The (CUNY; s, a
Doctorate-granting Graduate School , a
Journalism School , a
Law School and the
Sophie Davis School Of Biomedical Education . More than 450,000 degree-credit, adult, continuing and professional education students are enrolled at campuses located in all five New York City boroughs.
CUNY is the third-largest university system, in terms of enrollment, in the United States, behind the
State University Of New York (SUNY) and
California State University systems. CUNY and SUNY are separate and independent university systems, although both are public institutions which receive funding from New York State. CUNY, however, is additionally funded by the City of New York.
CUNY's history dates back to the formation of the Free Academy in
1847 by
Townsend Harris . The school was fashioned as "a Free Academy for the purpose of extending the benefits of education gratuitously to persons who have been pupils in the common schools of the …city and county of New York." The Free Academy later became The City College, the first CUNY college. From this grew a system of seven senior colleges, four hybrid schools, six community colleges, as well as graduate schools and professional programs. CUNY was established in
1961 as the umbrella institution of the municipal colleges of New York City.
CUNY has historically served a diverse student body, especially those excluded from or unable to afford private universities. CUNY offered a high quality, tuition-free education to the poor, the working class and the immigrants of New York City until 1975, when the City's fiscal crisis forced the imposition of tuition. Many Jewish academics and intellectuals studied and taught at CUNY in the post-
World War I era when
Ivy League universities, such as
Columbia University , discriminated against Jews. The City College of New York has had a reputation of being "the
Harvard of the proletariat."
Over its history, CUNY and its colleges, especially CCNY, have been involved in various political movements. It was known as a hotbed of socialistic support in the earlier 20th century. CUNY also lent some support to various conferences, such as the Socialist Scholars Conference.Cf. notes from CUNY Chancellor Murphy to leaders of the Socialist Scholars Conference.
1986 Memo from Bogdan Denitch to Joseph S. Murphy, Chancellor City University of New York in 1980s . "This memo was the opening channel for several hundred thousand dollars to be used in the Socialist Scholars Conference account. Murphy supported the SSC
Scholars Conference'' until his tragic death in an automobile collision in Ethiopia on January 17, 1998."
CUNY's tradition of diversity continues today, with much of its student body new immigrants to New York City, representing 145 countries.
Demand in the United States for higher education rapidly grew each decade after
World War II into the 1970s. The increased demand for limited college slots had the effect in New York City of increasing the competitiveness of the city's system of higher education. By the end of the 1960s, admission to CUNY's flagship City College had become highly competitive.
Toward the end of the 1960s CUNY’s Board of Trustees, influenced by the civil rights movement, implemented a ground-breaking new admissions policy. The doors to CUNY were opened wide to all those demanding entrance, assuring all high school graduates, despite possible inadequacies of preparation, entrance to the University. This policy was known as "open admissions." Remedial education, to supplement the training of under-prepared students, became a significant part of CUNY's offerings.
The effect was instantaneous and dramatic. Whereas 20,000 freshmen had matriculated in one CUNY institution or another in 1969, more than 35,000 showed up for registration in the fall of 1970. Forty percent of these newcomers to the senior colleges were open-admissions students. The proportion of black and Hispanic students in the entering class nearly tripled.
Facing a fiscal crisis in 1975, the City imposed tuition on CUNY in that year. Middle-class students who had flocked to CUNY because it offered a cost-free alternative to the state university or a private college no longer had a reason to prefer it. Their enrollment at CUNY dropped precipitously and CUNY faced declines in enrollment through the 1980s and into the 1990s.
CUNY's prestige also declined in the 1970s and 1980s. Under a new chancellor,
Matthew Goldstein , and facing pressure from Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani , CUNY ended its open admissions policy to the University's four-year colleges in 1999. Critics had cautioned that the policy change could lead to a drop in enrollment of minority students at CUNY's four-year institutions.
CUNY officials reported that enrollment at its senior colleges increased 10.5% from 1999 to 2002, however. Mean SAT scores of admitted freshmen also rose. CUNY reported that the number of African-American students at its senior colleges had increased in the same time period, while changes in the proportions of other ethnic groups were "minimal." The University reported that two-thirds of its entering class were minority students.
CUNY students who are not directly admitted to the senior colleges because they do not meet academic admissions standards can choose to enroll in an associate degree program at one of CUNY’s community colleges, take part in "immersion" programs offered in the summer and winter months, find public or private tutoring, or participate in the one-semester "Prelude to Success" program taught by community college faculty at senior colleges. The graduates of the community college programs then earn admission to the senior colleges.
