https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/ en Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:05:58 -0400 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/important-campus-information-security Dear Campus Community, Just this week, multiple college campuses have been attacked with crippling ransomware.  Please be extra cautious on any requests to provide personal or protected information to all requestors – particularly if it seems odd that you would be asked for information from the sender.  Use back channels, like calling the person with a known number, to verify a request for personal or protected information.  Also, be on alert for text messages coming from colleagues, including senior leadership.  If you do not recognize the cellphone number and it isn't in your contacts, suspect that it is fraudulent.  Use the block caller feature if you receive a fraudulent text.  Another phish that is highly active right now is to send you a text or call you saying that this is the IT department trying to fix/migrate/terminate/etc your email account.  They then tell you we are going to send you a verification code but what they are actually doing is all part of their phishing attack.  CCNY's IT department does not send verification codes, ask for passwords, nor do we terminate email accounts, unless you are no longer with CCNY. If anyone contacts you saying they represent the IT department and they are requesting a code or your password for any sort of verification purpose, you should immediately hang up and contact the service Desk. Below is the message that the Office of Information Technology sent out earlier this week.  It is here to remind you of things you can do to help protect our campus. Recently, our campus has been the target of numerous phishing attacks using a variety of fraudulent offers and notices. These attacks primarily target Students, Staff and Faculty with fake notices of account termination, fraudulent job offers, and fake requests from supervisors and other administrators to purchase gift cards. The attacks are carried out by using college accounts that were compromised in some form, impersonating college offices or officers, as well as accounts made on free email platforms such as Google (Gmail) and Outlook. We encourage everyone to exercise a high level of caution when reading email with the [external] tag or those with offers that are too good to be true. If you think you have already been impacted by this security threat If you receive a potential phishing message, or if you already responded to a phishing email, immediately contact the IT Security Office at  itsecurity@ccny.cuny.edu  or the CCNY Service Desk at  servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu . Recommended User Action DO NOT reply to unexpected or unusual email from any sender. DO be particularly cautious when the “external source” warning banner is present. DO NOT reply to email or text messages with any personal information, passwords, or MFA verification codes. Your password or MFA verification code should never be shared for any reason. If you have reason to believe that the request is real, contact the CCNY Service Desk at  servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu  or (212) 650-7878. DO NOT click a link or open an attachment in an unsolicited email message. If you have reason to believe the request is real, type the web address for the company or institution directly into your web browser. DO NOT use the same password for your work account, bank, Facebook, etc. In the event you do fall victim to a phishing attempt, perpetrators attempt to use your compromised password to access many online services. DO change ALL of your passwords if you suspect any account you have access to may be compromised. DO be particularly cautious when reading email on a mobile device. It may be easier to miss telltale signs of phishing attempts when reading email on a smaller screen. DO remember that official communications should not solicit personal information by email. DO report spam to  reportspam@ccny.cuny.edu DO read the CUNY Ransomware and Phishing Advisories posted at security.cuny.edu under CUNY Issued Security Advisories. DO complete information security awareness training located at https://course.enterprisetraining.com/cuny2019/launch/. If you have any questions about this security alert, please do not hesitate to contact IT Security at  itsecurity@ccny.cuny.edu . Thank you for your attention. The Office of Information Technology Ken Ihrer Vice President of Information Technology Chief Information Officer The City College of New York 160 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:05:58 -0400 Ken Ihrer https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/29423 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/presidents-town-hall-meeting Dear Members of the Campus Community, With the start of the semester behind us, I think it would be beneficial to gather to discuss where the college currently stands in relation to some looming challenges.   I am inviting you all to a town hall in MR3 to talk about some of these matters, to gather your input, and to talk about some of our plans.  The faculty/staff town hall will take place on Thursday, October 19th at 12:30 PM.  I’ve scheduled a separate student town hall to take place on Thursday, November 2 at 12:30 PM. Each event will be both in person and streamed.  I look forward to seeing you all, and engaging you in this conversation. Sincerely,   Vince Boudreau President  Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:28:34 -0400 Vincent Boudreau https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/27750 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/ccny-climate-week-van-cortlandt-hike-september-24-2023-0 Dear City College Campus Community,  Wow! Thank you so much to our CCNY community for your excitement and interest around our September 24th hike. We are already at capacity and must close this event for sign-ups. However, we will be planning additional hikes, so keep an eye out and sign up once those forms come out. We are thrilled to have you join us outdoors, and thank you again for your participation. The form is closed, but please email outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu to be added to our waitlist and keep updated with any future hikes and events we have! Sincerely, Ashley Mastroddi & Akasha Solis Fri, 08 Sep 2023 09:50:08 -0400 Ashley Mastroddi & Akasha Solis https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26653 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/ccny-climate-week-van-cortlandt-hike-september-24-2023 Dear City College Campus Community, This year for Climate Week, we are collaborating with our partners at the Appalachian Mountain Club to bring AMC members and CCNY students, faculty, staff, and alumni together to spread awareness about climate change and join forces to drive climate action.  