Guttman Community College

Stella and Charles Guttman
Community College

entrance at 50 West 40th Street
Former names
New Community College
Type Public community college
Established 2011 (2011)
President Scott E. Evenbeck
Provost José Luis Morín
Academic staff
  • 19 full-time faculty
  • 9 part-time faculty[1]
Students 700 (as of 2015)[1]
Location New York City, New York, United States
Campus Urban
Affiliations City University of New York
Website www.guttman.cuny.edu

Stella and Charles Guttman Community College is the newest of City University of New York's (CUNY) seven community colleges. Located at 50 West 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, it was founded on September 11, 2011 and opened on August 20, 2012 as New Community College. In April 2013 the college was renamed following a $15 million endowment from the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.

Guttman offers 2-year associate degree programs with majors in liberal arts, business, social work, information technology (IT), and urban studies. Students are accepted with either a high school diploma or Certificate of High School Equivalency. The school uses the city as an outdoor, hands-on classroom. Instead of remedial classes, it requires first-year students to take a course called “City Seminar,” which blends math, reading, and writing into lessons about sustainability and immigration in New York.

History

Three members of the founding class of Guttman Community College

Guttman was the first new community college established by City University of New York (CUNY) in over 40 years. The planning was begun in 2008 on the initiative of CUNY's Chancellor, Matthew Goldstein. The planning phase was supported by CUNY funds, an initial allocation $8.9 million from the City of New York's annual budget, and donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Michael Bloomberg's Center for Economic Opportunity.[2][3] Described by the New York Times as "a multimillion-dollar experiment in how to fix what ails community colleges," Guttman College's academic structure and curriculum were designed from scratch in an effort to improve students' chances of completing their associate degrees and transferring to four-year colleges for further study.[4]

In 2010, the first faculty were appointed and Scott E. Evenbeck, professor of psychology and dean of University College at Indiana University-Purdue University, was named the founding President, taking up his post in January 2011.[5] The college was officially established on September 11, 2011 and opened with its first intake of students in August 2012. The college had, and continues to have, an open admissions policy, provided students have a high school diploma or a Certificate of High School Equivalency. However, unlike any of the other schools within CUNY, applicants are not considered until they have attended a lengthy information session and one-on-one interviews with counselors. Of its initial 4,000 applicants, 504 went through the information session and interviews. Of those, approximately 300 decided to enroll in the founding class.[4][6]

The college opened under the name "New Community College." In April 2013 following the gift of a $15 million endowment from the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation, one of the largest ever donations to a public two-year college, the CUNY Board of Trustees passed a resolution renaming the college "Stella and Charles Guttman Community College."[7]

Partners

The Office of Partnerships & Community Engagement (OPCE) works with community partners to provide experiential opportunities designed to support an enriched curriculum and career preparation. Helping to provide New York City businesses and organizations with highly motivated and qualified students, the OPCE seeks to establish lasting connections with professionals and businesses in the New York City area. Community partners – individuals and organizations that are part of the civic, cultural and economic life of New York – are involved in a variety of college activities. Some partners collaborate in multiple ways while others target their efforts within a particular area. These partners include Bryant Park Corporation, CUNY IT Specialists Internship Program, Hale House, Housing Works, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, New York Cares and America Needs You.[8]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Guttman Community College. Fast Facts. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  2. Iasevoli, Brenda (27 October 2010). "A New CUNY Community College Is Opening in 2012". The Village Voice. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  3. Santora, Marc (26 January 2009). "CUNY Plans New Approach to Community College". New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 Pérez-Peña, Richard (20 July 2012). "The New Community College Try". New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. City University of New York press release (22 July 2010). "Dr. Scott E. Evenbeck Named Founding President Of The City University of New York’s New Community College". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  6. Guttman Community College. Stella and Charles Guttman Community College: A Timeline. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  7. Kaminer, Ariel (29 April 2013). "$15 Million Gift and New Name for Community College". New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  8. http://guttman.cuny.edu/partners.html

Further reading

External links

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