Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Advancing our Mission – May 29, 2020
May 29, 2020
Colleagues,
Wow! So much to share this week.
Resilient Re-Emergence
We may have set a new attendance record at today’s Town Hall with a peak of 465 attendees! Thank you for participating and filling the chat with your questions and your input. We remain in a place where re-emergence is not clear: When does it start? How will it impact us? Uncertainty notwithstanding, the Pandemic Response Team is receiving, reviewing, and making plans around all of the information that is available and will continue to revise its plans and communicate those to you. The Communications Team collected the questions from today, including those emailed to Janice.adams@sunywcc.edu, to inform upcoming announcements.
Strategic Planning
We updated you on our Strategic Implementation Teams. All of us are part of strategic planning with a stake in our institutional performance and success. We appreciate those colleagues who have volunteered to steward the work this summer and be part of a more formal rollout this fall semester. Please email Alexandra.Giusto@sunywcc.edu to join an implementation team (Academic Excellence; Student Experience; Stewardship).
Academic and Service Excellence
Although we are apart physically, we still collaborate, innovate, and work together to advance the mission of the college. Through Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms, we are able to continue our work and deliver our programs and services to new and continuing students and our community in different ways. For example, Wednesday evening over 200 parents and guests of our accepted students attended a special program meant to showcase the college and our many student success and support services, and to assure parents and students that we are open, we are ready, and we are able to deliver high-quality teaching and learning experiences. Parents were fully engaged, asked pointed questions, and were assured that our goal is to help our students achieve academic success.
Thanks for all of the effort that goes into planning and implementing information sessions, open houses, counseling sessions, student events, and now, a parent event. These are crucial touch points in a more comprehensive plan to achieve and maintain a sustainable level of student enrollment at the college. Kudos to all of you and for this parent event, Dr. Sandra Ramsay, Dr. Ruben Barato, Professors Christolyn Williams and John Watkins, tech host Alexander Zimmer (Class of 2020), and all of the Academic Affairs, Student Access, Involvement, and Success, and other representatives from so many areas of the college for engaging so enthusiastically with our guests. What we say is true: #WCCHereforYou.
Continuing our good news, Dr. Ron Bloom reports that the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) has affirmed the continuing accreditation status of our associate degree radiography program. The program in Radiologic Technology engaged in a rigorous self-study, peer review, and site visit to demonstrate compliance with the highest national standards for an academic and clinical educational program in Radiography. Congratulations to Chairperson Peter Grumm, Professors Hildy Oberstein and Anthony Scalea, and adjunct clinical faculty. This achievement is a testament to the high-quality teaching and learning that students receive at Westchester Community College.
“Army of Specialists”
Teamwork. Collaboration. Support. We use these words frequently to describe how we work together. I have often used this quote from Tom Wilson, “Many of us are more capable than some of us, but none of us is as capable as all of us.” In this spirit, I share a recent Inside Higher Education article with you that highlights all the valued people and resources that integrate to help students navigate through complex and simple college systems, experiences, and life. As the article states, “it takes a village to ensure academic success, and this village is a community of diverse and talented individuals…”
Enjoy, esteemed colleagues, and stay safe!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President