Reflections on the New Academic Year By Presidents & Experts
Baruch College
By President Kathleen Waldron
You may have read in the papers recently that the cost of tuition and board at a private college in New York can run upward of $40,000 a year. That is a sum that, rightfully so, scares most parents.
As President of Baruch College, I marvel at what a great value public higher education is. At Baruch, for instance, New York State residents pay the reasonable sum of $4,000 a year for the chance to study as undergraduates with some of the smartest and most eminent professors in the country. If even that is more than many families can afford, there is financial aid available.
Whether a young person aspires to become a CEO, an accountant, a lawyer, an educator or a journalist, at Baruch College he or she will find dedicated teachers, mentors and role models to give them a head start on a future career. Last year, the Poet Laureate of the United States, Charles Simic, taught at Baruch. This semester, Mario Cuomo, three-term governor of New York, will be explaining the 2008 presidential election to our students as it unfolds. Later this fall, Bruce Mosler, CEO of the global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, will talk to our business students about this key industry.
Of course there is more to education than what happens in the classroom. An urban college like Baruch can also offer its students the chance to intern at some of Wall Street’s top firms, or an opportunity to try out acting or theater-design skills in our performing arts center. A student can learn about local politics by working in a City Councilperson’s office. If your sons or daughters are passionate athletes, they can hone their skills on the basketball court or practice at becoming the next Michael Phelps. Our athletic coaches will spur them on to success.
It’s also no secret that students learn from each other. An important part of the world-class education Baruch provides is the opportunity for young women and men to learn from their classmates, whether they hail from Brooklyn or Bangladesh, Tarrytown or Taiwan. Now ranked by Princeton Review as one of the top 10% of all colleges in the nation and repeatedly ranked the #1 college in the country for diversity, Baruch has a global perspective built into its DNA. Make no mistake about it, the ethnic, religious and intellectual diversity on our campus contributes mightily to the excellence of the education we provide. You can’t put a price tag on that.#
