Manhattanville College

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Manhattanville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Purchase, New York.

Current president Richard Berman has served for nearly 11 years. Under his administration Manhattanville has undergone a renaissance[link] which has gained the college much acclaim.

Today roughly one thousand seven hundred students attend Manhattanville. Renowned for its commitment to diversity, Manhattanville boasts an impressive academic body made up of students from 59 countries and 40 states. Guidebooks[link]have called the Manhattanville student body, smart, sociable, athletic and easy-going. Admission to Manhattanville is considered difficult with a 50% admissions rate[link] with much emphasis being placed on character development. In accordance with the college's Portfolio System, graduate candidates must present a freshman year assessment essay; a study plan outlining all course work counted toward the degree; a program evaluation essay, which gives a rationale for the student's choice of courses, as well as a personal evaluation of the course; and specific examples of work in writing and research.

Campus

Manhattanville is located on a 100 acre wooded campus in Purchase, New York, on the former estate of Whitelaw Reid. The centerpiece of the campus is a quadrangle designed by Frederick Law Olmstead which is flanked on its north end by a massive stone castle.

History

In 1841 in a three-story house on Houston Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic boarding school for girls, was founded. The Academy relocated in 1847 to an area in the north western part of Manhattan Island on a hill overlooking the village of Manhattanville. Destroyed by a fire in 1888, the Academy was rebuilt on the same foundation and continued to grow, both in curriculum and physical environment.

In March of 1917, 76 years after its founding as an academy, Manhattanville was chartered as a college by the New York State Board of Regents, empowering it to grant both undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 1952, the college moved to Purchase to the former estate of Whitelaw Reid, editor of the New York Herald Tribune and Ambassador to the United Kingdom before World War Two. Today, Manhattanville's "Castle" looks out over the green of the quadrangle to the renovated residence halls, academic buildings and the housing complex for faculty and staff.

Co-educational since 1969 and non-denominational in its governance since 1971, Manhattanville's original vision lives on in the tradition of service begun by the Society of the Sacred Heart, extending from the students to the global community. During the Depression and World War II, President Grace Cowardin Dammann, RSCJ, instilled in Manhattanville's students a keen awareness of social problems by encouraging them to spend one day a week working with children at the Barat Settlement in the Bowery and at Casita Maria in East Harlem. Mother Dammann's widely published speech, "Principles vs. Prejudice," inspired other colleges to break down racial barriers. The long tradition of the school, which preceded the college charter, determined the character Manhattanville would have, and which is stated in the Manhattanville misson statement: a belief in the liberalizing effect of the liberal arts, a sense of tradition, an interest in the most humane manifestations of the human spirit, and a continuing effort to enhance the local community. Students' commitment to "community" is evidenced by the thousands of hours they devote to develop and participate in community service projects.

Traditions

• 200 Nights Halloween Party,100 Nights Theme party,50 Nights Toga Party in honor of remaining nights until graduation.
• Fall Jam Music Festival
• Quad Jam
• International Bazaar
• Homecoming Weekend
• History Alumni BBQ [Manhattanville History Department]

Trivia

• Reid Hall was a potential site for the United Nations.
• The campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in New York City.
• Manhattanville throws a party in celebration of seniors 200,100 and 50 remaining nights.
• There is a graveyard on campus which holds the remains of nearly 50 nuns.
• In 2003 Toni Smith, a member of the women's basketball team, stood in protest against war, this action received [international media attention]

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During the Vietnam War, the main academic building was overtaken by students in protest.

Juan Salas ('06 began [My Soldier], a program to support American soldiers, the program to date has nearly 500,000 members.

The interior of Reid Hall was used in the recent film The Thomas Crown Affair

Valiants Ice Hockey plays their home game at Playland Park.

Manhattanville boasts the oldest nation-wide portfolio system

Senator Edward Kennedy (D) Mass. met his former wife, Joan Bennett Kennedy while delivering a speech dedicating the gymnasium in his sister's honor.

In film, television and the arts

Movies and television featuring scenes shot on Manhattanville campus include:

• Thomas Crown Affair which utilized the interior of Reid Hall.
• Law and Order SVU which used the interior of the President's Cottage
• The Funeral(1996) in which a main character says she graduated from Manhattanville.

Upcoming Projects

• Manhattanville Creative Arts and Student Center (2006)
• Rebuilding of "Old Chapel" with biology "living" classroom

Notable alumni

• Rose Kennedy, mother of John F. Kennedy, President of the United States

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