Queens College, City University of New York

"Queens College" redirects here. For other uses, see Queen's College (disambiguation).
Queens College, City University of New York
Motto Discimus ut serviamus (Latin)[1]
Motto in English
 We learn so that we may serve
Type Public
Established 1937
President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez
Academic staff
 1,693
Students 18,494[2]
Undergraduates 14,384
Postgraduates 4,110
Location New York City (Queens), New York, USA
40°44′13″N 73°49′01″W / 40.737°N 73.817°W / 40.737; -73.817Coordinates: 40°44′13″N 73°49′01″W / 40.737°N 73.817°W / 40.737; -73.817
Campus Urban, 77 acres (310,000 m2)
Newspaper The Knight News
Colors Blue and Silver          
Athletics NCAA Division II – ECC
Nickname Knights
Mascot Knight
Affiliations City University of New York
AASCU
Website www.qc.cuny.edu

Queens College (QC) is a public university located in Queens, New York. It is the fifth-oldest and one of the largest senior colleges of the twenty-three institutions of higher learning of the City University of New York. Often referred to as "The Jewel of the CUNY system," The college's 77-acre campus is located along Kissena Boulevard in the neighborhood of Flushing.

At its founding in 1937, Queens College was hailed by the people of the borough as “the college of the future.” Located in a residential area of Flushing in the borough of Queens—America’s most ethnically diverse county—the college has students from more than 150 nations. Queens College is consistently ranked among the leading institutions in the nation for its affordability, the quality of its academic programs, and student achievement.

In 2013, Queens College was ranked #2 nationally by the Washington Monthly for "best bang for your buck" education.

History

This marker, just outside the Student Union building, marks the original location of the one-room schoolhouse

Before 1935

Before Queens College was established in 1937, the site of the campus was home to the Jamaica Academy, a one-room schoolhouse built in the early 19th century, where Walt Whitman once worked as teacher.[3] The building was located on Flushing-Jamaica Road (later renamed Kissena Boulevard). Jamaica Academy became public in 1844.[4] In 1909, the New York Parental School, a home for troubled boys, opened on the land surrounding the future site of Queens College and incorporated Jamaica Academy on its campus. Buildings such as Jefferson Hall (named after Thomas Jefferson) were used as both dormitories and classrooms.[5]

In 1934, the New York Parental School was investigated amid rumors of abuse.[6] The school was shut down and students were transferred to local public schools. A few months later, the grounds were turned over to the city. The city planned to house 500 mental patients from Randall's Island Hospital, who were temporarily displaced by the construction of the Triborough Bridge.[7]

Founding

Meanwhile, County Judge Charles S. Colden appointed and chaired a committee to assess the feasibility of opening a free college in Queens. In September 1935, the committee recommended the establishment of such a college.[8] Mayor La Guardia backed the recommendation and pushed for the free college's creation. In March 1937, the Board of Education designated the site of the former Parental School to be the future location of Queens College.[9] Paul Klapper, former dean of the School of Education at City College of New York, was appointed the new college's president.[10] The college opened in September 1937 with 21 members on its teaching staff and 400 students in its inaugural freshmen class.[11][12]

The college campus grew as buildings were constructed and enrollment increased. In 1958, 10,754 students were enrolled, more than ever before.[13] By 1976, enrollment was at 20,243.[14] But changes beyond growth were in store for Queens College: in 1970, CUNY adopted the controversial policy of Open Admissions, which guaranteed a place at CUNY for any high school graduate in New York, regardless of traditional criteria like grades or test scores. The program was intended to offer college education to more New York City residents, in particular those of color. But Open Admissions did not seem to affect Queens College as much as it did other schools — a year after its implementation, only 10% of its student body was black or Puerto Rican, according to the newly appointed college president, Dr. Joseph S. Murphy.[15] By 1976, other concerns overtook the college as New York City faced a crippling financial crisis. CUNY's policy of free tuition was revoked; the overall CUNY budget was cut by $135 million; and CUNY Chancellor Robert Kibbee of CUNY demanded that Queens College slash its budget by 15%.[16] Some faculty members resigned in protest.[17] The New York Times reported in December 1976 that "Queens College, considered the jewel in the university's crown, has been particularly hard hit by the cuts, which have gone to the heart of the faculty."[14] All hiring and building on campus was halted.

