BMCC Wins National Recognition for Innovation

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) is one of 58 colleges nationwide—the only college in New York City, and one of two in New York state—to receive the 2019 Innovation of the Year Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College, a non-profit organization that supports transformational innovation within and across colleges and international borders.

The award recognizes the BMCC Faculty Leadership Fellows Program, which seeks to recognize and develop faculty leadership, advance departmental and college priorities, and promote the role of community colleges more broadly in society.

According to Karrin E. Wilks, Interim President of BMCC, “We cannot dramatically improve student success without strong, visible and pervasive faculty leadership. In collaboration with faculty, we are developing the theory and practice of faculty leadership at BMCC, particularly focused on pedagogical leadership. We are pleased to receive this recognition of the critical  role of faculty leadership in improving student success.”

The BMCC Faculty Leadership Fellows Program, which launched in January 2017, provides seminars for participants to meet with higher education leaders on a variety of topics, such as developing pedagogical leadership, equity by design, creating a culture for positive change and more.

The Fellows also attend workshops that address topics such as mentoring and coaching, dealing with conflict, budget development and effective communications.

The 2019 Faculty Leadership Fellows are elected by the chairs of their departments, past faculty fellows or BMCC cabinet members. In the most recent cohort, 50 faculty were nominated, 25 applied and 17 were accepted to the program.

“We recognize our faculty as leaders in the classroom, department, College and beyond, based on our belief that leadership rests within the person; not within a title, position or office,” says Jim Berg, Associate Dean of Faculty.