Vincent Boudreau
Dear members of the Campus Community,
I write to announce that, with some substantial regret, I’ve approved Vice President Karen Witherspoon’s application for retirement. As the head of CCNY’s Division of Government, Community and Cultural Affairs VP Witherspoon managed a broad and diverse portfolio, ranging from the direction of CCNY’s interactions with elected officials and community institutions to the organization of campus events. When television and film crews come to our campus to shoot, it reflects the efforts of VP Witherspoon and her team. Logistical support for a broad range of events across the campus are also managed under her leadership, as are the activities and programs of the City College Center for the Arts and much of what takes place in Aaron Davis Hall.
VP Witherspoon has kept myself and previous campus leaders up to date on the challenges and opportunities that influence the college originating in the political sphere. Her deep knowledge of (particularly) local electoral and policy dynamics have meant we are able to anticipate and position ourselves as advantageously as possible when change is afoot. She has managed our engagement with the capital funding process, by which members of the NY City Council allocate resources to institutions like CCNY, and scores of capital projects across the campus reflect the fruits of her work in that sphere.
Above all, we have benefitted from the fact that our Vice President for the Division of Government, Community and Cultural Affairs comes from a family that is a Harlem institution, and she’s brought that sense of position, and the good will it engenders, into our work. Today, we have vibrant and robust relations with our immediate community, and are committed to expanding and deepening these. So much of this reflects VP Witherspoon’s skill, assets and commitment to this work and to our college. I have benefitted from her insight and advice, and am deeply indebted to her.
I hope you will join me in thanking her for her years of service, and in wishing her the very best in the next stage of her life.
Sincerely,
Vince Boudreau
President