History of New York University

These New Yorkers believed the city needed a university designed for young men who would be admitted based on merit, not birthright or social class.

"[1] For the school's founders, the classical curriculum offered at American colonial colleges needed to be combined with a more modern and practical education.

[2] The school would make available education to all qualified young men at a reasonable cost, would abandon the exclusive use of "classical" curriculum, and would be financed privately through the sale of stock.

[3] Although the university was designed to be open to all men regardless of background, NYU's early classes were composed almost entirely of the sons of wealthy, white, Protestant New York families.

Albert Gallatin, who had been selected as the university's first president, resigned in less than a year, disgusted that the curriculum which had been drawn up was not centered on the "rational and practical" learning he thought was essential to a secular education.

Clinton Hall, situated in New York's bustling and noisy commercial district, would only be NYU's home for a few years, as administrators searched uptown for a more suitable and permanent academic environment.

Land was purchased on the east side of Washington Square and, in 1833, construction began on the "Old University Building," a grand, Gothic structure that would house all the school's functions.

The idea of a Long Island campus came about as a result of Truesdel Peck Calkins, former Hempstead superintendent of schools who was then with New York University, who suggested an NYU extension course on the estate of Dutch entrepreneur William S.

The student newspaper remarked on the instituting of coeducation by applying part of a quote from Lord Chesterfield on the subject of sex, “the position undignified, the pleasure momentary, and the consequences damnable”.

In 1962 new president James McNaughton Hester decided to improve NYU's reputation by raising admissions standards, widening student recruiting, and hiring new faculty.

The smaller student body also caused the new buildings to be underused, and forced the university to directly spend donated money on operating costs.

Several prominent newspaper articles during the decade that discussed the economic and social decline of the nearby Grand Concourse, however, contributed to widespread panic among both residents and the families of potential students.

Chancellor Sidney Borowitz said on the matter, "There was so much pressure from uptown alumni to preserve the Heights that it was only under the threat of possible financial ruin the campus could be sold.

To meet the demand for housing and classroom space, the university began purchasing old office buildings, hotels, and even nightclubs, becoming one of the largest landholders in New York City[9] [failed verification] In the 1980s, under the leadership of President John Brademas,[10] NYU launched a billion-dollar campaign that was spent almost entirely on updating facilities.

[11] In 2003, under the leadership of President John Sexton, the university launched a 2.5-billion dollar campaign for funds to be spent especially on faculty and financial aid resources.