Thank you, colleagues, for being a part of our implementation work.

The City University of New York is a distinctively urban university with a unique mission.  Our special role as New York’s largest scale engine of social mobility takes on added urgency in the 21st century.  The knowledge-based economy requires an increasingly well-educated, globally-oriented, technologically-competent workforce. It requires graduates who are entrepreneurial, innovative and collaborative. To remain a global leader, New York must adapt to these changes with leadership, intellectual capital and a diverse, technology-savvy workforce. In other words, to be successful, New York needs a reenergized CUNY.

While CUNY has done many things well, the University still has far to go to meet these new demands. Talent is distributed evenly across demographic groups and income levels, but opportunity is not. The likelihood of an individual’s success is stubbornly correlated with wealth, and we know that there are great, persistent gaps in the opportunity for college attendance, graduation, and access to the best careers. Those challenges have made our historic mission even more relevant and urgent. CUNY is uniquely positioned to bridge these gaps, dramatically increasing individual opportunities and advancing the state’s and the city’s prosperity.

The expectations of New York City and its flagship public university are high, and our strategic framework provides the vision for how we will fulfill our mandate for this new era.

Hear the Chancellor share his vision for our Connected CUNY: Chancellor addresses City State Education Forum