Borough of Manhattan Community College

The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, business, health, science, engineering and continuing education fields. BMCC's original campus was scattered all over midtown Manhattan, utilizing office spaces, hotel conference rooms, and various spaces throughout Manhattan. In the mid-1970s, CUNY began scouting for suitable property on which to erect a new campus of its own. The current campus has been in use since 1983. History Martin B. Dworkis was BMCC's first president. Classes were originally held in part of the ground floor, the entire second floor, and part of the third floor of an office building at 131 West 50th Street in midtown Manhattan. BMCC renovated the office space into classrooms and administrative areas, and it created its own entrance at 134 West 51st Street. Fred Kelly, a graphic designer living in of Kew Gardens, designed BMCC's official seal. BMCC's first classes were held in fall 1964. During its first school year, 42 percent of its students were African American. Plans were announced for BMCC to have its own buildings to hold its classes in 1968. In 1974, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools determined that BMCC's physical facilities were "so inadequate as to defy description", and it said it would suspend BMCC's accreditation unless improvements were made quickly. The City University of New York's central administration evaluated BMCC the same year, and it found that student grades were inflated to such an extent that they were essentially meaningless. There was a ground-breaking ceremony on a new building for BMCC the same year. Because of the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, however, construction was suspended the next year. In 1977, BMCC's president, Edgar D. Draper, was fired after he improperly persuaded a college association evaluation team to alter its report to show the college administration more favorably. By 1980, BMCC's passing rates on nursing certification exams had significantly improved, and BMCC no longer had a financial deficit. BMCC's new campus building opened in January 1983.