Editing Hunter College (section)

===Founding===
[[File:Normal College of Women 801201.png|thumb|left|New York Normal College seen from Park Avenue (1874); drawing from a photo by [[George G. Rockwood]]]]
Hunter College originates from the 19th-century movement for [[Normal school|normal school training for teachers]] which swept across the United States. Hunter descends from the '''Female Normal and High School''', established in New York City in 1870. It was founded by Thomas Hunter from [[Ardglass]] in [[County Down]], who was an [[exile]] from Ireland because of his [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] beliefs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Farr |first1=Mary |title=Thomas Hunter |journal=Lecale Review |date=2009 |volume=7}}</ref> The Normal School was one of several institutions occupying a site that the New York City government had reserved for "institutions serving a public purpose".<ref name=":0" /> Hunter was president of the school during the first 37 years. It was originally a [[Women's colleges in the United States|women's college]] for training teachers. The school, which was housed in an armory and saddle store at [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and East [[4th Street (Manhattan)|Fourth Street]] in [[Manhattan]], was open to all qualified women, irrespective of race, religion or ethnic background. At the time most women's colleges had racial or ethno-religious admissions criteria.

Created by the New York State Legislature, Hunter was deemed the only approved institution for those seeking to teach in New York City. The school incorporated an elementary and high school for [[gifted children]], where students practiced teaching. In 1887, a [[kindergarten]] was established as well. (Today, the [[Hunter College Elementary School|elementary school]] and the [[Hunter College High School|high school]] still exist at a different location, and are now called the Hunter College Campus Schools.)

[[File:Helen Campbell studying radio science at Hunter College LC-DIG-ggbain-24344.tif|thumb|Student Helen Campbell studying radio science in a program started at Hunter College in 1917 by the [[National League for Women's Service]] to train female radio operators during [[World War I]].]]

During Thomas Hunter's tenure as president of the school, Hunter became known for its impartiality regarding race, religion, ethnicity, financial or political favoritism; its pursuit of higher education for women; its high entry requirements; and its rigorous academics. The first female professor at the school, [[Helen Gray Cone]], was elected to the position in 1899.<ref>{{cite news|title=Young Women Graduated|date=June 23, 1899|work=The New York Times}}</ref> The college's student population quickly expanded, and the college subsequently moved uptown, in 1873, into a new red brick [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] structure facing Park Avenue between 68th and 69th Streets.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=February 29, 2004 |title=Streetscapes/Hunter College on 68th Street and Park Avenue; Industrial-Style Main Building Raised Storm in 1940 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/realestate/streetscapes-hunter-college-68th-street-park-avenue-industrial-style-main.html |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> It was one of several public institutions built at the time on a [[Lenox Hill]] lot that had been set aside by the city for a park, before the creation of [[Central Park]].<ref>{{cite web |date=February 4, 1912 |title=Types of Artistic Manhattan Residences Predominate in Old Yorkville District |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/02/04/archives/article-19-no-title.html |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> After the park in Lenox Hill was canceled, the plots were leased to institutions like Hunter College.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=October 12, 2012 |title=Seventh Regiment Armory/Streetscapes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/realestate/seventh-regiment-armory-streetscapes-a-battle-ax-gets-a-face-lift.html |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1888, the school was incorporated as a college under the statutes of New York State, taking on the name '''Normal College of the City of New York''', with the power to confer [[Bachelor of Arts]] degrees. This led to the separation of the school into two "camps": the "Normals", who pursued a four-year course of study to become licensed teachers, and the "Academics", who sought non-teaching professions and the Bachelor of Arts degree. After 1902 when the "Normal" course of study was abolished, the "Academic" course became standard across the student body.