Lehman Colleagues:
While we remain optimistic about the CUNY budget situation, we are still waiting for specific information regarding how Lehman will benefit from the CUNY budget. Further, we are still hopeful that one or more of our discretionary budget requests will get funded, but we will not know that until sometime later in May or June. In addition to these discretionary requests, we were invited to submit several other requests to federal legislators and have done so.
In many cases, these submissions specifically responded to legislators’ interests and all are in the mainstream of Lehman’s programs, needs, and goals. Finally, we presented another set of requests (capital and discretionary/programmatic) to the city council last week. Of prime importance there is the second round of funding for the equipping of the yet-to-be completed nursing building. Still, as with the New York State discretionary requests, Lehman focused on food insecurity, mental health wellness, ADA services, and requested funding to increase the number of academic advisors that serve our students.
I have been buoyed by the interest in Lehman and a willingness to support our students. While many of the budget items are one-time investments, they nevertheless give us an opportunity to lift up certain programs and services and set the stage for more stable and recurring investment. My expectation is that we will have something concrete to tell the Lehman College community about funding by June, but some of these items may come later.
What we do have to look forward to is Commencement. We are still on track for an on-campus commencement in May. While I encourage faculty participation and we continue to look for volunteers to help staff the day, I also need to underscore the requirements for being on campus. Employees who otherwise do not have exemptions need to have uploaded their vaccination status to the CUNYFirst portal prior to Commencement day. While masks are optional, we encourage those who feel the need to wear them to do so.
In case you missed the Chancellor's message underscoring CUNY's approach to safety, I wanted to share part of it below:
"We are closely following COVID-19 data and levels across the city. The CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels remain green (low) in Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens and are yellow (medium) in Manhattan and Staten Island. And the city’s new alert level system that tracks transmission and health care capacity across the five boroughs remains green (low). We will continue to monitor CDC guidelines and consult with our state and city health officials to ensure the safety of our community. To that point, you can continue to monitor positive rates on CUNY campuses via our COVID-19 Safety Tracker.
While mask-wearing remains optional at the University, anybody who wants to continue wearing a mask should do so as an additional precaution to protect themselves and others. Remember that if you are up-to-date on your vaccinations and are exposed to a person who tests positive for COVID-19, you will need to wear a mask for 10 days after you last had close contact with that person and get tested at least five days after the contact. We continue to urge everyone who is not up-to-date on their vaccinations or has been granted a medical exemption or religious exception to wear a mask. Our full guidance on isolation and quarantine can be found here.
Free PCR testing continues to be available at CUNY testing sites for students, faculty and staff who may need it for any reason, and the University is continuing both its random testing program for vaccinated individuals and its mandatory testing for any employee still unvaccinated or anyone with approved medical exemptions or religious exceptions."
Finally, last week we hit a milestone. After a modest topping-off ceremony our contractors subsequently hoisted into place the last beam for the nursing building. This act marks a transition point in the construction process and we are now moving through the midway point of the construction of the building. I know that many, many staff and faculty have waited patiently for the building and worked hard to make it a reality. It will be a spectacular day when the project is completed and we can welcome students into a state-of-the-art facility for our undergraduate and graduate students in our nursing programs.
I hope you all have a safe and successful end to the academic year and I look forward to seeing many of you when we celebrate our students at Commencement on May 26.
Fernando P. Delgado, Ph.D.
@LehmanPresident
