A message from
President Ricardo R. Fernández
The leaves on our campus have cycled through the colors of autumn—a physical reminder
that we are at the heart of our Fall 2015 semester and quickly approaching the midway
point of another academic year. It’s crunch time when students—and teachers—dig deep
into their energy reserves and prepare for final tests and papers and another successful
conclusion to a semester of struggle, hard work, and achievement. Of course, the holiday
season looms, as does the end of another calendar year.
It is a special time of year for many reasons. And we have prepared a special issue of
Lehman Today for you. Inside this issue you will find a special portfolio titled Discovery
@ Lehman College (p. 12) in which we detail the breadth of research being conducted
by our faculty. Lehman professors are making revolutionary anthropological discoveries
in Honduras and Kenya; fighting cancer with new experimental therapies in our campus
laboratories right here in the Bronx; and working with patients in our Speech and Hearing
Center or exploring new ways to teach the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering,
and math—to our students.
And that’s not all. In this issue you’ll read a story about how two of our anthropology
professors, while on vacation on the Greek island of Lesbos, found themselves at the
epicenter of the refugee crisis (p. 24). There’s also an article about one of our recent
graduates, Scott Davis, and how he was one of the select number of students who got to
participate in the roundtable discussion with President Barack Obama during his historic
visit to our campus in May (p. 28).
For me, there is one other reason why this academic year of 2015-16 is so special: it will
be my last as the President of Lehman College. On June 30, 2016, I will be retiring after
26 years of service. It has been an amazing journey—the journey of a lifetime. And I am
most proud of what we have accomplished over this quarter century and especially of the
more than 58,000 persons who have graduated during my presidency.
Lehman College is now an integral part of the Bronx, a borough that is in a much different
place than when I began my tenure in September 1990. There is now talk of a Bronx
renaissance, and rightfully so; the borough is quickly rebranding itself as a technology
hub, where housing is affordable and new businesses can flourish. There is the Kingsbridge
National Ice Center, just two blocks away from our campus, which is scheduled to open
in 2018. Neighborhoods that were once passed over are now thriving with activity.
Although it is autumn, it seems like spring here in the Bronx, a time for new beginnings.
Your continued support and generosity have made this all possible. And for that you have
my enduring gratitude.
Lehman Today/Spring 2015
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