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Former name | Adelphi College (1896–1963) |
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| Motto | Vita Sine Litteris Mors Est (fromEpistulae morales ad Lucilium bySeneca the Younger) |
Motto in English | Literal translation: "Life without learning is death" "The Truth Shall Make Us Free" |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | June 24, 1896; 129 years ago (1896-06-24) |
| Endowment | $238 million (2021)[1] |
| President | Christopher Storm, Jr. (interim) |
Academic staff | 1,115 (345 full-time, 770 part-time)[2] |
| Students | 7,603 (6,154 full-time, 1,705 part-time)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 5,251 (4,939 full-time, 312 part-time) |
| Postgraduates | 2,269 (1,294 full-time, 975 part-time) |
| Location | , New York ,United States 40°43′12″N73°39′07″W / 40.720°N 73.652°W /40.720; -73.652 |
| Campus | Suburban, 75 acres (300,000 m2) |
| Colors | Brown & gold |
| Nickname | Panthers |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –NE-10 |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Website | adelphi |
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Adelphi University is aprivate university inGarden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers inDowntown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had about 7,859 undergraduate and graduate students.
Adelphi University began with the Adelphi Academy, founded inBrooklyn, New York, in 1863. The academy was a private preparatory school located at 412 Adelphi Street, in theFort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, but later moved toClinton Hill. It was formally chartered in 1869 by the board of trustees of the City of Brooklyn for establishing "a first class institution for the broadest and most thorough training, and to make its advantages as accessible as possible to the largest numbers of our population."[3] One of the teachers at the Adelphi Academy wasHarlan Fiske Stone, who later served as theChief Justice of the United States.
In 1893,Charles Herbert Levermore was appointed as the head of Adelphi Academy. Seeking to establish a liberal arts college for the City of Brooklyn, Levermore received a charter from the Board of Regents of the State of New York, officially establishing Adelphi College on June 24, 1896. The college received its charter through the efforts of Timothy Woodruff, former Lieutenant Governor of New York and future first president of the board of trustees. Adelphi was one of the first coeducational institutions to receive a charter from the State of New York. At the time of its foundation, the college numbered only 57 students and 16 instructors. The Adelphi Academy continued to exist as a separate but nonetheless connected entity to the college. The new college was located in a building behind the Adelphi Academy, on the corner of St. James's Place and Clifton Place, in Brooklyn. The building that originally housed Adelphi is now used byPratt Institute for theirSchool of Architecture.[4]
In 1912, Adelphi became a women's college. In 1922, the school raised over one million dollars to expand the overcrowded facilities in Brooklyn. In 1925, Adelphi College severed its ties with the Adelphi Academy, the latter closing in 1930. In 1929, the college moved from its founding location in Brooklyn to the current location of its main campus inGarden City, New York. The original "academy" continues to function as a P–12 school in Brooklyn.[5] The original three buildings of the Garden City campus, Levermore Hall, Blodgett Hall and Woodruff Hall, were designed byMcKim, Mead and White.[citation needed]
In 1938, the Dance Program was founded byRuth St. Denis. In 1943, the School of Nursing was established. First LadyEleanor Roosevelt presided over the opening of two federally funded residence halls on campus, in a speech entitled "The Challenge of Nursing for Young Women Today."[citation needed]
In 1946, after World War II ended, Adelphi reverted to a coeducational college.
In 1963, theNew York State Board of Regents granted the college university status, and the name was changed to Adelphi University. In 1964, the School of Business was founded. In 1966, the Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies was founded. In 1973, the university established ABLE (Adult Baccalaureate Learning Experience) for the education of adults. In 1995, the Honors College was founded.[citation needed]
In January 1963, Adelphi Suffolk College (which had started out in 1955 offering extension courses inSuffolk County, New York) purchased the formerW.K. Vanderbilt estate inOakdale, New York. In 1968, it was spun off toDowling College after its chief benefactor,Robert Dowling.
