Welcome to Elmira College

Elmira College holds an important place in history as one of the four “Pillars of Access” to American Higher Education, along with Harvard, Dartmouth, and Cornell. While Harvard (1636) and Dartmouth (1769) were the first to open their doors to white and Native American men, Elmira (1855) was the first college in the world founded to offer college education and university degrees to women. The fourth pillar, Cornell (1865), was the first college to drop the race barrier completely at its founding. Co-educational since 1969, the College remains steadfastly rooted in the best tradition of the liberal arts and sciences. 

At Elmira College, students are more than a number. Small class sizes with individual attention in and out of the classroom create a learning environment in which students achieve their personal and professional goals. Our distinctive academic calendar and first-year experience offer students the chance to learn and grow on campus and abroad in ways uncommon at other institutions.

Elmira College students are afforded wonderful extracurricular opportunities in athletics and student organizations. By the time students commence from Elmira College, they have an education that will serve them the rest of their lives.

I invite you to check out this website and then visit Elmira College. I think you will like what you see.

All the best,

 

Dr. Thomas Keith Meier
President and Simeon Benjamin Professor of English Literature

 
• Twelfth President of Elmira College, serving since 1987
• Ph.D in English Literature from Columbia University
• MBA from Harvard Business School
• Received Medal of Merit from the Alumni Association and Named Administrator of the Year by Elmira College student body
• Author of a book on Daniel Defoe, and more than six dozen scholarly articles on English and American Literature

Dr. Meier and his wife, Dr. Mila Meier, are active and visible on the Elmira College campus and in the greater community. They can be seen at virtually all of the performing art events, athletic contests, and other student activities on campus. Dr. Meier shares his love of the outdoors with students as Co-Advisor to the Elmira College Ski Club.

Take a closer look at some of the things you will experience here at Elmira College.