Founded in 1853

By Dee Ann Rexroat

Cornell College, founded in 1853, has completed its 166th year. We share that distinction with a few other venerable American institutions: Levi Strauss & Co., Keebler Company, and the Otis Elevator Company, as well as the famed German-American piano builder Steinway & Sons.

The year those first students ascended the Hilltop to earn their degrees was also the year Franklin Pierce was inaugurated as the 14th President of the United States, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” premiered in Rome; and the first plat was laid for Seattle, Washington.

While much has changed since Old Sem opened with no electricity or running water, Cornell still emphasizes a broad 
liberal arts curriculum and small classes.