CUNY Receives $700,000 from Robin Hood to Expand Degree-to-Career Mapping Initiative

Integrating Academic Maps with Career Milestones Corresponds with Increases in Student Internships, Full-Time Jobs and Starting Salaries

Expansion Will Double Number of Participating Departments to 50 and Reach 25,000 Students

A CUNY student speaking with an adviser.

The City University of New York today announced that it received $700,000 from Robin Hood to fund a multi-campus expansion of the school’s groundbreaking initiative to integrate career milestones into academic degree maps. These degree-career maps enable undergraduates to identify careers that align with their chosen major, understand professional milestones needed to pursue them and highlight critical opportunities for paid internships, apprenticeships and full-time jobs.

Already, 20 departments have begun to add career milestones alongside course requirements on academic maps, many with tremendous success. At the College of Staten Island, for example, over the three years since its map was created, students in the computer science department experienced correlated increases of 43% in internship participation, of 144% in the number of full-time jobs secured upon graduation and of 34% in starting salaries over prior baseline figures.

“As our students navigate their way through college, many as the first in their families to do so, it is essential to connect their college studies to career goals,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “We know that higher education isn’t just about what students learn in the classroom, but about how they demonstrate their knowledge and prepare for their professional future. We are grateful to Robin Hood for recognizing that this connection requires resources for colleges and for funding this important work to make sure our graduates thrive after they leave campus.”

“CUNY is one of New York City’s shining stars and a true driver of opportunity. It has long served as a springboard into the middle class, putting low-income and first-generation college students on pathways to upward mobility and transforming their lives. That’s why we’ve invested more than $68 million in strengthening the CUNY system since 1988,” said Richard R. Buery Jr., CEO of Robin Hood, New York City’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy. “We are confident that our latest investment, expanding CUNY’s career mapping initiative, will expand that legacy of impact. The initiative will open doors to opportunity, helping 25,000 students secure internships, jobs, and more competitive salaries. Every time a CUNY graduate succeeds, New York City wins. We are proud to stand with CUNY to support our workforce and ensure New York City remains globally competitive.”

Robin Hood’s funding will allow CUNY to develop and provide roadmaps across 50 academic departments – up from 20 – that will serve 25,000 students by Fall 2024.

Example of Degree-Career Map for the computer science bachelor’s degree program at CSI, showing a list of career goals alongside required academic coursework.

Leveraging Classroom Intervention

Studies show that paid internships can increase earnings after graduation – even when accounting for differences in pay based on the field of study, gender and race/ethnicity. However, with over 50% of CUNY students working and contending with other life obligations outside the classroom, just 25% of CUNY students currently utilize career services. Career-infused degree maps address this by integrating career information into advising and academic touchpoints where students most consistently interface with faculty and staff.

Support from Robin Hood will allow CUNY to not only expand the initiative, but also to refine it. Engaging partners like the New York Jobs CEO Council, the University will work with academic departments to ensure maps align with coursework and careers, including those across New York City’s leading industries, such as software engineering and data analysis.

Expanding the Classroom-to-Career Pipeline 

Career mapping is part of the larger Careers Across the Disciplines initiative, an ongoing effort to advance the University’s mission of upward mobility. In its strategic roadmap, a detailed plan to bolster the school’s impact on New York by 2030, CUNY committed to increasing the number of graduates able to find meaningful employment at competitive wages.

To aid this effort, CUNY is working with employers, philanthropic partners and policymakers to enable students to identify careers that align with their interests. Most recently, CUNY launched the Inclusive Economy Initiative, a public-private initiative designed to facilitate connections between industry and students. Beginning with a $13 million investment from New York City and over $3 million in private support, the Inclusive Economy Initiative will make it easier for businesses to connect with CUNY students and for students to connect with sustainable careers in rapidly growing fields like healthcare, technology and green energy.

The University has also worked to grow its ties with private sector employers like Amazon, whose recently unveiled New York Tech Hub will provide class and event space for CUNY’s 25 colleges, and Google, whose CUNY Tech Equity Initiative will give students increased access to career resources and paid internship opportunities.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

14 CUNY Campuses Will Serve as Polling Sites for Presidential Primary Voters

College Sites Will Open for Early Voting Starting Saturday, and on Election Day

Voters Can Find Their Polling Locations With the Find My Poll Site Lookup Tool

CUNY student holding a sign that reads Our Vote is Our Voice

The City University of New York will again open its campuses to New Yorkers voting in the U.S. presidential primary election. From March 23 to March 30, 10 CUNY colleges will serve as early voting polling sites for the primary election; six will be open for voting on Election Day on April 2.

“CUNY remains committed to serving as a good neighbor in the communities that our campuses call home,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “As they stop by to cast their ballots, we hope that New Yorkers see this as just one way that our University is shaping the next generation of civically-engaged citizens.”

Voters can find their assigned early voting and Election Day polling location by using the New York City Board of Elections’s Find My Poll Site lookup tool.

In addition to voting locations, CUNY promotes student voter registration and participation through its comprehensive and non-partisan CUNY Votes initiative. For students who want a deeper dive into civic education, the University developed the Model New York State Senate Session Project in partnership with the New York State Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force to have students participate in a mock debate on the floor of the State Senate chamber. The Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs offers access to internship opportunities at every level of government.

The following CUNY campuses are serving as early-voting polling sites. Remember, anyone still waiting in line after the polls close is entitled to vote:

Brooklyn:

  • Brooklyn College
  • New York City College of Technology

Manhattan:

  • Borough of Manhattan Community College
  • The City College of New York
  • Hunter College
  • John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Queens

  • LaGuardia Community College
  • Queens College
  • Queensborough Community College
  • York College

Early voting sites are open during the following hours:

  • Saturday, March 23: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
  • Sunday, March 24: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
  • Monday, March 25: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
  • Tuesday, March 26: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
  • Wednesday, March 27: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 28: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Friday, March 29: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
  • Saturday, March 30: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

These CUNY colleges will serve as polling sites on Election Day on Tuesday, April 2. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.:

The Bronx:

  • Hostos Community College

Brooklyn:

  • Brooklyn College
  • Medgar Evers College

Manhattan:

  • Baruch College
  • CUNY Graduate Center
  • Hunter College

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation Awards $116 Million Grant to LaGuardia Community College to Create the Cohen Career Collective

Gift is Largest Ever to a Community College in the US; Largest Donation in History of City University of New York

CUNY LaGuardia Community College's C Building.

Read the original announcement from LaGuardia Community College.

The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, led by philanthropist and New York Mets owner Alex Cohen, has awarded a grant of $116.2 million to LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, to create the Cohen Career Collective, a state-of-the-art workforce training center. The 160,000 square-foot facility will ensure economic mobility for New Yorkers while providing skilled workers for local employers.

“We are profoundly grateful for this incredible gift from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation,” said Kenneth Adams, president of LaGuardia Community College. “The Cohen Career Collective will be the largest career and technical training facility of its kind in the region, offering programs to prepare New Yorkers of all ages, backgrounds, and educational levels for good jobs in high-growth sectors of our local economy.”

“I wanted to create a place where students have access to high-quality programs and facilities and can learn the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world,” said Alex Cohen, president of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. “Our goal is to make a positive difference in people’s lives. We are proud to create the Cohen Career Collective and are committed to our neighbors here in Queens.”

Steven and Alexandra Cohen

Steven and Alexandra Cohen

Adams added, “Alex Cohen is passionate about making quality, affordable workforce training available to low-income New Yorkers who want to learn new skills, get good jobs, and provide for their families. We are truly honored that she turned to LaGuardia to bring her vision to life through the creation of the Cohen Career Collective.”

Education and training programs at the Cohen Career Collective will lead to associate degrees, industry certifications, and other credentials valued by New York City employers in high-demand sectors, including Healthcare, Construction, Technology, Culinary & Hospitality, Green Jobs, and Film and Television. Comprehensive student support services will also be available, such as career advising, preparation for job interviews, job placement, childcare, and financial literacy training.

The Cohen Career Collective will include specialized shops, labs, and classrooms for hands-on instruction and training. It will also have quiet study areas, student meeting rooms, a Career Services Center, computer labs, a lecture hall, storage areas for equipment and materials, restrooms, locker rooms, mechanical rooms, electrical/data closets, and a Student Welcome Center.

“This exceptional gift from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation – the largest ever in CUNY’s history – will be transformational. The Cohen Career Collective will dramatically increase CUNY’s capacity to prepare students for career success and economic mobility,” said William C. Thompson Jr., chairperson of the CUNY Board of Trustees. “LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and New York’s economic prosperity depends on a well-educated and highly trained workforce, and this historic gift will position CUNY as the leader in workforce development in the healthcare, construction, technology, culinary and hospitality, green jobs and film and television sectors. We thank the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation for their extraordinary generosity.”

“CUNY is immensely grateful to the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation for this extraordinary gift which will allow LaGuardia Community College to help generations of New Yorkers secure the skills they need to advance their careers and better our city,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “This historic $116.2 million investment multiplies CUNY’s role as an engine of upward mobility and doubles down on our commitment to giving students the tools they need to meet the demands of the changing workforce. I look forward to the many ways in which the Cohen Career Collective will promote educational equity and enhance LaGuardia and CUNY’s role as a driver of inclusive growth in New York.”

In addition to career and technical training, The Cohen Career Collective will provide English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for foreign-born students who need to improve their English before taking vocational programs. High-school equivalency classes will be offered to ensure that trainees obtain their GEDs, the basic credential required for most jobs. The Cohen Career Collective will also be the home of LaGuardia’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which the college runs in collaboration with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development.

Students of the Cohen Career Collective will include recent high school graduates, new immigrants and asylum-seekers, students in the college’s Associate degree programs, veterans, the formerly incarcerated, workers in search of new skills and career opportunities, students with disabilities, and many others.

Construction of the facility is anticipated to be completed by January 2029.

The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation has provided over $1.2 billion to nonprofit organizations since inception in 2001, including over $185 million of charitable support focused on Queens.

Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation is committed to inspiring philanthropy and community service by creating awareness, offering guidance, and leading by example to show the world what giving can do. The Foundation’s grants support nonprofit organizations based in the United States that either help people in need or solve complex problems.

LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 degrees and certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to educate New Yorkers seeking new skills and careers. As an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of underserved populations. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students while providing them with access to a high quality, affordable college education.

###

CUNY and Museum of Jewish Heritage Partner to Give Students Private Visit to Exhibits

Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and Students Tour New Exhibit About Rescue of 95% of the Jewish Population in Denmark During the Holocaust

Visit Comes as CUNY Works With Museum to Better Teach Students About the Holocaust and Combat Antisemitism

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and CUNY students view an exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez joined nearly 100 students on Friday for a private tour at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, which teaches visitors about the broad tapestry of the Jewish experience before, during and after the Holocaust through recorded testimony of survivors and extensive historical collections.

The tour, organized by the University’s CUNY Arts initiative, guided the students and the Chancellor through the museum’s current exhibition, “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark.” The exhibition tells the story of how ordinary Danish citizens defied enormous risks and united to save nearly 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population from the Nazis.  

“Learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom and we’re grateful to our partners at New York City’s cultural institutions for opening their doors to our students. As a historian by training, I know how important it is to learn about the atrocities of the past to make sure they are never repeated. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is a place where our students — including those studying to be teachers — can better learn about the Holocaust and Jewish life, knowledge they pass on to their peers and fellow New Yorkers,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is committed to combating hate and helping Jewish students celebrate their heritage. This is how we build tolerance and understanding, and learn from each other.”

Jack Kliger, president and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, underscored the vital partnership with CUNY and Chancellor Matos Rodríguez in educating students about the Holocaust and antisemitism, saying, “Partnering with CUNY and Chancellor Matos Rodríguez to educate students about the Holocaust and antisemitism is paramount. At a time in our world history where we are witnessing a rise in antisemitism and hate, visiting a Holocaust museum like ours provides an invaluable opportunity for students to learn about this dark chapter of history and understand why it’s crucial to combat hate and intolerance. As we partner with CUNY, we must work together to combat hate in all its forms. Together, we can build a future where understanding triumphs over ignorance and acceptance prevails over prejudice.”

The “Courage to Act” exhibit explores themes of separation, bravery and resilience, asking students to make connections to their own lives and reflect on the dangers of prejudice —as well as their own potential for compassionate, moral and courageous collective action. The CUNY students learned the story of Gerda III, a small vessel that saved an estimated 300 Jews in groups of 10-15 at a time on clandestine journeys across the body of water known as The Sound to Sweden. The mission was led by 22-year-old Henny Sinding Sundø, who narrates her story in the exhibit.

Daniela Urbano, an accounting major at Hunter College, called the exhibit “emotional.”

“Seeing visuals of what occurred makes you feel the gravity of the situation. This is something everyone needs to know because antisemitism is still relevant today,” said Urbano. “There were people my age helping with the resistance.”

Cindy Rodriguez, a pre-law major at City Tech, said “As heartbreaking as the museum is, it is an important reminder that we can not let this happen again.”

This month, the Museum of Jewish Heritage released an Antisemitism FAQ Educator Resource in response to questions from teachers and students – and requests for support – following the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel and the subsequent accelerated rise in antisemitism. This resource is designed to guide educators throughout New York City in building an understanding of historical and contemporary antisemitism.

CUNY Commitment to Fighting Hate

On Oct. 3, 2023, during his State of the University speech, the Chancellor spoke to the necessity of promoting tolerance across CUNY and New York City and the obligation of a large public university like CUNY to be increasingly attentive to the racial, ethnic and cultural climate on its 25 campuses. The University has committed $1.3 million since last year to combat hate.

At the New York City College of Technology, for instance, the visual arts exhibit I am a Jew explored Jewish identity through portrait photography and testimony. It drew on the experiences of those who identify as Jewish, some of whom may not fit the common conceptions, as well as those with additional identities such as LGBTQI+. The exhibit was a precursor to the arrival of “Americans and the Holocaust,” a 1,100-square-foot traveling exhibit of the U.S. National Holocaust Memorial Museum that City Tech held in November.

Last May, CUNY announced a partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism on their #StandUpToJewishHate Campaign, an initiative to raise awareness about antisemitism and hatred against Jewish people by wearing blue squares or posting or sharing the blue square emoji.

CUNY also formed the Advisory Council on Jewish Life in May, a University-wide body made up of prominent New York Jewish leaders who meet with the Chancellor regularly  to discuss ways to lift up Jewish life in the CUNY community.

About The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to Never Forget. Opened in 1997, the Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust.

The Museum’s current offerings include “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark,” a new exhibition about the extraordinary rescue of Denmark’s Jewish population in 1943, a story of mutual aid and communal upstanding in difficult times for visitors aged 9 and up; “The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do,” a major exhibition offering a timely and expansive presentation of Holocaust history, on view in the main galleries; and, “Survivors: Faces of Life After the Holocaust,” featuring photographer Martin Schoeller’s portraits of 75 Holocaust survivors in his signature style.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains the Peter & Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Resource Center, a collection of almost 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies, and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries and a memorial art installation, “Garden of Stones,”designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum also hosts the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, the Producers of the acclaimed “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish,” and LOX at Café Bergson, an OU-certified café serving eastern European specialties.

Each year, the Museum presents over 100 public programs, connecting our community in person and virtually through lectures, book talks, concerts, and more. For more info visit mjhnyc.org/events. Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit mjhnyc.org.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving over 226,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

Statement from CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez on the Senate and Assembly ‘One House’ Budget Proposals

“CUNY is an indispensable engine of upward mobility for New Yorkers, propelling more low-income students into the middle class than all Ivy League colleges combined. We are grateful that the Senate and Assembly one house budget proposals build on Gov. Hochul’s strong executive budget in support of our 225,000 students. The one house bills feature critical operating and capital investments in CUNY that sustain our University as an engine of opportunity and help address our structural deficit. We thank the leadership of both Leader Stewart-Cousins in the Senate as well as Speaker Heastie in the Assembly and the support of both Chairs Stavisky and Fahy for their unwavering commitment to public higher education and are gratified to see consensus on the importance of robust investment in our system so we can continue lifting our students and New York.”

Gov. Hochul Announces $2 Million Expansion of CUNY’s Successful Apprenticeship Degree Program

Bloomberg, Travelers, and Northwell Health Join Ranks of Leading New York City Companies Providing Paid Apprenticeships to Students

Students in the Apprenticeship Program Will Be Paid, Earn Course Credit and Gain Hands-on Work Experience

Builds on Gov. Hochul’s Previous Expansion of the Program As Part of Her Commitment to Invest in Workforce Development Programs

CUNY apprentice Bryan Cortes outside in the city.

Read the original announcement from the Office of Gov. Hochul.

Gov. Kathy Hochul today announced a $2 million investment to expand the City University of New York’s Associates of Applied Science College Apprenticeship program and grow the number of apprenticeship opportunities for students. This investment enables CUNY, in partnership with the New York Jobs CEO Council, to add additional employers to its network currently providing paid apprenticeships to students seeking associate degrees, growing the number of participating companies to include Bloomberg, Travelers, and Northwell Health. The expansion builds on a similar investment made by the state last year that supported the creation of 12 apprenticeship programs embedded within degree programs during the 2023-2024 academic year.

“Apprenticeships are a critical tool for many, offering students the chance to start their careers while they pursue a degree,” said Gov. Hochul. “Through this $2 million expansion, we’re opening up more apprenticeship opportunities for CUNY students and preparing the next generation of New Yorkers to secure good-paying jobs right here in our state.”

“We have already seen just how impactful an apprenticeship can be for a young person pursuing a two-year degree, and so it is only right that we offer even more of these opportunities for our students,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “As a paid pathway to a job with a major employer, apprenticeships can be a direct onramp to where they want to work after college. We thank Gov. Hochul for continuing to invest in the CUNY students who will be leading New York’s future workforce, and we are grateful to the employers who are welcoming our students and also reaping the benefits themselves. This latest expansion is part of CUNY’s efforts to better connect our students to the world of work and advance our strategic goals to lift New York.”

These apprenticeships will be available at the seven CUNY community colleges along with College of Staten Island, Medgar Evers College and New York City College of Technology, all of which offer Associate of Applied Sciences (AAS) degrees. An integrated part of the degree path, these paid apprenticeships allow students earn nine credits while they are employed for one or two semesters by a partner company. At the end of the experience, the intention is for successful apprentices to convert to full-time employees. The investment is a significant expansion in the number of apprenticeships offered in New York City.

“As the New York Jobs CEO Council, our member companies are committed to removing barriers to entry-level roles,” said New York Jobs CEO Council Executive Director Kiersten Barnet. “Companies like Bloomberg, Travelers, and Northwell Health believe that the apprenticeship models create equitable access to high-paying roles, whilst supporting their early career hiring strategy.”

Apprenticeships offered through this continued expansion will support hundreds of students, most of whom are in AAS degree programs, two-year programs designed to prepare students to directly enter a career after graduation. In comparison, other associate degrees traditionally lead students to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program.

CUNY has prioritized the expansion of workforce development initiatives for its students and graduates. Such efforts include growing public-private partnerships with a $16 million investment in the CUNY Inclusive Economy Initiative; training students for financial careers through CUNY Futures in Finance; and placing students in public sector and nonprofit jobs over the summer via CUNY Career Launch. CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez currently serves as the co-chair of the City’s Future of Workers Task Force, which was charged by Mayor Eric Adams to explore ways to build the workforce, including expanding apprenticeship opportunities.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

Chancellors Matos Rodríguez and Banks Visit Richmond Hill High School to Promote Successful Career Readiness Program

CUNY Doubles Number of Campuses Participating in FutureReadyNYC

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez with high school students in a FutureReadyNYC class.

The chancellors of the City University of New York and New York City Public Schools today visited Richmond Hill High School in Queens to tout the success of FutureReadyNYC, a NYC Public Schools initiative that brings together the best of college and career readiness, allowing high school students to earn industry-aligned college credits from participating CUNY schools and take part in paid work experiences. This year, CUNY doubled the number of its colleges participating in the program, increasing from 8 to 16 schools. FutureReadyNYC offers high school students accelerated pathways into high wage, high demand fields of technology, education, healthcare and business at 100 high schools that can accelerate progress to completing degrees at CUNY.

“We are thrilled to continue to expand this critical program, which empowers our young people and enriches our relationship with New York City Public Schools,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Preparing New York City’s children for successful careers is one of the greatest responsibilities that we have both at CUNY and at NYC Public Schools, and the continued growth of this program will mean that even more high school students will graduate ready to kickstart their futures. And when these students are ready to continue their collegiate studies, our doors remain open at CUNY.”

“FutureReadyNYC continues to be a beacon that sets our students on paths to bold futures,” said NYC Public Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. “We are preparing our children for economically secure careers that align with their passion and purpose. This early exposure to work-based experiences and accompanying coursework opens the door to countless opportunities. CUNY serves as a critical partner to forward this mission that leads to more students on a path to college and career success.”

Thanks to a $19 million investment from Mayor Eric Adams, FutureReadyNYC this year expanded to 100 high schools. At Richmond Hill High School, high school students can earn up to 11 college credits over four semesters. The courses were developed in collaboration with the administration at the high school and York College, including the college’s Department of Health Professions. Following an introductory freshman seminar, students take the following four courses over the student’s junior and senior years: Public Health, Basic Concept of Health Professions, Medical Terminology and Nutrition & Health.

FutureReadyNYC offers students opportunities to explore a range of careers, develop financial literacy skills while weaving in pathway-aligned instruction and paid work experience, as well as personalized career advising that will guide the student to prepare for careers in high wage, high growth sectors. 

