Vassar College

{{Short description|Private college in Poughkeepsie, New York, US}} {{Redirect|Vassar}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox university | name = Vassar College | image = Vassar College Seal.svg | image_upright = .6 | caption = | established = {{start date and age|1861}} | type = Private liberal arts college | president = Elizabeth H. Bradley | city = Poughkeepsie, New York | country = U.S.<ref name=Censusmaptown>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st36_ny/cousub/cs3602759652_poughkeepsie/DC20BLK_CS3602759652.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Poughkeepsie town, NY|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|page=1 (PDF p. 2/3)|access-date=December 16, 2023}}</ref> | coordinates = {{Coord|41|41|15|N|73|53|45|W|region:US-NY_type:edu|display=inline,title}} | undergrad = 2,456 (2023) | faculty = 297 FT/ 61 PT (2023) | campus = Suburban, {{convert|1000|acre|ha}}<ref name=aboutvassar>{{cite web|url=http://info.vassar.edu/about/vassar/ |title=About Vassar |access-date=June 29, 2019 |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> | sports_nickname = Brewers | mascot = The Brewer<ref>{{cite news|title=Vassar mascot suits school's spirit|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20041008-01.2.66#|first=Acacia |last=O'Connor|work=The Miscellany News|date=October 8, 2004|access-date=February 5, 2015}}</ref> | colors = {{color box|#951829}}&nbsp;{{color box|#63666A}} Burgundy and gray<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vassar.edu/style-guidelines/color/ |title=Color - Style Guidelines |access-date=August 28, 2020}}</ref> | sporting_affiliations = NCAA Division III – Liberty League | endowment = $1,573,307,833 (2026) | academic_affiliations = {{hlist|Annapolis Group|CLAC|COFHE |NAICU |Oberlin Group }} | website = {{URL|https://www.vassar.edu/|vassar.edu}} | logo = Vassar college garnet logo.svg | logo_size = 200 | free_label = Newspaper | free = ''The Miscellany News'' }}

'''Vassar College''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|æ|s|ər}} {{Respell|VASS|ər}}) is a private liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, United States.<ref name=Censusmaptown/> Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college became coeducational in 1969. The college offers BA degrees in more than fifty majors. Vassar College's varsity sports teams, known as the Brewers, play in the NCAA Division III as members of the Liberty League. As of 2023, there are close to 2,500 students.

The college is one of the historic Seven Sisters. The Vassar campus comprises over {{convert|1000|acre|ha}} and more than 100 buildings. A designated arboretum, the campus features more than 200 species of trees, a native plant preserve, and a {{Convert|530|acre|ha|adj=on}} ecological preserve.

==History== [[File:Portrait of Matthew Vassar by Charles Loring Elliott.jpg|thumb|left|150px|An 1861 oil portrait of Matthew Vassar by Charles Loring Elliott]] Vassar was founded as a women's school under the name "Vassar Female College" in 1861.<ref name="3decades">{{cite news|last=Honan|first=William H.|author-link=William H. Honan|title=Three Decades of Men at Vassar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/14/nyregion/education-three-decades-of-men-at-vassar.html|access-date=March 25, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 14, 2000}}</ref> Its first president was Milo P. Jewett, who had previously been first president of another women's school, Judson College;<ref name="vcencyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/milo-p-jewett.html|title=Milo P. Jewett - Vassar College Encyclopedia - Vassar College}}</ref> he led a staff of ten professors and twenty-one instructors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.vassar.edu/about/vassar/history.html|title=History - Vassar Info - Vassar College|website=info.vassar.edu}}</ref> After one year, its founder, Matthew Vassar, had the word ''Female'' removed from the name, prompting some local residents of Poughkeepsie, New York, to quip that its founder believed it might one day admit male students. The college became coeducational in 1969.<ref name="3decades" />

Vassar was the second of the Seven Sisters colleges, higher education schools that were strictly for women, and historically sister institutions to the all-male Ivy League colleges. It was chartered by its namesake, brewer Matthew Vassar, in 1861 in the Hudson Valley, about {{convert|70|mi|km}} north of New York City. The first person appointed to the Vassar faculty was astronomer Maria Mitchell, in 1865.

[[File:Vassar College ca 1862 edit1.jpg|thumb|left|The Main Building, built in 1861 by architect James Renwick Jr., had the most interior space of any building in the United States, until the United States Capitol was completed in 1868.<ref name=main-vce>{{cite web|url=http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/buildings-grounds/buildings/main-building/|title=Main Building|access-date=September 7, 2013|date=2005|website=Vassar College Encyclopedia|publisher=Vassar College}}</ref>]] Vassar adopted coeducation in 1969. Immediately following World War II, Vassar accepted a small number of male students on the G.I. Bill.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aavc.vassar.edu/vq/articles/vassar_vets|title=Vassar's Vets: Forgotten Grads|access-date=March 25, 2015|last1=Winum|first1=Jessica|work=Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly|date=Fall 2000|archive-date=December 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201105148/http://www.aavc.vassar.edu/vq/articles/vassar_vets}}</ref> The formal decision to become co-ed came after its trustees declined an offer to merge with Yale University, its sibling institution, in the wave of mergers between the historically all-male colleges of the Ivy League and their Seven Sisters counterparts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/coeducation/the-vassar-yale-study.html|title=The Vassar-Yale Study|access-date=October 10, 2011|date=2007 |website=Vassar College Encyclopedia|publisher=Vassar College}}</ref>

In its early years, Vassar was associated with the social elite of the Protestant establishment. E. Digby Baltzell writes that "upper-class WASP families educated their children at colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Vassar."<ref>{{cite book|title=Judgment and Sensibility: Religion and Stratification|first=E. Digby|last=Baltzell|year=1994| page=8| publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=1-56000-048-1}}</ref> A select and elite few of Vassar's students were allowed entry into the school's secret society Delta Sigma Rho, founded in 1922.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Branch of secret society at Vassar|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany19220513-01.2.29|work=Vassar Miscellany News|access-date=January 27, 2017|date=May 13, 1922}}</ref> Before becoming President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Trustee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/trustees/franklin-delano-roosevelt.html|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Local Trustee|access-date=August 11, 2007|website=Vassar College Encyclopedia|publisher=Vassar College}}</ref>

Approximately 2,450 students attend Vassar, and 98% live on campus.<ref name=aboutvassar/> About 60% come from public high schools, and 40% come from private schools (both independent and religious).<ref name=aboutvassar/> Vassar is currently 56% women and 44% men, at national average for national liberal arts colleges.<ref name=FAQ>{{cite web|url=http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html#ratio|title=Prospective Students FAQ|access-date=March 25, 2015|website=Admissions|publisher=Vassar College|archive-date=January 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122090831/http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html#ratio|url-status=dead}}</ref> Students are taught by more than 336 faculty members, virtually all holding the doctorate degree or its equivalent.<ref name=aboutvassar/> The student-faculty ratio is 8:1, average class size, 17.<ref name=aboutvassar/>

