Last week I was humbled and honored to officiate my third, and last, Commencement as president of Lehman College. A record-high 3,676 undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates were conferred, breaking last year’s record number by nearly 500 degrees and certificates—a sure sign that we are on a good trajectory to 90x30. Furthermore, the composition of the class was most inspiring — out of every five graduates, three were first in their families to earn a college degree, two were born outside the United States, and one is a parent.

Despite the cloudy weather, a celebratory mood extended throughout the day among the thousands in attendance. The College’s honorary doctorate recipients—Whitfield Lovell, Ivan G. Seidenberg ’72, and Dr. Mildred García, who delivered a heartfelt and encouraging commencement address—further distinguished the event. Other speakers included Martin J. Burke, representing the CUNY Board of Trustees, and Michael W. Yackira ’72, recipient of the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award. Lourdes Bravo, who earned her college degree through Lehman’s Adult Degree Program, delivered an inspiring Graduate Address.

Congratulations to Associate Professor David Hyman from Lehman’s Department of English, named Teacher of the Year and for a job well done as the presiding master of ceremonies at Commencement; and to Associate Professor Richard Birrittella from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, who received the Adjunct of the Year Award.

Organizational Updates

Office of the President

On May 31, I was pleased to announce that Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez will recommend to CUNY’s Board of Trustees the appointment of Dr. Daniel Lemons as interim president of Lehman College, effective July 1, 2019. As I indicated in my message to our campus community, in making this decision, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez has demonstrated his appreciation for Lehman’s ascendant trajectory, the breadth and depth of Dr. Lemon’s experience within The City University of New York, and the strong campus ties Dr. Lemons has established during the past year through his service as interim dean of Academic Affairs.

As I transition into my new role as Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, I am fortunate to announce that Ms. Luz Jiménez will be joining me at CUNY Central. I’ve been privileged to have had her support during the past three years and very much look forward to working with her well into the future. As many of you know, prior to joining Lehman in 2013 as the Executive Associate to the President, Luz served as Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Research from 2008-2013 and Coordinator of Government & Community Relations from 1999-2008. Her extensive experience at Central will serve all of us well.

Administration and Finance

As I indicated in my message to the campus on May 10, Ms. Rene Rotolo has graciously agreed to serve as the interim vice president for Administration and Finance/CFO until our search for the next vice president and CFO yields a successful candidate. As you all know, Rene has ably served as the executive in charge of the Division of Administration and Finance since the untimely passing of Vice President Vincent Clark. I am confident she will continue to impress us all with her determined dedication and results-oriented leadership.

During Ms. Rotolo’s service as interim vice president of Administration and Finance/CFO, Ms. Dawn Ewing-Morgan will continue to oversee the Office of Human Resources and Ms. Susan Ebersole, vice president of Institutional Advancement, will continue to oversee the Art Gallery.

Student Affairs

In response to Vice President José Magdaleno’s upcoming retirement, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Stanley Bazile, dean of Students, as executive in charge of the Division of Student Affairs, effective July 1, 2019. In this expanded role, Dr. Bazile will report to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success, and be a member of the President’s Cabinet, the Provost’s Council, and the President’s Senior Leadership Team.

Dr. Bazile has more than 17 years of progressively responsible experience in both student and academic affairs and in both state and private colleges. Prior to joining Lehman College in 2017, he was the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Success Programs at Kingsborough Community College, where he oversaw several academic programs, the Center for Academic Success, curriculum matters, articulation agreements, and strategic planning. His previous experience includes serving as assistant dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Students Services at Cumberland County College. Dean Bazile’s portfolio includes more than 40 conference presentations and several articles on transfer students and persistence. In 2018, he was selected to participate in the CUNY-sponsored Management and Leadership Program offered by Harvard University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in History from Stony Brook University, a master of Social Work from the same institution, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Pennsylvania State University.

