ACLU executive director Anthony Romero & seven distinguished alumni receive CCNY honors

Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is the 2022 John H. Finley Award recipient. The award is given out by the Alumni Association of The City College of New York for exemplary and dedicated service to the City of New York. Click here for details and registration information. 

In addition, the association is honoring seven CCNY alumni for outstanding post-graduate achievement. They’ll receive the Townsend Harris Medal at the 142nd Annual Alumni Gala, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3 in the Great Hall of Shepard Hall, at CCNY. This year’s gala will be a hybrid event with in-person attendance for the first time since 2019.  

The Townsend Harris recipients are:

• Identical twin sisters Cleonis Ellen Golding and Constance Elaine Golding, both from CCNY’s classes of ’62 and ‘65MSE. They will be recognized for their significant contributions to education, advocating for children from under-served groups throughout the city.
   
• Francee Covington '70; Trailblazing journalist who was a director, producer, and writer in television and video production. She worked at WCBS New York, WBZ Boston and KGO, KPIX, and KQED in San Francisco at a time when very few women and people of color were able to do so.
   
• Stewart Kampel '59; recognized for his incredible work as a journalist at the New York Times and then bringing his expertise back to CCNY as a respected professor.
   
• Henry Posamentier '70; world renowned geologist who has been instrumental in the development of two major geological sub-disciplines – sequence stratigraphy and seismic geomorphology. His published seminal papers that have been referenced over 21,000 times. 
   
• Leonard Susskind '62; physicist regarded as one of the fathers of string theory, a theory of the fundamental structure of spacetime and matter that still dominates theoretical physics.
   
• Dr. Allen Taylor '67; distinguished scientist and humanitarian who founded the nonprofit Scientific Training Encouraging Peace-Graduate Training Program. 

Named after CCNY founder Townsend Harris, the medal was established in 1933 by the Class of 1906.  Each year, the Alumni Association honors up to seven alumni for outstanding postgraduate achievement in their respective fields at the organization’s annual gala.

The Annual Gala is the culmination of the Association’s yearly success, where we have the opportunity to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the organization and its members,” said David Covington, Alumni Association, executive director. “We are also excited to host this event as a hybrid event for the first time ever. Alumni will have the opportunity to experience the gala, and this gorgeous campus, in-person for the first time in several years.”

This year’s gala will also feature speeches by CCNY President Vincent Boudreau and Alumni Association President Lawrence Greengrass. The evening will also feature alumni performances, special edition “CCNY Alumni” branded items for auction, and a celebration of students receiving scholarships from the Alumni Association.

Click here for more information and to register for this year’s ceremony.

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization DegreeChoices ranks CCNY #3 nationally for social mobility. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.