The name was changed to Colgate University in 1890, in honor of the interest and service of members of the soap-making Colgate family. The theology school merged with Rochester Divinity School in 1928. A preparatory department, Colgate Academy, was established in 1873 and discontinued in 1912.

Women entered Colgate in 1970. Today, the university enrolls approximately 2,652 students (1,297 men and 1,355 women) from all over the United States and 42 foreign countries. The university has an academic faculty of 259, with a student to faculty ratio of 11:1. The faculty’s primary responsibility is teaching, but many are distinguished writers, researchers, performers, and artists. There are no graduate assistants teaching at Colgate.

The liberal arts program includes the liberal arts core courses, major and minor concentration programs, electives, and physical education classes. Language and distribution requirements ensure a broad-based liberal arts program.

Approximately 23 percent of each graduating class pursues postgraduate study immediately following graduation. A recent follow-up study showed 98 percent of the Class of 1999 either employed or in graduate school within a year of graduation.

Colgate offers a wide variety of intercollegiate (NCAA Division I), club, and intramural athletics. Seventeen percent of the student body participates in intercollegiate varsity sports. There are also 24 club sports, and nearly two-thirds of all undergraduates take part in the 22 intramural sports.

The Colgate campus — more than 500 acres with 83 buildings — is located at the southern edge of the village of Hamilton. The village was founded in 1795, named after Alexander Hamilton, and has a population of approximately 2,500.