By Rashidah Fowler
During the first week of classes for the 2025-2026 school year, CUNY York College celebrated a significant milestone: the formal confirmation of Dr. Claudia V. Schrader as its permanent president. She had been serving as interim president since January 2024. The Convocation and Presidential Investiture was emceed by Dr. Thomas Marion, Chair of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts, who energized the crowd with his impassioned rendition of “My Shot,” from the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton. His remix boasted that the best place to fan sparks into flames is at, “Y-O-R-K C-O-L-L-E-G-E. York College is for me! The star of the city university! A guiding light shining in diversity!”
In attendance, alongside faculty and current students, were CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, York College Provost Derrick Brazill and alumni Ray Warren, keynote speaker and co-founder of York College’s YCRadio.
Rodríguez, who joined the CUNY system in 2000 as a professor at Hunter College, shared his longstanding professional relationship with Schrader, having first worked together when he served as President of Hostos Community College and she as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Success at Bronx Community College. Rodríguez praised Schrader for her energetic leadership, persistence, and being the embodiment of CUNY values. “Every step of the way, in faculty roles, in administrative roles, Claudia has lived the CUNY mission of breaking down barriers to educational opportunity and she’s never forgotten who she’s doing the work for,” said Rodriguez.
Jokingly, Rodríguez claimed he hides in his office due to Schrader’s “nudging and smiling and persisting,” but he commended her for creating the Welcome Wagon for incoming freshmen and for the recent opening of the new cafeteria, Cardinals Kitchen. Before introducing Schrader, Rodríguez presented her with the “additional bling” of a President’s Medallion and told the crowd that she sees “each one of you in the York Community as family.”
Schrader, whose permanency was made effective May 1, began her speech listing the many ways in which her career mirrored Rodríguez’. Both were born on Caribbean islands, both were presidents of community colleges and both were presidents of senior colleges, but Schrader said, “The buck stops here. I am home.”
Schrader entered the York College community in January 2024 as interim president. Her academic and educational career suited her to the task of taking on an institution struggling with enrollment and financial difficulties. Since then, she has worked to increase enrollment, obtain additional funding, and build rapport with students across the campus.
Schrader said her reason for the latter was based on a formative experience where she visited Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. and saw their then-President Johnnetta B. Cole walking around the campus and greeting students by name. She determined then that if she “ever became a college president, that’s the kind I would be.”
For Schrader, the work she does – along with the efforts of York’s faculty and staff – is not a duty, but a calling. “We are called to ensure that students can access the many pathways to earning a college degree,” she said. “We are called to prepare them for careers in a rapidly changing economy where they at the minimum can make a living wage. We are called to provide students with experiences that help them to value and respect the wonderful diversity of humanity. And we are called to enrich them with opportunities to make a positive difference for others.”
