A Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles – Continued Momentum! – March 31, 2017
Our momentum keeps on building. In the next few months, I will be sharing highlights of the work the campus community is doing towards creating a culture of inclusivity and academic excellence.
This week we submitted a letter to the NJCAA stating our goal to reinstate the men’s and women’s basketball programs starting in fall 2017. During our three-year hiatus from these programs, we have built a stronger athletics program better integrated into the academic excellence mission of the institution. Thank you to our Athletics team for all the work they have done to get us to this very positive place. Next week I meet with other presidents as part of a new advisory committee to the NJCAA, and I look forward to joining them in our advocacy for community college athletes.
Our March 18 Financial Education Day, co-sponsored by the Center for Financial and Economic Education and the Alumni Association, was a great success with more than 250 participants. Now in its sixth year, this free event featured more than 17 workshops and was featured by News 12. Thanks to John Fellas and his team as well as the many partners, such as the United Way of Westchester & Putnam, the Financial Planning Association of the Greater Hudson Valley, Green Path Debt Solutions, and others who made this timely event a huge success.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning Team met this week to debrief on the March 3 Diversity Forum and next steps for implementation of many of the ideas and initiatives brought forward by the campus community to begin in fall 2017. A complete report of the Forum and the draft DEI plan is forthcoming. Thank you to the planning team, the ATD Equity Committee, Faculty Senate DEI, and the campus-wide DEI committee.
It was delightful to be part of the Women’s March for Inclusion, sponsored by the Student Government Association, Women’s Student Union, College Democrats and MTAC, and supported by the Department of Student Involvement. Walking with me on Thursday afternoon were County Legislators Alfreda Williams and MaryJane Shimsky and Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, in addition to students, student leaders, staff and faculty. Another important student sponsored event took place on Wednesday. The WCC Art Club along with the Benefits Access Center sponsored “Empty Bowls,” where close to 100 students, faculty and staff decorated a bowl to raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity on campus and in our community. Thank you to all who were instrumental in helping students to host these and other events. It is inspiring to see our students fully engaged in social issues impacting the community.
Summer registration is underway and fall registration begins next week. Please encourage students to register early. Priority registration, a newly implemented system, allows students closest to completion to register first for the classes they need to graduate. This new initiative to increase our retention and completion is part of the Strategic Enrollment Management plan which will be shared with the campus community in its final form in the coming weeks.
On a final note, Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, received SUNY’s Distinguished Service Award for Community College Advocacy in recognition for her long-standing advocacy for community colleges in New York State and across the nation. Westchester Community College congratulates the Chancellor on this well-deserved acknowledgement.
Stay engaged and keep the news coming!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President