Colleges participating in FutureReadyNYC collaborate with high schools to offer courses that allow students to earn college credits, in some cases simultaneously with the high school credits they are earning during the school day. Depending on the program, classes are taught at the high school or the college, with instructors hired by CUNY. Some students may additionally earn credentials that are offered in a respective industry. For example, some students are able to earn CompTIA A+, a leading information technology certification, through Bronx Community College.

This year’s expansion of FutureReadyNYC is among a number of collaborative efforts between CUNY and New York City Public Schools to support the city’s public school students as they transition to collegiate studies and successful careers.

College Now enables more than 20,000 NYCPS high school students each academic year to develop momentum towards a college degree by the time they earn their high school diploma, earning up to 15 college credits from CUNY campuses. As these students graduate high school, they are connected with CUNY students who are paid to help them navigate the college enrollment process through the College and Career Bridge for All program.

This past fall, Chancellors Matos Rodríguez and Banks distributed “Welcome to CUNY” letters to public high school seniors across the city to offer admission to CUNY’s community colleges and inform them about their options for attending the University’s 19 undergraduate colleges; the application fee for these students to apply to CUNY was also waived for the month of October.

New York City Public Schools is a testament to the history and impact of urban education in the United States. With over 1,600 schools spread across five boroughs, the system is made up of approximately 1 million students and staff, making it the largest public school system in the nation. These schools employ more than 75,000 teachers, who deliver a rich tapestry of educational experiences to a student body that reflects the city’s vibrant and diverse cultural heritage. This network of educational institutions represents not just the scale of New York City’s commitment to public education, but also its dedication to fostering a learning environment that is as dynamic and diverse as the city itself.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Students to Participate in Mock Debate in State Capitol During SOMOS Conference

For 26 Years, the Model Senate Project Has Trained 1,400 Students for Careers in Public Service including late State Senator Jose Peralta

CUNY Model Senate students in the Chamber

On Saturday, March 9, the City University of New York, in partnership with the New York State Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, will bring members of its Model Senate Project, composed of students nominated by presidents at each CUNY campus, to Albany during the 2024 Somos, Inc. New York Conference for a mock debate on the floor of the New York State Senate chamber. Now in its 26th year, the Model Senate Project has trained more than 1,400 students for careers in public service, including the late State Senator Jose Peralta who participated while attending Queens College.

“The Model Senate Project has taught generations of students about the importance of civic engagement, the complexities of government, and the often difficult realities of leadership. I’m grateful to our partners at SOMOS and the New York State Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force for positioning students to see themselves as leaders,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.

Spotlight on Leadership

The Model New York State Senate Session Project was developed in 1997 by CUNY and the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force of the New York State Legislature as part of the annual SOMOS Conference in Albany. Students are nominated by their local college and receive an intensive, two-week training each spring to develop their leadership ability and undergo a crash course on New York government. Designed to teach future leaders about policy, politics, the legislative process, and advocacy, the program features seminars and lectures from leading New Yorkers like State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who worked as a facilitator for the Project while enrolled as a Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center and has served a as mentor for more than a decade.

“For more than a decade, I have proudly served as a mentor to hundreds of CUNY and SUNY students participating in the annual Somos El Futuro Model Senate leadership development program,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “This program has given me the unique opportunity to help nurture our State’s future generation of civic leaders by providing them with the resources and knowledge that would allow them to proactively approach the political and policy processes that affect them and their communities. I look forward to working closely with the Model State Senate for years to come.”

The program culminates with a trip to Albany, where students debate public policy in the Senate Chamber. This year’s debate centers around Daniel’s Law, sponsored by State Senator Samra Brouk and Assemblymember Harry Bronson, which would change how New York responds to people having a mental health crisis. The proposed law is named after Daniel Prude who died in 2020 after a confrontation with Rochester police called to help assist during his mental health episode. 

At the start of the program, 45 CUNY and 18 SUNY students are assigned to one of New York’s 63 State Senate districts and given a party affiliation based on the district’s current representative. For the next two weeks, each student learns about their constituents, immersing themselves in the district’s unique social, political, economic, and demographic dynamics. Using this research and concepts gleaned from the program, students must take a position on the proposed legislation and prepare remarks to be delivered during the Senate debate justifying their vote. 

For Model Senate participant Danish Saleem, a second-year student at Kingsborough Community College, the program is a chance “to understand the process of making a policy, of passing a bill.” Assigned the role of Deputy Minority Leader representing the 24th Senate District on Staten Island, Saleem views the legislative debate itself as a critical exercise in empathy. “I have to find reasons to support a bill beyond what I would personally believe.”

Creating Financial & Career Opportunities

For Karol Guaman, a senior at Queens College, the Model Senate has offered a unique opportunity to learn more about policymaking and legislation. Her long-term goal is to work in immigration reform. 

She was assigned the role of Deputy Majority Leader representing the 12th Senate District in Queens. “I am really excited to be in the Chamber, and it is wonderful that the Model Senate program gives the chance for students to be motivated and experience such an opportunity.”

Following the trip to Albany, students submit essays to compete for scholarships. Ten winners receive a $1,000 scholarship from the NYS Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. Since its inception the program has handed out more than $250,000 in scholarship money.

The Model Senate plays a key role in CUNY efforts to prepare students for professional success after graduation. The SOMOS CUNY Summer Internship Program, available to CUNY students who complete Model Senate, assigns students to the district offices of state legislators on the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Executive Committee. For six weeks, interns engage in the work of a political office, supporting critical services such as community outreach and constituent affairs.

A Historic Commitment to Civic Engagement 

The Model Senate is part of CUNY’s long-standing dedication to civic education and engagement, exemplified by CUNY Votes. A comprehensive, non-partisan initiative, CUNY Votes encourages student voter registration and participation through campus activities and partnerships. For students looking to get involved beyond election day and outside the ballot box, the Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Affairs offers access to internship opportunities at every level of government.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Kicks Off Women’s Conference Week; Celebrates Influential Leaders During Women’s History Month

Women Comprise Half of CUNY’s 25 College Leaders, More Than Half of Chancellor’s Cabinet, Majority of Student and Faculty Bodies

CUNY women leaders

The City University of New York today celebrated the launch of its annual Women’s Conference Week, a five-day series of programming beginning March 18 that provides career development and mentorship opportunities for women among the University’s faculty, staff and students. First launched as a leadership conference in 2005, the weeklong event anchors Women’s History Month. 

CUNY also continues to celebrate record representation of women in leadership positions across the University, with half of the University’s 25 colleges being led by women following recent presidential appointments and women comprising more than half of the Chancellor’s cabinet.

“CUNY has a long legacy of empowering women as part of the work we do everyday to uplift New York, and as we kick off our annual Women’s Conference Week, we are reaffirming our dedication to developing the women who work and study at the University,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “As a result of our making it a priority to have leaders who reflect the diversity of our students and our city, we have a historically representative system from our leadership to our faculty, and we will continue to celebrate their successes.”

Empowering CUNY’s Women

CUNY Women’s Conference Week includes two formerly separate events that support the women of the University: the CUNY Student Women’s Leadership Conference, now in its 20th year, and the CUNY Career Compass for Women Leaders Conference, an event for faculty and staff which celebrates its fifth year.

This year’s conference theme, “CUNY Women: Leading and Mobilizing Our Communities,” includes three designated tracks: career advancement, addressing challenges in leadership and community engagement. The conference is one facet of progressing one of the goals of “CUNY Lifting New York,” a strategic plan to transform the University by 2030. In line with the plan’s goal to eliminate academic equity gaps by supporting our world-class staff and faculty, CUNY is providing innovative professional development and leadership training.

Many of the sessions are led by CUNY’s own women in leadership, providing them a platform to share their expertise and learn from one another. 

Leading Our Campuses

As part of the University’s continued mission to have a leadership team that represents New York’s diversity, 12 CUNY colleges have women at the helm, comprising nearly half of the 25 colleges.

In the most recent presidential appointment, the University named national higher education leader Nancy Cantor as the next president of Hunter College. President-designate Cantor, who will take office on August 12, 2024, has previously broken barriers as the first woman to lead Rutgers-Newark, Syracuse University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The current academic year also began with the start of Lisa R. Braverman’s tenure as dean of the CUNY School of Professional Studies, bringing a national leader in adult, online and continuing higher education to the top post at the University’s leading online school.

Two leading women with strong ties to the CUNY family were recently brought on to lead CUNY campuses in an interim capacity. Kingsborough Community College welcomed interim President Suri Duitch, a two-time CUNY alumna with a distinguished career that includes more than 12 years in leadership roles at the University. Her decade of service in CUNY’s Office of Academic Affairs included launching the successful CUNY Service Corps and improving employment outcomes for graduates. Claudia V. Schrader, who had served as Kingsborough’s president since 2018, recently took on the role of interim president at York College, bringing to the role over 20 years of holding roles of increasing leadership across three CUNY colleges. While at Kingsborough, she twice brought the college to the final round of 10 schools that competed for the highly prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

These four leaders join the eight other women leading CUNY colleges: Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Dean Graciela Mochkofsky, CUNY School of Law Dean Sudha Setty, Hostos Community College President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice President Karol V. Mason, Macaulay Honors College Dean Dara N. Byrne, Medgar Evers College President Patricia Ramsey and Queensborough Community College President Christine Mangino.

Additionally, Hunter College is currently under the stewardship of interim President Ann Kirschner, who is also dean emerita of Macaulay Honors College, until the start of Cantor’s tenure.

Central Office Leaders

Over half of the Chancellor’s central leadership team are women, accounting for 10 members of the 18-person cabinet. Chancellor Matos Rodríguez has made a concerted effort to establish a diverse cabinet since his tenure began in 2019.

Last month, he appointed Alicia M. Alvero to the role of vice chancellor for academic and faculty affairs following a national search, elevating a leader who is a longtime member of the CUNY family, with her academic career beginning two decades ago as a psychology professor at Queens College. She rose to the rank of associate provost for academic and faculty affairs before joining the CUNY Central Office as interim associate vice chancellor for academic effectiveness and innovation.

Vice Chancellor Alvero joins a leadership team where the No. 2 leadership role at the University is held by a woman, CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Wendy F. Hensel. The cabinet also includes Glenda G. Grace, special counsel and senior vice chancellor for institutional affairs and strategic advancement; Doriane K. Gloria, senior vice chancellor for university human resources and labor relations; Maite Junco, vice chancellor for communications and marketing; Denise B. Maybank, vice chancellor for student affairs; Reine T. Sarmiento, vice chancellor for enrollment management; Dolly Martínez, the Chancellor’s chief of staff and associate vice chancellor for the executive office; Rachel Stephenson, chief transformation officer; and Gayle M. Horwitz, the Chancellor’s senior adviser and secretary of the CUNY Board of Trustees.

A Legacy of Uplifting Women

CUNY’s legacy of uplifting women goes back to the founding of one of its oldest colleges. Hunter College, which was founded in 1870 as the Female Normal and High School to train young women to become teachers, was the first tuition-free college for women in the United States. Today, nearly 60% of CUNY students identify as women, as well as more than half of the University’s faculty. These women make significant contributions to the University and their respective disciplines, including these Black CUNY women who are making strides in science, technology, engineering and math.

