school of continuing and professional studies - Lehman College

OPTIONS
The Newsletter of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies
DIVISION IS RENAMED:
SCHOOL OF CONTINUING AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Under our title, OPTIONS, you will read “The Newsletter of the School of Continuing
and Professional Studies.” We are proud to announce that with the approval of
the CUNY Board of Trustees, the name of the Division of Adult and Continuing Education
has been changed to the Lehman College School of Continuing and Professional
Studies. “Given Lehman College’s commitment to professional studies and workforce
education, the new name more accurately describes what the College currently does
as well as the individuals whom it is serving,” states Dean Marzie Jafari. As written in
the spring 2011 issue of The President’s Letter, along with several other College-wide
restructurings, this “will create more flexibility and support for students and coordinate
our resources for maximum effectiveness.”
In addition, the “change reflects the growth that has occurred . . .” Specifically, in
the Division of Adult and Continuing Education, there has been a steady increase in
credit-bearing programs. The School of Continuing and Professional Studies will largely
emphasize workforce and economic development and continue to work on creating innovative
programs and pathways linked to degrees in professional fields. We welcome
you to the Lehman College School of Continuing and Professional Studies and the
myriad educational opportunities we offer students of all ages, businesses, partners and
international collaborators.
DR. ROBERT WECHSLER NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF SCHOOL OF CONTINUING AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Dr. Robert Wechsler has been appointed executive director of
the School of Continuing and Professional Studies effective
June 1. He has more than 30 years of experience as a national
education and training director with the Transport Workers Union
of America, first as the associate director of communications/assistant
director of education, followed by his appointment as director
of the Education and Research Department. One of his major
achievements was the creation of the union’s research department
which he later combined with the education department, thus making
its mission of educating and developing leadership and providing strategic research
one of the core processes of the organization. Another significant accomplishment was
his creation of and teaching in a program of professional development that served as a
career path for rank-and-file members to advance to leadership positions.
Dr. Wechsler has taught at several colleges and universities across the country in
his areas of expertise which include history, labor history and labor relations and has
partnered with academic institutions and government agencies.
On becoming executive director, he stated, “I’m excited to be working at Lehman
and hope to continue to expand its important work in serving the education needs of
the Bronx community.
A graduate of Brooklyn College (CUNY), Dr. Wechsler earned a master’s degree and
a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.
FALL 2011
SMALL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT CENTER
MOVES TO CARMAN HALL
Initiated at the end of 2010, the components—Continuing
Education, the Adult
Degree Program and the Small Business
Development Center—of the newly named
School of Continuing and Professional
Studies are now also physically united. The
major change has been the relocation of the
Small Business Development Center from
the Old Gym Building to the office suite of
Continuing Education and the Adult Degree
Program. The entrance to the School is Carman
Hall, Room 128.
Manny Garcia was instrumental in the spatial
reconfiguration of offices, conference
room and welcome center which occupy the
entire north side of the first floor of Carman
Hall. Mr. Garcia creatively planned and tirelessly
helped execute these modifications.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Exceptional progress
has been made
by Amon Hans Kokora
who came to
the U.S. from the
Ivory Coast on a student
visa in the fall of
2009. He began his
career at Lehman by
enrolling in the English as a Second Language
Program as a full-time student. The
College was recommended to him by several
cousins who had also been students
in the ESL program and where, he said,
“They learned English very fast.”
In high school he began to study English
but, not liking it, he stopped the classes. At
fifteen, he became interested in computers
with his father encouraging him in his
pursuits.
Upon arriving here with no knowledge
(continued on page 2)

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
of English, Mr. Kokora soon became very frustrated by not being
able to communicate and realized that he must learn the language.
He studied for three semesters and then was guided in
his efforts to enroll as a Lehman undergraduate by the former
ESL coordinator, Elena Dimond, along with Bill Grant, one of his
instructors. He appealed to his parents for their financial assistance
so that he could remain at Lehman. As he told them, “I
like Lehman, everybody’s nice here and they know me. I learned
everything [English language skills] here at Lehman.” He was accepted
into the College as well as the Adult Degree Program. In
the spring of 2011 he began his undergraduate course work and
plans to major in computer science.
