With President Johnson, He Celebrates ‘99 Days ’Til Commencement,’ Meets Student Scholars and Attends In-Person Classes
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez (third from left) and Guttman Community College President Larry D. Johnson Jr. (right) meet several of Guttman’s standout students. From left: Bashir Juwara, Jacqueline Areas Mejia, Camila Rodríguez and Jason A. Montoya.
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez visited Guttman Community College during its first week of spring semester classes, joining Guttman President Larry D. Johnson Jr. on a tour of the college that included visits to two class sections, a meeting with the college’s first-ever semifinalists for the highly-selective Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and participation in the school’s “99 Days ’Til Commencement” celebration.
Guttman is one of three CUNY community colleges to have opened the Spring 2022 semester this week; the school uses an innovative academic calendar that offers a cost-effective means of completing an associate degree in two years, along with LaGuardia Community College and Kingsborough Community College.
“Joining Guttman students to mark the start of spring semester courses at three of our community colleges and kick off the countdown to commencement was an energizing reminder of our primary mission,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. “The in-person classes I visited, where students are learning to be ‘everyday activists’ and interning for organizations focused on human services, are perfect encapsulations of what we do best at CUNY — preparing New York’s future leaders. Our success is best measured by the success of our students, and the recent accolades received by students at Guttman and across the system speak for themselves.”
President Johnson speaks during the ‘99 Days ’Til Commencement’ event
“It has been so great to welcome our students, faculty and staff for the Spring 2022 Semester at Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, particularly the first-ever incoming class to join us in the spring,” said Guttman President Johnson. “I am glad that Chancellor Matos Rodríguez stopped by to see our unique college and help us officially launch our ‘99 Days ’Til Commencement’ countdown as we approach the college’s 10th anniversary.”
Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and President Johnson visited a global civic engagement class, where first-year students learn that activism can result from anybody’s advocacy efforts. While listening to the Chancellor share his experiences in civic leadership roles, students asked him what he wanted his CUNY legacy to be. “I want to be known as the patron saint of paid internships, because when companies bring in CUNY students as interns, they fall in love,” Chancellor Matos Rodríguez told the class.
At the “99 Days ’Til Commencement” celebration, the Chancellor greeted the Guttman students, faculty and staff. He praised the college for its student-centric academic approach while marking the countdown to what he calls his favorite part of the job: Commencement. “I would always have a sore arm after shaking everybody’s hand at Hostos’ Commencement,” he said, reflecting on his tenure as president of Hostos Community College from 2009 to 2014.
Chancellor Matos Rodríguez hugs the college mascot, Stella the Grizzly
Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and President Johnson met with four of Guttman’s outstanding students. These leaders included the college’s first two Jack Kent Cooke semifinalists, Bashir JuwaraԻCamila Rodríguez; also joining the chat was Phi Theta Kappa President Jason A. MontoyaԻJacqueline Areas Mejia, a Guttman alumna and peer mentor who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at John Jay College.
“I am here thanks to my high school counselor, who graduated from Guttman and recommended the school to me,” Juwara, Guttman’s student government president, said to the Chancellor. “I came from Gambia to find hope, and I found it here at Guttman.”
Chancellor Matos Rodríguez (r.) receives a gift from Guttman’s Student Government Association president, Bashir Juwara
The last stop on the visit was a human services class, where students simultaneously participate in social services internships with local agencies and organizations. Chancellor Matos Rodríguez leaned on his experiences when speaking to the students, reflecting on his service overseeing more than 100 such offices as commissioner of Puerto Rico’s Department of Family Services from 2006 to 2008.
The Chancellor’s visit comes at a time of great pride for Guttman. The college is one of six CUNY community colleges nominated for the prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence this year, as the college approaches its tenth anniversary this coming academic year.
