Binghamton University was established in 1946 in Endicott, New York, as Triple Cities College[11][12] to serve the needs of local veterans returning from World War II.

Thomas J. Watson, a founding member of IBM in Broome County, viewed the Triple Cities region of the state's Southern Tier as an area of great potential.

[13] When Champlain closed in 1952 to make way for the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, the records and some students and faculty were transferred to Harpur College in Binghamton.

Colonial Hall, Triple Cities College's original building in Endicott, stands today as the village's Visitor Center.

With more than 60% of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Harpur's degree programs,[citation needed] it is the largest of Binghamton's constituent schools.

The second president, George Bruce Dearing, served several years before leaving to become vice chancellor for academic affairs at the SUNY Central Administration in Albany.

Clark added the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts and inaugurated the Summer Music Festival, created the Harpur Forum (now called the Binghamton University Forum), established the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and fostered the expansion and development of the Decker School of Nursing.

She oversaw substantial additions to the student and faculty populations, expanded research activities and funding, formalized Binghamton's fundraising efforts, expanded the campus' physical footprint by approximately 20 buildings, launched Binghamton's "green" efforts, transitioned the school from Division III athletics to Division I and oversaw the university's increase in academic rankings.

DeFleur retired in 2010 amidst scandal regarding her corrupt efforts to catapult the university sports program into higher ranks by cheating,[15] [16] and due to her arranging for the firm of a friend (Kaye) to conduct the investigation thereby violating laws requiring a specific bidding process [17] On July 1, Magrath returned as interim president.

[18] On November 22, 2011, the SUNY Board of Trustees appointed Harvey G. Stenger, Jr. as the seventh president of Binghamton University, effective January 1, 2012.

Binghamton is composed of the following colleges and schools: The main campus in Vestal is spread over 930 acres (3.8 km2) on a wooded hillside above the Susquehanna River; geographically, the Southern Tier of New York is located on Allegheny Plateau, a physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains.

The Osterhout Concert Theater has the ability to become an open-air amphitheater, with its movable, floor-to-ceiling glass windows that open up to a grassy hill.

Notable speakers who have presented on the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts stages include Noam Chomsky, Margaret Atwood, and Ralph Nader just to name a few.

Each summer the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts presents open air shows featuring national touring artists.

Some memorable past performances include, Donna Summer, Tony Bennett, The Beach Boys, America, and more recently, The Temptations and Four Tops, and Melissa Etheridge.

The building's main-level gallery hosts various artifacts which belong to the Permanent Collection, though typically showcases student work on a rotating basis.

In addition to the Events Center, the north end of campus houses the East and West Gyms, which host student recreation and varsity athletics programs.

Other varsity facilities include baseball and softball fields, the Bearcats Sports Complex (a soccer and lacrosse stadium) and an outdoor track.

With a gift from an anonymous donor, the baseball fields underwent a $2 million facelift including the addition of artificial turf and lights in 2016.

More commonly known as the ITC, the Innovative Technologies Complex is a new development intended to advance venture capital research in both the support of the university's activities and that of the local high-technology industry.

The preserve features approximately 10 miles(16 km) of maintained paths, a six-acre pond, marsh areas, vernal pools, tall hills and a hill-top meadow.

The campus is located a block from Main Street and is in close proximity to UHS Wilson Medical Center and Ascension Lourdes Hospital.

A Research and Development facility is in the design phase and will be constructed immediately adjacent to the pharmacy school; it is slated to be completed by December 2022.

[37] The University Downtown Center, located near the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers, opened in 2007 and houses the College of Community and Public Affairs.

Students, faculty and staff can ride the Broome County Transit bus system for free, paid for through a portion of the transportation fee.

Binghamton offers more than 130 academic undergraduate majors, minors, certificates, concentrations, emphases, tracks and specializations and more than 60 master's, 30 doctorate and 50 accelerated (combined bachelor's/master's) degrees.

Students accepted into the program are required to finish their undergraduate education and maintain a 3.50 GPA to be guaranteed a seat at the medical school.

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York[79] is a private, nonprofit educational corporation that administers externally funded contracts and grants for and on behalf of SUNY.

Since the arrival of President Harvey Stenger in 2012, the university had launched a plan to grow to 20,000 students by 2020, while adding faculty and staff to support the growth.

In 2013, the university and the Student Association collaborated to introduce B-Engaged, a website which features a complete list of all involvement opportunities at Binghamton.