Next week, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Rossana Rosado will take part in a discussion at Macaulay Honors College celebrating women’s history in New York. Commissioner Rosado, a John Jay College alumna, has been a barrier-breaker of her own as the first female head of the oldest and largest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, El Diario La Prensa. Chancellor Matos Rodríguez brings to the talk his perspective as a noted historian of Latino studies whose scholarship has focused on Puerto Rican women’s and feminist history.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Extends Deadline to Commit to College to June 1, Giving Applicants More Time to Weigh Financial Aid

Change Will Help Students Cope With a Delay in FAFSA data; Nearly  175,000 Students – over 75% of CUNY Undergraduates – Receive Financial Aid

CUNY student on a laptop outside on campus.

City University of New York Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez announced today that amid delays with the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid Program (FAFSA), CUNY will move its deadline for students to accept their admission offers – known as College Decision Day or National Candidate Reply Commitment Day – from May 1 to June 1. The new extended date is designed to help students who won’t receive federal financial aid data until April. 

“For millions of young adults wrestling over where to attend college, access to financial aid is often the deciding factor. This is particularly true for CUNY, an institution founded on the promise of providing a public first-rate education to all students, regardless of means,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. By pushing back commitment day we’re able to provide students and families the flexibility to make an informed decision and enable more New Yorkers to seize the benefits of public higher education.”

Traditionally, students who complete the FAFSA form, which colleges use to calculate financial aid packages, receive decisions about financing options in March. This year, release of the data is delayed because of changes to streamline the form, including efforts to reduce and clarify questions and update the formula to expand eligibility.

At CUNY, where over a third of undergraduate students come from households that earn less than $20,000 annually, many students rely on financial aid to attend college. During the 2022-23 academic year, 174,000 undergraduates – or 77% of its 226,000 student body – received $780 million in need-based federal Pell grants and New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) awards. Thanks to this aid, last year, 67% of in-state full-time undergraduates attended tuition-free and 80% of all CUNY students graduated debt-free. 

To alleviate some financial uncertainty for prospective students affected by FAFSA, the University is offering the CUNY Net Price Calculator, which enables students to estimate their eligibility for grants, loans and scholarships and compare CUNY aid and expenses to other colleges. 

Boosting Access to Aid and Enrollment

CUNY is urging all high school seniors to complete the FAFSA form if they have not done so yet. In 2023, more than 80,000 graduating seniors in New York State failed to complete the form. According to the National College Attainment Network, the high school class of 2022 left about $3.6 billion in Pell Grants nationwide unclaimed by not completing the FAFSA. To boost completion rates, Gov. Hochul this year introduced legislation requiring graduating high school seniors to complete and submit a FAFSA form. 

As part of that effort, CUNY launched a web guide to FAFSA and a #FileFAFSAEarly social media campaign to spread awareness. Through its K16 Initiatives College and Career Advising Programs, the University has helped more than 4,000 high school students complete FAFSA forms. 

To make the application process more accessible, CUNY and New York City Public Schools sent personalized “Welcome to CUNY” letters to approximately 65,000 NYC Public Schools seniors. The letters offered admission to CUNY community colleges and a QR code leading to a comprehensive admissions page that featured an Admissions Toolbox guide including a virtual enrollment counselor and information on financial aid.

Efforts to eliminate barriers reflect the University’s larger goal, enshrined in its strategic roadmap,CUNY Lifting New York,” to cement its role as a national leader in providing access to higher education to all.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Celebrates Black Women in STEM

Trailblazers Include Medgar Evers College President and Biologist Patricia Ramsey, School of Medicine Dean Carmen Green, Associate Vice Chancellor of Research Rosemarie Wesson

These Esteemed Leaders as Well as NIH Pioneer Award Winner Mandë Holford and Groundbreaking Breast Cancer Researcher Jill Bargonetti Share Their Advice For Success in the Sciences

Clockwise from top left: Patricia Ramsey, Carmen Renée Green, Mandë Holford, Jill Bargonetti and Rosemarie Wesson

CUNY is celebrating the significant contributions of Black women on its faculty and administration who are reshaping the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math through influential research and advocacy that takes many different forms. They are all working to expand opportunities for students from groups that are historically underrepresented in the STEM fields by conducting groundbreaking research, mentoring the next generation of scientists and leveraging their standing to deliver key messages on the national stage.  

They include Patricia Ramsey, an accomplished biologist who is the first Black woman to serve as president of Medgar Evers College; Carmen Renée Green, dean of the CUNY School of Medicine, a pain medicine physician and a widely cited scholar on the disparities in pain treatment who is currently the only African-American woman serving as a medical school dean in the Northeast; and Associate Vice Chancellor and University Vice Provost of Research Rosemarie Wesson, a renowned chemical engineer and the first woman of color to hold this role. The group also includes celebrated professors and researchers Mandë Holford and Jill Bargonetti, who both have appointments at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. Holford, a chemical marine biologist who studies the therapeutic potential of venoms from marine mollusks, was the first CUNY researcher to win an NIH Pioneer Award, which awards her $7.7 million over five years. Bargonetti is a molecular biologist and cancer researcher who has made groundbreaking advances related to the treatment and detection of breast cancer.

“During Black History Month, we are proud to celebrate these pioneering STEM scholars who are part of CUNY’s rich legacy of trailblazing Black women from every academic discipline,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “In word and deed, they embody the University’s mission through their work as transformative leaders, cutting-edge researchers, attentive mentors and champions of equity in education.”

Black women are historically underrepresented in STEM fields of study. Although they comprise 7% of the population, they only make up 4.2% of biology science majors, 2.6% of computer science majors, 2.8% of physical science majors, 2.3% of math and statistics majors and less than one percent of engineering degree recipients, according to the American Association of University Women

CUNY has prioritized the goal of increasing enrollment in STEM majors. The University offers more than 500 programs in STEM fields and health care at the associate, bachelor’s and graduate level. Enrollment in these programs has increased by 7% over the past decade and the number of degrees awarded has increased by 54%, from about 5,700 degrees in 2013-14 to 8,800 awarded in 2022-23. In Fall 2022, nearly a quarter of CUNY’s undergraduates, or just under 42,000 students, were enrolled in STEM majors across the University.  

A Force for Change, Locally and Nationally

Ramsey is the sixth president of Medgar Evers College, which ranks first in the CUNY system for awarding STEM degrees to Black women. The college, named for the civil rights leader who was assassinated in Mississippi in 1963, was founded seven years after his death in response to strong community advocacy. Within six weeks of becoming president, in 2021, Ramsey submitted a proposal that resulted in a $20 million grant award — the largest single grant in the college’s history — to create two student support programs. One of them, Brooklyn Recovery Corps, matches students with paid internships with environmental sustainability being one of the main themes. 

Ramsey is a biologist by training and holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University and master’s degrees in biology and botany from Harvard University and Howard University, respectively. She studied the biological activity of plants used in folklore, collecting hundreds of specimens throughout a wide expanse of the southeastern United States. 

When asked about the biggest risk she’d taken as a scientist, Ramsey spoke about an experience as a doctoral student that had required grit and resourcefulness. “It was riding across the Intracoastal waterway with a group of strangers on what looked like Tom Sawyer’s raft, to an uninhabited barrier island infested with alligators, to collect leaves to take back to my research lab at Georgetown.” 

To succeed in a STEM field, Ramsey advises, “Believe in yourself, don’t let others define you and explore your wonderment.” 

Fighting Inequality 

Green is an internationally renowned scholar and policy expert who has spent her career working to remedy inequities within the U.S. health care system. A trained anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician, she has written extensively on disparities in the quality of pain care for racial and ethnic minorities, women and low-income individuals. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine, she helped draft the National Pain Care Policy Act, which was incorporated into the Affordable Care Act. It also led to the development of the Department of Health and Human Services book “National Pain Care Strategy,” a coordinated plan with metrics and recommendations for improving and standardizing the treatment of chronic pain. 

“Standing up for overlooked, vulnerable and marginalized people isn’t always easy nor does it necessarily make you popular, but you have to have courage to be the one to make a difference,” said Green. 

Green, who supports adding a second “M” to “STEMM” to include the field of medicine, is currently leading a strategic growth plan at the CUNY School of Medicine, where 40% of the medical students are Black and 25% are Latinx. Most CUNY medical school graduates go on to work in underserved communities. “I tell my students, ‘You are changing the face of medicine and you have every right to be here. Your ancestors are your superpower,’” she said.

‘Best Decision I Could Have Made’

Wesson, who was appointed to head CUNY’s research enterprise in December, received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an experience she calls “a big risk — but the best decision I could have made.” She continued her training at the University of Michigan, where she was the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in the field, and later served on the faculty at Louisiana State University and in key roles at the National Science Foundation and Dow Chemical Company.

She came to CUNY in 2015 to serve as associate dean for research at the Grove School of Engineering at City College where she worked under another Black woman, then-dean Gilda Barabino. “It was very refreshing and very unusual,” Wesson recalls. “And it honestly took me a while to get used to it because it was different.” 

Wesson has administered numerous programs and grants to increase diversity and representation in the sciences. She has mentored students of color throughout her career and her advice to them is always to stay focused and be willing to work hard. “It’s not impossible, but it is challenging,” she said.

Turning Venom Into Potent Medicine

“Without CUNY professor Lawrence Johnson, I would not be a scientist,” said Holford, who received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and chemistry from York College and continued her training at The Rockefeller University. Her work at Hunter College’s Laboratory of Chemical and Biological Diversity focuses on the development of clinical applications for venom from marine snails — which, like a drug, is powerful and fast-acting — to treat cancer and other diseases, and conditions like chronic pain. 

Holford also recognizes the critical role played by mentors like Johnson, who passed away last year, in the success of talented students. She co-founded 2030STEM, an initiative aimed at drastically increasing the numbers of Black and Latinx STEM professionals to create the diverse workforce needed to address international challenges like climate change. In 2020, she was the only researcher from a U.S. public institution to be named a Sustainability Pioneer by the World Economic Forum; the award is given to scientists whose work supports the common objective of meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. She also holds scientific appointments at the American Museum of Natural History and Weill Cornell Medicine.

Holford mentors postdoctoral fellows as well as undergraduate and graduate students in her lab, about 30% of whom are from groups that are typically underrepresented in the science fields. She reminds them that there are numerous routes for those with a STEM degree.  “I’ve had students go on to STEM jobs in industry, business and government, and each one is thriving and happy at how they’re using their STEM passion to advance society,” she said.

Targeting an Insidious Killer

Bargonetti grew up in New York City without being taught by a single black science teacher, inspiring her to become one herself. She is now a biological sciences professor at Hunter College and she runs its Bargonetti Lab, where she studies triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to be difficult to detect, can spread aggressively and may have fewer treatment options than other types of breast cancer. She has won the 1997 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Award, which is the U.S. government’s highest honor for early-career scientists, has been consistently funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since 2005 and currently holds a prestigious investigator-initiated Research Project Grant (R01) from the National Cancer Institute for breast cancer treatment discovery.

