Colleges and Universities, Est. 1946
Binghamton University - one of the four university centers within the State University of New York - is located in the town of Vestal, one mile west of the city of Binghamton. Binghamton University had its beginning in 1946, as Triple Cities College, to serve the needs of local veterans at the end of World War II. Originally located in Endicott, five miles west of the present campus, it was a branch of Syracuse University. Four years later, it was renamed Harpur College in honor of Robert Harpur - a Colonial teacher, patriot, and pioneer - when the college was incorporated into the State University of New York. In 1961, the campus was moved across the Susquehanna River to Vestal. Due to its growing enrollment and a reputation for excellence, Harpur College was selected as one of four doctorate-granting University Centers in the state system. And in 1965, the campus was formally designated the State University of New York at Binghamton. The university adopted Binghamton University as its informal name, in 1992. Binghamton’s 887-acre campus on a wooded hillside includes a 190-acre nature preserve and a six-acre pond, a performing arts center, art museum, events center, multi-climate greenhouse, and modern classrooms and labs. The University Art Museum has an Asian Art Gallery and a permanent collection of 1,500 art objects representing many periods and styles. The Floyd E. Anderson Center for the Arts, the performance complex for the fine and performing arts, features a Concert Theater and a Chamber Hall. The Events Center is home to basketball, as well as indoor track and tennis. Binghamton’s athletic facilities include two large gymnasiums, with swimming pools, an indoor track, and basketball, volleyball, and racquetball courts. Outdoor facilities include 26 tennis courts, a fitness trail, a new 400-meter track and soccer field, and numerous playing fields. Binghamton University consists of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Management, the Decker School of Nursing, the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 24 specialized research centers.
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