CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Visits City’s Largest ESL Program at LaGuardia Community College

Program has served 275,000 Students over Half a Century

Also Celebrates $15 Million Fundraising Effort by College, Which will Fete its 50th Graduating Class this Year

The City University of New York Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez joined LaGuardia Community College President Kenneth Adams for a visit to The English Language Center (TELC), the city's largest English as a Second Language program, which has served more than 275,000 LaGuardia students from over 80 countries since 1971.

The two leaders then met with student and faculty representatives, foundation officers and a donor. The college recently celebrated a fund-raising record when it exceeded the $10 million fundraising goal of its Tomorrow Campaign, unlocking a $5 million donation pledged by an anonymous donor and tied to meeting the goal.

"I'm thrilled to visit LaGuardia's campus in Queens, one of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the world. It is only fitting that LaGuardia hosts The English Language Center, the most comprehensive English language program in New York City," said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. "I am also thrilled to join President Adams and the LaGuardia community in celebrating the outpouring of gifts received as part of the Tomorrow Campaign, and I was privileged to personally speak to many of the people who are leading the way for the college's future."

TELC is one of a few English language programs in NYC that offers an intensive English language learning program. The center helps international students obtain a visa to study in the U.S. and foundation scholarships cover up to 80 percent of ESL tuition for low-income students, opening up the doors of TELC to recent immigrants who need to learn English and get a job.

During the pandemic, LaGuardia introduced TELC online classes enabling people from all over the world to enroll; TELC is currently serving students in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco, Peru, South Korea and Thailand. Many want to improve their English so they can apply to college in the U.S. or qualify for jobs where English is required.

TELC student Elphine Kakudju Kabupu asked Chancellor Matos Rodríguez how he was able to rise to his current position. "Seek out help if you are stressed or under pressure," he replied, advising students to utilize the resources available to them at the college. "I have messed up many times, and I would not be where I am today if I had not gone out of my way to ask for help when I needed it."

During the visit last Thursday, May 19, the Chancellor and President Adams spoke with some of the student mentors who support LaGuardia's First Year Seminar classes as part of the Student Success Mentor Program. The mentors, who guide new students in their acclimation to college life, are a mix of current LaGuardia students and alumni who now attend four-year colleges.

Members of the Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee presented the positive feedback received during the virtual site visit that took place as part of the college's re-accreditation process, in which LaGuardia received the rare distinction of "special commendation" in six out of seven of the Middle States standards for accreditation. The committee's co-chairs, math professor Reem Jaafar and English professor Justin Rodgers-Cooper, joined other committee members to brief the Chancellor.

Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and President Adams also met some of the college's President's Society ambassadors, students who were selected for a one-semester professional development program and provided with a $1,500 stipend.

The campus visit wrapped up with a celebration of the Tomorrow Campaign, LaGuardia's fundraising drive, which garnered an unprecedented $15 million to help students recover from economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. The campaign met its ambitious goal to raise $10 million, which unlocked a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor. Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and President Adams were joined by Suzie Scanlon Rabinowitz, LaGuardia Foundation board chair; Ernie von Simson, LaGuardia Foundation board treasurer; and Dipak Patel, LaGuardia Foundation donor.

The Chancellor will share congratulatory remarks with LaGuardia's 50th graduating class at their 2022 Commencement ceremony on June 21, 2022, at Queens College in Flushing. The graduates will also hear from CUNY Trustee Mayra Linares-Garcia and alumni speaker Lely Nourmania, a human trafficking survivor from Indonesia who is earning her third CUNY degree - a master's degree in international affairs at Baruch College - after graduating from LaGuardia in 2017 and from the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies in 2020.

The City University of New York is the nation's largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation's first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City's five boroughs, serving over 260,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY's mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University's graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city's economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city's workforce in every sector. CUNY's graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur "Genius" Grants. The University's historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background.

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