CUNY SPS - Foundation Board Report, 2021 - 2022

CUNY SPS

Foundation Board Report

Table of Contents

Letter from the Foundation Board Chair 1

Who Are Our Students? 2

FY22 Fundraising Totals by Constituency and by Fund 3

The CUNY SPS 2022-2027 Strategic Plan 4

CUNY SPS Scholarship Recipients: In Their Own Words 6

CUNY SPS Foundation Scholarships, Prizes, and Grants 8

2022 Foundation Board of Directors 10

CUNY SPS Foundation Board Updates 11

FY22 Donors 12

Letter from the Foundation Board Chair

The talents and resilience of our students, faculty, and staff have continued to make CUNY SPS stand out as a leader in higher education even as our CUNY SPS community continued to struggle through the pandemic this past year (July 2021 to June 2022). We are unique because of our accessibility, affordability, and quality. These are themes we’ll cover more in the upcoming pages.

As we face increasing income inequality and emerge from the pandemic, accessibility, affordability, and quality are more important than ever to ensure all New Yorkers can succeed in the economic recovery and help bridge the divide. The professionally focused online degrees and courses we provide at CUNY SPS allow our students to keep working while earning

credentials that help propel them into new economic prosperity.

In the last fiscal year, the Foundation Board raised over $570,000 and continued to support student scholarships, textbook costs, and Covid-19 emergency funds.

Thank you to our almost 200 donors who made this possible when our students needed this help the most! The Foundation Board also supported Interim Dean Silva-Puras’s focus as he and CUNY SPS faculty and staff rolled out the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan

As we rebuild from the pandemic, we will continue to support the implementation of the School’s Strategic Plan,

including ambitious goals for increased enrollment and student retention. To mirror this ambition and continued leadership in accessibility, affordability, and quality for adult learners, the Foundation Board will launch a new Fundraising Campaign for the next five years. More on that to come in the 2022-2023 academic year.

In this report, I know you will be inspired by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni as our Foundation Board members are each day.

Sincerely, Blake Foote Chair, CUNY SPS Foundation Board

Who Are Our Students?

During the 2021-2022 academic year, over 3500 students attended CUNY SPS in total. Of those, more than 2440 are in bachelor’s degree programs and over 1110 are in a master’s degree program.

Within this class:

Ä Approximately 70% of our students are women

Ä More than 63% are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)

Ä The majority of our undergraduates work full or part-time or serve in the military

Ä More than 34% of our students are between ages 31-40, and 19% are over 41 years old

Ä Over 68% of our students reside in NYC; nearly 14% live in NYS; and another 18% reside outside of New York

Ä Of our local students, over 15% are from the Bronx; 32% from Brooklyn; 14% from Manhattan; 35% from Queens; and 4% from Staten Island

Among our BIPOC students:

Ä 0.5 % are American Indian or Native Alaskan

Ä 17% are Asian or Pacific Islander

Ä Nearly 30% are Black, Non-Hispanic

Ä Over 16% are Hispanic, Other

As part of its longstanding mission to support adult learners, CUNY SPS provides students with educational opportunities that are accessible, affordable, and quality—all strengths that help to ensure student success.

As an institution committed to accessibility, CUNY SPS currently offers 24 of its 26 degree programs online, allowing students the flexibility to take classes and complete their coursework on their own time and schedule. Alongside this, CUNY SPS provides a broad range of student services and financial support to help students flourish and save on college costs. The School has also become an innovator in adult learner accessibility and academic momentum strategies, leading the City University of New York in orientation for online study, credit for prior learning, use of open educational resources, transfer credit evaluation, and debt forgiveness and finish line scholarships. So far, these initiatives have made a positive impact— CUNY SPS’s enrollment stats reveal a diverse student body, with approximately 70% female students and nearly 65% BIPOC, highlighting

how we’ve been able to make the school accessible to a wide range of adult learners.

Our other strengths—affordability and quality further support our students. CUNY tuition is one-third the cost of most of private colleges; we’re also consistently recognized nationally by ranking institutions like U.S. News & World Report, which has listed us in the top ten in several categories (see below). Our quality is also reflected in our online expertise, which has been honed by more than 15 years of providing online courses and degrees

Even as CUNY SPS celebrates the success of these efforts, we recognize that there is a critical need to expand these strengths going forward.

In a time of upheaval triggered by the pandemic, growing income inequality, and inflation, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many adults to return to college or complete a graduate degree, cutting short a cycle of education and advancement that would otherwise boost their social and economic mobility.

