State University of New York (SUNY) At Old Westbury

SUNY Old Westbury is a selective public liberal arts college where students are challenged to take ownership of their futures through an environment that demands academic excellence, fosters intercultural understanding, and endeavors to stimulate a passion for learning and a commitment to building a more just and sustainable world. 

Mission Statement

• The State University of New York at Old Westbury is a dynamic and diverse public liberal arts university that fosters academic excellence through close interaction among students, faculty and staff. Old Westbury weaves the values of integrity, community engagement, and global citizenship into the fabric of its academic programs and campus life. In an environment that cultivates critical thinking, empathy, creativity and intercultural understanding, we endeavor to stimulate a passion for learning and a commitment to building a more just and sustainable world. Our University is a community of students, teachers, staff, and alumni bound together in mutual support, respect, and dedication to the Mission.

Vision Statement: 2018 – 2023

• Old Westbury, SUNY's most diverse campus, is a regional academic leader that fosters personal growth and prepares students to embrace the social and environmental responsibilities of our 21st century global community.

Campus History

• One of the youngest of the sixty-four campuses of the State University of New York, SUNY Old Westbury prides itself on the diversity and accomplishments of its faculty, staff, and student body, as well as its longstanding commitment to academic innovation, access, and social justice.   From its experimental beginnings in 1968, the University has matured into a regional institution of higher education that works to prepare its graduates to serve the world through their character and leadership.  

Early Beginnings

• The State University of New York at Old Westbury was chartered in 1965 by SUNY’s Chancellor, Samuel B. Gould, who sought to add to the state system, a college that was innovative in curricula and academic policy. Its first president, Harris Wofford, envisioned the creation of a small experimental institution, centered on a common core of courses and individualized student projects, that would draw a diverse but talented group of students and faculty together. 
• President Wofford’s background in politics and in organizing the Peace Corps were the underpinning of a pedagogical orientation that led him to believe that a participatory framework, broad exposure to world classics, common seminars, a multi-cultural focus, and dedication to community service constituted the ideal educational background for an engaged citizenry.  
• The campus launched its operation in 1968 at Planting Fields, the former Coe estate located in Oyster Bay, Long Island.  Recruiting a group of talented students, faculty, and staff planners for the new college, President Wofford hoped to develop a program that would serve as a transformative model for higher education in the United States.  That vision encountered immediate difficulties, as disagreements quickly surfaced among the planners about the constituent elements of the core program. 
• September 1968.  In an atmosphere that encouraged nearly unrestricted opportunities for experimentation and innovation, the first students opposed all academic requirements, insisting on equal voting rights with faculty on all policy matters.  By the Spring semester, political divisions led to protests that disrupted the educational program and President Wofford decided to leave at the end of 1969 to become President at Bryn Mawr College.
• This earliest portion of the institution's history has been featured in "Experiments," an online, multimedia presentation prepared by members of the Old Westbury faculty. 
• Following President Wofford’s departure, SUNY officials appointed a special commission to examine the campus' progress.  The commission’s report convinced the SUNY Board of Trustees to take several specific actions; it should cease to admit new students, reorganize, and, in tandem, continue classes at the Planting Fields site under the direction of Dr. Council Taylor, a distinguished anthropologist and member of the faculty.