[3] Fredonia was one of the state teachers' colleges traditionally specializing in music education, but now offers programs in other areas, including a graduate division.
On December 2, 1867, the Fredonia Normal School (as it became commonly known) began classes with 147 students, 62 boys and 85 girls.
With a fluctuating student enrollment and threats of state funding reductions, the school seemed to be in constant jeopardy of closing.
In 1930, fifty-eight acres (230,000 m2) of land west of Central Avenue in the Village of Fredonia were bought to house a future campus.
In 1968, the master plan for the modern Central Avenue campus was drafted by the architectural firm of I. M. Pei & Partners of New York at the request of then-president Oscar E. Lanford.
In 1981, construction was finally begun on the long-awaited major indoor sports facility, Steele Hall, which had been delayed for nearly nine years due to state funding difficulties throughout much of the 1970s.
Because of the university's multiple graduate level programs, SUNY Fredonia met the requirement for this change, that a state college have at least three.
The National Building Museum listed the SUNY Fredonia campus as one of I. M. Pei's ideal places to visit in its 1991 journal Blueprints.
The design of Daniel Reed Library earned Henry Cobb and I. M. Pei the 1969 Prestressed Concrete Institute Award.
U.S. News & World Report's 2022-2023 edition of America's Best Colleges ranked Fredonia 70th on their list of Regional Universities North.
Licensed to the State University of New York at Fredonia, the station broadcasts on 88.9 MHz on the FM dial.
The station primarily features "alternative" rock, but includes an eclectic mix of genres at consistent times throughout the week.
Listeners can catch blocks of Polka, Spanish, Blues, Jazz, Folk, Reggae, Hip Hop and anything in between.
WCVF broadcasts National Public Radio (NPR) Monday through Friday: Morning Edition (7–9 am) and All Things Considered (4–6 pm).
In the station's first few months of existence, it began televising the annual dance marathon that raised funds for muscular dystrophy.
SUNY Fredonia teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III.
Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, soccer, swimming & diving and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.