To address these issues, CUNY SPS has developed a 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. Released in May 2022, this ambitious 5-year plan is a living document that offers ideas and strategies that seek to expand upon the School’s mission and our strengths even as we acknowledge and address the larger societal shifts that are impacting our students.

Expanding Enrollment and Access

Six Areas of Strategic Importance

Ensuring Academic Success and Career Development

Improving the Teaching and Learning Experience

Broadening Professional Education and Workplace Learning

Providing a Culture of Care

Cultivating Innovation

The 2022-2027 Strategic Plan’s planning committee used the guiding concepts informed by accessibility, affordability, and quality—as well as those of flexibility, equity, and community— to guide the six areas of strategic importance outlined in the plan: Expanding Enrollment and Access; Ensuring Academic Success and Career Development; Improving the Teaching and Learning Experience; Broadening Professional Education and Workplace Learning; Providing a Culture of Care; and Cultivating Innovation.

For the CUNY SPS Foundation Board, the Strategic Plan is a key document that will help guide our own work over the next several years. Of particular interest is the Strategic Plan’s stated goals to increase enrollment and access, which dovetails with our own ongoing efforts to build financial support and expand our fundraising activities for CUNY SPS students.

Working closely with the School, the CUNY SPS Foundation Board has identified several ways that we can help achieve some of the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan.

Our own targets include:

Ä Launching the School’s next comprehensive fundraising campaign with a focus on raising funds for scholarships, emergency funds, and leadership gifts to support the overall goals of the strategic plan.

Ä Recruiting new Foundation Board members with the necessary skills and capacity to help achieve our goals.

Ä Continuing to develop new pipelines of alumni, corporate, foundation, and major gift donors.

Ä Holding alumni-focused events and activities to highlight the work of our alumni and promote engagement.

Taken together, these aims form a larger blueprint of the fundraising work the CUNY SPS Foundation will be implementing in the years to come. We look forward to providing the CUNY SPS community with more details on these plans over the next few months.

CUNY SPS Scholarship Recipients: In Their Own Words

With the help of our generous supporters, the CUNY SPS Foundation has awarded named scholarships of more than $1.3 million to over 400 students since 2012. In FY2022, the CUNY SPS Foundation distributed scholarships to 153 students, representing 20 different academic programs. These exceptional and inspiring students are working adults who came to CUNY SPS to complete their degrees, often juggling work, children, families, and financial responsibilities as they forge their path to success. Below, several scholarship recipients describe the impact that these scholarships have had on their educational journeys, careers, and lives.

“With so much going on in my life personally, I am able to say that receiving this scholarship [William J. Kissane Scholarship] made a difference for me financially as well as academically. I hope to use what I learn at CUNY SPS to open up my own day program and residence to serve those that mean so much to me.”

“The real benefit of the [Petrie Nurse] scholarship is more than the cost of tuition. It’s the faith. The faith that I can finish my degree with a high GPA. The belief that nursing is an important profession. The encouragement to continue all the way through, even though working full time and completing a degree in two years is exhausting. And most of all, the support of knowing there are people who believe in me, a 47-year-old in her second career, her second bachelor’s, and her second chance at making a real difference in the world.”

“It was thanks to CUNY [and the Petrie Nurse Scholarship] that I managed to find the purpose I was looking for. Being a nurse has been a dream come true, a profession where I can help those most in need and where I can have a great impact on people’s lives.”

“Being a two-time ACE [scholar and] mentor was really rewarding, I truly enjoy helping my mentees reach their goals. So what did the ACE mentorship do for me? It literally changed my life and future goal aspirations, which at my age I didn't think was possible.”

— Khadijah Frederick, Child Development Associate Certificate, BA in Liberal Studies, and MA in Youth Studies

“Being a single mother while working full-time and taking college courses has been one of the biggest obstacles that I have ever had to face. Battling financial stability while still trying to afford my remaining tuition after financial aid has been a scary journey, but well worth it in order to give my son a better life.”

— Jessica Montalvo, BA in Sociology (Finish Line Degree Completion Scholar)

“The ACE Scholars Program helped me pave the way to success, from start to finish. It allowed me to breathe and turn my complete focus to my academic studies rather than wringing my hands every semester, trying to play financial magic, or pausing my studies because some other area of my life needed to be addressed first.”

— April Outen, BA in Psychology

“Although life is no longer a mess, bills and responsibilities don’t ever go away, especially when the system is as broken as it is. Without this [ACE Scholarship] award, I would have not been able to return to CUNY SPS to complete my education.”

