Baruch College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baruch College
Image:Baruch-logo.gif
Motto: The American Dream Still Works
Established: 1919
Type: Public
President: Dr. Kathleen M. Waldron
Provost: Jim McCarthy
Faculty: 500 (full time)
Staff: 700
Undergraduates: 12,500
Postgraduates: 3,000
Location: New York City, NY, USA
Campus: Urban
Nickname: The Bearcats
Mascot: Bearcat
Affiliations: City University of New York
Website: www.baruch.cuny.edu

Bernard M. Baruch College, known more commonly as Baruch College is a public university and one of the constituent colleges comprising the City University of New York (CUNY). The college is situated on Lexington Avenue near the Flatiron/Gramercy Park district of Manhattan. Baruch is one of CUNY’s flagship and senior colleges, and traces its roots back to the founding of the Free Academy, the first institution of free public higher education in the United States.

The school has one of the most diverse student bodies in the United States. Its students hail from more than 120 nations. Baruch is particularly noted for its Zicklin School of Business (the largest collegiate school of business in the United States) and named after financier Lawrence Zicklin and his wife. Although the school is most known for its business programs, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, named after former Philip Morris president, George Weissman is also part of Baruch, as well as the School of Public Affairs.

Contents

[edit] Founding and history

The original 23rd Street Building, still in use.
The original 23rd Street Building, still in use.

The New York State Literature Fund was created in order to support students who could not afford to enroll in New York City’s private colleges, chief among them New York University, known at the time as the University of the City of New York and Columbia University. The Literature Fund led to the creation of the Committee of the Board of Education of the City of New York, led by Townsend Harris, J.S. Bosworth, and John L. Mason. The Committee sought the establishment of what would become the Free Academy, on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

The Free Academy became the College of the City of New York, now City College. In 1919, what would become Baruch College was established as City College School of Business and Civic Administration. On December 15, 1928, the cornerstone was laid on the new building which would house the newly founded school. At this point the school did not admit women. On its opening, it was considered the biggest such school for the teaching of business education in the United States.[citation needed]

By the 1930s, women were allowed admission to the School of Business. The total enrollment at City College reached an all-time high of 40,000 students in 1935, and the School of Business had an enrollment of more than 1,700 students in the day session alone. Most of these students were Jewish and Italian immigrants, who could not afford or would not be admitted to private universities. The School of Business was renamed the Baruch School in 1958 in honor of alumnus Bernard Baruch, a statesman and financier. In 1961, the New York State Education Law established the City University of New York (CUNY) system, and in 1968 Baruch College became a senior college in the City University system.

In the CUNY years, Baruch grew drastically and for a time, there was an idea to relocate the college to Harlem in search for more space. The idea was later dropped, and the college acquired property on East 24th Street in Manhattan to expand its campus. The first president of the new college (1969-1970) was the previous federal Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Robert C. Weaver. In 1971, the college named Clyde Wingfield, a noted educator as its president. He was succeeded by economist Joel Edwin Segall, in 1977. Current CUNY Chancellor, Matthew Goldstein was president of the school from 1991 to 1998. From 2000 to 2004 the college was under the leadership of the former Comptroller of New York Edward Regan. Its current president is Dr. Kathleen M. Waldron.

[edit] Current campus

Newman Vertical Campus
Newman Vertical Campus

Throughout its history, Baruch used the landmarked Free Academy building, which is still in use by the college. The building is now named the Lawrence and Eris Field Building and is often referred to as the “23rd Street Building,” because of its location on East 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue. In 1998, after decades of renting space for classrooms, Baruch began construction of what would later be called the Newman Vertical Campus, after businessman William Newman. Inaugurated on August 27, 2001, the 17-story building is now home to the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Public Affairs (SPA). The street bordering the Vertical Campus is now called “Bernard Baruch Way,” and the college now uses the address of the Vertical Campus as its official address.

In 2004, a proposal was made to integrate the Vertical Campus with the 23rd Street Building and to refurbish this landmark building for modern classrooms.

The College has the Newman Library, as well as the Undergraduate Information Center, healthcare facilities, as well as the office of financial aid, the office of the Registrar, and computer labs, across the street from the Vertical Campus, in a series of buildings that take almost the entire block of Bernard Baruch Way.

The Administration Building, a short walk from the Vertical Campus or the Newman Library, houses other administrative offices, but not the Office of the President, which is housed on the fourth floor of the Vertical Campus.

