Search sarahlawrence.edu
For 100 years, Sarah Lawrence has empowered curious and creative lifelong learners – people who question deeply, imagine boldly, and act with purpose. As we celebrate a century of this transformative education, we honor the timeless values that make us who we are while responding nimbly to the timely opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing world. Our foundation is strong, our mission endures, and our second century begins with boundless possibility.
William Van Duzer Lawrence approaches Henry Noble MacCracken, President of Vassar College, regarding the founding of a junior college for women in honor of his wife, Sarah Bates Lawrence.
William Van Duzer Lawrence writes the Letter of Instruction regarding the founding of the College.
Marion Coats, Principal of Bradford Academy, is hired as President-Designate of Sarah Lawrence College for Women. She begins her term as the first President (1926-1929).
Sarah Bates Lawrence dies.
Provisional charter granted to incorporate Sarah Lawrence College for Women.
William Van Duzer Lawrence dies.
Affiliation with Vassar College Ratified.
Seal of the College adopted. Designed by Violet Oakley, the seal includes the motto “Wisdom with Understanding.”
By-Laws adopted by the Board of Trustees.
Beatrice Doerschuk begins term as Director of Education (1928-1946).
Bates Hall (originally called Tower Hall) completed.
First three dormitories, Dudley Lawrence, Titsworth, and Gilbert (also known as the “Old Dorms”) are completed.
The College welcomes its first students.
Perkin's House (9 Mead Way) purchased.
Wayside Cottage (7 Mead Way), later named Warren House and then Warren Green, purchased. Served as the President’s House from 1929-1947.
Constance Warren begins term as second President (1929-1945).
First commencement with one graduate, Ruth Wilmot '29.
First graduating class (117) receives the diploma.
MacCracken Hall completed.
In response to the Great Depression, the student-run Social Service Activity establishes the “Community Chest” to support local, national, and international charities.
Absolute charter to grant BA degree awarded.
First Bachelor of Arts degree awarded to Isabella Hayes at Commencement.
Robinson House purchased (2 Mead Way).
Andrews House purchased.
Charter Day is celebrated signifying the 10th anniversary of the granting of the provisional charter.
Affiliation between the Board of Trustees of Vassar College and Sarah Lawrence College terminated. At the termination of the affiliation, Henry Noble MacCracken resigns from the Board of Trustees.
Nursery School, predecessor to the Early Childhood Center, opens on campus.
Morris House purchased (8 Mead Way).
The College sponsors several intercultural forums to bring together many different racial groups from southern Westchester County called the United Nationalities Round Tables.
Creation of a Student War Board to help Sarah Lawrence students find both work and service placements to help fill the needs in the surrounding communities brought about by the war.
Harold Taylor begins term as third President (1945-1959).
First men are admitted as undergraduate students under the G.I. Bill.
Esther Raushenbush appointed Dean of the College (1946-1957).
Second President’s House purchased at 24 Brook Road. This served as the President’s House from 1947 to 1954 when the house was demolished to build the Sprain Brook Parkway.
Name of the College officially changed from Sarah Lawrence College for Women to Sarah Lawrence College.
Amendment approved by Regents to grant MA degree. The College introduces programs leading to individualized MA degrees.
First MA degrees granted (2 to men, 2 to women).
Kober House purchased.
The last of the men on the G.I. Bill graduate.
Student Arts Center, designed by Architect Marcel Breuer, dedicated. Reisinger Auditorium opened.
Third President’s House (935 Kimball Avenue) with attached Morrill House purchased.
Tweed House purchased.
Laura Bornholdt appointed Dean of the College (1957–1959).
Gerard Fountain appointed Acting Dean and then Dean of the College (1959–1961).
Harrison Tweed appointed Acting President for 1959–1960.
Marshall Field House purchased.
Paul Ward begins term as fifth President (1960–1965).
Marjorie Downing appointed Dean of the College (1961–1964).
Garrison, Rothschild, and Taylor (RGT) dormitories completed. Designed by architect Philip Johnson.
Center for Continuing Education established as the first full-scale undergraduate program in the country designed for returning adult students.
Creation of the Mt. Vernon Tutoring Program.
Mansell House (10 Mead Way) purchased.
Esther Raushenbush appointed Acting Dean of the College (1964–1965).
Lynd House purchased.
Brebner House purchased.
Jacquelyn Mattfeld appointed Dean (1965–1971).
Esther Raushenbush begins term as sixth President (1965–1969).
Upward Bound Program established.
North Building completed.
Cooperative College Center created.
The College becomes coeducational.
