Spring 2011 Issue - Lehman College

A message from
President Ricardo R. Fernández
This issue of Lehman Today comes full circle. In 2011, as we celebrate the eightieth
anniversary of our campus, we look back at its origins as Hunter-in-the-Bronx and
capture the memories of some of those who graduated during those years. More
can be found on the anniversary’s website, www.lehman.edu/80th, including a blog
where all alumni are invited to tell us about their own favorite recollections.
At the same time, the events taking place here and now—both on campus and within
our large Lehman community—remind us that the College’s founding values,
which are so fundamental to our character and mission, are very much alive. It’s not
coincidental that certain themes reappear among our alumni, faculty, and students,
often intersecting. They are central to a Lehman education.
Articles in this issue, for instance, explore the work being done on issues of human
rights and the struggle to ensure that tragedies like the Holocaust are never repeated.
Even when the activities are new, they represent not a beginning but an evolution
of our concerns and commitment. The newly approved Center for Human
Rights and Peace Studies, as an example, has its roots in one of the milestones that
occurred on our campus, when the United Nations Security Council met here in
1946 to try and preserve a fragile global peace. Simultaneously, Eleanor Roosevelt
and her staff began the work that would ultimately lead to the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
Looking ahead, these and other Lehman values remain an integral part of the 2010-
2020 strategic plan for the College, which is described in the President’s Report section.
Our goal is to both strengthen our foundation and expand the ways we carry
out our mission, both on campus and in our community.
There are many opportunities for you, as alumni and friends, to become involved
in these efforts, as well as in other initiatives, including further collaboration being
planned between the Office of Alumni Relations and areas of the College like
Career Services and Enrollment Management. As the stories on these pages demonstrate,
with over 62,000 alumni, 12,000 students, and more than 900 full-time
faculty and staff members, Lehman College is a powerful force for good not only
in our region but across the nation. Our history makes us realize how much has
already been accomplished—and how much more we are capable of achieving.