News from LaGuardia Community College |
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Almost there!
I know some of you winced when I announced our $10 million challenge campaign last year -- “That’s impossible…” Others thought I was nuts. But no one argued that our inspiring and deserving LaGuardia students didn’t need the support, especially given the hardships they’ve had to endure because of the pandemic. Not sure if I told you, but the anonymous donor who promised a $5 million match if we hit the target kindly extended our deadline from December 31 until March 31 because the Omicron variant was interfering with our fundraising. I am pleased to tell you that we are 98.6% there. That’s right – we’re only $140,000 shy of $10 million, and have a month to go. So, who wants to help us over the finish line? Thank you!
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Helping Young Fathers with Education, Training, and Family |
You may have heard about a troubling trend—a steep decline in men earning college degrees—particularly Black and Latino single fathers. LaGuardia has focused on this problem for a decade. In 2012, Raheem Brooks and David Speal founded the CUNY Fatherhood Academy. Their program, now a national model, helps unemployed fathers earn their GEDs and enroll in college or workforce training. The young dads leave the program with parenting skills, an educational plan, and a community of mentors and peers to rely upon as they work to create better lives for themselves and their children. Learn more about LaGuardia’s program and the challenges it seeks to address from recent articles in The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Hechinger Report. |
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Gardiner Foundation Provides Generous Grant to Support Students of NYC History
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A major grant of $1,090,000 from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation will fund the Robert D. L. Gardiner–Joseph Shenker Student Scholars Program (name subject to approval by the CUNY Board of Trustees), through which LaGuardia students will prepare for careers as historians by working at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. Students will conduct primary research in the Archives collections and document key themes of New York City history, culminating in student-produced exhibitions. For a recent example of such work from the pandemic semesters, check out Portraits of an Epicenter: NYC in Lockdown. The next cohort of Gardiner-Shenker Scholars will focus on Women in NYC Government in honor of the first female majority in the New York City Council. Warm congratulations to Archives director and professor of history, Dr. Richard Lieberman, and the entire Archives team, for securing this unprecedented philanthropic support.
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LaGuardia Professor to Co-Lead CUNY-Wide Humanities Initiative |
English Professor Jason Hendrickson has been chosen to be a co-leader of a CUNY-wide faculty development program, “Transformative Learning in the Humanities” (TLH), supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He and Dr. Javiela Evangelista, a professor of African American Studies at City Tech, will explore equitable, creative, student-centered pedagogical research and methods designed for the rich diversity of CUNY students. They’ll collaborate with TLH Faculty Directors Dr. Cathy N. Davidson, founder and co-director of the Futures Initiative at the CUNY Graduate Center, and Dr. Shelly Eversley, interim director of Black and Latinx Studies at Baruch College.
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Governor Hochul Proposes Key Reforms to NYS Financial Aid – LaGuardia Students to Benefit |
Looks like New York Governor Kathy Hochul read the November issue! That’s where I pointed out that state financial aid – the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) – is practically off limits for part-time community college students. Think about it: almost half of our LaGuardia students attend part-time, most of them need financial aid, but the state program is for full-time students. In her 2023 Budget Proposal the governor remedies this, and she proposes expanding TAP to support students in non-degree workforce training programs, another game-changer. Hoping to build support for her proposal in the State Legislature I penned this op-ed for the New York Daily News. If you’re curious to learn more, please contact me at PresidentAdams@lagcc.cuny.edu.
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LaGuardia Students Compete for Prestigious Transfer Scholarships |
The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships are the most prestigious scholarships for community college students nation-wide. They provide graduates with up to $55,000 per year to complete their B.A. degrees. This year, six LaGuardia students (out of 1,200 applicants) have been selected as Jack Kent Cooke semi-finalists. LaGuardia Foundation Scholarships enabled four of them to make it this far. All six received support from faculty and mentors who guided them through the rigorous application process. Past LaGuardia recipients have redeemed their scholarships at Amherst, Stanford, Columbia, Georgetown, and Swathmore. Winners will be announced in early May. Somebody chill the champagne, please.
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Welcome Andrew Walker, New Athletics Director |
Devoted readers may recall that in December I announced a New Year’s resolution to restore intercollegiate sports at LaGuardia. To that end, we recently hired Andrew Walker as our Interim Director of Athletics and Recreation. A Queens native, Andrew grew up in nearby Queensbridge Houses, and graduated from Long Island City High School. After Niagara University, our small forward colleague was signed by the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz). Andrew also played professional basketball in Germany and Israel. Beyond his NBA credentials, Andrew brings over 30 years’ experience in student recreation, advising, and support. Most recently, he was a high school guidance counselor at Rising Ground in Yonkers. Previously he worked at the Police Athletic League and Harlem Children’s Zone. Click here for an interview with Andrew on WLGR, LaGuardia Web Radio.
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