| |  | Last Friday morning I presented the Fall Report to LaGuardia faculty and staff. This is my annual “State of the College” address. It combines student performance data, headline news from across the divisions, shout-outs to deserving colleagues, a sober account of concerns and challenges, and a call to action. As in, okay friends, here is what we need to do to ensure the promise of LaGuardia to a greater percentage of our students—to those who trust us (and pay us) to give them transformational education and training. The specifics in my charge are rooted in our 2030 Strategic Plan, which is all about fixing things around here to ensure better outcomes for more students. None of this is rocket science, and, yes, a college president (at least this one) works off a short script often repeated. If you’re curious, you can view my Fall Report here. Parental Advisory: It’s about seventy-five minutes long, with thirty-five slides. If you would rather bite the heads off chickens than subject yourself to my latest harangue, at least know this: Our enrollment continues to grow; we’re back to a pre-pandemic roster. Our finances are strong. We produced a solid budget surplus last year and stored those nuts in a tree in an undisclosed location. Even my colleagues who felt like they were watching paint dry on Friday morning were comforted: LaGuardia is in a good place.
| | Enrollment Rises Again for Fall Semester | | We were pleased to welcome 14,316 new and returning degree-seeking students for the Fall Semester. (During this fiscal year, which ends next June 30, we will serve a similar number of non-degree students in our Division of Adult and Continuing Education. Think GED prep, CUNY Start, CLIP, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Workforce Training, Summer Youth Employment Program, etc.) This fall’s tally represents a year-over-year increase of seven percent. It includes a whopping 3,000 first-time freshmen, sixteen percent more than last September’s class—the greatest increase among the seven CUNY community colleges. It’s our second largest freshmen class in a decade. One cause for concern: our percentage of transfer students declined by two percent. These are students who started college at another institution and then, for all kinds of reasons, sought the safe harbor of LaGuardia. We’re going to keep an eye on this group. Also of note, VP of Enrollment Management, Ben Rohdin, reports that we are experiencing a slow-down in the growth of International Student enrollment -- students with US State Department-issued F-1 Student Visas. LaGuardia has the largest undergraduate enrollment of International Students in CUNY. Fortunately, this slight reduction is off a large base. | | Students, faculty, and administrators from LaGuardia and CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice gathered last Thursday afternoon in E-242 to mark the launch of the Legal Academy, a joint venture between our colleges to prepare LaGuardia students for careers in law and public service. John Jay President Karol Mason joined me to deliver remarks and sign an agreement formalizing our partnership. Loyal readers will recall that LaGuardia and John Jay already manage a Criminal Justice Academy that ensures a smooth transfer pathway to John Jay for our Criminal Justice majors. We hope that our new Legal Academy guarantees the same success for Red Hawks majoring in Paralegal Studies, Political Science, and History, the three initial majors for which it has been established. Additional disciplines, including English and Philosophy, are expected to join the Academy next year. After LaGuardia grads earn their bachelor’s degrees at John Jay there will be seats waiting for them at the CUNY School of Law, which is conveniently located here in Long Island City, just a short walk from LaGuardia. | | Hiring More Advisors to Lower Caseloads, Increase Student Support | |
| | | Given the make-up of our student body—more than half are the first generation in their families to go to college, almost one-third are foreign-born, two-thirds receive financial aid—you can appreciate the critical role played by LaGuardia advisors. In my view, given our commitment to “college access” and considering the students we serve, community colleges need talented, experienced, well-trained advisors more than four-year colleges do. But, unfortunately, we seldom get the resources we need to employ a sufficient number of them. This leads to untenably high caseloads. It’s absolutely unrealistic (and unfair) to assign six hundred students to one advisor, yet this happens all the time. One of the most important “actions” in our 2030 Strategic Plan is to lower the ratio of students to advisors so that LaGuardia advisors can provide more high-touch, personalized support to the students seeking their guidance. I am pleased to report that Melissa Grant, Assistant Dean of Advisement, has been on a hiring spree this year. Melissa is on track to significantly reduce advising caseloads from 567:1 one year ago to 385:1 by next month, and then down to 333:1 by next spring. Our goal is to get to a ratio of 300:1 to ensure that our students, especially those navigating their first year of college, get all the advice and support they need.
