President Kimmich's Letter to the College Community
June 2009
Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends,
Our eighty-fourth Commencement Exercises conferred degrees on 2,602 undergraduates and 730 graduate students. Undaunted by light rain and overcast skies, the graduates were applauded by family and friends and, for their part, gave a standing ovation to the members of the class of 1959, ninety four of whom, attired in golden robes, were here to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary.
Speaking on behalf of the class of 2009 was Nicole Lebenson, a member of the Macauley Honors College, who as a Jeanette K. Watson Fellow will spend the summer at the International Institute of Education in Mexico City. Dalanda Jalloh, recipient of one of the University's preeminent student honors, the Jonas Salk Scholarship, is one of many heading off to medical school this fall. Among the graduates were 95 Presidential Scholars and 66 newly-minted members of Phi Beta Kappa, the country's oldest academic honor society.
Commencement was an opportunity also to mark some significant changes we have witnessed in our time--change wrought globally by the Internet, change brought about locally through innovative and far reaching development projects, and, close to home, change produced by the extensive reimagining of the Brooklyn College Library.
Honorary degrees were awarded to our Commencement speaker, Lawrence H. Landweber, ’63 , who envisioned and designed the structures that protect the independence of the Internet's capabilities; to Douglas C. Steiner, who built Steiner Studios, which helped not only to revitalize the Brooklyn Navy Yard complex and but also to make New York City a venue for film making; and to Alexander (Sandy) Howe, whose architectural vision produced the renovation and expansion of the college library.
Distinguished Alumni Awards went to Don Buchwald, ’59, one of the nation's top talent agents; to Arne L. Kalleberg, ’71, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an internationally recognized expert on work; and to Nancy A. Lynch, ’68, a mathematician and computer scientist and the first woman to receive the prestigious Knauth Medal for her trailblazing work on distributed computing.
And Presidential Medals were presented to Barry R. Feirstein, ’74, a successful investment manager who, as a member of the Brooklyn College Foundation, applied his business acumen to help the College survive difficult times, as well as to Howard (Woody) Tanger, a pioneering broadcast executive, vigorous philanthropist, and benefactor of the College.
The Faculty
This fall, the College will welcome 19 new teacher scholars to the faculty, raising the number of those hired since 2000 to 293, well over half of the full time faculty. Many of these new colleagues have already distinguished themselves as recipients of national honors. Among them this year are two Fulbright Fellows: Salim Washington, of the Conservatory of Music, who will spend a year in South Africa exploring the roots of jazz, and Alex Vitale, of the Department of Sociology, who will expand his research into urban policing by looking at practices in South Korea. Moustafa Bayoumi, of the Department of English, received the 2009 American Book Award for his book How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America.
Next spring, we will welcome Luis Quadri, a microbiologist who comes to us from Cornell Weill Medical College to hold the Carol and Larry Zicklin Chair in the Sciences. Also next spring, Lewis Gordon, of Temple University, will join the Department of Philosophy as the first incumbent of the Jay Newman Visiting Chair in the Philosophy of Culture.
Middle States Re-Accreditation
The re-accreditation review of the College culminated this spring with a three day site visit by a seasoned team of administrators and faculty from various colleges in the Northeast. Their report, due to be adopted by the Middle States Commission shortly, lauded the College for the progress it had made since 1999 in student services, faculty hiring and support, technology, and outcomes assessment processes. The importance of the Middle States accreditation cannot be overstated because it imparts value to the degrees we confer and validates the work we have accomplished.
Capital Projects
Final touches are being put on the West Quad building and faculty and staff will begin to move into their new home in the coming weeks. The new building, fronted by an open quadrangle that mirrors the one across the street, completes the original campus design and gives us a seamless architectural union of the east and west campuses. A special feature of the project is a commemorative brick plaza at the entrance. Composed of custom-engraved bricks commissioned by alumni and friends, it pays tribute to students past and present. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building is scheduled for early fall.
On the east side of the campus, work will soon be under way on the new performing arts center. A ground-breaking ceremony has been scheduled for October, to be followed shortly by the demolition of Gershwin Hall. Before then, offices and activities currently in that building will be relocated to Roosevelt Hall until the new center is completed.
All these projects—as well as the anticipated transformation of Roosevelt Hall into a vibrant science complex—grew out of the Facilities Master Plan of 1995. It is time for a successor plan. This fall, architects will conduct a full review of all campus facilities and propose priorities that will guide renovation and construction for the next ten years.
In Parting
Brooklyn College is a work in progress. That applies as much to the academic and physical transformation of the campus as it does to our ability to meet the challenges and needs of a new century. Last winter, when I announced my decision to retire, I did so with full knowledge of what we have accomplished over these ten years—and with gratitude to all of those who joined me in efforts to make the College what it is today. I took office with a determination to move the College to the top ranks, and I believe we have come a long way toward realizing that goal. I leave with a profound sense of professional and personal satisfaction in what we have achieved together. What we have achieved, above all, is momentum for change and excellence that welcomes new ideas and new impulses. I am confident that these will serve us well as we move into the future.
While I leave the day-to-day workings of Brooklyn College, I remain unstintingly committed to the ideals we have striven to strengthen and protect for future generations.
With all best wishes for the summer—and for the years ahead,
Sincerely,
Christoph M. Kimmich
President
