Cedar Crest College

Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the start of the 2015-2016 academic year, the college had 1,301 undergraduates (628 traditional age, 673 adult) and 203 graduate students. Men may pursue any master's degree, bachelor's degree, certification, and certificate program offered through evening and weekend study and are welcome to study nursing and nuclear medicine by day.

Founded in 1867, the college is historically tied to the United Church of Christ, though it remains academically independent.

Academics

The college's Bachelor of Arts and science programs span more than fifty majors. The curriculum also includes programs in Pre-Law, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. In addition, Cedar Crest also offers master's degrees.
Undergraduate and graduate programs are also offered to adult students through the college's School of Adult and Graduate Education (SAGE).

Performing arts

Theatre

The Theatre major at Cedar Crest College is a holistic major that encompasses both technical experience and performance in the theatre field. First Fridays are offered starting in a student's sophomore year to allow collaboration between those in the Performing Arts majors. In their senior year, students complete their Senior Capstone Project which is meant to feature their work cumulatively throughout their four years at the college.

The college stages four major stage productions which typically includes two musical productions and two straight plays. To feature the female students of the predominately women's college, productions chosen feature strong female leading, supporting, and ensemble roles with outside male performers from the surrounding Lehigh Valley community and beyond in any leading, supporting, or ensemble roles.

Faculty

Directors for mainstage productions vary, but faculty at the college include Technical Theatre Professor Kevin Gallagher and Professor Roxanne Amico.

Scholarships

The department offers scholarships based on an audition on a Performing Arts Scholarship Day or submitted by video. These are typically $1,500 per year, four-year renewing scholarships, contingent on the student's participation in productions or classes within the Dance or Theatre majors.

Campus

Cedar Crest is located off Cedar Crest Boulevard at 100 College Drive on the western edge of Allentown. The campus is adjacent to the city's Cedar Beach Park.

Some campus buildings include:

Allen House

What is now known as the Allen House was built in 1927 and was originally home to college President William F. Curtis and his family. This building was later converted to a library and eventually to an office building named in honor of the late William and Roberta Ritter Allen '36, generous supporters of the college.

Blaney Hall Administration Building

Blaney Hall was named after President Dorothy G. Blaney. She was the president of Cedar Crest college for 17 years and championed the cause of elevating the education of women to the kinds of rigorous academic achievement once reserved only for men. She took over the Allentown women's college in October 1989 and gave it new stature and renewed vigor. During Blaney's tenure, the college's enrollment doubled from 700 to more than 1,400 students, the number of honor students rose 35 percent, and the endowment grew fourfold, from $1.2 million to $5.7 million, with a current goal of $3.5 million. For almost all her career at the 139-year-old school, she contributed opinion columns to The Morning Call, writing on women's and local issues. During the ceremony that made her Cedar Crest's 11th president, she told the crowd to "transform knowledge into wisdom and wisdom into action. We need to expand our minds to embrace the diversity of other cultures and the ideas of the world."

Donald P. Miller Family Building for Art, Science and Peace

On the anniversary of Donald P. Miller's death, the executive committee of Cedar Crest College's trustees announced that the school would name its planned $4 million art, science and health complex after his family. Miller, who died at age 89 from natural causes on Jan. 23, 1996, was ''The Morning Call''s former publisher and chief executive officer. Over the years, the Miller family has provided funding and services to such Lehigh Valley institutions as the Allentown Public Library, the Allentown Art Museum, the Allentown Symphony, the Boy Scouts, the Phoebe Home, and Muhlenberg College, which is Donald Miller's alma mater.

Its ties to Cedar Crest College are deep. Miller was a college benefactor every year and for every campaign from the 1950s until he died. He was named a Cedar Crest honorary doctor of humane letters in 1968. The college's original location at 4th and Turner Streets in Allentown was previously the family homestead of Marjorie Wright Miller, Donald Miller's first wife. Marjorie Miller was a 1930 graduate of Cedar Crest who served on the board of trustees in the 1940s, '50s and '60s and was her class agent for decades. After she died in 1977, Miller honored her passion for poetry in 1980 through a memorial fund that helped establish the "Poet's Corner" inside the college's Cressman Library.

