Syracuse University was founded in 1870 when Genesee College, located in Lima, New York, and operated by the Methodist church, relocated to Syracuse. There it began holding classes in 1871. The university is now nonsectarian. The College of Medicine, originally founded as Geneva Medical College in 1834, was owned by Syracuse from 1872 until 1950, when it joined the SUNY system. Newspaper magnate S.I. Newhouse donated $15 million to Syracuse to establish the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Notable Syracuse alumni include authors Shirley Jackson and Joyce Carol Oates, dancer-choreographer Paul Taylor, and football Hall of Famer Jim Brown.
