Borough of Manhattan Community College
The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, business, health, science, engineering and continuing education fields.
Type
1963
26,831
BMCC's original campus was scattered all over midtown Manhattan, utilizing office spaces, hotel conference rooms, and various spaces throughout Manhattan. In the mid-1970s, CUNY began scouting for suitable property on which to erect a new campus of its own. The current campus has been in use since 1983.
History[edit]
Martin B. Dworkis was BMCC's first president.[2] Classes were originally held in part of the ground floor, the entire second floor, and part of the third floor of an office building at 131 West 50th Street in midtown Manhattan. BMCC renovated the office space into classrooms and administrative areas, and it created its own entrance at 134 West 51st Street.[3] Fred Kelly, a graphic designer living in of Kew Gardens, designed BMCC's official seal.[4] BMCC's first classes were held in fall 1964.[5] During its first school year, 42 percent of its students were African American.[6]
Plans were announced for BMCC to have its own buildings to hold its classes in 1968. In 1974, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools determined that BMCC's physical facilities were "so inadequate as to defy description", and it said it would suspend BMCC's accreditation unless improvements were made quickly. The City University of New York's central administration evaluated BMCC the same year, and it found that student grades were inflated to such an extent that they were essentially meaningless. There was a ground-breaking ceremony on a new building for BMCC the same year. Because of the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, however, construction was suspended the next year.[7] In 1977, BMCC's president, Edgar D. Draper, was fired after he improperly persuaded a college association evaluation team to alter its report to show the college administration more favorably.[8] By 1980, BMCC's passing rates on nursing certification exams had significantly improved, and BMCC no longer had a financial deficit.[7] BMCC's new campus building opened in January 1983.[9] A 15-story building at 30 West Broadway was donated to BMCC in 1993 by Miles and Shirley Fiterman; the building was subsequently named Fiterman Hall in their honor.[10]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, BMCC's students, teachers, and staff members heard explosions coming from the direction of the World Trade Center, which was located just a few blocks away. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey used the gymnasium at BMCC's main building to triage survivors, and BMCC donated medical supplies from BMCC's Nursing Department to treat victims. The Port Authority set up generators at BMCC's main building, and the building became its command center. That afternoon, 7 World Trade Center, across the street from BMCC's Fiterman Hall, collapsed, and the building fell onto Fiterman Hall, rendering the hall uninhabitable.[11][12] BMCC's staff worked constantly to restore Fiterman Hall and, on October 1, the building reopened for classes.[13][14] The hall was eventually demolished and a new building opened in September 2012.[15]
Academics[edit]
BMCC has also recorded a large rise in remedial education,[16] lack of freshman retention,[17] and overcrowding. Due to its larger base of capital compared to most other two-year colleges, expansion of new campuses during the rebuilding of Fiterman Hall was possible. Several trailers are still used as classrooms to help expand capacity. Internal programs have also been created or expanded to help with academic advisement, provide online access for registration, transferring to other colleges, and job placement.
BMCC also has a diverse student base,[18] some of whom had immigrated to America shortly before enrolling.[19] Among other issues are improving the retention and graduation rate, as well as the increased financial and academic burdens of a remedial program.