By Benjamin Ibarra
The end of this semester will mark the first full year of Claudia V. Schrader’s term of service as interim president of York College, and as she said in her recent State of the College speech, “I walked in here running.”
And she made it clear she is in it for the long run.
As York continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic while also grappling with ongoing challenges related to low enrollment and pre-existing financial difficulties, Schrader is forging ahead with prospective solutions to the college’s systemic problems.
Last fall CUNY’s chancellor, Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, contacted Schrader and asked if she would be interested in stepping into the role of Interim President at York College. At the time Schrader served as Kingsborough Community College’s first African American president.
“I think at the time, you know, fiscally in the city, things were really difficult in terms of the budget, for a lot of CUNYs, the city is still recovering from COVID,” said Schrader. “Even at Kingsborough, that was a challenge in time as well. I think the additional challenge here is enrollment, right? It really took a hit.”
During her tenure at Kingsborough, The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program ranked it in the top 150 community colleges in the country for eight consecutive years and placed it in the top 10 in 2023.
Schrader took over as president of Kingsborough in 2018 and has held leadership roles in three CUNY schools and worked more than 20 years in the system.
“The Chancellor considered me because I had worked at a four-year college, Medgar Evers College,” said Schrader. “It is where I got my start. In some ways the profiles are the same, PBI, Predominantly Black Institution, challenges with enrollment which was the same thing at Kingsborough. Maybe he thought I had the necessary skills to walk through the door and hit the floor running.”
Schrader’s passion for education was nourished by her mother, who was a second-grade teacher who became an assistant principal.
“I would go with her to help her set up her classroom at the beginning of the school year, and I loved it. I loved watching her being a teacher,” said Schrader. “I loved school. I loved all my teachers. I remember all my teachers’ names.”
As a child, Schrader always thought she would become a teacher, but very early on, she discovered she had a talent for writing.
“I was so good; my mom and my dad used to say, you know, did you write that? You know you can’t copy other people’s things, you know, that’s like plagiarism. No, no, I wrote it,” said Schrader.
Pursuing her passion for writing, Shader enrolled at Rutgers University to major in Journalism. Unfortunately, the timing and environment were not right for Schrader.
“I was the only black person in the class, and I felt very discriminated against. I would raise my hand; they would ignore me,” said Schrader.
She also found herself not enjoying the writing journalism requires. Schrader sought more creative writing outlets during her graduate years at Columbia University, where she obtained a Master of Arts and Education and a Doctor of Education.
“And let me tell you, I do more writing now than I ever thought I would do in my life between emails, all the emails that I write, and that is like creative writing, you know, emails, and writing speeches,” said Schrader.
Schrader’s new strategy for York College involves marketing to address low enrollment. She believes that while many people who pass by campus know York is a college, not enough people know what programs it offers.
She points out many programs at York College, including the only aviation program and the first accredited Community Health degree in CUNY. The nursing program here offers a master’s in nursing.
Schrader says she likes to spend a lot of her time walking around campus and going into offices. She feels that not everything has to be so formal and that there is no need to walk around with an entourage. She says her goal is to find out from staff their opinions on what they think their programs need to succeed.
“I just had a meeting with the Long Island Railroad,” said Schrader. “Long Island is right there. The train passes here. There is no reason we can’t get students from Long Island to take courses here. There’s just no advertising.”
She has already changed York’s slogan from “One York” to “Where your Future takes Flight.”
“I want students to know that this is an option where they can get a quality and affordable education by some of the best faculty in the CUNY of New York,” said Schrader.
Chancellor Rodriguez and the Board of Trustees, with recommendations from the search committee, will decide who will be York’s next president. According to the job posting, the salary range for the president’s job will be between $250,000 and $380,000 with competitive benefits including but not limited to a housing allowance. The deadline for submitting applications was Oct. 1.
“I don’t take it for granted that I will be the person,” said Schrader. “They’re going to pick the best person for the job. So, if given the opportunity to stay, I would absolutely love to. I would like to call this home, absolutely.”
