5 Reasons Why I Love CUNY SPS…and You Should Too
Inspired by the 2023 issue of the CUNY SPS Magazine!
With the spring semester now over, I am eagerly catching up on my reading. Top on my list: the 2023 issue of the CUNY SPS Magazine, which I got in the mail recently.
This is a wonderful annual publication that really captures the spirit of our School and amazing community.
As I read through the 2023 issue, I’m continually reminded why CUNY SPS is a truly special place. Here’s just a few of the reasons why:
1. Mentoring Is A Top Priority
Mentoring is the key theme of the 2023 CUNY SPS Magazine, and each article in the issue showcases the various ways that our entire community provides— and benefits from — mentoring opportunities.
For example, several academic directors retiring this year reflected on the ways that they have mentored their program’s students and faculty in the article “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye: CUNY SPS Celebrates Our Departing Academic Directors” (p. 6).
In another moving piece, I learned more about how our dedicated military and veteran students , along with our staff, serve as mentors to each other. Read more about this in the article “Championing America’s Champions: CUNY SPS Lends Helping Hand to Veteran and Active Military Students” (p. 16).
Separately, I was excited to explore how School helps prepare and mentor new and incoming students in the piece “Online Orientation at CUNY SPS: Creating a Community of Support” (p. 12).
A number of our students and staff also work to create a remarkable community of support for often overlooked population of male college students, as highlighted in this article “Supportive Space: Students Find Advocacy and Encouragement in the Urban Male Scholars Program” (p. 22).
2. Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
This year our Committee on Institutional Equity and Diversity (CIED) hit a new high with the trainings, workshops, events, and projects they developed and offered to continue a much-needed dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion and how we may expand this in our classrooms and workplace. I am very impressed with all that they’ve done and can’t wait to see what they will achieve next year!
Read more about the CIED’s work in the article “Committee Ramps Up EDI Efforts” (p. 38).
3. Our Students, Alum, Faculty, and Staff Have (and Continue to) Accomplish So Much!
CUNY SPS Students, alum, faculty and staff won awards, took on leadership roles at the School and beyond, wrote books and journal articles, and kept on making us proud!
Read about their achievements in our Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni Briefs section, starting on p. 54.
4. Innovation Drives Everything We Do
As a School that adopted online learning way back in 2006 in order to make college accessible and convenient for working adults, we’ve always been on the cutting edge of education.
That idea has infused everything we do. This includes adopting a new initiative that allows our entire community to vote on how to spend our money as detailed in the article “Democracy at Work: Participatory Budgeting Empowers CUNY SPS” (p. 18).
We’ve also forged innovative partnerships — including ones with workforce nonprofits to help students transfer their IT certification into college credit. You can read more about this program in the piece “Bridging the Gap: IT Partnership Allows Tech Certification Program Graduates to Earn College Credit” (p. 32).
This year, our dedicated faculty and administrative have innovated as well by launching new academic degree and certificate programs as well as hosting many community-building talks, events, and conferences and trainings. A great round-up of these can be found in the Program Briefs section of the magazine (starting on p. 44).
5. Our Community is Caring, Engaged, Passionate, and Hardworking!
Taken together as a whole, the CUNY SPS Magazine features the many efforts of our school to ensure our students learn, gain skills, and expertise, make connections, and ultimately flourish while they’re here at CUNY SPS — and in the years beyond. I couldn’t be prouder!
(And special thanks to the CUNY SPS Office of Marketing and Communications team, whose writing and design work really made the stories come alive!)
To learn more, read the entire issue here.
Back issues of the CUNY SPS Magazine may also be accessed here.
