Reception forges common ground

On Tuesday, Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society and the Undergraduate Student Government hosted the "Presidents and Dean's Reception" in Room 2-125 of the Vertical Campus.

President Kathleen Waldron, Dean John Elliot of the Zicklin School of Business, Dean Myrna Chase of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences and Dean David S. Birdsell of the School of Public Affairs, along with a number of associate deans and vice presidents, came together to speak directly with the students. They each spoke for about five minutes on their daily activities at Baruch, their main objectives and their recent initiatives.

Daniel LaMazza, president of Sigma Alpha Delta, kicked off the reception with a brief explanation of the schedule and then gave the floor to President Waldron, who outlined her major initiatives for the school: the strategic plan, the physical master plan and the CUNY Compact (Issue 7 "CUNY Compact to fatten tuition bills").

The strategic plan is an overview of Baruch's academic programs and goals for the future. President Waldron stressed that this will help Baruch "remain true to its mission: affordable, excellent education." The physical master plan outlines the actual look of the college in terms of the buildings and grounds.

Later in the event, Chris Cloud, vice president of college advancement, discussed the most recent initiatives he has been involved with.

Last year, the Career Development Center received a grant from the STARR Foundation, which has lead to increased workshops and other services for students. His office also worked to update the Baruch website, which was launched this past summer. He then touched on a $600,000 grant, which will be put towards increased lighting on 25th Street in a few months. To end his speech, he asked that students help him show the public that Baruch is as worthy as any other college, by acting as ambassadors in all that they do.

Dean Birdsell followed Cloud, and explained the efforts that the School of Public Affairs has been taking to reach out and increase undergraduate programs such as the collaboration with American Humanics Inc.

According to the American Humanics Inc. Website the mission of the company is "to educate, prepare and certify professionals to strengthen and lead non-profit organizations."

At Baruch, this means that outstanding students with interests in the non-profit sector have the opportunity to attend national conferences and gain access to internships.

After all the speakers made their points, USG's Trung Truong, vice president for campus affairs, thanked the presidents and deans for their time and efforts. He also explained that although they work to improve the school, they could not do it without help from the students. He urged students to join college committees and help with the planning of school-wide initiatives.

Toward the end of the program, the floor was also opened for a question and answer session.

"One of the things that I've noticed lacks in the core curriculum or the overall emphasis of the school is that of civic engagement stated a recent transfer student and intended public affairs major.

Dean Birdsell fielded that question by first restating his previous point about American Humanics Inc.

He also mentioned that Golden Key International Honor Society has various opportunities for those wishing to get involved in volunteering.

Rezwanna Hoque, USG treasurer, was pleased with the turnout and added that the benefit of this event is that it allows for direct communication from students to faculty members.