As we begin the accelerated slide into Thanksgiving, finals, grading, and the holidays that follow, I am reminded that our (now) traditional holiday karaoke party is close at hand. We'll meet, as we have over the past 7 years, on December 5, at 4 pm in Shepard 350 for food, drink, companionship, and (with any luck) a vibrant assortment of beautiful or earnest vocal presentations.

But I’m also reminded, this year, of why we went with a karaoke-themed party all these years ago. In late 2016, we found ourselves in circumstances very similar to today’s with significant potential shifts in our professional and social landscape. It seemed to me then, as it does now, that one of the things people do at such moments is gather, draw strength and encouragement from one another, and celebrate in song.

Let’s do that, and see if we can weave an evening of keeping each others’ company into the start of a more resilient community fabric.

Add your song selections to this link ahead of the party: https://forms.gle/wjgrCGkvzgtgf3bz8.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the party.

With my best wishes,

Vince

I know many of us return to campuses and classes today focused on the outcome of our nation’s election with a wide range of emotions regardless of how we voted. I commend all who cast a vote, in person or by mail, and upheld an obligation I feel we have to be civically engaged and invested in the trajectory of our local, state and national governance.  

Higher education is a place where our faculty, staff and students work to find context and meaning in current events, including elections, a role that will become increasingly important in the days and weeks ahead. We must strive to find constructive ways to channel our feelings and express our views.  

It is important that we come together to process these events, support one another regardless of our political opinions and resolve to maintain an atmosphere of respectful dialogue across our campuses. Some of these conversations will be difficult, as we know, but we must strive to sustain a climate of constructive expression, engagement and respect. I also urge you to remain focused on your coursework and other academic and professional pursuits. 

As always, we are committed to your safety and growth. We have support systems in place for students and employees concerned about what the election might mean for them and we encourage you to stay connected with family and friends.

Students who need help coping may seek support by visiting the CUNY Mental Health Services webpage. Faculty and staff may reach out to CCA@YourService or call CUNY’s confidential employee assistance program provider at 800-833-8707. Reach out to faculty, advisers and our mental health counselors to get the help needed during this time of change and stay connected to family and friends. 

I continue to draw positive motivation and pride from CUNY’s historical mission, which remains as vital today as ever.  

Sincerely,

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
Chancellor

In 2016 I wrote the message below with a hopefulness that we could rely on the vision set forth at our founding in 1847: to be a beacon for all who choose to make City College their home, whether as students or in their professions.

Since 2016, we have been repeatedly challenged as a community, and that vision has both been put to the test and proven itself to be a continuing source of resiliency. I believe that these tests, on balance, have made us stronger and expanded our capacity to defend our values.

This defense, however, is not an episodic thing, but a continuing responsibility and calling. And so we come to this moment, when so much of the rhetoric that marked our recently concluded campaign season seems overtly to threaten friends and colleagues on this campus. As I have cast around for words to frame our response, I consulted the note I composed eight years ago, and find it as fitting today as it may have been then. It reads as follows:

To many of you, the world today must feel a colder and more lonely place. Over the past months, we have watched the parameters of what is acceptable in our political and social life, and in the speech acts associated with that life, shift radically away from established norms of racial justice, gender fairness and basic equality before the law.

I write these lines not as a partisan in our political process, but as someone who has been asked to steward, for the time being, an institution that is not neutral on these questions, and that cannot remain neutral.

Our values demand, whatever the rhetoric outside our campus, that we embrace the possibility that there is a place for all of us, on this campus and in this society: wherever you were born, and however you came here. They demand that we embrace our differences as virtues rather than threats, and recognize and nurture the promise represented by each person moving across this earth. At the most fundamental level, they demand that we commit our private and public selves to the responsibility of taking care of one another: of recognizing pain, and want, and isolation when we see it in those around us, and offering such comfort as we can.

