Lehman College

On February 12, 2013, President Obama provided Congress his latest assessment of the State-of-the Union. In his address, he briefly discussed education ranging from pre-school to Higher Education.

When it came to Higher Education, the President made two major points:

• Higher Education makes it more likely that one will be employed and that one will have a chance to join the middle class.
• College affordability and value added are important.

Economic data have consistently revealed that...

At the 12 CUNY IT conference this past December I had the pleasure to give a presentation together with David Stevens, Manager of Web Services, Lehman College and Gerlando Termini, Web Developer, Lehman College about our work in the development of Lehman's website.

One of seven children, living in the projects, alcoholic father, desperately poor, sixth grade dropout. Yes, that was my mother's story, the story of her childhood anyway. She was determined not to let that be the story of her whole life.

Earning a college degree became her goal: the ever-present but elusive dream! Finally, nearing forty and with three children, she enrolled at Lehman. And she sure was enthusiastic. She loved Lehman! She rocked her Lehman hoodie like it was going out of style....

February 14th marks the first year anniversary of our experiment with the Lehman College Blog. In its first year, the blog has connected our community by providing a space to share authentic stories about Lehman's impact. Your blog posts have enabled us to learn from each other.  They have been informative, educational and inspiring.  Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Do you have a story to share about life at Lehman?  Please review our guidelines and submit a post.

Here are four fast facts...

I have been a Lehman College student for 8 years now (where does the time go?)!  I earned my Bachelor's degree in Social Work and am now pursuing my Master's degree also in Social Work (Lehman graduating class of 2013).

Lehman has been a wonderful place for me. I appreciate the assistance of all the professors who have always been willing to go the extra mile to help.  They're dedicated to their profession and passionate about their work. It's a beautiful feeling to meet people that are living...

In Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses (The University of Chicago Press, 2011), Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa reveal that students are only “minimally improving their skills in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing during their journeys through higher education.” In their study they revealed two major findings:

1. By the end of their sophomore year, students improved their performance on the Collegiate Learning Assessment exam (a proxy for the skills referenced...

A key goal at Lehman is to ensure that our students have access to the technologies and resources they need in a world that is increasingly fast-paced, mobile and hyper-connected.  We are pleased to share several planned technology initiatives as Lehman's spring semester gets underway. These projects reflect a collaborative effort across campus departments to enhance student success:

1)  Our Mobile Printing pilot is now available to all students. This initiative allows students to launch a print...

Last Wednesday, I handed my students their first assignment of the semester. The assignment was based on the day’s major economic report.

Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the advance GDP report for the Fourth Quarter of 2012. In the assignment, I asked my students to obtain information from that report, simply noting that the BEA had provided its first estimate of U.S. economic activity for that quarter. I also asked students to analyze the information.

The goals...

With spring classes starting today, it is worth providing a brief discussion of how I handle the first class. In general, the first class is an opportunity to establish a framework aimed at facilitating student learning and performance.

My first class typically starts with a short diagnostic exam. The exam allows me to gain some insight into student knowledge in the areas I plan to cover during the semester. It also allows me to establish a benchmark against which I can measure the amount...

On this day, the nation remembers one of its greatest visionaries and champions of justice, Dr. Martin Luther King. Regular occasions on which the nation can remember Dr. King, his struggle for justice, and his vision of a better world, are important. The historical experience has demonstrated that there is no “resting place” in the quest for civil rights. Civil rights are secured and preserved only through the sustained effort of each generation. With human nature being what it is, faded...

Part of the reason why the Lehman College experience is so great is because of the variety available at Lehman. This does not exist just among the student body but across many areas. The campus exhibits diversity in terms of the variety of its many trees and its architecture.  Some buildings were built in the 1900's and others are more modern and built with environmental considerations, such as the new science building.

Education is at the core of Lehman's mission and the fields that a student...

The beginning of a new year is often a time for celebration, renewal, and reflection. My New Year's eve was not very bright due to a whole slew of things.  I was sick in the hospital and I thought to myself, "I wonder if someone will replace me at my job?" I was mulling over whether or not my absence would matter to my coworkers. 

To my surprise, most of my coworkers came to visit me every day. They brought gifts and spent time with me in what was essentially a dark place. Needless to say, I felt...

In December, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) held its annual conference. At that conference, MSCHE Vice Presidents Christy L. Faison and Debra G. Klinman discussed the Periodic Review Report (PRR). The PRR is submitted five years after a higher education institution’s decennial review. Lehman College will be submitting its next PRR in 2014.

Briefly, Middle States lists the five goals for the PRR:

1. To help institutions gauge their progress in achieving their own goals and...

The Bronx may have been spared the worst of Hurricane Sandy, but many in the Lehman community felt her wrath.  Lehman's Multimedia Journalism staff and students were touched by the storm and many were moved to report the events around them in the Bronx, Brooklyn, the Rockaways and New Jersey.

Hurricane Sandy: The Aftermath

Photographer and Lehman Lecturer David McGlynn covered the hurricane's aftermath, from the flooding in lower Manhattan to the devastation in the Far Rockaways and New Jersey.

The...

When I was eight years old I was impressed, in the physical meaning of the word that only music and lithography are capable of, by Harry Nilsson’s “Jump into the Fire,” which was a big hit in 1971. His layered shouts jumped out of the speakers and landed in my ears, and there they’ve stayed for forty years. I heard that song a lot on the radio in the mostly-white Pacific Northwest of the early 1970s. I heard “The Whole Funky World is a Ghetto,” by Bobby Patterson, for the first time last week....

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), Lehman College’s accrediting agency, held its annual conference from December 5-7, 2012 in Philadelphia. The conference was comprised of plenary sessions that all participants attended, as well as concurrent breakout sessions.

The opening plenary session talked about scholarship in the digital age. That session highlighted the role of social media, blogging, and electronic platforms such as Udacity.com in Higher Education.

Additional...

I've enjoyed my time at here at Lehman College.  When transferring from Bronx Community College, Lehman was my first choice and I've not even come close to regretting it. The teachers here have been great - several of them being very capable and focused on making the material understandable to all students.  One of them even helped me get the job I have today, which I enjoy due to the exposure to new technologies that I've never seen before.  I've enjoyed the experiences I've been acquiring...

Working as a College Assistant at the Leonard Lief Library has given me the opportunity to gain valuable experience.  Also, working with the Library Technical Coordinator for three years has been remarkable. In education, we are using technology to make studies easier and I am able to see how the advances in technology help students in their learning. By helping students with their use of computers, projectors, laptops, PowerPoint presentations, the web, Smart Boards, word processing, printers,...

Irving Berlin’s 1942 classic “White Christmas” begins:

 The calendar advances relentlessly onward, creating ever more distance between the winters Berlin “used to know.” The trees still glisten, but the ringing of sleigh bells on snow-covered city streets is no more.

Nevertheless, those early winters are not lost. They live on in the illustrations of 19^th century artists. They come alive in the colorful prose—almost yesterday’s photographs—used to describe early American snowstorms.

Five snippets...

Earlier this month, we brought our Multimedia Center crew together for a team photo in the studio.  The whole team came together - interns, students and staff - there was some learning, some laughs, and of course, a few photos.

Using our jib camera, we captured a little behind-the-scenes action of the setup and shoot along with a few of the final images at the end of the video (as well as at the bottom of this blog).

Check us out, comment and enjoy! And look for more behind-the scenes...