Queens College (QC) is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

in the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is part of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

. It has a student body representing more than 170 countries. 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 The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the C ...

, and a number of advanced certificate programs. Alumni and faculty of the school, such as Arturo O'Farrill and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

, have received over 100

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations. The college is organized into seven schools:

Aaron Copland School of Music The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937. The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical sy ...

Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

, School of Arts & Humanities, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Education, School of Math and Natural Sciences, and School of Social Sciences. Queens College competes in Division II of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

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 Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

once worked as teacher. The building was located on Flushing-Jamaica Road (later renamed Kissena Boulevard). 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 (named after

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

) 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 Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City,

Hospital, who were temporarily displaced by the construction of the

Triborough Bridge The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, a ...

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 Paul Klapper (July 17, 1885 – March 25, 1952) was a Romanian-born Jewish-American educator from New York. Life Klapper was born on July 17, 1885 in Iași, Romania, the son of Louis Klapper and Rachel Halpern. Klapper immigrated to America in ...

, former dean of the School of Education at

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 ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; fifty-nine would be killed in action.

The 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, Prof. Konrad Gries 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, Dr.

Joseph S. Murphy Joseph Samson Murphy (November 15, 1933 – January 17, 1998) was an American political scientist and university administrator, who was President of Queens College, President of Bennington College, and Chancellor of the City University of New York. ...

. 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 Robert Joseph Kibbee (August 19, 1921 – June 16, 1982) was an American university administrator who was Chancellor of the City University of New York. Biography Kibbee was born on Staten Island, New York. His father was Hollywood actor Guy Kibbe ...

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. 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 Dr. Joseph S. Murphy was CUNY Chancellor. In the 1990s, the college attracted high-profile researchers to its faculty, including the virologist

Luc Montagnier Luc Montagnier (; , ; 18 August 1932 – 8 February 2022) was a French virologist and joint recipient, with and , of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He worked as a res ...

. 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 Dr. Montagnier had been hired to lead.

Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement

Queens College students were active participants in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

of the 1960s, including the

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...

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 James Earl Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) civil rights workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964. The others were Andrew Goodman an ...

, 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 Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...

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 The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

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 James Forman (October 4, 1928 – January 10, 2005) was a prominent African-American leader in the civil rights movement. He was active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Black Panther Party, and the League of Revolutio ...

. 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 Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the e ...

for

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

, 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. Dr. Felix V. Matos Rodriguez was appointed president of Queens College by the CUNY Board of Trustees in 2014. On May 1, 2019, Dr. Matos Rodriguez became the new Chancellor of the City University of New York as the first Latino and first minority educator to head the university in its 172-year history. 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.

Campus and facilities

The 80-acre campus, located off

Kissena Boulevard Kissena Boulevard is a thoroughfare spanning the Flushing and Pomonok neighborhoods of the borough of Queens in New York City, extending from Main Street in the Flushing Chinatown to Parsons Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills. The road's name i ...

, is on a 100-foot-high hill that gives a fine view westward towards Manhattan. However, despite occasional claims to the contrary, it is not on the highest point in Queens. 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 An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Hortense Powdermaker Hortense Powdermaker (December 24, 1900 – June 16, 1970) was an American anthropologist best known for her ethnographic studies of African Americans in rural America and of Hollywood. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family, Powdermak ...

. Queens College is one of two CUNY colleges that participates in Division II sports (the other is The College of Staten Island). A Child Development Center, staffed by professionals, offers inexpensive child care services to students with children. The college is also home to the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, which houses more than 6,000 works of art. The college holds courses at several off-campus locations, including the 43rd Street Extension Center in Manhattan and the CUNY Center for Higher Education in downtown

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

, which opened in late 2003. 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 three CUNY campuses with dorm facilities (the other two being

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

and City College). The college is home to the

(named for

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

), 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 The City University of New York School of Law (CUNY School of Law) is a public law school in New York City. It was founded in 1983 as part of the City University of New York. CUNY School of Law was established as a public interest law school wi ...

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 Townsend Harris High School at Queens College (THHS) is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks a ...

and

John Bowne High School John Bowne High School is a public high school located in Flushing, New York City and has an enrollment of nearly four thousand students. File:Qc-owl2.JPG, An

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

, symbolizing knowledge and wisdom, which is carved above the entrance to Jefferson Hall. File:Frese Hall.JPG, Many of Queens College's original Spanish-style buildings are still in use today. File:Paul Klapper Hall Queens College - Mar 2011.jpg, Klapper Hall opened in 1955 as the college's first library. Named after the college's first president, Paul Klapper, it was renovated in 1992 after the construction of Rosenthal Library. File:Razran.JPG, A

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

on the facade of Remsen Hall. File:Ny-skyline-qc.JPG, A view of the

skyline from the Queens College quad.

