Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles – April 8, 2016
This week marks the half-way point in my call for a 90-day period of working collaboratively on a plan for working as a cohesive unit toward our shared goals. My ongoing meetings with various departments have been valuable and informative. I really appreciate your time and insight. What I see emerging is the need for a process to synthesize one or two transformative goals that honor the distinctive contributions of various groups and members of the college community. I am exploring how such a process might unfold in the second half of our 90 days, with invitations for everyone to participate and culminating in a summit to solidify our focus for the year ahead. I will continue to make time for departmental meetings, so please contact Yolanda Howell if you would like to meet.
To assist in maximizing our enrollment management goals and broaden access to more students, our IT staff recently rolled out “25 Live,” our new room scheduling system. Importantly, it helps us automate the process of assigning classrooms, taking into account the equipment preferences of individual faculty, numbers of students enrolled in courses, and availability of space during the day and week. Together we’ll evaluate the impact as 25 Live gets underway.
Eight Westchester Community College students celebrated a very special occasion in Albany on Tuesday night by receiving the Chancellor’s Student Excellence Award from Chancellor Zimpher. This is a truly distinctive honor that recognizes the best students from all 64 SUNY institutions. Our 2016 honorees were Antonio Del Vecchio, Brulinda Frangaj, Philip Gigante, Jordan Grey, Carmen Guillen, Maria Isabela Kobilaski do Couto, Annmarie Springer, and Naim Youssif Traore. Congratulations to all of them and thanks to VP/Dean Sara Thompson Tweedy for joining our students in celebration. We are very proud!
It was my pleasure to serve as keynote at the New York State American Council of Education Women’s Networking conference earlier today, addressing more than 100 women in higher education from various public, private, two-and four-year institutions. The event was telecast from Mercy College to Daemon College in Buffalo, extending access across the state. I feel confident that the pipeline of new talent in the academy is strong for years to come. Thanks to our own Sarah Fowler-Rogers, Director, Community Services, Division of Workforce Development and Community Education for her enthusiastic leadership in this organization and to the WCC attendees who participated.
Several events this week highlighted our enduring commitment to high-quality liberal education that provides a smooth transition to baccalaureate programs. About 60 colleges and universities came to Valhalla recruiting our future graduates on Tuesday evening, a testament to our strong reputation. Similarly, we renewed and expanded articulation agreements with Pace University and Lehman College. Both offer a limited number of full-tuition scholarships for Westchester Community College students, and both commented on the strengths of our general education curriculum and the preparation of our students for further studies.
I am always heartened to hear how well regarded our students are in the broader community…another week of celebrating what we do so well at Westchester Community College. Thanks for making it a great one!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President