— Eduardo Quevedo, BA in Human Relations

“As a result of the [Youth Studies] scholarship, I pursued the opportunity to participate in an independent study…that explores youth participation in the food justice field. As independent studies are not a requirement for the master’s program, without the scholarship, I am not sure I would have prioritized a unique opportunity like this. I am so grateful for this scholarship.”

— Caroline Richardson, MA in Youth Studies

CUNY SPS Foundation Scholarships, Prizes, and Grants

CUNY SPS is pleased to honor all the recipients of scholarships, prizes, and grants for the FY22 academic year.

Scholarships

ACHIEVE COLLEGE EDUCATION (ACE) SCHOLARSHIP: 22 Awardees

BOB MARTIN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: 4 Awardees

EUGENE WALTERS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: 1 Awardee

FOUNDING DEAN’S SCHOLARSHIP: 4 Awardees

MUSEUM STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP: 5 Awardees

NEWCOMBE SCHOLARSHIP FOR MATURE STUDENTS: 21 Awardees

PETRIE NURSE SCHOLARSHIP: 13 Awardees

RUSS PETERSON TECHNOLOGY SCHOLARSHIP: 1 Awardee

SCHULMAN, BOMBOY, AND GRAY SCHOLARSHIP: 1 Awardee

For Students Enrolled in the Human Relations program

STEPHEN M. ROSSEN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: 1 Awardee

TIMOTHY MEADE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP: 4 Awardees

For Students Enrolled in a Disability Studies program

U.S. MILITARY BACHELOR’S DEGREE COMPLETION SCHOLARSHIP: 2 Awardees

WILLIAM J. KISSANE III SCHOLARSHIP: 6 Awardees

For Students Enrolled in a Disability Studies program

Prizes

ADJUNCT FACULTY TEACHING EXCELLENCE PRIZE:

Dr. Emily L. Brooks ’16, Adjunct Lecturer

Disability Studies programs

Grants & Funds

COVID-19 EMERGENCY GRANT FUND

Established by the CUNY School of Professional Studies Foundation, the COVID-19 Emergency Grant provides emergency financial assistance to eligible students who are experiencing hardship that could adversely affect their educational success.

To date, 49 COVID-19 Emergency Grants have been awarded in the current academic year. Overall, CUNY SPS has awarded more than 300 COVID-19 Emergency Grants.

Total Amount Raised: $622,413

CUNY SPS TEXTBOOK GRANT FUND

Established by the CUNY School of Professional Studies Foundation, the Textbook Grant Fund provides direct support to students for the purchase of course textbooks.

To date, 68 Emergency Student Textbook Grants have been awarded in the current academic year. Overall, CUNY SPS has awarded 259 Emergency Student Textbook Grants.

Total Amount Raised: $76,572

PETRIE STUDENT EMERGENCY GRANT FUND

Established through the generous support of the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, the Petrie Student Emergency Grant provides emergency financial assistance to eligible students who are experiencing hardship, which could adversely affect their educational success.

To date, 29 Petrie Student Emergency Grants have been awarded in the current academic year. Overall, CUNY SPS has awarded more than 100 Petrie Student Emergency Grants.

Total Amount Raised: $300,200

VIRTUAL FOOD PANTRY GRANT FUND

The CUNY School of Professional Studies launched a virtual food access initiative, developed with generous support from the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation and the CUNY SPS Student Association, to help the School’s students experiencing food insecurity.

To date, 374 Virtual Food Pantry Grants have been awarded in the current academic year. Overall, CUNY SPS has awarded more than 500 Virtual Food Pantry Grants.

Total Amount Raised: $35,010

CUNY School of Professional Studies Foundation

2022 Board of Directors

(Alphabetical order by last name)

Asterisk* = Denotes an alum

Donatus Anusionwu

Director, Structured Finance White Oak ABL, LLC

Horace M. Barker, Vice-Chair

First Vice President Wealth Management, Financial Advisor Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Stephanie Benjamin Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (Ret.) The City University of New York

Pamela Brier President/CEO (Ret.) Maimonides Medical Center

Joel I. Cohen, Treasurer Managing Director (Ret.)

JPMorgan Chase

Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre Managing Director, Housing & Homelessness

Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies

Blake Foote, Chair

Independent Consultant, Specialty in Workforce Development

Natalie Green Giles

Independent Consultant, Specialty in Education

Lea Kilraine

Global Manager of Strategic Projects

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP

Robert Kissane, Emeritus Chairman

CCS Fundraising, Inc. (Ret.)

