College of Staten Island
Encyclopedia
The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a four-year, senior college of (CUNY) and is one of the 11 senior colleges in the City University of New York
. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies lead to bachelor's
and associate's degree
s. The master's degree
is awarded in 13 professional and liberal arts
and sciences fields of study. The College participates in doctoral programs of The City University Graduate School and University Center in Biology
, Chemistry
, Computer Science
, Nursing, Physics
, and Psychology
.
's financial crisis, while the older school, because of its status as a community college
, received state support. The merger was particularly logical since the community college offered two year degrees, while Richmond College was an "upper divisional" college (the third in the nation) that offered degrees to those in their third and fourth years of schooling.
The College of Staten Island has been located on the grounds of the former Willowbrook State School
since 1993. It is the largest campus, in terms of physical size, in New York City. Before the relocation to Willowbrook, the college had a split campus, located at the former Staten Island Community College (in Sunnyside
, on Todt Hill
) and Richmond College (in St. George
).
The first president of the college, Dr. Edmond Volpe, an American literature scholar, retired in 1994, after having successfully handled the merger of the two colleges and the unification of the two campuses. He was succeeded by Dr. Marlene Springer, as the second president of the college, an English and American literature scholar, under whose leadership the College improved academic standards, introduced two doctoral programs and several master's programs, raised the level of the faculty, added research institutes, and introduced an Honors College, the Verrazano School, and the CSI High School for International Studies. She retired in August 2007 and was succeeded by Tomás D. Morales, who was awarded an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from SUNY-Albany in 1998, as the third president of the college. He has arranged for a free bus from the Staten Island ferry to the Willowbrook campus.
. 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. In 2005 an academic building on the campus was converted into the CSI High School for International Studies; the first senior class to graduate from the high school did so in 2009. The high school has since moved off-site to a new, purpose-built facility.
Twenty one new and renovated neo-Georgian buildings serve as classrooms, laboratories, facilities buildings and offices. The academic buildings house 300 classrooms, laboratories and instructional spaces, study lounges, department and program offices, and faculty offices.
Beginning on July 1, 2011 the campus is now smoke-free, allowing fresh air all over the campus. Smokers are forced to smoke their cigarettes in designated areas on campus only. Smoking anywhere else is strictly prohibited including students cars. Fines are enforced if you are caught lighting up out of the designated areas.
North and South Academic Quadrangles are connected by the Alumni Walk, with the Library and Campus Center as focal points. The Center for the Arts is located midway between the Quadrangles at the fountain plaza. The Sports and Recreation Center and the athletic fields are located near the main entrance to the campus. the college of staten island is located in staten island new york.
Sixteen works of art, a permanent collection of works either commissioned or purchased through the Art Acquisitions Program of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, are installed throughout the campus. The artists and their free-standing sculptures and reliefs are:
Vincenzo Amato, Body of Hector/Glaucus; Miriam Bloom, Shooliloo; Fritz Bultman, Garden at Nightfall (extended loan); Chryssa, Untitled; Lucille Friedland, Big Stride (gift of the artist); Red Grooms
, Marathon; Sarah Haviland, Staten Island Arch; Jon Isherwood, Borromini's Task; Zero Higashida, Maquette for a Small Universe; Valerie Jaudon, Untitled; Niki Ketchman, Red Inside; Win Knowlton, Ellipse; Mark Mennin, Torak; Don Porcaro, Moon Marker; and Hans Van de Bovenkamp, Stele in the Wind.
New students are welcomed through a unique orientation program called CLUE, the College Life Unit Experience. In addition to helping new students make a smooth transition to college life, CLUE gives new students the opportunity to have meaningful exchanges with faculty, staff, and current students.
The Third Rail features Poetry • Political Commentaries • Philosophy • Photography
Arts • Fiction • Non-Fiction • Drawings • Social Commentaries, Plays & everything in the nature of the political arts
. It airs jazz, rock, and urban formatted content in addition to talk radio.
