Eric Gladstone Zoe Taylor - GoHofstra.com

Hofstra’s Dutch Heritage
Ties to Dutch heritage and the Netherlands began with
William S. Hofstra, after whom the school is named and
on whose property the University was started. William
Hofstra died in 1932 and when his wife, Kate, died 16
months later, her will provided that their house, 15-acre
estate, and bulk of her inheritance were to be used for a
“public, charitable, benevolent, or scientific purpose” as
a memorial to her husband.
The idea for a college came from Truesdel Peck
Calkins, former Hempstead superintendent of schools,
who was then with New York University. He suggested
that NYU might offer extension courses on the Hofstra
property. Hofstra opened in September 1935, as a
two-year extension branch of NYU; its official name
was “Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New
York University at Hempstead, Long Island.” When
the doors opened, the sole building on campus was
Hofstra’s mansion, which he had affectionately named
the Netherlands after his homeland, and all classes were
held there. The mansion, which houses administrative
offices, is now the center of Hofstra’s 240-acre campus,
and has been renamed Hofstra Hall.
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