College in New York State, U.S.
Cazenovia College is a private college in Cazenovia, New York. Founded as the Genesee Seminary in 1824 and sponsored by the Methodist Church, in 1894 the college adopted the name of Cazenovia Seminary. It was reorganized in 1942 after church sponsorship was withdrawn and was Cazenovia College for Women from 1961 to 1982, when the college became co-educational again. It will close after the 2022-2023 academic year due to poor finances.[3]
History
Cazenovia College began in 1824 as the Genesee Seminary and was the second Methodist seminary to be established in the United States. Between 1904 and 1931, it functioned as a secondary school for local young people, an arrangement that ended when Cazenovia Central High School was built. It was sponsored by the Methodist Church but was a non-sectarian institution.[4] It was initially located in the old Madison County Courthouse. Cazenovia was co-educational from its foundation.[5] The seminary was created at the instigation of George Peck and several other prominent clergymen in the area. In 1839, the seminary initiated a three year course, as it was called, which was focused at the education of women. The seminary also had a missionary course, and in 1843 Sophronia Farrington (class of 1828) went out as the first female missionary to Africa, under the auspices of the Young Men's Missionary Society of Boston. This was the earliest foreign mission established by the Methodist Episcopal Church.[6]
Later the institution was known as Cazenovia Seminary. It was known as the Oneida and Genesee Conference Seminary, the Oneida Conference Seminary, and the Central New York Conference Seminary over the years. It did not officially adopt the name Cazenovia Seminary until 1894 but the name was at times used from its inception and is often used to refer to it at any time before it became a college.
In 1942 church sponsorship of Cazenovia was withdrawn and it was reorganized to include a junior college program as well as the prep school with the name of Cazenovia Junior College. It then became Cazenovia College for Women in 1961. In 1982 it returned to being co-educational and adopted its present name, Cazenovia College, although it was not recognized as a bachelor's degree-granting institution until 1988.[5] In 2019 it began its first graduate program, a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
In September 2022, after a failed attempt to refinance debt, the college defaulted on a $25 million bond payment.[4][7] On December 7, 2022, it was announced that the school would permanently close after the 2022-2023 academic year. Poor finances was cited as the main reason for this closure.[3][8]
Athletics
The Cazenovia athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The college is a member of the NCAA Division III ranks, primarily competing in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) since the 2020–21 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC; now currently known as the United East Conference (UEC)) from 2004–05 to 2019–20.
Cazenovia competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer and swimming & diving; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving and volleyball; and co-ed sports include eSports. Former sports included men's crew, equestrian, tennis and volleyball; and women's cheerleading, crew, equestrian and tennis
