CCNY Outdoor Program

Dear Members of the Campus Community,

Before I moved into the president’s office, I served as faculty advisor to the CCNY Outdoor Club, a student-run club, built around the efforts of a few deeply committed undergraduates.  Under the auspices of that club, we built an internship program with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) established a summer leadership program for students at their Harriman Outdoor Center facility, and planned a series of outings. At the core of the project, though, was a vision that I think is entirely consonant with the larger mission of CCNY—that the use and stewardship of the outdoors needs to be democratized, in the same ways that our educational missions seek to democratize opportunity.

The thing with student clubs, though, is that they wax and wane as students enter and graduate, and the outdoor club activity has declined over the past year or so—even as our opportunities to partner with external groups like AMC have expanded.  For this reason, and because I value the mission of the outdoors club, I’m moving the activity of the club (which currently has no student club constituency) into the president’s office.

The renamed CCNY Outdoor Program will leverage our partnerships with external groups like The Appalachian Mountain Club and share the resources of those partnerships to provide opportunities to faculty, students and staff who are interested in conservation and recreational outdoor activities

The Program will continue to sponsor a range of outdoor activities aimed at broadening access and understanding of the natural environment, promoting the skills and knowledge that underpin outdoor recreation, and in both ways develop a broader cohort of stewards for the wild and natural spaces around us, including those in our immediate community.

Moreover, one of the recommendations of the Working Group on Diversity & Inclusion was that I develop opportunities, outside the classroom and across the divisions of department and job classification, for the CCNY community to socialize together.  I think the opportunity, several times a year, to hike or kayak or camp together fits the bill nicely.

To start off this activity, we will hold an organizational meeting to set an agenda for the spring semester on March 12, 2020 at 12:30pm – 1:30pm in the President's Conference Room (Administration Building Room 310).  All are welcome, and we’ll soon be posting a slate of activities for those who are not able to attend. I look forward to seeing some of you at the meeting, and others of you on one of our springtime excursions.  If you have any questions please email outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu

Sincerely,

Vince Boudreau
President

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