1980s

By 1984, the student enrollment had declined to 15,000. But with a $175 million building program in place by 1986 for the college's 50th anniversary, enrollments were expected to rise and the college was beginning to recover from the financial crisis of the 1970s. In addition, the student body, in accordance with the mission of the short-lived Open Admissions program, had grown much more diverse, and college faculty were trained to understand Latin American culture and how to teach American literature to non-American students.[18] By that time, former Queens College president Dr. Joseph S. Murphy was now the CUNY Chancellor. In the 1990s, the college attracted high-profile researchers to its faculty, including the virologist Luc Montagnier, and established a law program.[19] Under President Allen Sessoms, the college underwent such growth but also some missteps, including the highly publicized inability to fund the planned AIDS research center that Dr. Montagnier was hired to lead.[20]

Recent

The college campus continued improving its facilities. Under a $1 billion CUNY-wide improvement program, Queens College's Powdermaker Hall was given a $57 million renovation, begun in 2000.[21] By 2014, student enrollment had neared its former height of 20,000 students, half of which come from minority backgrounds.[22][23] Dr. Felix V. Matos Rodriguez was appointed president of Queens College by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2014.[24]

Involvement in Civil Rights movements

Queens College students were active participants in the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s, including the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The most well-known student activist was Andrew Goodman, who was slain in Mississippi in 1964 with two other young men, James Earl Chaney, and Michael H. Schwerner; all three were trying to register African-Americans to vote in the South. Schwerner and Chaney were on the organizing staff of CORE; Goodman was a "Freedom Summer" volunteer. The three activists were stopped and arrested for allegedly driving over the speed limit on a Mississippi road in 1964. Upon being brought into the sheriff's department and later released, the three young men were stopped by two car loads of KKK members on a remote rural road. The men approached their car, then shot and killed all three young men. The murders received national attention, and six conspirators were brought to trial and convicted by federal prosecutors for civil rights violations. The Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clock Tower of Rosenthal Library, a highly visible borough landmark, is named in their honor.[25]

In February 2011, Queens College inherited the personal collection of the late James Foreman. The collection, along with other civil rights leaders' collections, is available for research at the Queens College Civil Rights Archive. A special program on February 17, 2011 included a presentation by the Honorable Julian Bond for Black History Month, as well as a formal announcement of the acquisition.[26]

Academics

Degrees and Programs

Queens College is a liberal arts college that offers undergraduate degrees in 78 majors, master's degrees in 24 departments, 20 doctoral degrees through the CUNY Graduate Center, and a number of advanced certificate programs.[27] It is also one of seven participating schools in the CUNY Honors College. Queens College has a Freshman Honors Program,[28] as well as a program called Time 2000 for future math educators. The department for Continuing Education offers non-credit courses.

Academic centers and institutes

Rosenthal Library

The College is home to many centers which focus their research on various pressing social issues facing the local communities, students, faculty and the many ethnic and religious groups of the Queens area.

Aaron Copland School of Music

The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest and most distinguished departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937. The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical system of Heinrich Schenker was initiated by Saul Novack.

ACSM offers three different types of music undergraduate degrees; general music (BA), Performance (B.Mus), and Music Education (BA/Ed)

Campus and facilities

The QC Quad

The 77-acre (310,000 m2) campus, located off Kissena Boulevard, is on one of the highest points in the borough. Six of the original Spanish-style buildings dating back to the early 20th century still stand, such as Jefferson Hall, which was built in 1900. The college has since expanded to include over 40 buildings including the main classroom building, Powdermaker Hall, rebuilt in 2003 and named after the college's distinguished anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker. The college is embarking on a variety of campus-beautification projects.

Queens College is the only CUNY college that participates in Division II sports. A Child Development Center, staffed by professionals, offers inexpensive child care services to students with children. The college is also home to the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, which houses more than 3,500 works of art.

The college holds courses at several off-campus locations, including the 43rd Street Extension Center in Manhattan and the CUNY Center for Higher Education in downtown Flushing, which opened in late 2003.

The college has a low-rise 506-bed dormitory on campus called "The Summit at Queens College," which opened for the fall semester of 2009. Queens College is one of only three CUNY campuses with dorm facilities (the other two being Hunter College and City College).

The college is home to the Aaron Copland School of Music located in the music building, constructed in 1991. The building houses the music library and the 490-seat Lefrak Concert Hall.

CUNY School of Law was previously located to the west of the campus of Queens College; while it was always a separate administrative unit of CUNY, the building itself read "CUNY School of Law at Queens College," and was once a building for the Department of Education. The CUNY Board of Trustees approved plans for the Law School to be relocated to 2 Court Square in Long Island City, with the first semester of classes held in 2012.[30] Queens College has since taken over the former CUNY Law building for future use.

Townsend Harris High School and John Bowne High School are located at the edge of the Queens College campus.

