Farmingdale State College

Frank J. Cavaioli

Description

Located on 380 acres on the Nassau-Suffolk border, Farmingdale State College (FSC) is the oldest public college on Long Island. In this fascinating and lavishly illustrated history, Frank J. Cavaioli chronicles the school's rich history from the time it was chartered in 1912 up to the present. He investigates the leadership of such important directors and presidents as Albert A. Johnson, Halsey B. Knapp, Charles W. Laffin Jr., and Frank A. Cipriani, and demonstrates how they motivated faculty to create progressive, innovative programs, and urged them to give service to the community. The school's original mission was to provide training in agricultural science, but over time it has transformed into a comprehensive college focused on applied science and technology with a strong humanities and social science component. Now a campus of the State University of New York with nearly seven thousand students, the story of FSC is unique, one that mirrors the transformation and growth of the surrounding Long Island community.
Preface

Introduction

1. Chartering the New York State School of Agriculture on Long Island

2. Laying the Foundation

3. Albert A. Johnson, 1913–1923

4. Halsey B. Knapp, 1923–1956

5. The World War II Era

6. The Industrial-Technical Division

7. The Charles W. Laffin Jr. Years, 1961–1976

8. Dr. Frank A. Cipriani Heralds the Future, 1978–2000

9. Transition and Transformation

10. Into the Twentieth-First Century

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Local history
• History of education
• Region
• 20th century
• Tertiary education
• History of the Americas
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 05 septembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438443683
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

A sign on Melville Road, facing north, welcomes visitors to the campus, 1924. At extreme right is Hicks Hall, the Horticulture Building. At extreme left is Conklin Hall with smokestack. These original buildings still stand. FSC Archives . Unless otherwise stated, all images are from the Archives of Farmingdale State College.

Farmingdale State College
a history
F RANK J. C AVAIOLI

Front cover: The memorial oak tree with Thompson Hall in the background.
Back cover: Thompson Hall Cupola
Published by S TATE U NIVERSITY OF N EW Y ORK P RESS , A LBANY
© 2012 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
EXCELSIOR EDITIONS is an imprint of State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production and book design, Laurie Searl Marketing, Kate McDonnell
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cavaioli, Frank J.
Farmingdale State College : a history / Frank J. Cavaioli.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-4367-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Farmingdale State College—History. I. Title.
T171.F37C38 2012
607.747'245—dc23
2011042035
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Preface

T HE ONE-HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF F ARMINGDALE S TATE C OLLEGE , a campus of the State University of New York (SUNY), marks a major development in the history of Long Island and higher education, worthy of a comprehensive chronicle of the individuals and events that have made it a major institution of higher education. Chartered in 1912, it is older than SUNY, which itself was founded in 1948. This carefully researched narrative fills a void in the history of public education during the twentieth century, and later.
I hold the title of professor emeritus of history and political science at Farmingdale State College. I have been drawn to the college's history primarily because it is very much a part of local history, which has been an important interest of mine. Local history has traditionally been left to dedicated nonprofessionals who have nevertheless made valuable contributions to collecting information of community life and its citizens. Without their accomplishments, much of the past would have been lost. Vast amounts of information are now available to the professional historian to record and analyze and to bring the past to light. My commitment to local history and the history of education has led to numerous published articles dealing with the college history in the Long Island Forum and the Long Island Historical Journal , now the Long Island History Journal , as well as other aspects of the history of Long Island.
Additionally, this institutional history presents the evolving relationship between Farmingdale State College and educational establishment in Albany, New York. Scant attention has been paid to this critical relationship. The examination and analysis of an overwhelming amount of factual information will thereby offer the reader a clearer understanding of the special place Farmingdale State College has had in the pre-and post-SUNY era.
Being a mature educational institution of higher learning, the Farmingdale State College Archives, presently in the Greenley Library on campus, contain a rich mine of primary source materials that include rare original documents and images. To the historian, here was a golden opportunity to tap into this mine of materials, most of which has never before been systematically researched or recorded. Endless hours were spent in the archives gathering and analyzing the information. Additionally, interviews with past and present campus personnel complemented the archival collection.
To gain perspective, a century of growth on Long Island and in New York State has generated a fitting background for this volume. I range across the entire spectrum of Farmingdale's history in detailing with the challenges that its leaders and students confronted. In one instance, the institution's very survival was at stake. Little understood and little appreciated by the Albany bureaucracy, the college in the course of its evolution has overcome these issues to emerge as an important public asset. From its humble beginning in a rural-agrarian environment one hundred years ago to its present status as a baccalaureate-granting institution of higher learning in a postindustrial society, Farmingdale State College has taken its place as a respected institution in the twenty-first century. It is now a much appreciated and valuable unit of SUNY within the statewide higher educational system that consists of sixty-four campuses.
From another perspective, the growth of Farmingdale State College has reflected the growth and development of Long Island. Or, conversely, as the demographics of Long Island were altered, along with environmental changes, corresponding developments occurred at the college. Its history is important on its own merit, but also provides a greater understanding of Long Island history and higher education in New York State.

