Skidmore College

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. [ 11 ] 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. Skidmore College was initially established with a campus in downtown Saratoga Springs . [ 12 ] In 1961, the college board approved a move to what would become the new Jonsson Campus: 850 acres on the outer edges of Saratoga Springs, which had been purchased for the college by Skidmore trustee Erik Jonsson , the founder and president of Texas Instruments and the future mayor of Dallas, Texas . [ 13 ] [ 14 ] Jonsson Tower on the new campus bears his name. The first buildings on the modern campus opened in 1966, and the college gradually moved all operations to the new location. [ 15 ] In 1971, Skidmore began admitting men to its regular undergraduate program. (A few male World War II veterans had been admitted in the mid-1940s.) [ 10 ] In 1971 Skidmore also launched the University Without Walls (UWW) program, which allowed nonresident students over age 25 to earn bachelor's degrees. That program ended in 2012. [ 16 ] In 2020, Marc C. Conner became the college's eighth president, replacing Philip A. Glotzbach , who had served as president since 2003. [ 17 ] In February 2019, Glotzbach had announced that he would retire at the end of the 2019–2020 school year. [ 18 ] In 2023, the college's computer network was subject to a ransomware attack .

[ 19 ] [ 20 ] The college notified affiliates whose data may have been accessed, and provided two years of a credit-monitoring service. [ 21 ] An Oklahoma law firm filed a class-action suit, with two former employees of the college named as lead plaintiffs. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Presidents Charles Henry Keyes , 1912–1925 Henry T. Moore, 1925–1957 Val H. Wilson, 1957–1965 Joseph C. Palamountain Jr., 1965–1987 David H. Porter , 1987–1999 Jamienne S. Studley , 1999–2003 Philip A. Glotzbach , 2003–2020 Marc C. Conner, 2020–present

Skidmore offers 44 undergraduate majors, an average class size of 16, and more than 1,000 courses. The World Languages and Literatures Department offers classes in six languages and self-instructional coursework in five additional languages. [ 23 ] In the 2022–2023 school year, 617 bachelor's degrees were awarded in the following departments: [ 24 ] Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies (11) Biological and Biomedical Sciences (69) Business, Management, and Marketing (104) Computer and Information Sciences (21) Education (12) English Language and Literature/Letters (30) Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (7) History (17) Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities (9) Mathematics and Statistics (10) Natural Resources and Conservation (27) Philosophy and Religious Studies (11) Physical Sciences (24) Psychology (82) Public Administration and Social Service Professions (16) Social Sciences (101) Visual and Performing Arts (66) 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. [ 25 ] 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. [ 26 ] Rankings and reputation Quick facts Academic rankings, Liberal arts ...

Academic rankings Liberal arts U.S. News & World Report [ 27 ] 36 Washington Monthly [ 28 ] 46 National Forbes [ 29 ] 122 WSJ /College Pulse [ 30 ] 102 Close Skidmore is considered one of the Hidden Ivies according to Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning (2000). [ 31 ] The college was ranked as the 36th best national liberal arts college in the 2025 rankings of U.S. News & World Report . [ 32 ] The 2020 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education ranking of U.S. colleges and universities placed Skidmore at 93rd. [ 33 ] For its 2025 America's Top Colleges list, Forbes rated Skidmore 122nd overall, and 30th among liberal arts universities. [ 34 ] In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Skidmore 46th among 194 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. [ 35 ]