Rockland Community College
| Rockland Community College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | A Heritage of Excellence & Diversity |
| Established | 1959 |
| President | Cliff L. Wood |
| Vice-president |
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| Associate Vice Presidents |
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| Academic staff | 512 |
| Students | 8,750 |
| Location | Suffern, New York, USA |
| Colors |
Green, White & Orange |
| Sports |
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| Nickname | Fighting Hawks |
| Mascot | Rocky the Hawk |
| Affiliations | State University of New York |
| Website | Rockland Community College |
| School Logo | |
Rockland Community College is a two-year college in the State University of New York system, located in hamlet of Viola within the Village of Suffern from the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. The college began in 1959 in the former county almshouse. The college offers 52 programs and offers both certificates and associates degrees. Additionally, students can earn other degrees, including Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in the arts and sciences, technology, and health professions while attending classes at Rockland through articulation programs with four-year schools. The current enrollment is about 8,000 full and part-time students which includes about 200 International students form more than 50 foreign countries. The main campus is in Suffern, New York, but instructions are also offered in Haverstraw and Spring Valley extensions. The Spring Valley satellite campus is located in the historic North Main Street School.[1]
The College has over 512 full - and part-time faculty members, including several Fulbright Scholars[citation needed], SUNY Chancellor's Award winners, and published authors and artists. The faculty-student ratio is 18:1. Rockland has the third highest transfer rate in the SUNY system and has a Continuing Education programs which served about 3,500 each year.
Among events in the College's recent history are SUNY Rockland Community College Board of Trustees designated the building and grounds of Rockland Community College as a Smoke-Free Environment in September 2009. Additionally, Rockland Community College celebrated the institution's Semicentennial, quinquagenary or Golden Anniversary from September 2009 through August 2010. Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), was the featured speaker at the Rockland Community College 50th Anniversary Academic Convocation, held on Friday, September 25, 2009. The college in 2012 has been designated as a Veterans Friendly Campus.
History
An institution called Rockland College, chartered by the state Board of Regents in 1878, existed for sixteen years in Nyack, New York.
Rockland Junior College, supported by federal funds disbursed through New York State, and sponsored by Nyack High School was established in 1932 as one of several depression-era two-year schools. New York University and Syracuse University accepted two years of credit from the college. Rockland Junior College shut down in 1935.
Rockland Community College came eighteen years later was organized to be an affordable, two-year college in location convenient for county residents; it was planned that it would raise taxes by only $4 a year. At the time, Rockland County, the state's smallest in geographic area outside of New York City, was growing exponentially in population and in demand for a skilled, educated work force. Between 1956 and 1970, Rockland's population was one of the fastest growing in the state, expected to double from 107,000 to 215,000 and the number of high school graduates was projected to rise from 700 to 2,463.
Large local industries like Avon Products in Suffern and Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River required more skilled workers, and the growth of hospitals such as Nyack Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern warranted the creation of a nursing program.
Some 69 percent of parents polled expressed interest in their children attending a community college in Rockland, and 183 high school juniors indicated a strong interest in and an ability to attend a community college in Rockland.
Founding faculty
- Dale Hunt, biology and chemistry
- Elaine Magid, French – the only foreign language offered at first
- Elizabeth Phelps, librarian
- Marjorie Markham and Marion Manning, business and secretarial sciences
- Maureen Haberer, psychology
- Michael Tulevech, English
- Raymond Rossiter, social sciences
- Robert Burghardt, mathematics, physics, and engineering drawing
AIDS memorial quilt
October 22–24, 2009 – 1,920 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, were displayed at the Eugene Levy Fieldhouse athletic facility. It would take approximately 10 football fields for the quilt to be displayed in its entirety.
Time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods and/or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, and/or historians.
On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, Rockland Community College buried a time capsule in front of the Technology Building celebrating the 50th Anniversary of RCC's establishment. This entry was posted prior to placing the Rockland Community College Wikipedia page in the capsule.
