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Back by popular demand, we hosted our spring semester Opening Sessions event in talk-show format last week. Readers will recall that we open and close the fall and spring terms with live events at which college leaders offer updates, respond to questions, and do all we can to keep spirits high aboard our favorite vessel of exploration and learning, the good ship LaGuardia. For end-of-semester news, the college community is often subject to preachy, data-filled stemwinders by the president. Meanwhile, ratings suggest rising audience enthusiasm for the put-all-the-big-bosses on the stage format. To some (perhaps many?), this approach has the welcome effect of reducing the president’s role to moderator. Either way, plenty of good news was shared by the provost and VPs at last week’s event.
While coy as he hedged his bets, VP for Enrollment Management Ben Rohdin reported that we could be looking at a double-digit percentage increase in spring term registrations. That raised an eyebrow. More on this in the next issue, once Ben confirms his data with the semester fully underway. Dr. Billie Gastic-Rosado, provost, addressed course scheduling and advising, and she described a new platform for monitoring student progress. Dr. Alexis McLean, VP for Student Success, announced new funding she had secured from Airbnb and the Gerstner Foundation to help students with emergency needs, such as housing, food, and mental health support. She also gave an update on new approaches to dealing with inappropriate student conduct. This and a whole lot more of Opening Sessions Spring '24 can be seen here. Please send your questions/comments here.
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Petrie Foundation Enables LaGuardia to Offer Free English Lessons to Migrants
Some of you are aware of my frustration at not being able to get support (yet) from City Hall for LaGuardia English Express, the program we designed last summer for the asylum seekers who have recently arrived in NYC. Fortunately, staff and trustees of The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation stepped up to help us launch the program by providing a generous grant of $210,000. LaGuardia English Express offers English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction contextualized for day-to-day needs, like speaking to an employer, a teacher, a landlord, or a doctor. It’s a new feature of our Center for Immigrant Education and Training (CIET), led by the indefatigable Paula DaSilva-Michelin. Paula explains that “After accessing essential services through the city’s Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, including temporary housing, a critical next step for these new arrivals is to learn basic English for daily living in New York City.” Since its launch in December, LaGuardia English Express has served forty-seven new Yorkers from Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Georgia, Guinea, Indonesia, Peru, Russia, Senegal, and Venezuela. Ready for a heartbreaker? We currently have more than 1,000 migrants on a waiting list for the program. P.S. See my Oscar pick, “Io Capitano,” for a moving account of the ordeals endured by West African immigrants trying to get to Italy.
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Three Red Hawks Recognized as Community College Basketball All-Stars
On February 15, the CUNY Athletic Conference announced the results of this year’s Community College Basketball All-Star Voting. LaGuardia’s Arthur Dukes was honored as Player of the Year. He also earned a spot on the Men’s All-Star Team and has since been named Region XV Men's Basketball Division III Player Of The Year. Shemiah Sealy and Moutiatou Djibring, of our women’s basketball team, also earned recognition: Sealy was voted onto the Sportsmanship Team, and both Red Hawks made the Women’s All-Star team. It is possible that readers who depart NYC for warmer climates during these winter months or live under rocks may have missed the news about Arthur Dukes, but not likely, such was the media frenzy a few weeks ago over this incredible young man of whom we are incredibly proud. You can catch up on Arthur’s achievements by exploring the links to several of his interviews below.
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President Announces New Strategic Planning Process
While your author was not granted much airtime at the Opening Sessions event, he managed to butt in and make a couple of important announcements. He enthusiastically described the LaGuardia Career Success Summit, a two-day event planned for May hosted by three faculty members who are participating in the Career Success Fellows initiative at the CUNY central office. Professors Tameka Battle and Maureen Doyle of Health Sciences, and Professor Jason Hendrickson of English are busy planning workshops, panels, and other activities focused on ensuring that our associate degree programs are aligned with NYC labor market dynamics and employer requirements, and effectively prepare students for rewarding careers.
He also took a moment to introduce Kimberly Wright, who recently signed on as the facilitator of the planning process for the college’s next five-year strategic plan. Kimberly is an experienced planner who, mid-career, came to LaGuardia to enroll in the ACE Division’s Data Analytics program. After completing it she stayed on, working as a student support specialist. She’s currently recruiting volunteers for the Strategic Plan Steering Committee, mapping out workgroups, subcommittees, and timelines, and gathering the baseline data we need to get started. If you are keen to learn more or get involved, please reach out to Kimberly.
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Long Island City Partnership Celebrates Lunar New Year | | |
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Our local business and civic association, the Long Island City Partnership, brought together community members, business owners, elected officials, and representatives of your favorite community college to kick off a month of festivities celebrating the Year of the Dragon. The LIC Lunar New Year Celebration featured local businesses and organizations offering more than eighty events throughout Long Island City during February. Each year, the Partnership’s Lunar New Year celebration grows to include more participants and activities – hardly a surprise since Long Island City is now NYC’s fastest-growing Asian community. With 24% of our students identifying as Asian, LaGuardia proudly serves as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). | |
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LaGuardia to Train New York’s Clean Energy Workforce
On February 29, Con Edison, as part of its commitment to usher in New York’s transition to clean energy, announced awards totaling more than $4 million to four New York nonprofit organizations, including LaGuardia. Grant recipients will train more than 1,200 students from underserved communities for careers in clean energy and technology over the next three years. LaGuardia, in partnership with Urban Upbound and Building Skills NY, will recruit public housing residents from Queensbridge, Ravenswood, and Astoria Houses for training as solar installation technicians and electrical helpers, and connect them to clean energy jobs, including opportunities at Con Edison. With the help of Con Edison volunteer mentors, the program will provide career advising, support, and financial counseling to graduates to help them succeed and advance in their careers.
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College Prepares to Launch 36th Year of Summer Youth Employment Program | | |
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This summer, LaGuardia Community College will again—for the 36th year—play host to the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program. SYEP gives young people aged 14– 21 opportunities for career exploration and paid work experience. Youth aged 14 and 15 will participate in project-based learning on the LaGuardia campus and/or in a virtual setting. Participants aged 16–24 will be placed in paid internships with NYC businesses and community-based organizations, including at the college. Under the leadership of Claudia Baldonedo (also indefatigable), SYEP at LaGuardia, with more than 3,000 participants, is the largest program in Queens and the second largest in New York City, following the SYEP program of the Police Athletic League, which has a territorial advantage over us since they have locations in all five boroughs and we don’t (yet). If you know of any eligible participants, please encourage them to apply. | | | | |
