/ en /news/vincent-boudreau-ccny-president-2025-power-player-education PoliticsNY & amNY are proud to present the annual Power Players in Education list. The 2025 Power Players in Education list looks to honor the dedicated leaders across New York’s vast education system. From presidents of educational institutions to directors of nonprofits to policymakers, the  2025 Power Players in Education are at the forefront of shaping New York’s education landscape and guiding students towards a bright future. Dr. Vincent G. Boudreau, T��ɫ��Ƶ’s 13th President, is one of the leaders recognized as a Power Player. Boudreau has worked at The City College for over 34 years, starting as an assistant professor in the department of political science. He was the founding dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership (in 2014), became CCNY’s interim president in October 2016, and has served as the confirmed president since November 2017. Following is PoliticsNY & amNY’s Q&A with Boudreau: How has the educational landscape changed in recent years and what are your hopes for its future? Colleges today face real instability in how America values knowledge. Is a college education still important, or should people just learn job-specific skills? More generally, does our society still value the shared social good of a broadly educated society? Are we willing to subject our most important public decisions to rigorous empirical scrutiny? I hope the answer to these questions is “yes” and that a stronger educational system is seen as a path forward. What do you most enjoy about working in education? I love developing talent, especially in students who often don’t (yet) know they’re talented. I love the prospect of designing new programs to meet changing economic needs or trying to solve puzzles associated with boosting student resilience and retention. I love the feeling that something a professor says to a student may reorient their whole way of thinking. I love that one student’s success at CCNY can change their whole family’s trajectory. As this year comes to an end, what are your goals for 2026? At the moment, it seems like the most important goal for 2026 is defending the institutions of higher education against those that seek to make us smaller, to diminish our impact on society, to deflate our vital research efforts, or to limit the number and kinds of students who can reasonably aspire to a college education and a better life. If I can help hold the line on these vital matters, I’ll be satisfied. Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:04:11 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/vincent-boudreau-ccny-president-2025-power-player-education /news/24m-grant-enables-ccny-school-education-train-more-teachers-address-shortages T��ɫ��Ƶ’s School of Education (SoE) is the recipient of a $2.4 million grant from New York state to expand its existing New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) alternative certification program. The expanded program, Education Workforce Investment, aims to address current teacher shortages in New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) by training and placing these new teachers in high-need subject areas and in high-need NYCPS classrooms. The grant will also provide increased financial aid academic support for those students to ease their entry into full-time teaching careers, and to promote retention and long-term success. The high-need subject areas, as identified by SoE partners NYCPS and NYCTF, are students with disabilities, bilingual childhood education, and secondary Spanish for grades seven through 12. Since launching its alternative certification program in 2000, SoE and its partners hosted 4,651 Teaching Fellows pursuing certification in these areas. Candidates for the Fellowships must apply online here. The NYCTF will select approved candidates to be considered for this program by the SoE, which will select those who will benefit from this grant based on merit, financial need, and readiness. As many as 80 candidates will be selected for two cohorts of 40, each to start in the summer of 2026 and 2027. After summertime pre-service training, the Fellows will be assigned to a classroom in a school community that is committed to preparing new teachers and to serving historically marginalized communities. They continue to work toward their master’s degrees and to work as full-time teachers in the schools that hired them. They also receive support in the form of advisement from academic advisors, program directors and faculty, as well as full funding for the duration of their participation. They also receive stipends for additional expenses and opportunities to attend certification exam preparation workshops. It is expected that, by the end of Year Three, 40 candidates will have completed graduate programs leading to initial certification in students with disabilities, bilingual childhood education, and secondary Spanish (grades 7-12). By the end of Year Four, the expectation is that 40 additional candidates will have met this goal. “This grant will afford the CCNY School of Education the opportunity to continue to prepare educators who are committed to diversity and democracy,” said CCNY School of Education Dean Edwin M. Lamboy. “This has been at the core of the work the School of Education has done for over 100 years, and it is still as important as ever.” Currently, more than 9,000 New York City Teaching Fellows work in the city’s schools. Six hundred Fellows serve as principals, assistant principals, or other instructional administrators, including NYCPS Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, M.A. ’10. Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:28:29 -0400 Syd Steinhardt /news/24m-grant-enables-ccny-school-education-train-more-teachers-address-shortages /news/ccny-features-princeton-review-guide-green-colleges-2026-edition The Princeton Review®, known for its education services and resources for college-bound students, features T��ɫ��Ƶ in its online resource, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2026 Edition (October 21, 2025).  The Guide, which is accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide, profiles 388 colleges that foster a culture of environmental responsibility and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability,  The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on a survey the company conducted in 2024–2025 of administrators at 401 colleges about their institutions' sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. The company also surveyed students attending the colleges about their "green" campus experiences. The school selections were based on more than 25 data points from the surveys. “Among the hundreds of schools we surveyed for this project, The City College, which offers excellent academics, is also a stand-out for its record of environmentally-responsible practices. We are delighted to recommend it to college applicants who want their ‘best-fit’ college to also be a 'green' one," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief.  Franek noted that The Princeton Review is seeing strong interest among college applicants in attending green colleges. Of the more than 7,000 students the company polled for its 2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 59% said having information about a college's commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend the school. A report on the survey findings is at www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries. The profiles in the Guide reveal The Princeton Review’s Green Ratings of the schools which the company tallied on a scale of 60 to 99.  CCNY received a Green Rating of 81/99. The profiles provide detail on the schools’ uses of renewable energy, their recycling and conservation programs, and the availability of environmental studies in their academic offerings. The profiles also include information on the schools' admission requirements, cost, and financial aid.  The Princeton Review has published its Guide to Green Colleges annually since 2010. The education services company is also known for its other resources for college applicants including its dozens of categories of college rankings. Its annual book, The Best 391 Colleges (2026 Edition published August 2025) includes a Top 25 Colleges ranking list titled Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation. This is the second major recognition for CCNY from Princeton Review in two months. Last August, it ranked The City College one of the nation's academically best undergraduate institutions.   About The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students as well as working professionals achieve their education and career goals through its many education services and products. These include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; a line of more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, the company is now in its 44th year. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 25th year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 28 million tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review, headquartered in New York, NY, is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com.    Tue, 21 Oct 2025 14:36:04 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/ccny-features-princeton-review-guide-green-colleges-2026-edition /news/ccny-psychologist-glen-milstein-believes-connection-between-religion-and-mental-health In October 1992, Columbia University doctoral student Glen Milstein transcribed some of his recent ideas in a notebook for possible inclusion in his dissertation. Those 20 minutes of erudite scribblings became the foundation of his work for the next third of a century, culminating in the publication of  “COPE: Community Outreach & Professional Engagement – a framework to bridge public mental health services with religious organizations,” a paper of which he is the lead author, in Frontiers in Psychiatry in August. Now an associate professor of psychology at T��ɫ��Ƶ’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, Milstein called the paper “20 minutes (and 33 years) in the making.” The paper sets out theoretical and operational frameworks to bridge the domains of “clinic” (mental health service organizations, or MHSOs) and “community” (spiritual/faith-based organizations, or SFBOs). Citing evidence that supports the role of religion and spirituality to promote wellbeing, the paper also reviews ways in which such partnerships can prevent the onset of mental disorders and support recovery after clinical treatment. The paper also provides case examples of categories of collaboration, and includes recommendations for future research in the context of outcomes for public mental health. “I knew this would be a big project,” he said, reflecting on his academic journey. “I wanted to think in terms of the whole system that surrounds people. I thought about the distinctions between community clergy and clinicians, and how each could bring that expertise to help one another and reduce one another's burden, while also helping people thrive and sustain recovery.” To provide context, Milstein provided “religion terms operationalized for public mental health contexts.” They are: religion (structural framework for organized expression of the significant or the sacred