Hartwell & Tower

Since we have a new president at the college, it seems appropriate to look back at some of our previous presidents. Here are two who saw the college through some very challenging and interesting times. Ernest Hartwell, left, was the last principal of the old Normal school, and the first president of the Teachers College, a transformation in the school he was instrumental in achieving. He also successfully staved off the threat of closure of the school, something we can all be grateful for! He served here 1936-1944.

Donald Tower, right, was president of the college from 1944-1964. When he came here the school was a small institution with perhaps 300 students and 25 faculty, all in the one building, (which we now call Hartwell Hall.) The post WWII years radically transformed Brockport, like all higher education then. Tower was a founding member of the SUNY system in 1948, oversaw the expansion of the campus by a number of buildings, including Lathrop  on Kenyon, shown in this photo, and saw the enrollment grow from a few hundred to a few thousand students and a corresponding growth in staffing levels.