State University of New York at Purchase

Infobox University
name = Purchase College, State University of New York


established = 1967
type = Public
president = Thomas Schwarz
provost= Dr. Damian J. Fernandez
motto = "Think Wide Open"
city = Purchase
state = NY
country = United States
faculty= 300 [http://www.purchase.edu/aboutpurchase/]
students = 4,000
campus = Suburban, 500 acres (2 km²) [http://www.purchase.edu/AboutPurchase/VisitorsGuide/]
mascot = Purchase Panther
colors = Heliotrope & Puce
website = [http://www.purchase.edu/ www.purchase.edu]

The State University of New York at Purchase, also known as Purchase College and SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal, visual, and performing arts college in Purchase, New York, United States, a part of the State University of New York system. It was founded in 1967 and was designed as a school that would combine conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with liberal arts and sciences programs. It has conservatory programs in Theatre Arts & Film, Music, and Dance, as well as schools in the Humanities, Natural and Social Sciences, and Art+Design. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students, and is one of the Princeton Review's top 368 American Universities. [citation | title= Princeton Review: About | publisher=Princeton Review | year=2008 | url= http://www.princetonreview.com/rankingsbest.aspx?uidbadge=%07 | accessdate=2008-07-29]

Academics

Liberal Arts and Sciences

The School of Humanities and its programs aim to help students in conceptualizing, interpreting, and imagining the worlds of human experience in words, in images, and through historical time. The school has departments and programs in Art History, Cinema Studies, Creative Writing, Drama Studies, History, Journalism, Language and Culture (including full programs in French and Spanish, with opportunities to study Arabic, Chinese, German, Hebrew, and Italian), Literature, and Philosophy. A Senior Project is necessary for completion of any of the school's programs and for designation of a Bachelor of Arts. The School of Humanities also holds a graduate program for those seeking a Master of Arts in Art History.

The School of Natural and Social Sciences has programs that aim to give students an understanding of the complex relationships that exist among scientific systems of inquiry (economic, mathematical, physical, political, psychological, and social). The programs aim to teach students to think independently, communicate effectively, do serious research, and use community resources. The school has departments in Anthropology, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Environmental Studies, Mathematics/Computer Science, 'Media, Society, and the Arts', Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The School also holds several interdisciplinary programs including New Media, Gender Studies, and Individualized Study. A Senior Project is necessary for completion of any of the school's programs and for designation of a Bachelor of Arts.

The School of the Arts

The Conservatory of Dance sees undergraduate students enter the Conservatory program in the area of performance. More specific concentrations are available for application in the areas of Ballet or Modern, Composition, or Dance Production. The Master's of Fine Arts program in the Conservatory of Dance is available for concentration in Choreography or Performance/Teaching.

The Conservatory of Music sees undergraduate majors participate in programs that include Performance(Strings, Piano, Brass, Percussion, Woodwinds, Classical Guitar, Jazz Studies, and Voice & Opera Studies), Composition, Studio Composition, and Studio Production. Graduate Programs are also available in all of these concentrations with the exception of Studio Production.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film comprises four departments: Acting, Dramatic Writing, Film, and Theatre Design/Technology. Purchase College is one of four schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, along with Carnegie Mellon, North Carolina School of the Arts, and The Julliard School. Purchase College is one of a handful of colleges capable of training theatre and film students at this level and primarily as undergraduates. The programs are highly selective: annually the film program receives 700 applications, the Theater Design/Technology receives 500 applications, the Dramatic Writing program receives 200 applications, and the Acting Program sees 1,200 auditions each year in nine cities across the country. Among these applications, each year the Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film accepts 20 filmmakers, 20 Dramatic Writing students, 40 Design/Technology students and 16-18 acting students. Collaboration among the four programs distinguish this unique training setting at Purchase: Actors, filmmakers, writers and designers get to work together in faculty led curriculum as well as independently on student generated creative work. The four programs draw a faculty from the highest ranks of professional theatre and film. Each conservatory program requires a portfolio and/or audition for admission. Outside of the conservatory programs, the Lily Lieb School of Creative Writing within the Humanities and Liberal Arts program is the only one to require the submission of a portfolio from students for acceptance.

The School of Art+Design holds Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts programs in Graphic Design, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture. Undergraduate Students of the School of Art+Design also have the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary program of visual arts study/practice.

The School of Liberal Studies and Continuing Education

The School of Liberal Studies and Continuing Education specializes in offering further education to working adults and other types of non-traditional college students. It offers Bachelor of Arts programs for students in the area of general Liberal Arts, with possibilities to specialize in Arts, Communications, and Legal Studies. These programs are specifically designed for adults and transfer students who need to complete their degree within a small amount of time and with a flexible schedule. The School also offers Certificate Programs in Arts Management, Early Childhood Development, and Fundraising & Board Development. [url=http://www.purchase.edu/Departments/AcademicPrograms/ce/]

Culture

ervices & Organizations

Purchase College, with its proximity to New York City and the variety of arts programs offered to its students, has a large amount of cultural and counter-cultural activities. The [http://www.psgaonline.org Purchase Student Government Association] is the college's student-elected board of executives whom, with their coordination with the student body, contribute many facets of campus life.

