CUNY in the News
An analysis of reporting on the humanities at the people’s university, from its founding to today.
This project is a timeline that tracks local media reporting on CUNY, specifically related to liberal arts education and the humanities. It explores the evolution of both rhetoric and aesthetics in the news from different time periods, looking through how local publications have responded to changes at the City University of New York.
The archival research of this project explores four distinct eras, grouped around major events in the history of the university: 1961-1971, for the founding of the university and open admissions struggle; 1980-1990, for the response to the ‘70s fiscal crisis and introduction of the Board of Trustees; 2000-2010 for the post-open admissions era and the centralization of CUNY; and 2020-present, for COVID and a new fight for racial equity.
Examining these “snapshots” of reporting will provide insights into how major events such as protests, financial struggle, and various other crises corresponded with shifting representations of the place of the humanities at the university. The aim of this project is to use the archive to better understand how the work of the humanities at the university has been perceived and presented historically, so that it may be used to advocate for the humanities at CUNY today, during an era of extreme cutbacks in higher education and general hostility towards public schools.
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“City Colleges Get First Chancellor After Long Hunt: Everett of Hollins College in Virginia Named to Unify 7 Institutions in System”
This article details the background and education of CUNY’s first chancellor, John R. Everett, a humanist in the fields of philosophy and film. Much of the coverage on his appointment mentions this background as a philosopher as something that recommends him for the job. The coverage is also generally celebratory after a 3-year search, and…
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“Student Survey Shows Switch to Humanities”
An article that predates the University’s actual founding, with data from Brooklyn College. It claims that students are abandoning sciences for the humanities. The students interviewed for the study claim that the way that sciences are taught limit both their individuality and ability to think creatively. More dramatic quotes claim that science education leads to…
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“For Free City Colleges: Opposition to Heald Committee Proposal Is Detailed”
A letter to the New York Times by Charles Tuttle (Board of Higher Education Member) on the importance of free and robust liberal arts education, before the official founding of the City University. “The result is a cruel injustice, an irrational discrimination against thousands of our well-qualified men and women handicapped by the accident of…
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Municipal Colleges Become City University of New York
“City University Proposed For 7 Municipal Colleges: CITY UNIVERSITY IS PROPOSED HERE” The name City University of New York is first used, shifting from just “the municipal colleges.” Largely, this move was to address increased demands for higher education, and to ensure that the municipal colleges in New York could grant PhDs. Read more.
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“Student Poll Reveals Wide Disbelief in God”
This is an early article that sets “liberal arts” and what we would now call “STEM” students in opposition at the University, via a poll conducted at City College. The article claims that liberal arts students believe less in God after graduating, and STEM students believe more strongly in God after they graduate.