Bargonetti also leads Hunter’s New York Research and Mentoring for Post Baccalaureates program (NY-RaMP), a paid yearlong program funded by the National Science Foundation that provides recent graduates from underrepresented groups opportunities to work in high-impact research. She advises Black students looking to enter a STEM field to “Ask lots of questions. Questions are important in science.” 

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY and The New School Launch New Social Security Administration-Funded Retirement and Disability Research Center

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has awarded The City University of New York and The New School a five-year, multimillion-dollar cooperative agreement to establish one of six national centers in the federal agency’s Retirement and Disability Research Consortium.

Funding for the first year will be more than $1.9 million with similar amounts expected in each of the remaining four years.

The newly created New York Retirement and Disability Research Center (NY-RDRC) will be a collaboration between the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research housed at Baruch College, the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter College and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School.

With funding that began Sept. 30, the new center will conduct interdisciplinary research focused on the multi-faceted challenges faced by populations served by Social Security Administration programs  — older adults, children dependent on Social Security, and people with disabilities — and train the next generation of scholars to provide the agency with data, insights and policy recommendations.

“CUNY is proud to partner with The New School in creating an important new research center whose work will help the Social Security Administration pursue policies that improve the lives of millions of people in New York and across the country,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is committed to reducing health and economic disparities and this partnership exemplifies how we are expanding research opportunities for CUNY students by creating collaborations across disciplines, across our campuses and with partner institutions.”  

“This award unites the expertise of two of New York’s premier institutions of higher education to confront rising disparities in aging and disability,” said New School Interim President Donna E. Shalala. “Harnessing The New School’s innovative interdisciplinary scholarship and its commitment to racial equity and civic engagement to the newly created NY-RDRC will reshape policy and promote the well-being of older workers and seniors nationwide. Professor Teresa Ghilarducci, a nationally recognized expert on retirement security and director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, will lead our effort.”

With CUNY’s participation, the new center is one of the first in the SSA Retirement and Disability Research Consortium led by a minority-serving institution. It joins RDRC centers at Boston College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Additionally, partner institutions include the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Spelman College, Howard University, the University of Baltimore, Brandeis University, and Montana State University. It will bring together interdisciplinary scholarship and methods from demography, economics, public health, social gerontology, sociology, and urban planning.

The New York-based research center will focus on the disparities in health, wealth, income and social class that shape work quality, retirement income security, morbidity and longevity in older ages. It will also examine disparities arising from the larger political economy, geographical divides between urban, suburban and rural places, the changing nature of employment and the workplace, and climate instability.

NY-RDRC will provide training opportunities for diverse students and scholars by offering a wide range of research fellowships to students of all levels, paid summer training internships and post-doctoral fellowships. This will give students practical training in research and policy analysis as well as access to faculty and resources at CUNY and The New School.

“Hunter College is honored to partner with the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research at Baruch College and The New School in this vital national project to address the disparities that have negatively affected the health and well-being of so many older Americans,” said Hunter Interim President Ann Kirschner. “Our Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and its director, Ruth Finkelstein, bring to the center decades of research and problem-solving among some of America’s most disadvantaged seniors. It is fitting, too, that Hunter will participate in a partnership sponsored by the Social Security Administration. Our Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, the former home of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt, was the birthplace of the New Deal and the old-age pensions that became Social Security.” 

“Baruch College, an institution driven by learning and intellectual discovery, is proud to be the host of the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research since its inception in 2007,” said Baruch College President S. David Wu. “This major, first-of-its kind project between CUNY and The New School reflects Baruch’s strategic priorities to foster faculty research that is impactful and to empower our students to succeed by providing research opportunities on all levels. The New York Retirement and Disability Research Center complements the work already accomplished by Baruch students and faculty in the field of retirement and disability. This funding creates new pathways for interdisciplinary collaboration, focusing on today’s pressing social and economic issues: the disparities in health, wealth, income, and social class that shape work quality, retirement income security, morbidity, and longevity in older ages.”

Hunter College’s Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging has been working to improve the lives of older adults for almost 50 years. It was founded by Dr. Rose Dobrof, a pioneer in the field of social gerontology, and has been committed to advancing policy and practice to promote a good old age for all. The center recognizes that aging is not a disease, but another stage in the life course that can be influenced by how we live. The center conducts community-based participatory and mixed methods research, as well as development and evaluation of new policy and practice solutions. By communicating its findings to colleagues in the field of aging and policymakers, the center works to change the lives of older adults, especially those who experience hardship and inequality because of cumulative disadvantage over the life course.

The CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR), located at Baruch College, leads the intellectual community of demographers in the New York metropolitan area and fosters connections among population researchers across disciplines within CUNY and with collaborators in New York City and beyond. The research interests of its prominent faculty span a wide range of fields within the discipline including aging, biodemography, economic demography, family dynamics, fertility, inequality, migration, mortality, race and ethnic studies, spatial demography, urbanization, and population-climate interactions. CIDR supports the research and ancillary training activities of doctoral students at the CUNY Graduate Center and engages broadly with CUNY students of all levels on demographic research and subjects.

The Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) is an economic policy think tank located in the department of Economics at The New School for Social Research. SCEPA’s mission is to elevate critical and institutional economic research to improve mainstream policymaking. The Center’s research approach emphasizes the need for economic policies that promote social welfare, economic justice, and sustainable growth. SCEPA collaborates with scholars, policymakers, and advocacy groups to produce timely and relevant research that informs public discourse and influences policy decisions. The Center is committed to advancing economic analysis and policy development that promotes the well-being of all individuals and communities.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.

###

Statement from CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez on Ratification of CUNY’s Five-Plus Year Contract With Over 10,000 Employees

CUNY and DC 37 sign labor agreement

From left: CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista; Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd; CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez; Service Employees International Union Local 300 President Jim Golden and District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.

District Council 37, Teamsters Local 237, SEIU Local 300, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 306 and the New York State Nurse Association (NYSNA) announced that its members voted to ratify a new contract with The City University of New York. Approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees, the five-plus year agreement covers over 10,000 employees, provides retroactive wage increase of 14.9% across the life of the contract, increases the minimum wage to $18 and offers a lump sum ratification bonus of $3,000. 

The following is a statement from CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez: 

“We often hear that it takes a village. CUNY’s village includes the public safety officers who keep us safe, the nurses who keep us healthy, and the custodial staff, IT experts and others who keep the classrooms open and accessible, working each day to raise up our University and the over 225,000 students it serves. The newly ratified contract with DC 37, Teamsters Local 237, SEIU Local 300, IATSE Local 306 and NYSNA recognizes these employees’ commitment to CUNY and demonstrates CUNY’s commitment to them in turn.

“Amid a nationwide shortage of public safety officers, this contract invests in CUNY’s ability to recruit and retain campus peace officers by increasing current salaries and lessening the time it takes to ascend the pay scale ladder.

“I’m grateful to Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams, as well as DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd and other union leaders for their partnership throughout this process, and look forward to building on this momentum to finalize all our pending labor contracts.”

Details of the ratified agreement can be found here.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Announces Designation of Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali as Official Holidays

Along With New York Public Schools, CUNY Colleges Will Not Be in Session in Observance of the Holidays Starting in Spring 2025

Starting in Spring 2025, Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year, Diwali will become official CUNY holidays.

Following a vote by the CUNY Board of Trustees, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez today announced that CUNY will become one of the first universities in the nation to designate Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali as holidays on the official school calendar. The move aligns CUNY with public schools across New York City for the first time.

During the Spring 2025 semester, CUNY will not hold classes on January 29, 2025, in honor of Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar calendar, an important cultural holiday for many Asian communities. Nor will classes be held on March 31, 2025, for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. Likewise, classes will not be held on June 5, 2025, for Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, which falls during the summer session, or on October 20, 2025, for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

“With this vote, the Board of Trustees has taken an important step to advance diversity, equity and inclusion at CUNY,” said CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. “For an institution like ours, whose students observe many faiths and mirror the great diversity of our city, we are pleased to assure them the freedom and flexibility to celebrate with their families and communities during these important days of observance.”

“As one of the largest and most diverse public universities in the country, CUNY has a responsibility to represent and reflect its diverse religions and cultures,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Students who observe Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year or Diwali will be able to honor those traditions without worrying about their schoolwork. I’m proud to see CUNY advance our commitment to inclusivity.”

“I am glad to see our University ensure students do not have to decide between attending their classes and observing their traditional holidays,” said Trustee Salimatou Doumbouya, chairperson of the CUNY University Student Senate (USS). “This decision represents the tireless advocacy of CUNY student leaders. As the student trustee on CUNY’s Board, I voted and advocated for these changes. I am proud that our university is committed to celebrating the rich diversity of our students, faculty and administration. This decision to formally recognize Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali is a huge step towards equity. It’s a historic win!”

The announcement brings CUNY in alignment with New York State law and New York City Public Schools. CUNY is closed for widely observed federal holidays such as Christmas and Juneteenth. In addition, CUNY’s 25 colleges do not hold classes during Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Student Accommodations

Today’s announcement builds on CUNY’s existing protocols concerning religious accommodation. Under New York State Education Law 224-A and CUNY policy, students have the right to request religious accommodations for any scheduled academic activities that may conflict with their religious observances. Religious accommodations are likewise available to faculty and staff. To raise awareness about religious accommodations, CUNY recently launched a promotional campaign across the University.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Names National Higher Education Leader Nancy Cantor as 14th President of Hunter College

Daughter of Two CUNY Alumni and First Woman Chancellor at Three Universities

Nancy Cantor

The City University of New York has named Nancy Cantor, an experienced higher education leader who has served as president and chancellor of several universities, as the 14th president of Hunter College in Manhattan, CUNY’s largest college. The University’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Cantor, who is currently the chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark, at its meeting on Tuesday. She takes office on August 12, 2024.

The daughter of two CUNY alumni — her mother graduated from Hunter College and her father from The City College of New York — Dr. Cantor has worked for more than four decades in higher education in roles that include psychology professor, research scientist, dean and senior administrator. Prior to her decade of leadership at Rutgers-Newark, she served as chancellor and president of Syracuse University and chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the first woman to serve as chancellor at all three institutions.

“With her deep and broad experience as a higher education leader, Nancy Cantor is well-poised to lead Hunter College into its next chapter of excellence,” said CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. “Hunter has a rich and important history, and we look forward to seeing that legacy extended under Dr. Cantor’s leadership in the years ahead.”

“An iconic New York City institution like Hunter College requires a leader who is a champion of social mobility and an innovative thinker, someone ready to address ongoing challenges and embrace emerging opportunities on Day 1. We have found this and more in Nancy Cantor,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Dr. Cantor’s career as an educator spans more than four decades and demonstrates her commitment to uplifting students from all backgrounds. She is keenly aware of the important role colleges play as anchor institutions in their communities and the University’s obligation to serve the public good.”

