Baruch College


Baruch College is a public college in Manhattan, New York, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

History

Baruch College is one of the senior colleges in the CUNY system. Its roots go back to the 1847 founding of the Free Academy, the first institution of free public higher education in the United States. The New York State Literature Fund was created to serve students who could not afford to enroll in New York City's private colleges. The Fund led to the creation of the Committee of the Board of Education of the City of New York, led by Townsend Harris, J.S. Bosworth, and John L. Mason, which brought about the establishment of what would become the Free Academy, on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.
The Free Academy became the College of the City of New York, now The City College of New York. In 1919, what would become Baruch College was established as City College School of Business and Civic Administration. On December 15, 1928, the cornerstone was laid on the new building which would house the newly founded school. At this point, the school did not admit women. At the time it opened it was considered the biggest such school for the teaching of business education in the United States.
By the 1930s, women were enrolled in the School of Business. The total enrollment at CCNY reached an all-time high of 40,000 students in 1935, and the School of Business had an enrollment of more than 1,700 students in the day session alone. In 1953, it was renamed the Baruch School of Business in honor of Bernard Baruch, an 1889 graduate of CCNY who went on to become a prominent financier and adviser to two presidents. In 1961, the New York State Education Law established the City University of New York system. In 1968, the Baruch School of Business was spun off as Baruch College, an independent senior college in the CUNY system.
The first president of the new college was the previous Federal Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Robert C. Weaver. In 1971, the college appointed Clyde Wingfield, a noted educator, as its president. He was succeeded by economist Joel Edwin Segall in 1977. Segall recruited several well-known faculty members to the School of Business and established the college's permanent home on Lower Lexington Avenue. Matthew Goldstein was president of the school from 1991 to 1998. He was responsible for raising admissions requirements and creating the School of Public Affairs in 1994. Edward Regan, former comptroller of New York state, served as president from 2000 to 2004. During his tenure, test scores rose, student retention rates increased, and many new faculty members were hired. In 2001, the Vertical Campus opened and Baruch College accepted its first students from the CUNY Honors College, now known as the Macaulay Honors College. The college also implemented a common core curriculum for all undergraduates.
Kathleen Waldron became the president in 2004. Under Waldron, Baruch College received large donations from its alumni, which resulted in the Vertical Campus, 23rd Street building, and Performing Arts complex being renamed in honor of the three largest donors respectively. Alumni giving has increased under "Baruch Means Business," a $150 million capital campaign. In August 2009, Waldron resigned from her position to become a University Professor at the Graduate Center. Stan Altman, the former dean of the School of Public Affairs from 1999 to 2005, was named interim president.
On February 22, 2010, Mitchel Wallerstein, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, was appointed as the president of the college. He took office on August 2, 2010, and remained until June 30, 2020, after which he became a University Professor at CUNY. Under his leadership, Baruch College established degree programs with universities globally, ranked as a top college for social mobility, and achieved the best graduation rate within the CUNY system.
Baruch College was the scene of student protests in 2011 as a result of tuition hikes resulting in arrests. S. David Wu is the president of Baruch College, taking office on July 1, 2020. In October 2025, the nearby 23rd Street subway station was renamed 23rd Street–Baruch College after the college.

Presidents of Baruch College

PresidentTenure
1.Robert Weaver1968–1970
2.Clyde Wingfield1971–1976
3.Joel Segall1977–1990
Joyce Brown 1990–1991
4.Matthew Goldstein1991–1998
Lois S. Cronholm 1998–1999
Sidney Lirtzman 1999–2000
5.Edward Regan2000–2004
6.Kathleen Waldron2004–2009
Stan Altman 2009–2010
7.Mitchel Wallerstein2010–2020
8.S. David Wu2020–present

Academics

Baruch College is composed of three academic schools, the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.
The Zicklin School of Business grants a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 19 different business-related areas, a Masters of Business Administration in 14 business-related areas, and a Masters of Science in 8 business-related programs.
The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences grants a Bachelor of Arts degree in over 27 different arts and science-related areas, a Masters of Arts in Corporate Communications and Mental Health Counseling, and a Masters of Science in Financial Engineering and Industrial-Organizational Psychology.
The Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs grants a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs, a Masters of Public Administration in 5 different public affairs-related areas, an Executive MPA, a Masters of International Affairs, and a Masters of Science in education in Higher Education Administration.
The college also houses several doctoral programs offered through the CUNY Graduate Center. They include Business as well as Industrial and Organizational Psychology. As of June 2013, the CUNY PhD in Business degree is offered jointly by the Graduate Center and Baruch College.

Campus

Lawrence and Eris Field Building

The Lawrence and Eris Field Building, also known as the 23rd Street Building, is still in use by the college today. The 23rd Street Building began renovation in 2013. The ten-year renovation project will finally bring the 23rd Street Building to twenty-first century standards. The building is home to the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and several administrative offices.

Information and Technology Building

The Information and Technology Building is located across East 25th Street from the Newman Vertical Campus. The structure, which was once a substation for New York City streetcars, it is home to the William and Anita Newman Library. A computer lab, the Baruch Computing and Technology Center, is on the sixth floor. The building also contains the offices of the Registrar, Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and the International Student Center. It is colloquially known as the "Library Building" by students and staff.

Newman Vertical Campus

After decades of renting space for classrooms, the college began constructing what is now the Newman Vertical Campus in 1998; the 17-story building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Named after businessman William Newman and inaugurated on August 27, 2001, the building is a, 17-floor building, which cost $327 million to erect. It is now home to the Zicklin School of Business and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. It houses classrooms, faculty offices, additional computer labs for student use, along with the Athletic and Recreation Complex, Cafeteria, and Baruch Bookstore. The Newman Vertical Campus received the American Institute of Architects' highest award for an individual building in 2003. East 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue was renamed "Bernard Baruch Way", and the college now uses the Vertical Campus as its official address.

Campus location

The college is located between East 22nd and 25th Streets in Manhattan, along Lexington Avenue, near Madison Square Park. The campus is served by the following transportation:
  • New York City Subway: the 23rd Street–Baruch College and 28th Street subway stations at Park Avenue, served by the.
  • New York City Bus: routes.

    Academic centers and institutes

  • Baruch College Survey Research
  • CCI – Corporate Communication International
  • CUNY Institute for Demographic Research
  • Center for Educational Leadership
  • Center on Equality, Pluralism and Policy
  • Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship
  • Jewish Studies Center
  • Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute
  • New York Census Research Data Center
  • Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management
  • Center for the Study of Business and Government
  • The Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute at Baruch College is an academic service unit and faculty development program. It supports educational technology and communications instructional projects in the college.
  • The Starr Career Development Center, named after the Starr Foundation, provides career services to all Baruch College undergraduates and alumni with bachelor's degrees from Baruch.
  • The Subotnick Financial Services Center, which opened in 2000, provides a simulation of practical trading experience. Its centerpiece is the Bert W. and Sandra Wasserman Trading Floor.
  • Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Computer Center for Visually Impaired People
  • Weissman Center for International Business
  • Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity