Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles – August 26, 2016
After a brief hiatus from my Friday messages, I’m lamenting the lack of this virtual connection with you. Not only do I enjoy communicating with you in this way, but also it carves time out of my schedule to reflect on all the great things happening here. And I really appreciate getting your thoughts in your private responses to my emails. Please never hesitate to hit “reply” and share what’s on your mind. I’m also interested in your feedback on the ways we currently communicate with each other. I hope you will consider submitting this five-question survey that should take less than five minutes: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9YHQ2NW. I will collect responses until September 12.
I am very excited to announce that Westchester Community College will welcome an ACE Fellow in 2016-2017. The ACE Fellows program provides an opportunity for an up-and-coming senior leader to gain executive-level mentoring and insight through on-the-job experience and professional development. Joining us September 1 is Dr. Nicola Blake, Faculty Advisor to the Provost, Liberal Arts and Sciences Program Coordinator, and Assistant Professor in English at CUNY’s Guttman Community College. Dr. Blake has 18 years of progressive administrative, teaching, and research experience in university and community college settings. She will have an office in Hartford Hall and participate in and coordinate a range of special projects that will give her broader exposure to the transformative work we do for students. Out of 29 ACE fellows this year, only two are placed at community colleges. The other is Valencia College, well known for its recognition by the Aspen Institute as a top community college. We will have a more formal announcement and welcome for Dr. Blake very soon.
We received fantastic news of a $700,000 expansion of the Westchester Educational Opportunity Center, where Associate Dean Gina Gaines will have greater flexibility in achieving the mission of providing pathways for non-traditional adults into employment opportunities. By offering tuition-free academic and vocational training, it is a pathway out of poverty for those the program serves. This is an extraordinary infusion of new funding that stands to transform lives.
Tomorrow we have Adjunct Orientation and Professional Development Day in addition our second Saturday Enrollment Day. The college will be bustling more on a Saturday than almost any weekday yet this summer! We had more than 100 students here to register last Saturday, and this weekend may be even bigger. The professional development kicks off with a presentation by Dr. Melinda Karp from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College on “Rethinking How to Support Community College Students” followed by multiple sessions to help our adjunct faculty become more acclimated to the college.
Thanks for making it a great week.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President