Amon Hans Kokora’s high regard for Lehman, Continuing Education
and the Adult Degree Program, is evidenced by his strong
desire to have his younger brothers and his friends attend the College.
A straight “A” Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
Counselor (CASAC) program student, Rodrigo Correa, began his
internship in February 2010 as a chemical dependence counselor
in a state-funded, nonprofit outpatient program, earned his CASAC
Trainee certificate and was offered a paid staff position at the facility
in the summer of 2010. He has the highest praise for Robert Charles
Wright, our CASAC program coordinator (“incredible teacher and
wonderful man”), and the faculty that he found “incredibly supportive”
and “the best I could have had.” Mr. Correa’s goals include
earning his New York State credential and applying to Lehman to
earn a bachelor’s degree in social work. Due to his tremendous satisfaction
with our CASAC program, he feels that “there is no other
place to go but Lehman.”
APPOINTMENT OF NEW ADMINISTRATORS
2 School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Lehman College
WOMEN’S FORUM AWARD
L-r: Nelida Velez; Rhoda Smith; Irene Cohen of the Women’s Forum, Inc.; Regina Farrell
The Women’s Forum, Inc. annually designates women from
New York City colleges as Women’s Forum Fellows. As stated by
the organization, these awards are “to encourage mature women
to fulfill their potential through the pursuit of education and to
enhance their capacity to provide productive and supportive services
to their communities [while they] recognize extraordinary
and often heroic effort in overcoming adversity and the most
daunting of odds in restructuring lives for success.” Each recipient
receives a $10,000 grant. We are proud of the fact that of
the seven women receiving the award in 2010, three are Lehman
College Adult Degree Program students: Regina Farrell, an art
major; Rhoda Smith, a music major and Nelida Velez, a developmental
disabilities studies major.
Wendy Kenney completed the 350hour
Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Counselor (CASAC) program
in December 2010 with a straight
“A” record. She had been nervous about
returning to classes after having been
out of school for 30 years. Her fears were
unfounded since the program coordinator,
Robert Charles Wright, along with her other instructors, gave
students “the sense [that] we could do it.” Ms. Kenney began an
internship at an outpatient dual-diagnosis program in October
2010 and received her CASAC Trainee certificate in April 2011,
the first major step on the path to becoming a CASAC. She was
hired in June by the program as a paid counselor. Wendy Kenney
is looking forward to completing the required clinical hours
and taking the New York State exam to become a Credentialed
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor.
Dr. Mila Ellis has been appointed Director of International Programs. She earned a master’s degree in TESOL and a Ph.D. in instructional
design for second language learners. Dr. Ellis has worked with learners at all levels of proficiency and in a variety of settings
including adult education, continuing education and in degree programs. She is responsible for all School of Continuing & Professional
Studies’ international programs and serves as the director of the English as a Second Language Institute.
Appointed Director of Collaborative Workforce Education, Alis Zakarian holds master’s degrees in both liberal arts and elementary
education, has many years of curriculum planning experience and has taught both adults and children. In her new position she is responsible
for special career training programs in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Niyati Mehta has been named Coordinator of Computer Information Technology. She holds a B.F.A. in visual communication design
and an M.S. in communication and digital design. She has taught continuing education courses in the School since 2010 and also
teaches in the degree program at Rockland Community College. For many years, Ms. Mehta has done freelance work here and in India
in graphic design, her area of specialization.

A man of varied interests—art, geography,
writing, music—Adult Degree Program student
and Lehman College geoscience laboratory
lechnician, Brian Morgan, earned his
bachelor’s degree summa cum laude with
department honors in June 2011. He applied
to Lehman College twenty-five years
after graduating high school and working
as a stained glass artist. Through his wife he became familiar
with the field of Geographic Information Science (GISc). A paid
internship in the Department of Environmental, Geographic and
Geological Sciences led to his enrollment in the credit-bearing
Certificate in Geographic Information Science. As a result of his
extremely positive experiences in his courses and the prospect
for a career change he applied to the Adult Degree Program stating
that it “was the most appropriate for me.” The deciding factor
in applying was that the ADP eliminates many college courses
that a “traditional” college student needs to take. This gave him
the opportunity “to focus on what one wants to attend school
for in the first place.” Mr. Morgan became a geography major
and, in addition, took several fiction writing courses reflecting his
great interest in creative writing. This led to Professor Terrence
Cheng appointing him as editor of the reinstituted student literary
magazine, Obscura, something missing from the College for
almost twenty years. As a College staff member and an honored
alumnus, Brian Morgan is a great asset to the College.
