[Message header: Message from Baruch President S. David Wu with Baruch and CUNY logos and the President's Office web address: president.baruch.cuny.edu]

February 28, 2023

My February Blog: “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”

Dear Baruch Community,

This winter has been the cruelest season in recent memory. The first months of 2023 arrived with a barrage of disquieting news and revelations, each marked with the unanticipated and punctuated clarity of cracking thunder.

The devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria killed tens of thousands of people, war is still raging in Ukraine, and the national political discourse is more divisive and destabilizing than ever. Various forms of violence threaten communities and result in the senseless loss of lives with an astonishing 80 mass shootings in the U.S. since the start of the new year. Covid-19 remains a presence in our lives. The negative impacts of climate change are mounting even faster than scientists previously predicted. And, before last night, New York City had broken records for its longest snowless winter, with the season maintaining an eerie and unsettling sense of gloom—as if the world no longer works in ways we can comfortably rely upon.

Despite all this, I am an eternal optimist and have always believed that, while what we do as a college community may not solve all the world’s problems, we can be a force for positive change. We have always been part of the solution rather than part of the problem, right?

Poignantly, public confidence in American higher education is at an all-time low<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.chronicle.com_article_americans-2Dconfidence-2Din-2Dhigher-2Ded-2Ddrops-2Dsharply&d=DwIF-g&c=mRWFL96tuqj9V0Jjj4h40ddo0XsmttALwKjAEOCyUjY&r=QqGTWwETQPvT5sKM_15AhgZVFGrfUAO5RzyvaZkerC-6Ja8boJ6WjQigKSMIL4YJqULuWUr9n6RTlWGcZbXPDg&m=F8RTHEyCZKdE470EpCbjOBirILIyt1P2m2CFUUO1KJjhBTi3xq0lZ8HcYk8zXuoQ&s=RZofoJG99uieOf2-9Rlu5GnHeaOqTe2iK1k-KXdQjrQ&e= >. The Chronicle of Higher Education found that, while still polling above 55%, “[p]ublic confidence in higher education’s ability to lead America in a positive direction has sunk steeply in recent years, falling 14 percentage points just since 2020.” And according to an Association for Governing Boards survey, reasons cited for the waning confidence in higher education ranged from “Too expensive”; “Students not properly educated”; “Not relevant”; “Unable to find employment”; to “Overall quality going down.”

Even if you choose to ignore opinion polls, compounding enrollment declines, spiraling costs, crushing student debt, and alternative credentials to a college degree, it leaves little doubt of a looming crisis—in some cases, an existential threat—for many colleges and universities across the U.S.

Closer to home and inside our own system—with the pandemic federal aid receding and enrollment dwindling in the Northeast—another system-wide budget crisis is lurking in the background. Budget issues are nothing new, yet they can be stressful and disorienting. At times like this, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves why we do what we do.

In my February blog post, “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going<https://presidentsblog.baruch.cuny.edu/when-the-going-gets-tough-the-tough-get-going/>,” I share my steadfast appreciation of the strong character of our community—our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends—and my belief in Baruch’s vital mission and its distinctive strengths, which we shall leverage for our future.

Please join this timely conversation—comment, subscribe, and sign up for blog notifications. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

S. David Wu
President, Baruch College


[Message Footer: Baruch and CUNY logos and the President's Office web address: president.baruch.cuny.edu]



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