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies lead to bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
s. The master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
is awarded in 13 professional and liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
and sciences fields of study. The College participates in doctoral programs of The City University Graduate School and University Center in Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, Nursing, Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
History
It was established in 1976 from the merger of Richmond College (opened in 1965) and Staten Island Community College (opened 1956). Richmond College had been threatened with closure because of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's financial crisis, while the older school, because of its status as a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
, received state support. The merger was particularly logical since the community college offered two year degrees, while Richmond College was an "upper divisional" college (the third in the nation) that offered degrees to those in their third and fourth years of schooling.
The College of Staten Island has been located on the grounds of the former Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City from the 1930s until 1987....
since 1993. It is the largest campus, in terms of physical size, in New York City. Before the relocation to Willowbrook, the college had a split campus, located at the former Staten Island Community College (in Sunnyside
Sunnyside
- Australia :*Sunnyside , house of Ellen G. White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church- Canada :* Sunnyside, a suburban area of South Surrey, in turn a town centre of Surrey, British Columbia...
, on Todt Hill
Todt Hill
Todt Hill [elevation 410 ft ] is a hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the highest natural point in the five boroughs of New York City and the highest elevation on the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain from Florida to Cape Cod., The summit of the ridge is largely covered...
) and Richmond College (in St. George
St. George, Staten Island
St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond...
).
The first president of the college, Dr. Edmond Volpe, an American literature scholar, retired in 1994, after having successfully handled the merger of the two colleges and the unification of the two campuses. He was succeeded by Dr. Marlene Springer, as the second president of the college, an English and American literature scholar, under whose leadership the College improved academic standards, introduced two doctoral programs and several master's programs, raised the level of the faculty, added research institutes, and introduced an Honors College, the Verrazano School, and the CSI High School for International Studies. She retired in August 2007 and was succeeded by Tomás D. Morales, who was awarded an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from SUNY-Albany in 1998, as the third president of the college. He has arranged for a free bus from the Staten Island ferry to the Willowbrook campus.
The Campus
Completed in 1994, the 204 acre (0.82555944 km²) campus of CSI/CUNY is the largest site for a college in New York City. Set in a park-like landscape, the campus is centrally located on Staten IslandStaten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. 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. In 2005 an academic building on the campus was converted into the CSI High School for International Studies; the first senior class to graduate from the high school did so in 2009. The high school has since moved off-site to a new, purpose-built facility.
Twenty one new and renovated neo-Georgian buildings serve as classrooms, laboratories, facilities buildings and offices. The academic buildings house 300 classrooms, laboratories and instructional spaces, study lounges, department and program offices, and faculty offices.
Beginning on July 1, 2011 the campus is now smoke-free, allowing fresh air all over the campus. Smokers are forced to smoke their cigarettes in designated areas on campus only. Smoking anywhere else is strictly prohibited including students cars. Fines are enforced if you are caught lighting up out of the designated areas.
North and South Academic Quadrangles are connected by the Alumni Walk, with the Library and Campus Center as focal points. The Center for the Arts is located midway between the Quadrangles at the fountain plaza. The Sports and Recreation Center and the athletic fields are located near the main entrance to the campus. the college of staten island is located in staten island new york.
Sixteen works of art, a permanent collection of works either commissioned or purchased through the Art Acquisitions Program of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, are installed throughout the campus. The artists and their free-standing sculptures and reliefs are:
Vincenzo Amato, Body of Hector/Glaucus; Miriam Bloom, Shooliloo; Fritz Bultman, Garden at Nightfall (extended loan); Chryssa, Untitled; Lucille Friedland, Big Stride (gift of the artist); Red Grooms
Red Grooms
Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life...
, Marathon; Sarah Haviland, Staten Island Arch; Jon Isherwood, Borromini's Task; Zero Higashida, Maquette for a Small Universe; Valerie Jaudon, Untitled; Niki Ketchman, Red Inside; Win Knowlton, Ellipse; Mark Mennin, Torak; Don Porcaro, Moon Marker; and Hans Van de Bovenkamp, Stele in the Wind.
