815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Welcome
From the President
You are holding an invitation to adventure.
This volume contains the raw material from which you will
craft your education to prepare for the decades and challenges
ahead of you.
This catalog reflects Skidmore College’s
educational philosophy. Skidmore has a distinctive commitment
to embracing education through what our founder, Lucy Skidmore
Scribner, called “the mind and the hand.”
The dual strands of theory and practice
are evident throughout both our history and this catalog.
Skidmore strives to prepare its students for creative, effective,
personal and public lives of continued exploration. To achieve
that goal you can find here the ingredients for a strong foundation
in the liberal arts, innovative study of interdisciplinary
connections, and thoughtful preparation for the professions.
The changes of our era demand that both
the college and its students be imaginative, resilient, and
well-prepared. The college has adapted enthusiastically and
creatively to change. Milestones in Skidmore’s history
of bold choices include the 1960 decision to move from downtown
Saratoga to a new campus and the 1971 decision to become coeducational.
The college has also been immensely strengthened by the imaginative
Liberal Studies curriculum developed in the 1980s and significant
enhancements to the library, Dana Science Center, athletic
facilities, and endowment in the 1990s. In 2000 we dedicated
the spectacular Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, a resource
to enrich the learning experience that Skidmore is sharing
with the widest possible audience.
We recently revised our core curriculum
to assure that all students experience the breadth of the
liberal arts, while providing students the flexibility and
independence to follow their own intellectual interests and
pathways.
Your personal challenge is to construct
an education for a lifetime of change. The course offerings
in this catalog are your building blocks. Rich and exciting,
they include formats that bring together students and our
remarkable teachers in creative ways to take advantage of
the best of technology, collaborative research opportunities,
practical experience, and independent work.
Moreover, many of the lessons and rewards
of your time at Skidmore will come from your engagement in
cocurricular activities, residential life, athletics, and
volunteer work. Thanks to student imagination and energy,
these organizations and projects are thriving. From student
government to the performing arts, from comedy and singing
groups to social action and athletics, Skidmore’s vibrant
and diverse activities contribute significantly to college
life and learning.
The more independence, energy, and engagement
you bring to your educational journey, the more you will get
from your years here. At the same time, many members of the
Skidmore community are eager to help you chart your course.
Your teachers and faculty advisors want to challenge and guide
you, to engage and encourage you, and ultimately to help you
take responsibility for your education and your future. Department
chairs, student services staff, and peer tutors can help you
use the college’s rich resources to achieve your goals.
I am eager to get to know you and hear
about your dreams, interests, concerns, and suggestions. I
look forward to collaborating with you and the rest of the
Skidmore community to make this the most successful possible
environment in which to learn, live, and work.
