Russell Sage College (often Russell Sage or RSC) is a co-educational college with two campuses located in Albany and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, New York, approximately north of New York City in the

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

. Russell Sage College offers both undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs. As of 2020, roughly 1,300 undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students are enrolled.

History

RSC was founded in 1916 by

Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, known as Olivia Sage (September 8, 1828 – November 4, 1918), was an American philanthropist known for her contributions to education and progressive causes. In 1869 she became the second wife of robber baron Russel ...

, a

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, as a "school of practical arts." She named the college after her husband, Russell, who was an American financier, railroad executive and

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) 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 term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from New York. With

Eliza Kellas Eliza Kellas (October 4, 1864 – April 10, 1943) was an American educator most known as former principal of Emma Willard School and co-founder of Russell Sage College. Early years Eliza Kellas was born on October 4, 1864 near Moores Forks in Fra ...

, head of the

Emma Willard School The Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women, located in Troy, New York, on Mount Ida, offering grades 9–1 ...

, Mrs. Sage was active in the women's suffrage movement; in founding the new college, they proposed to offer women the means of independence through the combination of broad education in the liberal arts with preparation for specific professional careers. Initially, the college operated under the charter of the Emma Willard School, granting its first baccalaureate degree in 1918 and graduating its first class in 1920. In 1927, the New York State Board of Regents granted a separate charter for Russell Sage College and reaffirmed the status of Emma Willard as a secondary school. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, an "emergency men's division" was created, and in 1942 the first graduate degree was conferred. In 1949, an Albany Division was opened, offering two-year, four-year and graduate degrees under the charter of Russell Sage College and extending the college's mission to include the education of men on the second campus. Sage Junior College of Albany received its own degree-granting powers in 1957. In 1995, Sage Graduate School became authorized to grant degrees independently, Sage Evening College became recognized as a separate administrative unit, and the institution was re-chartered by the Board of Regents of the state of New York as The Sage Colleges, often referred to for the sake of convenience as "Sage." The words Russell Sage College refer only to the college for women. In 2001, Sage Junior College of Albany and Sage Evening College were replaced by a single entity,

Sage College of Albany Sage College of Albany, SCA for short, was located at 140 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York, 12208. Along with Russell Sage College and the Sage Graduate School, it was one of the three colleges that made up The Sage Colleges. It was also ho ...

. With a charter change effective July 1, 2020 and beginning with that year's fall semester, Russell Sage College, Sage College of Albany, and Sage Graduate Schools united under a single name, also Russell Sage College, one college with two co-educational campuses in Albany and Troy, New York.

Academics

Majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

offered at the college are: Undergraduate * Art & Extended Media (BFA) * Biology (BA, BS) * Business Administration (BBA, BS) * Childhood Education (BS) * Creative Arts in Therapy (BS) * English (BA) * Graphic & Media Design (BFA) * Health Sciences (BS) * History (BA) * Interior & Spatial Design (BFA) * Interdisciplinary Studies (BA, BS) * Law & Society (BS) * Legal Studies (Certificate) * Musical Theatre (BS) * Nursing, pre-licensure (BS) * Nursing (RN-BS) * Nutrition Science (BS) * Organizational Studies (BPS) * Physical Education (BS) * Pre-Medical Studies Post-Baccalaureate (Certificate) * Psychology (BS) * Public Health (BS) * Sociology (BA) * Sport & Recreation Management (BS) * Theatre (BA) * Writing & Contemporary Thought (BS) Graduate * Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (MS) * Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism (MS) * Applied Nutrition (MS) * Childhood/Literacy Education (MS) * Childhood/Special Education (MS) * Community Psychology (MA) * Counseling and Community Psychology (MA) * Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) * Family Nurse Practitioner (MS) * Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (MS) * Forensic Mental Health (MS) * Health Services Administration (MS) * Literacy Education (MS) * Literacy/Special Education (MS) * Master of Business Administration (MBA) * Nutrition & Dietetics (MS) * Occupational Therapy (MS) * Organization Management (MS) * Physical Therapy (DPT) * Professional School Counseling (MS) * Professional School Counseling - Advanced Study (Certificate) * School Health Education (MS)

