Suffolk County Community College - A History - by Ryan Hayes, RTV Student

Summary

Kevin McCoy, a librarian at Suffolk Community College, provides historical context about the college's founding and early development. He discusses how it started in 1959 with night classes at a local high school before getting its own campus in 1960 at a former TB sanitarium site. The first building was a gym, followed by more academic buildings in the 60s. He also talks about the Ammerman campus which opened in 1974 on former state hospital grounds, and the role community colleges play in providing local affordable education.

Takeaways

• Suffolk Community College was founded in 1959 with night classes at a local high school.
• The original campus in 1960 was a former TB sanitarium site.
• The first building constructed was a gym in 1963.
• New academic buildings were added through the 1960s.
• The Ammerman campus opened in 1974 on former state hospital grounds.
• Community colleges provide local affordable education options.

Q & A

Where were the first classes held for Suffolk Community College?

The first classes in 1959 were held at a local high school after normal school hours.

What was the original campus site previously used for?

The original campus opened in 1960 was previously a TB sanitarium.

Why was a gym built first on the new campus?

The college president believed you can have classes anywhere but you can only have a gym in a gym building.

When did the Ammerman campus open and what was it previously?

The Ammerman campus opened in 1974 on grounds formerly occupied by a state hospital.

What role do community colleges serve?

Community colleges provide local affordable education options, especially for students who can't go away to school.

Outlines

00:00

History and Background of Suffolk Community College

The first paragraph provides background on Suffolk Community College. It was founded in 1959 with night classes held at a local high school. It was one of the only local community colleges in the county at the time. The current campus opened in 1960 on the grounds of a former TB sanitarium, with several original buildings remaining today. The first president had a vision for the campus layout and facilities.

Keywords

💡Suffolk Community College

Suffolk Community College is the institution where the narrator, Kevin McCoy, works as a librarian. It was founded in 1959 as the first community college in Suffolk County, NY to provide local and affordable higher education options. The college started by offering night classes in a local high school before moving to its own campus, a former TB sanitarium, in 1960.

💡community college

A community college is an affordable, local higher education institution that offers associate's degrees, vocational training, and courses that can transfer to four-year colleges. They aim to provide access to higher education, especially for non-traditional students.

💡TB sanitarium

The first campus of Suffolk Community College was a former tuberculosis (TB) sanitarium. Due to antibiotics, there was less need for dedicated TB treatment facilities so the sanitarium buildings were available. The college repurposed them rather than constructing new buildings.

💡Pilgrim State Hospital

Pilgrim State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital that closed some of its buildings in the 1970s. Suffolk Community College acquired these vacant buildings to open its Grant Campus in 1974 without having to construct new facilities.

💡first president

The narrator refers to Suffolk CC's first president, who despite criticism, had a vision for the campus facilities that ultimately proved well-founded. This demonstrates the important leadership role that incoming presidents play in shaping new institutions.

💡protests

The narrator mentions Vietnam War protests occurring at other campuses in the late 1960s, contrasting with the atmosphere at Suffolk CC. This reflects the social unrest and anti-war activism prevalent at colleges during this time period.

💡Pine Barrens

The Grant Campus was constructed in the Pine Barrens, which surprised many environmentalists. But the county already owned this rural land so it was inexpensive to build on.

💡moving away

A driving concern behind founding Suffolk CC was that young people were moving away from Long Island. The college aimed to provide local higher education options so students could remain in the area after graduating.

💡changing lives

From his experience, the narrator emphasizes how Suffolk CC has a strong legacy of changing students' lives by helping them succeed in college or their careers when they may not have had these opportunities otherwise.

💡community

The narrator stresses how Suffolk CC strives to be an active, engaged community institution - contributing value to the region beyond just educating students by partnering with local organizations.

Highlights

Kevin McCoy provides background as a librarian and former student at Suffolk Community College.

The college was founded in 1959 with night classes held at a local high school.

The original campus was a former TB sanitarium, with some original buildings still in use.

The first president had a vision for the campus layout and facilities.

The gym was the first new building constructed in 1963.

New buildings were added almost every year after that.

The Vietnam era saw many protests on campus.

The Grant Campus opened in 1974 on the site of a former mental institution.

The Ammerman Campus opening sparked controversy with environmentalists.

Studies show students attending college on Long Island tend to stay after graduating.

Many past students credit the college for changing their lives.

The college aims to be an active part of the local community.

Not every student succeeds, but many go on to do great things.

The college provides access to higher education for local students.

The college has an important legacy in the region.

Transcripts

hey yeah my name is Kevin McCoy I'm a

librarian here at Suffolk Community

College I do the systems for the library

I was also a former student and went

part-time and then graduated full time

at Stony Brook the college was founded

in 59 the first year the classes are

actually in SH M high school and there

were night classes so after the school

closed for the k-12 students cept

Community College students went there at

the time there was only one of the

college in Suffolk County

Adelphi had a satellite campus in

Oakdale which eventually became downing

college so those are from ready to Sneed

for a college that was local and for

students that couldn't go away this

campus was opened in 1960 it was

originally TB sanitarium so the free

buildings on campus that were part of

the TB sanitarium that remain are the

I'm rooming building used to be called

the Ross building Marshall building

which is now called the killing building

an NFL building we interviewed a la mer

man who was the first president of the

college I really did have a vision if

you look at this campus when he came

here he knew exactly what he wanted to

do he got a lot of criticism for

building the gym first but he said you

can have classes anywhere you can only

have gym in the gym so it's just

interesting to see his vision and how it

played out the gym was the first

building that was built I think that was

built 63 and then almost every year a

building was bolts started with the gym

then islip building and the Student

Center and then the buildings around the

square and then the South Hampton

building was the last building built

until the Lyndsay building was built as

a couple of years ago and then in the

Vietnam era was very interesting because

there was a lot of protests going on in

Sarnia burkas and protests here so it

was interesting to see the different

dynamics between Stony Brook in here the

Grande campus started in 1974 that was

also previously an institution that was

part of pilgrim State

what happened here at the ammerman

campus was it was TV and with the

antibiotics what not there was less need

for a TV sanitarium pilgrim state there

were closing buildings so there was

buildings available in 1878 I believe

and that was the only campus I started

from scratch and again that was in the

middle of the Pine Barrens there wasn't

a controversy when that was built a lot

of environmentalists were upset that

they were building something right in

the middle of my bearings everything

that was predicted land but the county

owned it so it was inexpensive

it's a great spot who's always worried

that young people are moving away and

they are moving away and their studies

saying that the students that go to

school attend college on Long Island

tend to stay on Long Island I don't have

the jacket anymore but I used to have a

Suffolk jacket when I walked through

mucked around town where I went shopping

a lot of students approached a lot of

parents approached and they talked about

how much it changed my life or changed

their life it really is like I said a

community and we try to be part of the

community so I think the legacy is is

you have these students come in here not

everyone succeeds but there's a lot of

students that something clicks and they

go on to do great things

[Music]

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