Skidmore College has undergone many transformations since its founding in the early 20th century as a women's college. The Young Women's Industrial Club was formed in 1903 by Lucy Ann Skidmore (1853–1931) with inheritance money from her husband, who died in 1879, and from her father, Joseph Russell Skidmore (1821–1882), a former coal merchant. In 1911, the club was chartered under the name Skidmore School of Arts as a college to vocationally and professionally train young women.[6] The school's board of regents finally permitted the granting of baccalaureate degrees in 1922, and the school subsequently changed names to the current Skidmore College.
In 2020, Marc C. Conner became the college's eighth president, replacing Philip A. Glotzbach, who had served as president since 2003.[7] In February 2019, Glotzbach had announced that he would retire at the end of the 2019–2020 school year.[8]
2023 ransomware incident
On February 15, 2023, Skidmore College was subject to a ransomware attack on its computer network.[9][10] The criminal activity, which affected files on the college's Datastor server, was identified at 12:15pm on February 17.[11][12] On September 15 of that year, the college notified affiliates whose personal data, including social security numbers, had been accessed.[13] 121,000 individuals were affected.[14] A class-action lawsuit was initiated against the college on behalf of those whose information it had allegedly failed to safeguard.[15]
Skidmore offers 44 undergraduate majors, an average class size of 16, and more than 1000 courses. The World Languages and Literatures Department offers classes in six languages and self-instructional coursework in five additional languages.[16] Its most popular majors, based on 2021 graduates, were:[17]
Business/Commerce (92)
Psychology (42)
English Language & Literature (39)
Political Science & Government (31)
Exercise Physiology & Kinesiology (22)
History (22)
Biology/Biological Sciences (21)
Fine Arts & Art Studies (21)
Students are also encouraged to take their education outside of the classroom with internships. These can be taken for credit and can be completed throughout the academic year; nearly 85% of students participate in an internship during their Skidmore career.[18] Opportunities for these internships are highly publicized both by the departments themselves and by the career center.
Due to the definition of degrees by New York State, Skidmore cannot accredit all departments with a Bachelor's of Science. A B.S. is given to those students majoring in art (studio), dance, dance-theater, education, exercise science, business, social work, and theater. The distinction rests in the number of hours of "non-liberal arts" courses allowed toward the 120 credit hours needed for graduation, 60 for a B.S. and 30 for a B.A. These "non-liberal arts"-designated courses are considered by the college to be of a professional nature.[19]
Skidmore is considered one of the Hidden Ivies according to Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning (2000).[24] Skidmore has been named as one of the "New Ivies" by Newsweek.[25] The college was ranked tied for the 39th best national liberal arts college in the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report.[26] The 2020 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education ranking of U.S. colleges and universities placed Skidmore at 93rd.[27] For its 2019 America's Top Colleges list, Forbes rated Skidmore 101st overall.[28]
Admissions
The number of new students enrolling in the Fall of 2017 (class of 2021) was 665; For the class of 2021, total applications were 10,052, with an overall 24.5% acceptance rate, and a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) of 26.8%.[29] The median SAT score for the Class of 2021 was 1320, while the median ACT score was 30.[29] For the class of 2026, total applications were 13,183 and 3,367 students were admitted, with an overall 25.5% acceptance rate, and a yield rate of 23.3%.[30]
Campus and facilities
Jonsson Tower
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery is among the college's main arts facilities. In addition to the Tang, Skidmore has undergraduate studio space as well as several smaller galleries. The Saisselin Art Building houses studios for animation, ceramics, communication design, drawing, fibers, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Skidmore has a music program housed in the Arthur Zankel Music Center, which contains a large concert hall and facilities.[31]
Most humanities classes are held in one of four academic buildings: Palamountain, Tisch, Bolton, and Ladd. Harder Hall houses math and computer science; geology, chemistry, physics, and biology operate out of Dana Science Center. The average class size is 17 (generally smaller in lab courses) and the typical student-to-teacher ratio is 8:1.[32]
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery was opened in 2000, and was designed by the architect Antoine Predock. Predock's design includes two major gallery wings (the Wachenheim Gallery and the Malloy Wing), two smaller galleries (the State Farm Mezzanine and the Winter Gallery), digitally equipped classrooms, and several event spaces. The Tang is nationally known for both its architecture and its holdings, and its excellence has been recognized by The New York Times, Art in America, and Architectural Digest, among other publications.[citation needed] The Tang receives roughly 40,000 visitors annually.[33] The Tang recently hosted a retrospective of the work of Alma Thomas in partnership with the Studio Museum in Harlem.[34]
Student life
Student Government Association
The Skidmore College Student Government Association (SGA) is the governing body of the roughly 130 student-run clubs and organizations on campus. In addition to being the official liaison between students and the administration, the Skidmore Student Government Association advocates for college policies that benefit the short - and long-term - interests of the student body. The primary functioning and operation of the SGA is done by the executive committee. The Student Senate is the largest and final body in most matters. The Class Councils are primarily responsible for planning events. There are other SGA Committees and many other individual students appointed to Faculty Committees, All-College Committees and adjudicatory bodies.[35]
Publications
Salmagundi
Salmagundi is a quarterly journal that focuses on the humanities and social sciences. Founded by Robert Boyers, a long-time faculty member in the English department, it has been published at Skidmore since 1969 and now has an international subscriber base of several thousand readers.
Each issue generally includes poetry, fiction, interviews, and essays. Salmagundi's editors often devote large sections of an issue to a timely special subject. Recent theme issues include "The Culture of the Museum", "Nigerian Mathematics", "Homosexuality", "Art and Ethics", "The Culture Industry", "Kitsch", and "FemIcons."
The Skidmore News is the college's official student-run newspaper. Its staff is composed entirely of students, and it is published on a weekly basis during the academic year. In 2002, the Associated Collegiate Press awarded the newspaper first place for a four-year college weekly for special coverage of the community reaction to the September 11 attacks.[38] In 2010, The Skidmore News stopped printing physical copies and moved entirely online.
The Skidmo' Daily
The Skidmo' Daily is the college's satirical publication. It was founded in 2013 by Jack Rosen '16, and its editorial board and staff are made up of students.[39] Since July 2016 the paper has been posting content to its website,[40] which includes web-exclusive content not found in the print editions, as well as an archive of print editions.
National College Comedy Festival
The National College Comedy Festival is an annual not-for-profit festival of student sketch and improvisational comedy that takes place each winter on campus. The festival, which first was held in February 1990, includes professional workshops.[41][42]
Sustainability
Skidmore's Strategic Plan reflects the college's commitment to sustainability and includes a pledge to deepen connections with the local community, emphasize planning for sustainable operation, and reduce the college's environmental footprint. Three of Skidmore's buildings have geothermal heating and cooling systems, and the college has recently hired a sustainability coordinator to assist with efforts to "green" the campus.[43] Skidmore received a grade of "B+" on the Sustainable Endowment Institute's "College Sustainability Report Card 2011."[44]
Athletics
Skidmore's athletic department, run out of the Williamson Sports Center, currently funds and supports 19 varsity teams, including basketball, ice hockey, rowing and riding.[45] Skidmore is a member of the Liberty League.
From 1973 until 1982, Skidmore athletic teams were nicknamed the "Wombats". In 1982 the team nickname was changed to "Thoroughbreds" because it was felt that the wombat "lacked the image of an athlete."[46]
^Greene, Howard; Greene, Matthew W. (2000). Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning: The Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN0-06-095362-4.
