Our History
The Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education was established in 1981 by The City College of The City University of New York (CUNY) in collaboration with public employee unions. The Center is a division of the City College of CUNY located at 138th Street and Convent Avenue in Manhattan. The Center has approximately 550 students in attendance and offers over 170 courses each year. The average class size is about 25 students and our students’ average age is 30. The Division has graduated over 4,000 students, including four City College valedictorians and one salutatorian
Mission Statement
The primary mission of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education (CWE) is to provide an excellent education to working adults from New York City and surrounding regions. CWE offers an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree, a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education, and a number of certificate programs. CWE serves a population that would be otherwise underserved by the college, and its courses and educational programs are specifically designed for students whose access to higher education may have been limited or interrupted due to financial limitations, work responsibilities, and family obligations.
A spirit of open inquiry, curricular innovation, and academic integrity are linchpins of the CWE mission. Equally important are respect for diversity among faculty, staff and students, and a continuous search for our common ground as learners, teachers, and scholars. In providing its program, CWE seeks mutually beneficial relationships with labor unions, community-based organizations, city agencies, and employers in both the non-profit and private sectors who share our educational mission. With a dual focus on excellence and access, and by reaching out to the community, CWE aims to be a positive force in lower Manhattan and in the New York metropolitan area.
Timeline
1981: CLAS Approval; program at 14th St. & Federal Plaza
1984: External & Internal Review; CLAS program approval
1985: ECE Program approval; move of half of program to 99 Hudson St.
1991: Tenth (10th) year in operation
1995: Sixth (6th) floor added at 99 Hudson; all classes taught there
1997: Proposal to increase enrollment to 1000 Students
2001: Twentieth (20th) year in operation
2003: NCATE review of ECE
2005: New Faculty. City Council Funding, Division Status; External review
2006: Twenty fifth (25th) Anniversary
2009: Renamed the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education
2010: MA in Study of the Americas launched in the spring
2016: Thirty fifth (35th) Anniversary
2016: BA/MA program launched
Last Updated: 12/10/2020 12:40