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Office of thePresidentWelcome to the
ABOUT PRESIDENT PATRICIA RAMSEY
Dr. Patricia Ramsey was appointed by the City University of New York Board of Trustees to serve as the sixth president of Medgar Evers College on March 22, 2021. The first woman and the first scientist to be appointed president of Medgar Evers College, Dr. Ramsey was named to City and State’s 2022 Brooklyn Power 100 and City and State’s 2021 Brooklyn Power 100. Distinguished as a “National Role Model” by Minority Access, Inc., Dr. Ramsey is a leader and a scholar with a deep commitment to excellence and a passion for making a difference.
After only six weeks at the helm, Dr. Ramsey was invited to speak at New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press conference, where the single largest grant in Medgar Evers College’s history was announced. The $20 million commitment was developed by Dr. Ramsey and her team members in response to a call for proposals as part of New York City’s Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan. The award includes full scholarships for freshmen and transfer students and the comprehensive Brooklyn Recovery Corps program, which provides participating students with experiential learning opportunities through paid internships and access to career support while benefiting communities throughout Brooklyn. Inside Higher Ed published an in-depth article on how the funds will positively impact Medgar Evers College students.
A few weeks later, Dr. Ramsey spoke at a press conference held by former New York State Lt. Gov. and current Gov. Kathy Hochul, where she announced a $9.3 million award. The collaborative grant shared among Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn College, and Kingsborough Community College will fund a healthcare career hub in Central and South Brooklyn. As part of New York State’s Workforce Development Initiative, the hub will prepare high school and college students for quality jobs in the healthcare field while meeting the workforce needs of local businesses.
Through her visionary approach to education and commitment to expanding economic, social justice, and health equity, Dr. Ramsey was instrumental in launching MEC’s cannabis education program, the first for the City University of New York. Students may choose from 13 newly developed courses to earn a cannabis degree minor in testing, cultivation, business, or health, which will prepare them for opportunities in this burgeoning industry.
Dr. Ramsey came to Medgar Evers College from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), where she served as senior executive fellow. Before TMCF, she was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. For nearly 12 years, she served in various capacities at Bowie State University, a constituent institution of the University System of Maryland and the oldest HBCU in Maryland. At Bowie State, she was a tenured full professor and served as provost, interim president, and chair of the department of natural sciences. Dr. Ramsey was a thought leader behind the 149,000 square foot Center for Natural Sciences Mathematics and Nursing building. Designed and built with sustainability in mind, the $102 million project won a LEED Platinum certification. She has held other higher-education administrative positions, including vice president for academic affairs at Shaw University and associate vice president for development at Norfolk State University.
Globally, Dr. Ramsey was one of four provosts in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) delegation to Liberia, where she served in an education advisory capacity to the country’s leader, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In Nigeria, Dr. Ramsey was critical to the success of a biotechnology training partnership between Godfrey Okoye University (GOU) in Enugu and Bowie State University.
A biologist by training, Dr. Ramsey has a research interest in the biological activity of plants used in folklore, has collected 110 species of agave in the Sonoran Desert, and has traveled a 450-mile span of highway collecting Sapium sebiferum (popcorn tree) leaves in the southeastern United States. Dr. Ramsey earned a Master of Science in Botany from Howard University, a Master of Arts in Biology from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Georgetown University. Dr. Ramsey received her undergraduate degree from Norfolk State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology Education. She completed executive leadership programs in AASCU’s Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI), Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management (IEM), and the CIVIC Leadership Institute.
Dr. Ramsey is married to Dr. Roscoe Ramsey, Jr., a physician, and an ordained minister.
ABOUT INTERIM PRESIDENT DR. DENISE B. MAYBANK
Dr. Denise B. Maybank is the recently appointed interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management for the City University of New York. In this role, she assumes responsibility for unifying the Student Affairs and Enrollment Management functions of the university’s Central Office to guide the work of supporting student engagement from recruitment through to completion and beyond.