As one of two Adult Degree Program students to achieve the
distinction of earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average, Paul Lloyd
Moore received his B.A. summa cum laude in social work in 2011.
In the late 1970s, at eighteen, he withdrew from college due to
family problems. He then attended a hair dressing school where
he learned a skill that he still practices today, although for many
years Mr. Moore had dreamed of earning a college degree. While
working, he entered a meditation program which then led to a fourmonth
training program based on Buddhist principles, hosted by
the N.Y.U. Medical Center and run by the HealthCare Chaplaincy.
The counseling aspect held great appeal to him and led him to realize
that social work would be an ideal profession for him.
Lehman was highly recommended to him and, in 2006, Mr.
Moore was accepted into the College and the ADP program.
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Lehman’s affordability enabled him to study without the burden of
any student loan obligations and many features of the Adult Degree
Program helped him complete his degree in only four and one-half
years while working full-time. The exemption from certain required
courses, the flexible scheduling of many classes and earning life
experience credits for both his work with the chaplaincy and teaching
meditation at senior centers are aspects of the program that
assisted him.
An extremely diligent student, Mr. Moore took “many challenging,
but completely doable courses,” which he said were hard work. “It
never came easy, but I never begrudged the work.” He added, “The
focus I had as an adult [student] was markedly different than as an
eighteen-year-old.”
As for the future, he will begin work on a master’s degree in social
work in the fall of 2011; his career goal is to work in the field of gerontological
social work.
Under the cohort program of Lehman College and the 1199/SIEU
Registered Nurse Training Job and Security Fund, Suzette Sapayan
Bancolo, R.N. and Miriam Roxas Kho, R.N., both nurses at Beth Israel
Medical Center in New York City, were awarded Master of Science in
nursing degrees in June 2011. Not only did they have the honor of
being selected for the graduate program for which the union paid
nearly all expenses, but they were recently inducted into the nursing
honor society, the Delta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and the Golden
Key International Honor Society.
M. R. Kho, R.N. and S. S. Bancolo, R.N.
The experience of Charles Stewart exemplifies just one way the Bronx Small Business Development
Center of the SCPS of Lehman College assists current or prospective entrepreneurs to expand
or start a small business.
Mr. Stewart, an electrician in rural Maryland, noticed the trend toward green energy and knew this
was not just a fad. He left Maryland for New York to attend the Center for Sustainable Energy in the
Bronx to train to become an accredited solar panel installer. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to the Bronx Small Business Development
Center where he and Prince Thomas, a business advisor, began the process of legalizing the business and obtaining licensing and permits.
Mr. Stewart also applied for minority- and women-owned business certification to help his new company bid on state contracts. With
Charles Stewart’s $15,000 investment, they were able to set the framework for his company, Peace and Solar. The business has grown
rapidly in the expanding green industry. Its first year’s revenue was $110,000 and it has employed 15 part-time team members. It now has
several contracts on the East coast including one with New York City to convert traditional street lights into solar powered lights. Peace
and Solar is also working on a project to bring solar power to villages in Africa. -Prince Thomas
OPTIONS Fall 2011 3

After completing medical school in the Dominican Republic,
her native country, Magdelyn Garcia, M.D. came to the U.S. with
no knowledge of English. Practicing medicine here requires all
medical school graduates to pass the USMLE with knowledge
of English being essential for success on the exam. Dr. Garcia
enrolled in several free ESL classes and worked as a medical
assistant upon arriving. She found reading English easier than
conversing and understood that she needed help with the latter.