Benjamin Rosenthal Library

The campus maintains the Benjamin Rosenthal Library. The library's Chaney-Schwerner-Goodman Clocktower was named after the three civil rights workers who were murdered in 1964, including Andrew Goodman, a Queens College student. Built in 1988, the library contains 752,900 books, 32,600 print and electronic materials, the electronic archives, a collection of multimedia materials in its Media Center and an art center. The library is also home to the papers of Robert Morris and the Louis Armstrong archives.

Rosenthal Library

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Since 1957 Queens College has been collecting works of art, these collections were initially used for teaching purposes and were meant to serve the college community. The collections were eventually brought together with the establishment of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum in 1980. The Museum is now a part of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts which has joined together all the works of art on campus in collaborations of visual, performance, dance, and theater arts.[31] In the early 1990s, the museum was downsized due to budget cuts. Over the next few years, the college kept it open but on a reduced budget and staff. In 2001 however the college hired Amy Winter as director of the museum. To address the concerns of the museum Winter turned to MAP (The Museum Assessment Program); as a result not only did the museum improve their facilities but they increased their collections-related staff as well.[32] Today the museum is an integral part of the Queens College community, and it continues to serve not only the faculty and staff but the community at large.

The Museum is located in Klapper Hall and maintains a fine collection of 6,000 pieces of art, as well as artifacts from all cultures dating from ancient times to the modern day. These include works by Rembrandt Van Rijn, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque. The museum also hosts a series of exhibitions each year. These exhibitions and events are open to Queens College students, faculty, staff and the public.

Residence

The Summit is Queens College's first residence hall, it opened in the fall of 2009.

In 2009, Queens College was the third school in the CUNY system to open a residence hall. The Summit, a low-rise 506-bed dormitory, is located in the middle of the campus.[33] Queens College is still primarily a commuter school, having only 500 of its over 18,000 students living on campus. The Summit hall has earned a silver certificate from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an organization that certifies buildings to have met environmentally sustainable construction standards.[34] Queens College's residence hall offers study lounges on each floor, wireless internet, laundry services, and a state of the art fitness center. Apartments also include kitchens with full size appliances, as well as dining areas, microwaves, couches, entertainment stands, and music practice rooms.[35]

The Summit has attracted students from around the country and the world to Queens College, especially aspiring artists looking to attend the internationally renowned Aaron Copland School of Music. Although it remains a commuter school, the college has become more dynamic as a result of the construction of the Summit; offering students a traditional college experience at an affordable public university. In addition to the Summit, many students rent apartments off campus in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Transportation

Queens College operates a free shuttle service for students from campus (next to the student union building) to major transportation hubs in Flushing and Jamaica. The shuttle service also transports students from the Kissena end of campus to the Main Street end. The shuttle operates seven days a week.

Student life

The Student Union building is home to most of the clubs on campus.

Demographics

Demographics of Queens College[36]
Men Women
Asian/Pacific Islander 1,583 2,263
Black/Non-Hispanic 558 1,233
Hispanic 1,031 2,166
Native American 8 15
White/Non-Hispanic 3,583 6,046
International Students 471 615

The college is located in Queens, New York, the most diverse county in the nation.[37] Queens College students represent 120 countries and speak over 60 different native languages. This rich variety has influenced Queens College's curriculum, research, and outreach programs.[38]

Queens College's cultural diversity is also represented in its clubs and organizations. Queens has 95 different clubs and organizations, ranging from fraternities/sororities to cultural, religious, technology, and art clubs. Most of the organizations are located within the Student Union building. To complement the college's educational mission, the Student Union provides various facilities, services, co-curricular activities, and programs.[39]

Greek Life

Queens College Greek life consists of eight fraternities and seven sororities.[40] Greek membership numbers in the hundreds, with more members in Greek Life than in all the other clubs on campus combined. The Queens College Greek life supports a variety of different philanthropies with thousands of dollars in donations to various charitable organizations, as well as thousands of hours of volunteer work. The Dining Hall is a popular gathering place for Greeks, as is the field directly outside during days with good weather. They participate in throwing events such a Greek Week, Fall Brawl, and Meet the Greeks, where they showcase their respective organizations, as well as compete for recreation.

Fraternities Sororities Honor Societies
Kappa Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma Chi Sigma Iota
Alpha Epsilon Pi Sigma Delta Tau Nu Gamma Psi
Gamma Omega Delta Lambda Pi Upsilon Phi Alpha Theta
Tau Epsilon Phi Delta Phi Epsilon Phi Upsilon Omicron
Phi Iota Alpha Epsilon Sigma Phi Psi Chi
Alpha Chi Rho

Athletics

Official athletics logo.
The Queens College Men's Basketball team (above). QC is the only CUNY school to participate in NCAA Division II sports.