We are a campus of immigrants, and the advocacy for justice in the field of immigration will continue to be central to our educational efforts. We are a campus community that proclaims its diversity, and so we must be a refuge and a source of wisdom on questions of racial, religious and gender fairness. We are, as an institution, built on foundational beliefs about the necessary place of accessible education—and by implication the need for robust social and economic mobility—in any stable and democratic society.  And all of this means that whenever and for whatever reason the climate shifts against these values outside our campus, we are obliged to reaffirm them within it.

I have always thought that CCNY has been, throughout its history, a step ahead of the country—that it has been our privilege and obligation to model, for the rest of the world, what a better and more perfect union should look like, to educate young people in a belief in that world, and send them out to help make it. That is our legacy, and I fervently hope that you feel its weight and honor, now more than ever.

Let’s be that place.  Let’s look one another in the eye today. Let’s stick together, and in that basic act of community, continue the work we came to this campus to do.

We will, in the coming days, reissue a series of reminders of the many college-based opportunities we have to engage in constructive dialogue, to support the health and wellness needs of our community and to enhance the security of everyone in our orbit. And I’ll add the gentle reminder that however one identifies politically, City College represents more than 177 years of ensuring a place in society for all and we will do what is necessary to meet the demands of the moment in defense of that legacy.

Sincerely,

Vince Boudreau

We are aware of a recent social media post concerning the cancellation of an inter-MSA Jummah event planned for Friday, October 11th, on the South Lawn. We want to clarify that this narrative misrepresents City College’s policies and values: we are committed to maintaining an environment where all voices can be heard, respected, and celebrated.

First and foremost, City College has not banned Muslim students—or any students—from praying on campus. The allegation of Islamophobia is categorically false and contrary to our mission. The event in question was not approved because it did not go through the proper channels, which is a standard procedure required for all student events to ensure safety and compliance with city regulations (see our communications with club leaders). This policy is uniformly applied to all student groups to ensure fairness and safety, not as a measure to suppress any particular group. The recent social media post incorrectly suggests that this student club is being singled out, when in reality, the same rules are applied to all student clubs.

City College is proud of its diverse and inclusive community. Our commitment to fostering an environment where different perspectives strengthen us is unwavering. In alignment with this commitment, we have launched initiatives like our Sustained Dialogue series, partnered with the Human Rights Commission to host a series on dehumanization that discusses the lived experiences of our Muslim (Nov 7), Jewish (Nov 14), and people of color communities (Jan 30) and held two Interfaith Council meetings with 16 faith-based student clubs this semester.

For those interested in organizing events, we encourage you to familiarize yourselves with our Events Policies and CUNY Rules and Regulations for the Maintenance of Public Order known as the Henderson Rules, including our Student Demonstration Policy available on the college website and the student handbook. These guidelines help ensure that while you exercise your freedom of expression, you also support the uninterrupted operations of the College and the educational experience of all students.

Creating misleading narratives can also foster a hostile environment that goes against everything we stand for at CCNY. We urge everyone to approach such issues with a spirit of understanding and cooperation.

For any further information or to discuss how to properly organize events and demonstrations on campus, please contact the Office of Student Life. We are here to assist you in navigating these processes and to support your right to express and assemble peacefully and respectfully.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Regards,
Ramón De Los Santos, Ed.D.
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs

As many of you know, the ASRC building, located on our south campus, was vandalized during Monday's early morning hours. This building is a CUNY Grad Center building, and I have enclosed the message that the Grad Center President, Josh Brumberg, wrote to his campus community following that defacement. Nevertheless, the building also exists within the broader envelope of the CCNY campus, and we share responsibility for its protection, and the protection of the academic and research activities that take place within its walls.

In sharing President Brumberg's words, I would like to echo his approbation at the vandalism. Like him, I would like to express my support for free speech as a general principle, but say that acts of defacement and vandalism clearly cross the line of what is permissible on a college campus, and will be subject to the disciplinary processes of this campus and the criminal justice system.

We have a duty to protect the well-being of our entire campus community and to preserve an environment where everyone has unfettered access to campus resources in a non-discriminatory environment.