within the context of community institutions that enact spiritual practices to facilitate spirituality); spirituality (people seeking meaning, purpose, transcendence in their significant relationships to self, family, community, nature, faith); and faith (personal orientation toward a significant or sacred, which may provide hope that supports—or creates struggle that impedes—well-being). The paper also offered an example of a clinical assessment tool with demonstrated utility: FICA (Faith, Importance, Community, Action), four assessment questions that provided “operational definitions that other clinicians and researchers could use,” he said. These definitions facilitate the assessment of individuals’ experiences of their religious faith and spirituality, making FICA a useful tool for individual clinical treatment, as well as for community engagement of collaborative partnerships. Milstein became interested in studying the connection between faith and healing when, as a research assistant, he asked the mother of a person with schizophrenia whether she thought her son’s illness would ever be cured. Her response, in Spanish, was, “if G-d performs the deed, he will get well, even though the doctors say he will always be like this.” Milstein sees the paper’s timing as fortuitous. “At this moment in history, we know more about the connection between religion and mental health,” he said. “It can help to sustain recovery and repair.” Adding to his many career honors and recognitions, Milstein was recently elected president of the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Division 36 of the American Psychological Association. The division, one of 54 in the APA, has 1,100 members. “In 2026, I will enter the presidency of Division 36 with a lot of clarity about the ubiquity, tenacity and plasticity of religion,” he said. “My goal, as president, is to describe the empirical findings that [describe] the possible utility of religion for well-being.” Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:25:43 -0400 Syd Steinhardt /news/ccny-psychologist-glen-milstein-believes-connection-between-religion-and-mental-health /news/ai-innovations-dominate-first-ccny-byte-hackathon AI-powered products that offer early wildfire smoke and air quality predictions, and track tenant and landlord leases were among the winners in the inaugural “BYTE Hacks,” a 24-hour hackathon at T��ɫ��Ƶ. More than 100 students from schools in the Metropolitan area, including New York University, Fordham, Rutgers Honors College, Stony Brook and Hunter College, participated in the event sponsored by Google Labs, Vercel, and Red Bull. Organized by BYTE (Build Your Technical Experience), a CCNY student club, the hackathon offered $5,000 in prizes. Project themes were: planetary protection, transformative learning, strengthen society; and innovation and creative expression. All the winners are computer science majors.  The top prize went to a four-member team, comprising CCNY, Brooklyn and Hunter students, for its product “Respira.” It delivers early wildfire smoke and air quality predictions with AI, giving vulnerable groups and communities time to prepare, protect their health, and breathe safer. The winning team comprised CCNY juniors Zhoulin Li and Aditya Jha ; Hunter’s Arun Sisarran (junior) and sophomore Faizan Khan of Brooklyn College. “RentMinder,” an AI platform designed to keep track of tenants and landlords' leases, took second place overall. It parses and updates the information from the leases, and sends out reminders to tenants regarding important dates.  A CCNY-Baruch collaboration, its creators were junior Zach Stybel and senior Ye Moe from the latter, and sophomore Tamim Kabir from the former. Third place went to “Delta,” a developer tool aimed at simplifying merge conflicts and version control management when software developers work together on large projects.   It was built by the Hunter trio of Tahmid Ahmed (senior), Shadman Farhan (sophomore), Angela Yu (junior); and NYU junior Alfardil Alam.  "BYTE Hacks aimed to give CUNY and SUNY students a platform to show the world what they're capable of,” said Jawad Kabir, lead hackathon organizer, and a CCNY senior majoring in computer science. “A massive thank you to our sponsors: Vercel, Red Bull, and especially Google Labs for funding the whole event.” In addition, Google Labs held three tech workshops over the course of the hackathon, allowing students to gain insights on Jules (Asynchronous Coding Agent), Google AI Studio, and Doppl.  About BYTE BYTE is a student club at T��ɫ��Ƶ focused on helping students gain practical experience building programming based projects & fostering a larger CS community on campus.    Thu, 16 Oct 2025 12:41:49 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/ai-innovations-dominate-first-ccny-byte-hackathon /news/recent-ccny-alumna-eli-akselrod-goes-amateur-musician-emmy-nominated-sound-editor Throughout high school, Eli Akselrod, B.M. ’24 was a music enthusiast who wanted to make a career in music production. Then came time to choose a college major. “As much as I enjoy playing music, I wanted to be behind the board,” she said, which is how she came to T��ɫ��Ƶ to enroll in the Division of Humanities and The Arts’ four-year Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree with a major in sonic arts. “I wanted to do audio engineering and the Sonic Arts Center was the perfect place to do it.” “This is a pre-professional program,” explained Paul Kozol, the Center’s founding director. “It gives students a well-rounded education in production and post production.” Half of the Center’s classes are taught in audio post-production and half in music