Inside the Miller Building is the Harmon Hall of Peace, which was donated by Elaine Oberkotter Harmon '59 and her husband, John. In the building are five large flags representing the United States; the United Nations; Croatia, for Elaine Harmon's adopted son; Japan, because Elaine Harmon supported Japanese exchange students who attended Cedar Crest; and Ghana, the home country of the then-Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who dedicated the Miller Building and received an honorary degree from Cedar Crest. The Peace Pole, located directly outside of the Miller Building, is one of over 100,000 that exist in 60 countries as international symbols of peace. This pole represents the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in 12 different languages.

Harold and Miriam Oberkotter Center for Health and Wellness

The Harold and Miriam Oberkotter Center for Health and Wellness, a 10,000 square foot building on the western edge of the Cedar Crest campus, added much needed laboratory and classroom space. Since 2001, Cedar Crest has experienced a 50 percent increase in traditional-aged science and nursing students. The number of students interested in forensic science alone has increased tenfold since this program's inception in 2000. The lifelong learning population at Cedar Crest has increased as well. Since the launch of the evening weekend nursing program in 2000, the number of lifelong learning students who are nursing majors has increased more than 105 percent. The main features of the facility include the 100-seat, state-of-the-art, Berta and Harold Keen Multi-Media Classroom; faculty offices including one dedicated to Lorraine Clark Laicha and given by Tom and Stephanie Zimmerer, Ed.D. '72; a forensic science-biological science lab; a biochemistry lab; a student lounge and restrooms.

Lees Hall and Fitness Center

Lees Hall is named in honor of Fortunetta Schlough Lees from the Class of 1897. The Basketball and Volleyball teams both compete in the gym which is located in Lees Hall. The athletic offices and Fitness Center are also located in Lees Hall. Lees has a seating capacity for athletic events for more than 300; for other events, 750. Other facilities in Lees Hall include a fitness center, athletic training room and offices for the athletic department staff. Fitness Center hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Starting in the Spring of 2014, Cedar Crest College will be updating its basketball court (design to be released).

South Gate

The giving of gifts to the college by the senior class is a long-standing tradition at Cedar Crest. One of the most well-known senior class gifts is the South Gate. In 1922, when President William F. Curtis learned that the highway department planned to build another road near campus, the Class of 1922 agreed to fund construction of a new entrance, incurring an expense that would take them years to pay off. After the gate's completion at the south end of campus, the highway department changed its plans, so the entrance sat useless until 1972, when it was moved to the west end of campus on Cedar Crest Boulevard, during the presidency of Pauline Tompkins, as a fiftieth reunion surprise for the Class of 1922.

The Bell "Dorothy"

The bell is a sculpture by Toshiko Takaezu that resides on the quad, in a garden that was built by the Trustees in 2005 to honor Dorothy Gulbenkian Blaney's presidency. The bell, named Dorothy, was donated by the internationally renowned sculptor to honor President Blaney. It was the first bell that Takaezu ever named. It is meant to have a calming effect and is rung at Open Door Ceremony and at the 50th Reunion memorial service.

Quad

The quad is the grassy area that flows from the front of Blaney Hall, surrounded by Hartzel Hall, Allen House, Cressman Library, Moore Hall, Curtis Hall and Butz Hall. The quad features Abe and Tretchie's Place, a gazebo that was donated by the board of trustees in memory of Abram Samuels and in honor of his wife, Tretchie.

Spirit Rock

In Keeping with the tradition of presenting the college with a senior class gift, the Class of 2013, in addition to raising over $6,000 for the Cedar Crest Fund, donated the Spirit Rock to start a new tradition on campus. This rock is meant to provide luck to all who rub it. Incoming freshmen are encouraged to touch the rock for luck during orientation and it is placed strategically so that all graduating seniors can touch it for luck on their way into the graduation tent. An inscription on the plaque reads: "If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the future, touch a life."

