Dowling College - History

History

In 1955 Adelphi University began offering extension classes in Port Jefferson, Riverhead, and Sayville, New York. In 1959 at the urging of community leaders, Adelphi Suffolk became the first four year, degree granting liberal arts institution in Suffolk County, housed in an old public school building in Sayville. In January 1963, Adelphi Suffolk College purchased the former W.K. Vanderbilt estate in Oakdale to formally create Dowling College which severed its ties with Adelphi in 1968 and was renamed after its chief benefactor city planner and aviator Robert Dowling. The Racanelli Learning Resource Center was constructed in 1974 to house the library, cafeteria and additional classrooms. A month after the Racanelli Learning Resource Center opened, a devastating fire damaged the Idle Hour mansion. The Hunt Room, the Foyer and Ballroom were all substantially damaged. A College committee, led by Alan Fortunoff, Dowling Trustee and son of Fortunoff founder Max Fortunoff, guided the restoration of the ornate woodwork, precious marble, and the elaborately carved stonework. The mansion was renamed to honor Max and Clara Fortunoff, and is now known as Fortunoff Hall.

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