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It Began In A Time of Enlightenment
The late 1920's and early 1930's were an important time for Staten
Island. Having just become readily accessible via the Outerbridge
Crossing and Goethals Bridge in 1928, and the Bayonne Bridge in
1931, the newly opened island sought other forms of connection to
the outside world as well, in the form of higher public education.
The first organized movement to establish a public college on Staten
Island began in 1932. Petitions were circulated, signed and
presented to the Board of Higher Education, but the
Depression interceded and dashed hopes for a public college on
Staten Island for the time being. In 1937 the campaign for a city
college on Staten Island reasserted itself. 2,700 Staten Island
residents petitioned the Board of Higher Education to bring a public
institution of higher learning to the island; before the campaign's
end, 45,000 islanders had signed. A committee was formed to
establish the need for public higher education on Staten Island, and
then to prepare a budget for operation of a four-year college. While
the Board of Higher Education agreed with the findings and the
budget, the City Board of Estimate did not, as New York City slipped
into dire financial straits.
A Fitting Memorial To Veterans After World War II, with the country
back on its feet economically, Mark Dobbyn, Sr. wrote a letter to
the Staten Island Advance, urging the establishment of a free
college as the most fitting memorial to the veterans of Staten
Island. State Assembly hopeful Edward V. Curry took up the cause and
in the fall of 1948, made the establishment of a free college for
Staten Island his first objective if elected. Curry won the race.
This, and a change in legislation that allowed for State and local
support of community colleges in deserving areas, paved the way for
public higher education on Staten Island. By the spring of 1949,
Associate State Commissioner of Education Lawrence L. Jarvie visited
the island to inspect possible sites for a community college. With
the Board of Higher Education and State University support, solid
plans for a liberal arts community college were set in motion. But
democracy being a slow-moving creature, it took until the spring of
1955 for the Board of Estimate of the City of New York to approve a
community college for the borough.
Staten Island Community College - 1956
Staten Island Community College (SICC) held its first class on
September 24, 1956. The original 14-member faculty taught the
freshman Class of '58 - totaling 113 students - in the curricula of
Liberal Arts, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology and
Pre-Engineering. The college's first commencement exercises took
place on the grounds of Sailors' Snug Harbor on June 8, 1958. By the
third year of the Community College, enrollment continued to
increase and New York City took its first steps toward securing and
building what would become the college's Sunnyside campus on Todt
Hill. By the mid-sixties, SICC - as well as many other of CUNY's
community colleges - had tens of thousands of students enrolled in
their 2-year degree programs. But what of those students who wanted
to continue their education upon graduation? Most four-year colleges
already had their junior and senior slots filled by their own
up-and-coming students. This led to a new concept in higher
education, the "upper divisional" or senior college. And so Richmond
College was founded in 1965.
The 60's: A Time of Educational Experimentation
 A
senior college, Richmond College was the third college of its
type in the country and the first in an urban area. Located in St.
George, this CUNY upper divisional college had no freshman or
sophomore classes, offering courses only for juniors and seniors.
In addition, Richmond College stressed interdisciplinary work,
relating to several fields of study. The first president of Richmond
College, Dr. Herbert Schueler, had described this aspect of
the school in its first year: "...we have one course called 'The
Renaissance' taught by three professors [from the music, history and
comparative literature departments] and each teaches a different
aspect of this one subject."
Another radical feature of the school at the time was its Pass-Fail
grading system, which was all about learning for learning's sake
rather than being pressured to make the grade. Schueler said at the
time, "Yale copied our system. It's the trend in colleges and it's a
good thing." "Students hated it!" countered Dr. Edmond Volpe,
who assumed the presidency of Richmond College in 1974. "Students
wanted grades. If they were planning to go to graduate school, or to
law school, they needed grades. It didn't work." But at least
Richmond gave Pass-Fail the old college try.
Another aspect of Richmond College was the school's willingness to
explore radical programs of study like - get ready! - computer
sciences and urban studies. As Schueler said in a 1965 interview,
"Some day we'll be able to transfer information within seconds
between colleges by using TV or transmitting facsimiles... they call
it 'information retrieval'." Richmond College was ahead of its time,
if a bit of a victim to radical educational trends. But it was an
experimental school... and it was the 60's!
The Two Schools Merge
Both Staten Island Community College and Richmond College were part
of the CUNY system. However, in terms of funding, the two colleges
were very different. This is because SICC, as a community college,
also received New York State support. Consequently, when the City
verged on bankruptcy during its fiscal crisis of 1975, the Community
College remained financially strong while Richmond College faced
severe cutbacks, even possible extinction. It was suggested that by
forming a federation where the two schools would merge but retain
their separate missions, both would survive. But the federation
didn't last.
 In
1976, twenty years after the founding of the first public college in
the borough, the College of Staten Island (CSI) was born. It
was a senior college - that is, a four-year school - which also
offered a handful of graduate degrees. Dr. Edmond Volpe was made
president of the newly created institution, but as with many
mergers, there were growing pains: two venues, excess personnel,
divergent curricula, duplicate departments, conflicted missions and
more. There was also the continuing financial crisis in New York
City. In a recent interview Dr. Volpe said, "We didn't have a
catalog for the first two years because there was no City money to
print one and no curriculum agreement. We lost thousands of students
during the merger, going from 14,000 students between the two
colleges to 9,500 by the second year."
Building New Traditions
Yet the new college forged ahead. "I told the faculty that we had to
build our own traditions," said Dr. Volpe, "and we started the
Alumni Association from scratch in 1977." The young college
progressed, ever-hopeful that one day, the merger would be complete,
including a unified campus. That day did come. Through the generous
assistance of State Senator John Marchi, then head of the Senate
Finance Committee in Albany, the unified CSI campus we know today
could be realized.
Completed in 1994, the 204-acre CSI campus is the largest site for a
college in New York City. Set in a park-like landscape, the campus
is centrally located on the Island. Mature trees and woodlands,
flowering trees and ornamental plantings, fields and outdoor
athletic facilities, the great lawn, sculpture, and seating areas
create a rural oasis in an urban setting. Fourteen renovated
neo-Georgian buildings serve as classrooms, laboratories, and
offices. The academic buildings house approximately 200 modern
laboratories. Each also contains a study lounge for students,
department and program offices, and faculty offices. In addition to
the renovation of existing buildings, new ones were constructed as
well, including the:
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Arleigh B. Williamson
Founder
"His extraordinary
dedication to educational opportunity and academic advancement will
remain as a guiding inspiration in the years ahead for the entire
city university system," said CUNY Chancellor Joseph S. Murphy
when asked about Arleigh B. Williamson.
Williamson was an actor,
director, author, professor, humanist and speech-writer for Mayor
Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Being politically active, and a member of the
New York City's Board of Higher Education (now CUNY), he persuaded
officials to create Staten Island Community College in 1955. A
decade later he helped found an upper division school, Richmond
College.
In 1976 the two schools
merged to form the College of Staten Island, a senior college of The
City University of New York. Williamson's determination to make
higher education available on Staten Island has provided many with a
richer and fuller life, and that commitment continues today.
CSI is proud to be the
results of his efforts, and strives to continually build upon his
dreams.
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