Campus

The self-contained campus is located in the

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

with 19th-century brownstone residences, Victorian gates, formal courtyards and walled gardens. This campus is on two blocks and is a safe campus with no recent reported crime in the area. There is a bowling lane, numerous antique and jewelry stores, a public library nearby, and several independent coffee shops in the area. There is easy access to public transportation for students to get around. The campus was home to the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI), which utilized the Schacht Fine Arts Center. Due to a lack of state funding, NYSTI shut down at the end of 2010, and the college has filled its role with the ne
Theatre Institute at Sage
Residence halls and houses Several of the brownstones are now used for student housing in place of traditional

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

. Two international houses, French House and Spanish House, are for students studying or speaking those languages. It requires an application process that you are either majoring in either one of those languages or are taking a course in either language to live in it. It is suggested you have a 3.0 gpa to be selected. German House was once counted among these but currently no longer requires that the students speak the language. This dorm is mostly filled with some juniors and seniors with one or two sophomores. Wool House is for students in the

honors program Honors colleges and honors programs are special accommodation constituent programs at public and private universities – and also public two-year institutions of higher learning – that include, among other things, supplemental or alternative ...

. In order to apply to live in Wool House, you must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, community service credits, and participate in campus activities. Applications are accepted based on qualifications and then seniority since there are limited housing options within Wool House. Other dorm houses include McMurray, Spicer and Gale. These three are combined as one dorm and are collectively referred to as MSG. The front main sitting room was restored in the early 1990s for the filming of ''

The Age of Innocence ''The Age of Innocence'' is a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine ''Pictorial Review''. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Apple ...

''. These dorms are named for the people who formerly owned them. First-year students live in the Kellas and Slocum Halls. The lounges in these were restored with new furniture and plasma screen TVs in 2008. In the fall 2008 and the spring of 2009, the third floor of Kellas was opened to upperclassmen who wished to reside in the hall. In the fall of 2009, Kellas is expected to be first-years only and Slocum is expected to open its door for the first time in a few years. McKinstry Hall is located above the McKinstry dining hall. These are also first-year dorms but like Slocum Hall, but due to financial reasons and small amount of enrollment they have not been lived in for quite a few years. They are used occasionally throughout the year for special activities and events. Slocum usually house transfer students just like Sage Hall does. Upperclassman halls include Sage Hall, Manning Hall, and Rickets Hall. Sage Hall, featuring an elevator and back door that opens into Buchman, formerly housed the Troy Female Seminary, which is the only dormitory without a kitchen in the basement. Manning Hall is mostly graduates and seniors and single rooms. This (Manning) dorm features an elevator and air conditioning and also houses one of the Resident Director apartments. Rickets is only for graduate students but if there are more graduate students living on campus than expected then they are most likely housed in Manning Hall. Please note students can also live off campus.

Student life

There are a variety of

student organization A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

s available, such as

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

and other

honor societies In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

, the ''Quill''

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

, The Sagettes a cappella group and the ''Review''

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

, and an assortment of cultural, religious, academic, arts, and sports groups.

Traditions

Russell Sage College has a rich history of student traditions, the most notable of which is the rotation of class colors. Even class years are assigned either the title of Golden Horseshoes or Purple Cows, while odd class years are assigned either the title of Blue Angels or Red Devils. After a senior class graduates in May, the incoming first-year class is assigned that color in September. Other traditions include: *Big Sisters/Little Sisters: When a first-year student enters RSC, she is assigned a big sister in the junior class. *Banner Night: Before the first-year class arrives on campus, their big sister class will create a banner in the color of their class with their class year on it. This banner is presented to the first-year class on Banner Night. *Color Night: First-year class officers are announced on color night. The title of the night is changed every year based on the color of the first-year class (i.e. Gold Night, Blue Night, etc.) *Class Sweaters: First-year students order sweaters in the fall, which are delivered to them at the beginning of Rally (see below). The sweaters are the color of their class and bear the crest of the college as well as their class year on the left breast. *Class Dinners: Each class holds a formal dinner once per academic year. *Ring Dinner: The junior class dinner, traditionally held in the fall semester, is when students receive their class rings. *Rally: Raises money for community charities in a friendly competition. Rally is supervised by the senior class. *Rally Day: The last day of Rally. *Sweater Night: First-year students are allowed to wear their sweaters for the first time at the stroke of midnight. *Room Trashing: Big Sisters attempt to find her little sister's class sweater. If they find their sister's sweater, they steal it—the big sister will hold on to it and wear it around her waist at Rally events. *Class Day: At the annual spring moving-up ceremony held at the end of the school year before finals start, all classes "graduate" to their next year of college.

