Skip to Main Content
  • About
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Campus Life
  • News & Media
  • Athletics
  • Support BC
  • Our Campus
  • Fast Facts
  • Administration
  • Initiatives, Plans and Policies
  • A Nationally Recognized Institution
  • International Education
  • Research
  • Our Past, Our Future
  • Offices and Services
  • Consumer Information
  • Contact Us
  • Schools
  • Academic Departments
  • Majors, Minors and Concentrations
  • Interdisciplinary Programs
  • Graduate Programs
  • Doctoral Programs
  • General Education
  • Honors Academy
  • Special Programs
  • International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA)
  • Academic Resources
  • Library
  • Centers and Institutes
  • Academic Honor Societies
  • Technology
  • Research
  • Faculty
  • Course Schedules and Bulletins
  • Academic Calendar
  • Incoming Freshmen
  • Transfer Students
  • Graduate Students
  • International Students
  • Second-Degree Students
  • Other Students
  • Apply
  • Tuition, Fees and Payments
  • Financial Aid
  • Request Information
  • Visit Campus
  • Undergraduate Admissions Events
  • Graduate Admissions Events
  • BC News
  • BC In the Media
  • Research
  • Videos
  • Brooklyn College Magazine
  • Office of Communications and Marketing
  • Visit us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Email us a question
  • What the Campus Has to Offer
  • Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Division of Student Affairs
  • Student Clubs
  • Intramurals / Recreation
  • Health and Wellness
  • Orientation
  • Commencement
  • Veteran and Military Programs
  • Living in Brooklyn
  • Brooklyn College Foundation
  • Donate Now
  • Visit us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Email us a question
Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College logo
  • BC WebCentral
  • We Stand Against Hate
  • Calendar
  • Offices and Services
  • Library
  • Career Services
  • Honors Academy
  • Special Programs
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Apply Online
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Campus Life
  • Financial Aid
  • Honors and Special Programs
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Public Safety
  • Annual Security Report
  • Registrar
  • Academic Advising
  • Annual Security Report
  • Bookstore
  • Bursar
  • Calendars
  • Campus Life
  • Career Development and Internships
  • Commencement
  • Course Schedules and Bulletins
  • CUNY Blackboard
  • Enrollment Services Center
  • Financial Aid
  • Graduate Studies
  • Initiatives, Plans and Policies
  • International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA)
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Offices and Services
  • Pathways
  • Public Safety
  • Registrar
  • Registration Information
  • Resources for Undocumented Students and DACA
  • Scholarships and Awards
  • Student Handbook
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Log into CUNYfirst
  • BC WebCentral Login
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Forgot Your WebCentral ID?
  • New Users
  • College Directory
  • Academic Affairs / Office of the Provost
  • Annual Security Report
  • Senior VP for Finance and Administration
  • Bookstore
  • Calendars
  • Campus Directory
  • Campus Life
  • Center for Teaching
  • CUNY Blackboard
  • Faculty Council
  • Faculty and Staff Development Opportunities (CUNY)
  • Human Resources
  • ITS (Information Technology Services)
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Offices and Services
  • Public Safety
  • Sustainability
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Webmail
  • Writing Across the Curriculum
  • Log into CUNYfirst
  • BC WebCentral Login
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Forgot Your WebCentral ID?
  • New Users
  • College Directory
  • Annual Security Report
  • Benefits and Services
  • Brooklyn College Alumni Association
  • Brooklyn College Foundation
  • Brooklyn College Magazine
  • Calendar of Events
  • Chapters and Affiliates
  • Get Involved and Give Back
  • Office of Alumni Engagement
  • Stay in Touch
  • Transcripts
  • Public Safety
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
  • Administration
  • President
  • Statements and Messages
  • 2016 Statements and Messages
  • Welcome to the Fall 2016 Semester

Welcome to the Fall 2016 Semester

Dear faculty and staff:

Welcome to the fall 2016 semester.

I am so pleased to join you as the new president of Brooklyn College. I have enjoyed my first few weeks on the job, and I am looking forward to working closely with you in the years ahead.

As part of my introduction to the campus, I have initiated a Listening Tour. This tour is my opportunity to hear from the many different stakeholders at Brooklyn College. Over the next few months, I will meet with faculty, students, staff, alumni, donors, and community leaders in individual and group meetings. In late September, I will also host three open forums for students, faculty, and staff to give people an opportunity to raise issues they want me to consider.

I want to hear from you. I want to understand how you see the college, how you conceive of its history, and what you hope for its future. This Listening Tour is designed to lay some of the foundation we will need to develop a new Strategic Plan.

In the early parts of my tour, I am heartened by what I hear. Students are excited to learn here, faculty want to work together to build upon our outstanding academic programs, staff members take great pride in their work, and generous alumni want to continue to invest in our success. Everyone cares deeply about Brooklyn College.

That tremendous goodwill will help us overcome the challenges we face. In the last fiscal year Brooklyn College suffered a 3 percent cut to our base budget. This year, we face an additional 2 percent. Two years of cuts, coupled with unfunded mandates, add up to an $8 million gap.

Several measures we used last year to make ends meet are no longer available; others are no longer advisable. Last year's deferral of certain non-instructional positions strained our ability to serve the college community—to advise our students, maintain our facilities, and provide library and IT services. We may need to continue to defer positions, but we must appreciate the academic and administrative consequences of the budget shortfall.

Several variables remain in flux. For example, while we are very happy to see a new PSC contract approved, CUNY Central and the state have not clarified what resources will cover its costs, and what portion of it the college must bear.

I am committed to enhancing the transparency of our budgeting process. Working with the structures of governance in the Faculty Council and then holding a series of "Budget 101" sessions this fall for a broader group of interested faculty and staff, I hope to shed light on the different funding streams available to the College, the restrictions on spending money from those streams, the fixed and flexible expenses in our budget, the key factors that affect our fiscal projections this year and over the next three years, and the process for developing plans inclusive of the faculty, staff, and student voices that should influence our decisions. Throughout, we will seek suggestions and feedback on the tradeoffs that we will inevitably have to make.

As I talk to people around the campus, I find a spirit of generosity and openness in our community. Though we face significant challenges, we have a positive outlook about our potential to excel. I am hopeful about what we can accomplish together.

This will be a great year for Brooklyn College, and I feel fortunate to be a part of it.

  • Standing Together
  • We Stand Against Hate
  • Mourning the Loss of Daniel Lomtevas
  • Mourning the Loss of Kerry Stoutenburgh
  • CUNY Report on Allegations of Anti-Semitism
  • Welcome to the Fall 2016 Semester

 

Hidden Pages:


Image of a phone with social media icons.

Let’s Stay Connected

Our social media directory features all our accounts from across campus.

Fall 2022 COVID-19 Guidelines

Fall 2022 COVID-19 Guidelines

Prepare for a crucial transition for the fall 2022 semester.

Group of faculty members

Outstanding Professors

Our highly trained faculty are leaders in their fields. Come learn from them.

View of the upper portions of buildings from the residential neighborhoods around the Brooklyn College campus.

Housing Options

Learn about housing options that are available in Brooklyn. 

  • Home
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • IT Remote Support
  • Remote Technology Resources
  • Privacy Policy
  • Policies
  • Contact
  • Text Only Website
  • Site Map
The City University of New York

© 2025 All Rights Reserved Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210
718.951.5000 -10.1.1.11