Wadsworth Normal and Training School (1867–1871) Geneseo Normal and Training School (1871–1905) Geneseo Normal School (1905–1942) Geneseo State Teachers College (1942–1948) State University of New York Teachers College at Geneseo (1948–1962)
The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a publicliberal arts college in Geneseo, New York, United States. It is the state's public honors college and part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college was founded in 1867 as the "Wadsworth Normal and Training School" before it became part of the new State University of New York system as a state liberal arts college in 1948.
History
Wadsworth School, c.1904
The initial predecessor to SUNY Geneseo opened in 1867 as the "Wadsworth Normal and Training School" through an act of the New York State Legislature. However, the legislature later changed the new college's name to the Geneseo Normal and Training School before it officially opened on September 13, 1871.
In 1962, the school adopted its current name, "State University of New York College at Geneseo". Just two years later, in 1964, the school began to offer four-year bachelor's degrees in subjects other than education.
Academics
Milne Library.
Geneseo is a public liberal arts college with 61 undergraduate majors, 5 master's programs, and 67 interdisciplinary minors. The most popular majors, in descending order, are education, business, the social sciences, biology, and psychology.
Geneseo is part of the New York Space Grant Consortium, and is provided grants by NASA to support outer-space related research on-campus..
Administration
Sturges Hall is Geneseo's landmark building, featuring a clocktower and carillon.
The current college president is Melinda Treadwell, who assumed the role on October 27, 2025.
Forbes ranked SUNY Geneseo 156th out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024–25 report. Geneseo was also ranked 69th among public colleges and 66th in the northeast.
In 2026, SmartAsset ranked SUNY Geneseo No. 4 on its list of "America's Best Value Small Colleges", which evaluated universities whose cost of attendance was in the lower half of similarly-sized schools.
Phi Beta Kappa
Geneseo has a chapter of the oldest academic honor society in the United States, Phi Beta Kappa. SUNY's four university centers already had chapters; Geneseo's establishment of a chapter is significant because it was the first (and is currently the only) of New York's thirteen state comprehensive colleges to receive the honor.
The inaugural ΦΒΚ class was inducted to Geneseo's Alpha-Gamma of New York chapter in April 2004.
Campus
The Integrated Science Center opened in Fall 2006. In the foreground is the college green.Former President Christopher Dahl cuts the ribbon on Geneseo's 1.7MeV tandem Pelletron particle accelerator.
The campus is built upon 220 acres of land, with much of the architecture being described as the 'gothic revival' style. There are over 30 buildings on-campus, most of which are residential.
Academic and administrative buildings
The following are the academic and administrative buildings on-campus. Most buildings are named after notable figures in the college's history.
Bailey Hall
Blake Hall (Wings A, B, C)
Brodie Fine Arts Building
Doty Hall
Erwin Administrative Building
Fraser Hall
Integrated Science Center
Newton Hall
South Hall
Sturges Hall (closed for renovations, scheduled to reopen in 2027)
Wadsworth Auditorium
Welles Hall
Significant locations or buildings
The following are other significant buildings or locations on campus.
Clark Service Building
College Stadium
eGarden
Fraser Hall Library
Lauderdale Health Center
MacVittie College Union
Milne Library
Newton Hall Greenhouse
Saratoga Heating Plant
Myrtle A. Merritt Athletic Center
Schrader Hall
Spencer J. Roemer Arboretum
At the far end of the South Village Residences, the college maintains the 20-acre (81,000m2) Spencer J. Roemer Arboretum wherein are preserved "more than 70 species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers, including a magnificent group of oak trees which are more than 200 years old, and several black walnut trees estimated to be over 100 years old."
Construction
Geneseo has an active set of on-campus construction that aligns with a campus master plan to improve and modernize several areas of campus. As of August 2026, there are two major projects underway, a complete internal renovation of Sturges Hall and new electrical and data distribution systems across campus. Both projects are set to be completed in 2027.
Greek life began at Geneseo in 1871, originally as literary societies. The college hosts several local Greek organizations along with national organizations, as is common in the SUNY schools. As of 2019, about 30% of students were active in either social or professional and service Greek organizations.
There are three dining complexes on campus. These buildings are named after notable figures in indigenous New York's history.
Letchworth, located in the North Village
Mary Jemison, located in the Center Village
Red Jacket, located in the South Village
There are seventeen residence halls on-campus. All buildings, in exception to Jones Hall, are named after counties in New York State. They are divided into the North, Central, and South Villages.
The University athletics team (nicknamed the Knights) are composed of 19 varsity teams (7 men's, 12 women's). All teams compete at the NCAA Division III level and all teams compete in the Empire 8 conference. In men's ice hockey the Geneseo Knights are known as the "Geneseo Ice Knights".
Joseph D. Morelle, U.S. representative for New York's 25th congressional district since 2018. Former New York State Assembly Majority Leader, 2013–2018