In recent freshman classes, students of color constituted 32–38% of matriculants.<ref name=aboutvassar/> International students from over 60 countries make up 8–10% of the student body.<ref name=aboutvassar/> In May 2007, Vassar returned to a need-blind admissions policy without regard to a student's financial status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegerelations.vassar.edu/2007/2450/|title=Vassar College returns to "need blind" admissions policy - Communications - Vassar College|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615190004/http://collegerelations.vassar.edu/2007/2450/|archivedate=June 15, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://admissions.vassar.edu/financial-aid/answers/#international|title=FAQs - Admissions - Vassar College|publisher=Vassar College|access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-date=January 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105172948/http://admissions.vassar.edu/financial-aid/answers/#international|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Vassar president Catharine Bond Hill departed in 2016. She was succeeded by Elizabeth Howe Bradley in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brant|first1=Abbott|title=Vassar College elects Elizabeth Howe Bradley president|url=http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2017/01/11/vassar-elizabeth-howe-bradley-president/96435336/|access-date=January 11, 2017|work=The Poughkeepsie Journal|date=January 11, 2017}}</ref>

The college was listed as a census-designated place (Vassar College CDP) in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/bas20/tigerweb_bas20_cdp_ny.html |title=State of New York Census Designated Places - Current/BAS20 - Data as of January 1, 2019 |date=January 1, 2019 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref>

===Presidents=== The following persons have served as president of Vassar College:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vassar.edu/vq/issues/2006/02/features/vassars-hall-of-presidents.html |title=Vassar's Hall of Presidents |first1=Elizabeth Adams |last1=Daniels |first2=Jennifer |last2=Dawson |first3=Lila |last3=Matsumoto |first4=Daniel |last4=Steckenberg |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/category/presidents/ |title=Presidents |work=Vassar College}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |- !{{abbr|No.|Number}} !Image !Name !Term start !Term end !{{refh}} |- |1 |70px |Milo P. Jewett |February 1861 |April 1864 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/milo-p-jewett/ |title=Milo P. Jewett |work=Vassar College}}</ref> |- |2 |70px |John H. Raymond |1864 |August 14, 1878{{efn|name=died|Died in office.}} |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/john-h-raymond/ |title=John H. Raymond |work=Vassar College}}</ref> |- |3 | 70px |Samuel L. Caldwell |September 12, 1878 |1885 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/samuel-l-caldwell/ |title=Samuel L. Caldwell |work=Vassar College}}</ref> |- bgcolor="#e6e6aa" |''acting'' | |J. Ryland Kendrick{{efn|Member of the Board of Trustees.}} |1885 |1886 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/collections/other-collections/vassar-college-early-images/0cd305dd-fb56-434b-ab82-acee97662279 |title=J. Ryland Kendrick: acting Vassar College president, 1885-1886 |work=Vassar College Digital Library}}</ref> |- |4 |70px |James Monroe Taylor |1886 |1914 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/james-monroe-taylor/ |title=James Monroe Taylor |work=Vassar College}}</ref> |- |5 |70px |Henry Noble MacCracken |1915 |June 30, 1946 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/henry-noble-maccracken/ |title=Henry Noble MacCracken |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcchro19450428-01.2.4&srpos=2&e=01-01-1945-31-08-1946--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+MacCracken+retire------ |title=Prexy To Retire After Presidency Of Thirty Years |newspaper=Vassar Chronicle |volume=2 |number=30 |date=April 28, 1945 |page=1 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage |quote=On April 19th Vassar announced that President Henry Noble MacCracked will retire at the end of June 1946. Dr. MacCracken, who has been President of the college since 1915.}}</ref> |- |6 |70px |Sarah Gibson Blanding{{efn|First woman president}} |July 1, 1946 |June 30, 1964 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/sarah-gibson-blanding/ |title=Sarah Gibson Blanding |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcchro19460223-01.2.8&srpos=2&e=01-01-1946-31-07-1946--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Sarah+Blanding------ |title=Sarah Gibson Blanding Is Next President Of Vassar; First Woman President in VC History To Succeed MacCracken In Fall Of '46 |newspaper=Vassar Chronicle |volume=3 |number=21 |date=February 23, 1946 |pages=1–2 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc19460227-01.2.2&e=01-01-1946-31-07-1946--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Sarah+Blanding------ |title=Vassar Welcomes Sarah Gibson Blanding, First Woman Head Takes Office In July |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=30 |number=22 |date=February 27, 1946 |pages=1–4 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc19640506-01.2.7&e=01-01-1963-31-08-1964--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Blanding------ |title=Activities Vary President's Role |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=48 |number=25 |date=May 6, 1964 |page=1 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage |quote=Sarah Gibson Blanding will retire June 30 as Vassar's sixth president. She has held this office for eighteen years.}}</ref> |- |7 |70px |Alan Simpson |July 1, 1964 |June 30, 1977 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/alan-simpson/ |title=Alan Simpson |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc19630925-01.2.6&srpos=1&e=01-01-1963-31-07-1964--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Alan+Simpson+------ |title=Simpson Succeeds President Blanding |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=48 |number=1 |date=September 25, 1963 |page=1 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref> |- |8 |70px |Virginia B. Smith |July 1, 1977 |June 30, 1986 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/virginia-b-smith/ |title=Virginia B. Smith |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc19770408-01.2.2&srpos=2&e=01-01-1977-31-07-1977--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Virginia+Smith------ |title=Vassar's Second Woman President: Smith Selected to Succeed Simpson |first=Herb |last=Johnson |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=66 |number=9 |date=April 9, 1977 |page=1 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref> |- |9 |70px |Frances D. Fergusson |July 1, 1986 |June 30, 2006 |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/presidents/frances-daly-fergusson/ |title=Frances Daly Fergusson |work=Vassar College}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc20050218-01.2.4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |title=College President announces retirement |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=79 |number=14 |date=February 18, 2005 |page=3 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=vcmisc19860214-01.2.3&srpos=1&e=01-01-1985-31-07-1986--en-20--1--txt-txIN-Vassar+president+Virginia+Smith+retires------ |title=Frances D. Fergusson |newspaper=The Miscellany News |volume=76 |number=4 |date=February 14, 1986 |pages=2–3 |via=Hudson River Valley Heritage}}</ref> |- |10 |70px |Catharine Bond Hill |July 1, 2006 |August 15, 2016 |<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2016/07/20/vassar-president-hill-departing/87335134/ |title=Vassar president Hill departing early; Chenette takes interim position |first=Geoffrey |last=Wilson |newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal |date=July 20, 2016}}</ref>

|- bgcolor="#e6e6aa" |''interim'' | |Jonathan Chenette{{efn|Dean of the Faculty}} |August 16, 2016 |June 30, 2017 |<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wamc.org/hudson-valley-news/2016-07-21/vassar-president-to-leave-earlier-than-planned |title=Vassar President To Leave Earlier Than Planned |first=Allison |last=Dunne |date=July 21, 2016 |work=WAMC}}</ref> |- |11 | |Elizabeth H. Bradley |July 1, 2017 |present |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vassar.edu/stories/2017/170117-elizabeth-bradley.html |title=Elizabeth Howe Bradley |date=2017 |work=Vassar College}}</ref> |- |}

Table notes: {{notelist}}

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==Campus== The campus is in Poughkeepsie Town, adjacent to Poughkeepsie City.<ref name=Censusmaptown/> The area around the campus appeared as a census-designated place (CDP) in the 2020 U.S. census,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st36_ny/place/p3676985_vassar_college/DC20BLK_P3676985.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Vassar College CDP, NY|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 16, 2023}}</ref> with a population of 2,472.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vassar College CDP, New York |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US3676985 |accessdate=March 13, 2022 |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