Other events
- July 15, 2010, Andrew Cuomo campaigning for Governor of State of New York was introduced by his 12 year old daughter Michaela at Rockland Community College on his first stop, kicking off an 11-day 62-county tour of The Empire State.
- January 21 – March 9, 2011 – The exhibition IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas is a collaboration between the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition Service (SITES).
- On January 30, 2011, Rockland Community College held a ceremonial swearing of David Carlucci, Independent democrat from New City, an alumnus of Rockland Community College (class 0f 2000) and youngest senator to be elected in New York history representing the New York Senate 38th district. The event was hosted by Harriet Cornell, chair of the Rockland County Legislature.[2] Speaking at the event were New York senior United States senator Chuck Schumer, United States House of Representatives – Eliot Engel – New York's 17th congressional district and Nita Lowey – New York's 18th congressional district and from the New York State Assembly – Kenneth Zebrowski, Jr. 94th district and Ellen Jaffee – 95th district.
- October 20, 2011 – Congressmen Eliot Engel presented Rockland Community College with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for its outstanding and invaluable service to the community.
- On April 19, 2012, Rockland Community College held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Solar panel installation behind Academic II.
9/11 Commemoration and Remembrance Ceremony
- Since September 11, 2001 attacks, also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11, Rockland Community College has held a 9/11 Commemoration and Remembrance Ceremony. In 2011, RCC held a special exhibition, "New York Remembers," where selections of historical artifacts from 9/11 were displayed the week of August 29 to the end of September. This display, was part of a statewide recognition of the tenth anniversary, dedicated by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Museum and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. In 2012, The Quad outside of the Technology Center, will include a memorial garden. The memorial garden, designed by long time RCC art professor, Page Simon includes a centerpiece sculpture made from four steel I-beam fragments from the World Trade Center supplied by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with the floor of the garden laid with bricks inscribed with personnel messages. A poem by Rockland County's poet laureate, RCC professor Dan Masterson is also a permanent element of the garden. Local artisans were used for the sculpturing and tile work.
Commencements
On June 11, 1961, the college's first commencement exercises honored 39 graduates—22 men, 17 women—who had finished the journey begun by 139 full-time students two years before. In 1962 there were 60 graduates, and in 1963, 115, including the first 24 from the school's nursing program.
On May 23, 2010, the college's 50th commencement exercises honored 350 graduates.
Veterans
On October 03, 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs hosted the first induction of RCC students who are veterans into SALUTE - Veterans National Honors Society. SALUTE, established in 2008 is headquartered out of Colorado State University has over 90 chapters in colleges and universities across the country. RCC is the first community college to have a chapter in this prestigious organization.
Campus
Located on the crest of a sloping rise in a former farm community known as Mechanicsville, renamed Viola when a post office was established in 1882, the original property included:
- A wooden barn that was converted into a theater and assembly room in the second semester.
- Fields leased to local farmers that yielded tomatoes and cabbage. The college later acquired 150 acres (0.6 km2) of farmland—100 to the south from the Hurschle Brothers Farm, and 50 to the west from the Springsteen Farm—for its current 175-acre (0.7 km2) campus. The barn was used for registration, physical education classes, sports team practices, large classes and final exams, dance classes, student-faculty talent shows, worship services, films, guest lecture series, concert series, even war protest rallies. It also served as the College Barn Theater. The Barn burned in January 1979; in 1983 it was replaced by the Cultural Arts Center.
- A "potter's field" cemetery, the burial grounds for many of the Almshouse residents. Shortly after the college was founded, the county deeded a tract of land in the northern section for establishing a veterans' cemetery, which remains today.
- A small square building with barred windows that served as the first Rockland County jail, later the Ramapo town police headquarters, and still later a police radio station. It was converted into offices and men's locker rooms for the physical education program in the second semester.
- A narrow, tree-lined country lane known as Almshouse Road, which became an interior access road when the current College Road was built.
