Professor Robert Parmet Retires After 57 Years but Continues to Inspire
After nearly six extraordinary decades, Dr. Robert Parmet, a founding faculty member and the longest-serving professor at York College, CUNY, has retired.
After nearly six extraordinary decades, Dr. Robert Parmet, a founding faculty member and the longest-serving professor at York College, CUNY, has retired.
Despite stepping down from his full-time role, Dr. Parmet remains deeply connected to the institution he helped build. He plans to continue teaching a class in the upcoming spring 2025 semester.
A beloved History professor, Dr. Parmet is perhaps equally known for his book, “Town and Gown: The Fight for Social Justice and Urban Rebirth,” which chronicles York’s founding and its battle for survival as a senior college in Southeast Queens. The book honors the relentless efforts of President Milton G. Bassin, who, with the support of students, faculty, staff, civic leaders, and elected officials, transformed York from a temporary institution into a permanent, thriving college with a state-of-the-art campus.
Reflecting on his long career, Dr. Parmet shared how he arrived at York in 1967: “Though I had not applied for a teaching position at York College, I received a call regarding one and in September became a charter faculty member of the school; and thus, began a career that would last 57 years,” he said.

Dr. Parmet, whose passion for history and teaching is undiminished by time, recounts the early years when the faculty operated without a departmental structure, holding classes in the Oakland Gardens Jewish Center in Bayside, Queens. Faculty, including Parmet, sought to use New York City as a “laboratory” for urban reform, with Wednesdays free for activities tied to social change.
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Parmet not only dedicated himself to teaching and scholarship, including additional books, “American Nativism, 1830-1860 and Labor and Immigration in Industrial America;” and in 2005, The Master of Seventh Avenue: David Dubinsky and the American Labor Movement.” He also served in many leadership roles at York. However, it was his mentorship and classroom presence that left the most lasting impact on students.
Retired Judge George Grasso fondly recalled Dr. Parmet's enthusiasm. “He was mesmerizing and imparted a love of his subject that has always stayed with me,” said Grasso. "He made an immediate impression on me with his wit and dedication, but his energy impressed me most. I will never forget that while discussing a matter pertaining to former President Theodore Roosevelt that he became so excited that he actually leaped on top of his desk!” The distinguished alum added, “York College was a turning point in my life and it was professors like Dr. Parmet, who made it so. I wish him many happy and healthy years with his wife, Joan, and his lovely family in his retirement!”
Dr. George White, interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, described Dr. Parmet as "the living, breathing definition of a teacher/scholar" and praised his unwavering commitment to the Humanities at York College. "He is our institutional memory and a link to the dawning of the College," White said.
For more on Dr. Parmet, see his participation in the “Provost Lecture Series” on York’s founding: Provost Lecture Series - Prof. Robert Parmet