production, he said. The program also offers students a chance to intern with professionals in the field. Akselrod seized such an opportunity when she answered a posting on Indeed.com to help to manage projects for multiple award-winning sound designer and sound effects editor Eric Di Stefano’s company, White Noise Post Productions, Inc. “I brought Eli on in the summer of 2022, during a crazy busy stretch when I needed an assistant to help manage several projects,” he said. “Out of hundreds of résumés, hers stood out right away. She was studying audio post [production], had been composing music on her own, and showed real initiative with personal and student projects. More than that, she clearly had a passion for sound and film, a drive to learn, and the kind of genuine personality you need when working closely with directors, producers, and editors.” That experience prompted a shift in Akelsrod’s ambitions. Rather than produce music, she found herself drawn to sound engineering. “What is this?” she recalled asking herself. “It’s really cool.” Working for Di Stefano was a sink-or-swim situation, as Akselrod was assigned tasks that involved workflows, digital audio workstations, plug-ins, and troubleshooting. “She picked up fast,” said Di Stefano. “Soon she was cutting dialogue, editing effects, and mixing in 5.1. Together we worked on high-profile projects for HBO, Netflix, and Adult Swim, including the Emmy-nominated sound for HBO’s 100 Foot Wave.” Akselrod’s work as a sound effects editor on that show led her to be a member of the team that was nominated for a 2025 Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program category. Though the 100 Foot Wave sound design team did not win, the show itself won the 2025 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. “Even though she’s no longer my assistant, I still hire her often as a freelance sound editor,” said Di Stefano, who has high praise for his disciple. “She’s developed a sharp ear and brought fresh perspective to my own work. After 15 years in the industry, it’s easy to fall into habits, but working with Eli pushed me to take more risks and think outside the box with sound design.” Akselrod continues to work on documentaries, film, sports and television commercials as she builds her roster of clients. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing,” she said. Sat, 11 Oct 2025 22:42:06 -0400 Syd Steinhardt /news/recent-ccny-alumna-eli-akselrod-goes-amateur-musician-emmy-nominated-sound-editor /news/ccnys-chai-and-chat-reading-series-welcomes-author-irvin-weathersby-jr-oct-22 T��ɫ��Ƶ’s Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing’s annual Chai and Chat Reading Series kicks off with author and Professor Salar Abdoh (A Nearby Country Called Love) in conversation with writer Irvin Weathersby, Jr. on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 6:30p.m. in the Rifkind Center, NAC 6/316. Weathersby is the CCNY Bernard Mendik Guest Professor and will read from his work. The event is free and open to the public. Prospective MFA candidates will have an opportunity to meet Program Director Michelle Valladares at the event.   Weathersby is a Brooklyn-based writer and professor from New Orleans. His writing has been featured in LitHub, Guernica, Esquire, The Atlantic, EBONY, and elsewhere. He earned an MFA from The New School, an M.A. from Morgan State University, and a B.A. from Morehouse College. He received fellowships and awards from the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, the Research Foundation of CUNY, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Mellon Foundation. In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space is his first book.   The event is sponsored by the Bernard Mendik Fund. Fri, 10 Oct 2025 16:50:40 -0400 Thea Klapwald /news/ccnys-chai-and-chat-reading-series-welcomes-author-irvin-weathersby-jr-oct-22 /news/100k-member-bctc-honors-ccny-president-vince-boudreau Dr. Vincent G. Boudreau, President of T��ɫ��Ƶ, is the recipient of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York’s (BCTC) 2025 Building Futures Award.   The honor, which recognizes labor, contractor, and government dignitaries who have made significant contributions to building a more inclusive and equitable construction industry, was presented to Boudreau, The City College’s 13th president, by BCTC President Gary LaBarbera.  "Without President Boudreau's understanding and support of the family-sustaining career opportunities the union construction industry can create for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, the innovative partnership between CSKILLS and CCNY would not be evolving in the way it is today," said LaBarbera, who is also President and CEO of The Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills (CSKILLS). “He has full belief in the benefits the CSKILLS curriculum can offer CCNY student and is dedicated to helping provide more individuals in these programs a clearer path to the middle class. It was a pleasure to recognize President Boudreau's contributions to growing our programs and we are thankful for our collaboration with CCNY, which is giving more hard-working New Yorkers the opportunities to build the skills and experience necessary to lead a successful career in the trades."  Boudreau said CCNY’s Charles B. Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative (RIWI) entered a new and exciting phase of its work when it partnered with BCTC. “Our historic vision of educating the whole people often did not reach deeply into the world of non-degree workforce development, but it should have. Working shoulder to shoulder with BCTC is a tremendous gift, especially because we see in them an organization whose values, aspirations and practices utterly mirror our own. Together, we have the chance to bring vast segments of our communities into lives of remunerative and stable work, and it’s been a joy to work together,” he added.  