Athletics

In addition to club and

intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

teams, Russell Sage is home to the '' Gators.'' Sage competes in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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 Thir ...

Empire 8 Conference. Russell Sage College currently offers 17 athletic teams and is adding 3 new teams in the 2021–2022 academic school year. Those new teams include baseball, women's golf, and eSports.

Notable people

Alumnae

* Elizabeth Anne Allen, actor * Ann Caracristi,

cryptanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic sec ...

and former Deputy Director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

* Prudence Bushnell, diplomat *

Ginny Brown-Waite Virginia Brown-Waite (born Virginia Frances Kniffen; October 5, 1943) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and a founder of Maggie's List. The district stretched along sev ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Mary Donohue Mary O'Connor Donohue (born March 22, 1947) is an American retired educator, attorney, politician and Judge of the New York Court of Claims and a former two-term Lieutenant Governor of New York. Donohue was first elected Lieutenant Governor in ...

, judge and former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of New York * Mireya Robles, writer and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

Alumnus

Francis Terry McNamara Francis Terry McNamara (born November 2, 1927) is a retired career Foreign Service Officer, ambassador and author. Early life Francis Terry McNamara was born in Troy, New York, November 2, 1927 to John F. McNamara, Sr. and Ellin F. Fennelly. Al ...

, diplomat * Marcus Patterson (basketball)

Faculty and staff

* Eric Wollencott Barnes, diplomat and former chair of the English department * Robert O. Fink, renowned

papyrologist Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...

and

Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, renowned female educator and co-founder of Russell Sage * Dean P. Taylor, politician and Russell Sage trustee

Honorary degrees

Dorothy Lavinia Brown Dorothy Lavinia Brown (January 7, 1914 – June 13, 2004Martini, KelliDorothy Brown, South's first African-American woman doctor, dies News Archives, The United Methodist Church, June 14, 2004, UMC.org), also known as "Dr. D.", was an African-Ame ...

, early African-American surgeon and politician *

Joan Ganz Cooney Joan Ganz Cooney (born Joan Ganz; November 30, 1929) is an American television writer and producer. She is one of the founders of Sesame Workshop (formerly ''Children's Television Workshop'' or CTW), the organization famous for the creation of ...

, businesswoman and television producer * Edna F. Kelly,

Congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) 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 term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, diplomat *

Anita Roddick Dame Anita Lucia Roddick (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of the British version of The Body Shop, now The Body Shop Internationa ...

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and founder of

The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divided b ...

Nancy Roman Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy through ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

(recipient of the first honorary degree from RSC) * Roland W. Schmitt, businessman *

Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (born 26 October 1972, Iliç) is a Turkish billionaire businessman, activist, and philanthropist of Kurdish ethnicity based in the United States. Ulukaya is the owner, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chobani, the ...

, founder & CEO of

Chobani Chobani is an American food company specializing in strained yogurt. The company was founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish businessman. Chobani sells thick, Greek-style yogurt with a higher protein content than traditional yogurt and is o ...

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

United States Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

References

External links

Russell Sage College

Russell Sage Athletics
{{Empire 8 Schools in Troy, New York The Sage Colleges Universities and colleges in Albany County, New York Private universities and colleges in New York (state) Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Education in Rensselaer County, New York Education in Albany, New York Educational institutions established in 1916 1916 establishments in New York (state)