Thank you, Dr. Gillespie. I appreciate the opportunity to address you and the Faculty of our College. Five years and some months ago, when I became your president, I stated that someday, Queensborough Community College would be a place that people will come to in order to learn how to teach community college students.
We are getting there! Something extraordinary is happening. Queensborough Community College is well on its way to becoming truly a learning college. The learning communities, the WID/WAC initiative, the MAP, the Bridge to Transfer Program, the Honors Program have been tested and now, the Plan for Integrated Education brings it all together.
Soon, we will serve students according to their needs. Rather than merely providing opportunities for those who can survive, we are individualizing the instructional services so that most can succeed.
Soon we will have students create e-portfolios that will include cornerstone and capstone experiences, making the integration of knowledge possible and leading to lifelong learning in their chosen fields.
Soon, in a pilot program of student learning groups through linked courses in Academies, we will capitalize on what students bring to us by forming partnerships in learning and providing engaging, active pedagogical experiences designed to result in their success.
Queensborough faculty have long excelled in publishing in their academic disciplines, and during the last few years, we have added pedagogical research as another venue for faculty. We are incorporating into the fabric of our collective thinking the importance of studying, codifying, presenting and publishing about how we teach and how our students learn. I want to be very clear that faculty research in both areas will be welcomed and rewarded through the tenure and promotion process.
Let me say something about service to the College. An academic community cannot be a vibrant place without the involvement of its faculty. In those places where there is apathy, where the faculty sees its function as merely teaching class, doing a little committee work and going home, the creative atmosphere that makes our work fun is lost. The profession suddenly becomes just a job. And, we know that the monetary compensation we receive is not enough to be the sole motivator of our professional existence. We must be involved. We must be truly engaged in Academic Governance. Shortly, elections to membership of Governance Committees are going to be held. I urge all of you, specially the recent additions to our ranks, to run for committees, to run for chairmanship of committees, to run for leadership positions. Do not believe for a moment that the political nature of college governance will hurt your chances of getting tenure or of being promoted. On the contrary, good college service is recognized and respected by your peers. But, it must be done well and smartly. While it must be done diligently, it should not consume all of your time. While sometimes it is difficult to take a particular position on a particular issue, if you do it with integrity and honest concern for the welfare of the college, it is honorable and respected work. So, join those who have worked hard to make this a good place in which to teach and learn. In the ideal world, all of you would have some involvement in governance. Remember the more who become involved, the truer is the collective wisdom. Rotation of the officers is a sign of a healthy and engaged professoriate. And I, as your president, will recognize it.
Now, I have taken too much of your time… so let me conclude by reminding you of the major Conference on General Education that will feature Dr. Lee Schulman, the president of the Carnegie Foundation, and many presenters from across CUNY. This is a wonderful testament of the respect with which CUNY holds our wonderful College. I am pleased to have convened a panel of businesspeople and college presidents to explore the role of general education in the profession. The panelists are: Presidents Waldron from Baruch, Travis from John Jay, and Keizs from York. The businesspeople are Mr. Campanella, former CEO of World Kitchens; Ms. Prounis, an alum and CEO of Flashpoint Medica and Mr. Engelman, former CFO of Revlon and Kodak. It is an important day. I hope that you make every effort to attend.
I look forward to today’s panel discussion on “Reflections on Diversity.”
Again, many thanks, Dr. Gillespie for inviting me to address the Faculty.
