In his final State of the College address delivered January 30, 2025, Interim BCC President Dr. Milton Santiago provided the BCC community with a comprehensive report on all College initiatives this academic year, including updates on the latest capital projects, enrollment numbers, faculty achievements, finances, grants, marketing & communications, programs and more.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Luis Montenegro kicked off the State of the College address by thanking Dr. Santiago for his dedication and leadership as BCC’s Interim President. “Today we are going to highlight all of the tremendous work that all of you and your colleagues have been undertaking for the whole year and always with the focus on the success of our students. All of this work has been done under Dr. Santiago’s direction and passion for the sake of our students,” he said.

Perhaps the highlight of the presentation was the good news on the enrollment front.
Dr. Santiago said BCC during the Fall 2024 semester, ranked 4th overall in enrollment growth among senior and community colleges, a significant improvement from a few years ago.

In Fall 2024, BCC enrolled 6,785 students, surpassing its target of 6,615. This represented a 5.1% increase from last year’s enrollment (6,457 students). Spring 2025 enrollment numbers (as of January 29, 2025) show a continued trend in a positive direction for future enrollment success. As of this date, BCC had enrolled 6,283 students, a 4% increase from 2024.

Regarding BCC and its improvements in the area of technology, Dr. Santiago said, “It gives me great pleasure to report that through the help of CUNY Central and my previous discussion with the Vice Chancellor, CUNY prioritized upgrading BCC’s IT infrastructure across campus. In a nutshell, I am pleased to say that, thanks to CUNY’s responsiveness and work on behalf of the best interests of our faculty, staff and students, we will have a 21st century IT infrastructure in place at this institution.”

He went on to say that BCC’s commitment to eliminating as many barriers as possible for students so that nothing can stand in the way of their education is remarkable and evident in so many of the College’s initiatives. “I continue to be in awe of our efforts to help students see a bigger potential for their lives and inspire them to become who they want to be,” he said.

At the conclusion of the nearly hour-long address, Dr. Santiago quipped, “And if you don’t want a lengthy report next time, do not accomplish as much.”