CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

A participatory project to collect and preserve the histories of the City University of New York

We found 36 items that match your search.

A College in the City

This report, commissioned by Dr. William Birenbaum, then the president of the Educational Affiliate of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and later the first president of Staten Island Community College, argues that urban institutions of [...]

Medgar Evers College - The Pursuit of a Community's Dream

In this short book, Medgar Evers College: The Pursuit of a Community's Dream, CUNY retired professors Florence Tager and Zala Highsmith-Taylor tell the story of the founding of the college. As an institution born largely out of 1960s [...]

A Proposal for the Establishment of Community College Number Seven

This proposal for the founding of Community College Number Seven (later named Medgar Evers College) was put forward by the Board of Higher Education in November 1967. In this excerpt (pages 11-15), the Board establishes their desire to place a new [...]

Minutes of Proceedings: Establishing Community College Number Seven

In these minutes of proceedings from a January 22, 1968 meeting of the Board of Higher Education, the Board resolves to create the "Committee to Seek Presidents for Community Colleges Seven and Eight." The committee is first tasked with filling the [...]

Press Release – A New Experimental College

In this press release, The City University of New York's Office of University Relations announces the creation of a new, experimental, two-year college to be "established on a community-oriented basis in central Brooklyn." The press release [...]

Statement by Chancellor Albert H. Bowker Announcing the Establishment of a New Community College

In this statement by CUNY Chancellor Albert H. Bowker on February 1, 1968 in Brooklyn Borough Hall, Bowker announces the establishment of a new, experimental community college in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His announcement presents CUNY's hopes [...]

Telegram from Walter Pinkston to Chancellor Bowker: Lack of Community Involvement

In this telegram sent to Chancellor Albert Bowker on February 6, 1968, Walter Pinkston, executive director of Bedford Stuyvesant Youth in Action, decries the recent announcement of Community College No. 7 because the message was delivered without [...]

Letter from CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker: Stating Commitment to Community Involvement

This is the first of three letters sent on February 12, 1968 from Chancellor Albert Bowker in regards to his absence from a community meeting in Bedford Stuyvesant on February 10. In this letter to Walter Pinkston, executive director of Bedford [...]

Letter from CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker to Hon. Shirley Chisholm

This is the second letter sent on February 12, 1968 from CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker. This letter, addressed to Assemblywoman Shirley Chisholm, informs her that though he regrets not having attended the February 10th meeting at Decatur JHS, he [...]

Letter from CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker to Hon. Thomas R. Jones

This is the third letter sent on February 12, 1968 from Chancellor Albert Bowker in regards to his absence at the February 10 meeting of community leaders and members at Decatur JHS. Addressed to Hon. Thomas R. Jones, chairman of the [...]

Telegram from Walter Pinkston to CUNY Chancellor Bowker

Writing on behalf of the Bedford Stuyvesant Coalition on Education Needs and Services, Walter Pinkston demands that Chancellor Albert Bowker halt all planning of the new college until the Board of Higher Education and CUNY have conferred with the [...]

Letter from Porter R. Chandler to Walter Pinkston

In this letter from Porter R. Chandler, Chairman of the Board of Higher Education, to Walter Pinkston, Executive Director of Bedford Stuyvesant Youth in Action, Chandler informs the community leader that he will confer with the Board on the ways in [...]

Letter from Frederick Burkhardt: Seeking President for Community College Seven and Eight

In this letter from Frederick Burkhardt, Chairman of the Committee to Seek Presidents for Community Colleges Seven and Eight, to Walter Pinkston, executive chairman of Bedford-Stuyvesant Youth in Action, Burkhardt suggests a meeting on March 14th [...]

Memo from Porter R. Chandler: Refrain from Individual Meetings with the Bedford Stuyvesant Coalition

This message from Porter R. Chandler to members of the Board of Higher Education states that although each member of the Board has received requests from the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for individual meetings, the members should disregard the [...]

List of Members of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition

A list of organizations that comprised the "Bedford Stuyvesant Coalition on Education Needs and Services."

Appendix A: Meeting between The Board Committee to Seek Presidents and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition

Appendix A consists of a list of all those present at a March 14, 1968 meeting between the Board Committee to Seek Presidents for Community Colleges Seven and Eight and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition Steering Committee. It also outlines the "two [...]

Minutes of Proceedings, Board of Higher Education Meeting - March 25, 1968

As seen in these minutes of the March 25, 1968 meeting, the Board of Higher Education to expanded the responsibility of their presidential search committee for Community College No. Seven to include all matters related to the development and [...]

