[cid:image001.jpg@01D8BB8A.563A6C60] August 29, 2022 We Are Back: Welcome to the Fall 2022 Term Dear Baruch Community, Welcome to the Fall 2022 term and the start of a new academic year! With a flurry of welcoming events and orientations over the past days and weeks, I am excited to see the Baruch campus returning to its vibrancy. I can't wait to be part of many more in-person community interactions throughout the 2022-23 academic year. The energy and excitement you all bring to our campus-as students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the College-are so inspiring and what will propel us forward stronger than ever. Talent Abounds: The Class of 2026 Joins a Cast of Thousands Last week we hosted our first in-person Student Convocation since Fall 2019. To accommodate our largest first-year class ever-about 2,600 students from around New York, the nation, and the world-this special event was held simultaneously in Mason Hall and the Athletics & Recreation Complex (ARC) gym. For Fall 2022, an additional 1,800 new transfer and 1,200 new graduate students have joined our vibrant campus community. Our robust enrollment increase, notable among CUNY colleges and contrary to national trends, brings our total student population to about 20,000. Baruch's unique value proposition of access, excellence, and outcomes clearly stands out in a challenging time for American higher education. Faculty and Staff Growth to Reaffirm Baruch's Commitment The vibrancy of our programs and the accompanied enrollment growth create momentum that allows us to reaffirm Baruch's commitment to academic excellence and student outcomes. Earlier this month, the College welcomed 58 new faculty members at Faculty Orientation, which is the largest addition to the faculty in recent history. And, we expect to add five academic advisors and other student service staff this year, along with another 67 new full-time faculty next year. The faculty renewal and expansion allow us not only to reinforce our core academic disciplines but to invest in interdisciplinary pursuits, such as Strategic Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Environment and Climate Crisis, and Cybersecurity, Data Science, and Informatics, while positioning Black, Race, Ethnic, Disability, Gender, and LGBTQ Studies as a connector theme. This renewal and expansion allow us to continue building a dynamic community of scholar-educators that motivates and elevates one another and supports and challenges our students. Reconnecting Our Community As our community re-emerges on campus, it is important for us to be intentional about reconnecting our people-to learn, collaborate, socialize, and network. In this spirit, I am looking forward to a number of events and social gatherings this fall, many of which will take advantage of our beautiful outdoor space, the Clivner=Field Plaza. These currently include a MetroPlus health insurance resource fair, hosted in collaboration with the Office of the Mayor, this Thursday, Sept. 1; Celebrating Community Fun Day, featuring games, a DJ, and other entertainment for all students, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 15; and an Open House for prospective students and families on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 29 and 30. Feel free to stop by and enjoy the energy! A Focus on the Future: Partnership and Innovation On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the College will hold a Virtual Town Hall via Zoom, the first in a series of community engagement events for the development of our five-year strategic plan<https://strategicplanning.baruch.cuny.edu/>. My goal is to build the plan with extensive community engagement, and we will find various ways to seek your input throughout the academic year. In "Co-Creating Our Strategic Plan," I want to make sure that Baruch's Strategic Plan 2023-28 reflects the perspectives of all stakeholders-students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, employers, and community and industry leaders. So please get involved and participate. By framing this process as a form of institutional learning, I want us to work together and ensure that Baruch not only continues its core mission at the forefront of public higher education but capitalizes on the innovations of a rapidly evolving world to do so even more effectively, inclusively, and sustainably. Knowing Ourselves and How We Are Viewed Understanding who we are as an institution, as a community, is essential to strategic thinking and learning. As a precursor to the strategic planning process, the College engaged the President's Vision Council and an outside agency, Ologie, to complete a comprehensive, data-driven market research study. After engaging eight distinct stakeholder groups, a strong shared narrative emerges from their preliminary findings: * Who are we? Baruch College is a vital nexus of ambition and opportunity that empowers students to pursue and accelerate their dreams. * What makes us successful? First, our steadfast commitment to access, excellence, and outcomes. Our location, in a global capital with unparalleled access to world-class institutions and enterprises, enhances that success. * Why do we do what we do? To enable students to transform their future, their fields, and their communities. I look forward to sharing with you, in the coming days, rich research data that reveals how we are viewed by our stakeholders, our strengths and weaknesses, and potential opportunities for us to excel. Stay in Touch I look forward to connecting with you all, around our campus and beyond. You will hear from me throughout the coming year, in person, in writing, and through my monthly blog<https://presidentsblog.baruch.cuny.edu/>, which will resume later in September. You may also email me at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. I hope you have a wonderful fall and successful year! Sincerely, S. David Wu, PhD President, Baruch College [cid:image002.jpg@01D8BB8A.563A6C60] <> If you wish to unsubscribe from the BARUCH-STUDENTS-ANNOUNCEMENTS List, please send an E-mail to: "[log in to unmask]". Within the body of the text, only write the following: "SIGNOFF BARUCH-STUDENTS-ANNOUNCEMENTS".