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President's Monthly Report

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President’s Monthly Report and Updates - November 2021

Dear College Community,  

It is has been quite a week, we went from spending time with family and friends, to losing valued members of the KCC family.  I did not know Hassan Duncombe, Peter Pobat or Mary Crowley, but because they were a part of KCC for many years, I know that they were very special.  My deepest condolences to all who had the honor to know them as colleagues and friends.  

This past month, we had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues at our Years of Service Recognition Ceremony, Season of Thanks Luncheon and in activities (Fun Run/Walk, Family Feud, Scavenger Hunt) leading up to KCC Spirit Day.   Thank you to VP Sutton-Young and the entire team in the Division of Institutional Advancement for the incredible job organizing all our Spirit activities and raising funds for students.  As of Wednesday morning we raised over $65K and among all colleges, we hold the distinction of having the second highest (after Hunter College) number of donors (397).  Thank you all for your donations.  Your support will make an impact on our students for years to come.   Please know that, the site will be open for donations until December 31st.   A special thank you again to all our Veterans for their service and I hope that you are having an enjoyable Hanukkah.

Current enrollment shows that our headcount for Spring 2022 (2,319) is ahead of where we were this time last year (1,869).  Enrollment continues to be a priority.  To this end, at November’s College Council Meeting, VP Rivera discussed a number of new initiatives developed by the Division of Enrollment Management that will focus on expanding the recruitment catchment areas, increasing partnerships and enhancing the recruitment team.   The latter initiative, Recruitment Life, sought faculty volunteers to join KCC recruiters in the field.   As of this past Tuesday, VP Rivera had a robust roster of 21 volunteers.  I look forward to updates on this initiative and the ultimate outcome of students enrolling at KCC.  

As students register for classes, they will note a schedule that is bringing us closer to pre-pandemic times with 70% of classes which will be in person and 30% hybrid or online.  To accomplish this and as per recent guidelines from the Central Office, physical distancing will not be a required safety measure for classroom and educational settings.   The Forward Committee will be meeting soon to discuss the guidelines. In tandem with Spring 2021 guidelines, the Central Office also issued Spring 2022 Employee Density Level goals.  In alignment with 70% of classes being in person, the expectation is for employees to spend 70% of their time on campus.  Over the next few weeks, I will be meeting with the Senior Staff to discuss how we will implement the density target at the college and within divisions/units. As we did prior to the start of the semester, we will host a Community Chat to discuss this and other Spring 2022 matters.  In addition, Vice Presidents will host Division meetings to further discuss plans for the new semester.

What I can share immediately, is that the long awaited Library windows and envelope project is now fully funded ($14,982,000 after State match). Construction is anticipated to start during the early part of Fall 2022. The consultant will now be working on final completion of design, followed by bidding after CUNY and KCC sign off on the 100% design documents.   This is the first step ensuring that our library matches and complements the academic and intellectual vibrancy of our community.  Kudos to VP Rios for helping to bring this project to fruition and to our library staff for continuing to provide outstanding service even when the library structure was not as outstanding as it should be.

This week, I had the opportunity to see a demo of the new CUNYfirst platform.  Colleagues the 9.2 version is incredibly user friendly, mobile friendly and functional.   To see what is in store, head over to  https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/cunyfirst/ .

I hope to have a chance to connect with you at our Annual Holiday Party.  Please be reminded that we must continue to adhere to our health and safety protocols as well as capacity guidelines. 

Many thanks,

Schrader