I am pleased to provide you with highlights from my May College Council President’s Report.
In my report, I indicated that, as part of our facilities and enrollment expansion efforts, our St. George location at 120 Stuyvesant Place is scheduled to open in the fall. I am pleased to advise that this is still the case. However, we have decided not to schedule classes at the facility until after the fall semester. Planning for an effective opening for a new facility is a large undertaking that involves the coordination of many offices on campus. I believe it is prudent for the College to make every effort to ensure that the first cohort of classes at St. George has a wonderful experience that will greatly enhance the location’s long-term success. This will also allow us to utilize the facility for tours, events, and open houses in the fall to build even greater interest and enrollment for the implementation of a full schedule of classes in the spring. We hope you will take the opportunity to visit our St. George facility in the upcoming months to see first-hand its incredible potential to benefit our students and community.
President’s Report to the College Council
May 19, 2016
Good afternoon.
At our recent faculty and professional staff recognition ceremony on Tuesday, May 17, I quoted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who once said “as in character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” To continue our pursuit of “supreme excellence” my remarks today are both simple and brief.
The College of Staten Island has experienced another outstanding year due to the collective efforts of the entire campus community. I want to thank all of our faculty, staff, and students for contributing to our continued success.
This past year alone, the outstanding scholarship and research of our faculty was highlighted by 17 patents, 23 books, 40 chapters, 20 works of art exhibited at curated art shows and dances choreographed, more than 150 peer reviewed articles, and external grants and awards ranging from $50,000 to approximately $800,000.
The momentum we are experiencing in advancing our vision and mission of academic access and excellence has brought an unprecedented number of national rankings to the College of Staten Island this past year by Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Money magazine, Washington Monthly, CollegeNET, PayScale, and Victory Media. Our increased national recognition has also greatly contributed to our growing presence in the Staten Island community, culminating with the College recently being named among the top five most influential individuals/institutions by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation.
Concerning facilities expansion, our St. George location at 120 Stuyvesant Place is scheduled to open in the fall, and the long-awaited renovations of our 2M Building have begun, which will create much-needed academic space on campus. The College’s government relations efforts have also yielded unprecedented success this past year, resulting in supplemental state and city capital and operational funding to support equipment and facility projects for numerous academic departments. Additionally, we have made gains in almost every other area of the College including academic program expansion, philanthropy, enrollment strategies, and community engagement.
Of course, our greatest accomplishments center on the success of our students. Indeed, the conclusion of the spring semester foretells the high point of each academic year–graduation. The 67th Commencement of the College of Staten Island will take place on Thursday, June 2, 2016 at 9:30am, and this year’s Commencement will feature many prominent faculty, students, and members of the community.
Richard Flanagan, Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs, will bring greetings on behalf of the faculty. There will be two honorary degree recipients, including John Douglas Thompson, a distinguished and acclaimed classical actor, and Dr. Khalid Iqbal, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurochemistry at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities on Staten Island, a world-renowned Alzheimer’s disease researcher. Rin Zhi Go Larocque, a Biology major and a Business minor, who made her inspirational journey to the United States from Malaysia in 2011, will be speaking as Valedictorian. Rin Zhi represents the culmination of the successful academic journeys of all our graduating students of the Class of 2016.
With all of the challenges we have faced together this year, and we have faced many, you–our remarkable faculty and staff–have been unwavering in driving our mission of student access, academic excellence, and success, which we celebrate at Commencement.
On behalf of the College of Staten and The City University of New York, I want to close the semester by saying “Thank you!”
