When plans to charter a women's college in Auburn, New York ran into financial difficulty, Benjamin pledged $5,000 to transfer the charter to Elmira.
Benjamin became treasurer and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the new Elmira Female College.
Elmira College was founded to be "a real college for women which shall be higher and better than any female institution in the country."

Benjamin selected the college's location on Prospect Hill, and it opened there on October 2, 1855, with 242 students.
Benjamin's total contribution to Elmira College over the course of his life and his will totaled $80,000.
When plans to charter a women's college in Auburn, New York ran into financial difficulty, Benjamin pledged $5,000 to transfer the charter to Elmira. Benjamin became treasurer and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the new Elmira Female College. Elmira College was founded to be "a real college for women which shall be higher and better than any female institution in the country."
Benjamin selected the college's location on Prospect Hill, and it opened there on October 2, 1855, with 242 students. Benjamin's total contribution to Elmira College over the course of his life and his will totaled $80,000.
Simeon Benjamin