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts is home to Colden Auditorium, Goldstein Theatre, and the Ethel & Samuel Lefrak Concert Hall.

Trevor Noah Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African-born comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and former television host. He was the host of ''The Daily Show'', an American late-night talk show and satirical news progra ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

and

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

, Victor Manuelle,

Cesar Millan César Felipe Millán Favela (; ; born August 27, 1969) is a Mexican-American dog trainer. He is widely known for his Emmy-nominated television series ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'', which was produced from 2004 to 2012 and is broadcast in ...

, and

El Gran Combo El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

have performed at Colden.

Benjamin Rosenthal Library

The campus maintains the Benjamin Rosenthal Library. The library's Chaney-Schwerner-Goodman Clocktower was named after the three civil rights workers who were murdered in 1964, including Andrew Goodman, a Queens College student. Built in 1988, the library contains over 800,000 books, 32,600 print and electronic materials, the electronic archives, a collection of multimedia materials in its Media Center and an art center. The library is also home to the

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

archives. The Art Library and the Queens College Art Center are on the sixth floor of Rosenthal. The Art Library has over 70,000 books; 5,000 bound periodicals; and 110,000 slides, pictures, and exhibition catalogs and pamphlets. The collection includes resources for the study of all aspects of the visual arts and material culture, including art and architectural history, theory, criticism, materials, techniques, and practice. Nurtured by both the

School of Music and the Queens College Library, the Music Library has evolved into a first-class research facility and is the largest music collection in the CUNY system. The Music Library is located on two levels in the School of Music building and contains over 35,000 scores, 30,000 books, and 20,000 sound recordings, including the David S. Walker Music Education Collection and the Ursula Springer Choral Music Collection.

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Since 1957 Queens College has been collecting works of art, these collections were initially used for teaching purposes and were meant to serve the college community. The collections were eventually brought together with the establishment of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum in 1980. The museum is now a part of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, which has joined all the works of art on campus in collaborations of visual, performance, dance, and theater arts. In the early 1990s, the museum was downsized due to budget cuts. Over the next few years, the college kept it open but on a reduced budget and staff. In 2001, however, the college hired Amy Winter as director of the museum. To address the concerns of the museum Winter turned to MAP (The Museum Assessment Program); as a result not only did the museum improve its facilities but increased its collections-related staff as well. Today the museum is an integral part of Queens College that serves not only the faculty and staff but the community at large. The museum, located in Klapper Hall, maintains a fine collection of 6,000 pieces of art, as well as artifacts from all cultures dating from ancient times to the modern day. These include works by

Rembrandt Van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

. The museum also hosts a series of exhibitions each year. These exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

Residence

Queens College's first residence hall, the Summit Apartments, opened in 2009. This low-rise, 506-bed facility is located in the middle of the campus. Queens College is still primarily a commuter school, as only 500 of its over 19,000 students live on campus. The building has a gold certificate from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an organization that certifies buildings to have met environmentally sustainable construction standards. Queens College's residence hall offers study lounges on each floor, wireless internet, laundry services, and a state of the art fitness center. The Summit Apartments also includes kitchens with full-size appliances, as well as dining areas, microwaves, couches, entertainment stands, and music practice rooms. In addition to the Summit, many students rent apartments off campus in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Transportation

Queens College operates a free shuttle service for students from campus (next to the Student Union building) to major transportation hubs in Flushing and Jamaica. The shuttle service also transports students from the Kissena end of campus to the Main Street end. The shuttle operates seven days a week.

Academics

Rankings

* In

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

's 2012 edition of "America's Best Value Colleges," Queens College was ranked eighth in the United States. * In 2008, Queens College was ranked as one of the "25 Hottest Universities" in the

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

/Kaplan 2008 College Guide. * In 2013, Queens College was ranked #2 nationally in

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...

