Affirmative Action for Italian Americans

Abstract

On December 9, 1976, the Chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY), Robert J. Kibbee, took the unprecedented action of “designating Italian Americans as an affirmative action category for the University in addition to those so categorized under existing federal statutes and regulations”¹ Why did the CUNY chancellor take this action at that time, and what has it meant for Italian Americans at the City University of New York, then and now? In order to understand the chancellor’s motives, we will examine a number of factors: (1) the role and function of The City University of New York in relation to emerging groups historically; (2) the effect of the Civil Rights movement on Italian Americans; (3) institutional racism in the academy; and, finally (4) the governance and financing of CUNY.