With her family’s recommendation that she attend the Lehman
ESL Institute, she enrolled in one of our options, one-on-one
lessons, with Sue Zucker-Scharff. Dr. Garcia praised her instructor
highly for not only teaching her contextualized conversational
skills, but assisting her with completing applications
for residency programs. Dr. Garcia received offers from seven
residency programs and chose the general pediatric residency
at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Patterson, New Jersey. Always
proof of a student’s satisfaction with an educational experience
is the student encouraging friends and family to attend that
institution. Dr. Magdelyn Garcia has done this and said of our
program, “You’re doing a very good job!”
Offering educational opportunities to pursue new careers is
one of the goals of our certificate programs. Frank Caliendo exemplifies
a student who began a third career utilizing the training
he received in several of our computer technology programs.
Beginning in 2005 with “a minimal knowledge of computers,”
Mr. Caliendo is currently working on his fourth certificate, Microsoft
Office 2010. He is employed as a computer lab manager at
Tuckahoe High School where he provides hardware and soft-
FACULTY ACTIVITIES
Former Continuing Education student, artist and activist,
Ezequiel Jimenez, has been teaching Adobe Photoshop in the
Continuing Education program for the past three semesters. Mr.
Jimenez, profiled in the fall 2009 issue of OPTIONS, has added
a new honor to the numerous ones he has previously received.
A New York State Senate Proclamation was recently granted to
him in recognition of his art and cultural activism.
In June 2011, the Actors Studio Drama School of Pace University
awarded a Master of Fine Arts in directing to Elizabeth
Robles-Rivera, coordinator of the Pre-College for Kids program
and the summer camp director.
J. D. Parran, musician, composer and music educator recently
released his new solo CD, “Window Spirits,” on the Mutable Music
label. Flute, clarinet, mbira and bass saxophone are featured
instruments.
OPTIONS is produced by the Lehman College (CUNY) School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Editor/Writer: Phyllis Rafti Designer: Maryann Drago-Dowling Contributors: Stephen Dowling, Elizabeth Robles-Rivera, Prince Thomas
Special thanks to Dean Marzie Jafari, Bridie Martin, Marge Rice, Clarence Stanley, Dr. Robert Wechsler, Robert Charles Wright, the Office of Media Relations and Publications and
the students, administrators and faculty who generously shared their time and experiences with the editor.
We invite the students and faculty of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies to submit news about their activities to the editor for upcoming issues of the newsletter.
Please send all material by e-mail to Phyllis Rafti at Phyllis.Rafti@lehman.cuny.edu and include day and evening phone numbers.
No material may be reproduced without permission of the editor. For additional information about the School of Continuing & Professional Studies, visit www.lehman.edu/spcs.
4 School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Lehman College
ware support. Last year, the principal appointed him to head a
committee which created the Tuckahoe UFSD 2010 Technology
Plan as required by the federal and state governments. Frank
Caliendo is eager for prospective students to know that beginning
another career is always possible and touts our computer
programs as “very professional. The teachers have been the
best, superbly well qualified.”
SUMMER CAMP FUN
Our popular summer camp, “More Than a Camp,” tripled enrollment
in the summer of 2011, the second year in operation,
reported camp director Elizabeth Robles-Rivera. Children ages
6-15 enjoyed a great variety of activities including art, music,
sports, swimming and computers. A special feature of the camp
is the flexibility and convenience of a number of schedules such
as early drop-off, late pick-up, July and/or August programs and
length of programs in order to accommodate the needs of the
parents of the campers. Additional schedules are being planned
for the summer of 2012.
Campers after their dance class
Voice, piano teacher and acclaimed singer Rosemary George
will present her newest show, “Torch ‘N Blues,” at the Dywer Cultural
Center on November 6, 2011. Gospel, country and rock
genres along with narration are captured in this vocal and instrumental
performance.
Livia Nieves, accomplished artist and Web designer, had
two works of art selected for an exhibition, “Our History is Our
Strength,” in commemoration of the 2011 Women’s History
Month at UBS Cultural Fine Arts Gallery in Stamford, Connecticut.
Her digital design prints, “Dr. Helen Rodriquez” and “Sonia
Maria Sotomayor,” represented Ms. Nieves’s recognition of major
contributions of Latino women.