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In 2017 a friend of mine named Andrew Rasiej announced his vision for Civic Hall, an 80,000 square-foot education and event space for the city’s growing tech community on East 14th Street, just off Union Square. Andrew had a site in mind; he only needed zoning changes, approval from City Hall, a developer to construct the building, and a massive amount of capital. Seemed like a noble but long-shot dream at the time. But thanks to his dog-with-a-bone persistence, the logic of his plan, and his powers of persuasion, Andrew turned Civic Hall into a reality. Yesterday, I signed an agreement making LaGuardia Civic Hall’s first tenant and primary educational partner. | |
This unique opportunity is the result of our collaboration with the FedCap Group, a global workforce development, education, and health services provider selected to operate Civic Hall. Big thanks to Sunil Gupta, LaGuardia’s VP for Adult and Continuing Education and Workforce Development, who has led our participation in this exciting new venture. This fall, Sunil and his colleagues will begin offering IT industry certification courses at Civic Hall, marking the expansion of LaGuardia into Manhattan, and placing our students firmly in the center of the tech community – the fastest growing sector of the city’s economy. | |
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Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Awarded to Math Major Min Young Kim
Liberal Arts: Applied Math major Min Young Kim is one of just 60 students selected for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the nation's largest and most competitive scholarship program for community college students. As a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, Min Young will receive up to $55,000/year (for up to three years) to complete her Bachelor's Degree and will also be eligible for graduate studies funding. This year, there were some 1,700 applicants from 448 community colleges nationwide. Min Young is LaGuardia’s 15th Jack Kent Cooke Scholar since 2006. Congratulations to Min Young and to her teachers and mentors, including her Cooke recommenders, Dr. Nathan Hosannah (Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science, or MEC) and Dr. Christopher Schmidt (English), and her research advisor, Dr. Alaa Darabseh (MEC). Dr. Karlyn Koh (English) serves as Cooke Foundation Faculty Representative for LAGCC.
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Foundation Board Chair Hosts CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez for Factory Tour
On May 5th, Charles Boyce, Founder and President of Boyce Technologies led a tour of his Long Island City facility for CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. Several of us from the college administration tagged along, eager to meet the seven LaGuardia students who have internships there this semester. A maker of sophisticated telecommunications equipment for the MTA and other transit systems, Boyce has long been an attractive employer for LaGuardia engineering majors. Indeed, Charles told the chancellor that twenty percent of his workforce is comprised of CUNY alumni, including, of course, a good number from his favorite community college, which is just down the street. During the tour, we met with Electrical Engineering students Ryan Jhin and Jimmy Tranquille, Mechanical Engineering student Leo Tepoxtecatl, and Tenzin Choesang Tamang, who majors in Business Administration.
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New York State Assembly Member Patricia Fahy to Give Keynote Address at Commencement
New York State Assembly Member Patricia Fahy, Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, will give the keynote address at the 2023 LaGuardia Community College Commencement. The ceremony, for more than 2,000 members of LaGuardia’s graduating class, will be held on Wednesday, June 21, on the beautiful campus of Queens College in Flushing. While other important officials are expected to join us for the festivities, Assemblymember Fahy, who represents the capital region around Albany, has the distinction of being a community college alumna who went on to become the chair of the committee that oversees higher education in New York State.
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Dr. Alexis J. McLean Joins LaGuardia as Vice President for Student Affairs
I recently announced the appointment of Dr. Alexis J. McLean as Vice President for Student Affairs of the college. Dr. McLean currently serves as the Dean of Students at Medgar Evers College/CUNY, where she administers all areas within the Division of Student Success and ensures an environment conducive to learning and to the personal and social development of students. Dr. McLean has worked at Medgar Evers for 14 years. Her roles there include serving as the Associate Director in the Department of Special Programs/Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program; as Assistant Professor and Counselor with the Department of Special Programs/SEEK Program; and as a Counseling Coordinator in the same department. Prior to working at Medgar Evers, Dr. McLean was as an instructor/counselor in the counseling department at LaGuardia. We will welcome her back to LaGuardia on June 15.
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CIET “Family Night” Restores In-Person Celebration for Students and Children
LaGuardia’s Center for Immigrant Education and Training (CIET) hosted its first in-person Family Night on May 12 after three years of holding the semi-annual event remotely. Approximately 100 students of CIET’s English and Immigrant Family Literacy Program attended the event, called “Growing Together,” with their school-aged children. The program empowers English language learners—mostly recent immigrants—to advocate for their children at school, to provide homework support at home, and to become lifelong learners. Led by the indefatigable Paula Da Silva Michelin, the CIET Family Literacy Program is free thanks to generous ongoing support from the New York State Education Department.
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LaGuardia Scores $500,000 Grant for State-of-the-Art Equipment for STEM Programs
The Sherman Fairchild Foundation recently awarded LaGuardia a four-year grant of $499,369. The funding will enable the college to enhance technology and equipment in the departments of Natural Sciences, and Mathematics, Engineering Science, and Computer Science. The winning proposal was led by Dr. Maria Entezari, chairperson of the Department of Natural Sciences and Dr. Abderrazak Belkharraz, chairperson of the Department of Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science. A nutritious result of the Fairchild funding will be a greenhouse to be assembled on the lot behind C-Building – leading to LaGuardia’s own urban farm. The greenhouse is a key ingredient in our new associate degree in Sustainable Urban Agriculture, which transfers to Rutgers and Cornell. And, of course, veggies grown in the greenhouse will make their way to the LaGuardia Cares food pantry.
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