The New York State Education Department Board of Regents in March approved an amendment to Daemen’s charter to make the institution a university under the state’s recently revised definition.
The name change takes effect immediately. The college will now be known as Daemen University.
“We are proud finally to be able to call ourselves what we are — a university,” said President Gary Olson. “In every sense except in name, Daemen has been a university for many years.”
Olson added, “I cannot think of a better way to demonstrate Daemen’s growth and sophistication than by reaching this major milestone during our 75th anniversary year.”
Daemen was established in 1947 as Rosary Hill College by the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. In the 1970s, the private institution became coeducational and independent, and changed its name to honor Magdalen Damen, the founder of the sisters’ order.
Now a multi-campus university based in Amherst — with a branch in Brooklyn — Daemen offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the health sciences, liberal arts and other disciplines enrolling more than 2600 students each academic year.
The college offers 57 baccalaureate, 31 masters, and 4 doctoral programs.
In 2018, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education elevated Daemen to its highest tier: doctoral universities — making the institution one of only three in the region to earn this national designation.