Financial Aid

In an effort to better align the organizational structure of Student Affairs with our institutional priorities and to further improve the quality of services we provide to our students, Provost Peter O. Nwosu has asked Dr. Reine Sarmiento, vice president, Enrollment Services, to oversee the Office of Financial Aid. She has accepted this additional responsibility.

International Programs and Community Engagement

Provost Nwosu recently charged an eight-person committee with the task of exploring ways through which the College could expand its international and service footprints while strengthening our partnerships, increasing opportunities for study abroad and study away, increasing the number of matriculated international students at Lehman College, and enhancing revenue growth for the college. As a result of the recommendations made by this committee, the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) will take on expanded responsibilities to include the International Students and Scholar Office and the Office of Community Engagement. New and Transfer Student Orientations, currently housed within the Office of Community Engagement, will remain in the Division of Student Affairs. CGE will now be renamed: the Office of International Programs and Community Engagement (IPCE).

In addition to her new role as chair of the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, Dr. Teresita Levy, director, Center for Global Engagement, will provide leadership and oversight of this office during this transitional period. Dr. Levy will report to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success, effective July 1, and will be a member of the Provost Council and the Academic Affairs Leadership Team. A well-respected scholar, Dr. Levy earned her Ph.D. in History from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and has been at Lehman since 2007. She is the author of Puerto Ricans in the Empire: Tobacco Growers and U.S. Colonialism, published by Rutgers University Press in 2014.

Institutional Accreditation

Even as this semester concluded, the hard work put into ensuring April’s positive site visit during the College’s Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) reaccreditation process continued to motivate our planning for the future. After receiving a draft report from the site visit team, I worked with Provost Nwosu, Interim Dean of Academic Affairs Lemons, and the executive committee of the MSCHE steering committee in the preparation of our institutional response, which was submitted to MSCHE on May 15. The College now awaits the determination of the MSCHE commissioners during their annual summer meeting this month. As promised, the College will share campus-wide the final evaluation report and Statement of Accreditation status after it is received.

Shared Governance

On May 1, I attended the regular meeting of the CUNY Council of Presidents (COPs), which was followed by the customary luncheon, hosted for the first time, by Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. The COPs Fiscal Affairs Committee, which I chair, met on May 6. I also attended the CUNY Board of Trustees meeting on May 7. As a representative of COPs, I attended the CUNY Board of Trustees Fiscal Affairs Committee on June 3.

At Lehman, I met with the Cabinet on May 2, and later the same day joined Provost Nwosu in a meeting with the Executive Committee of the General Faculty. I attended the General Faculty meeting on May 8. The President’s Advisory Board, comprised of the Cabinet members and deans, met on May 13. The following day I attended a meeting of the Faculty, Personnel & Budget (FP&B).

Fundraising and Friendraising

On May 3, New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi delivered the 50th Annual Herbert H. Lehman Memorial Lecture, and it was my great honor to welcome her to the College. She was among the wave of young political newcomers to win an against-all-odds victory in November 2018. In her talk, which would have made the College’s namesake proud, she outlined the Bronx roots of her public service and appealed to audience members to “step up” and fight the “deep systems of inequality and oppression.” Before giving the lecture, Biaggi met with members of Lehman’s student government.

The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI), a community-led effort to bolster the local economy in a way that benefits low-income residents, has been exploring possible partnership opportunities with the three Bronx-based CUNY institutions. On May 7, I met with Hostos Community College President David Gómez and Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe, along with Kingsborough Community College President Claudia V. Schrader, to discuss some of the ideas BCDI has proposed.

Following up on an April meeting with executives from HERE to HERE, a Bronx-based nonprofit working to create sustainable employment opportunities for young adults, I joined a conference call on May 9 that included executives from Credit Suisse to discuss developing a city-wide youth apprenticeship program. A week later, there was a meeting that included officials from HERE to HERE, CUNY, and the Borough of Manhattan Community College to further discuss this program.

Conversations at 50, a special series at Lehman that the Division of Institutional Advancement inaugurated this year, highlighted each of the College’s five different schools to increase involvement from alumni, community businesses and interested parties. The semester’s last event in the series, hosted by the School of Education, took place on May 16, and I was pleased to welcome the Lehman community members in attendance.

