At 100, Sarah Lawrence Is Programming Its Season for the Neighbors

Sarah Lawrence College's centennial calendar is aimed mostly at grown-ups who live nearby. The one big public evening this month launches a center for people in midlife. A membership program for adults 55 and older is holding an information session the day before. And the campus pool has never required a membership at all.

That fits how the college started. Even the address is shared. The college's visitor page lists 1 Mead Way, Bronxville, while its own map link gives a Yonkers address. The school grew out of a house in the neighborhood, and for this season it is turning back toward the neighborhood around it.

The developer who gave up his own house

William Van Duzer Lawrence founded Lawrence Park in Bronxville in 1890. The college describes it as a housing development built for the artistic community. In 1908 he helped pay for a new hospital in Bronxville, which took his name as Lawrence Hospital. His wife, Sarah Bates Lawrence, never went to college herself. She spent her life arguing for higher education for young women and served as president of the New York Exchange for Women's Work.

Sarah died on May 8, 1926. According to the college's timeline, William had already approached Vassar's president about founding a women's junior college in 1924. He wrote out his founding instructions in 1926 and gave his Bronxville residence to the new school, named in her memory. The provisional charter was granted on December 9, 1926. William died on May 16, 1927, and the first students arrived on October 4, 1928.

So this coming December 9 is the hundredth anniversary of the charter. The college has framed the whole 2026–27 year as SLC100, with the theme "Timely Education. Timeless Values." Yonkers Times covered the start of the centennial in January, including the college's stated role in lifelong learning for the wider community.

The November evening built around midlife

The SLC100 Presidential Event Series pairs invited guests with conversations about the past, present and future, timed to both the centennial and America's 250th anniversary. It began with Melissa Murray on September 8. The Bronxville Beacon reported at the time that both that launch and the Heimbold exhibition that opened with it were public.

The next public event in the series is the clearest sign of who this season is for. On Thursday, November 19, from 7 to 9 p.m., Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen will talk with President Cristle Collins Judd about midlife and the years after it. The event is in the Barbara Walters Campus Center, and Zoom is also an option. It is free, but you have to register in advance whether you come in person or watch online. The Bronxville Beacon reports that in-person seating is capped at 300, first come, first served. A book signing and reception follow, with books for sale from Periwinkle Books in Bronxville. Registration is through the college's event page on GiveCampus.

The evening also launches the new Center for Midlife and Meaning. The college describes the center as being for adults whose work is shifting, whose children are leaving home, whose caregiving duties are growing, or who are nearing retirement. In the announcement the Beacon reported, Judd said:

"Midlife is a time of significant change, but it can also be a transformational time full of opportunity, growth, discovery, and reinvention."

Programming starts in February 2027. The center lists five ways to take part:

• an eight-week online seminar
• a free public symposium, "Five Ways to Understand a Longer Life," with no date announced yet
• courses and creative workshops
• facilitated conversations
• one-on-one advising

The seminar, "Design Your Next Chapter," meets online on eight Wednesdays starting February 17, 2027. It costs $1,595, or $1,195 if you register by January 31, 2027. An online information session is set for January 12 at 7 p.m.

A campus already set up for adult neighbors

The midlife center is new, but it is joining programs that already serve adults who live nearby. The college says the center connects to its Writing Institute, the Signature Learning Community and Extension courses. Here is what each one offers someone who lives a few blocks away:

Signature Learning Community members also get community events, library access and the chance to audit selected undergraduate lecture and language courses. The pool line may be the most practical one in the table. The college's own FAQ says no membership is needed to swim or join aqua aerobics, and it points to the Campbell Sports Center registration page for session times and fees.

The rest of the month on campus

The other events this month show the same pattern. A few are open to anyone. Others are for the college's own community but take place a short walk from Kimball Avenue.

1. Saturday, November 14. Campbell Sports Center hosts the Athletics Hall of Fame induction at 4 p.m. Homecoming follows from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.: the women's basketball team plays Connecticut College, then the men play Centenary University. The listing describes the reception as for alumni and SLC families.
2. Tuesday, November 17, 2 to 3 p.m. Dujie Tahat, the fifth Seattle Civic Poet, gives a poetry craft talk. It is listed as open to the public and takes place in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center's Donnelley Film Theatre, room HEIM 202.
3. Wednesday, November 18. Signature Learning Community information session.
4. Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m. Anna Quindlen and President Judd.
5. Saturday, November 21, 4 p.m. The MFA in Writing program marks its 50th year at Heimbold. The college says a full schedule will be posted later.

Running through all of it is "Does This Taste Funny?", a group show of work by 40 contemporary artists, curated by Melissa Brown and John O'Connor. It fills two gallery spaces and is on view through December 13. The college says its galleries welcome all visitors. Heimbold is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with weekend viewings from 1 to 4 p.m. by request. After that closes, the next show, "Neither Hard Nor Deep," runs January 27 to March 28, 2027.

Where to park

According to the college's visitor parking guidance, weekday daytime guest parking is limited to the Kober lot, with Morrill and Marshall Field as alternatives. After 5 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on weekends, guests can park in any campus lot without a permit. That means the Tuesday afternoon poetry talk and a weekday gallery visit both start at Kober. For the Quindlen evening, any lot works. Visitors are expected to follow the college's visitor policy, and Campus Safety may ask for identification on college property.

If the 300 in-person seats for the Quindlen evening fill up, the Zoom option is also free, and it uses the same advance registration.

For Sheila Stoltz, living near Sarah Lawrence has always meant living near a place that started as a neighbor's house, and this centennial season keeps that tradition going. If you'd like help finding your way around the area, from the galleries off Mead Way to the Lawrence Park streets where the story began, we're glad to help. Let's Connect.