At the request of Bishop Thomas Francis Hickey of Rochester, five Sisters of St. Joseph — with Ph.D’s that included graduate study at Oxford University and the Sorbonne — founded Nazareth College in 1924. The first class was composed of 25 young women who began their studies in a large mansion on Lake Avenue in Rochester, New York. The original mansion that housed the college was known as "the Glass House." At that time, the college offered Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, each with a liberal arts core. In response to increasing enrollment, the college moved to a larger facility in 1928, located at 402 Augustine Street.
In January 1942, the college moved to its present-day campus on East Avenue in the suburb of Pittsford. In the 1950s, the college responded to the need for graduate study by adding majors and by the 1970s was renowned for quality teacher education and social work. Study abroad programs and intercollegiate sports were also added in the 1970s. During this time of monumental change — which included lectures from eminent figures such as John Ciardi, Robert Fitzgerald, Edward Said, Gabriel Marcel, Dorothy Day, Rudolph Nureyev, and Costa Rica President Oscar Arias — the college became co-educational and governmentally independent of the religious congregation. Nevertheless, it retained its original focus on academic excellence and the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph: “serving all without distinction.” (History of Nazareth College, Nazareth College Archives)
Nazareth competed in men’s intercollegiate athletics for the first time in 1977. The official nickname of the sports teams became the Golden Flyers — golden for the Nazareth color, and flyers for the bird-like symbol that was part of the Nazareth logo. Today Nazareth supports 24 varsity and 1 junior varsity sports teams, the most recent, added in 2012, men’s ice hockey.
In the early 2000s, the college purchased adjacent land from the Sisters of St. Joseph, including the former Motherhouse and Infirmary. This acquisition doubled the campus size to its current 150 acres. As a result of generous support from college benefactors (including Tom Golisano, the founder of Paychex), the Motherhouse became the Golisano Academic Center. The Infirmary is now George Hall, a residence that also houses Colie's, a popular spot for coffeehouses and late night study. The decade of the 2000s also saw the construction of new state-of-the-art residence halls, including Portka Hall and Clock Tower Commons, and Lyons and Breen apartment buildings.
In 2003, 30 years after becoming religiously independent, Nazareth College was removed from The Official Catholic Directory, having been declared no longer a Catholic institution by Rochester Bishop Matthew H. Clark. It was the second time since Pope John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the apostolic constitution on Catholic universities in 1990, that a bishop declared a historically Catholic college or university to be not Catholic.
Today, Nazareth College is described as "maintaining many favorable connections with the founding congregation" but "inclusive, non-denominational, comprehensive" (History of Nazareth College, Nazareth College Archives). The College's Center for Spirituality staff and student leaders provide worship, ministry, and educational opportunities for people of various faiths, traditions, and beliefs.
The Nazareth College Arts Center reopened in the Fall of 2009 after a $10.5 million renovation project. Major changes were made to the stage, which is now a hybrid (proscenium-thrust) stage with a modified fly system.
Peckham Hall, the Integrated Center for Math and Science, opened in 2012. Named after lead donors Nancy and Larry Peckham, the $30 million facility supports majors in math and science fields, as well as future teachers of math and science. It also provides important learning facilities for students in health and human services programs.
Students work in a study area in Peckham Hall at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY
The new York Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute opened in 2015. This extensive renovation/expansion of Carroll Hall consolidated and doubled the size of the clinics associated with the School of Health and Human Services and added collaboration space.
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