Purchase College is home to many other services, clubs and organizations for its students, including but not limited to:
*The Student Center, a student funded and operated facility that was opened in 2003 by the Purchase Student Government Association. Since its opening, the Student Center has featured free-use billiards tables, ping pong tables, a growing videogame arcade, air hockey, foosball, board games, two concert venues (the main Student Center stage, and Whitson's Memorial Greeting Hall), and a film screening area. In later updates to the center, computers with wireless internet access and a student art gallery were added. The school's devotion to the Student Center project was solidified by a major recent renovation done on the exterior of the building. It is referred to commonly among students as "The Stood"('st(y)oōd). [citation | title= PSGA Clubs & Descriptions | publisher=PSGA | year=2008 | url= http://www.psgaonline.org/clubDescriptions.html | accessdate=2008-07-29]
* [http://www.purchasetv.org PTV] , the college's own television which is cablecast on channel 69 on campus. The station is entirely funded and run by students. In addition to the TV station, the school also has a student-run radio station, WPSR, which broadcasts on 1610 am, and is simulcast on the internet.
* [http://www.purchaseindy.com The Independent] , a student-run weekly news publication. The Independent made national news when Joe Matoske, Class of '69, shaved his beard, setting the World Record [citation | title= Most Consecutive Days Unshaven | publisher=Guinness Book of World Records | year=1965 | url= http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/human_body/extreme_bodies/longest_hair.aspx | accessdate=2008-10-07] for most consecutive days unshaved. He hadn't shaved for 3 years and 323 days and 3 hours. [citation | title= Record Setting Independent Issue | publisher=Purchase Independent | year=1965 | url= https://www.purchase.edu/sharedmedia/purchaseindy/issues/Issue_152.pdf | accessdate=2008-10-07]
* [http://www.thesubmission.net The Submission] , a student-run interdisciplinary journal of creativity.
* [http://http://www.purchaseradio.org WPSR 1610] , the college's radio station.
*The Co-op, a student-run space for lounging and programming that serves a selection vegan foods and fair-trade coffees and teas. [citation | title= PSGA Clubs & Descriptions | publisher=PSGA | year=2008 | url= http://www.psgaonline.org/clubDescriptions.html | accessdate=2008-07-29]

Events

The College holds several key events, including but not limited to:
*The Culture Shock festival, a two-day music festival that is the most-attended program at the school. The weekend festival, typically held in April, showcases the talents of musical acts and performance artists. Recent Culture Shock headline performers include Jadakiss, Saigon, Ween, Deerhoof, The National, Animal Collective, GZA, Girl Talk, Man Man, Cat Power, Blonde Redhead, Bouncing Souls, Ghostface Killah, Saul Williams, Ted Leo, Biz Markie, Slick Rick and Dead Prez. Culture Shock is funded by the student body's mandatory activity fee and is organized by the Major Events Coordinator (MEC) along with input from the rest of the campus.
*Fall Fest, a musical event held every fall in the college's student center. Past performers have included Gravy Train, Pedro the Lion, and Mika Miko
*Fall Ball, an event that celebrates Purchase College's strong LGBT culture, where drag queens and drag kings compete on stage for the year's crown.

Other Aspects of Campus Life

[http://www.neuberger.org The Neuberger Museum of Art] , the eighth largest university museum in the nation [citation | title= Purchase College Visitor's Guide: About | publisher=Purchase College | year=2008 | url= http://www.purchase.edu/AboutPurchase/VisitorsGuide/ | accessdate=2008-07-29] , houses a permanent collection of 6,000 works of art and features a full schedule of exhibitions, lectures, films and inter-media events. The museum has 12 changes of exhibitions each year in addition to ongoing exhibitions from the permanent collections. The Neuberger Museum of Art offers insights into 20th century masters, mid-career, and emerging artists, as well as exposure to the country's only permanent exhibition of African art. [citation | title= Neuberger Museum of Art: About | publisher=ARTINFO | year=2008 | url= http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/19540/6087/about/neuberger-museum-of-art-purchase/ | accessdate=2008-07-29]

[http://www.artscenter.com The Performing Arts Center] , a five-theater complex that houses more than 100 professional and student performances each year.

Campus

The site chosen for the campus was a 500 acre (2 km²) estate, Strathglass Farm, in the middle of Westchester County, 40 minutes from Manhattan by car and about an hour by public transportation. It was originally the property of Thomas Thomas, a Revolutionary war soldier [citation | title= Purchase College: History | publisher=Purchase College | year=2008 | url= http://www.purchase.edu/AboutPurchase/History.aspx | accessdate=2008-07-29] , whose family and slave cemetery still remains on the campus. In order to transform the former cattle farm into a college for thousands of students, SUNY engaged some of the most prominent American architects to design the campus (Paul Rudolph, Phillip Johnson, John Burgee, and Robert Venturi.) Edward Larrabee Barnes created the master plan, and nine distinguished architectural firms designed specific buildings. Buildings on the campus are located in the center of the property, and are isolated from the surrounding community by wooded areas around the perimeter of the property. The college is adjacent to the Westchester County Airport, and is across the street from PepsiCo's world headquarters. The campus is not within walking distance to any commercial area.