===Architecture=== thumb|Main Hall (2026) [[File:Vassar College Observatory, March 2014.jpg|thumb|right|The Vassar College Observatory is one of two National Historic Landmarks on the college's campus, along with Main Building.]] Vassar's campus, also an arboretum,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Radulski|first1=John Peter|title=Frances Daley Fergusson: Creating a campus that inspires|url=http://archrecord.construction.com/people/profiles/archives/0408profile.asp|access-date=August 11, 2007|work=Architectural Record|date=August 2004|archive-date=June 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612230900/http://archrecord.construction.com/people/profiles/archives/0408profile.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> is {{convert|1000|acre|ha}} and has more than 100 buildings, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International, with several buildings of architectural interest. At the center of campus stands Main Building, one of the best examples of Second Empire architecture in the United States. When it was opened, Main Building was the largest building in the U.S. in terms of floor space. It formerly housed the entire college, including classrooms, dormitories, museum, library, and dining halls.<ref name=main-vce /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1350&ResourceType=Building |title=National Historic Landmarks Program |access-date=June 12, 2009 |publisher=National Park Service |archive-date=December 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216045409/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1350&ResourceType=Building |url-status=dead }}</ref> The building was designed by Smithsonian architect James Renwick Jr. and was completed in 1865. It was preceded on campus by the original observatory. Both buildings are National Historic Landmarks. Rombout House was purchased by the college in 1915 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=1801|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Rombout House|date=August 1980|access-date=January 8, 2011|first1=Townley McElhiney|last1=Sharp|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018171916/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=1801|archive-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref><ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a|dateform=mdy |access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

Eero Saarinen made designs for several Vassar dormitories, but only one, the Emma Hartman Noyes House, was completed in 1958. Built for roughly 160 students, it was the first part of a circular construction that was to be continued in "Noyes II." The starkly modernist building's high cost and structural difficulties with the windows, however, led administrators to leave it at one.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Old & New Architecture: Design Relationship |publisher=Preservation Press, National Trust for Historic Preservation |year=1980 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=58}}</ref> The dorm's common area is famous for its futuristic design; readings and concerts are held there regularly.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2000 |title=Ambient Noyes |edition= |volume=20 |pages=26 |work=Metropolis |publisher=Bellerophon Publications |issue=4–6}}</ref> The Noyes building was also the home of an all-female football team, the Noyes Nymphs, who competed against Ivy League teams in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 1962 |title=Yale Freshmen Challenge Nymphs |pages=5 |work=Vassar Miscellany News}}</ref>

===Libraries=== {{Further|Thompson Memorial Library}} thumbnail|left|Vassar's Thompson Library

Vassar is home to one of the largest undergraduate library collections in the U.S. The library collection today – which actually encompasses eight libraries at Vassar – contains about 1 million volumes and 7,500 serial, periodical and newspaper titles, as well as an extensive collection of microfilm and microfiche, with special collections of Ellen Swallow Richards, Albert Einstein, Mary McCarthy, and Elizabeth Bishop.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Vassar College|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/vassar-college-2895/campus-info|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-date=August 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815013029/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/vassar-college-2895/campus-info|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Academic Libraries Reference|url=http://academic-libraries.findthedata.org/|website=FindtheBest|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=September 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819192459/http://academic-libraries.findthedata.org/|archive-date=August 19, 2013}}</ref> Vassar has been a Federal Depository library for selected U.S. Government documents since 1943 and currently receives approximately 25% of the titles available through the Federal Depository Program.<ref>{{cite web|title=FDLD Profile Details|url=http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp?mode=1&pid=66|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20081126200557/http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp?mode=1&pid=66|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 26, 2008|website=Catalog of U.S. Government Publications|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

The interior and exterior of the Van Ingen Art Library was renovated from June 2008 – May 2009 in an effort to restore its original design and appearance. This was the library's first major renovation since its construction in 1937.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=vcmisc20080327.2.15&e=-------20--1-----all|last=Farkas|first=Brian|work=The Miscellany News|date=March 27, 2008|title=Renovations to make Art Library a work of art, history|access-date=March 29, 2008|archive-date=June 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602085355/http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=vcmisc20080327.2.15&e=-------20--1-----all|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{Clear}}

===Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center=== {{Main|Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center}} In November 2016, the gallery opened the Hoene Hoy Photography gallery on the second floor, named after Anne Hoene Hoy from the class of 1963.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gopalakrishnan|first1=Sasha|title=Loeb opens new photo gallery|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/11/09/arts/loeb-opens-new-photo-gallery/|work=The Miscellany News|date=November 9, 2016|access-date=November 28, 2016}}</ref>

===Capital improvements and endowment=== thumb|Bridge for Laboratory Sciences exterior west nearing completion, March 2016 In 2011, Vassar embarked on a $120 million project to improve science facilities at the college, centering on the construction of a new Bridge for Laboratory Sciences.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morgan|first1=Jamie|title=Vassar College – Integrated Science Center|url=http://www.construction-today.com/index.php/sections/institutional/1401-vassar-college-integrated-science-center |access-date=March 25, 2015|work=Construction Today}}</ref> As of 2026 Vassar College's institutional endowment is $1,573,307,833<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vassar College |work= Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/141338587 |access-date=2026-05-30 |publisher=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>

===Housing=== The majority of students in their first three years live on campus in the nine residence halls.<ref name="offices.vassar.edu-2">{{Cite web |title=Vassar's Housing System |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/residence-halls/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> Main House occupies the upper floors of Main Building, constructed at the college's founding.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Main House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/main/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> To accommodate a growing student body, Strong House was constructed in 1893.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Strong House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/strong/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> Strong was made all-women's housing after the college went coeducational in 1969; the house now also accepts nonbinary and other gender-nonconforming students.<ref name=":0" /> Similar Elizabethan-style houses—Raymond, Lathrop, and Davison—were built from 1897 to 1902 to form a residential quadrangle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raymond House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/raymond/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lathrop House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/lathrop/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Davison House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/davison/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> A nine-story Tudor-style dormitory, Jewett House, was constructed in 1907 on the north end of the quadrangle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milo Jewett House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/jewett/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> The second largest dormitory, Josselyn House, was built in 1912 to Jewett's west.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivia Josselyn House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/josselyn/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> Cushing House was constructed outside of the quadrangle in 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cushing House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/cushing/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> In a departure from the architecture of the other dormitories, Noyes House was built in 1958 in a distinct modernist style, curved around a large green.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emma Hartman Noyes House |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/traditional-houses/noyes/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>

Most fourth-year students live in groups of four or five in on-campus apartments.<ref name="offices.vassar.edu-2"/> Vassar has three apartment complexes: the Terrace Apartments, the Town Houses, and the South Commons.<ref name="offices.vassar.edu-2" /> A cooperative house, Ferry House, opened in 1951 and houses 20 students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cooperative Housing Options |url=https://offices.vassar.edu/residential-life/residence-halls/coophousing/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=offices.vassar.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> Vassar guarantees housing to all full-time students.<ref name="offices.vassar.edu-2"/>

