College of Staten Island

The City University of New York
College of Staten Island

File:College of Staten Island seal.png College of Staten Island Seal
Motto	Opportunity and Challenge
Type	Public
Established	1956
President	William J. Fritz, PhD.
Students	14,200 (Fall 2011)
Address	2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10314 , Staten Island , New York , U.S.
Colors	Columbia Blue & Grey
Affiliations	City University of New York
Mascot	Dolphin
Website	www.csi.cuny.edu

The College of Staten Island (CSI) is one of the eleven four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies lead to bachelor's and associate's degrees. 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.

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 City'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; the campus now houses the Michael J. Petrides School) 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.

Springer retired in August 2007 and was succeeded by Tomás D. Morales, who holds a B.A. in history from SUNY, New Paltz, and earned his M.S. and Ed.D. in educational administration and policy studies from SUNY, Albany, as the third president of the college. (He was awarded an Ed.D. at the commencement ceremony at SUNY, Albany; he now indicates he has a Ph.D.) He arranged for a free bus from the Staten Island ferry to the Willowbrook campus. After years of continuous conflict with the faculty, on March 22, 2012, the Faculty Senate of the College passed a motion of "no confidence" in Morales and his Provost, William J. Fritz. This was overturned on a procedural issue and discussions in the subsequent April 19 meeting became so "bogged down" that the measure didn't go to a vote again. Less than a month later, on May 10, 2012, Morales announced that he would be leaving the College of Staten Island to become president of California State University at San Bernardino. Morales's departure did not allow sufficient time to undertake a search for his replacement, so the CUNY Board of Trustees named the Provost, Dr. William J. Fritz, interim President for a period of up to two years. Dr. Fritz was subsequently named as President by the CUNY Board of Trustees without a search having been conducted (to the chagrin of some faculty), effective May 6, 2014. On June 28, 2012, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education re-accredited the College but required that the College submit a monitoring report by December 1, 2013 addressing issues pertaining to general education (Standard 12) and assessment of student learning (Standard 14). This Monitoring Report was submitted before the deadline and resulted in the full reaccreditation of the College on all Standards.

Campus

A view to the North West of the 204 acre campus of the College of Staten Island.

Completed in 1994, the 204-acre (0.83 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 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. 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 smoke-free. Smoking is allowed in designated areas on campus only. Smoking anywhere else is strictly prohibited including students cars. Fines are enforced for smoking 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 opened a newly fully furnished student housing apartments for the Fall 2013 semester located near the recreation building.

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, were installed throughout the campus prior to 1996.

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. At least three of these pieces (Borromini's Task, Stele in the Wind and Staten Island Arch) have since been destroyed by weather or accidents.

Astrophysical Observatory

The 16-foot (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 an FEI Technai Twin transmission electron microscope with AMT digital camera and EDAX x-ray microanalysis system, an Amray 1910 field-emission scanning electron microscope with EDS and WDS x-ray microanalysis, a Leica SP2 spectral imaging confocal microscope, an Asylum Research atomic force microscope with inverted light microscope for TIRF imaging, an Acuri flow cytometer and BD FACS. 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

The library includes reading rooms, a café, several computer labs and study carrels. The current collection houses 244,484 books.

Sports and Recreation Center

This 77,000 square feet 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

File:New Student Orientation.jpg

New Student Orientation

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.

• 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

• Joanne Bland, civil rights activist

• Gene Simmons, member of Kiss, attended Richmond College before it merged with Staten Island Community College.

Student Life Organizations/Publications

Third Rail

Executive Editors	Jeff McGraham Neil Schuldiner
Categories	political arts magazine
Frequency	Quarterly
Circulation	3,000 per
First issue	Fall 1994
Company	College of Staten Island
Country	USA
Language	English
Website	www.thirdrailmag.com

The Third Rail

The Third Rail, which is no longer being published, was the literary political arts magazine of the College of Staten Island (CSI). 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 featured 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 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

Main article: WSIA

WSIA is the campus radio station. It airs jazz, rock and urban formatted content in addition to talk radio.

Athletics

Staten Island teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Dolphins are a member of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis and volleyball.

External links

• College of Staten Island
• College of Staten Island Athletics
• Short history of the college
• CSI High School for International Studies
• CSI Today Online News Magazine
• Department of Media Culture