Dear College Community,
It’s hard to believe we are a mere 38 days away from Commencement Day! As much as this time of year is a celebration of the accomplishments of our students, it is also a time for you as faculty and staff to savor the fruits of your teaching, mentoring and support of our students. Kudos to you all!
Staff Updates
Per the recent staff update from Human Resources, Eduardo Rios has joined York as the VP for Administration and Finance. He has already started making his rounds, attending meetings, and getting a lay of the land. As I have shared previously, Ed is a welcomed and needed addition during these challenging fiscal times. He is a seasoned administrator with experience at City College, the Graduate Center, the College of Staten Island and Kingsborough. Most of all, he understands our mission and will work as a partner to achieve our goal of student success and optimal graduate outcomes. He can be reached at erios9@PROTECTED.
Thank you to VP Claudio Lindow for his steady leadership over the past few months. In my time here, he has consistently worked to address many issues. Even in the most challenging circumstances, he kept his cool and kept his focus on positive collaboration and addressing and resolving issues at hand. VP Lindow will be returning to his role as CIO. Please join me in thanking him.
Enrollment
While we have an entire division dedicated to recruiting and enrolling students, we all play a role in attracting and retaining students. We recently purchased four radio ads on 94.7FM The Block, promoting our Summer Session as well as our Liberal Arts, Health Sciences and Graduate programs, and we are in the process of finalizing the designs for the banners, which will hang on the peripheral gates of the campus. I am also doing my part as last week I gassed up the Welcome Wagon and, with Anthony Davis, our Director of Admissions by my side, welcomed Omdai, Simi and Mia, three excited incoming first-year students to York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVRfmLRYXF0. They are registered for the fall and ready for their futures as a doctor, accountant and nurse to take flight.
Increasing and stabilizing enrollment are two of my key priorities, thus we are constantly reviewing data and our processes to add improvements. To this end, and in an effort to better support college enrollment efforts and increase the synergy between the processes of enrollment and advisement, the Academic Advisement unit will now report to VP Karen Williams in the Division of Enrollment Management. Provost Derrick Brazil will continue to work collaboratively with VP Williams. There will be no change in the current configuration of advisement responsibilities.
New Students (Undeclared) – Academic Advising
New Students (Declared) – Academic Advising
Returning Students (Undeclared) – Academic Advising
Returning Students (Declared) – Departments
As you know, our fiscal deficit, as well as how we address it, has been high on the priority list for a few months (as it should be); I need us to bring that same energy to address the enrollment deficit we have been experiencing, as we work together to attract and retain students. With the final weeks of the semester upon us, we need to seize upon this time -- prior to final exams and the distraction of summer fun -- to advise as many of our continuing students as possible. This provides students ample time to make payment arrangements as needed and prepare for the start of the semester. Waiting until August to do a mad dash to the finish line to get students advised and registered for the fall gets us nowhere; it gets classes canceled for low enrollment, it gets students frustrated, it puts students further away from their goal of completion, it gets faculty frustrated, and it gets staff frustrated as well. Just like the American Express motto “Don’t leave home without it,” we should not let our continuing students leave for the summer without being advised and registered for their classes.
Assessment
Last week, AVP Lori Ann Hoeffner unveiled the conceptual framework for assessment at York. https://www.york.cuny.edu/institutional-effectiveness/assessment?activeAccordion=06ca0853-351f-475b-8765-b89c6e859b7b Fittingly at our 4th Annual Assessment Celebration last week, Dr. Timothy Paglione, Dr. Thitima Srivatauakul, and Chief James Assmann also made an I.M.P.A.C.T with their presentations of assessment activities in the areas of General Education, Math and Computer Science, and Public Safety. Planning is under way for our MSCHE Self Study and we are gearing up to engage in our annual reporting as part of our CUNY Performance Management Process.
Community Engagement
Since my last update, I’ve had the opportunity to attend Borough President Donovan Richard’s State of the Borough Address. Queens is in full bloom and there are lots of opportunities especially in the growing green economy that await our students and graduates. I attended my first JFK Redevelopment Community Advisory Council (JFKRCAC) quarterly meeting. As a newbie and new co-chair of the Education Committee alongside Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman, I can say that the meeting served as an excellent orientation for me. In addition, I got to see two of our alums, Rachelle Antoine and Akshar Patel who serve as managers for the External Affairs & Community Outreach for the JFK Redevelopment project in action. You would all be proud of their efforts and leadership. As you know, York College was awarded $3 million through the JFKRCAC for the JFKR Aviation, Aeronautics Academy at York College. Last week we graduated our second cohort. A special thank you to Dr. Nazrul Khandaker and Dr. Fenio Annansingh-Jamieson who serve as the project’s faculty co-directors.
Finally, over the past few weeks, several students, faculty, staff and alumni have shared so much with me about York and their experiences here. Most of the experiences they shared were good, but some of it disheartening, especially the parts about lack of collegiality and respect. We must do better because how we engage with each other, affects morale and the work we are called to do. I value everyone and every voice in this village -- those who work behind desks, in front of classrooms, with brooms in their hands and with backpacks on their shoulders -- and I call you all to do the same.
Administrative Professional’s Day is Wednesday, April 24. If students are the heart of the institution, then our administrative staff are certainly the backbone. They are the epitome of support and are on the front line of service to our students. My office will be hosting a special brunch for our administrative professionals as a small token of our great appreciation for all that they do.
I also look forward to our Years of Service Celebration on May 2nd. I hope you can join us as we acknowledge staff for their service over the past 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 milestone years of service. As this event has not been hosted since 2020, those celebrating 36 – 56 years of service will also be honored.
Colleagues, please join me in offering:
Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues on the passing of Dr. Leslie A. Lewis, professor emeritus. Dr. Lewis served as a biology professor at York College/CUNY for nearly 40 years.
Congratulations to Community Health! The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) has granted accreditation to York College for the Bachelor of Science Program Public Health: Community Health. It is the first undergraduate program in public health program at CUNY and the first accredited Baccalaureate program.
Congratulations to the Department of Teacher Education for their $1 million award from Gov. Kathy Hochul for the development of the Paraprofessional Upskilling Program to transition paraprofessionals in Bilingual and English as a New Language classrooms into fully certified teachers in those fields; and
Congratulations to Donna Chirico for her election to the University Faculty Senate!
I hope you had a blessed Eid and, I wish all those who observe, a Joyous Passover!