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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Early ’60s Accusations of Discrimination
Accusations of discrimination at the university predate the protests that occur in 1969 over the need for increased admission for Black and Puerto Rican students. Calls to combat discrimination begin intersecting with both cultural and curricular issues around liberal arts later in the decade.
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“EMPLOYERS FOUND SHIFTING CRITERIA: City University Study Shows High Ability Is Now Being Put Above Personality”
STUDENT VIEW CHANGING Many Graduates Forgo High Starting Pay for Jobs That Pose Challenge Article ends with a section called “liberal arts appreciated” that argues that employers are increasingly valuing a liberal arts background, because candidates have a solid general education background and can specialize on the job. Read more
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Humanities Curricula Expanding
City College adds several graduate degrees this year, along with a curricular revamp at Queens College to restructure general education requirements. These articles detail a changing relationship between liberal arts education and different levels of schooling.
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“Evening Courses at Bronx Community College”
This advertisement is an interesting example of how CUNY schools were representing themselves in terms of aesthetics at the time. It demonstrates that “liberal arts” and humanities were still at the center of the messaging for what the community colleges were offering. It is placed first, even though it comes alphabetically after engineering; also placed…
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“Unrequired Reading”
This is an article about the reading habits of students at Brooklyn College that both manages to read as lighthearted and snooty. The tone is set by a New Yorker-esque cartoon at the top of the article, illustrating a couple strolling on the campus. More importantly, it is another demonstration of reporting that sets the…
