Dowling College history

In 1959 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 purchased the former William K. Vanderbilt estate in Oakdale.

Adelphi spun the campus off in 1968 as Dowling College, named after city planner and philanthropist Robert W. Dowling, who provided an endowment of over $3 million.

“Dowling and Adelphi have a history going back to day one,” said Frank Corso Jr., a 1977 Dowling graduate and president of the Dowling College Alumni Association, which is still active. “Preserving a part of the history of the college is a plus for Dowling and for the community.

Doctor Meskill attempted to shift the focus of the college from a small, locally focused institution to a global university, with an emphasis on the aviation focused Brookhaven Campus which opened in October 1994.

A shakeup occurred in June 1999 when Meskill fired five top-ranking college officials on the same day as a cost-cutting measure, after Dowling's debt had increased to $34 million and the school's credit rating had been downgraded.

Former Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney was made president in October 2006.

However, these facilities reopened in September 2014 following a deal with Stony Brook University which allowed Dowling students to live in the dormitory alongside Stony Brook students.

In March 2016 Dowling announced that they had secured a partnership with Global University Systems, allowing the college to continue operating.

After several months of deliberation from both institutions, a formal agreement was signed by all parties on July 12, 2017.