Astrophysical Observatory
The 16 feet (4.9 m) dome astrophysical observatory was completed in 1996. In addition to serving students in astronomy courses, the facility is used for faculty and student research projects, environment monitoring projects, and community programs.Biological Sciences/Chemical Sciences Building
An ultramodern facility, the building (6S) contains a lecture hall, nine teaching laboratories, faculty offices, research facilities for faculty and students, the Center for Environmental Science, and the Center for Developmental Neuroscience and Developmental Disabilities.Advanced Imaging Facility
Located in Building 6S, the Advanced Imaging Facility houses two transmission electron microscopes, a field-emission scanning electron microscope, a spectral imaging confocal microscope, an atomic force microscope with inverted light microscope for TIRF imaging, and a flow cytometer. The facility is open for use by faculty from all higher education institutions in the region and offers courses for training of advanced undergraduates from the college.Campus Center
The Campus Center (1C) provides facilities for a complete student life including offices for student organizations, food services, health services, a study lounge, chapel, game room, screening room, bookstore, and the studios of WSIA-FM, the student-operated radio station.Center for the Arts
Entered from the Great Lawn and from the Alumni Walk, the Center houses two academic wings for programs in the arts (1P) (Studio Art, Art History, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Music, Music Technology, and Photography) as well as superb public spaces: the 440-seat Clara and Arleigh B. Williamson Theatre, the 900-seat Marlene Springer Concert Hall, a recital hall, a lab theater, lecture halls, two art galleries, and a small conference center.Library Building
(1L) Designed with inviting reading rooms, open shelves, a café, several computer labs and study carrels, the Library research and study facilities are enhanced by computer data-based operations available to all students. The Library Media Services make accessible pedagogical multimedia materials to distant classrooms and laboratories by means of the campus fiber-optic network.Sports and Recreation Center
This 77000 square feet (7,153.5 m²) multipurpose facility and surrounding athletic fields serve the intercollegiate and intramural sports and recreation programs. On a membership basis, faculty, staff, alumni, and the general public also have access to the facilities. The Sports and Recreation Center is building 1R on campus.Special programs
- Baccalaureate Program for first-year students meeting senior college admissions standards.
- Teacher Education Honors Academy
- Macaulay Honors College
- Departmental Honors Program
- Verrazano School Program for high achieving students.
- Study-Abroad programs through the Center for International Service.
- University Skills Immersion Program provides academic preparation for first-year students. Tutoring through the Academic Support Center for students with deficiencies in the academic skills and subject matter.
- Adults Returning to the Classroom (ARC), introductory courses at off-campus locations.
- Internships with government agencies and in the private sector.
Notable alumni
- Farooque AhmedFarooque AhmedFarooque Ahmed is a Pakistani American from Ashburn, Virginia who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly plotting to bomb Washington Metro stations at Arlington cemetery, Pentagon City, Crystal City and Court House...
, alleged bomb plotter - Justin Brannan, musician, writer, political activist
- Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
, Lead Singer of Kiss, attended Richmond College before it merged with Staten Island Community College.
The Third Rail
The Third Rail is the literary political arts magazine of the College of Staten Island (CSI) and publishes semesterly. Fully embracing W.E.B. DuBois' notion that "art is propaganda," and in the tradition of “FIRE!” the groundbreaking political arts magazine founded and destroyed during the Harlem Renaissance.The Third Rail features Poetry • Political Commentaries • Philosophy • Photography
Arts • Fiction • Non-Fiction • Drawings • Social Commentaries, Plays & everything in the nature of the political arts
- Third Rail has won the Independent Press Associations (IPA) 2003 Journalism Award for Best Reporting.
- Third Rail has been placed on The Nations “One of Our Favorite College Papers” list.
- The spring 2007 issue of Third Rail which focused on student apathy featured a cover shot of two nude students, one male, and one female. As a result of this cover the issue has constantly been stolen from school racks and dumped in trash cans. This has prompted the first ever second printing of a single issue. The ongoing story of the battle over censorship has been covered by the Student Press Law Center and Staten Island Advance.
WSIA
WSIA is the campus radio stationCampus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
. It airs jazz, rock, and urban formatted content in addition to talk radio.