Dear Lehman College Colleagues:
March was a busy month for all of us and among the happenings, CUNY Chancellor Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez invited me to serve as interim CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, effective May 29th. I wrote a little about this announcement when it was made in late March, and I want to emphasize that although this is one more upcoming leadership change, I am working with incoming president Dr. Fernando Delgado to ensure a smooth transition, and will continue to serve as Interim President until he officially begins on July 1.
I had an inspiring conversation with New York State Attorney General and Lehman Alumna, Letitia James, for the 51st Annual Lehman Lecture. AG James is a shining example for all of us, using her office to fight for social justice and equity. She demonstrates a combination of values, compassion, toughness, resolve and effectiveness that make us proud to call her one of our own.
I was pleased to share welcoming remarks and attend a number of the inaugural Bronx Environmental Summit's outstanding sessions. The Summit featured a roster of outstanding speakers and panelists who laid out the environmental challenges we face and made clear how urban residents in vulnerable communities are being impacted by climate change. It is hoped that the summit will lead to further planning for a cross-disciplinary Urban Climate Justice Studies Initiative at Lehman.
The Bronx Transfer Affinity Group (BTAG) held its annual meeting in March and I was privileged to welcome participants from Lehman, Hostos Community College, Bronx Community College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. This groundbreaking consortium is intended to help make the transfer from the community colleges to Lehman easier and more effective.
In case you missed it, I sent an update last week to the campus community about the work of the Campus Climate, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, along with notes about the main findings of its report. You can read the update here.
As we approach the end of the spring term, it has been great to see our sustainability efforts continue to move forward. Citi Bike is moving forward with getting feedback from the Bronx as it expands to the borough. The draft plan and map of planned Citi Bike stations on our campus is here.
Celebrating Excellence
Sandra Lindsay, Lehman alumna and trusted vaccine messenger, has helped to spread the word about the importance of vaccination through the #VaxUpCuny campaign. I was happy to post my “I’m Vaccinated” sticker on Twitter. I’d love to see yours. There continues to be a lot of misinformation on social media about vaccination, though it is abundantly clear that vaccines are safe and that without them, we have little hope of emerging from the COVID pandemic in the near future.
The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) named Lehman College sophomore nursing major Katherine Sánchez one of its fourteen winners of the 2021 Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, a highly competitive award for diverse student leaders to attend a four-week summer study abroad program focused on leadership, intercultural communication, and social justice. This year’s cohort will be co-sponsored by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the abolitionist’s 1845 meeting with Irish reformer Daniel O’Connell in Dublin. The group of fourteen winners was congratulated in a St. Patrick's Day Zoom session with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meetings
I met with New York City Council Member Kevin Riley, the new co-chair of the Bronx Delegation, in early March to discuss the continued lack of broadband access in the borough and its impact on our students, along with other spring semester updates and our fall plans. I also discussed with him the need for budgetary help through our RESO A request to upgrade lecture halls for the technology we need to run hybrid and other courses.
In my meeting with Congressman Adriano Espaillat, as with Council Member Riley, I also discussed some of the mental health and other challenges both students and staff have faced during the pandemic. Congressman Espaillat offered some potential solutions to help with funds we need to address the lack of Internet connectivity and the overall imbalance of funding for Hispanic Serving Institutions like ours. We also discussed the need for increased funding for Pell grants, particularly for those in our community who were previously incarcerated.
The launch of the Bronx Recovery Corps was a part of my discussion with the Congressman as well as a topic of discussion in my meeting with both New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca and Senator Luis Sepulveda. The Corps is poised to be an instrumental part of connecting Lehman students to the broader Bronx community as we work to rebuild the borough, and both officials expressed interest in the program.
Shared Governance
April 6 Faculty, Personnel and Budget
April 7 Lehman College Senate
April 8 Cabinet
April 13 Faculty, Personnel and Budget
April 15 Cabinet
April 19 Cabinet
April 28 President’s Advisory Board
Daniel Lemons