With President Brumberg, I denounce these acts as counter to those obligations, and urge our community to focus on the preservation of a more inclusive environment on campus, free of Antisemitism and discrimination of all kinds.

Sincerely,

Vince Boudreau
President

Dear Graduate Center community,

Hate has no place at the Graduate Center. Unfortunately, vandals broke windows and defaced the entryway of the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) early this morning. We are currently working with CCNY campus safety and the New York Police Department to investigate this hideous act.

While we will clean up the graffiti and repair the windows, the impact of this act will linger. Our buildings at 365 5th Avenue and 85 St. Nicholas Terrace are designed to be the homes of scholars investigating unknowns and expanding our knowledge of how humans interact with each other and with nature. Insensitive acts of vandalism seek to disrupt our work and make us feel unsettled in our surroundings; we must not let this happen. After the initial investigation wrapped up this morning, we reopened the ASRC at noon.

Should you feel uncomfortable in any way, feel free to reach out to ASRC and Graduate Center leadership or public safety at either CCNY (212-650-7777) or the Graduate Center (212-817-7777). Additionally, I would like to remind our community of resources that are in place to assist all members. Students, if something troubles you on campus, please reach out to the appropriate offices, including the Wellness Center, Office of Student Affairs, Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity, and Office of Compliance and Diversity. Staff, please reach out to Human Resources or the Office of Compliance and Diversity; and faculty, the Provost’s Office or the Office of Compliance and Diversity.

I will be holding my senior staff meeting in the ASRC executive conference room tomorrow morning as further evidence that we will not let ill-intentioned vandals impact the important work we are all engaged in.

CUNY has strict policies in place to protect all our community members and expects all community members to exercise their right to express themselves responsibly and respectfully.

Sincerely,

Joshua C. Brumberg
President

The City College of New York (CCNY) has a long-standing commitment to diversity and equal opportunity in all aspects of employment. Senior management fully supports policies and practices to foster non-discrimination, affirmative action, and diversity and inclusion, in the workplace and our community overall. CCNY is enriched by the strengths of the people and perspectives in our institution. Accordingly, I continue to be committed to our compliance with the CUNY Policies and Procedures on Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and on Sex-Based Misconduct.

The Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy states CUNY's commitment to recruit, employ, retain, promote, and provide benefits to employees without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, partnership status, disability, genetic information, alienage, citizenship, military or veteran status, unemployment status, status as a victim of domestic violence/stalking/sex offenses, or any other legally prohibited basis in accordance with federal, state and city laws. Additionally, CUNY practices affirmative action for women, protected ethnicities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans consistent with federal requirements for employees in all title groups. Italian Americans are included among CUNY's protected groups.

Further, CCNY does not tolerate acts of hate or bigotry of any kind. This includes discrimination or harassment based on national origin or heritage – including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or South Asian ancestry – and/or the association with these national origins and ancestries. The College will promptly take all necessary and appropriate actions to address any such discrimination and remedy its effects. We encourage students and employees who believe they have been subjected to such discrimination, or who have information about an incident or situation, to report it to the College. Anyone who believes they have been a victim of harassment, discrimination or retaliation should use the University-wide Discrimination and Retaliation Reporting Portal.

CUNY desires to expand its inclusivity and accessibility to both students and employees with disabilities. As per Governor Hochul’s Executive Order 31, CUNY is developing a Strategic Plan to enhance recruitment, advancement, and support of individuals with disabilities. Any CUNY employee requiring one or more accommodations to perform their job duties should contact Human Resources as per our policy on Reasonable Accommodations and Academic Adjustments.

I invite you to visit the CUNY website to view the Non-Discrimination Policy in its entirety as well as the polices on Reasonable Accommodations and Academic Adjustments and Reporting of Alleged Misconduct. 

