Syracuse University

Syracuse University traces its roots to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, which was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1831 in Lima, a small town south of Rochester, in the western part of New York state.

In 1850, the scope of the seminary’s mission was enlarged, and the institution was renamed Genesee College.

In 1869, a dispute broke out between two factions among the Methodist ministers who comprised the school’s administration. One group wanted to relocate the college to Syracuse, about 86 miles to the east, to take advantage of new railway connections, while the other group wanted to remain in Lima.

The New York state legislature approved the petition of the faction wishing to move to Syracuse. However, the losing side filed a lawsuit to block the impending relocation of the college.

The group wishing to move went ahead with its plans anyway, which it was able to do legally by changing the school’s name to Syracuse University. In 1870, most of the professors and students then moved from Lima to Syracuse.

The split was a severe blow for the remnant of Genesee College still based in Lima; a few years later, the original college closed its doors.

After World War II, Syracuse began its transformation into a modern, secular, private research university. Today, Syracuse is organized into 13 schools and colleges, with a total student enrollment approaching 23,000. It is especially known for its programs in information studies and library science, communications, business administration, engineering, and several other fields.

Among many prominent Syracuse-connected individuals, we may mention the following:

• Poet and short fiction writer, Stephen Crane
• New York Times founder, Henry Jarvis Raymond
• Journalist and radio broadcaster, Dorothy Thompson
• Novelists, Joyce Carol Oates, George Saunders & Alice Sebold
• TV journalists, Ted Koppel & Megyn Kelly
• Radio and TV personality, Dick Clark
• Singer and actor, Vanessa Williams
• Actors, Peter Falk, Vera Farmiga, Neal McDonough, Riki Lindhome & Jessie Mueller
• Playwright and screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin
• Comedians, Jerry Stiller & Lisa Lampanelli
• Artist, Sol LeWitt
• Poet, singer, and songwriter, Lou Reed
• Mathematician and physicist, Joel Lebowitz
• Astronomers, Rainer Sachs & Martin Pomerantz
• Astrophysicist, Joan Feynman
• Physicists, Pierre Ramond, Ezra Newman, Albert Baez, Joshua Goldberg & Christina Marchetti
• Chemist, Jean M.J. Fréchet
• Nanotechnology pioneer, James Tour
• Geologist, Alexander Winchell
• Molecular biologist, Nina Fedoroff
• Taxonomist, George E. Fox
• Botanist, William Ralph Maxon
• Current US Representative, Donna Shalala
• Former US Vice President and 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.