The buildings and open spaces of the campus are visually distinctive models of late modernist architecture. The Visual Arts Building has convert|160000|sqft|m2|-3 of studios, exhibition spaces, workshops and labs. The Dance Building was the first in America created specifically for the training of dancers. [citation | title= From College to the World, by Way of Dance | publisher=The New York Times | year=2008 | url= http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/13dancewe.html?pagewanted=print | accessdate=2008-07-29] The Music Building has two recital halls, 75 practice rooms, 80 Steinway & Sons pianos, and professional recording studios. The Studio Composition program was one of the first in the country, and the faculty and student showcase Purchase Records has earned 3 Grammy nominations for its 5 releases. The Film Conservatory is housed within the lower level of the Music Building.

Various parts of the Campus are currently undergoing renovation. The new Student Services building opened in 2006, providing one-stop-shopping for most administrative services. The 'mall', or main campus plaza, is currently undergoing renovations to improve its aesthetics, create communal spaces, and to reduce flooding when it rains.

Notable alumni

Some of these and other alumni compose what has been called "The Purchase Mafia" by several different sourcesWho|date=July 2007, including Edie Falco and Hal Hartley [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/9910,atkinson2,4358,20.html] , [http://www.filmmaker.com/reviews-800.html] , [http://www.hstech.org/college/Purchase.htm] . The term originated in multiple biographical listings of Purchase alumni on The Internet Movie Database. It was later picked up by the press when actress and Purchase alumnae, Edie Falco, came to national attention as a result of her role on HBO's mob drama, "The Sopranos".

Notable alumni and former students of Purchase include:

Actors
*Kirk Acevedo
*Robert John Burke
*Ron Eldard
*Susie Essman
*Dwight Ewell
*Edie Falco
*Brian Gaskill
*Seth Gilliam
*Josh Hartnett
*Dean Haspiel
*David Herman
*Zoe Kravitz
*Melissa Leo
*Jodi Long
*Michael C. Maronna (film conservatory)
*James McDaniel
*Tracy Middendorf
*Janel Moloney
*Parker Posey
*Ving Rhames
*Bill Sage
*Michael Savage
*Wesley Snipes
*Michael Snyder
*Sherry Stringfield
*Stanley Tucci
*Steven Weber
*Shea Whigham
*Will Scheffer
*Jay O. Sanders

Theatrical Designers/Technicians
*Mayne Berke
*Brian MacDevitt
*Tim O'Reilly
*Kenneth Posner
*David Gallo

Playwrights and Screenwriters
*Donald Margulies
*Jeffrey Alan Schechter
*Aaron Sorkin

Producers
*Todd Baker
*Tom Donahue
*Bob Gosse

Screenwriters
*Hal Hartley
*Jeffrey Alan Schechter

Directors
*Todd Baker
*Nick Gomez
*Bob Gosse
*Todd Graff
*Hal Hartley
*Danny Leiner
*Tim McCann
*E. Elias Merhige
*Jeffrey Alan Schechter
*Rob Schmidt
*Chris Wedge of Blue Sky Studios

Editors
*Iris Cahn

Musicians
*"Aaron Piccirillo" of Apse and Somnolent
*Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America
*Bill Charlap
*Imani Coppola
*Dan Deacon
*"Seth Faergoalzia" of Dufus
*Fire Flies
*J-Zone
*Kiss Kiss (band)
*Langhorne Slim
*Jeffrey Lewis
*Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw
*"Only Son" (formerly of Moldy Peaches)
*Meneguar (band)
*Moby (majored in sociology)
*O'Death
*"Anthony Parrino" a.k.a. Elite of the Ruff Ryders
*"Alec Reinstein", a.k.a. Despot, of Def Jux Records
*Suzzy Roche
*Joel Rubin
*Regina Spektor
*The Age of Rockets
*Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice
*"Jordan" of Antibalas
*"Homer" of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
*Jenny Owen Youngs

Artists
*Gregory Crewdson
*Peter Jacobs
*Jon Kessler
*Fred Wilson

Photojournalists
*Thomas E. Franklin

Journalists
* Adam Nagourney
*J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner - Forensic Psychologist, Journalists & Television Personality
*Dana Ellis

Women's Rights Activists
*Nasreen Pervin Huq

References

External links

* [http://www.purchase.edu Purchase College Website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/PTV69 Purchase Television's YouTube]
* [http://www.purchaseindy.com Purchase Independent Website]
* [http://www.thesubmission.net The Submission Website]
* [http://www.livejournal.com/~purchase Purchase College Livejournal Community]
* [http://www.purchaseradio.org WPSR Purchase Radio Station]
* [http://www.findthecameras.com Find The Cameras] - A social networking site about SUNY Purchase security cameras