[edit] Student body diversity

Baruch is recognized as being the most diverse institution of higher education in the United States.[citation needed] Its student body comes from more than 120 different nations.[citation needed] Baruch is ranked #1 overall for minorities, #4 for Hispanics and Asian-Americans, and #99 for African-Americans as a producer of graduates in business and its related fields.[citation needed] In 2005, the magazine Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education reported that Baruch College ranked 53rd in a list of the top 100 colleges offering undergraduate degrees to Hispanics.

Baruch has a large Asian student population, including many new immigrants. It has one of the highest percentages of matriculated Asian students in the nation. Baruch reportedly also has more Asian American graduates working in Wall Street than any other college or university in the nation--including the likes of prestigious universities such as New York University and University of Pennsylvania.[citation needed]

[edit] Student organizations

There are 132 undergraduate and 18 graduate student run clubs/organizations at Baruch College. The Ticker has been the student newspaper since 1932.

[edit] Rankings

  • Baruch ranks among the top 40 universities in the Northeast that offer a full range of undergraduate and master's programs and is among the top 6 of those institutions that are public (U.S. News & World Report, "America's Top Colleges 2007").
  • Baruch’s undergraduate business programs ranked 41st nationally, the second most highly regarded in the NY/NJ metropolitan area. The undergraduate business program was also ranked among the top 30 of public institutions (U.S. News & World Report, "America's Top Colleges 2007").
  • Baruch's Zicklin School of Business is included in the 2007 edition of The Princeton Review's annual "Best Business Schools" listing.
  • The 2006 edition of the Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Business School Survey ranked Baruch 50th among the nation's top 50 regional undergraduate business colleges.
  • Baruch’s Part-Time MBA is ranked 17th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report ("America's Best Graduate Schools 2007"), making it second in New York City. The Full-Time MBA was ranked in the top three of New York programs. Both were the only ranked public programs in New York State.
  • A joint survey by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review ranked Baruch 18th out of the top 25 undergraduate entrepreneurial colleges in the nation in 2006.
  • Baruch is one of the nation’s best value undergraduate institutions according to the Princeton Review’s America’s Best Value Colleges (2007).
  • For eight years, Baruch has topped the list of the most ethnically diverse institutions of higher education in the United States (U.S. News & World Report, "America's Top Colleges 2007").
  • In the 24th Annual Survey of Accounting Professors in the U.S., conducted by the Public Accounting Report (2005), Baruch's undergraduate accounting program ranked 15th; Baruch's graduate accounting program was 22nd.
  • Baruch’s School of Public Affairs is ranked in the top 20 percent in the nation for its Master of Public Administration program by U.S. News & World Report (2006).
  • Baruch College is among Top 10% of U.S. Colleges, According to The Princeton Review.[citation needed]

[edit] Alumni association

The Baruch College Alumni Association (BCAA) was founded in 1968 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that supports the goals of the students, faculty and alumni of Baruch College and its three schools: the Zicklin School of Business (the largest and one of the most respected business schools in the nation); the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences; and the School of Public Affairs.

Founded in 1919, Baruch College sits on the former site of the Free Academy, which was established in 1847 and was the first institution of free public higher education in the United States. Originally the City College of New York School of Business and Civic Administration, it was renamed in honor of Bernard M. Baruch (August 19, 1870–June 20, 1965). Mr. Baruch was an American financier, stock market speculator, statesman, and presidential adviser. In 1968, Baruch College became an independent senior college of the City University of New York.

The Baruch College Alumni Association has a distinguished history in serving the Baruch community through alumni giving. In 2007 the Board of Directors announced a pledge of $100,000 to support Baruch College’s Class Act campaign. A matching gift from the The Starr Foundation provided an additional $100,000 in contributions. The Class Act campaign is designed to help provide access and opportunity to 15,700 Baruch College students. Gifts go directly to support scholarships, student career services, student activities and programs, The William and Anita Newman Library at Baruch and faculty research.

[edit] Famous and distinguished alumni

[edit] Famous and distinguished faculty

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Morris, Bob. "Cable's First Lady Of Explicit", The New York Times, June 23, 1996. Accessed December 3, 2007. "At 17, Ms. Byrd got her graduate equivalency diploma and then pursued advertising design at Baruch College but dropped out in her senior year.
  2. ^ Assemblyman Stanley's Legislative Website. Accessed August 27, 2007.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
City University of New York
Two-year
Four-year
Baruch  · Brooklyn · City · City Tech · Hunter · John Jay · Lehman · Medgar Evers · Queens · Staten Island · York
Graduate