Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles: Showcasing excellence – February 21, 2020
February 21, 2020
Colleagues,
We had the distinct pleasure this week to show off the work by Susan Zucker and her team at the Virginia Marx Children’s Center. In service for more than 30 years, the VMCC provides exemplary early childhood education and care for our students, employees, and community members. A community gem, it was chosen by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined by Congressman Eliot Engel to announce new legislation supporting affordable, campus-based childcare, much like our exemplary Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant. The Center has consistently achieved five out of five star ratings by QUALITYstarsNY and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). We also acknowledge the leadership of Dr. Sara Thompson Tweedy and the strong and steadfast support of the WCC Foundation for VMCC.
Special thanks to the team who came together to host a visit from SUNY Board Chair, Dr. Merryl Tisch and Prof. Christy Fogal of the FCCC this week: Prof. Patrick Barrette, Dr. Ronald Bloom, Dr. Raymond Houston, Dr. Carmen Martinez-Lopez, Dr. Mira Sakrajda, Prof. Chad Thompson, Prof. John Watkins, and VP Tere Wisell. Another team consisting of Dr. Vanessa Morest, Dr. Gail Fernandez, Dr. Karen Taylor, and myself participated in the annual Achieving the Dream conference to share and learn best practices for helping community college students succeed. Overlapping themes from these meetings included continued academic excellence, better student success outcomes, process improvements, and retooling for long-term institutional relevance and sustainability.
Please note the new date for the State of the College address: Thursday, March 19 at 4pm in the Gateway Center Davis Auditorium. With this year’s address, we will close out our last strategic plan and pivot to our new plan. I am very interested in your reflections and ask that you share them (in 100 words or fewer) describing the state of the college, the state of a program to which you are contributing, or where you are hoping to make the most impact next year. Please reply to this email with your response by Friday, March 6 so I can include your voice and perspective in the SOTC.
Thanks and have a great weekend.
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President