Cantor holds a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University. She is the recipient of many awards, including the Robert Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education; the Women of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League; and the Frank W. Hale Jr. Diversity Leadership Award from the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Postsecondary Commission.

She started her career at Princeton University as a professor of psychology and later became the department chair. She shifted to higher education administration at the University of Michigan, where, over the course of 13 years, she was on the psychology faculty and a research scientist at the Institute for Social Research and held several posts including university provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

“I am deeply honored to join the CUNY family. Hunter embodies all that I hope for — and all that I believe our moment requires of — higher education as a significant lever for social mobility and scholarship that reimagines our world to more genuinely and equitably spread opportunity, health, creative expression and civic empowerment,” said Cantor. “Perhaps most critically, I am eager to collaborate with communities across New York City to highlight how higher education can answer the call of what the public needs, now and going forward. On a personal level, coming to Hunter and CUNY allows me to carry on a family legacy.”

Champion of Local Synergies

Cantor has been praised nationally and internationally for her focus on universities as anchor institutions that support and enrich their surrounding neighborhoods through partnerships with community organizations, cultural centers, public officials and corporations. At Rutgers-Newark, she oversaw the creation of the “City Verses” project on jazz and poetry, a collaboration with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center that offered teaching opportunities to Rutgers MFA candidates and alumni and helped the public to learn more about the connections between these two art forms. At Syracuse University, her efforts to forge partnerships between the university and community led to her winning the Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award, one of higher education’s most prestigious honors.

Cantor also prioritizes student success and career readiness and has promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion. During her tenure at Rutgers-Newark, the number of students attending from the surrounding Newark community has increased by nearly 50%. She led an expansive, ambitious strategic planning effort that leveraged Rutgers-Newark’s diversity as a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI), Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI); a partnership with the national non-profit organization Braven, which offers students an accelerated curriculum and matches them with a career mentor; and the opening of the Honors Living Learning Community in downtown Newark, an academic program focused on local citizenship in a global world, which the New York Times has called a “nationwide” model.

The author of several books, Cantor’s work as a social psychologist has been supported by the National Science Foundation. She is co-editor with Earl Lewis of the “Our Compelling Interests” book series published by Princeton University Press, which explores racial, socioeconomic, gender, religious, regional, sexual and other types of diversity through commentary from a wide range of authors and scholars.

Legacies of Inclusivity, Excellence

Hunter College, originally the country’s first college to offer free education for teachers, was established in 1870 as the women-only Normal College of the City of New York. It was a counterpart to the Free Academy, which was established in 1847 by state legislative charter and later renamed the College of the City of New York. During a time when many schools in the country had restrictive admissions policies to exclude Black and Jewish students and members of other minority groups, both City College and Hunter granted admission solely on the basis of academic merit and New York City residency. Hunter was renamed in 1914 for its founder, Thomas Hunter, and by the early 20th century began granting bachelor’s degrees and offering a broader liberal arts curriculum. Hunter began admitting men in 1946 and in 1961 became part of the City University of New York, after legislation was passed to unite the city’s seven municipal colleges.

Today, Hunter has more than 100 different undergraduate and graduate degree programs across six schools, and its presence is deeply felt in several New York City communities. The college is home to several institutes and research centers including the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, which focuses on giving students rich opportunities to study civic engagement and is located in the former townhouse of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, is the country’s largest university-based research institute dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience. A $20 million recent investment by the state will enable CENTRO to combine its two locations into one 17,000-square-foot space at Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work, located in Manhattan’s storied El Barrio neighborhood.

Hunter’s Brookdale campus, home to the Hunter School of Nursing, CUNY’s largest nursing education program, is the future site of SPARC Kips Bay, a new academic, public health and life sciences hub that will be the first of its kind in New York State, funded with a historic investment of $1.6 billion from the state and city. This project will create a career pipeline for students seeking jobs in high-demand fields like health care, public health and life sciences, helping solidify New York’s reputation as a leader in these industries. The campus will include classrooms and labs across three CUNY schools —Hunter’s School of Nursing, CUNY Graduate School of Health & Health Policy, and Borough of Manhattan Community College health care programs.

Cantor is the 17th permanent leader of a CUNY college or professional school appointed since Chancellor Matos Rodríguez began his tenure in May 2019. She succeeds Ann Kirschner, dean emerita of Macaulay Honors College, who is currently serving as Hunter’s interim president.

Hunter College is acclaimed for its rigorous academics and research enterprise and highly accomplished faculty. Its alumni include several Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and National Medal of Science winners, as well as noted scholars and activists Bella Abzug, Audre Lorde, Pauli Murray and Antonia Pantoja. In Fall 2022, Hunter’s total enrollment was nearly 23,000 students.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Receives $2 Million From the Mellon Foundation to Make University Archives More Accessible to Public

Project Will Streamline Access to Sources From 25 Campuses, Promoting Use of Materials That Are ‘Richly Intertwined’ With the History of New York City

Will Catalog, Organize and Further Digitize Special Collections, Including Material Related to Politician Shirley Chisholm, Philosopher Bertrand Russell and Poet William Butler Yeats

Shirley Chisholm at an election site table.

Shirley Chisholm, right, whose work is archived as part of the CUNY Digital History Archive and also at Brooklyn College.

The City University of New York has received a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to create a centralized institutional archive. The funding will be used to establish a single public point of access for its 31 libraries and many of its 100 cultural centers and institutes, many of which house collections of significant historical interest. The work will standardize archive procedures across the system, making more of the material easier for historians and the public to find, including thousands of digitized photographs, news clippings, historical documents, video footage and oral histories that are contained in the CUNY Digital History Archive and campus archives. This will also create public access to CUNY’s Central Office University Archives, a collection of thousands of administrative and internal records dating to 1926.

“CUNY has been a focal point for waves of newly arrived Americans and social justice movements that have transformed higher education, and its history is richly intertwined with that of New York City and the United States. As a historian, this gift and what it means for the preservation of CUNY’s story, brings me tremendous joy,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “This generous donation will create an essential resource for historians, students, alumni and the public, and it will help to secure CUNY’s legacy by preserving our institutional memory for generations to come. We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its continued support.”

Expanding Students’ Perspectives

The funding will allow the CUNY Central Office of Library Services to hire three full-time archivists who will work with students from the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies to sort and inventory the resources currently in CUNY’s libraries and records warehouse.

The grant will also support a large cohort of Faculty Fellows, who will promote teaching with archives by incorporating material from the collections into their course curricula, creating new and enriched educational opportunities for students.

A sign reading, "Luchemos Unidos por Mas Espacio"

Students and faculty from Hostos Community College march to advocate for the acquisition of the building at 500 Grand Concourse to expand the college’s usable space. The sign, in Spanish, translates to, “We Struggle United for More Space.”

“Faculty are hungry for opportunities to work with primary sources in the classroom, such as those found in the CUNY Digital History Archive. They provide outlets to examine bias, develop historical empathy and experience history first-hand,” said Kristin Hart, University dean of libraries and information resources, who will serve as the project’s principal investigator.

Created in 2014, the CUNY Digital History Archive is an open, participatory archive of curators, historians, archivists and others who are committed to collecting, preserving and amplifying CUNY history so it can support faculty research and teaching and be shared with students and the public.

Uncovering History

The project will make available thousands of previously inaccessible records from the Central Office archives — currently contained in 7,000 boxes that will be sorted and cataloged — that help tell the University’s story. Many files and documents are related to the stories of emerging communities that fought for access public higher education: These include documents about the formation of Hostos Community College and Medgar Evers College in response to demands from the Latino and Black communities, as well as the adoption of CUNY’s open admissions policy in 1970 and papers from its architect, senior vice chancellor Julius Edelstein, who also worked with Shirley Chisholm, Percy Ellis Sutton and others drafting legislation that led to the creation of the Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK program and College Discovery. These renowned Higher Educational Opportunity Programs trace their origins to the civil rights era and continue to serve thousands of students today.

CUNY student demonstrators holding signs fighting to save open admissions and free tuition.

CUNY students picket to save the University’s open admissions and free tuition policies. Documents related to the adoption of the open admissions policy will be made available through the project.

CUNY librarians have noted an upsurge in scholarly interest in the University’s history as it relates to diversity, social mobility and social movements, which has also been seen in films such as “The Five Demands,” books such as “New York Liberation School and digital humanities resources like The CUNY 1969 Project

CUNY’s Collections

CUNY’s 31 libraries, all of which are open to any CUNY student, serve more than 14 million visitors annually, with holdings that include 6.2 million books, more than 3,500 databases for science, law and other topics, more than 300,000 electronic books and many unusual pieces of memorabilia. Some notable items and documents from the University’s archives and special collections include:

CUNY’s Centers and Institutes

Besides its libraries, CUNY is also home to more than 100 centers and institutes, many with their own distinctive holdings. These include the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO), which received a $20 million dollar investment from New York State in 2023 to expand its library and archives; CLAGS, the Center for LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, which was the first University-based research center focused on LGBTQI+ issues in the United States; AAARI, the Asian American/Asian Research Institute at Queens College, which focuses on research and scholarship relevant to Asia, Asian American and other Asian diasporas; and the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, the nation’s first university-based research institute devoted to the study of people of Dominican descent in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez Testifies at NYS Joint Legislative Hearing on the FY 2025 Executive Budget Proposal

Chancellors Matos Rodríguez and King sitting at a table.

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. testify during a joint New York State Senate and Assembly Legislative Public Hearing.

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez testified today during a joint New York State Senate and Assembly Legislative Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 New York State Executive Budget Proposal.

The Chancellor’s complete prepared remarks are included below:

Good morning, Chairs Krueger, Weinstein, Stavisky and Fahy, and members of the Senate Finance, Assembly Ways and Means, and the Senate and Assembly Higher Education committees, staff and guests. I am Félix Matos Rodríguez, chancellor of The City University of New York and I am extremely proud to be here representing CUNY, its 25 campuses, more than 225,000 degree-seeking students, 150,000 in adult and continuing education programs, and 40,000 faculty and staff.

I want to thank Governor Hochul and you, our representatives in the state Senate and Assembly, for your continued commitment to public higher education, our mission, our programs and, most of all, our students. Your support over the past two years has been critical to the important contributions CUNY has made to New York City’s rebound from the pandemic. Now, as our city and state continue to move forward, CUNY is building a strategy to make our university even more impactful as an agent of change and one of the state’s most potent economic engines.

Last June, we unveiled an ambitious strategic roadmap called “CUNY Lifting New York” — a detailed plan for bolstering the already profound impact our university makes in the lives of its students, their families and communities, as well as on the city, the region and state. I invite you to review it if you haven’t.

CUNY is integral to the lifeblood of New York City. More than 80% of our 50,000 annual graduates stay in the city, diversifying every sector of the city’s workforce and contributing to every aspect of its economic and civic life. CUNY alumni in New York account for about $70 billion in annual earnings – that’s close to 5% of the state’s GDP. And when you consider their increased future earnings and the tax revenues they produce, each taxpayer dollar invested in CUNY returns a benefit of at least $15 to New York State. To quote an editorial in the Daily News last spring: “Every dollar in is a dollar that is magnified and keeps New York’s economy humming along.”