Jason Kubica

Senior Vice President, Wealth Management UBS Financial Services Inc. Patti Lieberman, Secretary Trustee

A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, Inc. Brennon Marcano Chief Executive Officer The National GEM Consortium

Nadine Martin Associate Director Oncology Global Marketing Merck

Debbie Rosen

Independent Consultant, Specialty in Government

Jorge Silva-Puras

Interim Dean

CUNY School of Professional Studies

CUNY SPS Foundation Board Updates

In the academic year ending in June 2022, the CUNY SPS Foundation Board said goodbye to Board members and CUNY SPS alum Michelle Pinedo (BS in Business '13) and Steven Dupré (BA in Communication and Media '14), who stepped down at the close of their three-year term.

During their tenures, Pinedo assisted Board members Joel Cohen and Jason Kubica on the Finance and Auditing Committee while Dupré supported Board members Brennon Marcano, Horace Barker, and Stephanie Benjamin on the Fundraising and Alumni Engagement Committee.

Over the course of their term, Pinedo and Dupré helped to successfully raise tens of thousands of dollars, bringing their innovative ideas, strategic thinking, and tireless efforts to help our students, particularly during a time of tremendous and widespread need. Both members served as advocates for the School and its vision to help adult learners complete their degrees and elevate their careers. In addition, as alumnus, they offered a unique perspective into what CUNY SPS students might be experiencing or looking for. The corporate partnerships they also developed were a tremendous asset to the School and our students.

The Board wishes to thank again Michelle Pinedo and Steven Dupré for their dedication to our School, to building and growing the Foundation Board, and for helping to transform the lives of our students.

Following their departures, the Board welcomed Debbie Rosen, Natalie Green Giles, and Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre to the CUNY SPS Foundation Board of Directors.

The three appointees bring their extensive experience in government and not-for-profit administration toward their new roles on the Foundation Board.

Debbie Rosen has more than two decades of experience working in senior executive roles in New York City and State government, where she managed major agencies, policy portfolios, and legislative issues. Most recently, Rosen served as the Chief of Staff to the First Deputy Mayor, where she helped shape program and policy initiatives across the First Deputy Mayor’s portfolio agencies. Rosen holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Natalie Green Giles is an independent consultant and writer with specific interests in organizational development and performance improvement efforts in not-for-profit and public sector organizations. Her 20 years of professional experience include serving as a Mayoral

Appointee to the NYC Board of Education, known as the Panel for Educational Policy, under the de Blasio administration, providing governance, oversight, and policy recommendations for the largest public school system in the country. Giles has also written and published numerous articles, studies, and opinion pieces, including the narrative nonfiction book Songa’s Story: How a Shtetl Jew Found the American Dream. Giles is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in NYC and received a BA in Psychology from Williams College and an MBA from Yale University’s School of Management.

Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre is a noted housing professional with over fifteen years of experience in affordable housing and homelessness issues spanning across philanthropy and government. Currently, she serves as the Managing Director for Housing & Homelessness at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, where she is responsible for securing and implementing high-impact interventions to break the cycle of mass homelessness in New York City and increase the supply of low-income affordable housing. De la Torre graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received an MA in Urban Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Individuals FY22 Donors

Asterisk *= Alumni Donors

Friends $1-$999

Anonymous (21)

Vishal Arora*

Ruth Arthur-Asmah*

Michelle Attles

Horace M. Barker

Leonard V. Blades*

Casaundra Broadus* Harvey S. Brown

Rebecca Brown Cesarani

Trevaughn Bynum-Ortiz

Caitlin Cahill

Danielle Campa*

Vicki Caruana

Karen Casey

Andrew Catlin

Mark Chalfin, Esq.

