An Academic Snapshot: Programs Build on a Liberal Arts Foundation
Established in 1977, the Division of Adult and Continuing Education was born out of two existing programs: the Curriculum for Self and Determined Studies and the Individual Baccalaureate Program. For the first time at CUNY, students who would not normally have been accepted into its four-year colleges were able to gain admission.
Based on other similar programs across the country, the Adult and Continuing Education programs at Lehman were designed for mature adults who were 25 and older. Students can receive as many as 15 credits for life experience, along with intense counseling for up to the first 30 credits. Understanding that adult students have a different learning sensibility than younger students, the division places faculty with strong adult teaching skills in the classroom. Students are also given the option of pursuing a traditional major or creating an individualized major. The result is that graduation has remained at a steady rate of 76 percent, with most students majoring in professional programs like social work, business administration, health services, and nursing.
The division also maintains strong ties to the community through CUNY on the Concourse, which was established in 2002. An offshoot of the division's, CUNY on the Concourse provides low-cost workforce development programs to the community. Individuals may choose from courses ranging from finance and management to computer programming certificate programs.
Division of Arts and Humanities
The social activism of the Sixties and Seventies helped to shape the spirit of leadership and innovation in this division. Student demands for programs focusing on ethnic studies led to the establishment of the Department of Black Studies and the Department of Puerto Rican Studies, which were among the first programs of their kind in the country. The arrival of the Lehman College Center of the Performing Arts in 1980 coincided with the establishment of the Music Department, fulfilling founding President Lief's vision of the College as a mecca for the arts in the Bronx.
Over the years, the division has significantly increased its professional programs. Today, the Art Department collaborates with the Math and Computer Science Department to offer a major in computer graphics and animation. By merging the Theatre program into the new Department of Journalism, Communication, and Theatre (JCT), the division was able to devote more resources to the development of the new Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences. One improvement that resulted was the renovation of the speech clinic, which serves not only students majoring in speech pathology but also members of the surrounding community who use the clinic's services.
The new JCT Department, meanwhile. offers students a degree in multilingual journalism—the only program of its kind in the country—and preparation for both traditional print journalism and broadcasting news via television, radio, and the Web. The Division also oversees Lehman Stages, a network of performance spaces on campus that provides students with hands-on experience not only in acting but also in house management, set designing, and other "behind-the-scenes" operations.
The recent resurgence of interest in foreign language also figured heavily in the division's expansion into other areas. Lehman formed a consortium with Manhattan College and the College of Mt. St. Vincent to offer students courses in Chinese and Arabic. The division also works closely with the Celia Cruz High School of Music, High School of American Studies, and the Marble Hill High School for International Studies. High School students receive lessons in music and languages taught by Lehman faculty.
Division of Education
From the start, teacher education at Lehman exemplified the College's commitment to the liberal arts as the basis for its professional programs. Faculty in the Division of Education work closely with liberal arts colleagues to ensure that students receive the preparation needed to pass State teacher certification exams and to bring into their own classrooms a broad framework of knowledge.
Because of its many projects with the New York City Department of Education and other funding agencies, Lehman has earned the reputation as the "collaborative friendly" CUNY. In 1999-2000, fifty-eight programs in undergraduate and graduate education were reregistered with New York State to meet new requirements for certification. In 2002, the division became the first of the CUNY colleges to receive NCATE accreditation—a status that was reconfirmed in 2007. The New York City Teaching Fellows Program, an alternative route to certification, was established to help address critical teacher shortages in elementary and secondary schools. Lehman opened a branch of the new CUNY Teacher Academy Program in 2003, focusing on providing training to prospective math and science teachers.
Through its involvement with the Institute for Literacy Studies, Lehman's Center for School/College Collaboratives, and the Bronx Institute at Lehman, the Division has continued to expand its presence in the New York City public school system. The center and institutes work directly with public school administrators, building a bridge to college and beyond for Bronx public schoolchildren.
Division of Natural and Social Sciences
The 'Decade of Science' has arrived at CUNY, bringing the division more funding for its programs and for students majoring in any of the science fields. One significant byproduct of that funding will be a new science building for the Lehman campus, which will house instructional labs for many of the science disciplines. Over the past two decades, a higher demand for healthcare professionals has also led to two new graduate programs—the Master of Social Work and the Master of Public Health—while technological advances have required new labs to be built and equipped in the departments of Biological Sciences and Environmental, Geographic, and Geological Sciences (EGGS). One long-established major at Lehman (nursing) and one only introduced in 2003 (business administration) lead the College as two of the most popular undergraduate fields.
