Faculty and Staff Convocation kicked off the new academic year with energetic vibes and inspiring messages. Serving as Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Luis Montenegro, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, talked about recommitting each September to the BCC mission and meaningful work that lies ahead and shared 2024-25 academic initiatives as well as previous year academic highlights. Remarks by Interim President Dr. Milton Santiago and Guest Speaker Ligia Alberto, Ed.D. focused on the importance of helping students improve their lives, seeing what is possible through education.

“Our goal is to eliminate as many barriers as possible for our students so that nothing can stand in the way of them getting an education,” Dr. Santiago said from the Roscoe Brown Playhouse. “And we have a depth of initiatives in place to help us accomplish this goal.” He mentioned BCC Early Childhood Center’s impact on enabling students to stay in school and a new initiative aimed at gifting brand-new, no-cost business clothing for students attending events or job interviews.

In introducing Dr. Ligia Alberto (a BCC alum who went on to further her studies at Lehman College and earn both a MS degree in School Counseling from Mercy College and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy and Management from Seton Hall University), Dr. Santiago spoke about her academic journey’s origins at BCC and the trajectory that followed.

Dr. Alberto said, “When I came to BCC, I had newly arrived in the U.S, didn’t know any English and was broke. I got married at age 18 and had a child at age 22. My friends and people around me had zero expectations for me. However, I had professors here that believed in me.”

The President’s Awards for Excellence celebrating excellence, innovation, and outstanding contributions of faculty and staff at Bronx Community College were presented to H. Elizabeth Smith, English Department – Teaching (Full Time); Propa Akter, Education & Academic Literacy Department – Teaching (Part Time); Jacqueline Jimemez Polanco, Social Sciences Department – Research; Jordi Getman Eraso, History department – Service (Faculty), and Albert Robinson, Center for Teaching & Learning (CTLT) – Service (Staff)