Dean's Message

Dear Members of the CUNY SPS Community:

I am very pleased to welcome you to this issue of the CUNY SPS Magazine, which features the highlights, news, and accomplishments from our community over the past academic year.

This year, the theme of our issue has been taken from the trend that has defined CUNY SPS since our founding in 2003: growth. And in the 2021-22 academic year, our growth has never been more spectacular.Our Fall 2021 enrollment was close to 4,500 students—with tens of thousands more attending our workplace training programs each semester. And recognition of our quality has also grown, with CUNY SPS receiving its highest ranking to date in U.S. News & World Report—#8 on the publisher’s list of Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs for 2021.

Outside of these numbers, this issue of the Magazine honors the people and programs that have helped make our growth possible. In our feature article, we pay tribute to retiring dean John Mogulescu, who in his 18 years here helped build CUNY SPS into a top-ranked nationwide leader in online education, with a look back at his extraordinary 50-year career.

Also in this issue, we recognize some of the alumni who grew personally and professionally while at CUNY SPS. This includes Phara Forrest, a dedicated nurse and community organizer who now serves as a New York State Assembly Member, and Jae Ross, a passionate advocate for people with disabilities whose life and work we celebrate and to whom we dedicate this issue.

Additionally, we highlight the record number of student clubs and organizations formed over the past year at CUNY SPS, acknowledging those students who took the initiative to build community during a tremendously difficult and isolating period, as well as to all the individual achievements of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff during this time.

On an organizational level, this issue of the CUNY SPS Magazine explores some of the ways that our programs and units are evolving to better address our community’s needs. To this end, we profile the efforts made by PEWL (Office of Professional Education and Workplace Learning) to expand its partnerships with New York City agencies to help support the city’s residents, particularly those grappling with the impact of COVID-19. Alongside this, we document the extraordinary work of the Committee on Institutional Equity and Diversity, which hosted a number of thoughtful and incisive panel discussions, readings, and screenings throughout the year as part of an effort to foster more internal dialogue about racial and social equity.

As the newly appointed interim dean of CUNY SPS, I couldn’t be more excited to join the School on this wave of growth, and I pledge to help us flourish even more over the coming year. In my own introduction this issue, I share some of my own plans for CUNY SPS, which include expanding our enrollment, updating our technology and resources, and sharing our online expertise with a larger community, even as I work to ensure that we remain safe and healthy on our return to campus.

With all this in mind, I invite you to read more about our amazing School and our momentous year, and I hope these stories inspire you to reflect back upon the ways that you might have grown—and in turn have helped us all grow—here at CUNY SPS.

Sincerely,