From City to the World

On February 9, The City College of New York holds its 44th Langston Hughes Festival and awards its Langston Hughes Medal to a highly distinguished writer of the African diaspora: Lynn Nottage. With a mission to celebrate and expand upon the legacy of Harlem Renaissance icon and "poet laureate of Harlem" Langston Hughes, the Festival awarded its first medal, in 1978, to James Baldwin, followed by an honor roll of the greatest Black writers of our time—among them Toni Morrison, Chinua Achebe, and Rita Dove.

In this episode, host Vincent Boudreau, president of City College, previews the 2023 festival by convening a conversation with Nottage and Jodi-Ann Francis, associate director of the CCNY Black Studies Program —one of the first established in the U.S. Francis is also the moderator of the Langston Hughes Festival symposium, prior to the award ceremony. Hear from Nottage, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, and librettist, how she centers Black life, listens deeply to create resonant characters, and views her work as both artist and activist.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Jodi-Ann Francis, Associate Director of the CCNY Black Studies Program; Lynn Nottage, playwright, screenwriter, librettist, and 2023 Langston Hughes Medalist
Recorded: January 19, 2023

Health, wellness, and food security in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and economic environment are paramount concerns globally, as they are in New York City's minoritized communities. At The City College of New York, where efforts to combat food insecurity are underway year-round, World Food Day is an annual fall observance dedicated to raising awareness, raising funds, and mobilizing campus and community partners. In keeping with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's 2022 World Food Day theme, "Leave No One Behind," City College President Vincent Boudreau presents "Prioritizing Wellness in Our Community," a special episode of From City to the World. It captures the panel discussion with community organization leaders that Boudreau moderated this month at CCNY World Food Day.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Jaclinn Tanney, president of The Migrant Kitchen Initiative; Richard Cox, managing director of Market in the Heights Farmers' Market and CSA at CCNY; Angelo Lampousis, Ph.D., interim executive director of CCNY’s Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative

Recorded: Oct. 13, 2022

A historic moment for economic development is here: Government is investing in strategic sectors like infrastructure and the green economy. It has never been more pressing, City College of New York (CCNY) President Vincent G. Boudreau argues, to rebuild our communities along with our infrastructure and to gather allies and collaborators in this effort. In neighborhoods like Harlem, the South Bronx and northern Manhattan, for example, houses of worship are vital resources for residents: a growing conduit to economic opportunities and a space for building trust in those opportunities, among people structurally disadvantaged for centuries.

Boudreau's first guest on this episode of From City to the World is Rev. Dennis Dillon, who has recently served as a convener of the Resurgence Conference, an effort to harness the power of Black churches in the service of community and economic development. Joining the conversation is Dr. Angelo Lampousis, interim executive director of CCNY's Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative. This dynamic new state- and federally funded program aims to take workforce development to the next level, lifting local communities through training for existing and emerging careers in the growing infrastructure sector.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Speakers: Rev. Dennis Dillon, pastor of Rise Church New York and publisher of New York Christian Times; Angelo Lampousis, Ph.D., Interim Executive Director of CCNY's Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative

Recorded: Sept. 13, 2022

Historic remarks on COVID, health disparities, social mobility, education and present-day politics and culture by CCNY 2022 honorary degree recipients Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and leading documentarian of the African American experience Stanley Nelson are captured in this special Commencement episode. City College President Vincent Boudreau introduces the speeches, recorded live on the occasion of CCNY’s 175th anniversary, at the college’s first in-person Commencement since 2019. Also hear from the CCNY valedictorian and salutatorian and distinguished guests including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.  

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Speakers: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; CUNY Trustee Ken Sunshine; honorary degree recipient and documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson, CCNY ’76; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of NIAID and chief medical advisor to Pres. Biden; Valedictorian Rose Mary Biju; Salutatorian Ali Khalil; Chief Marshal Janet Steele; Provost Tony Liss; Gary Calnek, president of the Alumni Association of The City College of New York

Recorded: June 3, 2022

The City College ROTC Program, where the late Gen. Colin L. Powell got his start more than 60 years ago, will yield 16 cadet commissions into the U.S. Army this June. Of this cohort of 2022 graduates from across CUNY, more than 50% were born abroad and became U.S. citizens, enabling them to serve in the nation’s military. Hear from Lt. Col. LaShell Y. Davis, Professor of Military Science at CCNY and director of the CUNY ROTC program, based at CCNY, about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to today’s U.S. Army and her perspective on working at one of America’s most diverse campuses. The conversation, with CCNY President Vincent Boudreau, stretches from the Vietnam-interrupted history of ROTC at the college to changing opportunities and horizons for current cadets, including internships; a new military talent-management emphasis on resumes, interviews, skills and preferences in matching personnel with branches and units of the armed services; and the advent of U.S. Cyber Command. Davis and Boudreau are joined by Lt. Gen. Samuel Ebbesen (Ret.), a 1961 CCNY graduate who began his career, and a lifelong friendship with the late Gen. Powell, in ROTC at the college. Ebbesen describes ROTC of his day and an elite group, the Pershing Rifles, that he and Powell joined and that continues today. Currently, Ebbesen is a member of the board of visitors at CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Lt. Col. LaShell Y. Davis, Professor of Military Science at CCNY and director of the CUNY-wide ROTC program; Lt. Gen. Samuel Ebbesen (Ret.), CCNY Class of 1961

Recorded: May 23, 2022