's "Best Bang For Your Buck" college guide. *In 2015, Queens College was included in

's list of top 322 green campuses. *In 2020, Queens College was ranked #4 as one of the "24 Colleges with the Best Return on Investment" by

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

Degrees and programs

Queens College is a

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

that offers undergraduate degrees in 78 majors, over 100

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees, over 40 accelerated master's options, 20 doctoral degrees through the

, and a number of advanced certificate programs. It is also one of seven participating schools in the CUNY Macaulay Honors College. Queens College has a Freshman Honors Program, as well as a program called TIME 2000 for future math educators. The college's Professional & Continuing Studies program offers non-credit courses in such fields as health care, real estate, and risk management. There are seven schools within the college: Aaron Copland School of Music, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, School of Arts & Humanities, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Education, School of Math and Natural Sciences, and School of Social Sciences. The Aaron Copland School of Music The

is one of the oldest departments at Queens College, founded when the college opened in 1937. The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical system of Heinrich Schenker was initiated by Saul Novack. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (GSLIS) GSLIS is an

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

accredited program and the only

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...

. The school offers a Master of Library Science (MLS), MLS School Media Specialist, and dual MLS/MA in history degree paths. Additionally, the school offers two professional certificates, one in Children and Young Adult Services as well as one in Archives, Records Management, and Preservation. Starting as a program within the education department at Queens College in 1955, GSLIS began issuing MLS degrees in 1965. It achieved status as a separate school for graduate studies within Queens College in 1979. In 2002, the school opened its Children and Young Adult Services certificate and, in 2003, its Archives, Records Management, and Preservation certificate.

Academic centers and institutes

The college is home to many centers which focus their research on various pressing social issues facing the local communities, students, faculty and the many ethnic and religious groups of the Queens area. * Asian American/Asian Research Institute: Works to integrate the talents of individual faculty and the resources of other CUNY institutes to create a community of scholars to help focus their energies on Asia and the Asian American experience. * Asian/American Center: Dedicated to community-oriented research that analyzes the multi-cultural diaspora experience of Asians in global and local communities. *

John D. Calandra John D. Calandra (August 8, 1928 – January 20, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on August 8, 1928. He attended St. Philip Neri Grammar School, Immaculate High School, and St. Bonaventure Univers ...

Italian American Institute: Fosters higher education among Italian-Americans and ensures that the legacy of the Italian-American experience is documented and preserved for future generations. This is accomplished through research, counseling, lectures, symposia, and administering an exchange program with CUNY and Italian universities. * Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment (formerly Center for the Biology of Natural Systems): . Recent projects include a study of the impact of air pollution on asthma sufferers in the South Bronx and a continuing examination of the health workers involved in the cleanup of ground zero after the

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. * Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies: Initiates, supports, and coordinates the teaching of Byzantine and modern Greek studies. The center also promotes Byzantine and Neo-Hellenic scholarship and publications, and relates academic research and teaching to the needs of the Greek community in Queens and elsewhere. * Center for Jewish Studies: Through outreach and research, the Center for Jewish Studies serves as a bridge between the academic program and the social community. Its Ibrahim Leadership and Dialogue Fellowship program, the only trip to bring students to both Israel and Saudi Arabia, is run partly through the Center for Jewish Studies. * John Cardinal Newman Club: Run by the Catholic Newman Center, this area provides a social environment for all students of all faiths. * Center for the Improvement of Education: Builds relationships between public schools and Queens College. * The Michael Harrington Center for Democratic Values and Social Change: Promotes public discourse about social issues, advocates for social change, and works in partnerships with others to build a more just and equitable democratic society. The institute is primarily concerned with the employment, health, and educational needs of economically disadvantaged communities. * The Neuroscience Research Center:The center has programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Members of the center have established a five-year NIH MARC program at the college for minorities in the biomedical research sciences. The faculty at the center have produced over 800 peer-reviewed publications over the past fifteen years, with nearly 300 in the past five years alone. Since 1990, the center faculty have also received funding for 51 external and 54 internal grants. * Queens College Model United Nations Team: Run in conjunction with the Political Science Department, this program provides students the opportunity to explore their interests in the international policy and the United Nations. * Queens Memory Project: The Queens Memory Project, a digital archive which aims to record and preserve contemporary history across the borough of Queens, is a collaborative effort between Queens College and Queens Library that includes digitized materials from the Rosenthal Library's Department of Special Collections. * The Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding: CERRU was created in fall 2009 through a grant from the US Department of Education. CERRU is a non-partisan organization that facilitates cross-cultural engagement

Student life

Demographics

Queens College students represent 170 countries and speak over 90 different native languages. This rich variety has influenced Queens College's curriculum, research, and outreach programs.