Adelphi faced a serious scandal in 1996, as the school celebrated its 100th anniversary. University presidentPeter Diamandopoulos and the board of trustees were accused of neglect of duty, misconduct, and failure to carry out the educational purposes of Adelphi. The New York State Board of Regents was called in to investigate; Diamandopoulos, along with all but one of the board of trustees, was dismissed from office.[6]
Since that time, the school has surpassed many of its previous gains, and is said to be undergoing a new renaissance. Adelphi University has been ranked as a "Best Buy" college by the Fiske Guide to Colleges for the last ten years for its quality education offered at a comparatively affordable price.[7] Adelphi University also participates in theNational Association of Independent Colleges and Universities's (NAICU)University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).[8] In 2023, thePrinceton Review ranked Adelphi University a "Green College" making the list of environmentally responsible colleges and universities across the country.[9] Adelphi is frequently listed amongst the U.S.' most liberal colleges.[10]
In August 2023, Adelphi relocated the Manhattan Center location toDowntown Brooklyn at 179 Livingston Street. Adelphi - Brooklyn Center, located on the 5th through 7th floors, is adjacent toMacy's Brooklyn store and shared withSt. Francis College.[11] Adelphi has announced their return to Manhattan with a Graduate and Professional Center opening in early 2026. The Adelphi NYC location is under construction within 529 Fifth Avenue at East 44th Street.[12]
The university's School of Social Work is home to the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program[13][14] The program began in 1980 as the Woman-to-Woman Hotline, a free and confidential service to help women withbreast cancer.[15] It is the second oldest breast cancer hotline in the United States; over 100 trained volunteers offer information and emotional support for people with breast cancer. There are professional social workers, bilingual Spanish-speaking staff and support staff, along with support groups, educational programs and individual counseling.[16]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[17] | 353 |
| U.S. News & World Report[18] | 189 |
| Washington Monthly[19] | 238 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[20] | 208 |
| Global | |
| THE[21] | 1501+ |
In 2015, Adelphi University was ranked #17 inNew York State by average professor salaries.[22]
In 2025 Adelphi University was ranked tie for No. 189 in National Universities byU.S. News & World Report.[23]
On February 27, 2012, president Robert A. Scott announced a gift of $9.5 million from Adelphi Board of Trustees ChairmanRobert B. Willumstad '05 (Hon.). The Adelphi University School of Business, established in 1964, was renamed the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business in his honor.[24]
Many of the buildings on the Garden City campus are symmetrical in nature. This is likely becausegarden cities are typically planned symmetrically.[26] For example, Woodruff Hall has a second chimney solely to preserve the symmetry of the building.
Adelphi student activities include academic interests, cultural and language clubs, sports and recreation, religious / Interfaith Center, arts organizations, volunteer opportunities, fraternities, and sororities.[27]
The Campus Pride Index awarded Adelphi five out of five stars for LGBTQ-friendly campuses.[28] Student resources include the Multicultural Center, SafeZones and SafeZone training, Gender-inclusive housing options, availability of designated all-gender restrooms, organizations and events (including Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Coming Out Day, Pride Week, Transgender Awareness Week), an Alumni Affinity group, mentoring, support and counseling.[29]
The Adelphi Panthers are the athletic teams of Adelphi University. The Panthers compete at theNCAA Division II level for all sports and have been a member of theNortheast-10 Conference since 2009.
Since transitioning to the Northeast-10, the Adelphi Panthers have played in the East Region. In 2013, the Panthers were awarded the 2013 Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup, an honor awarded to the institution that compiles the most total points from all of its programs competing in league championships.[30]
Notable alumni of the university include entertainersChuck D[31] andFlavor Flav[32] of rap groupPublic Enemy, playwrightJonathan Larson, author andMacArthur FellowJacqueline Woodson,[33] athleteMike Windischmann, who was captain of the 1990 United States World Cup team,[34] advertising executiveRuth Fanshaw Waldo,[35] and politicians Prime Minister ofSint MaartenLeona Marlin-Romeo.
Notable faculty have included sex educator and Holocaust survivorDr. Ruth,[36]Pulitzer Prize-winning composerPaul Moravec,[37] and US Labor SecretaryFrances Perkins.[38]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Chuck D and William "Flavor Flav" Drayton formed the collective as students at Adelphi University in Long Island in 1984, where they were both raised.
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