Acknowledgments
Many individuals have contributed to this volume. Most important is Karen A. Gelles who, as college librarian and acting archivist, has guided me to research original source materials. She has been a full participant from the beginning of this historical enterprise as researcher and guide. Her technical skills were indispensable in formatting and organizing vital sections of the manuscript.
Many respected colleagues must be mentioned for their contributions of information based on their experiences and knowledge of the college. President Frank A. Cipriani (1978–2000) was generous in providing a personal copy of his memoir, Re-Engineering SUNY Farmingdale (2008), which narrated events during his entire thirty-six-year tenure (1964–2000) on campus as professor, administrator, and president. Many hours were shared communicating directly and through email. He provided an immense amount of assistance and information, and made suggestions where necessary.
Anthony Mastroianni supplied me with insights about the unique leadership qualities of President Charles W. Laffin Jr. and President Frank A. Cipriani. I am indebted to him for sharing his knowledge resulting from more than fifty years with the college as a graduate (class of 1950), alumnus, and member of the College Council for thirty-three years.
Noel Palmer, vice president of the college's Long Island Educational Opportunity Center, was gracious to share his personal memoir, Let Each Become , which was written at the time of his retirement in 1991. It covered twenty-three years working for presidents Laffin and Cipriani, offering educational programs and counseling to minority and nontraditional students.
During the 1980s, I conducted formal interviews regarding the college's history with David W. Allee, head of the first technical division, and with professors Michael Abbatiello and Casimir Rakowski. Over the years, through other formal and informal discussions, professors Irving Levine, Ann Senyk, Raynor Wallace, Ed Ore, and Herb Zipper provided details and a general understanding of campus life. At the same time, alumna Betty Mountain shared her understanding of Director Halsey B. Knapp from a student's point of view. Fortunately, all recorded notes were saved.
Other campus personnel who contributed information more recently were professors James Friel, Lou Howard, and Russ Tuthill; and administrators Kathryn Coley, Jonathan Goldstein, James Hall, Eileen Hasson, Kevin R. Laffin, George LaRosa, and Patricia Hill Williams. Mauro S. Zulli provided insightful knowledge of the college from the perspective of professor and acting president.
William J. Johnston, historian of the Village of Farmingdale, responded to requests for information that was not available elsewhere. His knowledge of local history proved to be a valuable asset. The relationship between Farmingdale State College and the Village of Farmingdale, in which it was founded, has been a wholesome one.
A special appreciation is extended to Priscilla Tedesco Hancock for providing excerpts of her father's remembrances as a student at the Farmingdale State Institute of Applied Agriculture covering the years 1929 to 1930. Peter Tedesco benefited from his education there and went on to become a successful educator in the Farmingdale Village School District. His experience was typical of endless student achievements.
A thank you goes to Myrna Sloam of Long Island's Roslyn Bryant Library for granting permission to use the photo of Hilda Ward.
Gratitude is extended to President W. Hubert Keen for his support of this project and his permission to have access to the college archival collection and to include its images in this volume. He follows in the line of dedicated leaders who have committed themselves to the success of Farmingdale State College and who has recognized its historical importance to Long Island and to SUNY.
This book is dedicated to those faculty and administrators whose commitment to educational excellence has contributed to the evolution of Farmingdale State College as a leading institution of higher education.
—Frank J. Cavaioli, PhD
Introduction

T HE N EW Y ORK S TATE S CHOOL OF A GRICULTURE ON L ONG I SLA