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As I write this, we are exactly three weeks into the spring term. That makes it an ideal time to update you on LaGuardia’s enrollment – our bread and butter. I know – you’ve been wondering but are too polite to ask. While generally circumspect and superstitious about this topic (don’t count chickens, never leave a hat on a bed) I can tell you that I think we’ve bottomed out and are beginning to see signs that improvement is on the horizon. (Recall that we lost one-quarter of our degree-seeking students during the pandemic.) For example, this data feeds a modicum of cautious optimism: new, first-time students for the current spring semester jumped 24% over a year ago; students transferring into LaGuardia from other colleges increased 35% y/o/y. (In actual headcount we welcomed the second largest group of transfer students in the entire CUNY system.
We seem to be a popular place.) Unfortunately, these percentage increases are against a Covid-low base. And in total they fail to make up for the students we were unable to retain from fall to spring. Indeed, retention remains a vexing challenge – not just for LaGuardia but many colleges. More on our efforts to improve retention next month. In the meantime, let’s hope these positive signs – like the bright forsythia I can see in my neighbor’s backyard – are harbingers of recovery and growth.
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Seven LaGuardia Students Selected as JKCF Transfer Scholarship Semi-Finalists
Seven LaGuardia students were selected as semifinalists for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKCF) Transfer Scholarships are designed to help promising community college students to succeed at the four-year colleges to which they transfer. These generous awards provide up to $55,000 per year, along with academic advising and access to a network of peers. This year’s 459 national semifinalists were chosen from a pool of more than 1,700 applicants from 215 community colleges in 38 states. The Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship recipients will be announced in April. The semi-finalists selected from LaGuardia are Sheik Ali, Paralegal Studies major; Christin Bertin, Electrical Engineering major; Crystal Chen, Business Administration major; Bruna Lorena De Souza Vaz, Biology major; Ryan Jhin, Accounting major; Vildana Khamidullina, Journalism major; and Min Young Kim, Applied Mathematics major. Since 2006, thirteen LaGuardia graduates have been awarded Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships.
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Women’s History Month Celebration Honors Three Outstanding LaGuardia Colleagues
In honor of Women’s History Month, NYC Council Member Julie Won and I recently co-hosted “Celebrating the Power of Women,” an event on campus at which we recognized the achievements of eight women who are extraordinary leaders both at LaGuardia and in the Queens communities represented by Councilmember Won. Three of the honorees were LaGuardia staff members who we recognized for their dedication, leadership, hard work, and the support of their colleagues. Claudia Baldonedo has worked at LaGuardia for more than 40 years. As the Director of Youth Workforce Development Initiatives, Claudia oversees our Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP); she is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Business; Loretta Capuano-Vella, Director of the Student Information Center, is a first-generation American and first-generation college grad. She has been at LaGuardia for 28 years. Wen (Wendy) Ren, a financial specialist in the college’s Budget Office, originally from Shanghai, came to the US in 1990 and has worked at LaGuardia since 1999. Sending heartfelt congratulations and thanks to our dear friends, Claudia, Loretta, and Wendy.
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Benjamin E. Rohdin Joins LaGuardia as Vice President for Enrollment Management
Did you read the bit above about our enrollment challenges? With impeccable timing, Ben Rohdin became our new Vice President for Enrollment Management last week. You should see his inbox. Ben comes to us from New Jersey City University where he was Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success. Before that Ben served in student success and enrollment management roles at Rutgers University, John Jay College, and Baruch College. We are delighted that we were able to convince him to come back across the Hudson and return to CUNY.
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LaGuardia to Launch New Animal Sciences Program in Fall 2023
Heads-up Cornell! A new LaGuardia program will soon be available for students interested in working with animals. The Animal Sciences track of our Environmental Science major will lead to an associate of science degree and enable graduates to transfer seamlessly to the Bachelor of Science program at Rutgers-New Brunswick. The major officially opens in Fall 2023, though students may begin coursework as Environmental Science majors before then. Led by Dr. Preethi Radhakrishnan of our Natural Sciences Department, LaGuardia’s new Animal Science associate degree program is the first of its kind in New York City and has already caught the attention of New York Farm Bureau, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others.
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CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium to Serve as Grand Marshal of Queens Pride Parade in June
The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium, co-led by LaGuardia Community College and Queens College, has been named a Grand Marshal of this year's Queens Pride Parade in Jackson Heights on Sunday, June 4, 2023. The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium will lead the parade alongside NYC Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Council Member Linda Lee, Council Member Lynn Schulman, and Council Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers. “This is an honor for us,” said Dr. Allie Brashears, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium and LGBTQ+ Programs at LaGuardia. “The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium was selected due to its outstanding work changing the lives of students, faculty, and staff throughout the university system through LGBTQIA+ programs, initiatives, and projects.”
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LaGuardia President Spotted with Tin Cup in State Capitol
On March 21, I traveled to Albany to lobby for increased support for CUNY in the upcoming state budget. I was joined by Manny Romero, Vice President for Communications and External Affairs; Nayelli Valencia Turrent, Chief of Staff; and Claudia Chan, Government Relations Manager. We had a busy day seeking support from key Queens legislators. We met with Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Senator Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Steven Raga, Senator Joseph Addabbo, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, and the chief of staff to Senator Kristen Gonzalez. We also met with capital region Assembly Member Patricia Fahy, the new chairperson of the NYS Assembly Higher Education Committee and herself a community college alumna. We thanked our elected officials for their continued support of LaGuardia and CUNY, and urged them to fight for increased funding for CUNY for the new fiscal year.
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