The Kresge Foundation invests in community-based initiatives that provide opportunities for low-income residents in cities across the country. On May 22, I participated in a conference call with some of the foundation’s executives to discuss possible partnerships.

On June 3, the Lehman College Foundation Executive Committee met in anticipation of the June 13 board meeting.

Much fundraising and friendraising centers on the strong relationships that the College has built over the years with both CUNY and elected officials. Lehman is fortunate that this support has helped advance a number of capital projects. We have received full funding for several important projects for the Lehman campus, and now public bids for bonding to finance construction will take place this fall. Those projects include the Nursing Education, Research and Practice Center; Davis Hall renovation for the Department of Social Work; Teaching & Learning Commons a.k.a. Center for Innovation in Research and Pedagogy; Campus-Wide Emergency Power Upgrade Phase I; APEX lighting upgrades; Music Building Chimney Restoration. Design work on Carman Hall for automatic vent opening replacement, as well as ceiling and lighting replacement, also received full funding.

Elevating Our Voice and Raising Our Profile

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) will soon launch a new service for its member institutions to improve student outcomes. Lehman was among the first six institutions chosen to help formulate the services to be provided. AASCU began a three-day site visit at Lehman on May 8 in this regard, and I was able to participate in several of the conversations and discussions led by the facilitators.

On May 17, I participated in a conference call with the Institute of Higher Education Policy (IHEP) board of directors, of which I am a member. Four days later, I traveled to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. a special six-hour summit meeting hosted by IHEP called “Elevating Student Voices: Advancing Equity Through College Affordability.” The opening panel discussion, “Student Stories of College Affordability,” featured four students from around the country, including Yuderka Cruceta from Lehman! (She graduated last week.) The final 35-page report from the summit included commentaries from other Lehman students as well.

I was among the four honorees at the 2019 Education Leadership Awards Reception on May 23 at the Bronx Zoo, which was hosted by the Board of Directors of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Then, I was back in Washington, D.C. on June 1 for the AASCU’s Emerging Leaders Program, and led a workshop called “Leadership Styles and Team Building.”

Celebrating Excellence

On May 3, I enjoyed a personal tour of the 2019 Annual Thesis Exhibition at the Lehman College Art Gallery in advance of the May 22 opening reception. The imaginative range of artworks from the students featured in the exhibition, all whom are graduating with bachelors and master’s degrees, is astounding. Stop in and see!

We celebrated Vice President of Student Affairs José Magdaleno and thanked him for his 26 years of service to our community of educators and learners with a goodbye party on May 13. When VP Magdaleno announced he would be retiring at the end of the semester, I’m sure there were many of us who wondered how it would be possible to fill his shoes. His experienced, passionate leadership across campus allowed Lehman students to participate in a full collegial environment, and complement their academic pursuits with a wide spectrum of extracurricular activities, enterprises, and adventures. In recognition of his dedicated and impactful service to the College, I awarded him the Presidential Medal of Honor. Thank you, José!

Lehman College concluded its year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary with a grand finale, the inaugural Springfest, on May 14. An entertaining lineup of musical artists and acts, along food concessions and different activities, helped make the day special despite some rainy weather. I was there to welcome the attendees and receive a proclamation from Tracy McDermott, a Lehman alumna who works in the office of Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., another Lehman alumnus and one of the College’s biggest supporters.

On May 28, I attended the Honors Convocation, my last as president of the College—another sentimental occasion. My emotions were lifted, though, by the company of this remarkable group of graduating Lehman students who have distinguished themselves as scholars and campus citizens.

Looking Ahead

I am looking forward to the Lehman College employee barbeque on June 13, which will give me an opportunity to greet and thank many of you for making our work together in the Bronx so meaningful and special.

Until then, I hope to see you around campus.

José Luis Cruz
@LehmanPresident

Previous messages from President Cruz can be found here.