In September 2012, The New Community College at CUNY opened its doors to its inaugural cohort of students. It was CUNY’s first new community college in more than forty years. About five years earlier, Chancellor Matthew Goldstein had issued a challenge to a CUNY-wide planning committee: imagine a new community college that will create a research-based innovative academic program geared to moving students quickly and efficiently towards graduation. With average three-year graduation rates at public urban community colleges at 15%, it was time for CUNY to be bold and creative.
In June 2013, the College was renamed Stella and Charles Guttman Community College to honor a $25 million gift the Guttman Foundation gave to CUNY. The Guttman Foundation wanted $15 million of the $25 million gift dedicated to an endowment fund for the College. From this endowment, the College has been able to create a host of programs that provide transformative learning experiences for our students.
It is remarkable but not surprising, given how student-centered the College is, that in just seven years Guttman has been ranked the #1 community college in New York State! The College’s high graduation rate (43% three-year graduation rate for the 2015 entering cohort) testifies to the success of its innovative academic model and to the dedication of its faculty and staff to student success.
Learn more about the development of the college by reading the New Community College Concept Paper, the case study Rethinking Community College for the 21st Century and other college planning documents from 2008-2010.