| | Amplifying student voices and increasing student engagement are among the top priorities of the leaders of LaGuardia’s 2026-27 Student Government Association (SGA), who were elected by their peers this spring. As the voice of the LaGuardia student body, the SGA collaborates with administrators, faculty, and staff to advocate for student needs, address concerns, and enhance the college experience. The newly elected leaders include Executive Members Sahana Sheeran Mirza (President), James Bino (Vice President), Gabriel Ubillus Benavides (Executive Treasurer), Phyu Sin Thiri Ko (Executive Secretary), and Katlyn Martins (Events and Programs Coordinator), along with Parliamentarian Anthony Dorival and six Academic Representatives. | |
CUNY Beyond Delivers Industry Expertise, New Internships | | CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez’ CUNY Beyond initiative recently gave LaGuardia funding to hire staff to create partnerships with employers so that we can increase opportunities for paid internships. (Last year, we made approximately six hundred internships available to students; this year, we hope to tee up 750.) In addition, CUNY Beyond will support faculty interested in integrating career connected learning into their classrooms. The program will also help us provide more career advising. Over the summer, we hired Industry Experts to support students in Natural Sciences, Business and Health Care Management, Psychology, and Human Services. They joined two veteran LaGuardia Industry Experts in Engineering and will support projects aligned with the career success goals of CUNY Beyond, including internships in Business and Technology, Life Sciences, Computer Science, and soon, we hope, the Humanities. We are actively pursuing funding to expand industry expertise, career advising, and paid internships for all LaGuardia majors. | |
Last month, we welcomed nine full-time faculty members. They are (pictured above, clockwise from top left): C. Donnan Gravelle (Psychology, Social Science), Miguelina Rodriguez (Social Science), Laura Esquivel Martinez (Human Services: Mental Health, Community Health and Wellness), Kate Koppy (Writing Center Director, English), Joseph Lorwin (Film and Television, Humanities), Anja Vojvodic (Political Science Program Director, Social Science), Devharsh Trivedi (Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science), Evan Owens (Psychology, Social Science), and Ivonne Quiroz (Public and Community Health Program Director, Community Health and Wellness). | |
LaGuardia has been awarded a five-year grant of $2.99 million, including $599,922 for the first year, to launch Connected to Careers (C2C): Strengthening Classroom and Work-based Learning for Career Success. The award was granted by the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education through the Strengthening Institutions Program. The goal of C2C is to improve post-secondary degree attainment and preparation for living-wage careers for 30,000 low-income and first-generation community college students across the country. Our project, designed and proposed by Interim Provost Dr. Eric Hofmann, will engage faculty, staff, and industry partners to augment New Student Orientations, scale up career-connected learning and advising, provide financial support for paid internships, and more, all in an effort to help students make clearer connections between college and careers. | Director of Athletics, Marquee Poole, Expands Red Hawks Sports | Ask VP for Student Affairs Alexis McLean about her to-do list and she’ll tell you that a major goal for her division in FY 27—one highlighted in the college’s Strategic Plan—is to increase student participation in clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Alexis is on a mission to make LaGuardia sticky—to make it the kind of warm, embracing, fun place that gets students to stick around. No easy feat when you’re a “commuter school” and students are juggling other obligations like work and family with their LaGuardia classes. So, Alexis and her team are increasing outreach, creating more opportunities for students to connect with organizations, clubs, and each other, and reducing barriers to participation. A good example is the on-going expansion of our Athletic Program. This fall, Marquee Poole, LaGuardia Director of Athletics, is working to establish a women’s soccer program, including NJCAA certification. His goal is to launch Women’s Soccer officially in Fall 27. Marquee will announce our newest team sport, Men’s Volleyball, in the Spring. In the meantime, Men’s Soccer, led by Head Coach Ahmed Johnson and Assistant Coach, Nick Heupel, is tearing up the pitch over on our home field on Randall’s Island. Red Hawk Basketball starts next month. The Men’s team tips off at home against Monroe on November 8. LaGuardia Women’s Basketball starts at home against rival Hostos Community College on November 17. | Special Events Mark Hispanic Heritage Month | The anchor of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month was LaGuardia’s Casa de las Américas, which saluted its fifth anniversary connecting students with mentoring, academic resources, and leadership opportunities. Staff and students of La Casa produced a month of events to honor the rich histories and contributions of Hispanic and Latin American cultures and communities. Programs organized across the college provided opportunities for learning, artistic expression, community building, and engagement with support services that bolster student success. The launch of the new academic year for CREAR Futuros reaffirmed our commitment to empowering Hispanic and Latino students through guidance, mentorship, and pathways to achievement. Hispanic Heritage Month at LaGuardia concludes in October with a special screening of the Sundance-honored film, Mad Bill$ to Pay, starring Juan Collado, a 2014 graduate of our theater program. | LaGuardia Receives $500K Grant to Support Students’ Mental Health and Wellness | LaGuardia was recently awarded a $500,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to strengthen our efforts to support students experiencing mental health and substance abuse issues. With the funds from SAMHSA, the college will implement The LaGuardia CARE (Campus Action for Resilience & Engagement) Initiative, a comprehensive behavioral health program designed to strengthen the college’s ability to identify, respond to, and support students experiencing mental health and substance use concerns. The initiative will help reduce suicide risk, promote student well-being, and improve student success. Building on the infrastructure and partnerships established through our Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) and Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) grants, this new project will establish an integrated campus behavioral health system, rather than create new, stand-alone services. | Dr. Ellen Quish and Dr. Jessica Boehman Named Interim Deans | Interim Provost Dr. Eric Hofmann recently announced that Drs. Ellen Quish (left) and Jessica Boehman (right) have been appointed to serve in interim dean positions in the Division of Academic Affairs. Dr. Quish will serve as Interim Associate Dean for Student Pathways and First Year Success, overseeing the Center for Teaching and Learning, College Now/Early College, and Liberty Partnerships. Ellen will also help guide the division’s focus on High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and career-connected learning, in addition to her leadership of LaGuardia's First Year Experience and Student Success Mentor programs. Dr. Boehman will serve as Interim Associate Dean of Faculty, supporting program directors and faculty, strengthening learning assessment, and addressing students’ academic concerns. | |
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