Opened in 1968
  • Individual dorms: Cleveland, Hughes, Lehman, Roosevelt, Smith
  • Dorms named for New York State governors
  • Dorms are a mix of singles, doubles, and suites
• College in the Woods (aka "CIW")
  • Opened in 1972
  • Individual dorms: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca
  • Dorms are named for the five regional Native American tribes that made up the Iroquois nation.
  • Dorms are a mix of doubles, triples, quads, and five or six-person suites
  • Mohawk is the newest member of the CIW family, opening in 2000. It is designed very similarly to the Mountainview College.

Inside the Mountainview Dining Hall, Mountainview College

• Mountainview College
  • Opened in 2003
  • Individual dorms: Marcy, Windham, Cascade, Hunter
  • Dorms are named for important mountains in New York State.
  • Dorms are mostly suites, with one triple on each floor.

The appartment communities are:

• Susquehanna Community
  • Opened in 1984
  • Individual buildings: Brandywine, Choconut, Nanticoke, and Glenwood
  • Buildings named for local creeks

Nature Preserve, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY

• Hillside Community
  • Opened in 1990
  • Individual buildings: Adirondack, Belmont, Catskill, Darien, Evangola, Fillmore, Glimmerglass, Hempstead, Jones, Keuka, Lakeside, Minnewaska, Nyack, Palisades, Rockland and Saratoga
  • Buildings named for cities, counties, or regions in New York State.
  • Each building consists of a set of apartments, each of which house four to eight students

The school also operates one of the few remaining free-format college and community FM radio stations left in the United States, WHRW. Apart from the radio station, the college also is home to one of the country's largest entirely student-run college television station, BTV.

Famous alumni

• William Baldwin
• Ronald Brownstein
• Lois B. DeFleur
• Steve Koren
• Tony Kornheiser
• Camille Paglia
• Lee Ranaldo
• Paul Reiser
• Art Spiegelman

External links

• Binghamton University
• LateNite Binghamton
• Pipe Dream

Accolades

• The Fiske Guide to Colleges has recognized Binghamton as “the premier public university in the Northeast.” (Fiske, Edward B. Fiske Guide to College 1997. Crown Publishing Group. 1996.