Utica College (or UC) is a private university located in Utica, in the U.S. state of New York. The history of the college dates back to the 1930s when Syracuse University began offering extension courses in the Utica area. Syracuse University established Utica College as a four-year institution in 1946, and in 1995, UC became a financially and legally independent institution. UC is officially mentioned in Syracuse's Charter, Article 1, Section 3: "Utica College shall be represented by the President, appointed ex officio, and by the dean of the college, and another representative selected by the college." Utica College began offering its own graduate degrees in 1999 and its own undergraduate degrees in 2011.
There are nearly 20,000 Utica College alumni. In 2016, the college enrolled 3,084 undergraduate students and 1,379 graduate students.
Campus
Utica College was originally located in downtown Utica in what is now called Oneida Square. In 1961 the school moved to its current 128-acre (0.5Â km2) campus, located in the western area of the city. Close to its borders are the towns of Whitesboro, and New Hartford. The campus can be accessed from Burrstone Road and Champlin Avenue.
When first completed, the current campus consisted of Hubbard Hall (academic classrooms), Addison Miller White Hall (administration), Gordon Science Center, DePerno Hall (faculty offices), and the Frank E. Gannett Memorial Library. Gannett Library is located on the Champlin Avenue side of the campus and provides students with access to over 200,000 volumes. The library on the new campus during the move from downtown was located in the basement of Hubbard Hall. The college was Utica College of Syracuse University in the 1960's and for quite some time after that with students' degrees being SU degrees. At some point much later, the college separated from Syracuse University, taking a different direction in its academic programs. <personal experience of a member of the graduating class of 1966>
The original residence halls of North and South Hall are still in use, as is Alumni Hall, an apartment-style residence hall, Boehlert Hall, Tower Hall, Bell Hall, and Burrstone Hall. The Ralph F. Strebel Center is the student center which houses the Office of Student Activities, Pioneer Cafe (dining commons), the college radio station WPNR, the Utica College bookstore, the Pioneer Pub, Career Services, Counseling and Student Development, Campus Safety and the Dean of Students office. Increased enrollment at the turn of the millennium prompted the administration to expand. Recent construction projects include an addition to the main academic building in 2002, and three dormitories of New Hall and Conference Center (now called Boehlert Hall and Conference Center), Tower Hall, and Bell Hall. Dedicated in September 2007, F. Eugene Romano Hall contains 23,000 square feet (2,100Â m2) of classrooms, laboratories, clinical space, and learning technologies for students in the college's health professions programs.
September 2007 also saw the dedication of the Professor Raymond Simon Convergence Media Center. Named in honor of one of Utica College's most celebrated faculty members, the Simon Center features a high-definition television studio, control room, editorial suite, and smart classroom.
In the winter of 2009 the college opened up a new building called the Economic Crime, Justice Studies, and Cybersecurity building. A new general biology laboratory and new dedicated research laboratories for microbiology and chemistry have been added to Gordon Science Center since 2011.
In 2013, Utica College expanded into St. Petersburg, Florida, with a satellite campus for their Accelerated BSN program.
On October 29, 2015, the Utica College dedicated the new Cynkus Family Welcome Center, and on December 12 of that same year, the college dedicated the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center, a multi-sport facility with 135,000 square feet (12,500Â m2) of interior space, including an eight-lane, 200-meter NCAA competition indoor track, multi-sport courts, artificial turf practice field, and weight room.
In 2016, the college opened the Robert Brvenik Center for Business Education in downtown Utica.
Edith Langley Bartlett Art Gallery
Located on the Concourse level of the Frank E. Gannett Memorial Library, the Edith Langley Bartlett Art Gallery features five to six exhibitions per year of individual artists, regional arts groups, collections, and NYS art and history subjects. The gallery supports an Artist in Residence program and also offers students the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations of a gallery. Seminars with visiting artists and gallery talks are a few of the activities that the museum offers the student body.
Academics
Utica College offers 40 undergraduate majors, 29 undergraduate minors, and 21 graduate programs. The accelerated nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The chemistry program is approved by the American Chemical Society. Utica College also offers programs in teacher education which lead to certification.
Utica College is well known for its health science education. It is one of the leading colleges in both occupational therapy and physical therapy. One of its strongest social science programs is in child life psychology The college has also received national attention for its economic crime programs. Utica College was the first institution in the world to offer a master's degree in Economic Crime Management.
Utica College is also a leading college in cybersecurity education. The college has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CD) by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security, designated a National Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence (CDFAE) by the Defense Cyber Crime Center and designated an Academic Center of Excellence (ACE) by the EC-Council.
For the Class of 2013, the average high school GPA was a 3.42. The current freshman class is also the largest in the college's history with over 600 students.
Notable alumni
- Sherwood Boehlert, B.A 1961, congressman from January 1983 to January 2007
- David F. D'Alessandro, B.S. 1972, businessman and corporate executive, author
- Frank Lentricchia, B.A 1962, literature professor at Duke University
- John M. McHugh, B.A 1970, congressman from January 1993 to 2009; Secretary of the Army 2009-2015
- Andy Rubin, B.S. 1986, technology pioneer, co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc. and Android. He was the Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google.
- David P. Weber, B.S. 1995, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Fellow and former Inspector General for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whistle blower, concerning Bernard Madoff, Allen Stanford, and Cyber-compromise matters. Presently Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Athletics
Utica College offers 25 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. Teams are known as the Pioneers and compete in the Empire 8 along with Elmira College, Alfred University, Hartwick College, Ithaca College, Nazareth College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Saint John Fisher College. The men's and women's hockey teams compete in the ECAC West athletic conference. The women's water polo team competes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Northern Division. The school's mascot is a moose named Trax. Almost 70% of the student population engages in intramural activities.
Facility use is at an all-time high as UC students, faculty, and staff pursue a healthy array of recreational opportunities in the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center. Recent renovation to the fitness center offers the UC community one of the best nautilus and free weight exercise experiences in the area.
The student body's overall interest in athletics was significantly bolstered by the addition of football and ice hockey teams in 2001. The football, field hockey, soccer and lacrosse teams play in Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The 1,200 seat venue was completed in 2001 and has a modern field turf playing surface. The ice hockey teams compete at the Adirondack Bank Center. The Aud, as it is commonly called, was built in 1959 and provides seating for 3,850 fans. The men's hockey team led the nation in Division III home attendance in the 2006â€"o7 and 2007â€"08 seasons. The basketball teams play on campus at the Harold Thomas Clark Jr. Athletic Center, which also has a pool and racquetball courts.
In November 2007, the Utica College football team set an NCAA football record, the highest combined score (142 points) by two teams, in their 72-70 loss to Hartwick in four overtimes. In this game, Utica also set the NCAA record for most points scored (70) by the losing team.
UC has had a strong women's basketball team in recent years. In 2008, the team won the Empire 8 championship. In 2009, they tied with Ithaca as the regular season Empire 8 champions. In 2010, they regained their Empire 8 championship title.
References
External links
- Official website
- Official athletics website