As part of a master plan to renovate all the dormitories, Jewett, Davison, and Josselyn were renovated from 2002 to 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benan |first1=Kevin |date=October 6, 2011 |title=Dorm Updates Continue on Basis of Need |url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20111006-01.2.17&e=-------en-20--1--txt-IN------- |access-date=March 25, 2015 |work=The Miscellany News}}</ref> The college opted for minor improvements to the rest of the dorms due to cost.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2018 |title=Speculations on dorm renovations impact campus' future |url=https://miscellanynews.org/2018/04/04/features/speculations-on-dorm-renovations-impact-campus-future/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |website=The Miscellany News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Vassar maintains housing for faculty;<ref>{{cite web|last=Hertz|first=Larry|url=https://www.vassar.edu/news/vassar-building-40-units-of-new-faculty-housing|title=Vassar Building 40 Units of New Faculty Housing|publisher=Vassar College|date=August 29, 2022|access-date=December 17, 2023|quote=[...]Watson Road between Hooker and Raymond avenues[...]}}</ref> the current complex opened in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hertz|first=Larry|url=https://www.vassar.edu/news/new-faculty-apartment-building-delights-college-and-community-alike|title=New Faculty Apartment Building Delights College and Community Alike|publisher=Vassar College|date=July 17, 2023|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref><!--The apartment has minor dependents of faculty, and therefore shows Vassar is a significant community within the Arlington Central SD boundary--> The previous faculty housing facility, Williams House, was to be demolished after 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Phelps|first1=Talya|last2=Moss|first2=Jessica|url=https://miscellanynews.org/2019/04/03/news/faculty-housing-to-be-demolished/|title=Faculty housing to be demolished|newspaper=The Miscellany News|date=April 3, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=October 2024}} School-age dependents living on the Vassar faculty complex, as well as other areas in the Vassar College CDP, are within the Arlington Central School District,<ref name="SDmap2020">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st36_ny/schooldistrict_maps/c36027_dutchess/DC20SD_C36027.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Dutchess County, NY|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|pages=3-5 (PDF pp. 4-6/7)|access-date=December 16, 2023}}</ref> which operates Arlington High School.

==Academics== thumbnail|left|Rockefeller Hall, built in 1897, is home to the departments of Political Science, Philosophy, and Mathematics. The most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=vassar&s=all&id=197133#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Vassar College |access-date=February 20, 2023}}</ref> *Biology/Biological Sciences (40) *Economics (37) *Political Science and Government (36) *English Language and Literature (33) *Biochemistry (25) *Neuroscience (25) *Computer and Information Sciences (23)

===Admissions=== <!--PLEASE FILL OUT AND THEN UN-COMMENT, REPLACING THE TABLE.

{{Infobox U.S. college admission |year = 2023<!-x- Comparison year is automatically set to five years prior -x-> |ref = |change ref = |admit rate = 17.7 |admit rate change = |yield rate = |yield rate change =

|test optional = |SAT EBRW = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x-> |SAT EBRW change = |SAT Math = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x-> |SAT Math change = |ACT = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x-> |ACT change =

|top decile =79% |top decile change = |top quarter = |top quarter change = |top half = |top half change = |GPA = |GPA change = }}--> {|style="float:right; font-size:85%; margin:10px; text-align:center; font-size:85%; margin:auto;" class="wikitable" |+'''Enrolled fall freshman statistics''' |- ! &nbsp; ! 2023<ref name=CDS /> ! 2022<ref name=CDS2021>{{cite web|url=https://miscellanynews.org/2021/04/07/news/vassar-class-of-25-most-competitive-year-yet-for-applicants/ |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2020-2021, Part C |date=April 7, 2021 |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2021<ref name=CDS2020>{{cite web|url=https://collegegazette.com/is-vassar-ivy-league-ranking-acceptance-rate-and-more|title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2019-2020, Part C |date=October 22, 2021 |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2020<ref name=CDS>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/docs/Vassar%20College%20CDS_2019-2020.pdf |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2019-2020, Part C |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2019<ref>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/docs/VassarCollegeCDS-1819.pdf |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2018-2019, Part C |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/docs/VassarCollegeCDS-2017-18.pdf |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2017-2018, Part C |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/docs/VassarCollegeCDS-2016-17.pdf |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2016-2017, Part C |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> ! 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/data/2015-2016/c-freshmen.html |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2015-2016, Part C |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref>

|- style="text-align:center;" ! Applicants | 12,145 ||11,412|| 10,884 || 8,663 || 8,961 || 8,312 || 7,746 || 7,284 || 7,556 |- style="text-align:center;" ! Admits | 2,153||2,129 ||2,193 || 2,126 || 2,127 || 2,043 || 1,842 || 1,964 || 1,947 |- style="text-align:center;" ! Admit rate | 17.7%||18.7% ||20.1% || 24.5% || 23.7 %|| 24.6% || 23.8% || 27.0% || 25.8% |- style="text-align:center;" ! Enrolled | 689 ||681 ||679 ||594|| 691 || 685 || 625 || 659 || 667 |- style="text-align:center;" ! SAT mid-50% range* | 1450–1530 ||1420–1540 ||1420–1540 || || 1380–1500 || 1370–1510 || 1370–1510 || 1330–1500 || 1330–1490 |- style="text-align:center;" ! ACT mid-50% range | 33–35 ||32–34 || 32–34 || || 31–34 || 31–33 || 31–33 || 30–33 || 30–33 |- |<small>* SAT out of 1600</small> |}

For the class of 2027 (enrolling fall 2023), Vassar received 12,145 applications and accepted 17.7%. The combined average SAT scores of those who opted to submit their testing data was 1489 and the ACT composite average was 33.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vassar.edu/admission/quick-facts/class-profile/2027-Class-Profile.pdf|title=Class of 2027 profile|access-date=December 18, 2023|archive-date=December 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218190317/https://www.vassar.edu/admission/quick-facts/class-profile/2027-Class-Profile.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The middle 50% ranges for the SAT were 1450-1530 and 33-35 for the ACT. Of the matriculants whose high schools provided rankings, 79% were in the top ten percent of their class.<ref name=dset>{{cite web|url=https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-research/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/CDS_2023_24.pdf,pp.16,24,26|title=Common Data Set 2023-2024|access-date=March 21, 2024|work=Vassar College}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> For the class of 2026 (enrolling fall 2022), Vassar received 11,412 applications and accepted 18.7%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vassar.edu/admission/quick-facts/class-profile/2026-Class-Profile.pdf|title=Class of 2026 profile|access-date=March 21, 2023|work=Vassar College|archive-date=February 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201161627/https://www.vassar.edu/admission/quick-facts/class-profile/2026-Class-Profile.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> For the class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), Vassar received 10,884 applications, a 25% increase over the previous year, and accepted 2,068 (19%).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-admissions/vassar-college-class-of-2025-admissions-statistics |date=April 16, 2021|title=Vassar College Class of 2025 Admissions Statistics}}</ref> For the class of 2023 (enrolling fall 2019), Vassar received 8,961 applications and accepted 2,127 (23.7%), with 691 enrolling.<ref name=CDS /> For the class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), the middle 50% range of SAT scores for enrolling freshmen was 710-760 for evidence-based reading and writing, 710-780 for math, and 1420-1540 for the composite.<ref name=dset-Vassar2022>{{cite web|url=https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-research/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2022/07/Vassar-CDS_2021-2022-2.pdf|title=Common Data Set 2021-2022|access-date=March 21, 2023|work=Vassar College}}</ref> The middle 50% ACT score range was 28-33 for math, 32-34 for English, and 32-34 for the composite.<ref name=dset-Vassar2022/>

Students of color (including non-citizens) made up 45.5% of the incoming class;<ref name=CDS-B>{{cite web|url=https://institutionalresearch.vassar.edu/docs/Vassar%20College%20CDS_2019-2020.pdf |title=Vassar College Common Data Set 2019-2020, Part B |publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> international students were 8.8% of enrolling freshmen.<ref name=CDS-B/> {{Clear}}

