WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY ON THURSDAY, MAY 16; ADVERTISING EXEC LARRY D. WOODARD TO ADDRESS GRADUATES

Westchester Community College’s commencement ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 16 at 6:00 p.m. in the County Center Building in White Plains. Nearly 2,000 students will be granted degrees. The commencement speech will be given by Larry D. Woodard, chairman, Graham Stanley Advertising.

The White Plains resident is a highly regarded advertising industry executive with more than thirty years of advertising industry experience. He is Chairman of Graham Stanley Advertising, a full-service agency that he founded in 2010. Woodard and the companies he has led have been the recipients of numerous awards including the O’Toole Agency of The Year Award (twice), the Gold Effie, multiple London International Awards, and a Cannes Gold Lion. He has created advertising and promotions for many blue-chip companies including Heineken, Western Union, The Snapple Beverage Company, Motorola and Mars Incorporated. His collaboration with Oprah Winfrey and General Motors to giveaway 276 cars, one to each member of her show audience, has been called the biggest single day promotion in the history of advertising.

Westchester Community College President Belinda S. Miles will also address those gathered at commencement. Among the graduates at the May 16 ceremony will be winners of the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence.

The college’s picturesque 218-acre main campus in Valhalla is the former estate of John Hartford of A&P fame. Since opening in 1946, more than 250,000 students have enrolled in classes held at the largest college in the county. The college offers more than 60 associate degree and certificate programs.

Congratulations to the Honor’s College graduates. See photos taken at the event on May 9.

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WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO CONTINUE OFFERING COURSES AT THE WHITE PLAINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS THROUGH MAY 2020

Westchester County Executive George Latimer and Westchester Community College President Belinda S. Miles announced today that Westchester Center for the Arts would continue to offer a full slate of arts, jewelry, and ceramics classes at the County Center at 196 Central Avenue in White Plains through the spring semester of 2020. Officials from the County and the college worked together to delay a previously scheduled closure of the center while long-term plans continue to be explored.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said, “The arts are a very important part of our world here in Westchester County, and I am pleased that Westchester Community College will continue to offer this valuable program to its students. When people are provided with the opportunity to explore the arts, jewelry and ceramics, it is a win not only for our students, but for our community partners and key stakeholders as well.”

Westchester Community College President Belinda Miles said, “We are a community partner providing access to higher education and lifelong learning.  This collaboration means offering classes taught by our renowned arts faculty for continuing education students at the Center for the Arts while pursuing sustainable programs and partnerships that best meet stakeholder needs in Westchester County. We sincerely thank everyone who has been part of this iterative process.”

Space is available and registration is currently underway for summer programs and teen summer camps. Fall 2019 classes have been announced  and interested students may register beginning August 1. More information and hours of operation are available online at www.sunywcc.edu/arts.

The Academic Recognition Ceremony acknowledges students who have gone above and beyond, while earning a GPA of 3.5 or better. Congratulations to these amazing students!

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Photos from the Native Plant Center’s 20th Annual Native Plant Sale.

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Congratulations to students on their Workplace Culture Coaching Finale. Below are photos taken on May 2.

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Westchester Community College has signed a new transfer agreement with Iona College, allowing students who complete their studies at Westchester Community College to matriculate into Iona College with junior standing.

Unlike many other “articulation agreements” between educational institutions, this will guarantee transfer admission to graduates with a 2.5 grade point average or better with a maximum of 64 credits applied toward the completion of the Bachelor’s degree at Iona.

“Such agreements truly help our students move on toward real opportunities in the classroom and the workplace as they transition from graduation here to bachelor’s degrees at Iona and subsequent careers in their chosen fields,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Community College. “As we seek to simplify and redesign the student experience, this agreement makes it easier for our students to move on in their journeys toward success,” she adds.

“We are seeking to knock down barriers,” says Dr. Joseph E. Nyre, President, Iona College. “True economic mobility will be achieved as we move students on a pathway from associate’s degrees to bachelor’s degrees and then into the workforce. This agreement aligns faculty in the two institutions and helps students achieve more while having an impact on the greater community,” he adds.

The “two plus two” agreement makes it simpler for students to move on from the first two years of education (Westchester Community College) to the second two years (Iona College).

In addition, the agreement will also be honored if Westchester Community College students transfer to Iona prior to completing their associate’s degree studies. If they subsequently take the required classes at Iona, they would earn their associate’s degrees through the reverse transfer process.

Part of this new agreement is the commitment to create and award the Iona College/Westchester Community College Pathways Transfer Scholarship in order to encourage students to take advantage of this new partnership. In addition to this new scholarship for students who maintain satisfactory academic progress after transferring to the college, Iona will continue to offer several merit based scholarships to other transfer students.

See the photo gallery of the agreement here

On Wednesday, April 24, students participated in the 5th annual, 1 Mile Run-Walk-Roll. Activities in partnership with the Common Read included Taekwondo Demo, Global Food Relief and More! All proceeds went to the WCC Foundation Scholarship Fund.

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On Thursday April 11, students participated in a job and resume workshop in preparation for the Career Expo.

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Joe Cooke, director of the Yonkers Extension Center, has been named a 2019 “40 under 40” Rising Star by the Business Council of Westchester. The 40 winners represent a group of accomplished young professionals in government, education, business, healthcare and other fields who have made significant contributions to the county and who demonstrate even greater promise. These are people to “keep your eyes on”.

Joe has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the field of higher education administration during his tenure at Westchester Community College. His entrée into higher education began in student services at Mercy College and he continues to live a “student first” philosophy in his administrative role as Director of the Yonkers Extension Center. That, coupled with extensive community outreach throughout Yonkers and strong management skills, has served the college, the Yonkers Center and our students very well.