West Campus is a residential section of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

campus located west of Libe Slope and between the Fall Creek gorge and the Cascadilla gorge. It now primarily houses transfer students, second year students, and upperclassmen.

History

Grand Terrace

Founders Hall, Cornell University-lettering

After Risley Hall was designed as a women's residence hall in 1911, work began on the construction of a men's residence hall complex on West Campus. In 1910, Warren Hanning's campus plan had established the site for new halls in the English collegiate gothic style. Trustees George Charles Boldt,

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...

, and Robert H. Treman led a subscription campaign. The site was designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram, who had recently completed the Graduate School at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. Architectural firm Day & Klauder designed multiple buildings, each housing between 16 and 30 men. Founders Hall was built in 1914 and South Baker Hall was built in 1915. In the 1920s, West Campus was envisioned as fully Gothic in style, connected to

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

's plan of a grand terrace overlooking Lake Cayuga. Rhode Island architect F. Ellis Jackson, class of 1900, expanded this plan to include a memorial to the 264 Cornellians who had died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The World War I Memorial group has twin Army and Navy towers with Lyon Hall to the north and McFaddin Hall to the south, both built in 1928. Mennen Hall was built in 1931. Names of those who served are inscribed on plaques between unglazed tracery windows in the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. Over the windows are names of battles in which they fought. The names of individual and group donors toward the construction of the halls are inscribed in the tower rooms, Lyon Hall, and over the buildings' entries. The first floor of the War Memorial includes an elaborately decorated octagonal memorial room to the war dead, including a painting by Alison Mason Kingsbury. The upper two floors were designed as the meeting rooms and apartments for the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

honorary society. Although portions of West Campus were built in the Gothic style, the grand terrace plan was ultimately scrapped. Six

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 ...

were built in 1953 to accommodate the post-World War II expansion in enrollment. These six brick dormitories were called the "University Halls" to distinguish them from the gothic "Baker Dormitories." In the 1960s -1980's, five of the individual University Halls were named in honor of various alumni classes that had achieved large donation records. The original Noyes Community Center, which offered dining, recreation and other services to residents of the campus, was constructed in 1966. Before funding was obtained for either the new North Campus dormitories or the West campus replacement dormitories, Sheldon Court and Sage Infirmary (now Schuyler House) were converted into dormitories in 1981, and Cascadilla Hall was later renovated.

West Campus Initiative

Cornell had been considering establishing a series of residential colleges since a campus committee chaired by Alain Seznec recommended them in 1969. Although a residential college was established in Risley Hall in 1970, a lack of funding delayed more widespread implementation. In 1999, then-Cornell president Hunter R. Rawlings III announced a new West Campus Initiative to rebuild large parts of West Campus. With an initial $100 million donation, the project aimed to create a residential college system on West Campus. Furthermore, a new Noyes Recreational Community Center was also proposed to replace the original community center. The project was completed in August 2008.

Residences

House system

As part of the Residential Initiative, the house system aims to create smaller communities enhanced by a relaxed atmosphere to supplement students' academic pursuits. Each residential college is housed in a newly built main building, and three colleges include surrounding Gothic-styled buildings. Within each main building, each college has its own dining hall. Rooms are divided into hallway-style arrangements and suite-style arrangements. All residents must enroll in the House Choice meal plan, which allows them unlimited meals in West Campus dining halls, but limits the number of meals they may take elsewhere. This is similar to the Risley meal plan which has been in effect since 1971. The rooms are singles or doubles arranged in suites and apartments. The facilities include laundry,

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...

s, computer networking, study lounges, and TV/social lounges. Some annual events include drive-in movies on the Tower, Fall trips to hike the gorges, sea kayaking on

Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and it is ...

go-karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ful ...

, a Winter

Semi-formal Semi-formal wear or half dress is a grouping of dress codes indicating the sort of clothes worn to events with a level of formality between informal wear and formal wear. In the modern era, the typical interpretation for men is black tie for e ...

, a Mardi Gras celebration, trips to the Late Show with David Letterman and an end of the year barbecue. The house system comprises: * '
Alice Cook House
'', founded in 2004. It is named in honor of School of Industrial and Labor Relations labor historian and University Ombudsman Alice H. Cook (1903–1998). * '
Carl Becker House
'', founded in 2005. It is named in honor of historian Carl L. Becker (1873–1945). * '
Hans Bethe House
'' was completed in January 2007. It is named in honor of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning Cornell physicist

Hans Bethe Hans Albrecht Bethe (; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German-American theoretical physicist who made major contributions to nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics, and who won the 1967 Nobel ...

(1906–2005). * '
William T. Keeton House
'' was completed in August 2008. It is named in honor of esteemed Cornell biology professor William T. Keeton (1933–1980). * '
Flora Rose House
'' was completed in August 2008. It is named after Flora Rose (1874–1959), co-founder of the College of Human Ecology.

