Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing.
Queens College was established in 1937 and offers undergraduate degrees in over 70 majors, graduate studies in over 100 degree programs and certificates, over 40 accelerated master's options, 20 doctoral degrees through the CUNY Graduate Center, and a number of advanced certificate programs. Alumni and faculty of the school, such as Arturo O'Farrill and Jerry Seinfeld, have received over 100 Grammy Award nominations.
The college is organized into seven schools. It competes in Division II of the NCAA and sponsors 15 men's and women's championship-eligible varsity teams.
History
Before 1937
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 a teacher. The building was located on Flushing-Jamaica Road. Jamaica Academy became public in 1844. 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 were used as both dormitories and classrooms.In 1934, the New York Parental School was investigated amid rumors of abuse. 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.
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. 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. Paul Klapper, former dean of the School of Education at City College of New York, was appointed the new college's president. The college opened in October 1937—later than anticipated due to a painters' strike—with 21 members on its teaching staff and 400 students in its inaugural freshmen class. The school's colors of blue and silver were selected by a "Color Committee" drawn from the entering class of students, and were announced at the first school dance, which was held on Wednesday, November 24, 1937. Around 1,200 students enlisted in the American military during World War II; fifty-nine would be killed in action.Motto
Queens College's motto is "Discimus ut serviamus", which translates to "We learn so that we may serve." With public service for the common good on his mind, Queens College president Paul Klapper created the motto in 1937 to inspire the first class of students and the following generations.Late 20th century
The college campus grew as buildings were constructed and enrollment increased. 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, Joseph S. Murphy. In 1973, enrollment at Queens reached an all-time high of 31,413 students. By 1976 new 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 demanded that Queens College slash its budget by 15%. Some faculty members resigned in protest. 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." All hiring and building on campus was halted.In 1979, President Jimmy Carter became the first sitting president to visit Queens College, where he conducted a Town Hall Meeting at Colden Center.
By 1984, 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-native students. By that time, former Queens College president Joseph S. Murphy was CUNY Chancellor. In the 1990s, the college attracted high-profile researchers to its faculty, including the virologist Luc Montagnier. Under President Allen Lee Sessoms, the college underwent some growth but also some missteps, including the highly publicized inability to fund the planned AIDS research center that Montagnier had been hired to lead.
Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
Queens College students were active participants in the Civil Rights Movement 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 Chaney, and Michael 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. After being brought into the sheriff's department and released, the three young men were stopped by two carloads of Ku Klux Klan 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.In February 2011, Queens College inherited the personal collection of the late James Forman. The collection, along with other civil rights leaders' collections, is available online 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.
21st century
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.By 2014, enrollment was 20,000 students, half of whom come from minority backgrounds.
Felix V. Matos Rodriguez was appointed president of Queens College by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2014. Five years later, he became the first Latino Chancellor of the City University of New York. William Tramontano served as QC's interim president from 2019 until July 1, 2020, when Frank H. Wu succeeded him as the new college president.
Budgetary pressures from city government continued to affect Queens College in the 2020s. In November 2023, Mayor Eric Adams ordered $23 million in CUNY-wide cuts. As a result, two weeks before the start of classes, Queens College did not reappoint 26 faculty lecturers. That number fell to 24, and 10 were re-hired on an adjunct basis. Courses without instructors were cancelled or divided among remaining faculty.
Campus and facilities
The campus, located off Kissena Boulevard, is on a -high hill that faces Manhattan. Six of the original Spanish-style buildings dating back to the early 20th century still stand, such as Jefferson Hall, which was built in 1907. The college has since expanded to over 40 buildings, including the main classroom building, Powdermaker Hall, rebuilt in 2003 and named after the college's distinguished anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker.Queens College is one of two CUNY colleges that participates in Division II sports. A Child Development Center, staffed by professionals, offers inexpensive child care services to students with children.
The Godwin-Ternbach Museum, which opened in 1981 and houses more than 7,000 works of art, is located in Queens College's Klapper Hall, named after the former school president, Paul Klapper. Godwin-Ternbach Museum is the only museum in the City University of New York system, and is the only encyclopedic collection of its kind in the borough of Queens. Its collection is global in breadth and deeply historical, with works of art and artifacts ranging from antiquity to the present. The outdoor plaza in front of the museum hosts a site-specific installation by Vito Acconci titled, "More Balls For Klapper Hall". The artwork had been damaged over the years, and is in the second phase of a complete conservation program enacted by the college administration. Klapper Hall also houses the Fine Arts and English Departments, and boasts the largest ceramics studio within the CUNY system. Other facilities in this building include a metal working studio and foundry, wood shop, black and white darkroom, student gallery and a suite of art studios for BFA and MFA candidates.
The college has a low-rise 506-bed residence hall on campus called the Summit Apartments, which opened in late 2009. This makes Queens College one of only four CUNY campuses with dorm facilities.
The college is home to the Aaron Copland School of Music, which is located in the Music Building. The Music Building also 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. Queens College has since taken over the former Law School building, now named Queens Hall and home to the college's language departments.
Townsend Harris High School and The Queens College School for Math, Science and Technology are located at the edge of the Queens College campus.