Daniel K. Chan*

Emil Cipriano

Nina Collins

Jenna Coplin

Nidia E. Cordova

Kelly Cunningham

Terrie Davis

Charles G. Delaney

Deborah A. Douglass

Kimberly A. Enoch

Kayla R. Erb*

Dianne Frantz

Andrea Fagon

Alexis Fulks

James Gallo

Roxanne R. Garoutte

Crosbis Genao Rivas*

Matthew Goldstein

Peter Goldwasser

Asterisk*= Alumni Donors

Heather K. Guerrero*

Jaime Guevarra*

Sahana Gupta

Anne Hamburger

James P. Hamski*

Mary K. Hannigan

Jonathan Heifetz*

Mariano Hernandez, Jr.*

Washington Hernandez

Lisa Hirsch*

Michael J. Iadarola

Thomas J. Jennings

Imogen Jones-Morton*

Ellen Karl

Yvette Katz

Eileen Kaufman

John B. Keane

Maura J. Kehoe*

Juliette Kennedy*

Christina King*

Jeanne Kitay

Edwin L. Knox

Benjamin F. Krasinski

Kenneth E. Krosin

Lia Kudless Campbell

Dhananjay Kumar*

Joanne T. Lavin

Jennifer G. Lee

Jennifer S. Lee

Kit K. Lei

Jamie Lerner-Brecher

Rachel Levine

Christopher Leydon

Bruce A. Lieberman

William G. Littman

Danielle Lucchese*

Cavel A. Malcolm

Elizabeth Marmol

Kristin Maynard

Denese N. McFarlane*

Amy McIntosh

Maryann McKenzie

James McTigue

Hyacinth Meade

Louise Mirrer

Jeanine W. Molock

Edilma I. Mora

Abigail Morrison

Kathryn N. Moss Dinah Nissen

Dorothea Nixon

Jan Oosting Kaminsky

Lance W. Ozier

Amanda Pagan-Glass* Emily Paras

Brian A. Peterson Dawn K. Picken

Bethany Poulin* Richard E. Pravda*

Gary L. Quan*

Victor M. Ramos*

Cheryl A. Reich

Doris Y. Revilla

Chanira Rojas*

Justin Rosenheck

Carol E. Rossen

Amy Rowland

Ruru Rusmin

Indu Saqi

Jodie Schouten*

Danny C. Shaw* Marilyn Shea

Lisa A. Sheridan*

Carrie L. Shockley

Jennifer Siaca Curry

Lucas J. Sifuentes

Ellen Smiley

Debbie Sonu

Kenan K. Sooklall*

Jennifer R. Sparrow

Carol Spatzner

Nina Sporn Bronwen Stine

Ekaterina Sukhanova Zachary Tessler Ashleigh B. Thompson Harris Tilevitz

Adam Tobel*

Aysel Toprakli*

Minely Ulloa-Rodriguez

Duubar E. Villalobos

Jimenez*

Janet E. Wall

Barbara R. Walters Doehrman

RoseAnn Webb

Lakisha S. WheelerLambert*

Gina Wong*

Patrick Yanez

Supporters ($1,000-$4,999)

Nicholas Y. Barratt*

Mary Beth DeFabrizio

Mackenzie Jones

Susan S. Ko

Carla Marquez-Lewis

Felix V. Matos Rodriguez

Tracy Meade

George F. Otte

Ann E. Peterson

Susan G. Rosenthal

Jorge Silva-Puras

Sarah Zeller-Berkman

Sustainers

($5,000-$24,999)

Anonymous (1)

Omri Amit*

Donatus Anusionwu and Arpita Mazumdar

Stephanie T. Benjamin

Pamela S. Brier

Valerie Brown

Joel and Terry Cohen

Jason Kubica

Sue Lehmann

Patricia S. Lieberman

Nadine Martin

John Mogulescu

Sally Vitello

Visionaries

($25,000-$49,999)

Blake W. Foote

Leadership Circle ($50,000-$99,000)

Alan H. Fishman

Zeita-Marion Lobley

Foundations, Corporations, & Organizations

Friends $1-$999

AmazonSmile Foundation

Bank of America Employee Giving Campaign

Barratt Family Giving Fund Benevity Community Impact Fund

Bright Funds

Broadridge Matching Gift Program

Ethan Multi Services Corporation Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC IBM Matching Gift Program James and Elizabeth Rossman Fund

Supporters ($1,000-$4,999)

Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund

Coleman Family Charitable Foundation

The Gloria Ross Charitable Fund (Jewish Communal Fund)

The Jim Neuberger and Helen Stambler Neuberger Foundation

The Robert and Linda Friedman Foundation

Schwab Charitable UBS Matching Gifts Program

Sustainers ($5,000-$24,999)

Foote Family Charitable Fund (J.P. Morgan Charitable Giving Fund)

Goldman Sachs Matching Gift Program

Merck Gives Back Program National Philanthropic Trust (J.P. Morgan Charitable Giving Fund)

Leadership Circle ($50,000-$99,000)

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation

Legacy Circle ($100,000+) The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation

Legacy Society

Zeita-Marion Lobley

Asterisk*= Alumni Donors