===Rankings=== {{Infobox US university ranking | Forbes = 102 | THE_WSJ = 56 | USNWR_LA = 12 | Wamo_LA = 11 }}

The 2025 edition of ''U.S. News & World Report''{{'}}s "Best Colleges" ranked Vassar as tied for the 12th best liberal arts college in the U.S. out of 211 rated. In previous years the college was ranked by ''U.S. News & World Report'' as high as tenth. In 2024, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Vassar second for "Best Colleges for Veterans", 29th for "Best Value", 15th for "Top Performers on Social Mobility", and tied for 20th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/vassar-college-2895/overall-rankings |title=Vassar College: U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings |year=2022 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=September 14, 2021}}</ref> It also ranked Vassar tied for fourth among top liberal arts colleges for economic diversity as measured by low-income students receiving federal Pell Grants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools |title=Economic Diversity Among the Top 25 Liberal Arts Colleges |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=September 14, 2021}}</ref>

In its 2021 edition, ''Washington Monthly'' ranked Vassar 11th among 215 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021college-guide/liberalarts |title=2021 Liberal Arts College Rankings |magazine=Washington Monthly |access-date=September 14, 2021}}</ref>

In its 2020 edition, ''The Princeton Review'' rated Vassar first for "Best Financial Aid" of all colleges and universities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=best-financial-aid|title=Best Financial Aid|work=The Princeton Review|date=2020|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref> In its 2018 edition, ''The Princeton Review'' rated Vassar second best for financial aid and 41st best for "best value".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings|title=College Rankings|work=The Princeton Review|date=2019|access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref> In 2025, ''Forbes'' rated Vassar 26th among liberal arts colleges and 102nd overall in its America's Top Colleges ranking, which includes 500 military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vassar College |url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/vassar-college/?list=top-colleges |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' places Vassar 11th in its 2019 ranking of the 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Table |magazine=Kiplinger's Personal Finance |title=College Finder |date=July 2019}}</ref> ''Money'' magazine ranked Vassar 145th in the country out of 739 schools evaluated for its 2020 "Best Colleges for Your Money" edition.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value |url=http://money.com/money/best-colleges/ |magazine=Money |date=August 25, 2020}}</ref>

In an article in ''The Christian Science Monitor'', Vassar president emeritus Catharine Bond Hill argued that rankings "will always be limited in what they can tell consumers. Part of higher education's role about the rankings should be to remind students and their families that these are only one piece of information that they should take into account in deciding where to go to college. Intangibles will and should play a role in these decisions, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't also look at the tangibles".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hill|first1=Catharine Bond|title=A better way to rank America's colleges|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0719/p09s02-coop.html|access-date=September 7, 2013|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=July 19, 2007}}</ref> {{Clear}}

===Post-graduation outcomes=== Over half of Vassar graduates pursue advanced study within five years of graduation, including one-fifth immediately post-graduation.<ref name="vassar1">{{cite web|url=http://admissions.vassar.edu/after-vassar/|title=After Vassar|access-date=April 30, 2019|website=Admissions|publisher=Vassar College|archive-date=March 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323061844/http://admissions.vassar.edu/after-vassar/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Of the seniors who applied to medical school in 2017, 76% were accepted; to law school, 96% were accepted.<ref name="vassar1"/>

==Student life==

===Traditions=== thumb|Vassar students celebrating Founder's Day in 1935

Founder's Day is an annual campus festival at Vassar College that usually takes place in late April or early May. It started as a surprise birthday party for college founder Matthew Vassar's seventy-fourth birthday and evolved into an annual celebration.<ref name="Founder's Day">{{cite web|title=Founder's Day|url=https://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/traditions/founders-day.html|access-date=March 25, 2015|website=Vassar College Encyclopedia|publisher=Vassar College}}</ref> Originally, Founder's Day was a spontaneous event consisting of lectures, but was soon replaced with plays, pageants, and more recreational activities. Circus and fair activities followed, with the eventual addition of the modern day music events over the course of two days. More recently themes have been added, including ''Alice in Wonderland'',<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Stephanie|title=Founder's Day features Alice in Wonderland|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany19980410-01.2.14&srpos=6&e=-------en-20--1--txt-IN-founder%27s+day+alice------|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 10, 1998}}</ref> Dinosaurs,<ref>{{cite web|title=Vassar Student Association Council Agenda for January 26, 2014|url=http://vsa.vassar.edu/documents/minutes/20140126_VSACouncilMinutes.pdf|publisher=Vassar Student Association|access-date=March 25, 2015|date=January 26, 2014|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101103/http://vsa.vassar.edu/documents/minutes/20140126_VSACouncilMinutes.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Vintage 1800s Vassar,<ref name=themes>{{cite news|last1=Clevenger|first1=Caitlin|title=Founder's Day Theme Announced|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20110210-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-IN-founder%27s+day+dinosaurs------#|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=The Miscellany News|date=February 10, 2011}}</ref> Nickelodeon, Nintendo, and ''Candyland''.<ref name=themes /> Recent artists at Founder's Day have included The Walkmen, Edan, DJ /rupture, Odd Nosdam, Jel,<ref name="FD history">{{cite news|last1=Bock|first1=Matthew|title=Brief history of a day that's all too brief|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20100422-01.2.22&srpos=3&e=------201-en-20--1--txt-IN-founder%27s+day+----2010--# |access-date=March 25, 2015|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 22, 2010}}</ref> Toro y Moi,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Manian|first1=Shruti|title=Founder's Day bands to include array of students, alums|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20110428-01.2.44|access-date=February 13, 2015|date=April 28, 2011|work=The Miscellany News}}</ref> and Odesza.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kohl|first1=Samantha|title=Founder's Day headliner balances college and EDM|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2014/04/30/arts/founders-day-headliner-balances-college-and-edm/|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 30, 2014}}</ref>

===Extracurricular organizations=== thumb|The Vastards performing in 2014|alt=A row of singers dressed mostly in pink and black support a soloist holding a microphone in front of a full house in a small, darkened, crowded auditorium.