Letter from Frederick H. Burkhardt to Al Vann

This is a letter from Frederick H. Burkhardt, chairman of the Committee to Seek Presidents for Community Colleges Seven and Eight, to Al Vann, chairman of the Steering Committee of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition. In it, Burkhardt informs Vann that [...]

Letter from Al Vann to Mr. Chandler: New College Must be Four Year College

In this letter from Al Vann, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition, Vann forcefully reasserts his organization's demand that the new college be both a 4-year institution and community controlled. Addressed to Porter [...]

Memorandum of Understanding from Al Vann

In this memorandum of understanding between the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition and a committee from the Board of Higher Education (likely the Presidential Search Committee), Al Vann, the chairman of the Coalition's steering committee, acknowledges two [...]

Memo from Al Vann: On Educational Needs and Services –The Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition

This unaddressed memo is from Al Vann, Chairman of Steering Committee, and appears to be directed towards Frederick Burkhardt, Chairman of the Committee to Seek a President for Community College Seven (Medgar Evers College). Vann requests funds to [...]

Telegram from Al Vann to CUNY Officials

In this telegram from Al Vann, chairman of the Steering Committee of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition, to Porter R. Chandler, Frederick Burkhardt, and Chancellor Albert Bowker, Vann lists the community's five selected representatives that will sit [...]

Letter from Chancellor Albert Bowker to Al Vann: Space and Personnel

Letter from Chancellor Albert Bowker to Al Vann, Chairman of Bedford-Stuyvesant Steering Committee, outlining the ways in which the University can meet the request of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for space and personnel.

Letter from Seymour Hyman: Campus Planning

Letter from Seymour Hyman, Vice Chancellor of Campus Planning & Development, to Ira Duncan, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Real Estate, requesting temporary space in the Bedford Stuyvesant Community for the members to confer and develop [...]

Memo from William Ballard: Space

This is an interdepartmental memo from William Ballard, Consulting Architect, to Seymour Hyman, Vice Chancellor for Campus Planning & Development, concerning the size and location of a site for the new college (Medgar Evers College) in [...]

Telegram from Al Vann: Promising Action if Services and Personnel are Withdrawn

This telegram was sent from Al Vann to CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker. Vann, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition. Vann writes the message on behalf of the Coalition's member organizations in an effort to challenge [...]

Proposal to Plan and Implement Departmental Programs for Community College No. 7

This document describes previous authorizations regarding the creation of Community College No. 7 (Medgar Evers College) and three additional community colleges. It goes on to detail one of the more unique features of the college: a community [...]

Handwritten Inter-office Memo from Porter R. Chandler to Chancellor Albert Bowker

This handwritten memo from Porter R. Chandler, Chairman of the Board of Higher Education, "most emphatically" suggests that Albert Bowker, Chancellor of CUNY, accede to the requests of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition leaders. Those requests, [...]

Letter from CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker to all Board Members: Funding for the Coalition's Representatives

In this letter sent to all Board of Higher Education members, CUNY Chancellor Albert Bowker announces that funds for the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition's representatives on the Presidential Search Committee had been obtained from the Ford Foundation. [...]

Handwritten Notes from a September 12, 1968 Meeting

These handwritten notes are from a September 12, 1968 meeting of CUNY officials concerning the creation of Medgar Evers College. The notes suggest that the criteria for presidential candidates be established and that a selection be made by January [...]

Community's Criteria for the President of Community College No. 7

Created by the Bedford-Stuyvesant community, this paper outlines their criteria for the president of Community College No. 7 (later named Medgar Evers College). Including experience, physical appearance, philosophy and personal background, among the [...]

Minutes of the Board of Higher Education - November 25, 1968

These minutes of proceedings from the November 25, 1968 meeting of the Board of Higher Education record the establishment of new admissions criteria for CUNY four-year institutions as well as university-wide budget requests for the following year. [...]

Letter from Chancellor Bowker to Members of Community College 7 Planning and Presidential Search Committee

This letter from Chancellor Bowker to members of Community College 7 Planning and Presidential Search Committee came in response to a series of requests made by the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition in prior weeks. Those requests, expressed in a June 18, [...]

Medgar Evers College, historical buildings

Image compilation of the various buildings that made up Medgar Evers College in its early years.

Governor's Conversion of Community College #7 to Senior College

This letter from Department of Education Commissioner Ewald Nyquist acknowledges the Regents' approval of the conversion of New York City Community College Seven to a senior (four-year) college offering both associate and BA degrees. While [...]

State Letter of Approval for additional community college (# seven)

This NY State letter of approval for additional community college (# seven) is signed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller and directed to James Allen, his Commissioner of the State Education Department. He notes that it has yet to be confirmed that no [...]

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