In all of the controversies about college rankings, one variable has emerged without contest as among the most important for measuring a university’s true positive effect in society: Social Mobility. That is, the role of higher education in propelling graduates into improved economic and social circumstances. 

On this front, study after study suggests that CCNY and CUNY are among the most effective engines of social mobility in the United States. According to The New York Times, CUNY, for which CCNY is the flagship, has “propelled almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all eight Ivy League campuses, plus Duke, M.I.T., Stanford and Chicago, combined.” 

Our success is clear. Yet there is far more we should know about how we do it. How do we succeed on behalf of so many graduates? Let’s learn more, and then let’s share that knowledge, with CCNY and CUNY at the center of the national conversation on these issues.  

The Social Mobility Lab is targeted at these goals. It is a hub for research, teaching, and experimentation about what works for serving students in ways that accelerate and expand opportunity. And it is a center for public events and discussions on work, both nationally and locally, about social, economic, and civic mobility. 

As the largest student division of CCNY and the home of the social sciences, it is fitting for the Colin Powell School to be home to the Social Mobility Lab. We see the signs and success of social mobility every day in our almost 4,000 students. Indeed, it is the story of our namesake, General Colin Powell School, who was born to Jamaican immigrants and grew up in the South Bronx; for him, it was “City College of nowhere.” It is here that he found his purpose and passion, and from here, he went on to become the first Black American to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State. Social mobility for sure. Like General Powell, many of our students today see college as the ticket to mobility for themselves and their families.   

We embrace our role at the forefront of social change. The Social Mobility Lab will help us understand better how we do it, and it will bring the conversation to a larger audience. We invite you to join us on the Lab’s journey.

Andrew Rich
Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean  I  Colin Powell School 

CONNECT

Interested in learning more about our plans and activities,
please contact Daniel Hila at dhila@ccny.cuny.edu  

If you’re interested in collaborating or investing in advancing this work,
please contact Abigail Feder-Kane, Director of Development and External Relations at afederkane@ccny.cuny.edu