- The three-story, colonial design Almshouse. In front of the Almshouse is a wooden gazebo that still stands.
The current campus evolved with these milestones:
- 1959 – Almshouse – Daniel T Brucker Hall.
- 1964 – Fall semester opening of the Academic I.
- 1972 – Academic II.
- 1972 – Physical Education Building.
- 1972 – The Student Union.
- 1972 – Utility Plant.
- 1973 – Amphitheater.
- 1973 – Library.
- The library's collection contains over 120,000 books, more than 23,000 current periodical titles, and approximately 3,000 audio-visual items, all in diverse formats and the college's rapidly growing electronic resources cover all the disciplines offered at Rockland Community College.
- 1974 – Eugene Levy Fieldhouse – Athletic facility. This 2-acre (8,100 m2), 90,000 sq ft (8,000 m2) indoor multi-purpose facility with synthetic athletic surface is considered the largest of its type in the northeast[citation needed].
- Most Physical Education classes are held in the Fieldhouse that includes a regulation basketball court, four indoor tennis courts, volleyball courts, indoor track and other teaching areas within the arena. Also within the complex is four squash courts (that are used for racquetball), an Olympic sized pool, two gyms for aerobic activities, a weight room and an athletic training room.
- The department also utilizes outdoor facilities that includes a lighted baseball stadium, six Outdoor Tennis Courts, two soccer fields anoval track and a softball field.
- Bowling is held at three different bowlings alleys namely New City Bowling Lanes, Pearl River Lanes and Haverstraw Lanes. Golf is held at Spook Rock Golf Course.
- The fieldhouse is also used as a community building for showcase trade shows, concerts, graduations, and sporting events.
- 1983 – Cultural Arts Center. Site of the Inauguration of the first Rockland County Executive John T. Grant on January 1, 1986.
- 1987 – Spring Valley Extension Center opens
- 1993 – Vehicle Maintenance Facility.
- 2004 – Groundbreaking of 103,000 square feet (9,600 m2) Technology Center.
- 2006 – Grand opening of new Haverstraw Extension Center
- 2006 – Student Union renovated.
- 2006 – Grand opening of new Technology Center – Rockland's first LEED certified "Green Building".
- 2007 – Rockland County Department of Transportation increased and enhanced all bus service to the college.
- 2008 – Theresa Morahan Simmons Center for Children and Families – Named in memory of Senator Thomas Morahan's daughter, a dedicated first-grade teacher who taught seven years at Richard P. Connor Elementary School in Suffern. Groundbreaking for new 7,000 square feet (700 m2) center took place on July 27, 2008.
- 2009 – Grand Opening Theresa Morahan Simmons Center for Children and Families – June 14, 2009 – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. In attendance; The Morahan family, representatives from the five Rockland townships, school administrators, staff members, volunteers and most important Children and Families.
- 2011 – Rockland Community College received the 2011 Rockland Business Association’s (RBA) Green Council Award in the Government/Education category at the RBA luncheon on October 20, 2011 at the Paramount Country Club in New City.
- 2013 - Haverstraw Extension Center doubled in size, growing an additional 9,000 square feet (800 m2). On National Manufacturing Day (MFG) which fell on Friday, October 4,2013, Rockland Community College introduced its new "clean tech" training center. This space includes six new class/training rooms, four CAD (computer aided design) workstations with SolidWorks software, four 3D printers, a 3D laser scanner donated by the Center for Global Manufacturing Advancement (CGAM) and a science/wet lab.
Gary Onderdonk Rockland Veterans Cemetery
A cemetery was established on the property for almshouse residents, and shortly after the property was designated for the college's campus, the county designated a tract to serve as a veterans cemetery. The Korean War Monument is large granite rock at the Gary Onderdonk Rockland Veterans Cemetery on Rockland Community College's campus with a plaque bearing the names of all 27 Rocklanders killed in action during the Korean War, with the inscription: "They gave their today for your tomorrow."
