Cabinet Meeting Minutes January 8, 2024

Cabinet Meeting
Monday, January 8, 2024
10:00 am - Noon

1. Vince Boudreau, President
2. Doris Cintron, Senior Associate Provost
3. Alex Couzis, Dean, Grove School of Engineering
4. Ranajeet Ghose, Interim Associate Provost for Research
5. Carmen Green, Dean, CUNY School of Medicine
6. Scott Gurba, Chief Operating Officer
7. Sheryl Konigsberg, Chief Diversity Officer
8. Edwin Lamboy, Dean, School of Education
9. Tony Liss, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
10. Celia Lloyd, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
11. Renata Miller, Dean, Division of Humanities and the Arts
12. Dee Dee Mozeleski, Senior Advisor to the President and VP & Executive Director, Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications and External Relations and The Foundation for City College
13. Naomi Nwosu-Stewart, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management
14. Paul Occhiogrosso, Executive Counsel to the President
15. Marie Owumi, Special Projects Manager, Office of the President
16. Susan Perkins, Dean, Division of Science
17. Lesly Pierre, Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management
18. Teresa Scala, Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost
19. Ruth Stark, Chairperson, Faculty Committee on Personnel Matters
20. Mary Ruth Strzeszewski, Associate Provost for Academic Programs
21. Vanessa Valdes, Associate Provost for Community Engagement

Absent:

1. Ramon De Los Santos, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs
2. Marta Gutman, Dean, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
3. Ken Ihrer, Chief Information Officer
4. David Jeruzalmi, Chairman, The Faculty Senate
5. Juan Carlos Mercado, Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies at CWE & Professional Continuing Studies
6. Andrew Rich, Dean, The Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am by President Boudreau. He moved for the approval of the December 18 minutes which stood without edits.

President Boudreau gave his announcements which were as follows:

1. He welcomed Dr. Rhanajeet Ghose to Cabinet as he serves in his role as Interim Associate Provost for Research until June 1 while a search is being done for a permanent position.
2. He acknowledged VP Lloyd’s final Cabinet meeting, thanked her for her decades of service to the college, and wished her the best in her next chapter. Provost Liss invited everyone to RSVP for VP Lloyd’s farewell party on Tuesday, January 30 at 4pm.
3. He reminded all Cabinet members of the previous commitment to convert all admits into matriculated students. A presentation would be given by AVP Nwosu-Stewart later in the meeting to expand on the progress made in enrollment so far and strategies for the future.
4. CUNY Presidents will begin meeting independently from COPs meetings to consolidate the knowledge  and experience they have gained in order to create plans of action. There will also be a breakfast in Albany between CUNY Presidents and elected officials in the coming months to establish conversation regarding the CUNY labor contract which will be finalized in April. He invited everyone to send over their examples of areas that need support which can be brought up during the meeting.

There were a few questions about the state of the college’s finances and the steps being taken to alleviate the ongoing budget concerns. President Boudreau will distribute a document which the Chancellor shared on the current finances of the university. He also shared his current strategies for improving college finances which are:

1. Partnerships and contracts with external organizations interested on working with the college
2. Lobbying efforts with elected officials in order to fund the CUNY labor contract
3. Increased student enrollment strategies including 4 semester scheduling and Navigate

President Boudreau then moved AVP Nwosu-Stewart to give her presentation on enrollment so far and the strategies that her team is working on to improve retention. Winter 2024 enrollment has increased by 11% and Spring 2024 enrollment has increased by 7.2% with numbers still being counted. She spoke on some of her teams initiatives which include:

1. Use of weekly Navigate campaigns to prompt students who are eligible to enroll and have yet to do so
2. Call campaigns will begin the week of January 8 to undergraduate and graduate stop-outs, last enrolled in Spring 2022, to encourage them to finish their degree. They will also be made to students who are yet to register for classes.
3. Provision of the City Beat magazine for new students to be aware of various programs and opportunities that their upperclassmen are taking advantage of.
4. Q&A sessions for students to learn more about their majors.

AVP Nwosu-Stewart also shared a calendar of events related to enrollment and retention for departments to keep in mind as the semester progresses. The things that she asked everyone to keep in mind are the new FAFSA process and capitalization of the current scholarships that the college has in order to assist and supplement student needs.

AVP Nwosu-Stewart highlighted methods that the various departments could use to aid their student retention efforts, including:

1. Capitalization of department newsletters to keep students informed of events and opportunities
2. Scheduled information sessions for students to ask questions
3. Utilization of social media accounts

VP Mozeleski gave further insight to Cabinet members on what is reported about the college on social media and what students hope to see represented on social media.

President Boudreau encouraged deans to consider three things regarding student engagement with the college:

1. The self assessment tool around financial aid will be launched in mid-February, and this must be communicated campus-wide to alleviate student financial anxiety
2. When hosting events or opportunities for students, it is necessary to consider all aspects of the students’ experience leading up to the event, such as ease of access, communication, and departmental coordination
3. The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee will be hosting a reception for principals in the Harlem school district at City College in March. Any departments with an interest in participating in this event should express that as soon as they can.

President Boudreau reported on the first sustained dialogue session which took place on December 18. The leadership of various student organizations, including Hillel and Students for Justice in Palestine, were gathered for two hours for a conversation with himself, VP Mozeleski and AVP De Los Santos. It was an insightful conversation that gave the students the opportunity to sit down in a shared space and speak on their anxieties, fears and feelings surrounding campus climate. He invited Cabinet members to sit in at one of the upcoming sustained dialogue meetings to listen to what students have to say.

President Boudreau will also be writing an article for the Alumnus Magazine surrounding antisemitism to give the alumni a view of what is currently occuring on campus and how it is being addressed.

He then passed on the conversation to Executive Counsel Occhiogrosso and CDO Konigsberg to discuss the topic of discrimination and free speech on campus. The discussion entailed student reports of discrimination on campus and how each concern is responded to.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:45am.

February 5 Cabinet Meeting Agenda

1. Capital review (Scott Gurba, Sam Martinez)
2. Campus Climate discussion
3. 4 semester scheduling
4. Navigate
5. Update on enrollment/retention