Wells College

Wells College was a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York, located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The college had cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college. It was within the Aurora Village–Wells College Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The college was closed by the board of trustees and president of the college at the end of the Spring 2024 semester, citing financial difficulties. The closure process was expected to continue through the end of 2024.

History


The college was established as a women's college in 1868, called Wells Seminary, by Henry Wells, co-founder of Wells Fargo and the American Express Company. Wells had the building for Wells Seminary constructed on property he donated, declining an invitation from Ezra Cornell to build a new campus in the (relatively) more cosmopolitan Ithaca. Two years later, in 1870, the seminary adopted the name, Wells College. On August 9, 1888, the college's main building burned to the ground. The building was replaced in 1890 by the so-called new Main Building, designed by architect William Henry Miller. In 1906, Henry Wells' 1852 mansion, Glen Park, was purchased by the Alumnae Association and given to the college for its use.

In 1886, Frances Folsom, Wells Class of 1885, married President Grover Cleveland and became the youngest First Lady of the United States. She was the only First Lady to have her wedding in the White House, and she was the first First Lady to have graduated from college. Frances Cleveland (later Preston, after her second marriage) served on the college's board of trustees for 50 years.

In 1965, Walter Netsch designed the Louis Jefferson Long Library. The design of this award-winning building inspired two other buildings on campus, Barler Music Hall and Campbell Art Building.

Coeducation
After 136 years as a historically women's college, the Wells College Office of the President and the Board of Directors announced on October 2, 2004, the decision that, to increase enrollment, the institution would become a co-educational in 2005, with no prior involvement from student body or alumni. Students and alumni protested against the change. Some parents of students also became involved in the protests. Some of the students said that their protests were patterned after ones at Mills College in the early 1990s. A website called Wells for Women was established to organize support. After the college's decision to adopt coeducation was approved by its board, students filed a lawsuit, which the courts rejected.

Financial difficulties
In 2020, the president of Wells College, Jonathan Gibralter, sent a letter to the college community reporting that financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the college's future, writing, "If New York State continues its mandate that our campus remain closed through all or part of the [2020] fall semester, Wells simply will not receive enough revenue to continue operations." With about 15% of Wells College's operating revenue coming from its Italy-based study abroad program, COVID-19-related impacts significantly affected the college's finances.

On April 29, 2024, the college president and the chair of the college's board of trustees announced that the college would close at the end of the spring 2024 semester due to financial difficulties. Manhattanville University will maintain the college's transcripts, business records, and other important artifacts.

The closure began May 31, 2024, "with full closure expected by the end of [2024]". On July 1, 2024, Susan Henking was appointed president to oversee the closure.

Academics
In 2023, U.S. News ranked Wells at 152 (tied) among liberal arts colleges nationally. Additionally, U.S. News ranked Wells at 10 (tied) in Top Performers on Social Mobility.

Wells College had several study abroad programs, most notably in Florence, Italy. It had created centers in sustainability, business and entrepreneurship, and book arts. Undergraduate students were required to participate in at least two internships during their time at Wells, one of which had to be off-campus.

Wells had an honor code to which all students subscribed. By signing the Honor Code, Wells students pledged "not to lie, cheat, steal, deceive, or conceal in the conduct of their collegiate life". Wells allowed students to have take-home exams and to work in their residence hall rooms, at the library, or on the dock by the lake, rather than only in classrooms.

Athletics


As a member of the Private College Athletic Conference throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Express sports teams of the college captured four consecutive conference championships in women's tennis (1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81). They also won titles in women's bowling (1978–79, 1979–80). Wells, which officially became an NCAA Division III institution prior to the 1986–87 athletic season, joined the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference (AWCC) prior to the 1996–97 athletic season. In 1996, the Wells women's soccer team captured the school's only AWCC championship title. At the time, Wells offered six intercollegiate athletic sports: field hockey, softball, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, women's swimming and women's tennis. In 2005, as part of the Board of Trustees' decision to accept men to the traditionally all-women's college, Wells incorporated men's soccer, men's swimming, and men's and women's cross country into their athletic cadre. Prior to the 2007–08 academic year, the Express teams were invited to join the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) and compete against 14 other schools in the East Region. In joining the NEAC, Wells competed for conference championships and the opportunity to receive an automatic qualifier to participate in the NCAA tournament in select sports. Ultimately, Wells captured six conference championships in the NEAC. Men's swimming won the first league title in 2009–10, and earned a second title in 2012–13. Women's swimming have won three consecutive conference championships, during the 2011–12, 2012–13, and 2013–14 seasons. Men's basketball won the NEAC championship in 2010–11 and was the first team from Wells to participate in the NCAA Tournament.