Institute for Community Studies created.
Slonim House purchased.
Human Genetics Graduate Program established.
Charles DeCarlo begins term as seventh President (1969–1981).
Charter amended to grant MFA degree.
Swinford House purchased.
Robert Wagner appointed Dean (1971–1977).
Child Development Graduate Program established.
Lyles House purchased.
Women’s History Graduate Program established.
Andrews Court completed.
Youth Theatre Interactions founded.
Performing Arts Center completed.
Esther Raushenbush Library completed.
Theatre Outreach Program founded.
Slonim Woods completed.
Alison Baker appointed Dean (1977–1980).
Health Advocacy Graduate Program established.
Ilja Wachs appointed Dean (1980–1985).
Alice Stone Ilchman begins term as eighth President (1981–1998).
Faculty House purchased.
Art of Teaching Graduate Program established.
Barbara Kaplan appointed Dean (1985–2007).
Child Development Institute established.
Andrews Court completed.
Schmidt House purchased.
Alice Stone Ilchman Science Center completed.
Write-to-Right Program created.
Bedford Hills College Program begins.
Office of Community Partnerships and Service Learning created.
Campbell Sports Center completed.
The Pub renamed the Ruth Leff Siegel Center.
Michele Tolela Myers begins term as ninth President (1998–2007).
Hill House purchased.
Heimbold Visual Arts Center completed.
45 Wrexham purchased.
Pauline Watts appointed Interim Dean (2007–2009).
Karen Lawrence begins term as tenth President.
Jerrilynn Dodds appointed Dean (2009–2015).
Master of Science in Dance/Movement Therapy established.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service implemented.
Center for the Urban River at Beczak launched.
Kanwal Singh appointed Dean.
Cristle Collins Judd inaugurated as the College's 11th President.
SLC established transfer partnerships with Westchester Community College and Bronx Community College, aimed at opening the doors of opportunity to more students.
The College received the largest gift ($20 million) in its history from an anonymous donor, a grant from the Mellon Foundation aimed at addressing the climate crisis and environmental justice through the humanities, and a $1.8 million grant from the Warren Alpert Foundation to increase diversity in genetic counseling.
On the January 2026 episode of The Sarah Lawrence Podcast, President Cristle Collins Judd discusses SLC's past, present, and future, sharing her vision for the College's second century.
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.
Kat Stratford knows that Sarah Lawrence is where it’s at, and she’s far from alone. SLC has long held a place in the cultural imagination, appearing again and again in movies, TV shows, and books as a shorthand for creativity, intellectual independence, and thinking beyond convention. Explore Sarah Lawrence’s many moments on screen and on the page.
Sarah Lawrence College has long been a pioneer in education. But do you know just how many firsts the College has notched along the way? Here’s a look at some of the policies and programs Sarah Lawrence was first to adopt.
Sarah Lawrence College (along with Bennington) was the first college to incorporate the ideas and ideals of progressive education into its curriculum. The College was also among the first colleges in the United States to include the arts within its curriculum, underscoring the belief that development of the creative faculties plays a central role in the growth of the individual.
Sarah Lawrence was one of the first schools, and is still one of only a few schools, to have an alternative to dissection policy, which allows students to have a choice in whether to dissect or not in their pursuit of knowledge. The policy was enacted as a result of student campaigns.
In 1937, the Early Childhood Center (ECC), one of the earliest laboratory preschools in the country, opened at Sarah Lawrence College. Today, the ECC continues to serve as a fieldwork site for SLC's undergraduate and graduate students, pairing them with preschoolers in a dynamic and nurturing environment.
In 1962, underscoring its commitment to lifelong learning, the College opened its doors to adult women who had not completed their undergraduate degrees when it launched The Center for Continuing Education (CCE). CCE was one of the first programs of its kind and, over the years, served as a model for other institution's programs.
In 1969, the Human Genetics Graduate Program was established as the first master's-level genetic counselor training program in the United States. Today, the Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics is the nation's largest such program, and has trained more than half of the country’s genetic counselors.
In 1972, Sarah Lawrence founded the nation's first graduate program in Women's History, making the College the first to offer a master's degree in the field.
In 1981, the College established the nation's first master's degree program in health advocacy, helping to establish the field of patient advocacy and healthcare reform.
In 2001, the College created the first semester-long liberal arts study away program in Havana, Cuba. Sarah Lawrence remains one of the only American colleges operating an international program in that country.
The Heimbold Visual Arts Center, completed in 2004, was the first LEED certified college or university visual arts building. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, an internationally recognized green building certification system.