College officials across the country met online with experts on information technology at the 2020 RTM Higher Education CIO Congress this week. The timely topic of the virtual conference was “Leading Through Disruption: Leveraging Technology to Overcome Unprecedented Challenges.”

And Bronx Community College was there.

“We discussed how Bronx Community College digitally engages in best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, both from the student-centered and faculty point of view,” says Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Lester Sandres Rápalo. Also participating in the event was Vice President for Student Success Dr. Irene R. Delgado.

Running from August 2 through August 4, the gathering featured presentations from some 50 speakers. Provost Rápalo moderated the session on “Leading Through Disruption and Academic Continuity.” The only speaker representing a community college, he discussed “Building a Culture of Innovation and Performance Excellence at Bronx Community College.”

“My presentation covered how BCC is fostering a culture of innovation and performance excellence through the development of student-centered initiatives and faculty training programs, including such renowned programs as ASAP and BCC’s First Year Seminar,” explained the Provost. “The presentation also discussed our vision for BCC in the COVID environment and how BCC is responding to the needs of students and faculty during these challenging times.”

The keynote speaker was TV journalist and talk show host Tamron Hall.

“The message we had is that we are all in this together,” says Dr. Delgado. “We are all facing this disruption in similar ways and we are all working collaboratively to help each other.”

“The beauty of this conference is that it married the IT world, the workforce and the private and public world of student and academic affairs,” adds Dr. Rápalo. “Irene and I have been very proactive in helping students and faculty transition to this new learning and working modality. It was a great opportunity for us to showcase our experiences and everything that BCC under the leadership of our President is doing to adapt and evolve during COVID, including academic continuity, equitable access to education and inclusive paths to graduation.”