* The Night Owls, established in the 1940s, are, as of 2017, one of the oldest extant collegiate a cappella groups in the United States, and one of nine vocal music groups at Vassar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bruno|first1=Maryann|title=Vassar College|year=2001|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-0454-4|first2=Elizabeth A.|last2=Daniels|location=Charleston, SC|ref={{harvid|Bruno & Daniels|2001}}|page=90}}</ref><ref name="acappella">{{cite news|last1=Gopalakrishnan|first1=Sasha|title=A Cappella Preview Concert showcases campus voices|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/09/14/arts/a-cappella-preview-concert-showcases-campus-voices/|access-date=January 10, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=September 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223032459/http://miscellanynews.org/2016/09/14/arts/a-cappella-preview-concert-showcases-campus-voices/|archive-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Other groups include the Vastards (specializing in the music of the 2000s), Broadway and More (BAM; showtunes), the Accidentals (the Axies; the sole all-lower voices a cappella group at Vassar), Beauty and the Beats (focusing on music from Disney movies), Home Brewed (formerly Matthew's Minstrels, the college's first mixed-gender a cappella group), the Vassar Devils, Measure 4 Measure (both themeless groups), and AirCappella (an all-whistling ensemble).<ref name="acappella" /> Some a cappella groups tour and compete, including the Vassar Devils, who competed in the 2015 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Buchsbaum|first1=Adam|title=Night Owls migrate south for break|url=http://newspaperarchive.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20120329-01.2.6&srpos=2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-a+cappella+tour------|access-date=January 10, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=March 29, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Carol Ann|title=On The Road With The Accidentals: Adventure Below The Mason-Dixon Line|url=http://newspaperarchive.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany19900406-01.2.49&srpos=21&e=-------en-20--21--txt-txIN-a+cappella+tour------|access-date=January 10, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 6, 1990}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Sullivan|first1=Robert|title='Pitch Perfect' in Real Life|url=http://www.newyorker.com/web/20161009152920/http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/pitch-perfect-in-real-life|access-date=January 10, 2017|magazine=The New Yorker|date=May 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520085415/http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/pitch-perfect-in-real-life|archive-date=May 20, 2016}}</ref> * The Philaletheis Society, which was founded in 1865 as a literary society, is the oldest theater group on campus. It has now become a completely student run theater group.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=James Monroe|last2=Haight|first2=Elizabeth Hazelton|title=Vassar|date=1915|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York City|url=https://archive.org/details/vassarta00tayluoft|quote=philalethean society vassar.|ref={{harvid|Taylor & Haight|1915}}|page=[https://archive.org/details/vassarta00tayluoft/page/98 98]|oclc=301092146}}</ref> Others include Unbound (experimental theater), Woodshed (a troupe focused on devised theater), and Idlewild (an ensemble for people of marginalized genders).<ref name="stein">{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Matt|title=Seniors reflect on theatre community, past experiences|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/05/04/arts/seniors-reflect-on-theatre-community-past-experiences/|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=May 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223041109/http://miscellanynews.org/2016/05/04/arts/seniors-reflect-on-theatre-community-past-experiences/|archive-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Britomartis, Vassar's only theater group exclusively creating devised theater, was founded in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenthal|first1=Emma|title=Britomartis creates novel pastiche|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2014/11/12/arts/britomartis-creates-novel-pastiche/|access-date=November 28, 2014|work=The Miscellany News|date=November 12, 2014|archive-date=February 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220032102/http://miscellanynews.org/2014/11/12/arts/britomartis-creates-novel-pastiche/}}</ref> Further groups include the Future Waitstaff of America (for musical theater), Ebony Theatre Ensemble (focusing on Black theater), and two Shakespeare-specific troupes, Shakespeare Troupe and Merely Players.<ref name="stein" /> The college also hosts the Powerhouse Summer Theater workshop series. * Happily Ever Laughter ("HEL") is the college's oldest continually active sketch comedy group, founded in 1993.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barron|first1=Jessica|title=Understanding Life in HEL|url=http://newspaperarchive.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany19940225-01.2.16&srpos=3&e=------199-en-20--1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22happily+ever+laughter%22-%2cARTICLE%2cADVERTISEMENT%2cCLASSNOTES%2cILLUSTRATION%2cTITLE_SECTION%2cLETTER-----|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=February 25, 1994}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Another comedy group, Big K!dz (formerly No Offense), which was started by two former members of an earlier group called Laughingstock (for which recognition by the student assembly was withdrawn in March 2000, as a result of a controversial sketch),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robbins |first1=Christine |title=Laughingstock recognition revoked after questionable skit |url=https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=miscellany20000331-01.2.2 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |work=The Miscellany News |date=March 31, 2000 |page=1}}</ref> was started in September 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20000915-01.2.17|work=The Miscellany News|date= September 15, 2000|last1=Silverbush|first1=Ben|title=New group commits itself to edgy but sensitive sketch comedy|page=2|access-date=May 6, 2022}}</ref> Another sketch comedy group, The Limit, was started a few years later.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sarrigeorgiou|first1=Alexandra|title=Limit revels in sketch comedy, varies media|url=http://newspaperarchive.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20100204-01.2.47&srpos=11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22the+limit%22+comedy-%2cARTICLE%2cADVERTISEMENT%2cCLASSNOTES%2cILLUSTRATION%2cTITLE_SECTION%2cLETTER-----|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=February 4, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Indecent Exposure, an all-women's troupe performing both sketch and stand-up comedy, was founded in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wang|first1=Yifan|title=Indecent Exposure to introduce its new members|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2015/09/23/arts/indecent-exposure-to-introduce-its-new-members/|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222213847/http://miscellanynews.org/2015/09/23/arts/indecent-exposure-to-introduce-its-new-members/|archive-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> Comedy Normative, which began in 2009, performs exclusively stand-up comedy.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lorenzsonn|first1=Erik|title=Stand-up finds a home on campus in Comedynormative|url=http://newspaperarchive.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=miscellany20101209-01.2.45&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-comedynormative-%2cARTICLE%2cADVERTISEMENT%2cCLASSNOTES%2cILLUSTRATION%2cTITLE_SECTION%2cLETTER-----|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=December 9, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Vassar has a tradition of improv comedy groups, which continue today.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Yang|first1=Andrea|title=VCVI splits sides at finale|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/12/07/features/vcvi-splits-sides-at-finale/|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=December 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222192834/http://miscellanynews.org/2016/12/07/features/vcvi-splits-sides-at-finale/|archive-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kohl|first1=Samantha|title=Improv group traverses spectrum of comedic material|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2014/04/02/arts/improv-group-traverses-spectrum-of-comedic-material/|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223004526/http://miscellanynews.org/2014/04/02/arts/improv-group-traverses-spectrum-of-comedic-material/|archive-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Matt|title=HEL show uses collective approach to create sketches|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/02/24/arts/hel-show-uses-collective-approach-to-create-sketches/|access-date=January 8, 2017|work=The Miscellany News|date=February 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223043911/http://miscellanynews.org/2016/02/24/arts/hel-show-uses-collective-approach-to-create-sketches/|archive-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sweeney|first1=Monika|title=Comedy groups bring laughter, foster community amid COVID-19|url=https://miscellanynews.org/2020/11/11/features/comedy-groups-bring-laughter-foster-community-amid-covid-19/|access-date=February 9, 2024|work=The Miscellany News|date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202080353/https://miscellanynews.org/2020/11/11/features/comedy-groups-bring-laughter-foster-community-amid-covid-19/|archive-date=December 2, 2023}}</ref> * The Vassar Greens are Vassar's environmental group.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Levine |first=Arthur |url=https://archive.org/details/generationontigh0000levi/page/134/mode/2up?q=%22vassar+greens%22 |title=Generation on a tightrope: a portrait of today's college student |date=2012 |publisher=San Francisco : Jossey-Bass |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-118-23383-2 |pages=133–134}}</ref> * Vassar College Television (VCTV) is the college's first student-run video production company.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Matt|title=Org spotlight: VCTV encourages hands-on production|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2017/04/12/features/org-spotlight-vctv-encourages-hands-on-production/|access-date=February 9, 2018|work=The Miscellany News|date=April 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205001119/http://miscellanynews.org/2017/04/12/features/org-spotlight-vctv-encourages-hands-on-production/|archive-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>

===Campus publications=== thumb|right|Front page of the May 20, 1922, ''Miscellany News''|alt=An all-text newspaper broadsheet with the flag reading "The Vassar Miscellany News"