Prior to joining CUNY, she served as the vice president and associate provost for Student Affairs and Services at Michigan State University (MSU). During her 15-year tenure at MSU, she served in progressive leadership roles, beginning as an associate vice president in 2005. Dr. Maybank contributed to significant initiatives structuring the undergraduate experience, developed partnerships with the graduate school and colleges to initiate the graduate student life and wellness emphasis, and conceived and implemented lasting innovative programs and services.
Throughout her career, she has been a member of professional associations representing the disciplines and contexts in which she serves. She is a member of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Board of Directors, representing the Council on Student Affairs; she values the opportunities to have her voice and expertise included in national initiatives on higher education. As an active member of the communities in which she lives, she has served on various boards of directors for civic and social service organizations, often being elected to leadership positions. She is also an active member of her church community and sorority.
A lifelong learner, Dr. Maybank has earned additional credentials as an educational leader through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Harvard Institute for Educational Management. She holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University and a MA in Educational Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Maybank is a proud CUNY alumna, having earned a BA in Elementary Education from Brooklyn College.
A Message from the President
Medgar Evers College has the palpable energy and excitement of a school on the rise. Our Central Brooklyn campus, just steps away from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Museum, is in the midst of the borough’s cultural and economic renaissance. Our commitment to students, families and the communities we serve, helps to drive the change that you currently witness.
At MEC, we lean into your genius, whether you never imagined yourself at college or are applying to our new Honors Program. In these times of economic and social uncertainty, our rigorous curriculum, new degree programs and ever expanding, award-winning faculty produce global citizens who are equipped for high quality jobs.
Our students leave Medgar Evers College with a new understanding of themselves and a commitment to social justice which reflects the legacy of civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers. Our diverse student body is presented with opportunities and new worlds through our Center for Black Literature, the Caribbean Research Center, the Center for Law and Social Justice and The DuBois Bunche Center for Social Policy.
That connection to community starts early here with our school to career Pipeline Program for students in grades K-12. Here, we know that potential has nothing to do with your zip code or your country of origin. Potential is realized through personal rigor and shared joy.
Dr. Rudolph F. “Rudy” Crew was appointed President of Medgar Evers College by the CUNY Board of Trustees on June 24, 2013 and assumed leadership of the College on August 1, 2013. Dr. Crew’s 30-year career has spanned from the classroom to chief state school officer.
Dr. Crew is a renowned leader and reformer who has made it his mission to improve student achievement, especially for poor and minority students. He is the architect of the Medgar Evers College Pipeline, an intentionally designed system by which students from Central Brooklyn are guided through a strong K-12 experience, transitioned into college, and then provided high-quality opportunities to enter the professional world.
As an educator, Dr. Crew has always worked closely with all stakeholders to expand opportunities for students. As Chancellor of the nation’s largest school district, New York City Public Schools, and then as Superintendent in Miami, Dr. Crew placed those cities’ lowest-performing schools in virtual districts whose boundaries were defined by student need, not geography. New York’s Chancellor’s District and Miami’s School Improvement Zone both used research-based practices to accelerate the pace of student learning and are considered national models for reform.
In New York City, Dr. Crew developed new strategies, including the adoption of curriculum standards for all schools, the creation of new mechanisms for school governance, the introduction of school-based budgeting, and the implementation of process to screen all students for giftedness using a range of criteria. In Miami, he strengthened math instruction, expanded access to gifted programs, and created paths for more English Language Learners and students of color and poverty to gain college entry with improved ACT and SAT scores. Dr. Crew also started The Parent Academy, which served more than 150,000 parents and families with courses, workshops, and events designed to help them support their children’s education.
Throughout his career, Dr. Crew has served in leadership roles for diverse districts and schools. In addition to New York and Miami, he was an administrator in Boston, Sacramento, and Tacoma. Dr. Crew began his career as a teacher and served as a middle and high school principal in California and Massachusetts.