2018 Faculty Leadership Fellows Examine Equity, Student Success and Other Key Issues

The 2018 cohort of the Faculty Leadership Program

The 2018 cohort of the Faculty Leadership Program
January 23, 2018

The 2018 cohort of the Faculty Leadership Fellows Program at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) includes 16 full-time faculty from 11 departments. Nominated by department chairs, past faculty fellows or cabinet members, the Fellows were selected for criteria including their demonstrated leadership, years of service at BMCC and application statement.

The goal of the Faculty Leadership Fellows Program is to recognize and develop faculty leadership through formal and informal roles across departments. The program is also designed to advance departmental and college priorities and promote the role of community colleges more broadly in society.

“Leadership rests with people, not just with a position,” said Jim Berg, Associate Dean of Faculty. “This program emphasizes the capacity in each person to make a positive difference to the college.”

According to Karrin E. Wilks, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, “We cannot dramatically improve student success without strong, visible, and pervasive faculty leadership. In collaboration with faculty, we are developing the theory and practice of faculty leadership at BMCC, particularly focused on pedagogical leadership.”

With each new cohort, says Provost Wilks, “We are growing our coalition of faculty leaders to improve student success. Key themes and research this year are positive leadership, the role and future of community colleges, creating a culture of care, and advancing equity. We are now working with the Fellows to collaboratively design the five follow-up sessions throughout the spring semester—a key element of the design of this work.”

Faculty Fellows

This year’s Leadership Fellows Program began with an intensive seminar from January 8 through January 12. Participants engaged with nationally recognized experts on major challenges facing community colleges. These exemplary leaders and guest speakers included current and former college presidents, as well as prominent experts in the field of higher education teaching and learning, organizational development and equity.

A series of workshops will follow throughout Spring 2018. These will focus on topics identified during the January seminars and could include areas such as mentoring and coaching, planning for student success, dealing with conflict, program planning and budget development, as well as effective communications.

“BMCC cannot realize our vision to become a premier community college without strong, visible and pervasive faculty leadership. Adding to our first cohort of fellows, we are building a strong coalition of faculty leaders essential to improving student success and advancing equity,” said Karrin Wilks, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at BMCC.

The following faculty fellows were selected from 27 applications:

Heather Finn, Academic Literacy & Linguistics; Rosario Torres-Guevara, Academic Literacy and Linguistics; Joel Barker, Accounting; Andrea Garraway, Business Management; Don Wei, Computer Information Systems; Chamutal Noiman, English; Jason Schneiderman, English; Jean Amaral, Library; Eda Henao, Modern Languages; Michael Morford, Music and Art; Edna Asknes, Nursing; Catarina Mata, Science; Christopher Jackson, Speech; Mark Janis, Speech; Kirsten Cole, Teacher Education and Janice Walters, Teacher Education.