* ''The Miscellany News'' has been the weekly paper of the college since 1866, making it one of the oldest college weeklies in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|title=Covering the Campus: A History of The Miscellany News at Vassar College|last1=Farkas|first1=Brian |date=March 30, 2009| publisher=iUniverse, Inc. |isbn=978-1440126833}}</ref> It is available for free most Thursdays when school is in session * ''Squirm'' "is a submissions-based magazine about sex and sexuality. Squirm seeks to create a sex-positive forum on campus for the artistic, literary, and creative exploration of sex."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vsa.vassar.edu/activities/organizations#Squirm|title=Squirm Mission Statement|access-date=November 1, 2011|publisher=Vassar Student Association|website=Organizations|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111164932/https://vsa.vassar.edu/activities/organizations#Squirm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The magazine, published annually since 1999, typically runs around 60 pages and is only distributed to the campus community.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2004/feb/20/exposed/ |last1=Stanford |first1=Claire |work=Yale Daily News |date=February 20, 2004 |title=Exposed |access-date=November 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213081150/http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2004/feb/20/exposed/ |archive-date=February 13, 2011 }}</ref> * ''Boilerplate Magazine'' is a student-run publication that calls itself an "alternative news source... that aims to publish radical pieces and creative works which address issues through a socially conscious lens." Due to its independence from collegiate funds, Boilerplate Magazine is generally more critical of the college than other student-run outlets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mission Statement|url=http://boilerplatemagazine.com/?page_id=8|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=Boilerplate Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Morris|first1=Catherine |title=Vassar College Students Protest as National, Campus Issues Mount|url=http://diverseeducation.com/article/68364/|access-date=March 25, 2015|work=Diverse: Issues In Higher Education |date=December 11, 2014}}</ref> * ''Unscrewed'' (October 1, 1976 – April 1, 1989) was a student-run consumer report on campus residential and classroom safety, local food and drug price comparison, an annual local pizza delivery survey, and long-term topics such as the college's endowment and staffing.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/cgi-bin/senylrc?a=cl&cl=CL1&sp=vcunscr|title=Unscrewed|website=Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers|access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref>

===Radio station=== WVKR-FM, 91.3 FM, is the college's radio station, established in 1971.

===Student government=== In March 2016, in a 15–2 vote, the Vassar Student Association (VSA) passed a resolution calling for the support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and the boycott of Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/03/06/uncategorized/vsa-passes-bds-resolution-fails-bds-amendment/|title=VSA passes BDS Resolution, fails BDS Amendment – The Miscellany News|website=miscellanynews.org|date=March 6, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2016/03/07/news-opinion/united-states/vassar-college-student-government-passes-bds-resolution|title=Vassar College student government passes BDS resolution - Jewish Telegraphic Agency|website=www.jta.org|date=March 7, 2016 }}</ref> In April 2016, the BDS resolution went to a school-wide referendum, where it was defeated 573–503.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kolbert |first1=Matthew |title=Evaluating BDS in aftermath of referenda – The Miscellany News |url=http://miscellanynews.org/2016/05/04/opinions/evaluating-bds-in-aftermath-of-referenda/ |website=miscellanynews.org|date=May 4, 2016 }}</ref>

===Athletics=== {{see also|List of college athletic programs in New York}} thumb|left|120px|Vassar athletics logo Vassar teams, known as the Brewers, compete in Division III of the NCAA, as a member of the Liberty League. The nickname originates from the college's founder and namesake Matthew Vassar, whose family ran a brewery in Poughkeepsie and would later amass a sizable fortune in the industry.

In 2008, the Vassar men's volleyball team made the school's first appearance in a national championship game, beating UC Santa Cruz 3–0 in the semifinal before falling to Springfield in the championship game.<ref>{{cite web|title=Men's Volleyball Captures Fifth National Championship With 3-0 Win Over Vassar |url=http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/websearch/06D00F39C9C5C8F28525742A0007919F|website=Springfield College Pride|publisher=Springfield College|access-date=March 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926113349/http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/websearch/06D00F39C9C5C8F28525742A0007919F|archive-date=September 26, 2008 |date=April 12, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Vassar Butterbeer Broooers, muggle quidditch, Chestnut Hill College meet, October 2014.jpg|thumb|right|The Butterbeer Broooers, Vassar's Muggle Quidditch team]] In 2007, the Vassar cycling team hosted the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Championship in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz, New York. The competition included a {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} road race over the Shawangunk Mountains in New Paltz as well as a criterium in Poughkeepsie just blocks from the school's campus.<ref>{{cite press release|title= Vassar College and Hudson Valley to host East Coast's largest collegiate cycling championships. April 28–29, 2007|url= http://collegerelations.vassar.edu/2007/2416/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070501182125/http://collegerelations.vassar.edu/2007/2416/|url-status= dead|archive-date= May 1, 2007|publisher= Vassar College Office of Communications|date= April 16, 2007|access-date= March 25, 2015}}</ref>

In a controversial move, on November 5, 2009, the athletics department leaders decided the men's and women's rowing team would transition over a two-year period from a varsity to a club sport as a cost-saving measure.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.miscellanynews.com/2.1580/crew-to-transition-to-club-team-over-next-two-years-1.2052809|title=Crew to transition to club team over next two years|work=The Miscellany News|date=November 9, 2009|last1=Cramer|first1=Ruby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113162752/http://www.miscellanynews.com/2.1580/crew-to-transition-to-club-team-over-next-two-years-1.2052809|archive-date=November 13, 2009 |url-status=usurped|access-date=February 5, 2015}}</ref>

In 1940, 1941 and 1942, Vassar athletes won national intercollegiate women's tennis championships each year in both singles (Katharine Hubbell) and doubles (Hubbell, Carolyn "Lonny" Myers).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tennisforum.com/threads/pre-ncaa-womens-collegiate-tennis.1378268/|title=Pre-NCAA women's collegiate tennis|website=Tennis Forum|access-date=May 25, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} (''Boston Globe'', 1929-1953. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', 1954-1963.)</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/369868163/|title=Lonny Myers Defeated in Tennis Play|page=IV-1|work=Hartford Courant|date=June 22, 1941|access-date=June 14, 2021}}</ref>

In 2018, the Vassar women's rugby team won the school's first team national championship, beating Winona State 50–13 in the final of the USA Rugby Women's Division 2.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vassar Grinds Out Brilliant Title Run|url=https://www.florugby.com/articles/6276879-vassar-grinds-out-brilliant-title-run|access-date=December 4, 2018|website=FloRugby|date=December 3, 2018 }}</ref>

==Notable people== {{Excessive examples|section|date=June 2025}}

{{Main|List of Vassar College people}}

<gallery perrow="9" class="center"> File:Elizabeth Bishop, 1934 yearbook portrait.jpg|Elizabeth Bishop, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet File:Anthony Bourdain 2014 (cropped).jpg|Anthony Bourdain, Emmy Award-winning author and celebrity chef File:Mary Steichen Calderone.jpg|Mary Calderone, public health advocate and "mother of sex education" File:Jane Fonda Cannes 2018.jpg|Jane Fonda, Academy Award-winning actress File:Anne Hathaway in 2017.png|Anne Hathaway, Academy Award-winning actress File:GraceHopper2.jpg|Grace Hopper, inventor of the first compiler for a computer programming language File:Mrs Kennedy in the Diplomatic Reception Room cropped.jpg|Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady of the United States (transferred to George Washington University) File:Lisa Kudrow 2.jpg|Lisa Kudrow, Emmy Award-winning actress File:Edna St. Vincent Millay original.jpg|Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pulitzer Prize-winning lyrical poet File:Nordiske Mediedager 2010 - Thursday - NMD 2010 (4583813556) (cropped).jpg|Elisabeth Murdoch, media executive File:Mark Ronson and Jennifer Su, 2011 (cropped).jpg|Mark Ronson, Grammy Award-winning musician and producer File:Meryl Streep by Jack Mitchell.jpg|Meryl Streep, Academy Award-winning actress File:Anita Florence Hemmings (cropped).jpg|Anita Florence Hemmings, first graduate of Vassar with African ancestry </gallery>

