As the calendar turns to May, I write with updates and information that you may find of interest. Since my last communication, the campus has been particularly lively and busy—a sure sign that the spring semester is well underway and that Commencement and the end of the term is fast approaching!
Last week, I had the great pleasure to host Executive Vice Chancellor and University Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista to campus for a meeting with senior administrators. We had a far-ranging conversation that covered capital planning, facilities projects, and the state of our budget. You may have noticed a spate of activity as we broke ground on our athletic fields—in no short time, we will have a new artificial turf soccer pitch, and by the fall, our softball and baseball facilities will be similarly improved. This exciting news was delivered by the EVC himself over lunch with some of our student-athletes, with whom the COO was suitably impressed. Thank you to Athletic Director Matt Scally for assembling such an amazing group of representatives! The improvements will allow our D2 Dolphins even more opportunity to shine: their individual and collective success was on display last week at the annual Hometown Heroes game (many thanks to coach Mike Mauro for spearheading this) and at the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association awards ceremony where senior Women’s Basketball star Jenalyse Alarcon was awarded Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and Women’s Head Basketball Coach Nicole Sarcone was recognized as coach of the year! Congratulations!
The week also saw our monthly College Council and Faculty Senate meetings, where our new Strategic Plan, Bridge to Success, was approved (unanimously) by both bodies. I look forward to seeing the results of this visionary document and to the hard, important work that will allow us to move “from aspiration to operation.” Many thanks to all who participated in the process and who contributed to the final document. That evening also saw our annual Spring into Giving gala: although the final tabulations are still being worked out, preliminary accounts suggest that this was our most successful fundraising event ever! Congratulations to the team in Institutional Advancement for all the work that went on behind the scenes to make this vision a reality.
Speaking of success, last weekend saw more than 800 (!!) persons attend our Admitted Students Day event—one of our largest gatherings in recent memory—and our preliminary enrollment numbers for Fall 2025 appear strong. Our retention targets and our new student goals are ambitious but realizable and we are clearly capitalizing on our reputation as a top-notch, affordable, and student-centered institution. I am excited by how far we have come and by where we are headed. I am grateful for all who participated, not just in Sunday’s event, but around the year to make our campus and its programs so desirable to prospective and current students. This appreciation formed the basis of my remarks at our annual Administrative Professional’s Day breakfast, where I was pleased and proud to speak to so many who make our campus run smoother, and who make our lives and jobs easier every day (a special shout out to the best of the best, Rosemary Vitale!).
This week was equally affirming and rewarding. On Monday, I hosted Dr. Daniel J. Messina, President and Chief Executive Officer of Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) and members of his executive team to formalize an expanded partnership centered on clinical placements, internships, and community health programming. The Letter of Intent that we signed is a harbinger of things to come as we work with one of the premier healthcare providers in the Borough for the betterment of our students and our community. This meeting was followed by a pair of CUNY Board of Trustee committee meetings, where long-overdue changes to our College Governance Plan were finally and formally approved. Many thanks to the members of our Bylaws Committee for getting us to this point. The lateness of that evening prevented my attending a scholarship dinner hosted by Hillel International and the United Negro College Fund at John Jay College, but I and members of our campus spent the following day in a six-hour training session co-hosted by CUNY and Hillel that focused on improving campus climate for students, faculty, and staff. It was a wonderful experience and I intend to apply many of the concepts and theories we discussed on a broad range of fronts.
The week also saw our annual Undergraduate Conference on Research, Scholarship, and the Arts, with performances, presentations, and displays by more than 100 students (mentored by several dozen faculty members from each school and division). The Conference is one of the highlights of our academic year and demonstrates the high quality of our programs and the dedication of our faculty members. Many thanks to Associate Provost Laxmi Ramasubramanian and her team for all the work that went into planning and organizing this event, and to the many faculty and staff who allowed us to show off the very best of our student work. Later that same day, and as a further demonstration of our role as Borough steward, we hosted the Borough President’s Health Fair in 1R—this is yet another way in which we cemented our claim as the true academic, artistic, and community center for the Island.
As another example of our leadership, today the campus hosted an event with the Office of Persons with Developmental Disabilities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Willowbrook Consent Decree, an important milestone in the civil rights movement for persons with cognitive, developmental, and intellectual disabilities. Elected officials, CUNY administrators, and representatives from across the region gathered here at Willowbrook to acknowledge the important work that occurred here and to celebrate the announcement of exciting projects (such as an expanded Museum of Disability History and archival collection, and important initiatives with the OPWDD) that will further allow us to continue this important work as we acknowledge our legacy of place and stewardship of this important site.
The busy week concludes with our inaugural 5K run/walk/party in honor of our friend and former colleague Jodi Merendino. The event will be held on Sunday morning and there’s still time to register and support the cause, which will allow us to rename the Park Café in her name.
Lastly, congratulations to all of our 2025 Dolphin Award winners! I look forward to celebrating your achievements on the day of Commencement.
With appreciation, and until next time,
Timothy G. Lynch, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
