I hope this email finds you well as I write with updates and information that you may find of interest. The week was a typically busy one, with various meetings that bode well for our campus and its operations. Interestingly, as we approach Super Bowl Sunday, the week was filled with many meetings of an athletics nature.
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of hosting Eric Shuffler, President and co-owner of the Staten Island FerryHawks, an independent minor-league baseball team that calls the Island home. We discussed prospects for partnerships, building off of our successful “CSI Nights” at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park. These included opportunities for our students to get valuable internship experiences with the club’s marketing and communications departments, broadcast rights for WSIA, and expanded relationships involving alumni, parents, and our own student-athletes. Later that day, I participated in a Zoom meeting with the NCAA to discuss challenges related to name-image-and likeness-regulations, pending Congressional legislation, and the role that college athletics can and should play on a campus. It was appropriate that these conversations took place this week, which also saw the national recognition of “Girls and Women in Sports Day” —a day that was particularly important as it coincided with word that some of our own Dolphin student-athletes were gaining national recognition. On that front, our Women’s Basketball team was recognized by the East Coast Conference for its community service activities (not to be outdone, our Men’s Baseball team was honored for its recent volunteer work with the Blue Star Families of New York), diver Jordan Swanson qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships, in Geneva, OH (if she qualifies for the Final Round, she will compete for the National Championship!) and our Women’s Bowling Club team clinched its first tournament win (with Emily Wolff taking top individual honors at the Eastern Intercollegiate Bowling Tournament last Saturday). It was also announced this week that the our Swimming and Diving team has been named to the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team for the Fall of 2023. Let’s Go Dolphins!
This week also saw the first regular meeting with the College Council Executive Committee, where we set the agenda for next week’s meeting. Among the topics we discussed were enrollment (10,250) and budget (where our expected deficit is declining daily). The week’s Student Involvement Fair and the AAPI Club and Center for Global Engagement’s Lunar New Year celebration—and a Happy Year of the Dragon to those who celebrate—were further signs that an engaging, dynamic set of student activities have made this a campus that is alive and welcoming. That feeling of belonging was echoed in conversations that I had with administrators from the NYC Department of Education, who complimented the campus for its willingness to host numerous enrichment activities, as evidenced by the parade of school buses that have been bringing young children (and perhaps future Dolphins) to our Willowbrook campus. As to the Lunar New Year, our own Ava Chin, recently featured in Smithsonian Magazine, had her award-winning Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming, named as a 2024 notable book by the American Library Association. Congratulations to Professor Chin!
This weekend brings with it the annual celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday and a much-deserved long holiday weekend. I wish you all a relaxing and restorative one. Next week brings Valentine’s Day and an opportunity to “wear red and show your love for CSI” on Wednesday. I look forward to seeing a visual manifestation of the care I know you all have for our College.
Until next time,
Timothy G. Lynch, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