Notable Vassar alumni include: {{div col}} * Harriot Stanton Blatch (1878), writer and suffragist * Elizabeth Hazleton Haight (1894), feminist and Classics scholar * Anita Florence Hemmings (1897), first graduate of African ancestry * Lucy Burns (1902), suffragist and leader of the National Woman's Party * Crystal Eastman (1903), lawyer, journalist, suffragist, member of the National Woman's Party, co-author of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) * Edith Clarke (1908), first female electrical engineer * Inez Milholland (1909), labor attorney, suffragist, public speaker, and member of the National Woman's Party * Ruth Starr Rose (1910), artist * Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917), poet * Mary Calderone (1925), physician, public health advocate and "mother of sex education" * Grace Hopper (1928), computer pioneer * Mary McCarthy (1933), critic and novelist * Elizabeth Bishop (1934), poet * Ann Cole Gannett (1937), politician * Carol F. Jopling (1938), anthropologist, and chief librarian of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute * Frances Scott Fitzgerald (1942), journalist * Beatrix Hamburg (1944), physician * Virginia Seay (1944), composer and musicologist * Frances Farenthold (1946), politician and activist * Vera Rubin (1948), astrophysicist * Linda Nochlin (1951), art historian * Lois Haibt (1955), member of FORTRAN development team * Sandra McGrath, American-born Australian art writer, historian, collector, and critic * Jane Reisman (1959), Broadway lighting designer * Nina Zagat (1963), Zagat Survey co-founder * Bernadine P. Healy (1965), physician and National Institutes of Health director * Lucinda Cisler (1965), feminist and abortion-rights activist * Geraldine Laybourne (1969), Nickelodeon president and Oxygen Media founder and CEO * Linda Fairstein (1969), writer and prosecutor * Wei Koh (1969), publisher * Rebecca Eaton (1969), Emmy Award-winning executive producer of ''Masterpiece'' on PBS * Meryl Streep (1971), three-time Academy Award-winning actress * Jane Smiley (1971), Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer * Paula Williams Madison (1974), NBCUniversal executive and author * Michael Wolff (1975), journalist * Richard L. Huganir (1975), neuroscientist and director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Brain Science Institute * Chip Reid (1977), CBS News chief and White House correspondent * Jeffrey Goldstein (1977), former World Bank CFO and undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance * Michael Specter (1977), ''The New Yorker'' magazine science writer * Jamshed Bharucha (1978), Cooper Union president * Phil Griffin (1979), MSNBC president * John Carlstrom (1981), astrophysicist and MacArthur Award fellow * Pamela Mars-Wright (1982), former board chairman of Mars Inc. * Cheryl Kagan (1983), politician * Philip Jefferson (1983), economist and Federal Reserve Board vice chair * Mark Burstein (1984), president of Lawrence University of Wisconsin * Ada Ferrer (1984), Pulitzer Prize-winning historian * Sherrilyn Ifill (1984), seventh president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund * Lisa Kudrow (1985), actress * Hope Davis (1986), actress * Evan Wright (1988), journalist * Jonathan Karl (1990), ABC News chief White House correspondent * Jeffrey Brenner (1990), physician and MacArthur Award fellow * John Gatins (1990), Academy Award-nominated screenwriter * Noah Baumbach (1991), writer and director * Jason Blum (1991), Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated film and television producer * Caterina Fake (1991), Flickr founder * Elisabeth Murdoch (1992), Shine Limited CEO and chairman * Jon Fisher (1994), writer * Katherine Center (1994), novelist * Joe Hill (1995), novelist * Lecy Goranson (1995), actress * Jessi Klein (1997), Emmy Award-winning comedy writer-producer * Jesse Ball (2000), writer * Alexandra Berzon (2001), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and ''The Wall Street Journal'' reporter * Shaka King (2001), Academy Award-nominated film director, screenwriter, and producer * Jason Blakely (2003), political philosopher * Victoria Legrand (2003), musician and songwriter * Greg Russo (2003), screenwriter of ''Mortal Kombat'' * Jonás Cuarón (2005), screenwriter and director * Sasha Velour (2009), winner of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' Season 9 * Lilli Cooper (2012), Tony Award-nominated actress * Natasha Bertrand (2014), journalist and correspondent for CNN * Ethan Slater (2014), Tony Award-nominated actor * Raph Korine (2017), runner-up of ''Big Brother 18'' (UK) * Olivia Newman, film director and screenwriter

{{div col end}}

Notable attendees who did not graduate from Vassar include: * Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation * Anthony Bourdain, professional chef and television personality * Mike D, member of the Beastie Boys * Jane Fonda, actress * Katharine Graham, ''The Washington Post'' publisher * Anne Hathaway, actress * Brooke Hayward, actress, author, art collector * Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States, book editor * Justin Long, actor * Mark Ronson, Academy Award-winning musician * Curtis Sittenfeld, writer * Julia Tutwiler, education and prison reform advocate * Rachael Yamagata, musician

Notable Vassar faculty include: * Frank Bergon, writer * Grace Hopper, computer scientist * Hua Hsu, writer * Michael Joyce, writer and pioneer of hypertext fiction * Grace Macurdy, classicist * James Merrell, historian * Mitchell Miller, philosopher * Maria Mitchell, pioneering female astronomer * Uma Narayan, philosopher * Mabel Newcomer, economist * Paul Russell, writer * Peter Stillman, political scientist * Bryan W. Van Norden, philosopher * Nancy Willard, writer * Richard Edward Wilson, composer * Monique Wittig, philosopher

==See also== * List of coordinate colleges

==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book|last1=Bruno|first1=Maryann|title=Vassar College|year=2001|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-0454-4|first2=Elizabeth A.|last2=Daniels|location=Charleston, SC|ref={{harvid|Bruno & Daniels|2001}}}} * {{cite journal |last1=Elet |first1=Yvonne |last2=Duncan |first2=Virginia |title=Beatrix Farrand and campus landscape at Vassar: pedagogy and practice, 1925–29 |journal=Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes |date=2019 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=105–36 |doi=10.1080/14601176.2018.1556509|s2cid=150106489 }} * {{cite book|last1=Horowitz|first1=Helen Lefkowitz|author-link1=Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz|title=Alma mater: design and experience in the women's colleges from their nineteenth-century beginnings to the 1930s|date=1993|publisher=University of Massachuchusetts Press|location=Amherst, MA|isbn=0-87023-869-8|edition=2nd}} [https://archive.org/details/almamaterdesigne0000horo/page/n7/mode/2up online] * Solomon, Barbara Miller (1985). [https://archive.org/details/incompanyofeduca0000solo/page/n4/mode/1up ''In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America'']. Yale University Press.

==External links== {{commons category}} {{EB1911 poster|Vassar College}} * {{official website}} * [https://www.vassarathletics.com/ Athletics website] * [http://vassarmedia.blogspot.com Catalog and gallery of Vassar references in popular culture] * {{Cite AmCyc|last=Drone |first=Eaton S. |wstitle=Vassar College |short=x}}

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