Tompkins College Center

The most notable feature of the Tompkins College Center (TCC) is its floor-to-ceiling windows that frame park-like views of the Cedar Crest campus. The TCC was named for Pauline Tompkins, Cedar Crest president from 1967 to 1978, and is primarily the student union, featuring the Falcon's Nest, the post office, lounge areas, Samuels Theatre and meeting spaces. A generous estate gift of $3.5 million from Verna Orcurto Canova '38 provided for renovations to the dining hall area in January 2015.

Wishing Steps

Between Allen House and the Cressman Library is an area dedicated to the college's historic wishing steps. Over 50 years ago, Cedar Crest women walked with their sweethearts, often men from Lehigh, Lafayette and Muhlenberg, through the woods behind campus, leading to what is now the Allentown Rose Garden. These woods affectionately became known as "Proposal Park" because legend had it that if a student and her date counted the same number of steps while walking to the park and sealed your wish with a kiss, she would get a proposal at the end. The Wishing Steps were ranked number 10 on the list of 25 Most Romantic College Traditions by College Ranker in 2015.

Other buildings

Other campus buildings include Cressman Library, Dorothy Rider Pool Science Center, Alumnae Hall for Art and Performing Arts, and Rodale Aquatic Center for Civic Health. Additional classroom and faculty buildings include Hartzel Hall, 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 Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. 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.

The campus is also the site of the Da Vinci Science Center, an independent science demonstration facility that opened in 2005.

Athletics

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, swim & dive, track & field, and volleyball. In addition, the Rodale Aquatic Center on campus is home to the college's swim & dive team.

During the 2007 season, the Cedar Crest Falcons tennis team placed 4th in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC), now known as the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC). The team also broke two school records, one for the most wins in a season (12) and one for the most PAC wins (7). The team's record was 12–3. Coach Lynn Pigliacampi, at the time, was two games away from becoming Cedar Crest's winningest tennis coach. Pigliacampi played both at local Easton Area High School (class of 1999), where she was undefeated, and at Division I Drexel University. Her father, Jules Pigliacampi, is an assistant coach. The United States Tennis Association named her Coach of the Year in 2008.

Cedar Crest's Falcons basketball team finished the 2008–09 season at 13-11 overall and 8–8 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. The team posted more conference victories than in the previous nine seasons combined, earning a CSAC playoff berth for the first time in a decade. Head coach Valerie Donohue (Cedar Crest, '95) led the Falcons in tying the school record of 13 season wins set in 1998–99, the last time the team made the playoffs. The 6th-seeded Falcons beat Centenary College's women in the 2009 tournament's opening round. Donohue was subsequently named the Colonial States Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

Cynthia L. Blaschak Softball Field

In the spring of 1997, Cynthia L. Blaschak made a donation to Cedar Crest to build a softball field. This was done as part of her support of the new NCAA Division III varsity softball team that was beginning their season that year. Blaschak was a student athlete herself while attending Cedar Crest. She participated in both basketball and badminton.

Notable alumni

* Jane Amsterdam, editor of '' Manhattan, inc.'' and the ''New York Post''
* Rita Kogler Carver, theater and lighting designer
* Judy McGrath, former CEO of MTV
* Dorothy Page, former actress
* Suzanne Fisher Staples, author and international news reporter
* Blenda Wilson, former California State University-Northridge and University of Michigan chancellor

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 and former Cedar Crest trustee
* Frank Reed Horton, first national president of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity
* Diane Moyer, former Olympic field hockey player and current associate professor in the psychology department
* Barton C. Shaw, historian
* Pauline Tompkins, former president of Cedar Crest College

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website

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1867 establishments in Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Educational institutions established in 1867
Education in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania
Universities and colleges in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Women's universities and colleges in the United States