The Athletic Department at Queens College sponsors fifteen separate men's and women's championship eligible varsity teams in eight different sports. The longest running among these fifteen programs are the men's basketball and baseball teams. The men's basketball team has put a team on the court in every season since its inception in 1938. On February 14, 2004 the team played its 1500th game and, in those 1500 games, has produced twenty 1,000-point scorers. Of these twenty players, twelve have achieved this after the college began play in NCAA Division II in 1983 and four (Alan Hevesi (#5), Norman Roberts (#15), Jeff Maloney (#22) and Norman Roberts (#15)) have had their numbers retired. Although the program has a long-running record of achievement, its biggest successes have come in the 21st century. In 2001, the Knights earned their first NCAA Division II Northeast Regional bid. 2002 saw the team earn their second consecutive bid along with the program's first NYCAC championship and, in 2005, the team once again was crowned NYCAC Champions and received an automatic bid to the NCAA's.[41]

Men's Baseball

With the exception of three years during World War II, the baseball program, like men's basketball, has fielded a team since 1938. In both 1967 and 1976 the team captured the Knickerbocker Conference championship and in 1981 it won the CUNY championship. Their championships in 1976 and 1981 also earned them NCAA Division III tournament bids. More recently, the squad captured the NYCAC regular season championships in 1997 and 1998, the NYCAC tournament championship in 1998 and a bid to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional. Individually, seven players have been drafted and nine players have gone on to play professionally with organizations including the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. The latest of these draftees is 1998 All-American Justin Davies who, after playing in the Toronto Blue Jays organization for two seasons, has spent the four years (2000–2004) as on outfielder for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League.[41]

Woman's Basketball

The women's basketball team has also experienced success. On March 24, 1973, the Knights, who were ranked #2 in the country, took the Fitzgerald Gymnasium court with the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) National Championship at stake. On February 22, 1975 they played in the first women's basketball game ever played in Madison Square Garden.[42][43] Three players from this era (Debbie Mason (#15), Gail Marquis (#25) and Althea Gwyn (#31)) have had their numbers retired. On January 4, 2015, the two teams will play in the Maggie Dixon Classic as a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the original event.[44] In the 2000s, the team has rebounded from a short down period to make a return to the NYCAC playoffs while producing several top-flight players, including Honorable Mention All-American in Carolyn Burke.

Softball

In the period from 1997 until 2003, the softball team posted a .640 winning percentage and won 30 or more games in a season three times. One of those 30 win seasons came in 1999 when the team won their first NYCAC tournament championship and earned their first NCAA bid. Two season later, third team All-American Cheryl Cosenzo helped lead the Lady Knights to their second NYCAC championship as well as an NCAA bid and in 2002 the team earned their third Northeast Regional bid in five years.

Tennis Team

The women's tennis team has experienced nineteen consecutive winning seasons. The team has won four conference championships, while its players have won a number of individual and doubles titles. In 2004, Dominika Bajuk was selected as NYCAC Player of the Year. The Lady Knights have also earned NCAA Division II post-season championship bids in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005; as well as in 1995 when, as hosts, they won their region.[41]

The men's track and field team hosted and won the East Coast Conference Championships in 2013.

Rankings

ProgramRankingRanked by
America's Best Value Colleges 8 The Princeton Review [48]
Top Public Regional Universities (North) 9 U.S. News [49]
Top Regional Universities (North) 42 U.S. News [50]
Clinical Training (Graduate) 3 U.S. News [49]
Library and Information Studies (Graduate) 38 U.S. News [49]
Speech-Language Pathology (Graduate) 53U.S. News [49]
Fine Arts (Graduate) 93U.S. News