Baker Dormitories

Known as the Baker Dormitories or recently called The Gothic Halls, these are nine

residence hall 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 ...

s on West Campus recognizable by their

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

-covered stone walls of local

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * fe ...

trimmed in

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

, reflecting the late Gothic architectural style of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. All nine were named the Baker Dormitories in honor of

George Fisher Baker George Fisher Baker (March 27, 1840 – May 2, 1931) was an American financier and philanthropist. Known as the "Dean of American Banking", he was also known for his taciturnity. Baker made a fortune after the Civil War in railroads and banking, ...

, a New York City banker. They housed both freshmen and upperclass males through the 1970s. Women were also housed in some sections of the Baker dormitories beginning in the early 1970s. All of the Baker dormitories became affiliated with house communities. Boldt Tower, Boldt Hall, Baker Tower, and North Baker Hall (Language House) are now part of Alice Cook House. McFaddin Hall is now part of Hans Bethe House. The others, South Baker Hall, Founders Hall, Mennen Hall, and Lyon Hall, are now part of Flora Rose House. The halls are currently coeducational except for Lyon Hall (women only), but they are all open only to upperclassmen. Lyon Hall also houses the permanent sanctuary of the

senior honor society and a war memorial shrine.

Class Halls

Known as the University Halls or U-Halls, the Class Halls were originally all-male dormitories built on West Campus in 1953. They were designed by Chapman, Evans & Delehanty and Quinlivan, Pierik & Krause. Although officially denied by Cornell, some claim that when constructed, they were intended to be temporary housing (as evidenced, for example, by the transitory fiberglass showers) until better structures could be built. The six halls were later named for

Elmer Sperry Elmer Ambrose Sperry Sr. (October 12, 1860 – June 16, 1930) was an American inventor and entrepreneur, most famous for construction, two years after Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, of the gyrocompass and as founder of the Sperry Gyroscope Company. ...

(inventor of the gyroscope) and the Cornell graduating classes of 1917, 1918, 1922, 1926, and 1928. In 1987, these buildings were gutted and the original aluminum-framed windows replaced with dark-brown metal casings. More study spaces and kitchens were added, and the capacity of each University Hall was reduced. In 1885,

's final presidential report warned the University of the day when "all be hard and dry, he Universitys buildings mere boxes." Such a description is apt to describe the Class Halls. All were built in a similar box-like fashion, lacking individualizing characteristics and architectural complexity. The interiors were indistinguishable from each other, as well. Although not as clear with the addition of the Noyes Community Center, the Class Halls formed a quadrangle arranged symmetrically along an axis formed by the War Memorial. The Transfer Center, one of two West Campus Program Houses, resided in the Class of 1917 Hall. This Program House, established in 1977, was dissolved in May 2007 when the building was torn down. Between 2003 and 2007, the halls were demolished in favor of larger

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...

s as part of former president Hunter R. Rawlings III's "West Campus Housing Initiative." For many years, Sperry Hall (University Hall #6) was also a Program House. The Class of 1926 Hall housed the Just About Music (JAM) Program House. By 2007, all of the Class Halls had been demolished.

Housing selection process

Whereas freshmen are guaranteed housing on North Campus, upperclassmen housing is more complex. Sophomores are guaranteed housing, but seniors and juniors are not. A lottery system is used to randomly allow students who apply to select their residences for the following year. For the residential college dormitories, an in-house lottery of current upperclassmen is used to allocate a fixed number of rooms for rising juniors and seniors. Next, the remaining rooms are applied for. The number of senior and junior slots in this pool are determined by the total number of open rooms on West Campus, minus the number of sophomores who applied for West Campus housing. Then, in order of sophomore to senior, the applicants are allowed to select their rooms for the next academic year. Furthermore, students are allowed to block, so that up to five applicants may select adjacent rooms at the same time. A special requirement for blocks of three or more participants is that one person must be assigned a bed in a double or a triple room. Revisions to the Flora Rose Housing system were implemented starting in the 2013-2014 academic year to keep the most active, interested residents of Rose House in the system. The lottery system was abolished in Rose House and replaced with two programs: the Rose Scholars program and the Rose Community Organizers program. The larger Rose Scholars program requires residents to attend events hosted within and approved by the House on a weekly basis. The Rose Community Organizers, the smaller program, requires residents to attend the weekly Rose Roundtable meetings and organize events for the House and West Campus. Completion of either event guarantees residents housing within Rose House for the following year. Residents must apply and be accepted into the program in the early fall to participate. Emphasis in the application process is on essays.

Small living units

West Campus includes a number of other student residential structures, including those organized under the Cornell University Residence Plan of 1966, among the following:

University-owned

* 112 Edgemoor Lane (upperclassman dormitory; originally

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

fraternity, later

Triangle Fraternity (Truth Conquers All) , maxim = , colors = Old Rose Gray , symbol = Engineers' transit , flower = White chrysanthemum , flag = , jewel = , publication = ''Triangle Review'' , philanthropy = FIRST , chapters = 38 Active 4 Colonies , members = 1,20 ...

