David Farnsworth collection on Eisenhower College
Scope and Contents
David Farnsworth collection on Eisenhower College includes student directories from 1973-1982, course catalogs from 1970-1983, freshman directories from 1974-1983, commencement programs, newsletters, student publications, planning documents, a 1973 President's report, and phone directories from 1973-1981, as well as a few ephemeral items.
Dates
- Creation: 1969-2012
Creator
- Farnsworth, David (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researchers.
Biographical / Historical
Eisenhower College was a small college named after U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, located on Cayuga Lake in Seneca Falls, New York. It was founded on September 21, 1965 as a liberal arts college. Private funds and two federal grants totaling $14.5 million helped established the college, which opened its doors to its first class in 1968.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Eisenhower Dollar coin went to the college. This amounted to some $9 million between the coin's initial production in 1971 and 1978, when production ceased.
Eisenhower curricula were centered on a core set of courses collectively known as “World Studies.” These mandatory courses examined the history of civilization from the ascent of Man through modern times in music, art, history, science, philosophy and literature.
Foreign language and physical education courses were also mandatory. Also unique about the campus were the well-attended classes in modern music and human sexuality held weekly in the “Red Barn” building.
Another campus tradition was the Communication Arts Festival held each April. Lacking a fall homecoming tradition, the Comm-Arts weekend gave "Ike" students the chance to become re-acquainted with old friends and grads as everyone celebrated the rainy spring weather, endemic to the Seneca Falls community.
In March 1979, the liberal arts college, which had a total enrollment of only 460 students and was experiencing financial difficulties, was acquired by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). On July 22, 1982, RIT announced the immediate closing of Eisenhower College due to "major operating deficits." Current
students and faculty were given the opportunity to transfer to RIT's main campus for the 1982/83 school year.
David Farnsworth worked at Eisenhower College and a professor in the College of Science at R.I.T.
In 1989, the property was sold to the New York Chiropractic College which continues to operate the campus. An archive of Eisenhower College material, donated by former professors and alumni, is stored on the campus' library as of 2006.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet (1 doc box 1 folder of ephemera)
Language
English
Overview
David Farnsworth collection on Eisenhower College contains student and staff directories, newsletters, student publications, course catalogues, alumni documents, planning documents, various programs and pamphlets, and a few objects. Mr. Farnsworth was a professor at Eisenhower College before coming to RIT.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by material type.
Physical Location
C.S. South, Shelf 111
Other Finding Aids
In addition to this finding aid, an inventory is available below. For more information, please contact the RIT Archive Collections.
David Farnsworth collection on Eisenhower College
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the RIT Archives by David Farnsworth in June 2013. Accession number(s): 2013:039
Processing Information
Finding aid created by Jody Sidlauskas in June 2014.
Subject
- Eisenhower College (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- David Farnsworth collection on Eisenhower College
- Status
- Published
- Subtitle
- RIT Archives
- Author
- Jody Sidlauksas
- Date
- 13 June 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the RIT Archives Repository