One of our Climate Week events will feature Professor Kyle McDonald, Terry Elkes Professor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of CCNY’s Sustainability in the Urban Environment MS Program. Professor McDonald has been active in conducting NASA Earth science investigations for several decades and in advancing NASA and international Earth science mission concepts (NISAR, SMAP). He and Katherine Gloede Silverman, Assistant Director of the Sustainability in the Urban Environment Program, will join us along with two graduate students from the sustainability program, Leah Ives and Fatima Abidi. Leah and Fatima are a part of a sustainability program capstone team studying urban forests using remote sensing data to assess urban heat island reduction strategies, including data collection and analysis in Van Cortlandt Park and the New York Botanical Garden. The group will discuss the importance of urban green space alongside flora and fauna. This event is taking place on Sunday, September 24th at 9 AM. See the form to RSVP to the Van Cortlandt Park hike. We will meet at 9 AM just outside of the #1 train station at 242nd Street, facing uptown, on the side closest to the park. There are a limited number of spots for these events, so please sign up quickly! This form will be closed once we have reached maximum capacity for the events. If the form is closed, please email outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu to be added to our waitlist. Sincerely, Ashley Mastroddi & Akasha Solis Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:20:26 -0400 Ashley Mastroddi & Akasha Solis https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26643 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/presidents-fall-2023-welcome-message It seems impossible to believe, but at the time I am writing this message, I’m on my way to join the 3rd of our 4 new student orientation events. Dorm move-in day was last Saturday and I’m now beginning to see the faces of colleagues coming back from that last bit of summer vacation. I remember as a kid riding in the family car about this time of year.  My mother would point out the few, early achieving maple leaves that had begun their autumnal turn, and chortle with joy, thinking of her seven kids returning to school and giving her some peace. I hope this note doesn’t stir any of the resentment I then felt, wrapped as I was in the desire to hold on to those last precious days of vacation. I think, however, that there’s a great deal to look forward to in our impending campus reunion.  We are today far closer to being on normal footing than we have been in a very long time.  Most of us spent last year getting used to the idea of one another’s physical company.  Faculty members, I know, rediscovered the joy of being in a classroom with students, and students who may be far too acclimated to an imposed and isolated online learning experience began to take fuller advantage of life on a campus populated with students, staff and faculty. I’m powerfully proud of the campus, and there’s never more reason for that pride than when we are gathered together, engaged in the important work of this institution.  This year, new and returning students will find a campus primed to welcome that community, and support its members in their journey forward.  We have new institutes and programs on campus, a robust series of lectures, research and studio experiences, and a dizzying array of scholarship and internship opportunities.  You’ll find on campus a new student success hub for undeclared majors, a one-stop student support center on the ground floor of NAC and a new engaged scholarship office to help students connect service, leadership, research and internship experiences with their career aspirations. There are more programs to supplement classroom work—research, service, internship, study abroad, recreation—than at any time in our college’s history, and I hope all of you dive in and find the thing that will make your life on this campus distinct and rewarding. I’d also like to urge us all to bear in mind that even as the hardship of the pandemic’s worst years fade a bit in our memories, many among us still carry stress and uncertainty from that time.  College can be a place that breeds anxiety at the very best of times, and we are, all of us, still learning how to be with one another.  So as we welcome everyone back to campus, I want to ask each of you to dig into your reserve of understanding and kindness.  Keep an eye out for anyone who might be struggling in our midst, and guard against the easy resort to temper or impatience. At our best, on this campus, we are a community committed to supporting one another in our successes and in our difficulties.  