CCNY’s executives and administrators are responsible for maintaining a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and for promoting diversity and inclusion in their units. Sheryl Konigsberg, Chief Diversity and Compliance Officer, is the responsible official charged with assuring Equal Employment Opportunity compliance. I encourage all managers to contact them to discuss diversity and inclusion strategies that would advance unit goals. Additionally, any individual who believes they have experienced employment discrimination should contact Sheryl Konigsberg at (212)650-6310 or email skonigsberg@ccny.cuny.edu . They may also utilize the University-wide HR Discrimination and Retaliation Report Portal on the CUNY website.

I ask for your continued support to ensure equal opportunity, affirmative action, diversity and inclusion in all our employment practices at CCNY.

Sincerely,

Vince Boudreau
President
The City College of New York

As we embark on the 2024/25 season, I’d like to ask that we all take a moment to remind ourselves why we are on this campus, and what makes our time at CCNY so special.  Together, our community constitutes one of the greatest engines of social change and mobility the United States has ever seen.  For almost 180 years, students have come to CCNY freighted with ambition, creativity, and a vision for their future—and used their time on our campus to change the trajectory of their lives, and often the entire trajectory of their families. All of us on this campus are stewards of this tradition, and it no less describes our work today than at any earlier time in our history.

That status was recently reaffirmed by Degree Choice, which again ranked of CCNY America’s number one national university for producing change in the lives of its students.  I hope if you’re a student this fact will be deeply encouraging, and if you’re on faculty or staff, you’ll appreciate your contribution to this accomplishment, and know how deeply that contribution is valued at every level of our college.  Just this week, we announced the results of our new economic impact study, which estimates the annual impact of CCNY in the ten counties closest to campus at $3.2 billion dollars.  Taken together the story is clear:  we are demonstrating that the greatest possible economic dynamism comes when you concentrate on making sure that everyone has a chance to prosper.

A key element of our capacity to produce that social mobility is our open embrace of diversity.  That means both that we draw in students together from every conceivable background and that the experience we cultivate on campus is enriched by widely divergent perspectives and life histories. For generations, an essential component of the City College experience has been that this diversity strengthens and expands the mindset of those who study among us. Diversity is important to us just not as an end in itself, but because it contributes to that profound intellectual dynamism.  I hope you’ll all take this to heart—confident in the value of your own contribution to our debate and attentive to the gifts that your colleagues and classmates have to offer. 

That also means, in the current political and social climate, that we are an increasingly rarified kind of place.  Social mobility itself is a vanishingly rare state of affairs in America, but it flourishes among our graduates.  Diversity and inclusion are increasingly and explicitly in the crosshairs of various political campaigns and policy initiatives, and across the nation institutions and corporations are caving.  Our political and social discourse nationally has also grown so polarized that we seldom seem able to agree on basic empirical facts, let alone their interpretation in the crafting of something better. In each of these particulars, however, CCNY has been set up as an antidote—a place where our work together, underpinned by mutual respect and the quest for more inclusive understanding, can advance human progress.

Hence, and in addition to welcoming you back to campus, I’d like to take this opportunity to ask each of you to safeguard this community.  Let us enter this year with a desire to more fully understand one another, and to preserve the space where we will all benefit from protecting the physical and intellectual safety of those around us.  Let us be watchful of our companions in the understanding that we live in anxious times: anxiety, fear, and vulnerability often present as aggression or anger—but we all have an interest in recognizing vulnerability for what it is, and offering support and reassurance in that encounter. 

This is work that we may all undertake individually, and I hope you do.  But the college has also been assembling a menu of programs to help us all better support one another, engage in constructive conversation even when difficult, and identify and address anxiety in ourselves and those around us.  In the coming days and weeks, be on the lookout for programmatic announcements and the launch of a webpage on our site curating these programs. I hope you’ll all avail yourself of one of these programs, and in so doing, help shoulder the responsibility of preserving our community.

Please allow me to wish each of you the very best for an engaging, exciting and productive year. I’m so happy to once more be with you on the verge of another chapter in the CCNY story, and I know that together, we will write a passage to be proud of for years to come.  

