President's Monthly Report

President’s Report and Updates

October 2022/ November 2022

Dear Campus Community,

I write to share with you my monthly report for October 2022. Before I delve into my report, I want to take this opportunity to address an important campus climate-related issue.  As some of you may know, last week there was an incident in the cafeteria involving KCC students.  As a result, one student had to be detained.  There is inaccurate information being circulated around campus about the incident, persons involved, KCC Public Safety Officers and their actions.  What I can tell you is that  no one has been dismissed from the College and the incident and all related matters continue to be investigated.  I understand that the sentiment across the country and our city regarding law enforcement officers has manifested itself in negative ways.  At KCC, our Public Safety Officers are responsible for not only ensuring the safety of every member of our college community, but ensuring that students achieve their educational goals. They will continue to be an integral part of our campus community. 

Because of the claims of racism and discrimination by students  that have emerged because of the incident, we decided to host a Town Hall tomorrow from 3pm to 4pm to have a civil discourse about these very important, yet sometimes difficult to discuss, topics.  I had the opportunity to speak with a few students from the Common Ground Student Club. I often use the opportunity of meeting with student club representatives to garner from students what is working well at KCC and what areas need improvement.  Their feedback validated my observation that while we discuss and focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as it pertains to faculty and staff, we need to do a better job of having these conversations with students. This will be a critical area of focus for the Assistant Dean for DEI and I hope (if approved) the College Council Committee on DEI.  We already have existing and incredible DEI offerings through our Student Union & Intercultural Center; Equity and Anti-racism Summit  (EARS); the Kingsborough/Sheepshead Bay Holocaust Center; and the work of the Diversity Symposium Committee.  Colleagues, I urge you to encourage students to attend and participate in these events and perhaps include it as part of your class assignments/requirements.  The work of educating students (both formally and non-formally) about racism, anti-Semitism, gender discrimination, homophobia and hate lies with all of us.

I learned earlier this week that students (from KCC and other CUNY campuses) plan to protest at the Town Hall.  I shared with students that they have the right to protest and have shared with them the Henderson Rules to Maintain Public Order, which as you know is the responsibility of every member of our college community to adhere to. https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/studentaffairs/student_conduct/henderson_rules.html. 

I also shared with them that Respect, Diversity, Integrity, Excellence, Accountability and Innovation—are not just words that we put up on columns in the Student Union & Intercultural Center (SU&IC) Breezeway, but are values we agreed to as a college community.  I look forward to hearing from students at the Town Hall. 

I am grateful that even as there are issues that threaten to sow divisiveness at our College, our community continues to come together in productive and positive ways.  Last month’s 2nd Annual Play for Pink Intramural Softball Game was one of example of this.  Over 40 players and spectators took it to the field to bring awareness to breast cancer, honor those we have lost, as well as those survivors and thrivers.  We were able to raise $1,191 for our general scholarship fund.  Special thank you to all the organizers, players, cheerleaders, and the athletics staff for an incredible day.

Get ready for Giving Tuesday/ #KCCSpirit Dayon Tuesday, November 29, 2022.  You don’t have to wait until then to make a donation. Visit https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/kccspiritday/index.html  Please note that payroll deductions have been discontinued.

The spirit of selflessness, bravery and heroism was on display at the recent screening of Unbroken: Remembering Superstorm Sandy, that recounted and chronicled the devastation witnessed and experienced by our public safety employees 10 years ago. It is with deep gratitude that I acknowledge the bravery of Specialist Anthony Ramirez, Elaine Lopez, Veronica Rodriguez, and Paul Risi that answered the call to watch over our campus during the harrowing and devastation of Superstorm Sandy, the many that were involved in KCC’s recovery and the work of Director Tonya Collins who captured powerful reflections through the stories of our brave Public Safety officers, Maritime Technology Operations and Support Manager Captain Paul Risi, former VP of Administration and Finance William Keller, Professor Jason Leggett and former president Regina Peruggi.

Last month, we had a formal celebration of the completion of the first phase of the Student Union & Intercultural Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony and were joined by KCC students, Student Life Director Helen-Margaret Nassar, former KCC President Farley Herzek, CUNY Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Denise Maybank, and State Senator Roxanne Persaud to mark the occasion. Partial funding for the renovations were made possible by Senator Persaud, who secured a $600,000 grant from Albany.