The City University is governed by the Board of Trustees composed of 17 members, ten of whom are appointed by the
Governor Of New York "with the advice and consent of the senate," and five by the
Mayor Of New York City "with the advice and consent of the senate." The final two trustees are ex-officio members. One is the chair of the university's student senate, and the other is non-voting and is the chair of the university's faculty senate. Both the mayoral and gubernatorial appointments to the CUNY Board are required to include at least one resident of each of New York City's five boroughs. Trustees serve seven-year terms, which are renewable for another seven years. College presidents report directly to the Board. The Chancellor is voted upon by the Board of Trustees, and is the "chief educational and administrative officer" of the City University.
Unlike other state college systems, CUNY in its early years did not operate as a central authority to the colleges. The central administration had limited power over the colleges. This is partly because most of the senior colleges (namely Brooklyn, Hunter, Queens, and City) predate CUNY and were thus established by mandate of the New York State Legislature, which has institutionalized the autonomy of the colleges. Veteran college presidents and faculty had typically viewed CUNY as a loose confederation rather than a unified system. Nevertheless, in recent years and at the behest of the Governor and the Mayor, the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor have, through the power of the purse, succeeded in weakening the college presidents and faculty and consolidating executive powers to themselves.
The brainchild of CUNY chancellor Matthew Goldstein, The Macaulay Honors College University Scholars Program graduated its first class in 2005, attracting students with a mean high school GPA of 93.5 and SAT scores of 1365 for the Class of 2009.
In July 2006 Dr. Ann Kirschner, a graduate from
Princeton University was appointed Dean of the Macaulay Honors College after a nationwide search. The standards of the Honors College continued to rise as well, with incoming freshman having an average of 93.8 and SAT scores of 1381. Graduating highschool students with
Ivy League caliber academic records have given the Honors College a closer look as a result, and this has had a trickle-down effect in improving the image of CUNY as a whole, which prior to the inception of the HC had been criticized as 'an institution adrift' by the Giuliani administration.
As an incentive to students, University Scholars receive a free Apple laptop, free tuition, a "cultural passport" that offers free or reduced-admission to various cultural institutions and venues in New York City, and a $7500 expense account that may be used for research and study abroad. Unlike honors programs at individual CUNY colleges, Macaulay Honors College students must be accepted into and begin the program as freshmen. They currently study at one of the participating senior CUNY colleges (Queens, Hunter, Staten Island, Lehman, Baruch, Brooklyn, and City), as well as taking part in cross-campus activities and programs.
In September 2006, The City University of New York received a $30,000,000 gift from philanthropist and
City College alumnus, William E. Macaulay, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Reserve Corporation. It is the largest single donation in the history of CUNY and has been used to buy a landmark building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that is to become the permanent home of the Honors College, and will add support to its endowment.
"William E. Macaulay, City College Graduate And Chairman and CEO of First Reserve, Donates Record $30 Million To CUNY Honors College" , The CUNY Newswire, Wednesday, September 13, 2006
CUNY consists of three different types of institutions: senior colleges, which grant bachelor's degrees and occasionally master's and associates degrees; community colleges, which grant associate's degrees; and graduate/professional schools. CUNY's Law School grants Juris Doctor (J.D.) degrees, and Ph.D. degrees are awarded only by the CUNY Graduate Center.
The colleges are listed below, with establishment dates in parentheses.
CUNY also has a cable TV service, also airs a lively panel discussion on the state of the Tri-State Real Estate Market. Stoler also does the show
Building NY .
- Between 1983 and 1992, CUNY baccalaureate graduates earned more doctorates than graduates of Columbia University, New York University, the University of Chicago, and SUNY at Albany combined.
- CUNY has been rated by Standard and Poors first in the nation in producing bachelor degree alumni who rise to top positions in business.
- CUNY’s Graduate School and University Center has a number of Ph.D. programs ranking among the top in the United States in their respective disciplines.
- Baruch's Zicklin School Of Business 's part-time MBA program ranked 17th—placing it second among all MBA programs in New York City per "America's Best Graduate Schools: 2007".
- Brooklyn College’s Freshman Year Program received the Hesburgh Award in 1998.
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate program has been ranked number one among 3,500 such programs by ''U. S. News and World Report''; CUNY Law School is ranked second in the country for its clinical training program; Hunter School of Social Work is among the top 15 Schools of Social Work in the nation.
- Baruch ranks first for ethnic diversity among U.S. institutions of higher education, "America's Best Colleges: 2005".
- A third of college graduates in New York City are CUNY graduates, with the institution enrolling about half of all college students in New York City.
- In a 2007 New York Times article, it was reported that CUNY was raising its academic admission standards once again.Arenson, Karen W., "CUNY Plans to Raise Its Admissions Standards", New York Times, July 28, 2007