Organization
RCC is sponsored by the County of Rockland and operating and administered by a ten-member Rockland Community College Board of Trustees that is appointed pursuant to New York State Education Law § 6306.[3] Nine of the Trustees serve seven-year terms, with five of those appointed by the County and four by the Governor. The tenth trustee is a voting, student representative.[4] The board in turn appoints a President who hires and supervises the staff. RCC is a community college unit of the State University of New York and is also subject to regulation and visitation by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.
Academics
Rockland Community College offers 30 associate's degrees and 12 one-year certificate programs.[5]
Information Assurance Course Validation
Rockland Community College became first New York Community College to Receive Information Assurance Course Validation from the Committee on National Security Systems during the June 2008 CNSS Awards Ceremony held at the 12th Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education.
International students
More than 250 international students are enrolled at Rockland Community College yearly.
Rockland Community College is ranked number one in the country among two-year institutions for sending students on international study programs.
Language courses
SUNY Rockland Community College offers nine "living" languages which have been approved by the State University of New York (SUNY) – the most of any community college in New York State, which meet the Foreign Language General Education requirement and are mandatory for students seeking a bachelor's degree from a SUNY school. These include;
CASS program
The Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships (CASS), a program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education (CIED), was initiated in response to the educational policy recommendations contained in the Report of the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America.
The CASS program provides a means of reaching and uplifting socioeconomically disadvantaged but talented people from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
The CASS program strives for all participants to be responsible, educated, multicultural, professional and committed. CASS scholars are chosen for their motivation, talent, capacity for leadership and potential to be a positive role model in their home communities. In addition to providing training, CASS is designed to give the students the possibility of interacting and understanding American culture, its democratic system, geography, food and lifestyle.
While in the United States, CASS scholars will give back to their host communities by performing a minimum of 160 hours of approved volunteer service in the community where they live.
Rockland Community College started this new program in 2008 by hosting CASS scholars studying small and medium business entrepreneurship.
On June 24, 2010, after two years of rigorous study and training at Rockland Community College, the first sixteen young women scholars from impoverished rural communities returned to their countries.
B.A. programs
Although Rockland Community College does not confer four-year degrees, it cooperates with 4-year institutions:
- Purchase College at RCC – Liberal Studies[6]
- SUNY Cobleskill at SUNY Rockland – This 3 + 1 articulation program will enable students to earn a bachelor's degree in most concentrations by studying three years, and in some cases, four years, on campus at SUNY Rockland.
B.S. programs
- Mercy College at RCC – RN-to-BSN Program for registered nurses (RNs)
M.A. programs
Students can obtain their master's in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education at SUNY Rockland through a program co-sponsored by The College of New Rochelle (CNR).
Honors programs
The Samuel Draper Mentored/Talented Students and Management Development programs are nationally acclaimed, rigorous academic programs for liberal arts and business students seeking to transfer to premier colleges. Graduates transfer to such colleges as Harvard, Yale, Georgetown University, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Fordham University, and Smith College. The program was awarded a FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) grant from the United States Department of Education to serve as a model for community college honors programs throughout the country.
Cambridge University Study Abroad Program
Students must be at least 18 years of age and meet the requirement of a minimum 3.0 GPA and two faculty recommendations when classes begin at Cambridge University in July or August. Students can be from any college but must apply through the RCC Sam Draper M/TS Honors Program Office in Spring to be eligible.
PACT program
The PACT (Preparing Adults for Career in Teaching) program is a teacher preparation program that focus on recruitment, academic preparation, retention, transfer and entry into teaching careers. There are transfer agreements with several partner colleges as well as other local colleges.
Pre-Employment Police Basic Course
The course provides the opportunity to begin preparation for a career as a local police officer prior to being hired by a law enforcement agency. A Civil service exam which students will be required to pass in order to be hired by a law enforcement agency, will be given upon completion of the course work at RCC. A candidate from the civil service list who has completed the coursework is more likely to be chosen by an agency, as he or she will not need to attend a twenty-three week academy.