In the 2018–2019 season, the Wells men's volleyball team made it to the Elite 8 (Quarterfinals) in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament before falling to Stevens Institute of Technology. In the 2019–2020 season, the Wells College women's swim team won first place in the NEAC swimming championships. In 2021, the NEAC rebranded and became the United East, adding St. Mary's College of Maryland. For the next two athletic seasons, Wells was a member of the United East Conference. In 2022, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and Wells announced the Express would become full time members at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

As of the 2021–22 athletic season, Wells offered 15 NCAA Division III varsity sports, including field hockey, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, softball, and baseball. Athletics were offered with half a PE (physical education) credit earned for each season completed.

Deans

 * Helen Fairchild Smith (1894-1905)

Presidents

 * Thomas J. Preston, Jr. (1912; pro temp) – married Frances Folsom Cleveland, widow of Grover Cleveland
 * Frances "Sissy" Farenthold (1976-1980)
 * Robert A. Plane (1991-1995)
 * Lisa Marsh Ryerson (1995-2013)
 * Thomas E. J. de Witt (2013-2015; interim)
 * Jonathan Gibralter (2015-2024)
 * Susan Henking (2024-present)

Notable alumnae

 * Helen Barolini, author of novels and essays
 * Mary Beckerle, executive director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute; a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
 * Frances R. Brown, college dean and president
 * Frances Folsom Cleveland (1885), wife of President Grover Cleveland and First Lady of the United States
 * Emily M. J. Cooley, religious and temperance leader
 * Edith Kinney Gaylord (1939), journalist and former president of the National Women's Press Club
 * Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, translator of Thomas Mann's works
 * Laura Nader (1952), Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley
 * Lisa Marsh Ryerson (1981), president of Wells College and Southern New Hampshire University
 * Pleasant Rowland (1962), founder of Pleasant Company and creator of the American Girl brand of dolls and books
 * Grace Carew Sheldon (1875), journalist, author, editor, businesswoman
 * Faith Whittlesey (1960), politician, US Ambassador to Switzerland
 * Helena Zachos (1875), faculty member at Cooper Union

Notable faculty

 * Jesse Bering – psychologist
 * Robert P. T. Coffin – poet
 * Nancy Cole (1931-1932) – mathematician
 * Edward French (1868-1888) – professor of  Latin, literature, chemistry and mathematics. Brother-in-law of Henry Wells.
 * John D. Graham (1932) – painter
 * Emily Ray Gregory (1901-1909) - zoologist
 * Victor Hammer (1939-1948) – artist
 * Robert Hammond (1967-1968) – professor of French literature and cinema
 * Esther Violet Hansen (1924-1930) –  classical scholar who specialized in the Kingdom of Pergamon
 * Paul Hindemith – composer and violist
 * R. Joseph Hoffmann (2006) – historian of religion, humanist activist
 * Temple Rice Hollcroft (1918-1954) – mathematician
 * May Lansfield Keller (1904-1906) - professor of German
 * Paul Henry Lang (1932-1934) – musicologist and conductor
 * J. J. Lankes (1933-1941) – artist
 * Thelma Zeno Lavine (1941-1943) – philosopher
 * Lillian Rosanoff Lieber (1917-1918) – mathematician and author, taught physics at Wells
 * Louise Ropes Loomis (1921-1940) – historian, translator, editor
 * Annie MacKinnon (1896-1901) – mathematician and third woman to earn a mathematics doctorate at an American university
 * William Matthews – poet
 * Alexander Gordon McKay (1949-1950) – Canadian academic who specialized in Vergilian studies
 * Arthur Mizener – English professor
 * Ethel Isabel Moody (1927-1928) – Class of 1926, mathematician
 * Nicholas Nabokov (1936-1941) – composer
 * Helen Brewster Owens (1915-1917) – mathematician
 * Myra Reynolds (1880-1882) – English professor
 * William Stokoe (1946-1955) – English professor
 * Allen W. Trelease (1955-1967) – history professor
 * Mildred Walker (1955-1968) - novelist
 * Margaret Floy Washburn (1894-1900) – psychologist
 * Emil Carl Wilm (1912-1914) – philosopher and psychologist