Alfred State College


Alfred State College is a public college in Alfred, New York, United States. It is part of the State University of New York system. The college offers bachelor's and associate degree programs. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a member of the Rochester Area Colleges consortium.

History

Both Alfred University and Alfred State have their roots in an early teaching college called the Alfred Select School. The school was visionary in its equal opportunity policy. In 1908 President Boothe C. Davis of Alfred University persuaded the New York State legislature to locate the New York State School of Agriculture at the Alfred University Campus; the resulting allocation of $75,000 for three buildings, a farm, livestock, and machinery would set plans for the school in motion.
In 1937, the School of Engineering Technologies was founded by the original three academic faculty members; Al French, Bill Harrison and Herm Sickler. Four years later, the school was given junior college status and renamed the New York State Agricultural and Technical College at Alfred.
By 1948, increased enrollment was a reason for moving the school across Main Street, where it remains today.

Schools and departments

Alfred State offers 80 majors in the arts, applied technology, architecture and management and engineering technology. Teaching staff are in a 17:1 ratio to students, and are generally well-educated in their field, while maintaining ties to their profession.
The college is divided into the following schools:
Founded with three buildings, a farm, and some livestock, Alfred State has expanded to include 13 residence halls, state-of-the-art smart classrooms, a motorsports facility, an organic farm, the Orvis Activities Center, as well as a second campus of Applied Technology located in Wellsville, New York.
Pioneer Stadium accommodates soccer and football, and is surrounded by an eight-lane running track. Facilities also include a Central Dining Hall, a 150-bed townhouse complex, an Engineering Technology Building, and a Student Leadership Center.

Student life

Student government

The Student Senate of Alfred State administers over half a million dollars in club and administrative funds through the Student Activity Fee. Student Senate supports, facilitates, and leads its clubs and organizations through an annual Leadership Retreat, weekly leadership seminars, and special projects. In addition to funding, Student Senate allows students of both Wellsville and Alfred main campus to participate in collaborative decision-making processes. The Student Senate General Assembly has voting rights on the board of trustees of the college, known as the College Council, through its College Council Representative. The Student Senate General Assembly also has a voice on the Faculty Senate with a non-voting member but has voting members on many committees including the Academic Affairs Committee. They also have three members on the Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and Services board of directors.

Greek life

There are several fraternities and sororities on campus.

Museums and galleries

The Brent Llewellyn Art Gallery at SUNY Alfred State in Alfred, New York, founded in 2010, is located in the campus Engineering Technology Building.

Athletics

The Alfred State athletic teams are called the Pioneers. The college is a member of the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, primarily competing in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for most of its sponsored sports since the 2019–20 academic year. The Pioneers also compete as a member of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference for football, the State University of New York Athletic Conference for men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference for wrestling. They also previously competed in the short-lived American Collegiate Athletic Association from 2017–18 to 2018–19; and as an NCAA D-III Independent from 2013–14 to 2016–17.
Alfred State competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming & diving, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, track & field and volleyball.