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
The CETL program provides a variety of outstanding professional programs and services to faculty and staff as well as one of America's premier psychologists, Dr. Edmund W. Gordon, as scholar-in-residence.
Homeland Security and Domestic Preparedness
Our Homeland Security and Domestic Preparedness is part of The Hudson Valley Educational Consortium which is a collaboration with Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan Community Colleges providing broader access to academic programs and workforce training throughout the four county region.
Cyber Security Program
According to the Advanced Technological Education Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, Rockland Community College is one of only 30 community colleges in the U.S., and the only State University of New York (SUNY) community college, to have successfully mapped its courseware to the 4011 National Training Standard for Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals. The goal for RCC is to be designated as a Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.
Academic Support Center
The Academic Support Center which includes the Tutoring, Testing and Reading and Writing Centers provides academic assistance free of charge to all Rockland Community College students.
Children's programs
Academy for Gifted and Talented Children
The Academy for Gifted and Talented Children, teaches topics which range from art to encryption that attempt to make learning fun and challenging. The program is for children in grades 2 through 5 who participate in gifted educational programs at their schools; eligibility is currently based on the student's standardized test scores.
Full-day preschool to the community
The Campus Fun & Learn, which runs from the first day after Labor Day until the last week of June, is a full-day or part-time preschool program open to the community for children between the ages of three and five. The program includes art, music, language activities, and more, and helps prepare children for their future school experiences, as well as providing an opportunity for RCC students majoring in Education, Psychology and other programs gain experience and understanding in working with young children. RCC students who enroll their children qualify for scholarships and subsidies for child care tuition.
The Theresa Morahan Simmons Center for Children and Families groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 27, 2008 and the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place on June 14, 2009.
The center's three original goals include:
- Providing a model high quality Early Childhood education/childcare project for children – infants through 12 years old.
- Providing a support services to busy working parents, many of whom are single parents, working and attending college to further their careers, and raise the economic level of their families.
- Providing an Early Childhood Lab School/Observation Training Site for future teachers.
Youth and young adults programs
The Liberty Partnership Program (LPP)
The Liberty Partnership Program offers comprehensive pre-collegiate/dropout prevention programs and services to youth. The Liberty Partnership Program was established in 1988 under Section 612, Subdivision 6 of the Education Law to address the significant dropout rate among New York's youth.
Comprehensive Education and Family Resource Center (CEFRC)
The Comprehensive Education and Family Resource Center or FRC is coordinated by the Haverstraw and Spring Valley Extension Centers with advisory board members from the CEJJES Institute, Liberty Partnership Program, Fun & Learn Program, North Rockland and Ramapo High Schools, Spring Valley NAACP and Tomorrow's Workplace equip parents with the necessary tools and resources and assists them in being more active participants in their children's in-school endeavors.
Seniors adult programs
Senior Adult Audits – Seniors over the age of 60 are eligible to take credit courses free of charge on a space available basis. The seniors are responsible for program fees, are required to meet pre-requisites and cannot enroll in contract courses.
Institute for Senior Education (I.S.E.) – The College's Institute for Senior Education (ISE) offers courses during the College's regular semesters at modest prices. These informal groups meet once a week and stress independent study within a curriculum adjusted to the needs and interests of the group's members. All ISE courses are open to everyone over 50 years old.
Campus life
Athletics
Sports
- Baseball games were played at the Village of Suffern ball field
- Basketball – The School used court time in gymnasiums at Suffern, Haverstraw, and Spring Valley high schools and a few junior highs.
- Bowling at Hi-Tor Lanes in West Haverstraw, NY.
- Calisthenics, jogging, archery, soccer, and golf were held in the fields surrounding the small, peaked-roof building of the former Ramapo police station which housed the physical education office.
- Fencing, gymnastics and varsity wrestling practice were held at the Barn.
