CUNY Kingsborough’s prez talks to us!
Kingsborough Community College President Dr. Claudia Schrader just kicked off her second semester atop the school, after
taking over as its chief educator last September. But the newly appointed head of “Harvard by the Bay” is no stranger to
Brooklyn, or the City University of New York system — she previously served as an associate professor at Medgar Evers College
in Crown Heights, and as the provost and senior vice president for academic and student success at the outer-borough
Bronx Community College, during her 17-year CUNY career. The Caribbean-American educator born and raised in the U.S.
Virgin Islands moved to the mainland in 1986, and went on to earn masters degrees in special education and a doctorate
degree in international transcultural studies from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Schrader sat down with us to
discuss her fi rst months on the job, and her plans for keeping the Manhattan Beach college — which she noted boasts the
highest graduation rate among CUNY schools in the borough — the best in its class:
Kevin Duggan: How was
your fi rst semester?
Claudia Schrader: It was
good. I’m learning a lot about
the college — and learning a
lot of names. I didn’t expect
the campus to be as huge as
it is, but now it seems smaller
because I know where I’m going.
KD: What motivated you to
take the job?
CS: I knew I could do the
job, and I want to move the
institution in a positive direction.
Plus, it’s a CUNY college,
and I believe strongly in
the system’s mission, having
worked within it for 17
years. The commitment to
public education is bar none
— it’s one of the best public
university systems in the
United States.
Kingsborough Community College
KD: Tell me what you like
about Kingsborough, specifi -
cally.
CS: Kingsborough has
always been a college of innovation.
We’re trying new
things and making them
stick. We also have a committed
faculty and staff that
have been here a long time.
And of all the colleges in
CUNY — excluding Guttman
Community College in Manhattan
— Kingsborough has
the highest graduation and
retention rates, meaning our
students come back each semester.
Although we are far
into Southern Brooklyn, students
who come here fi nish
faster, which means they get
on really well. That is a draw
for anyone who believes in
student success.
KD: What are some of your
plans for the semester ahead,
and beyond?
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CS: One of the things I’m
doing in the fi rst year is just
gathering information. My approach
is not to come in and
say, “This is what needs to be
done.” It’s about getting input
from the campus community,
so I’ve being doing breakfast
meetings, surveys, and other
things. For example, there’s
a very vibrant student body
at Kingsborough, and I met
with some members of the
Student Government Association.
They had some ideas on
how to improve the Kingsborough
app, to make the technology
more modern and give it a
facelift. There’s a lot to do, but
I’m still getting that information
from the campus community.
KD: How does your childhood
growing up in the Caribbean
infl uence the way you
run the school?
CS: My background taught
me to be patient, to really be
present and consider all aspects
of a situation, because
you can’t present an idea that
is fl at. You need to be mindful
of how everybody sees
that idea, so I’m very mindful
of different mentalities.
I’m also a little more global
in my thinking. Growing
up on the islands taught me
the value of community. Everyone
knows everyone else
down there. It also grounded
me in a very real way. On an
island, we didn’t get things at
the same time the mainland
did, such as cable television,
which came a bit later. It was
very humbling.
— Kevin Duggan
IN CHARGE: Dr. Claudia Schrader
just started her second semester
leading Kingsborough Community
College, after taking over as its
president last September.
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