It is bittersweet to share the final President’s Update of my tenure as Interim President at Lehman College. As I have noted in other communications, my role as Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost at the CUNY Central Office will begin at the end of this month. I will be at the helm of Lehman College as I begin working in the EVC capacity, and until the term of Lehman College’s new president Dr. Fernando Delgado begins on July 1. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Delgado on campus in late April during his visit to New York and to Lehman, and I know he is even more excited to be on campus.
Public health experts are reaching a consensus that herd immunity is unlikely to happen in the US. Rapid coronavirus evolution combined with and enabled by vaccine hesitancy will mean that we will be living with some low level of coronavirus infection in the population indefinitely. What that means practically is that you will never enter an indoor or outdoor space with the confidence that you are in contact with only coronavirus-free individuals. That may sound grim, but the good news is that if you are vaccinated, you can still have confidence in your continued well-being, regardless of the status of those around you. Of course, we will continue to learn more as research reveals the nuances and the evolving status of the pandemic. In the middle of that growing knowledge, the clear message is that the best way to protect yourself and those you love is to be vaccinated.
You may have also seen information from our Enrollment Management team to help students make the best decisions for their academic careers as the term comes to a close. That includes Zoom rooms, text messages and a decision tool that you can find on our website for exploring what it means to withdraw – if that is an option you plan to explore.
Even as this term ends, we are, of course, continuing to plan for being roughly 50% in-person this coming Fall 2021 semester. There are discussions CUNY-wide as we develop our campus plans. CUNY central administration has shared with us that a university-wide COVID testing protocol is being developed for the campus communities and Lehman’s fall plans will accommodate some form of testing in accordance with that protocol.
Additionally, we are ensuring that our fall campus plan is flexible enough to accommodate evolving changes to CDC, state and city guidelines as they relate to social distancing. You may have seen that just last week, the CDC updated social distancing guidelines for vaccinated people outdoors. We are sure to see additional changes to social distancing guidelines as more Americans are vaccinated, so it is imperative that we build that flexibility into our reopening plans and we are in the process of doing that now. We will share additional information as we have it.
Celebrating Excellence
In the midst of a transitional time, we have managed to continue achieving and excelling. Lehman College has its first ever recipient of a Boren Award, third-year student Sadaf Sofia Latif who is fluent in seven languages. Latif also won a Critical Language Scholarship, funded by the state department.
Lehman College Professor of Philosophy Naomi Zack delivered the Vickery Lecture in Ethics and Leadership virtually at the College of St. Rose.
Many Lehman College professors and students were instrumental in a wide-ranging, and enriching, CUNY-Wide Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Conference, “The Power of an Antiracist Academy: Reimagining Systems and Structures.” Contributing were professors Evelyn Duran Urrea, Sarah Ohmer, Olivia Moy, Wendell Cooper, Sherry Deckman, Amanda Sisselman-Borgia, Jermaine Monk, Mohan Vinjamuri, Monique Guishard, Gillian Bayne, Mary Phillips, Evan Senreich, Nicole Saint-Louis, and Manuel Munoz, and students Aurora Cayetano, Jazmin Guerrero, Grace Miele, Ilyana Sori. Also participating was CUNY Mexican Studies Institute Deputy Director, José Higuera López.
Many others have been instrumental in gathering to explore and celebrate the oeuvre of the great poet Audre Lorde who once taught at Lehman through a series events called “The Audre Lorde Great Read.”
I had an energizing meeting with City Council Members Vanessa Gibson and Diana Ayala, to discuss funding for the Bronx Recovery Corps and upgrades to our lecture halls, our evolving plans for the fall, our vaccination efforts and our upcoming commencement. Congressman Adriano Espaillat has included funding for the Bronx Recovery Corps in his request for member funding and we are hopeful that will come through.
We also received $835,000 from the state legislature in the new budget for our new ACE Student Center in the Old Gym.
The pandemic has not stopped progress on campus, which is looking wonderful with a spectacular new amphitheater and a new entrance to the Music building. On the main wall in the lobby of the Music building is a new beautifully vibrant installation of photos of members of the Lehman community. Thank you to the Music Lobby Task Force that planned for and designed this great new installation. And, the bookstore is now demolished and the site is being readied for construction to begin on the new, state-of-the-art nursing building.
I hope you all are saving the date for Commencement Week, which will include Honors Convocation on Tuesday, May 25th at 6 p.m. and culminate in our virtual Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 27th at 10 a.m.
Before the month is over, I know that I will have a number of opportunities to say this to you in smaller virtual forums, meetings and gatherings. But these messages are part of an official archive, and so I want to say it here as well: Thank you. Leading Lehman College during this time has helped me learn so much about all of you, about the remarkable uniqueness and resilience and talents of this community. Thank you for your hard work, your astute questions and camaraderie throughout the last couple of years. I will be cheering you on for the months and years to come.
Shared Governance
May 5 Lehman College Senate
May 6 Cabinet
May 11 Faculty Personnel and Budget
May 13 Cabinet
May 18 Cabinet
May 24 President’s Advisory Board
May 25 Faculty Personnel and Budget
May 25 Honors Convocation
May 27 Commencement
Daniel Lemons
@LehmanPresident
