President's Monthly Report

President's November 2023 Report/ December 2023 Update

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

President’s Report

November 2023 Report/ December 2023 Update

As we continue to seek out ways to build a community of respect, inclusion and belonging, I am proud to share that we have been awarded a multi-year CUNY anti-hate grant, with an allocation of $24,000 in AY 2023-24. This year’s funding will advance our efforts in addressing antisemitism and anti-AAPI hate.  Helen-Margaret Nassar, Director of the Student Union and Intercultural Center and Lisa Khandhar, Chief Diversity Officer will lead these efforts. Thank you to the staff and faculty that answered the call, and submitted proposals for our Sense of Belonging Initiative. I am excited to have approved 15 grants that represent a wide range of projects and activities that will positively impact student success, retention and cultivating a strong sense of belonging for our students.  

Join me is congratulating our 2024 Sense of Belonging Grant Awardees:

  Michael Palladino, The 3 R's Initiative: RECLAIM REIMAGINE REPURPOSE, Business

  Midori Yamamura, Zero Waste Kingsborough; a 2024 PTK/AtD College Project, Art and PTK Advisor

  Robert Schenck, The Earth & Planetary Sciences Organization, Physical Sciences

  Michael Rodriguez, Be A Part, Student Affairs/Men’s Resource Center

  Faith Fogelman, Validating Linguistic Diversity, Student Affairs/TRiO

 Pittershawn Palmer, Your Words Matter: Writing/Speaking Your KCC Experience, Communications and Marketing

  William Park, Here Are Our Stories: International Students, Enrollment Management/Admissions Information Center

  Laura Spinu, The Kingsborough Collaborative Research Bootcamp (K-CORE): creating a research community for our students, Communications & Performing Arts

  Beata Monsanto, Surgical Technology Outreach Program for New York City High Schools (Surgical Technologist Futures), Allied Health, Mental Health & Human Services 

  Lili Shi, Digital Family Oral History Project, Communications & Performing Arts

  Julie Turley, KCC Library Silent Book Club, Library

  Karen Colombo, Novice Nursing Student Identity Formation Bootcamp, Nursing

  Nancy Sanchez Badillo, "Once a KCC Student, Always a KCC Alumni, Institutional Advancement 

  Ivana Espinet, Banned Books and Art Making, Behavioral Sciences

  Hope Parisi, Building Inclusive Syllabi for Sense of Belonging in Freshman Writing, English

Project descriptions can be found at https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/presidentoffice/Sense-of-Belonging-Initiative.html.

We are making good progress with our Middle States Self Study preparation.  Thank you to the working groups, chairs, and to all of you as this work requires us to take a deep dive into all facets of our institution and engage all stakeholders. Last week, a small team from KCC (Provost Russell, Gordon Alley-Young, Colleen Davy, Andres Escobar, Jonathan Cavalieri and Ann Del Principe) attended the Middle States annual conference in Philadelphia.  I was also honored to serve as a panelist for the closing plenary: “Transforming the Student Experience: A Fireside Chat.”

Last week, the College’s annual Faculty and Staff survey was launched.  Please take a few minutes (it should take no more than 10 minutes) to complete the survey by copying and pasting the following into your browser. https://kingsborough.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dbDk7gPBpbBKX0G?Q_DL=UfQiwWAXTWTxX78_dbDk7gPBpbBKX0G_CGC_gpBbpd8Qa5Wbl3p&Q_CHL=email
We ask that you please complete the survey no later than Friday, December 29.

Thank you to the department faculty, the Curriculum Committee and members of College Council for their efforts to enhance curricular offerings. Some of the changes proposed includes an LPN to RN bridge course, the addition of Math, Surgical Technology and Allied Health, Mental Health and Human Services courses, and the addition of four new concentrations.  More details can be found here.

Finally, thank you to the Division of Institutional Advancement, team captains, participants and all those who cheered on the sidelines for an uplifting Spirit Day and a wonderful Giving/CUNY Tuesday.  We not only enjoyed an afternoon of fun, community building and competition to play “NYC Street Games”, but we exceeded our fundraising goal of $50,000 and raised $59,899. A special thank you to our sponsors, MetroPlusHealth, Crunch Fitness, Foster Maaz Pharmacy, KCC faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, KCC Foundation Board of Directors, and friends for your generosity that will go a long way to help many students achieve their academic goals through removing financial barriers. 

Congratulations to all of the winners; Team Crime Fighters who tied it up with Team Student First but won the tiebreaker to win the Golden Megaphone; Team PolymeRacers of Biological Sciences for winning the Creative Spirit award for their impressive cake featuring KCC buildings, light house, Shimoda, boat and so many intricate highlights of what makes KCC a special place; and finally…drum roll please…our 2023 fundraising winners Team Cluster Busters, led by Judy Cohen, that raised $5,896.  I was also excited and proud to see our very own students from the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, under the lead of Professor Juan Franquiz, facilitating the various game stations, sharing in laughter, and egging us on to make Spirit Day that much more special. 

I hope to see you all at the Holiday Party next week.  Wishing everyone a joyous and peaceful holiday season and end of year!

 -President Schrader