Vincent Boudreau
President
The City College of New York

This retreat will be accompanied by AMC guides who are outdoor professionals trained in Wilderness Medicine, outdoor skills and natural history. Our guides will lead students through the woods, while providing a relationship-building environment that is safe for all. Students will engage in leadership and team-building activities led by our guides. You will have plenty of free time to hike, kayak, swim, hang at the beach, or relax at camp.

Lodging Details: We will be staying in cabins with shared bunk rooms (2 bunks per room). The restroom and showers are located a short walk away from the cabins. Rooms are assigned ahead of time, but everyone is welcome to switch roommates, etc. after check-in. Should you require any special room accommodations, please contact Ashley Mastroddi at amastroddi@ccny.cuny.edu .

Transportation: Roundtrip transportation will be arranged through the Office of the President at CCNY. The drive from CCNY to Harriman is approximately one hour long. More details on transportation will be provided after applications are accepted.

Packing List: Will be provided by The CCNY Outdoors Project once applications are accepted.

Note: All lodging, meals, and transportation are funded by The Office of the President at CCNY. If your application is accepted, we will provide a link to make your non-refundable $25 participation fee.

To Apply: You must be a current student at CCNY and all applicants are required to fill out attached forms to be considered for this opportunity. Please email your application to outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu . Once our team has reviewed your application, we will be in contact with you.

Thank you!!!

The CCNY Outdoors Project Team

Ashley Mastroddi, City College Outdoor Programs & Partnerships Manager Akasha Solis, City College Special Projects Manager outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu

As we reach the midpoint of the summer session and look forward to the Fall 2024 semester, I want to reaffirm that the physical and emotional well-being of our students and employees is always a top priority at CUNY. That obligation to ensure the safety and protect the rights of all members of our community is especially important in these polarizing times.

I want to remind everyone that CUNY does not tolerate acts of hate or bigotry of any kind. This includes discrimination or harassment based on national origin or heritage – including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or South Asian ancestry – and/or the association with these national origins and ancestries.

I also want to be clear that the University will promptly take all necessary and appropriate actions to address any such discrimination and remedy its effects. We encourage students and employees who believe they have been subjected to such discrimination, or who have information about an incident or situation, to report it to the University. Anyone who believes they have been a victim of harassment, discrimination or retaliation should use the University-wide Discrimination and Retaliation Reporting Portal.

CUNY has rules and regulations in place to maintain public order through an atmosphere of mutual respect, civility and trust on our campuses. These rules apply to everyone and you can read about them here.

As we have seen during these times of political conflict, deeply held views can sometimes devolve into statements or actions of antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of bigotry against individuals with opposing views. But as I have said on numerous occasions, intimidation, harassment, retaliation or any form of discrimination against those with opposing convictions cannot be the way we as a community respond in times of conflict and crisis. The University will not be tolerant of anyone in our community who violates this very fundamental principle.

As a further response, I urge anyone who is impacted by these events and needs help to access the support available to them. All CUNY campuses have health and wellness centers with professional counselors on hand to help students work through anxiety, grief and other overwhelming feelings and personal concerns. You can find location and contact information for all campus counseling services and learn how to access additional services by visiting the CUNY Mental Health Services webpage.

Faculty and staff may reach out to CCA@YourService, CUNY’s confidential employee assistance program provider, which is available 24/7 by calling 800-833-8707 or logging on to www.myccaonline.com with the company code “CUNY.”

CUNY has long been committed to supporting our diverse community in an environment of mutual respect. We are proud of the culture of civility that has guided us for generations, even as we remain steadfast in our commitment to freedom of expression and vigorous discourse that are central to our role as a leading institution of higher education.

CUNY is one of the most diverse universities in the country and among the nation’s greatest engines of social mobility. This makes us uniquely positioned to be a model for these times: an inclusive educational institution where all can learn, create knowledge, feel safe and supported, and thrive together while recognizing and appreciating our differences.

Sincerely,

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
Chancellor