As we prepare for a new semester, I hope we’ll all foreground these, our best impulses, and continue to build a CCNY community dedicated to the comfort and success of everyone around us. Welcome to a new academic year! Vincent Boudreau President The City College of New York Fri, 25 Aug 2023 10:22:22 -0400 Vincent Boudreau https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26508 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/ccny-amc-outdoor-leadership-training Do you love the outdoors and want to gain the confidence (and leadership experience) so you can lead your own hiking groups? If so, then please join us on September 9th for our first-annual CCNY-AMC Outdoor Leadership Training where you will learn specific safety, navigational, and leadership skills required for leading hiking trips in the great outdoors. The Outdoors Project at CCNY in collaboration with our partners at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) have specifically crafted this outdoor leadership training for alumni, students, faculty, and staff. With this training, you will develop key leadership skills that will benefit you in safely and comfortably leading hikes in the New York / New Jersey region. You will learn how to read topographic maps, how to plan and organize your trip, whether it’s a few hours or a multi-day event, and what to do in an emergency! The training will be instructed by AMC staff and experienced and certified outdoors leaders. We have 15 spots available, and sign-ups go quick, so secure your spot now! All participants are required to pay a non-refundable $10 participation fee. Our team will reach out to you separately for the $10 deposit once your form is submitted. We are excited for the support and amount of interest. If you are interested, please fill out this Google Form. Your registration is not complete until payment is received and the Google Form is submitted. Our team will be in contact with you once we close this application. IF THE FORM IS CLOSED: Please email us at outdoorsccny@ccny.cuny.edu to be put on our waitlist. Best, Ashley Mastroddi City College & Appalachian Mountain Club Partnerships Manager, Office of the PresidentThe CCNY Outdoors Project Tue, 01 Aug 2023 09:47:19 -0400 Ashley Mastroddi https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26422 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/farewell-felix-lam Dear Members of the Campus Community, We are writing to let you know that after years of service, often under some pretty trying circumstances, Felix Lam has accepted a position in another organization. His last day on campus will be August 3rd.   Anyone who witnessed Felix making his way to Wingate Hall before 8:30 AM every day, or coming back into his car at 8 PM at night understands how much of himself Felix gave to this institution.  The core offices that he has overseen—finance, purchasing, bursar and HR—constitute some of the most crucial areas to the smooth functioning of the college, and he without question left his mark on each. We are personally grateful, on my own behalf and on behalf of the college, to have had Felix’s advice and support through the years, and we will miss him.  Please join us in wishing him the very best of luck.  Vince & Scott Mon, 31 Jul 2023 17:14:58 -0400 Office of the President and Senior Vice President and COO https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26421 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/remote-work-options-due-air-quality Dear Faculty and Staff,     A number of you have contacted us with concerns about the effect of the Canadian wild fires on our air quality and I write to let you know that we take these concerns seriously. If you are concerned about your health under these circumstances, the following options are available until the conditions improve:\     * If you are teaching in person, you may temporarily move your class online provided that you notify each of your students and are prepared to make accommodations for any students who are unable to connect virtually.     * Staff may temporarily work remotely with the approval of their supervisor. Supervisors should be prepared to grant remote work to anyone with a medical condition affected by, the air quality. The campus will remain open. You may wish to wear an N95 or KN95 mask while outside. Both are effective at blocking the particulates in the smoke. The current forecast is that conditions should improve by the end of the week.   Best, Tony M. Liss, PhD Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs The City College of New York 160 Convent Avenue, A305 New York, NY 10031 212-650-8261 Thu, 08 Jun 2023 09:31:55 -0400 Tony Liss https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26297 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/mario-h-ramirez-named-associate-dean-and-chief-librarian-ccny Dear Colleagues, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Mario H. Ramirez as Associate Dean and Chief Librarian at City College, effective May 1, 2023.  Dr. Ramirez’s rich and varied experience as an archivist, scholar, and information professional provide an outstanding basis for his work in the CCNY Libraries.  Most recently as Head of Special Collections and Archives at the California State University, Los Angeles, his vision and leadership supported the equitable representation of immigrants, women, LGBTQIA communities and communities of color in special collections and archives.  He served for eight years as project archivist for the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, CUNY; we are happy to welcome him home to NYC in his new role. As Chief Librarian, Dr. Ramirez will oversee the eight highly active libraries on campus which serve a very diverse community of scholarly interests.  He will be responsible for developing and leading the Libraries’ direction in line with the College’s strategic vision. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lon Mendelsohn who has adeptly filled the role of Interim Chief Librarian for the past eighteen months.  I know you will join me in wishing him well as he happily returns to his faculty role. Wed, 03 May 2023 14:48:34 -0400 Tony Liss https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26197 https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/presidentsoffice/blog/wilderness-first-aid-program-max-capacity Greetings from the Office of the President! We are absolutely thrilled by the amount of excitement, and responses we've received for our first ever Wilderness First Aid training program. With that being said, we are at our maximum number of spots and are closing registration for now. If you are still interested in future events from the Outdoors Project, such as hiking, camping, and other retreats we have coming down the line, please fill out this Google Form and we will keep you in the loop as we continue to roll-out new programming. Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm, and we look forward to connecting in the great outdoors! Fri, 07 Apr 2023 11:11:03 -0400 Office of the President https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/node/26060