Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Highlights and Spotlights
February 18, 2022
Colleagues,
Westchester Community College has been a headliner and in-demand participant for several recent local, national and international engagements including panels, reports, and representation in conversations regarding current and future perspectives about higher education.
The college’s reputation – and the data-driven outcomes we are producing together – have put us on the radar of groups to weigh in on a range of critical issues, including student success and completion, state and federal higher education funding models, and business priorities and workforce needs in reemergence from the pandemic.
The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration reached out to us for community college representation in A Conversation on Higher Education, Immigration, and Racial Equity with USCIS Director Ur Jaddou and College and University Presidents. This opportunity led to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) Director Jaddou requesting that we alert our students of internship and employment opportunities within USCIS and other federal departments. Thank you in advance for sharing this information with students.
The College will be featured at an upcoming United Nations Association (Westchester Chapter) forum on Women Leaders for Climate Action in celebration of Women’s History Month in March. To prepare for the role as panel moderator, I met with student members of our Environmental Club who shared some of the top concerns they have regarding climate change. I appreciate club president Mac Collier, advisor Carol Capobianco, and members of the Environmental Club for their time and engaging conversation on climate and sustainability issues we face locally and globally.
Lastly, we have reached the time for annual reporting to Arnold Ventures (previously the Laura and John Arnold Foundation). In 2016, WCC was one of only a handful of colleges in the nation to receive a generous investment of $1 million to replicate the CUNY Accelerated Study in Associate Programs study, which is now being adopted much more broadly due to the proven success of the initiative. Despite COVID disruptions, our work on this initiative contributed to our achieving a 24.5% 3-year graduation rate this year (up from the grant baseline of 15% and 12% in 2014.) Please join me in acknowledging the work of our colleagues, Dr. Laurie Miller-McNeill, Viking Roads Director Leonore Rodrigues, and counselors Ashlee Pierce and Michelle Velasquez along with so many of you who have contributed to our success in the Viking ROADS program and other student success initiatives. We appreciate the work that so many of you do every day to advance our students and the college.
While I am proud to be an ambassador of our college community, it is our collective work that is turning attention to the college and drawing critical resources that are bearing fruit for our students and community. These few highlights and spotlights showcase our commitment to access, opportunity, and pathways to economic mobility. They are the result of our strong focus on our North Star – the reason why we do the work that we do.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President