Notable alumni and faculty

Alumni List

In television

Seinfeld

References

  1. ↑ Authored by Dr. Konrad Gries, Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics, at the request of the first president of the college, Dr. Paul Klapper (Personal communication from Konrad Gries).
  2. ↑ Queens College – CUNY
  3. ↑ http://www.qc.cuny.edu/communications/newsletter/Documents/fyi_Mar07.pdf
  4. ↑ Walsh, Kevin. "POMONOK, Queens". Forgotten NY. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Queens College: 10 Year Sustainability Plan" (PDF). Queens College. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Tompkins, New York Times (Feb 24, 1935). "PARENTAL HOME ENTERS NEW ERA: Sympathetic Treatment to Be Basic Policy in Handling Wayward Boys". New York Times.
  7. ↑ "CITY TO HOUSE WARDS IN PARENTAL SCHOOL: Education Board Lends Flushing Institution as Hospital for Mental Defectives.". New York Times. Jun 15, 1935. p. 15.
  8. ↑ "QUEENS COLLEGE BACKED.: Colden Committee Holds Proposal for New Institution Feasible.". New York Times. Sep 13, 1935. p. 15.
  9. ↑ "COLLEGE SITE GIVEN TO CITY IN QUEENS: Education Board Cedes 48 Acres and Buildings of Flushing Parental School". New York Times. Apr 1, 1937. p. 25.
  10. ↑ "DR. KLAPPER HEADS QUEENS COLLEGE: Dean of Education School of City College Made President of New Institution". New York Times. May 26, 1937. p. 23.
  11. ↑ "21 NAMED TO STAFF AT QUEENS COLLEGE: Professors and Assistants in Other Institutions Are Taking Lower Rank in New School". New York Times. Aug 20, 1937. p. 15.
  12. ↑ "FIRST CLASS MEETS AT QUEENS COLLEGE: 400 Selected Freshmen Are Greeted as Pioneers by Dr. Klapper, the President". New York Times. Oct 5, 1937. p. 28.
  13. ↑ "QUEENS COLLEGE GAINS: Enrollment of 10,754 for Semester Sets Record". New York Times. Oct 10, 1958. p. 24.
  14. 1 2 Ferretti, Fred (Dec 9, 1976). "City U.and City Hall Are Steering Collision Course on Further Cuts: City U. and City Hall on Collission Course". New York Times. p. 97.
  15. ↑ "New Queens College President Strives to Meet Most Demands by Students". New York Times. Apr 4, 1971. p. BQ84.
  16. ↑ "WHEN TUITION AT CUNY WAS FREE, SORT OF". CUNY Matters. October 12, 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Six at Queens College Quit Over Budget Cuts". New York Times. Jul 3, 1976. p. 20.
  18. ↑ Carmody, Deirdre (Oct 11, 1987). "Queens College, 50 Years Old, Seeks to Rebound". New York Times. p. 80.
  19. ↑ "Queens College Law School Is Granted Full Accreditation". New York Times. Aug 14, 1992. p. B8.
  20. ↑ Arenson, Karen (Mar 17, 2001). "College Returns $3 Million Gift For AIDS Lab: Queens College Returns $3 Million Donation for AIDS Center". New York Times. p. B1.
  21. ↑ Brozan, Nadeen (September 17, 2000). "On CUNY's Campuses, The Subject Is Change". New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "QC at a Glance". Queens College. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "CUNY—Queens College". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "CUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPOINTS THREE NEW COLLEGE PRESIDENTS". CUNY Newswire. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "CUNY Trustees Approve New Queens Home for CUNY Law School".
  26. ↑ Ablamsky, Jessica. "Civil Rights Titan Bond Looks Back". Queens Tribune. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  27. ↑ "Admissions". Queens College. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  28. ↑ http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/Honors/Freshman/Pages/default.aspx. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ http://www.ildme.org/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ↑ "CUNY Trustees Approve New Queens Home for CUNY Law School".
  31. ↑ NYC ARTS > Museums > Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College
  32. ↑ 30 Years of Excellence Through MAP | AAMblog
  33. ↑ "The Summit at Queens College". Queens College. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  34. ↑ Queens College Opens First Dorm | www.qgazette.com | Queens Gazette
  35. ↑ QC Queens College
  36. ↑ CUNY Queens College Information, Academics, Admissions, Financial Aid, Students, Athletics, Alumni, History, Campus, Students, Faculty, Address, and Tuition
  37. ↑
  38. ↑ Diversity Web: Queens College
  39. ↑ Queens College – CUNY
  40. ↑ "QC Inter Fraternity Sorority Council". Facebook. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  41. 1 2 3 Queens College Athletics
  42. ↑ "NY sports history: Feb. 22, 1975". Long Island Newsday. February 21, 2011. Retrieved 8 Dec 2012.
  43. ↑ Jenkins, Sally. "History of Women's Basketball". WNBA. Retrieved 8 Dec 2012.
  44. ↑ Feinberg, Doug (Sep 19, 2014). "MSG to honor first women's basketball game at arena". Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved 19 Sep 2014.
  45. ↑ http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/bestvalue/default.asp Archived February 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  46. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20228437/site/newsweek/ Archived August 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  47. ↑ "America's Best Colleges". Forbes.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  48. ↑ The Princeton Review, Inc. – America's Best Value Colleges by State
  49. 1 2 3 4 CUNY-Queens College | Overall Rankings | Best College | US News
  50. ↑ Queens College | CUNY-Queens College | Rankings | Best College | US News
  51. ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/seinfeld-loved-manhattan-share-queens-cameos-article-1.202899. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

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