President's Monthly Report

President’s Monthly Report May 2023 

Dear College Community,

Before I delve into my monthly report, I want to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of Jewish Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Military Personnel to our society and to our community. I also want to highlight and applaud the accomplishments of our KCC Wave Baseball team on winning the CUNY Athletics Championship and the first Region 15 Tournament title in the history of the Kingsborough baseball program. We look forward to a special celebration of their accomplishments in the coming weeks.

Now an update on our progress with college governance. On May 11, the College Council Steering Committee members Daniel Kane, Mary Dawson and John Acosta held an open-to-the-College meeting with GRACs to discuss how they can improve their GRAC recommendations using a new framework presented by the Parliamentarian GRAC.  While I was invited to join this meeting, I excused myself to allow for a discussion without the presence of the President. During the scheduled Steering Committee meeting, that occurred after the open meeting, I was briefed on the outcomes and recommendations that resulted in what I understand was a meeting that pulled back the onion and concluded with consensus that the College Council Constitution that was established in 1971 would need to be reviewed and revised in order to bring both the College’s Shared Governance plan and Constitution into alignment and address dated and, in some cases, vague language. The meeting also highlighted that the necessary and important work of the GRAC Ad Hoc committees and their role in uncovering areas of the Constitution that will need to be addressed and recommendations to be incorporated as being invaluable to the process. It is expected that the outcomes and recommendations of the meeting will result in further discussion in our upcoming College Council meeting for June 6, 2023 at 3pm in U219.

We have been informed that the COVID vaccination and testing protocols instituted by CUNY will end on June 16 for Kingsborough and fellow 12/6 schools. While the testing center hours of operation raised concerns for our community, I want to thank the work of several in engaging with CUNY leadership in making sure the reductions of hours and transition didn’t result in a disruption to campus access for students, staff and faculty. As we prepare for the ending of COVID related mandates and the sunsetting of the Cleared4 App, I encourage everyone to continue to stay safe and make the adjustment as we transition into making sure that we present our KCC issued IDs to the officers responsible for keeping our community and campus safe, as we enter campus.

‘Tis the season that brings great excitement, as we host end-of-year student exhibitions and share acknowledgements and accolades of student achievements from our Spring 2023 student theater performance of Big Love. And it is our Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society Induction Ceremony where I continue to be in awe of the tenacity and accomplishments of our students’ creativity, talents and scholarship.  I am most appreciative to the faculty and staff that commit to teach, mentor and support learning, growth and achievement of our students. I was especially moved by the speech given by the Phi Theta Kappa President Nawel Messaoudi, who shared her journey and persistence in gaining admissions to KCC, and her accomplishments earned during her time at KCC that includes begin a presidential scholar; dean’s list scholar; All-USA Academic Team Biological Department awardee for 2023; CRSP best research scholar; and a Finch College Dr. Margaret Maxwell, a Joseph Hinkley, and a Belle Zeller scholarship recipient. I also had the opportunity to have met with our 2023 Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Lavender Graduation student speaker, and look forward to them sharing their journey at Commencement, Awards Night, and Lavender Graduation respectively. It is through our students that our core mission and values live, what our community means to and for our students and why KCC remains an institution where dreams begin. I am excited and looking forward to the ceremonies, awards, recognition and celebrations that we will bestow upon our students over the next few weeks culminating with my greatest honor, the conferral of degrees during our 58th Commencement exercises on June 21st at 11am. Please join in honoring our students at the following events;

  • Dean’s List Ceremony (6/5)
  • Nursing Pinning Ceremony (6/15)
  • Lavender Graduation on Tuesday (6/13)
  • Awards Ceremony on Wednesday (6/20)
  • Commencement this coming Thursday (6/21)

Wishing everyone an enjoyable and safe summer. Thank you for your tireless efforts and dedication to our students and our college

-Schrader