Study Guide for the History of LaGuardia and the History of CUNY
The City University of New York, or CUNY, has a long and prestigious history. In order to better understand the importance of the 40th Anniversary of the founding of LaGuardia Community College it is interesting to see the timeline of the founding of all of CUNY on the CUNY portal: http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/invest/cuny_history.php
| 1847 | The City College of New York (Originally known as the Free Academy) In 1847, New York State Governor Young granted the Board of Education the right to establish the Free Academy. A NY State referendum approved it and it was said to be the institution that would "Open the doors to all… Let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and intellect. |
| 1870 | Hunter College |
| 1930 | Brooklyn College |
| 1937 | Queens College |
| 1946 | New York City College of Technology |
| 1957 | Bronx Community College |
| 1958 | Queensborough Community College |
| 1961 | The Graduate Center |
| 1963 | Borough of Manhattan Community College |
| 1963 | Kingsborough Community College |
| 1964 | John Jay College of Criminal Justice |
| 1966 | York College |
| 1968 | Baruch College |
| 1968 | Lehman College |
| 1968 | Hostos Community College |
| 1969 | Medgar Evers College |
| 1971 | LaGuardia Community College |
| 1976 | The College of Staten Island |
| 1983 | The City University School of Law |
In 1961, The City University of New York was established in the New York State Education Law.
LaGuardia Community College began as a proposal in 1968 and was Community College 9. You can review the initial proposal at
http://dspace.nitle.org/handle/10090/23440.
Here you can see the full document including plans for the original M building , and the "satellite" campus at 31-11 Thomson Avenue, the former Sony building that now houses New York Public Library Technical Services.
The first study by the College reflects the research LaGuardia did (and still does) on student progress. The link to letters of of approval for the first Middle States Accreditation in 1974 can be seen on page 240 of this document: http://dspace.nitle.org/handle/10090/23442
What is accreditation? LaGuardia has made its self studies and the definition public at
http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/middlestates/
Here you can see why accreditation means students get a viable education that will insure standards acceptable in licensing and other funding and advanced education. Our college has developed a great learning resource for the 2012 review of LaGuardia.
Class activity/research project.
Using the current Accreditation website (http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/middlestates/Default.aspx?id=10737419534) and the historic materials and self studies linked above, can you find:
- Why this process is important to students and the faculty?
- How have programs in Liberal Arts, Math and Business changed?
- How has student enrollment changed?
- Can you see why the Library has expanded and the difference in services in our 40th Anniversary from the early years?
- Why was north western Queens selected as a site for the college? How have the community and population of this area changed?
Helpful hints:
You may wish to also explore the College Bulletins and Catalogs (also online): http://dspace.nitle.org/handle/10090/7822
You will also find it fun to explore our history using the story and pictures from LaGuardia Community College: The First Twenty Five Years by Terry Golway. The sections include: A historic overview of the college with photographs; 1971-1996.