Baruch College
On Tribalism—It May or May Not Be What You Think
December 21, 2022
The holiday season is upon us, and my thoughts drift to my family’s tradition of spending time together in the small Pennsylvania town we lived in for more than 30 years, where our children were born and raised. We have a fuller house these days with our grown...Read more...
Appreciate the Complexity Around Us
November 30, 2022
Since moving to New York City, I alternate my routes as I walk home from campus each evening simply to enjoy the varying aromas, music, markets, languages, and people of the city—even if just for a moment. A Tale of Two Avenues Along Lexington Avenue, ranks of small...Read more...
Be the Bridge Between Differences
October 31, 2022
Earlier this month, I was interviewed by ABC News as part of their coverage of the upcoming Supreme Court case concerning affirmative action in college admissions. The reporter was most interested in how a selective institution like Baruch achieves a diverse student population when race is not a...Read more...
Creating Our Shared Narrative by Understanding Who We Are
September 27, 2022
It’s hard to believe that I am starting my third year as president of Baruch. As my wife and I gradually settled into New York City, I developed the habit of early morning runs, and to my surprise, they have become part of my daily routine. For me,...Read more...
The Environment We Create for Ourselves
May 31, 2022
This is graduation season and the completion of another unusual academic year—not only for the graduates but for everyone in the Baruch community. The transition from virtual to traditional face-to-face settings has influenced us in ways that have been quite unexpected, at least that is the case for...Read more...
College-Ready Students or Student-Ready Colleges?
April 27, 2022
As spring arrives and the weather warms, I can feel every bit of change in the City’s pulse during my early morning runs—by the number of people out and about and even the expressions on their faces. As we enter the final stretch of the academic year and...Read more...
Kicking Off Our Institutional Strategic Planning Process: Part II
March 30, 2022
In my February blog, I invited your comments regarding our upcoming strategic planning process. Specifically, I asked for your thoughts about Baruch: What do you think are the College’s strengths, assets, and accomplishments that differentiate us? What is your idea of an aspirational future for Baruch? What do you...Read more...
Kicking Off Our Institutional Strategic Planning Process: Part I
February 24, 2022
Every five years, Baruch renews its institutional strategic plan: the 2013-18 plan positioned the College as a global leader in public urban education; the 2018-23 plan forged a comprehensive and ambitious blueprint to further that aim. This spring, we will continue that tradition and launch an institutional strategic...Read more...
Find Your Own Reason for the Journey
December 22, 2021
I spent a good portion of last month holding a series of small, in-person meetings with more than 60 College senior staff. These free-flowing conversations covered a variety of topics—from pressing resource issues and challenges from the past year, to hopes and dreams for the future. These meetings...Read more...
Envisioning a Master Script for Our Play
November 30, 2021
Earlier this month, my wife and I attended an on-campus musical theater performance by Baruch students of And Then There Was Us. This amazing two-hour production featured students from a variety of majors—international business, marketing, psychology, journalism, art administration—all of whom acted and sang with a passion no...Read more...