Established under Boudreau’s tenure, RIWI is a massive program that aims to address the lack of modern infrastructure jobs in the late U.S. Rep. Rangel’s old congressional district. With more than $10 million in funding procured, RIWI’s overarching goal is to prepare a diversified and democratically constituted workforce for the crucial, patriotic work of rebuilding America’s Infrastructure. It will equip historically underserved communities with analytical and operational skills through innovative curricula, simulation-based training, and experiential learning to help them pursue career paths in the rapidly changing urban infrastructure sector. Previous Building Futures Award winners include:  U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer; U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries; New York State Attorney General Letitia James; Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber;   UA Plumbers Local 1 International Representative John Murphy; and  Iron Workers International General Treasurer James Mahoney. About the BCTC The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (BCTC) represents more than 100,000 tradesmen and tradeswomen across New York City and consists of local affiliates of 15 national and international unions. Read more.   Thu, 09 Oct 2025 21:47:05 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/100k-member-bctc-honors-ccny-president-vince-boudreau /news/ccnys-yang-liu-earns-top-honor-worlds-largest-aerospace-technical-society Dr. Yang Liu, assistant professor in T��ɫ��Ƶ’s Grove School of Engineering and an expert in experimental fluid mechanics, is one of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) Class of 2026 Associate Fellows. The honor is for his pioneering research and academic leadership. This includes his impactful contributions to experimental aerodynamics and multiphase flow, advancing aircraft icing mitigation, additive manufacturing, and plasma-droplet interactions.  According to the AIAA, the grade of Associate Fellow recognizes individuals “who have accomplished or been in charge of important engineering or scientific work, or who have done original work of outstanding merit, or who have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.” To be selected as an Associate Fellow an individual must be an AIAA Senior Member in good standing, with at least 12 years of professional experience, and be recommended by three AIAA members. “Congratulations to each member of the Class of 2026 Associate Fellows,” said AIAA President Dan Hastings. “This distinguished group of professionals has performed extraordinary work and advanced the state of science and technology in aeronautics and astronautics. They exemplify a dedication to excellence in their specific technical disciplines. We are proud of their achievements as they shape the future of aerospace.” Liu is the Director of the Experimental Aerodynamics and Multiphase Flow Laboratory (ExAM-Flow Lab) at The City College. His research explores how liquids, gases, and plasmas interact under extreme conditions to reveal the physics that govern complex flow and heat-transfer phenomena. His work bridges fundamental science and real-world applications in areas such as aerospace safety, additive manufacturing, and energy systems.  Liu’s current research interests include plasma-droplet interactions, multiphase dynamics in additive manufacturing, shockwave-surface interactions, complex multiphase interactions driven by supersonic/hypersonic flows, aircraft icing physics and anti-/de-icing technologies, and unsteady flow dynamics in energy devices. He obtained his PhD in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University in 2016 and a BS in aerospace engineering from China’s Beihang University in 2011. AIAA will formally honor Liu and his Class of 2026 peers at the AIAA Associate Fellows Induction Ceremony and Dinner on Jan. 14, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. The ceremony will take place during AIAA SciTech Forum 2026, Jan. 12-16 in Orlando, Florida. About AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.   Wed, 08 Oct 2025 12:39:25 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/ccnys-yang-liu-earns-top-honor-worlds-largest-aerospace-technical-society /news/eighth-annual-scarefest-beckons-harlemites-ccny-oct-31 “Scarefest,” City College of New York’s annual family-friendly Halloween celebration welcomes the Harlem community on campus on Friday, Oct. 31, with spooky fun and frights for all. In its eighth year, the event, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., is free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis. As always, the highlight of Scarefest is a walk through the dark tunnels running underneath The City College campus and designed to resemble a haunted passageway. Curated by CCNY’s Theatre and Speech Department, the 15-minute experience includes all the staple elements of your traditional horror movie: ghoulish sightings, spine tingling sound effects and more.  The entrance is at West 138th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The ADA entrance is located at the North Academic Center (NAC) Building ground floor Plaza at 160 Convent Avenue (near 138th Street). Click here for more information on the 8th annual Scarefest.  Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:05:44 -0400 Clarence Mwamba /news/eighth-annual-scarefest-beckons-harlemites-ccny-oct-31