) * 625 University Ave (Alice Cook House annex); formerly Alpha Tau Omega fraternity * 660 Stewart (Cooperative), 660 Stewart Ave *

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

("Craigielea," fraternity), 107 Edgemoor Ln *

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

(" Deke House," fraternity), 13 South Ave *

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...

(fraternity), 104 Mary Anne Wood Dr *

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...

(fraternity), 6 South Ave *

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...

(sorority), 519 Stewart Ave * Phi Gamma Delta ("The Oaks," fraternity), 118 McGraw Pl *

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

(fraternity), 525 Stewart Avenue, deliveries to 120 Mary Ann Wood Drive, also known as the Irving Literary Society *

Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma (), colloquially known as Phi Sig, was the first collegiate nonsectarian sorority to allow membership of women of all faiths and backgrounds. The sorority was founded on November 26, 1913, and lists 60,000 initiated members, 115 ...

(sorority), 14 South Ave (originally

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

) *

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

(fraternity), 2 Forest Park Ln *

Sigma Alpha Mu Sigma Alpha Mu (), commonly known as Sammy, is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Though initially founded as a Jewish organization, the fraternity dropped its religious affiliation and became open to men of a ...

("Hillcrest," fraternity), 101 McGraw Pl *

Sigma Phi The Sigma Phi Society () was founded on the Fourth of March in the year 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York. It is the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States.

(fraternity), 1 Forest Park Ln *

(fraternity), 109 McGraw Pl * Von Cramm Hall (cooperative), 623 University Ave * Watermargin (cooperative), 103 McGraw Pl

Private

* 104 West (formerly Kosher Dining Hall; owned by Center for Jewish Living, operated by Cornell Dining), 104 West Ave * Algonquin Lodge (cooperative), 526 Stewart Ave * Alpha Delta Phi (fraternity), 777 Stewart Ave *

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

("Rockledge," fraternity), 804 Stewart Ave * Cayuga Lodge (cooperative), 630 Stewart Ave * Center for Jewish Living (formerly Young Israel at Cornell), 106 West Ave *

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

(fraternity), 810 University Ave *

Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" ...

Llenroc Llenroc is a Gothic revival villa built for Ezra Cornell, the founder of Cornell University. It is located at 100 Cornell Avenue in Ithaca, New York, United States, just below the Cornell University campus. Since 1911, it has been the home o ...

Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as President of the New York Agricul ...

's mansion, fraternity), 100 Cornell Ave *

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

("Edgemoor," fraternity), 125 Edgemoor Ln *

Omega Tau Sigma Omega Tau Sigma () is a Veterinary Medicine professional fraternity started at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1906. History Omega Tau Sigma was founded by several students in Veterinary Medicine at the Universi ...

(fraternity), 200 Willard Wy *

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#List of Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in ...

(fraternity), 702 University Ave * Pi Kappa Alpha (fraternity), 17 South Ave * Sigma Nu (fraternity), 230 Willard Wy * Sigma Pi (fraternity), 730 University Ave * Stewart Little (Cooperative), 211 Stewart Ave *

Telluride House The Telluride House, formally the Cornell Branch of the Telluride Association (CBTA), and commonly referred to as just "Telluride", is a highly selective intentional community, residential community of Cornell University students and faculty. ...

(scholarship residence), 217 West Ave *

Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...

(fraternity), 800 University Ave

Former

* 110 Edgemoor Ln, demolished (formerly

fraternity) * 102 West Ave, demolished (originally Seal and Serpent fraternity) * 722 University Ave., demolished (formerly

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston i ...

fraternity, later

Alpha Chi Rho Alpha Chi Rho (), commonly known as Crows, Crow, or AXP, is a men's collegiate fraternity founded on June 4, 1895, at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, by the Reverend Paul Ziegler, his son Carl Ziegler, and Carl's friends William H. Rous ...

and

Lambda Upsilon Lambda La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. ( or LUL) is a Latino-based collegiate fraternity. It was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on February 19, 1982, and has 74 active undergraduate chapters and fifteen gradua ...

fraternities and

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

sorority)

Other Buildings

Noyes Community Recreation Center, Cornell University

West Campus was served by the Noyes Community Center (formerly the Noyes Student Union) located on Stewart Avenue, centered on the axis of the War Memorial, until the 2006-07 academic year. This building was demolished and in 2007 was replaced with the Noyes Community Recreation Center, which provides indoor athletic facilities located on Campus Road. Academic buildings include: the Treman House (1902) designed by William Henry Miller, which houses the George McT. Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia.

Parking

Insufficient parking on West Campus has been the source of controversy and litigation. Alice Cook House was built on the main West Campus parking lot. The University sought to replace the lost parking spaces by paving over the Redbud Woods, located on the gardens of the Treman estate. Conservation advocates sought to protect the area as a Historic District, and advocated the construction of underground parking beneath the new West Campus houses. Nonetheless, after much litigation and protests, the University paved the woods as a dormitory parking lot. retrieved 2007-01-08

References

External links

West Campus Residential Initiative Alumni Webpage

West Campus Construction Plans
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Campus Cornell University campuses Cornell University dormitories Cornell University buildings