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Perhaps by now you’ve heard the news, but it bears repeating: On March 20 we announced that LaGuardia had received a grant of $116.2 million from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to fund the creation of the Cohen Career Collective, a state-of-the-art workforce training center on two floors of our “C” Building. This incredible gift is the largest donation ever to a community college in the U.S., and the largest gift in the history of the City University of New York. When it opens in early 2029, the Cohen Career Collective will offer career and technical education for jobs in high-demand sectors of the New York City economy. Students will enroll in programs determined by labor market conditions and the workforce needs of local employers. Graduates of the Collective will be New York City’s next generation of nurses, cybersecurity experts, plumbers, paramedics, solar panel installers, chefs, physical therapists, carpenters, electricians, and more.
The project is the brainchild of Alexandra Cohen, who is committed to making career and technical education available to the people of Queens. We are deeply grateful to Alex for her generosity and honored that she chose LaGuardia to be her partner in building the Cohen Career Collective. Notably, her decision to make this historic gift to LaGuardia shines a spotlight on America’s 1,200 community colleges, who too often educate their students in the shadows of better funded private colleges and universities with large endowments. Alex’s choice of LaGuardia reminds the public — and other donors — of the unique role community colleges play in helping students of all backgrounds, ages, and educational levels get the workforce training they need for good jobs and rewarding careers. One can only hope that other wealthy donors across the country will be inspired to follow her lead.
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Last month I mentioned that we had a feeling Spring Semester enrollment was on the rise. At press time our data was sketchy as the semester had just begun and the numbers hadn’t settled. (During the first week students can drop or add classes, change their minds about college, etc.) But now it’s clear: this semester enrollment of degree-seeking students at LaGuardia is up ten percent over a year ago. That’s an encouraging jump, driven by a surge in freshmen (up twenty percent), students from other colleges transferring into LaGuardia (up twelve percent) and a doubling of the number of students who decided to return after having dropped out. This last group of about 600 students—“re-admits” in enrollment parlance—no doubt includes students who hit the pause button during the pandemic and are now ready to resume their college educations. We are thrilled to have them back. In case you’re wondering, overall CUNY enrollment is up 2% this spring. LaGuardia leads the way in enrollment growth among all large colleges (community as well as four-year schools) in the CUNY system. Our sights are now set on September 8, the first day of classes for the Fall Semester, as we seek to sustain our enrollment recovery. | |
On March 22, our local NYC Council Member, Julie Won, and I hosted, “Celebrating the Women of Queens”, an annual Women’s History Month event at which we honor LaGuardia faculty and staff and neighborhood leaders for their above-and-beyond service to the college and Queens. Former Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan started this celebration in 2010. When she stepped down in 2022 after representing western Queens in Albany for thirty-eight years, Council Member Won decided to continue the tradition of recognizing women working to empower and enrich their communities. This year’s LaGuardia honorees included Dr. Rhonda Mouton, Director of LaGuardia CARES, Dr. Preethi Radhakrishnan, LaGuardia Biology Professor and Environmental Science Program Director; and Dr. Cory Rowe, LaGuardia Criminal Justice Professor and Director of the LaGuardia–Rikers college credit program. The community members we honored included Melissa Orlando, Katherine Zink, and Fanny Chang, who stepped up in myriad, generous ways to support the victims of a terrible fire back in December that destroyed a six-story apartment building a few blocks from campus, displacing 450 tenants just before Christmas. We also honored Corrine Haynes, President of the NYCHA Queensbridge Houses Residents’ Association, and Laura Rothrock, President of the Long Island City Partnership. | |
From Court Square to Harvard Square | | |
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On March 4 I was pleased to share the LaGuardia story with students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. My friend, Bob Schwartz, Professor Emeritus of Practice at the GSE, had kindly invited me to join him and Rachel Lipson, Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce, for a panel discussion on their recent book, America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity. The lively forum was moderated by Peter Blair, Assistant Professor of Education, and hosted by The Project on Workforce at Harvard. | |
Bob and Rachel’s book presents five compelling case studies of community colleges that stand out for the way they connect with local industry and contribute to the competitiveness of their regional economies. These examples bring to mind what we’ve long known at LaGuardia—that if we want to restore the value proposition of an American college education, we should let community colleges do most of the talking. To learn more please take a look at my review of Bob and Rachel’s book in the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Quarterly. You’ll find it here. | |
Speaking of case studies, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) released a report on March 28 profiling LaGuardia as a community college that “plays an important role in opening the doors of opportunity to post-secondary education in its community and helping students and their families attain the better living and better life a college degree affords.” Research for the report was conducted in 2023 and included interviews with faculty, students, staff and administrators. In two case studies, IHEP spotlights how two minority-serving institutions – LaGuardia Community College and the University of North Texas – employ innovative strategies that help more students receive measurable returns on their investment in higher education. | |
Students Visit Massive LIC Power Plant | |
Five of the eleven students who received Rise Light & Power Scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year visited the iconic facility – the largest power plant in NYC – for an electrifying (sorry!) tour hosted by Wil Fisher, Manager of External Affairs, and Simar Gill, Human Performance Engineer. During the visit, the scholars, all majors in various STEM fields, learned about Rise Light & Power’s commitment as a leader in the nation’s clean energy transition. The on-site visit helped them better understand the company’s transformation of the historic Ravenswood facility. Rise Light & Power is creating an Offshore Wind Training Hub here at LaGuardia. | |
Nine Students Named Semi-finalists for Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship | |
In March semi-finalists were announced for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships. LaGuardia is pleased and proud to have nine students among the national nominees. Congratulations to Mateo Andino, Computer Science major; Antonett Gardner, Human Services: Mental Health major; Lawrance Gomes, Accounting major; Shekinah Glory Kantono, Business Administration major; Chaw Nandar, Engineering: Civil Engineering major; Angelina Ojeda, Human Services: Mental Health major; Amena Shamia, Biology major; Md Siddique, Computer Science major; and Minghao Zhang, Fine Arts major. Finalists will be announced in May. The award, which is for last-dollar funding after institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year for two to three years for the completion of a bachelor’s degree at any accredited four-year undergraduate institution in the U.S. | |
LaGuardia Celebrates CUNY Community Service Day and CUNY Women's Conference | | |
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We are pleased to report that LaGuardia CARES collected a staggering twenty boxes of donated clothing for women, men, and children asylum seekers and others as part of CUNY Community Service Day and in honor of CUNY Women's Conference Week. The donations were gratefully received by Kathy Martinovich, Volunteer Coordinator at Commonpoint Queens, a social services organization serving the diverse needs of our borough. Big thanks to all who made donations. | | | | |
