the first student government in the nation, was formed. Having struggled over the issue for ten years, in 1895, the New York State Legislature voted to let the City College build a new campus. A four-square block site was chosen, located at West Harlem's Manhattanville, within the area which was enclosed by the North Campus Arches; the college, however, quickly expanded north of the Arches.
Like President Webster, the second president of the newly renamed City College was a West Point graduate. The second president, General Alexander S. Webb (1835–1911), assumed office in 1869, serving for almost the next three decades. One of the Union Army's heroes at Gettysburg, General Webb was the commander of the Philadelphia Brigade. In 1891, while still president of the City College, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism at Gettysburg. A full-length statue of Webb, in full military uniform, stands in his honor at the heart of the campus.
The college's curriculum under Webster and Webb combined …
