Honoring 150 years of education and innovation

In 1861, Edward Austin Sheldon — a man whose interest in the well-being of humanity turned him into an unintentional educator — found a drawback to the object teaching lesson he had embraced at the Oswego School District: his teachers were becoming so well-trained that other school districts began poaching them. His modest idea, which would later transform the world of education, was to create the modest Oswego Primary Teachers' Training School — which became what we now know as SUNY Oswego.

From a first class of nine teachers-in-training meeting six days a week in a cloakroom, the Oswego Method of using the object learning method (an improvement over rote memorization) combined with in-classroom training spread throughout the growing United States and abroad to areas including Brazil, Japan and the Philippines. Even in the 21st century, Oswego continues to embrace innovation in its programs that now span the globe.

The Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2011-12 included new materials on the institution's history and special events engaging members of the Oswego family past, present and future. The theme of the sesquicentennial year was "Celebrating 150 Years of Engaging Minds and Opening Doors."

Sesquicentennial Committee:
Michael Flaherty, Chair
Frank Byrne
Mark Cole
Mary DePentu
Jeff Grimshaw
Fred Maxon
Ellen McCloskey
Tim Nekritz
Betsy Oberst
Rose Throop