Clubs

Queens College has over 100 different clubs and organizations, ranging from fraternities/sororities to cultural, religious, technology, and art clubs. Most of the organizations are located within the Student Union building. To complement the college's educational mission, the Student Union provides various facilities, services, co-curricular activities, and programs. After one year as the "Israel Business Club", a small group of Queens College students successfully achieved chapter status in the TAMID Group. The TAMID Group (formerly '"TAMID Israel Investment Group"') is a student-led, apolitical, and areligious organization on 35 elite U.S. college campuses that provides experiential learning and leadership opportunities to 2,000+ students through hands-on interaction with the Israeli economy.

Greek life

Queens College Greek life consists of eight

fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

and seven

sororities Fraternities and sororities are Club (organization), social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an Undergraduate education, undergraduate student, but conti ...

. Greek membership numbers in the hundreds, with more members in Greek Life than in all the other clubs on campus combined. The Queens College Greek life supports a variety of different philanthropies with thousands of dollars in donations to various charitable organizations, as well as thousands of hours of volunteer work. The Dining Hall is a popular gathering place for Greeks, as is the field directly outside during good weather. They hold events such a Greek Week, Fall Brawl, and Meet the Greeks, where they showcase their respective organizations, as well as compete for recreation.

Athletics

Queens (NY) athletic teams are the Knights. The college is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

(ECC, formerly known as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference until after the 2005–06 school year) since the 1989–90 academic year. The Knights previously competed in the

City University of New York Athletic Conference The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNY Athletic Conference or CUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Its member institutions are all located in New York City and are campuses o ...

(CUNYAC) at the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

level from 1978–79 to 1979–80. Queens compete in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, dance, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball. The longest running among these programs are the men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

teams.

Men's basketball

The men's basketball team has put a team on the court in every season since its inception in 1938. On February 14, 2004, the team played its 1500th game and, in those 1500 games, has produced twenty 1,000-point scorers. Of these twenty players, twelve have achieved this after the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

began play in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

in 1983 and three of these players: Alan Hevesi (#5), Norman Roberts (#15) & Geoff Maloney (#22) have had their numbers retired. Although the program has a long-running record of achievement, its biggest successes have come in the 21st century. In 2001 the Knights earned their first

Northeast Regional bid. A year later the team earned its second consecutive bid along with the program's first NYCAC championship. In 2005 the team once again was crowned NYCAC Champions and received an automatic bid to the NCAAs.Queens College Athletics

Baseball

With the exception of three years during

, the baseball program, like men's basketball, has fielded a team since 1938. In both 1967 and 1976 the team captured the Knickerbocker Conference championship, and in 1981 it won the

CUNY , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

championship. Their championships in 1976 and 1981 also earned them

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

tournament bids. More recently, the squad captured the NYCAC regular season championships in 1997 and 1998, the NYCAC tournament championship in 1998 and a bid to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional. Seven players have been drafted and nine players have gone on to play professionally with organizations including the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. The latest of these draftees is 1998 All-American Justin Davies who, after playing in the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization for two seasons, has spent four years (2000–2004) as on outfielder for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball team has also experienced success. On March 24, 1973, the Knights, who were ranked #2 in the country, took the FitzGerald Gymnasium court with the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) National Championship at stake. On February 22, 1975, they played in the first women's basketball game ever played in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. Three players from this era (Debbie Mason (#15), Gail Marquis (#25) and Althea Gwyn (#31)) have had their numbers retired. On January 4, 2015, the two teams played in the Maggie Dixon Classic as a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the original event. In the 2000s, the team has rebounded from a short down period to make a return to the NYCAC playoffs while producing several top-flight players, including Honorable Mention All-American in Carolyn Burke. In 2014 and 2015, under the Leadership of Bet Naumovski, the women's team won ECC Championships and advanced to the second round of NCAA postseason play in 2015.

Softball

In the period from 1997 to 2003, the softball team posted a .640 winning percentage and won 30 or more games in a season three times. One of those 30 win seasons came in 1999 when the team won their first NYCAC tournament championship and earned their first

bid. Two season later, third team All-American Cheryl Cosenzo helped lead the Lady Knights to their second NYCAC championship as well as an NCAA bid and in 2002 the team earned their third Northeast Regional bid in five years. The Knights rose back to prominence in 2015, winning the ECC Championship under Head Coach Amy Delmore. Queens would make appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 & 2015.

