
Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
community college
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
in
Selden, New York. It is part of the
State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
(SUNY) system and is funded in part by
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...
. Suffolk County Community College was founded in 1959 and has three campuses: Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. It also has a satellite center in downtown Riverhead.
The school was founded largely through the efforts of Albert Ammerman who was the college's president from its founding in December 1959 until 1983. In its first year it had 13 faculty with 171 full-time students at the
Sachem High School in Ronkonkoma and 335 part-time students at
Riverhead High School until what is now called the Ammerman campus opened in 1962 in the former Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium (originally built in 1912). By 1977 it had opened a campus in Riverhead and one on the edge of the
Pilgrim Psychiatric Center
Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, formerly known as Pilgrim State Hospital, is a state-run psychiatric hospital located in Brentwood, New York. Nine months after its official opening in 1931, the hospital's patient population was 2,018, as compared wi ...
in Brentwood.
Academics
The college offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree, as well as a variety of certificate programs. Many students transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete their baccalaureate degree after attending SCCC. Suffolk is now also partnered with
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
through the Pathways to Success Program which allows transfers directly into Cornell degree programs. Suffolk is also partnered with
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...
and typically allows students with a 3.0 GPA and 24 credit hours to transfer.
Campuses
Ammerman Campus
The Ammerman campus at
Selden opened in 1961. It is the largest, first, and main campus of Suffolk County Community College. Located off of
Nicolls Road, it has become a landmark of
Suffolk County. The main campus is the home to the majority of the sports teams as well. The site was previously a tuberculosis sanitarium.
Only two of the sanitorium's buildings remain (both of which were built by the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
in the 1930s)—Ammerman Building (the former William Hugh Ross Building for male patients) and Kreiling Hall (the former J.H. Marshall Building for children). School officials deny a persistent rumor that the basement of the Kreiling Hall was used as a morgue noting that the walk-in refrigerators there were used for a cafeteria. As of 2008 only three of the 10,000
Norway spruce
''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very clo ...
and
Scotch pine trees that landscaped the sanitarium's grounds remain.
Eastern Campus
The Eastern campus at
Riverhead (actually in the hamlet of
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
in the
Town of Southampton with a Riverhead postal address)
[Bleyer, Bill]
"List of Geographical Misnomers"
''Newsday''. Retrieved 2021-09-29. opened in 1977 on Speonk-Riverhead Road (
CR 88), next to Riverhead-Moriches Road (
CR 51). The Eastern campus is the college's smallest. The Eastern campus has hiking trails that are utilized by some athletic courses.
Michael J. Grant Campus
The Michael J. Grant campus at
Brentwood opened in 1974 and is the college's fastest growing. Bordered by Wicks Road, Community College Drive, and Crooked Hill Road (
CR 13), the Grant campus is the sole home of the lacrosse, men's & women's track & field, men's & women's bowling, and men's & women's indoor track teams.
Downtown Sayville
The Sayville Downtown Center opened in 2006 and closed in 2023.
Downtown Riverhead
This satellite center is home to The Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center. It opened in 2008. The campus features a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch.
Athletics

The college's athletics program is a component of the college's co-curricular offerings. SCCC is a member of the
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...
. Athletics take place on both the Ammerman and Grant campuses. Men's Intercollegiate sports teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis. Women's teams include soccer, basketball, cheerleading (co-ed), dance (co-ed), cross-country, swimming, softball, tennis, and volleyball. In addition, the office coordinates an intramural program for men and women.
In the 2003 the men's basketball team won the
NJCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship and the women's basketball team won the
NJCAA Women's Basketball Division III Championship. The men repeated as champs in 2004.
In 2005 the women's soccer team was formed, where they placed first during the regular season in division III, region 15. Five members of the team made all region first team players- Angela F. Merante, DiAnna G. Dezego, Jaclyn A. Ciamillo, Jacqueline Papile, and Vanessa Thompson. Komi Afeto, their coach, was named coach of the year.
Art galleries
Suffolk County Community College has student exhibition galleries on each of its three main campuses. The gallery on the Ammerman Campus is the Maurice N. Flecker Memorial Gallery, located in the Southampton Building. The Lyceum Gallery, on the Eastern Campus features local and regional artists as well as student works. Gallery West,
is located on The Michael J.Grant Campus and features an annual regional high school exhibition as well as student work.
Honor societies
SCCC has two honor societies,
Phi Theta Kappa (ΦΘΚ) and
Alpha Beta Gamma (ΑΒΓ).
Phi Theta Kappa (ΦΘΚ)
PTK membership is based primarily upon academic achievement.
Local Chapters:
*Ammerman Campus-Alpha Zeta Nu (ΑΖΝ)
*Eastern Campus-Alpha Eta Psi (ΑΗΨ)
*Michael J. Grant Campus-Alpha Delta Gamma (ΑΔΓ)
Alpha Beta Gamma (ΑΒΓ)
ABG is an international business honor society established in 1970 to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students in business curricula.
Local Chapters:
*Ammerman Campus-Chi (Χ)
*Eastern Campus-Beta Alpha (ΒΑ)
*Grant Campus-Mu (Μ)
Notable people
Faculty
*
Maury Dean, Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame author (former)
*
Thomas Woods
Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. (born August 1, 1972) is an American author, podcast host, and libertarian commentator who is currently a senior fellow at the Mises Institute.Naji FilaliInterview with Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Harvard Political Review, A ...
, historian (former)
Alumni
*
John Bolaris, television meteorologist and realtor
*
Danny Burawa, major league baseball pitcher
*
Joe DeStefano, member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
*
Patricia Eddington, former member of the New York State Assembly
*
Robert L. Gibson, former NASA astronaut
*
Sal Governale, writer for ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
'' (attended for one year)
*
Tom Postilio, real estate broker and television personality
*
Cletus Seldin, champion boxer
See also
*
Long Island Shakespeare Festival
References
External links
*
Official athletics website
{{authority control
Two-year colleges in the United States
Brookhaven, New York
Islip (town), New York
Riverhead (town), New York
Universities and colleges established in 1959
Works Progress Administration in New York (state)
Universities and colleges in Suffolk County, New York
NJCAA schools
1959 establishments in New York (state)
Community colleges in New York (state)