Cedar Crest College

Women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, U. S.

Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At the start of the 2015 2016 academic year, the college had 1,053 undergraduate and 387 graduate students. Men may pursue various degrees at the college, but are sometimes limited to evening or weekend programs. Founded in 1867, the college is historically tied to the United Church of Christ, though it remains academically independent. It was previously known as the Allentown Female College and the Allentown College for Women, before taking its current name in 1913.

The college's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs span more than 50 majors. The curriculum also includes programs in Pre Law, Pre Dentistry, Pre Medicine, and Pre Veterinary Medicine. Cedar Crest College also offers master's degrees. Its MBA Program offers a focus on Women's Leadership. Undergraduate and graduate programs are also offered to adult students through the college's School of Adult and Graduate Education.

The theatre major at Cedar Crest College encompasses both technical experience and performance. The college stages four major stage productions which typically includes two musical productions and two straight plays.

Cedar Crest is located off Cedar Crest Boulevard at 100 College Drive on the western edge of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The campus is adjacent to the city's Cedar Beach Park. The campus includes buildings containing libraries, classrooms, administrative offices, pools, theaters, fitness studios, and dining halls. Additional classroom and faculty buildings include Hartzel Hall, Curtis Hall and Hamilton Boulevard Building. The college also has four residence halls: Butz Hall, Moore Hall, Steinbright Hall, and the upper level of Curtis Hall. Cedar Crest's collection of 140 species of trees is designated as the William F. Curtis Arboretum, which is registered with the American Public Gardens Association. The campus is also the site of the Da Vinci Science Center, an independent science demonstration facility that opened in 2005.

Cedar Crest, known athletically as the Falcons, competes in NCAA Division III athletics and has teams in basketball, cross country running, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, swimming and diving, track and field, wrestling, and volleyball. The Rodale Aquatic Center on campus is home to the college's swimming and diving team.

During the 2007 season, the Cedar Crest Falcons tennis team placed 4th in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC), now known as the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC). The team also broke two school records, one for the most wins in a season (12) and one for the most PAC wins (7). The team's record was 12–3. Coach Lynn Pigliacampi, at the time, was two games away from becoming Cedar Crest's winningest tennis coach.

Cedar Crest's Falcons basketball team finished the 2008–09 season at 13 11 overall and 8–8 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. The team posted more conference victories than in the previous nine seasons combined, earning a CSAC playoff berth for the first time in a decade. Head coach Valerie Donohue (Cedar Crest, '95) led the Falcons in tying the school record of 13 season wins set in 1998–99, the last time the team made the playoffs. The sixth seeded Falcons beat Centenary College's women in the 2009 tournament's opening round. Donohue was subsequently named the Colonial States Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

In the spring of 1997, Cynthia L. Blaschak made a donation to Cedar Crest to build a softball field. This was done as part of her support of the new NCAA Division III varsity softball team that was beginning their season that year. Blaschak was a student athlete herself while attending Cedar Crest. She participated in both basketball and badminton.