Today, I want to highlight a few areas of recent success that are already advancing our “CUNY Lifting New York” strategy.

One: This year brought important advances in our commitment to student success by preparing our students for careers and creating direct and sustainable pipelines to employers. Over the last year, we launched a $1.8 million initiative to get more CUNY students into paid internships that are embedded in their degree programs, and we provided internship opportunities to 4,000 students through new and expanded university-wide initiatives. We also added a centralized point of contact to help more than 1,000 private sector employers tap into the tremendous pool of talent on our campuses. And as part of our drive to integrate career connections from day one, our CUNY Inclusive Economy initiative is expected to engage 2,700 students this academic year.

Number two: We are making steady progress in raising external funds to bolster our fast-growing research enterprise and advance many of our other programmatic initiatives. In the last fiscal year, CUNY research teams secured a record external funding of $638 million and we are on track to surpass that figure this year. Last month, we received the University’s largest philanthropic donation ever — a $75 million gift from the Simons Foundation. The gift earmarks $50 million to establish CUNY as a hub for computational science and $25 million to support our participation in the Governor’s proposed Empire AI project. This work is interconnected to our efforts to leverage advances in AI in our ongoing student success work. One example is our partnership with the National Institute for Student Success to conduct a diagnostic assessment of the University’s student success programming, which will result in customized recommendations to improve student retention and degree completion on each CUNY undergraduate-serving campus. This assessment will help CUNY develop a new generation of programs that reduce obstacles to graduation for many more students systemwide.

Number three is our wide-ranging program of capital projects that advance CUNY’s core educational mission. Last week we opened a $95-million Nursing Education, Research and Practice Center at Lehman College. Funded primarily by the state, it’s a building that will enable Lehman in the Bronx to offer high-quality health care education to underserved populations, help address our state’s increasingly severe nursing shortage, and create more health care career opportunities for all New Yorkers. CUNY’s nursing programs are a key player in the expansion of health equity and representation. CUNY graduates an average of 1,800 nurses annually, representing about half of the nurses entering New York City’s workforce each year.

A fourth area that I want to highlight is CUNY’s actions to confront hate and be proactive in creating campus communities built on trust, understanding and inclusion. Over the past year, we have taken many steps to combat antisemitism and all forms of bigotry. Among these, CUNY partnered with Hillel International; launched a portal for community members to report incidents of hate and discrimination and initiated a campaign to promote that students and employees have a right to request religious accommodations for any scheduled academic or employment activities that may conflict with their religious observances. We also formed an advisory council on Jewish life, built a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Hub on our website and distributed $1.3 million in State and City Council funding to colleges for trainings, events and activities that address religious, racial and ethnic bigotry.

Lastly, we are fixing long-term flaws in our transfer system. Many of our students earn associate degrees at one of our seven community colleges and then transfer to one of our 11 senior colleges. But for years many associate degree students have lost credits toward their major when they transfer. It’s a vestige of the era before 1961 when the city’s colleges operated independently. By the end of next year, students will be able to transfer without losing credits earned in a major. We estimate that the improved process will save students who transfer, on average, four excess credits and $1,220 in tuition by the time they graduate. And that’s money they can use for food, housing, child care and other living expenses.

This is just a sampling of our recent successes and efforts, but just as important is how they reflect our aspirations and plans for the coming years. Those plans are always, and now more than ever, dependent on the sustained support of our elected leaders here in Albany. So let me turn to the Governor’s executive budget.

Executive Budget

Let me begin by saying that we are encouraged by the additional operating and capital funding in the executive budget. The executive budget builds on additional funding for CUNY that Governor Hochul, you, and your colleagues appropriated over the last two years, and it represents a positive start to this year’s budget process.

For CUNY’s operating budget, there is an increase of $36 million in operating support for our senior colleges, which will help cover fixed cost increases and enable us to continue to build on the key initiatives that remain central to CUNY’s mission.

The executive budget also includes an increase of $69.5 million for fringe benefits, a mandatory need that the University must fund.

And, the executive budget maintains the community college funding floor at 100% of the previous year’s funding, which is crucial to avoiding a significant reduction in funding for our community colleges resulting from a shift back to an enrollment-based formula.

For CUNY’s capital budget, the executive budget provides critical infrastructure investments to modernize our 25 campuses for current and future generations. The plan allocates $441 million for our four-year schools and our community colleges. The support will enable us to maintain our campuses in a state of good repair and make strategic investments in new facilities that best support our ongoing efforts to provide state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable, and accessible facilities that support innovation and learning.

We are grateful for the additional support and look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with you and your colleagues as the budget process progresses so that CUNY will get the resources it needs to fulfill our 175-year mission.

As some of you are well aware, the University’s expenses have exceeded its available resources since 2020, creating a structural deficit caused by many factors including enrollment declines that accelerated with the pandemic and increased costs in mandatory needs that the University had to absorb. We enacted a strategy to address the deficit that has included two rounds of across-the-board savings targets, a hiring freeze, and the creation of a Vacancy Review Board to ensure hires across the University are aligned with available resources.

These actions, coupled with federal pandemic stimulus funds and, thanks to you and Governor Hochul, additional state operating aid, have reduced the deficit by almost half – from a high of $234 million in fiscal year 2022 to a projected $128 million for the end of this fiscal year.

While we’ve made great strides, there is more work to do.

We have devised additional expense reduction strategies, at both the college-level and University-wide. This includes a more targeted approach for colleges that have shown signs of more fiscal distress, as well as additional shared services in areas such as IT and collections and optimizing class scheduling.

On the revenue side, we are vigorously continuing strategies to boost enrollment and retention, and we appreciate non-recurring funding for transformative initiatives that will help us pursue these initiatives.

The State’s financial plan that was released along with the executive budget states that CUNY is at various stages of negotiating contracts with its labor unions. We are pleased that we reached a tentative agreement covering over 10,000 employees represented by CUNY’s Classified Staff Unions including District Council 37 and Teamsters Local 237 that has been provided to the membership for ratification. We are in negotiations with the Professional Staff Congress and are committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair settlement. These new labor contracts with our talented and dedicated faculty and non-teaching staff are necessary but are not without increased costs to the University.

Although we have seen a roughly two percent increase in enrollment, we are still far below pre-pandemic levels – we are down about 40,000 students from Fall 2019. This has a major impact on our bottom line. For example, CUNY lost $140 million in tuition revenue between fiscal years 2020 and 2022 when enrollment dropped by 14%. Like the State, City, and other public entities like the MTA, we were aided by federal stimulus funds that helped cover lost revenue, pandemic-related expenses, and provided emergency student grants. These one-time funds will be exhausted by the end of this fiscal year.

With funding for the new labor contracts, in spite of these very pressing financial challenges, I remain optimistic. Optimistic that the support we will ultimately receive from the State, coupled with the actions we are taking to reduce expenses and implement new University-wide initiatives to streamline operations, will allow us to close the structural deficit and put CUNY on route to sound financial footing in fiscal year 25 and beyond.

With your continued support, and that of the Governor, we will continue to make progress in our ambitious vision to transform CUNY into the nation’s foremost student-centered urban university system. I thank you all for sustained strong support and for your partnership.

###

Gov. Hochul Announces Launch of Tuition Assistance Program Eligibility for CUNY and SUNY Workforce Development Programs

TAP Expansion Provides Financial Aid to Non-Degree Students Pursuing High-Demand, Growing Fields

CUNY Begins Pilot This Spring With 43 Courses Set for Fall 2024; 283 TAP Eligible Programs Across 32 SUNY Campuses Beginning Spring 2024

CUNY student studying in a library

Read the original announcement from the Office of Gov. Hochul.

Gov. Kathy Hochul today announced the launch of the first-ever Tuition Assistance Program eligibility to cover hundreds of CUNY and SUNY non-degree programs that lead to jobs in high-demand, growing fields. The expansion builds on the support offered through TAP, New York State’s 50-year-old financial assistance program, which provides direct aid to students.

“Tuition assistance for workforce development opportunities will help ease a path to rewarding and successful careers for low- and middle-income families,” said Gov. Hochul. “Giving all New Yorkers the opportunity to obtain good paying jobs showcases my administration’s commitment to invest in our future workforce, our economy and a strong and prosperous future for all New Yorkers.”

“This expansion of tuition assistance for non-degree programs is an incredible step toward equity in higher education,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Tens of thousands of CUNY’s students are in non-degree classes, students who are taking steps to broaden their horizons and, in some cases, putting them on the path to enrollment. By making TAP available to them, we are encouraging New Yorkers to pursue professional credentials that lead to competitive jobs and offering them credit should they decide to matriculate. This is a win-win for New York, and we are grateful to Gov. Hochul for investing in all our students.”

CUNY will have a pilot program for five courses this semester, and is set to provide 43 courses in Fall 2024 semester. Students meeting eligibility requirements may be eligible for Part-time TAP for up to 11 credits per semester. More information about eligible CUNY programs is available on the University’s TAP webpage. If students later matriculate toward a degree program, they will be granted full credit for the work they completed as part of this program.

For students who have already submitted their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and TAP application for the 2023-2024 academic year, TAP awards as reported by the student’s campus will be adjusted based on the number of enrolled credits. Other students interested in non-degree programs can fill out their 2023-24 FAFSA today and link directly from their FAFSA summary page to complete the 2023-24 NYS TAP application. Students who completed their FAFSA can apply by completing the TAP application.

Eligibility for Part-time TAP for non-degree programs is consistent with other full-time and part-time TAP awards, which includes residency and income requirements. TAP awards do not need to be repaid by any recipient.

New York State TAP is one of the nation’s largest need-based college financial aid grant programs. Since its inception in 1974, the Tuition Assistance Program has provided nearly $30 billion dollars to help more than 6 million New Yorkers to help make college more affordable and accessible. During the 2022-23 academic year, 234,000 New Yorkers were awarded more than $662 million in tuition assistance awards.

New York’s generous investment in student financial aid, including TAP and Excelsior Scholarships, helped over 176,000 New York State residents. Fifty eight percent of full-time resident undergraduate students attended CUNY and SUNY tuition-free in 2022, including 67 percent at CUNY colleges and 52 percent at SUNY State-operated campuses. New York also enacted the Senator José Peralta DREAM Act in 2019, which provides undocumented New Yorkers and other students access to TAP and other New York State administered grants and scholarships that support their higher education costs. Students can learn more about that on the HESC website.

Expanding TAP has been part of the Governor’s broader push to invest in public higher education and improve access and affordability for every student, including expanding TAP for part-time students, reestablishing TAP for incarcerated individuals, and banning the practice of transcript withholding. Gov. Hochul has also signed legislation expanding TAP to cover short-term non-degree programs, including microcredentials that supports students at community colleges and colleges of technology.

