Adelphi University has spent decades quietly outthinking and out-innovating institutions many times its size. The following “firsts” aren’t just milestones—they are the blueprints for how Adelphi is changing the world.
First University Dance Program
In 1938, Adelphi, then open only to women students, became one of the first American colleges to establish a university dance program, founded and run by internationally renowned modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis. At that time, dance was typically grouped alongside physical education. Today, Adelphi’s conservatory-level dance program prepares students to become professional dancers and dance educators. Recent dance MFA grad Frida Molina ’23 is now performing with some of pop’s biggest stars—including Bad Bunny.
Modern dance was the focus of the department in its early days.
First Scientific Computer Minor
No university in New York state had a scientific computing minor until Fall 2019. That is when Adelphi’s program, developed with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, addressed a shortcoming that had long plagued science undergrads: an inability to write code for highlevel research. Adelphi’s scientific computing program gives students majoring in sciences the computer and data analysis skills needed for an advanced degree in their discipline or for work in a research setting.
An Adelphi student monitors a screen at Long Island’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.
First Private Coeducational University on Long Island
Adelphi University holds the distinction of becoming the first private coeducational university on Long Island, breaking ground in Garden City in 1928. The first building raised was beautiful Blodgett Hall, still proudly standing almost 100 years later.
Designed by the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, Blodgett Hall today is home to five academic departments.
First University-Based School of Psychology
Professor Gordon F. Derner, PhD, who founded the school in 1972.
Psychology majors at Adelphi build on the ingenuity and compassion of the late Gordon F. Derner, PhD. The longtime professor founded the nation’s first university-based professional school of psychology in 1972 as well as Adelphi’s clinical training program in 1951. For more than 55 years, the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology has earned international recognition for its innovations in psychology and related disciplines. “I believe that the artificial schism between mainstream psychology and psychoanalytic theory has been detrimental to both,” observed Professor Robert Mendelsohn, PhD. “I appreciate that the Derner School is one place where the integration of psychoanalysis into mainstream psychology occurs every day.”
One of the First College Radio Stations in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
On the air in 1982.
Adelphi’s groundbreaking student-run station, WBAU, is one of the only college radio stations cited by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The station was one of the first to give significant airtime to hip-hop. In the early 1980s, program director Bill Stephney gave a platform to Adelphi classmate and popular Long Island DJ Carlton Douglas Ridenhour ’84, ’13 (Hon.), on his Mr. Bill Show. The world knows Ridenhour by his professional name, Chuck D.
First in Nursing Leadership
Adelphi made history by establishing the first Central Collegiate School of Nursing in New York state. In response to an urgent need for nurses during World War II, this became one of the largest collegiate units of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. Thirty-nine years later, Adelphi became the first on Long Island to offer a doctoral program for nurses. It remains one of the few in the state. Adelphi’s nursing program is now among the highest ranked in the country; the undergraduate program jumped an unprecedented 32 points in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Adelphi had one of the largest collegiate units of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps.
First in Women’s Lacrosse Championships
Adelphi’s women’s lacrosse team was the first (and currently only) in NCAA Division II history to win three straight national championships (2009 to 2011). If that wasn’t dynastic enough, after a two-year break, the team won four more in six years.
The 2009 National Champions celebrate.
First in Student Success for Learning Differences
Professor Emeritus Fred Barbaro, EdD, foundre of the Learning Resource Program.
The Learning Resource Program, the first of its kind at a university, was founded in 1979 by the late Professor Emeritus Fred Barbaro, EdD, who taught in the Adelphi University School of Social Work. It allows students with “invisible disabilities” such as ADHD and dyslexia to thrive in college. Around 100 students annually are enrolled in this life-changing program. They have weekly sessions with a learning specialist, receive assistance with career planning, and participate in group and individual sessions with a clinical social worker.
Nearly 40 years later, Adelphi unveiled the first sensory room at a college or university for students on the autism spectrum as part of its nationally recognized Bridges to Adelphi program. A color-changing hurricane tube assists with emotional regulation, weighted balls and blankets offer sensory stimulation and low lighting offers a calm respite from the stress of college life.
The next firsts for Adelphi await. Regardless of whether it’s in academics, entertainment, athletics or student access, one thing is certain: Adelphi’s impact will travel far beyond Garden City.
Adelphi was the first college or university with sensory room for students on the spectrum.