John Kuhl: “I rise to recognize the sesquicentennial of one of the greatest educational institutions in my district of upstate New…”

“I rise to recognize the sesquicentennial of one of the greatest educational institutions in my district of upstate New York, Elmira College. Elmira College turned 150 years old on October 2, just a couple of days ago this year. Elmira College was the first college for women with a course of study and degree requirements equal to those of the Nation's finest colleges. On October 23, 1853, the Regents of the University of the State of New York granted a charter to the college, and the cornerstone of the building that would later come to be known as Cowles Hall was laid in June of 1854. In October of 1855, Elmira College opened its doors to its first students, and the great, historical Cowles Hall still stands as a monument to women's college education in Elmira and the United States. Elmira College is sometimes known as ``the mother of women's colleges.'' The official college colors, purple and gold, were taken from the colors adorning the banners of the women's suffrage movement and from the college flower, the iris, which is also the name of the college yearbook published each year since 1896. Its location in Elmira, the commercial and cultural center of the Finger Lakes region, was through the efforts of Simeon Benjamin, the college's earliest benefactor, often referred to as ``The Founder.'' Benjamin was instrumental in the selection of the college's first president, Dr. Augustus Cowles, after whom the college's original building was subsequently named.…”