Fresco of the logo of the Allentown College for Women.
Lehigh Female Academy
Following discussions in the Zion Reformed Church in 1866 to establish a seminary for women, the church appointed a committee of five members to investigate the matter. At the annual meeting of the East Pennsylvania Classis at the Zion Reformed Church the following year, members discussed a proposal set forth by neighboring Muhlenberg College recommending the need to establish an institution to serve women.[5]
A decision was made at the meeting to start the school, and the resulting institution became known as the Lehigh Female Academy.
Classes started on September 5, 1867 in the basement of the Zion Reformed Church with just 5 students that grew to 14 by the end of the inaugural semester.[6]
Allentown Female College
The College moved to its current location in 1868 after having outgrown its former location. The academy bought Robert Emmett Wright's Clover Nook Estate in Allentown and changed its name to the Allentown Female College.[6]
In 1872, the Cedar Crest Alumnae Association was founded; it later registered as a non-profit in 1933. In 1884, the campus was expanded to include 25 rooms, a gym, library, art room, and a chapel. The school was renamed to the Allentown College for Women in 1893.[6]
Cedar Crest College
on June 4, 1913, the school would move again, this time to its present location. It again changed its name, this time to Cedar Crest College. Classes began on the new campus on September 29, 1915. With the start of classes at the new campus, then-president William F. Curtis started an Arboretum that would eventually be recognized by the American Public Gardens Association in 1985, two years after a storm nearly destroyed it.[6]
In 1927, the Allen House was built as the president's residence. The building was later transformed into a library and administrative building. The Allen House was named in honor of college supporters and alumnae William and Roberta Ritter Allen, class of 1936.[7]
In 2001, the school picked the falcon as its mascot, replacing the old team name the "Classics". Two years later, Cedar Crest began offering graduate courses and degrees with an MBA program that would be expanded to include doctoral-level degrees in nursing that later grew into an entire school of nursing.[6]
Academics
Aerial view of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1931Blaney Hall on the campus of Cedar Crest College in March 2014
The college's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs span more than 35 majors.[8] The curriculum also includes professional advising programs in Pre-Dentistry,[9] Pre-Medicine,[10] and Pre-Veterinary Medicine.[11]
In 1974, the College offered its first bachelor’s degree in nursing. The first nursing class graduated in 1978. This program was the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley. The nursing program relocated in 1997 from its original location in Curtis Hall to the Miller Family Building. In 2007, the program relocated a second time to the Hamilton Boulevard Building. Today, the building houses all the College’s nursing faculty offices, administration, laboratory space, and classrooms.
Cedar Crest College also offers over 15 programs at the graduate level. Its MBA Program offers a focus on Women's Leadership.[12] The Pan-European MFA Program in Creative Writing is the first MFA low-residency program in the United States with entirely international residencies.[13] Cedar Crest College is also home to the first Master of Crime Science degree in the United States.[14]
The College expanded again to offer its first doctorate program in 2017.[15] Starting with a Doctor of Nursing practice, the college now offers four doctoral degrees in Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nursing Practice, Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nursing Practice, Nurse Anesthesia, and Occupational Therapy.
The Carmen Twillie Ambar Sophomore Expedition
Started in 2016 by College president Carmen Twillie Ambar, each sophomore class at Cedar Crest is offered a seven to 10 day study abroad experience in the spring of their second year at no cost to the student, excluding passport and personal spending costs.
All full-time, traditional students are eligible for the Sophomore expedition as long as they remain in good academic, social, and financial standing with the College.
In 2023, the Sophomore Expedition received the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA) Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization.
The campus includes buildings containing libraries, classrooms, administrative offices, pools, theaters, fitness studios, and dining halls.[19] Additional classroom and faculty buildings include The Narrows, Curtis Hall and Hamilton Boulevard Building.[19][20] The college also has four residence halls: Butz Hall, Moore Hall, Steinbright Hall, and the upper level of Curtis Hall.[21]
Cedar Crest's collection of 140 species of trees is designated as the William F. Curtis Arboretum, which is registered with the American Public Gardens Association.[19] The arboretum is named for the college's seventh president, who after purchasing the property in 1915, beautified the campus by planting flowers, shrubs and trees from all over the world.[22]
Athletics
The Allentown United FC soccer club playing on the Cedar Crest College soccer field in August 2019
Cynthia L. Blaschak is a member of the class of 1984 and was a champion badminton player for Cedar Crest, but claimed softball was her "main love" and regretted there was no softball team at Cedar Crest when she attended.[23] Blaschak would work for Cedar Crest's administration over a 25 year period from 1984 to 2009 and in 1997 made a sizable donation to construct a softball field to kick-start the College's softball team.[24] In 2024 the field would undergo a $2.5 million renovation to install all-weather turf, and lighting to allow night-games.[24] $1 million of which came from a grant from Pennsylvania State Redevelopment Assistance Capitol Program.[25]
↑ Nuwer, Hank (2004). At the Crest: A History of Cedar Crest College from 1867-1988 (1sted.). Allentown, Pennsylvania: Cedar Crest College Alumnae Association. pp.13–17. ISBN0-9754630-0-4.
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