 The Search Committee for the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) presented four candidates for my review.  This month, I along with members of the Senior Staff will be meeting with candidates.  Based on our deliberations, we will invite the top candidates back to campus for an open forum with members of the college community.  As I have shared, the role of the Assistant Dean for DEI is broad and will include working with multiple constituents that make up our college community.  As such, your feedback will be considered in my deliberations and selection.  More information will be forthcoming.

 During the October 13th College Council meeting, I announced a plan for actions to be taken on the Governance Review Recommendations. I’ve since met with the Steering Committee to determine a process for engaging in next steps, and will launch a survey to solicit college-wide interest and input in serving on the seven Governance Review Adhoc Committees (GRAC) to include: 

  1. Committee on Elections GRAC (To work collaboratively with existing Legislative Committee)
  2. Parliamentarian GRAC
  3. Students Committee GRAC (To work collaboratively with existing Committee on Students)
  4. Constitutional Committee GRAC
  5. Shared Governance GRAC
  6. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion GRAC
  7. Facilities GRAC

 A separate memoranda with descriptions of the GRACs along with a sign-up sheet and timeline will be shared shortly.

In October, we welcomed new staff to our community and in November, gathered to recognize over 175 staff that have been a service to our college for ten to fifty years. It is with great appreciation that I thank all of the honorees for your service and dedication.  Congratulations on 50 years at KCC to William Browne, a thermostat repairer in Buildings and Grounds. 

 Sense of Belong Award recipients hosted a number of events over the past several weeks.  I am grateful for their efforts in creating events and activities that will connect them to students and provide students with a greater sense of belonging.

Registration for the fall semester is underway.  Currently we are 44% ahead of where we were last year at this time with 1,117 continuing students, compared to 667 last fall.  We must continue to encourage current students to register early to secure their classes.  For those who anticipate that they will graduate in June, the Division of Enrollment Management/ Office of the Registrar has kicked off  “Class of 2023 Loading,” a new series of information sessions designed to provide outreach and advisement to this cohort of students so that they can ensure they meet with their advisors and are taking the classes they need to complete their studies.   In addition, to support Spring Registration efforts, a series of online tutorials/workshops designed to introduce and teach student how to use the Schedule Builder software to design their schedules will further support students’ ability (one they need as they transfer to four year schools) to take ownership of this critical responsibility.

Marketing efforts to attract a robust freshman class  and transfer students to the college are underway.  New digital, cable, print and OTT (“over the top” or streaming) advertising campaigns, along with email and direct mail campaigns are launching soon.  Also, over the past few months, the Division of Communication and Marketing has rolled out a number of mini program-based social media videos for Culinary Arts, EMT, Polysomnographic Technology, Surgical Technology, Community Health, Exercise Science, Physical Therapist Assistant, Maritime and Theatre Arts. Videos of additional programs are under development.  The Division also launched a new series highlighting alumni and promoting the College.  We had the pleasure of having Mickie Driscoll star in a soft launch of KCC Made.  You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/0eRZci_2xgQ.

Finally, in October with the help of AVP Hussain and his team, we launched Signal Vine, a 2-way texting platform.  With it, we are able to send text messages to students and they will be able to respond.   Students have the opportunity to opt out of receiving text messages.  The Office of Institutional Research and Strategic Planning will maintain oversight of the tool and how we use information from it to inform our practices.

For our inaugural launch, we issued a Pulse Survey to get a sense of the student’s KCC experience.  We asked students to tell us three things they liked about KCC; 8,192 students received the text message (193) opted out of receiving further messages; 405 students responded; and 945 words were shared.  The descriptive words that were shared the most were:  helpful (47); support (36); fun (29); care (28); welcoming (28); and diverse (27).

The Division of Communication and Marketing is currently working on a Registration Reminder video based on the feedback we received. 

This feedback is not surprising, but it is validating.  We all know the special place that Kingsborough is and the equally as special people who work here and who are committed to the success of our students. 

Thank you for all that you do.

Claudia V. Schrader, Ed.D.
President
Kingsborough Community College