Dear Lehman College Colleagues:
Welcome to the Spring 2021 term. We have been charting new territory in many ways for nearly a year now, and in recent weeks 2021 has felt in some ways like an unfortunate and dangerous return to early 2020. Fortunately, though, as we begin Black History Month, we have reason for hope and a better year ahead.
Part of Lehman College’s virtual commemorations of Black History Month this year is a month-long collaboration with One Book One Bronx and the Leonard Lief Library to host reading groups and other programs as part of the nationwide initiative Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters. I will have the pleasure of welcoming Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tyehimba Jess for a virtual reading on February 23rd, and you can register for that event and others by visiting this page.
We have been uncertain about what spring term enrollment would be, and throughout the spring registration period, it has lagged behind the previous year. However, through the tireless and always creative efforts of our Enrollment Management team, under Vice President Reine Sarmiento, along with the leaders and teams of each of the schools, the Bursar’s office, Information Technology and Student Affairs, we have achieved or exceeded our targets for new freshmen and graduate students. Overall, we are down only 4% as of last Friday. We expect enrollment to increase through this week, so despite the challenges of the pandemic and financial crisis, we are in a much better position than might have been anticipated. This is very good news for our students, our part-time faculty and for the college as a whole. A big thanks to everyone who has been a part of making this happen.
The vaccine is going to be key to accelerating our economic recovery in the Bronx and in New York City as well as the entire region. I encourage you to learn whether you are now eligible and as soon as you are able to, to get vaccinated for COVID-19. I know there is a long, understandable history of mistrust between communities of color and the medical establishment. While those concerns are valid and based on horrific events in the past and gaps in research up to this day, scientific analysis shows that the benefits for all groups of being vaccinated by far outweigh the very remote risks there may be in doing so. So far over 26 million vaccines have been administered, and aside from a few acute, but short-lived and non-lethal reactions of 3-5 per million vaccinations with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, I have yet to see evidence of any other concerning short- or longer-term side effects. The Centers for Disease Control reports no mortality following vaccination. The consequences of having COVID-19 we know all too well, and the average mortality rate that results from being infected is around 1-3%, orders of magnitude greater than the non-lethal complications of vaccination. We will be able to return faster to some semblance of our former life when more of us are vaccinated, so get vaccinated as soon as you can!
During the week of the U.S. Capitol riot, which I wrote to the campus about, I also reviewed with the Cabinet the thorough report from the Campus Climate Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, which was co-led by Gladys Maldoon, my Chief of Staff, and Professor Joe Fera. In a separate communication, you will hear more about the recommendations of the task force as we move further into the semester, as well as the next steps we will take immediately this spring.
Speaking of the MacKenzie Scott gift, I wrote, with Borough of Manhattan Community College President Anthony Munroe, a letter published in The New York Times encouraging other philanthropists to follow Ms. Scott’s ground-breaking lead. Her gift has understandably stimulated many discussions on campus and many thoughts about how it can be best be used to support students and the college’s long-term goals. Determining that will be a longer process, although as I mentioned, some of the funds will be immediately used to address current pressing needs of students and to current high priority initiatives. As we develop longer-term plans, we are consulting with outside experts on strategic investing and we are very near completion of our five-year strategic plan, which is a key guiding document for allocating all of our resources at the college.
As we begin another nearly fully online term, I encourage each of us to continue to adapt creatively as we work and study remotely. It is difficult, but by now we have learned a great deal about what works well and what doesn’t. Staying engaged, whether in the classroom or the office, has become ever more important. Please continue to reach out to your colleagues and students and be supportive and understanding of the challenges they face. I read with interest a recent article in the New York Times about how uncivil many remote workplace environments in the business world have become. I am happy to say that I don’t see that problem at Lehman College or at CUNY. My observation is that challenging though it is, we have all worked hard to keep Lehman effective and civil for students, staff and faculty. I know our results have been imperfect at times, but I also know we have all made our best efforts and have largely succeeded.
Celebrating Excellence
Congratulations to Professor Naomi Zack who in the fall was awarded the 2021 John Dewey lectureship by the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association. She will deliver her lecture during the APA’s annual meeting in April.
The College received great news this winter, too, that the Teagle Foundation will support a program, launching in Fall 2021, called Anchored in the Liberal Arts (ATLAS) to help students who may experience “transfer shock” when coming into our institution and others throughout CUNY.
In January, the first cohort of 28 small business owners completed an emerging technology mentorship program through a pilot partnership between the Verizon Foundation and the Lehman College School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
I was delighted this week to welcome the participants of the Bronx Recovery Corps in partnership with Here to Here and with the generous support of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, the James and Judith K Dimon Foundation, and others. The program is modeled after the Peace Corps and the New Deal’s Citizens Conservation Corps and will allow our students to earn money and college credit, gain valuable work experience, and also help the Bronx recover from the far-ranging impacts of the pandemic.
We are looking forward to finalizing our new five-year Strategic Plan. We will have a campus-wide Town Hall in mid-February to engage the campus on the college’s plans for the next five years and beyond.
Plans are also underway for a two-day virtual Bronx Environmental Summit this spring, March 22nd and March 23rd, sponsored by the Sloan Foundation. Stay tuned for more details about that important event, along with several others.
Meetings
I was pleased most recently to open the Student Town Hall as part of a virtual debate forum for District 11 candidates for Bronx Supreme Court Judge Andrew Cohen’s unexpired term on the New York City Council.
I met with Lehman alumnus and Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., to discuss several upcoming events in Spring 2021. I also met with Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, both Lehman alums, to discuss the MacKenzie Scott gift as a recognition of the work Lehman College has done and our hope that it will have a snowball effect on fundraising for the College.
Shared Governance
February 3 Lehman College Senate
February 4 Cabinet
February 16 Faculty, Personnel & Budget
February 17 Cabinet
February 24 President’s Advisory Board
Daniel Lemons
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