- Swimming and lifesaving were taught at the Bader's Hotel outdoor pool in Spring Valley.
- Deer Kill Day Camp in Suffern was rented to teach lifetime skill sports like tennis, handball, and one wall paddleball as well as softball and basketball.
The Eugene Levy athletic facility, known as the Fieldhouse was completed in 1972.
- February 2007 – RCC Fighting Hawks Men's Bowling Team won their first Region XV Championship in school history. RCC made up three of the six All-Region members.
- February 2009 – RCC Fighting Hawks Men's Basketball Team beat Sullivan County Community College Generals 81 – 77 to win the Region XV DIII Men's Championship.
- May 2011 – RCC Golf Team Wins Region XV Championship winning by a four-stroke margin over Nassau Community College.
- 2013 - Region XV Division II Baseball Champions NJCAA
- 2013 - Region XV Tournament Runner-up Women's Basketball
See:
Mid Hudson Conference
NJCAA
List of college athletic programs in New York, USA
Rockland Boulders
Rockland Community College is also the training camp site for the Rockland Boulders, a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball who play their home games at the new 4,350-seat/16 suite Provident Bank Park in Pomona, New York.
Campus Traditions
Alma mater
Nestled in the hills of Rockland County/Facing the Eastern sky/Rockland Community College/Stands loyal, firm and true./No matter where we roam/No matter where we be/We will always remember RCC/We will always remember RCC!
The chain of office
The presidential chain of office of Rockland Community College showing the academic programs of Liberal Arts, Allied Health Sciences, Engineering, Performing Arts, Nursing and Natural Sciences in front going left to right is approximately forty-eight inches long and is made of sterling silver with a medallion of sterling silver, partly gold-plated and green acrylic featuring ten frames, each illustrating one of the academic programs, alternating with round links made up of concentric initials "R.C.C" along with a display of the Map of Rockland County on the right side of the circle.
The mace
The ceremonial mace, a gift from the Rockland Community College Foundation is a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) mace that serves as the official symbol of the institution of higher education. At its crown is a bronze medallion displaying the Seal of Rockland County on one side and the Seal of New York on the obverse side. Beneath the crown is a sterling silver globe with the inscription "Rockland Community College, 1959" in thick metal letters around it. The wood staff is sculpted from decorative Purple Heart wood in a non=glossy oil finish and the mace's counterbalance is made of copper and bronze in a dark patina.
Notable faculty
- Joseph Famellette, Professor, Physical Education. Famellette, a Marine Corps veteran and the longest serving faculty member at SUNY Rockland Community College, retired in 2010 after 50 years of teaching and coaching. He was inducted into RCC's Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1995, Famellette was a member of Team USA and competed in the world biathlon championships in Mexico. In 2009, he and his racquetball partner won fourth place in the National Senior Olympics
- Edmund W. Gordon, as Scholar-in-Residence at the #Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Gordon received his 2010 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Relating Research to Practice Award on June 28 in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Dan Masterson of Pearl River, New York Poet Laureate, and longtime Professor of English who has been writing poems for 71 years and taught for 48 year at Rockland Community College, was appointed in 2012 as RCC's Poet-in-Residence.
References
- ↑ Nancy Goblet and William E. Krattinger (July 2007). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: North Main Street School". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ↑
- ↑ "Trustee Bylaws". Rockland Community College. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ↑ New York State Education Law § 6306.
- ↑ "Facts about Rockland Community College". Rockland Community College. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ↑ Purchase College at RCC
External links
- Rockland Community College – Main Campus
- Majors
- Outlook Student Press – The Student Newspaper of SUNY Rockland
- Hudson Valley Educational Consortium
- Mid Hudson Conference
- The Journal News – Construction starts on RCC children's center
- Collegebound article
- Celebrating the Life of Sam Draper Honors Homecoming 50th Anniversary by Dr. Cliff L. Wood
- - New “Smart Lab” unveiled in Haverstraw
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