Interim President Dr. Milton Santiago delivered his “State of the College” address to faculty and staff on Thursday, Jan. 25, welcoming in the 2024 spring semester and marking one year since his arrival at BCC. He reported that the College is on sound footing and has made strong headway in supporting individual needs of students, with the goal of increasing student retention.

“Together so far this academic year we have been working at building a strong foundation that will enable us to harness our potential moving forward,” Dr. Santiago said. “We have created innovative and vibrant programs – many of them including experiential learning opportunities – that will lead to well-paying jobs. And we continue to embrace new online programming, developing ways to successfully navigate the online frontier.”

Dr. Santiago provided an overview of the rich and meaningful work that has been taking place across the college and expressed his gratitude for the dedicated work of faculty and staff. “I can’t wait to see how we all build on this momentum during the remainder of the year,” he said.

He added, “Let us always remember that within all challenges lie opportunities. Our BCC students come to us with so many challenges they need to get through. We have the opportunity to be able to show them we care, educate them and inspire upward mobility. We have the opportunity to engage them; encourage them to ask questions and get the assistance they need. We have the opportunity to help them improve their lives.”