A Message from Dr. Milton Santiago
Interim President

Dear BCC Community,

It’s hard for me to believe that I will be concluding my second year as BCC’s Interim President. It truly has been and continues to be an honor to serve this institution in this capacity. While the Board’s search for a new permanent president has been underway, I am continuing to take my role as your interim president seriously and striving to make the work we have been doing together lasting and impactful.

I am proud of the high-quality instruction we are offering and the many exciting new career pathways we have been developing for our students, who are graduating from BCC well equipped for the workforce of the future. Recent graduates of our Health Sciences programs, including Nuclear Medicine Technology (which is unique to BCC), Radiological Technology and the Medical Lab Technician program have been hired at starting salaries ranging from $50,000 to more than $100,000.  Additionally, our Cybersecurity & Networking program, as well as our Electrical Engineering and Automotive programs are serving as game changers for our students, many of whom graduate with an associate degree from BCC and, similarly, are taking on employment with starting salaries well beyond $50,000.

We also continue to prioritize our goal to eliminate as many barriers as possible for our students so that nothing can stand in the way of their education…so that we help students see a bigger potential for their lives and inspire them to become who they want to be.  We have a depth of initiatives in place to help us do this.

Our on-campus food pantry provides nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food to BCC students facing food insecurities, and The Early Childhood Center just last spring opened its infant-toddler program, expanding our Center so that it now serves parents of children ages six weeks to 12 years of age. In most cases, these parents would not be able to continue their education without this childcare assistance; they can attend BCC classes while their children are taught and cared for in a supportive, nurturing and inclusive environment at our accredited center. In another endeavor, we’re working to ensure that lack of appropriate clothing is not a reason why students don’t sign up for events with employers or feel confident going to a job interview. Our Career Gear Boutique provides brand new no-cost business attire for students, no questions asked.

Most importantly, when students come to BCC, they feel a sense of community and family. Our student body is one of the most diverse of any college in the country and a huge source of pride. Our students – 63% of them first-generation college students like myself – come from families with ancestry from 127 different countries, as reported in data over the past four years. We find unity in our differences, and we celebrate them all.

I wish each of you the very best this spring 2025 semester and look forward to seeing you around campus!

Respectfully,

Milton Santiago, Ed.D.
Interim President
Bronx Community College