Bernard Warren Harleston (born January 22, 1930) is a former college administrator who was selected in 1981 as the first African-American president of

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. Harleston was born in New York City and raised in Hempstead. He received his bachelor's degree at Howard University in 1951 and his psychology doctorate at

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

in 1955. A year after receiving his doctorate, he was appointed as an assistant professor of psychology at Tufts University, working there for the next 35 years and rising to the position of dean in 1970. From 1968 to 1970, he briefly served as provost and acting president of Lincoln University. In 1981, Harleston was selected as president of City College of New York, beating out finalists

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional dist ...

and Homer Neal. During his administration of the college, the policy of

open admissions Open admissions, or open enrollment, is a type of unselective and noncompetitive college admissions process in the United States in which the only criterion for entrance is a high school diploma or a certificate of attendance or General Education ...

resulted in its status as having an engineering school with the largest number of black and Hispanic students. At the same time, the reputation of the college declined in this period. The school was also disrupted by student takeovers of facilities in 1989 and 1991, an incident where nine students were crushed to death in the gymnasium stairwell outside a celebrity basketball game, and racially divisive statements issued by professors

Leonard Jeffries Leonard Jeffries Jr. (born January 19, 1937) is former departmental chair of Black Studies at the City College of New York, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Jeffries is a political scientist, historian, educator, master-teacher/adm ...

against white people and

Michael Levin Michael Levin (; born 21 May 1943) is an American philosopher and writer. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at City University of New York. He has published on metaphysics, epistemology, race, homosexuality, animal rights, the philosophy ...

against black people, homosexuals and feminists. Amid the uproar of such controversies, Harleston resigned, seeking a more tranquil campus scene.Berger, Joseph "City college Chief Resigns Amid Wave of Staff Changes" ''New York Times'' June 23, 1992

References

1930 births Presidents of City College of New York City College of New York faculty Tufts University faculty University of Rochester alumni African-American academics Living people Academics from New York (state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-academic-stub