Monroe College was founded in 1933 by Mildred King as the Monroe School of Business, a women's business school, in the West Farms section of the Bronx. The school's classes were held at the site of the former Starlight Ballroom. Monroe officially transitioned from a business school to an accredited junior college in 1972 when it earned the right to grant associate degrees, and the college was renamed to Monroe Business Institute. More classrooms were added on Morris Avenue and in 1977, the West Farms facilities were closed and all Monroe programs were consolidated in the Fordham Road Area. In 1990, the name of the school was changed from The Monroe Business Institute to Monroe College after receiving accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. In the same year, the college joined the National Junior College Athletic Association. On-campus student housing was constructed at its New Rochelle, New York location in 2003. That same year it introduced new degree programs in hospitality, criminal justice, and culinary arts. It also built Milavec Hall, a building for math, English and arts classes and began construction of a 200-bed student housing building at its Main Street location in New York. Online course options for business management and administration were introduced in 2004 and an MBA program was added in 2005. In January 2017, Marc M. Jerome, who had worked at Monroe College for more than 22 years, became its fourth president.
Academics
Monroe has more than 250 full-time faculty members and adjunct faculty members, and the undergraduate student-faculty ratio is 15:1. Monroe College has three academic semesters during the 12-month calendar year. Each semester is a standard 15-week course of study. The School of Allied Health Professions was founded in 2000 and has clinical and non-clinical programs. The School of Nursing has programs such as the certificate in practical nursing program, an associate's in applied science degree program, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree that qualifies graduates to obtain their license as a registered nurse. Monroe College has an associate degree program for accounting and business administration, and bachelor's degrees in accounting, public accounting, general business and business management. The school is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs for its MBA, associate and bachelor programs as of June 2014. Monroe also has associate and bachelor's degree programs in Information Technology. Started in 2009, Monroe College's School of Hospitality Management and the Culinary Arts has associate degree programs in baking and pastry, culinary arts, and hospitality management, as well as bachelor's degrees in hospitality management. Monroe students in the culinary program prepare each item and are responsible for the restaurant's daily operations which is open. Monroe College's culinary arts program has been awarded the Marc Sarrazin Cup at the Salon of Culinary Art competition for two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014. Founded in the fall of 2011, Monroe's School of Education has a bachelor's degree program in early childhood education. Students receive training working with children at local nursery schools, daycare facilities, and special needs schools. Monroe's School of Education is also partnered with the Americorp Jumpstart Program, an early education organization that trains college students to serve preschool children in low-income neighborhoods.
Accreditation
Monroe College has been accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education since 1990. The school instituted Bachelor's programs in Accounting, Business Management, and Information Systems after authorization from the New York State Board of Regents in 1996. In 2005, the board of regents authorized the school to grant Master of Business Administration degrees in Business Management. Since January 2006, its Licensed Practical Nursing programs have been accredited by the Office of the Professions of the New York StateBoard of Regents.
Campuses
Monroe College has three main campuses:
The Bronx - The campus has been located in Fordham, Bronx neighborhood since 1967. It has seven buildings that are located near the Fordham shopping district.
New Rochelle, New York - The campus has six academic buildings including a Culinary Arts Center, which opened in 2006, and houses a student-run restaurant called The Dining Lab. In January 2011, the college completed a renovation of the former ice rink at New Roc City naming it the Monroe Athletic Complex. The Monroe Mustangs basketball and volleyball teams play on the complex's wood-floor basketball court. The complex also houses a track, locker rooms, a trainer's room and seating for fans.
Saint Lucia - The campus is located near Castries, the capital and largest city on the Caribbean island. In 2018, it opened the International Hospitality Training Institute, which offers certification programs to local residents training for entry-level hospitality and tourism jobs.
Student life
Students at Monroe College are 64 percent female and 36 percent male; about 48 percent are of black or African-American ethnicity and about 44 percent of Hispanic or South American origin. Undergraduate enrollment is 6,794 students.
Athletics
Monroe College competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association and participates in NJCAA Region XV with fourteen sports: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, football, softball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball. In 2019, the Monroe Mustangs men's soccer team won its first NJCAA Championship with an undefeated 18–0 record.
