From City to the World

Diverse by design, CCNY was founded in 1847 with a mission to educate the "children of the whole people" and introduce public education to New York City. Fast forward to 1969, when the disparity between the small numbers of Black and Puerto Rican students — compared with Harlem's population and the city as a whole — gave rise to historic campus protests, occupation and a two-week strike. Open admissions followed for the next six years. In this episode, President Vincent Boudreau recounts this formative period in CCNY's modern era and visits a 1970s chapter in Black history on campus with legendary rapper Kurtis Blow. Hear Blow, born a block away, tell his CCNY history, from finding the inspiration here for his hit "Basketball" to studying here for a time until making his groundbreaking record deal. For perspectives on educational attainment equity at City College today, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management leaders Celia Lloyd and Dr. Naomi Nwosu-Stewart join President Boudreau in a conversation about engaging and supporting current students, a majority of whom are people of color.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Celia Lloyd, CCNY Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management; Dr. Naomi Nwosu-Stewart, CCNY Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management; Elder Kurtis Blow Walker, rapper, minister and President of the United Coalition for Humanity.

Recorded: February 14, 2022

The data are stark on health disparities in America's under-resourced communities, but the prognosis for a better, fairer healthcare future is strong at the CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York. Newly installed dean Dr. Carmen Renee' Green, a nationally known pain physician and expert on health policy and social determinants of health, is building on CCNY's nearly 50-year tradition of educating diverse doctors to serve communities like their own. In conversation with CCNY President Vincent Boudreau, Dean Green explains that 80% of health and well-being is dependent on social determinants—making diversity, disparities, empathy, narrative medicine, and a greater understanding of treating pain essential to training America's next-gen healers and leaders.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guest: Carmen Renee' Green, MD, Dean and Anna and Irving Brodsky Medical Professor, CUNY School of Medicine at CCNY; Professor, CCNY Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

Recorded: November 11, 2021

A giant on the world stage, Gen. Colin L. Powell found his calling in the ROTC program as an undergraduate at The City College of New York. Powell led the Cadet Corps on the Harlem campus, and upon graduating with a Geology degree in 1958, received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The first Black American appointed to a series of U.S. government leadership roles culminating in Secretary of State, Powell also spent the last several decades of his life deeply involved with the school he called the center of his life.

As news of Powell’s passing circles the world, this episode captures the tributes of his closest colleagues at CCNY: President Vincent Boudreau, Vice President Dee Dee Mozeleski, and Dean Andrew Rich of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. Joining them is Trevor Houser, a 2006 graduate and an alumnus of the inaugural cohort of Colin Powell Fellows, a program exemplifying the visionary pathways that Powell initiated and that today inspire a legacy of student success across CCNY.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Andrew Rich, Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean of CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership; Trevor Houser, Partner, Rhodium Group, CCNY Class of 2006, graduate of CCNY’s inaugural cohort of Colin Powell Fellows; Dee Dee Mozeleski, Vice President of CCNY’s Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications, Executive Director of the Foundation for City College, Senior Adviser to the President of City College.

Recorded: October 19, 2021

In a special guest appearance on WBAI's The Harlem Connection, City College President Vincent Boudreau joins host Ade Williams for "The Harlem Connection Gets Academic." Excerpted here as an installment of CCNY's From City to the World podcast, the conversation covers the college's essential connection with its Harlem neighborhood. President Boudreau discusses how sharing CCNY expertise and resources such as research, testing, vaccination and blood drives has become even more important in the COVID pandemic, and how workforce development is next on the college's agenda, with new initiatives now in development. Looking back, Boudreau recounts some of the glories of the legendary Lewisohn Stadium, as well as ongoing cultural events, lectures and sports events that welcome the community. To close, see what Boudreau selects as guest DJ of the final selection of the program.
 
This programming is shared courtesy of WBAI and The Harlem Connection, Ade Williams, host.
 
Host: Adé Williams, WBAI
Guest: President Vincent Boudreau, The City College of New York
Recorded: September 24, 2021

The U.S. city hardest hit economically by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York is now racing to recover and reopen. Can vaccination keep pace to ensure an equitable and safe new semblance of normal? In conversation with City College President Vincent Boudreau, CCNY Dean of Science Susan Perkins explains vaccine safety and outlines risks of virus variants and under-vaccination. City Council Member Mark Levine of northern Manhattan, chair of the Council's Health Committee, reports on vaccination activity in Harlem and beyond, the tragic costs of systemic racial health disparities and the pivots he urges City government to make to protect New Yorkers, especially in vulnerable communities, now and long-term.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Susan L. Perkins, Martin and Michele Cohen Dean of Science at CCNY; Mark Levine, New York City Councilmember Representing District 7 (Northern Manhattan) and Chair, City Council Committee on Health.
Recorded: May 19, 2021