SLC100: Timely Education. Timeless Values.

Sarah Lawrence College was founded in 1926 by William Van Duzer Lawrence as a junior college for women, named for his wife Sarah Bates Lawrence. The College received its provisional charter on December 9, 1926, and appointed Marion Coats as its first president. In 1928, Bates Hall and the first dorms were completed, and the College welcomed its first students. Constance Warren became the second president in 1929, and the first commencement was held that same year… with one graduate! During the its first decade, the College’s seal, bearing the motto “Wisdom with Understanding”, key governance documents, and its academic foundations were established.

In the 1930s, Sarah Lawrence continued shaping its distinctive pedagogy as it grew. The first full graduating class (117 students) finished in 1930, and MacCracken Hall was completed that same year. The College received an absolute charter in 1931, allowing it to grant BA degrees, which it did for the first time in 1933. The campus expanded with the purchase of Robinson (1934) and Andrews (1935) Houses, and the opening of the on-campus Nursery School — today known as the Early Childhood Center — in 1937 established the College’s enduring commitment to lifelong learning.

In the 1940s, World War II shaped life at Sarah Lawrence. In 1942, the College hosted intercultural forums to bring together different racial groups from Westchester County and created a Student War Board to connect students with wartime work and service. Harold Taylor became the third president in 1945. In 1946 the first men were admitted under the G.I. Bill, and a year later the College’s name was changed from Sarah Lawrence College for Women to Sarah Lawrence College. In 1949, the College was granted the authority to offer MA degrees.

In the 1950s, Sarah Lawrence awarded its first MA degrees in 1951, marking growth in graduate programs, and campus expanded with the purchase of Kober House (1951), the construction of the Student Arts Center, designed by architecht Marcel Breuer, the opening of Reisinger Auditorium (1952), and the purchase of The President’s House (1953). In these years, the College stood firm against McCarthyism, reaffirming its commitment to academic freedom.

In the 1960s, SLC expanded its mission and physical campus. New dorms (Garrison, Rothschild, and Taylor) were completed in 1961, the North building in 1967, and Mansell, Lynd, Brebner, and Slonim Houses were purchased throughout the decade. In 1962, the College established the Center for Continuing Education, the first full-scale undergraduate program in the U.S. for returning adult students. The College officially became coeducational in 1968. The Human Genetics graduate program was established as the first graduate-level genetic counselor training program in the country in 1969, the same year the College began offering MFA degrees. Presidential transitions occurred throughout the 1960s, with Paul Ward, Esther Raushenbush, and Charles DeCarlo holding the position.

In the 1970s, Sarah Lawrence expanded both its physical campus and its academic offerings. The College purchased Swinford (1970) and Lyles (1971) Houses, and built new spaces such as Andrews Court (1972), the Performing Arts Center (1974), the Esther Raushenbush Library (1974), and Slonim Woods (1976). Graduate programs grew with the establishment of the Child Development (1971) and Women’s History (1972) programs, the latter of which was the first MA of its kind. Students and faculty collaborated to create community-focused arts initiatives, such as Youth Theatre Interactions and the Theatre Outreach program.

In the 1980s, Alice Stone Ilchman began her 17-year tenure (1981-98) as the eighth president of Sarah Lawrence, guiding the College through institutional growth and academic expansion. The decade saw the creation of two new graduate programs — Health Advocacy (1980) and the Art of Teaching (1985) — and the creation of the Child Development Institute in 1987. Ilja Wachs, a member of the Literature faculty for 57 years, served as Dean of the College from 1980-85, before turning the position over to Barbara Kaplan for 22 years (1985-2007).

In the 1990s, SLC continued strengthening campus facilities and broadening its community impact. Two major additions to campus were constructed: the Alice Stone Ilchman Science Center in 1994 and the Campbell Sports Center in 1998. Schmidt House was purchased in 1990. The College created the Right-to-Write program, which facilitates writing workshops for incarcerated women, in 1995, and two years later began participating in the Bedford Hills College Program, pairing students with incarcerated individuals working toward a degree. Michele Tolela Myers took the helm as the College's ninth president in 1998.

In the early 2000s, Sarah Lawrence turned its attention to creating a dedicated, modern home for the visual and studio arts on campus, and construction of the Heimbold Visual Arts Center was completed in 2004. Residential capacity for undergraduate students grew when Hill House, an apartment building converted into a residence hall, was purchased in 2001. In 2007, Karen R. Lawrence began her 10-year tenure as the College’s 10th president.

In the 2010s, Sarah Lawrence opened its first off-campus academic research site, the Center for the Urban River at Beczak (2013). Its graduate offerings expanded with the 2012 launch of the MS in Dance/Movement Therapy program. In 2015 SLC kicked off its largest capital campaign, which raised $200 million and concluded in 2019; among its results were the Barbara Walters Campus Center and the Remy Theatre. In 2017, Cristle Collins Judd began her tenure as the College’s 11th — and current — president. In 2019, Sarah Lawrence was awarded a five-year, $1.2 million grant by the Mellon Foundation to advance civic engagement through the arts and humanities in Westchester County.

Born in 1842 on a farm outside Elmira, New York, William Van Duzer Lawrence established Lawrence Park in Bronxville, New York, a housing development that catered to the artistic community, in 1890. In 1908, William donated to the building of a new hospital in Bronxville, named Lawrence Hospital after its benefactor. Upon the death of his wife, Sarah, in 1926, William decided to donate his residence in Bronxville to the establishment of an all-girls junior college. The school was named Sarah Lawrence College in honor of his late wife. William died in 1927, less than a year after the initial founding of Sarah Lawrence College.

Born in 1846 in Monroe, Michigan, Sarah Bates Lawrence never pursued a college education, but went on to emphasize the importance of higher education for young women throughout her lifetime. Upon moving to New York with her husband in 1889, Sarah became active in the New York Exchange for Women’s Work, serving on its Board of Managers before becoming president of the organization. In 1916, the Lawrences bought a summer home in Daytona, Florida, where Sarah became actively involved in African American educator Mary McLeod Bethune’s Bethune-Cookman College. Sarah Lawrence died in 1926.