Updates from the President: College Events

Today, I address you not just as your president, but as a member of a community that values respect, inclusion, and the dignity of every individual.

Today, we reflect on a date that forever altered the course of our nation—September 11, 2001.

I hope that you had the opportunity to experience Social Justice Week at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Today is International Women’s Day and we are celebrating this day as a part of our Women’s HerStory Month.

As 2022 comes to a close, I find myself looking back at all our diverse community has accomplished in the past year. Artists and filmmakers find their calling at BMCC, as do entrepreneurs, teachers, scientists, and nurses. Students as well as faculty and staff discover they have the courage to dream and the drive to aim high.

Alongside our holiday gatherings and group events this season, virus cases that include COVID-19 variants, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are resurging in New York City. Our BMCC community is well versed, by now, in the methods of protecting against COVID-19, but I wanted to remind everyone to heed the message sent out by CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez to mask up and take other measures to protect yourself and those around you.

In higher education, we place value on creating a safe space. We want our classrooms to be places where it is safe to discuss emotionally charged topics. We want our counseling offices to be places where students can share sensitive matters. We want every office and hallway, every point of service to be a place where students, faculty and staff are safe to be their authentic selves, not having to check any part of their identity at the door.

At BMCC, the anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the attacks on the nearby Twin Towers of the World Trade Center will always bring to mind the immeasurable loss of eight of our colleagues.

Congratulations on starting your Fall 2022 semester at BMCC.

I hope you will join me for our annual State of the College address, which will be held in-person on Wednesday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon in Theater I, located in the 199 Chambers Street building, as well as livestreamed.

I hope your Winter Break was restful and you are prepared to start the semester feeling reinvigorated and ready to engage in new experiences.

#CUNYTuesday has started, and Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) needs your donations and support!

The Borough of Manhattan Community College and the City University of New York (CUNY) are strongly committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and diversity and inclusion.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Many college students were not yet born on that day — but in the weeks, months and years that followed, their families and neighborhoods felt the impact of those attacks.

Today begins a new semester at BMCC! It will be a semester of optimism – but more importantly – with opportunities!

As we prepare for the end of the semester, final exams and Commencement, I invite all of you to let us know what BMCC can do to help you prepare for Fall 2021.

#CUNYTuesday, part of National Giving Tuesday, is an opportunity for all faculty, staff, alumni and friends to support BMCC programs and services that are critical to helping students succeed.

Please join me for a BMCC Town Hall that will be LIVE STREAMED on Thursday, October 8, from 10 to 11 a.m.