Tennis

The women's tennis team has experienced 19 consecutive winning seasons. The team has won four conference championships, while its players have won a number of individual and doubles titles. In 2004 Dominika Bajuk was selected as NYCAC Player of the Year. The Lady Knights have also earned NCAA Division II post-season championship bids in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005; as well as in 1995 when, as hosts, they won their region.

Marilyn Aschner Marilyn Jane Aschner (born March 8, 1948) is an American former professional tennis player. She was an Orange Bowl doubles champion in 1966, and she won a gold medal at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel in doubles with partner Julie Heldman. Sh ...

, who became a professional tennis player, played for the school.

Track and field

The men's track and field team won back-to-back ECC Championships in 2013 and 2014. In May 2022, the college completed renovation on its running track and two soccer fields. The nearly $10 million project was paid for through a combination of state and city funding.

Notable alumni and faculty

File:Gary Ackerman Portrait c111-112th Congress.jpg,

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– Actor, Academy Award winner File:Joe Crowley Congress 114th Congress Portrait.jpeg,

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– Actor and director, director of

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

Iron Man 2 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) and List of Marve ...

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Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

- Composer, singer and songwriter File:Edwin Moise Headshot.jpg, Edwin Moise – American mathematician and mathematics education reformer (Faculty) File:Bob Moog3.jpg,

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...

– Inventor of the Moog synthesizer ('57) File:Jerry Seinfeld (1997).jpg,

– Actor and Comedian ('76) File:Paul Simon 2007.jpg,

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

– Musician,

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

('63) File:Deborah Cannon Partridge Wolfe (13270315044).jpg, Deborah Wolfe — Esteemed Educator (Faculty) File:Yevheny Yevtushenko.jpg,

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...

– Russian Poet (Faculty) File:Rabbi Ben-Zion Bokser.png,

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– Prominent American

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and professor of Political Science (Faculty)

List of alumni

In television

Carrie Heffernan Carrie Spooner Heffernan is a fictional character in the American sitcom ''The King of Queens''. She appears in all of the show's nine seasons and is one of the show's three central characters. The character is portrayed by Leah Remini and live ...

– Took courses for law during season 3 of ''

King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the sho ...

'' *

Eric Murphy Eric "E" Murphy is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series ''Entourage'', and is played by Kevin Connolly. Fictional character biography Eric, Vince Chase's best friend since they were six, works as Vince's manager. Vince ...

– Fictional television character from ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', attended for two years before dropping out to become

Vincent Chase Vincent Chase is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series '' Entourage''. He is played by Adrian Grenier. Character biography Vincent Chase grew up in Queens, New York, along with neighbourhood friends Eric, Turtle, Dom, an ...

's manager * Betty Suarez – Fictional television character from ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian t ...

'', graduated in 2005 with a BFA in Media * ''

Law and Order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

'' – Two episodes were partially shot at Queens College; areas used were the Quad, Rosenthal Library (stacks), Colwin Hall (a lab), and Jefferson Hall (printing shop and an office). * ''

Law and Order SVU ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (often abbreviated to ''Law & Order: SVU'' or just ''SVU'') is an American crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf's own production company, Wolf Entertainment, for NBC. The first spin-off of '' ...

'' – NYPD Detective

Elliot Stabler Elliot Stabler Sr. (); is a fictional character, played by Christopher Meloni and one of the lead characters on the NBC police procedural series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' Law & Order: Organized Crime''. Stabler was a lead for ...

, the late poet Jacob Gerrety, disgraced art patron Sandra Dunbar, and children's author Natalie Beck were all alumni of Queens College * '' Boiler Room'' – Fictional characters

Seth Davis Seth Davis is an American sportswriter and broadcaster. He is a host on Campus Insiders, an in-studio analyst for CBS' men's college basketball coverage, and an analyst for the NBA Draft on NBA TV. He currently writes for ''The Athletic'' and is ...

, was a Queens College dropout;

Lou Pearlman Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...

attended and graduated with a degree in accounting. * Actor

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

has said that he would sneak into classes at Queens in order to work on his New York accent for a role

Seinfeld

* ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' – Fictional characters

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rela ...

and

attended Queens College. In the show, Jerry can be seen wearing a Queens College hat and T-shirt

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queens College, City University Of New York Universities and colleges in Queens, New York Kew Gardens Hills, Queens 1937 establishments in New York City Educational institutions established in 1937 Universities and colleges on Long Island *