“Gov. Hochul continues to lead the crucial expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program to help more New Yorkers get the education and training they need to qualify for high-growth careers,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and we are proud to support students pursuing careers in high-demand, growing fields on their path to upward mobility and, hopefully, ultimately earning a college degree.”

Beginning in the Spring 2024 semester, non-degree seeking students in 283 programs across 32 SUNY campuses may be eligible for TAP for the first time. SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. has provided each campus with a letter to send to all students who may be eligible for financial aid thanks to the Governor’s program. More information about eligible SUNY courses is available here.

“By expanding TAP eligibility to include hundreds of non-degree programs in high-demand, growing fields, we are opening doors for non-matriculated students to gain the skills they need to enter the workforce and pursue fulfilling careers,” said New York State Higher Education Services Corporation President Dr. Guillermo Linares. “This is an important step in promoting economic growth and addressing the critical labor needs of our state. Through TAP, we are investing in the future of our workforce and ensuring that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

“This expansion is a significant first step in modernizing TAP to meet the needs of today’s students,” said State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. “By expanding TAP eligibility to students in non-degree programs we will create more opportunities for New Yorkers to get the education and training they need to launch fulfilling careers. It will provide an important economic advantage, helping students to enter the job market. Hopefully they will return to college and pursue a degree. I thank Gov. Hochul for recognizing the importance of TAP as we continue our push to ‘turn on the TAP’ for New York students.”

“More than 70% of students cite cost as the major barrier to attending college, and today’s expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program will mean that more New Yorkers can achieve their dream of attaining a higher education,” said Assemblymember Patricia Fahy. “Last year I was proud to work with Gov. Hochul, Senate Chair Toby Ann Stavisky, and our SUNY/CUNY systems to include vital language in the FY2024 budget that enabled this expansion – and look forward to working to expand TAP to cover even more of these programs. Thank you to Governor Hochul, SUNY Chancellor John King, and CUNY Chancellor Félix Rodríguez for their work to ensure even more students can gain the skills they need to enter our workforce and thrive in the future.”

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit www.cuny.edu.

The State University of New York, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2022, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.

The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) is New York State’s student financial aid agency and a national leader in providing need-based grant and scholarship award money to college-going students. At HESC’s core are more than two dozen grant, scholarship and loan forgiveness programs including the NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Excelsior Scholarship. HESC puts college within the reach of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year through programs like these and through the guidance it provides to students, families and counselors. HESC helps more than 300,000 students achieve their college dreams each year by providing more than $800M in grants, scholarships and loan forgiveness benefits.

###

CUNY Unveils $95 Million Nursing Training Center at Lehman College to Help Address Statewide Nursing Shortage

52,000-Square-Foot State-of-the-Art Building Will Triple the Program’s Capacity and Feature 22 Robotic Patient Simulators

CUNY Produces Nearly Half of New Nurses in NYC Annually; 70% of Grads Come From Historically Underserved Groups

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Lehman College President Fernando Delgado, and elected officials pose to cut a ribbon outside of the new nursing building.

CUNY and Lehman College today unveiled the college’s newly completed, $95 million Nursing Education, Research and Practice Center, a 52,000-square-foot facility that will enable the school’s highly ranked RN to BSN nursing program to triple its capacity amidst a statewide nursing shortage. The four-floor, predominately state-funded facility will feature 22 robotic patient simulators that can be programmed to replicate hundreds of medical conditions, including breathing difficulty and childbirth. The center also includes a daily living apartment, a training room that imitates a real city apartment, including a kitchen with working appliances to train nurses for the demands of home care including support for patients with limited mobility.

“We are committed to ensuring our CUNY nursing students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and cutting edge technologies that will allow them to excel in the healthcare field and better serve New Yorkers,” said Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. “With this investment, we can support our healthcare system for generations to come and ensure our nursing staff reflects the diversity of our state.”

“CUNY nursing students, in spirit and deed, embody CUNY’s founding commitment to equity and opportunity for all New Yorkers,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “With more space and resources, CUNY will be able to train even more nurses to meet the needs of underserved communities in the Bronx and beyond, and help fill nursing shortages that are projected across New York State over the remainder of the decade. We thank Gov. Hochul for her support of this nursing center, which will expand access to opportunities in the rapidly growing healthcare industry and enable CUNY to do what it does best — uplift New York by uplifting its students.”

“The opening of our new Nursing Education, Research and Practice Center represents our commitment to our students, our community and our city,” said Lehman College President Fernando Delgado. “In what can be considered a critical and important time in healthcare, offering students hands-on training is essential in preparing them as they go into practice, ensuring they can deliver the best possible care to their patients. We celebrate this opening and look forward to developing and nurturing future generations of qualified and skilled nurses in our new facility.”

Filling a Critical Need

CUNY students in blue nursing scrubs work with a patient simulator

Lehman College students demonstrate a patient simulator in the nursing building.

The building opens as the state copes with a health care crisis: New York is projected to have a shortage of nearly 40,000 nurses by 2030, a gap that is most acute in underrepresented communities. The project builds on Gov. Hochul’s support for public higher education in efforts to address the nursing shortage and expand access to training opportunities. Last year, the governor took steps to ease the transition from classroom to workplace, signing legislation that permits nursing students to complete up to one-third of their clinical training through simulation experience. In 2021, the governor created the Nurses For Our Future scholarship, which covers tuition for 1,000 RN degrees at CUNY and SUNY. Lehman received $91 million in state funds for the project with remaining funds coming from the city for construction and simulator components.

Building Health Equity

CUNY’s nursing programs are a key player in the expansion of health equity and representation. CUNY graduates an average of 1,800 nurses annually, representing about half of the nurses entering New York City’s workforce each year. Nearly 70% of the University’s nursing students have come from historically marginalized groups. Such inclusion can make a dramatic impact in communities that have been traditionally underserved. Research shows that for patients of color, a more diverse health care workforce can lead to improved access and outcomes.

A History of Impact

CUNY offers more than 50 undergraduate, graduate and credit-bearing advanced certificate programs in nursing at 14 colleges. The programs’ impact on New York was illustrated during the pandemic when 2,500 of the University’s nursing students stepped up to help assist staff at state-run medical facilities. An additional 1,000 students volunteered throughout the NYC Health + Hospitals and Gotham Health systems.

The new Lehman College nursing building.

Photo by Edward Caruso Photography.

Lehman’s nurse training center is the latest example of state-and-city-sponsored, CUNY-led investments in New York’s public education and public health infrastructure. In November, the Chancellor, along with Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams, unveiled the master plan for the Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC) at Kips Bay. When completed in 2031, SPARC Kips Bay will provide modern facilities for three CUNY colleges, including an H+H Nursing Advanced Practice Center, that will enable students at Hunter’s flagship School of Nursing to simulate real-life medical situations in an educational setting.

Lehman, City College and Queensborough Community College operated New York City-run vaccination sites and New York State conducted mass vaccinations at Medgar Evers College and York College. Overall, more than half a million New Yorkers received their vaccines at a CUNY campus. Dr. Sandra Lindsay, a graduate of nursing programs at Lehman and BMCC and now vice president for public health advocacy at Northwell Health, made history in December 2020, becoming the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. She became a leading national advocate for health care equity and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###

CUNY Celebrates 100,000 Students Served by its Award-Winning Support Program for Community Colleges

CUNY ASAP, a National Model for Boosting Graduation Rates, Produced Six Valedictorians and Salutatorians in 2023

Former CUNY ASAP students Sherifa Clarke, Rubi Larancuent and Alex Brown

From left, Sherifa Clarke, Rubi Larancuent and Alex Brown.

This spring semester, which begins Jan. 25, CUNY will celebrate a major milestone: More than 100,000 students have been served by ASAP, a city- and state-funded program that started in 2007 to provide free tuition, textbook stipends, transportation benefits and academic advisers for community college students. The program has received accolades from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and 11 states have either replicated the model or announced they are exploring plans to do so.

“CUNY is proud that this transformative program continues to help tens of thousands of students earn degrees despite challenges, closing persistent equity gaps in graduation rates. These students not only graduated, they were the top of their class, with many continuing to our four-year colleges and, in some cases, our Ivy League competitors,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “For 16 years, the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs has supported over 100,000 CUNY students from low-income families and other historically marginalized groups. It’s not surprising it has been replicated at higher education institutions across the country, and we look forward to working with these institutions to continue the success of this program, including SUNY, which will allow more New Yorkers to benefit.”

In 2023, five states – Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington – announced plans to explore replicating the CUNY ASAP model. CUNY and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association will assist in this effort. There are also ongoing and completed efforts to replicate ASAP|ACE (ACE is the baccalaureate counterpart) in Ohio, California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia. In Ohio, the initiative at three community colleges increased the earnings of students who participated in the program by 11 percent during the pandemic and increased graduation rates by 50 percent. SUNY is building a model based on ASAP|ACE to support 3,750 students at 25 colleges this spring.

ASAP has produced top-performing students like Alex Brown, a first-generation college student from Jamaica who served as valedictorian at CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College last spring. She is one of six ASAP participants who graduated as a valedictorian or salutatorian in the Class of 2023.

“Being a part of the ASAP program allowed me to attend college tuition-free. I could focus all my time and attention on my studies and volunteering on and off campus,” said Brown, who is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology at Columbia University. “The immense support I received from my advisers was crucial during my time at BMCC, and it played a massive role in my graduating as valedictorian.”

Alongside the financial assistance offered by CUNY ASAP, program participants are matched with dedicated academic advisers who play a crucial role in supporting them throughout their enrollment. These ASAP academic advisers have been instrumental in helping students maintain academic momentum.

Sherifa Clarke, an ASAP alum and the valedictorian of the Class of 2023 at Medgar Evers College, echoed the value of the academic advisers.

“The ASAP team at Medgar Evers College was amazing, and they were instrumental to my success; I was getting it done, and no one was stopping me,” said Clarke, now an MBA candidate at Texas Southern University and a financial analyst for PayPal. “They helped me navigate the CUNY system successfully as a student, travel to 13 countries for study abroad, apply to business school, and get a full-time job at PayPal after receiving offers from many accounting firms. My adviser always gave me the tools and information I needed, but ultimately empowered me to make my own decisions.”

ASAP also pays for winter and summer courses to keep students on track for enrollment and provides tutoring, peer mentoring and career development services.

For Rubi Larancuent, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was class salutatorian at Bronx Community College last spring, the ASAP’s peer mentors inspired her to become one herself.

“ASAP was a big pool of support when I started college. I had just arrived in the United States, and it was so helpful to connect with other students who had gone through the same process,” said Larancuent, who is now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Princeton University. “I wanted to help empower others by giving them the same tools and paying it forward, so I became a peer mentor. I was able to build my leadership and advocacy skills, and I became a more confident public speaker, which not only helped me stand up for myself and others, but also made me more comfortable participating in the classroom setting.”

Classes for the spring semester begin on Jan. 25 at most CUNY campuses with classes beginning on March 1 at Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College and Guttman Community College. ASAP is still accepting applications for the Spring 2024 semester. For information, visit cuny.edu/joinasap.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

###