Division of Student Success

Student Success: Leading your learning outside the classroom, through a holistic approach with individualized efforts

The Medgar Evers College Student Success Division is comprised of the Office of Student Success, Athletics and Intramurals, Counseling, Accessibility and Accommodations, Health and Interfaith Services, Student Life, and the Center for Women’s Development and Male Development and Empowerment Center. The Division also includes the Transition Academy, which serves students who experience housing and/or food insecurity.

The mission of the Division is to address students’ psychosocial needs by providing resources and advocacy that effectively complement their academic growth and development. We support students’ rights and responsibilities and facilitate student leadership opportunities, including participation in intercollegiate athletics, peer mentoring, service-learning, and engagement in clubs and organizations. In addition, we coordinate college-wide mental and physical health education and provide services and accommodations to our campus’ differently-abled community. The Student Success Division also offers immediate assistance to students who are transient or in financial crisis and connects them to external resources available via our community partners. As a supplement to all of the aforementioned, we provide skills and knowledge that prepare students for the professional world. Our overarching function is to spearhead the implementation of policies, programming, and initiatives that serve students in myriad ways. Utilizing a holistic approach, while employing individualized efforts, the Student Success Division leads student learning outside the classroom and facilitates student success within and beyond Medgar Evers College.

Dr. Jesse Kane, Senior Vice President

Dr. Jesse Kane is the Senior Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management at Medgar Evers College. With a broad range of experiences in higher education spanning over 25 years, he has been instrumental in the design and implementation of programs that foster and promote student success, particularly for students of color. Much of Dr. Kane’s work has focused on the impact of engagement opportunities on persistence, retention and graduation.  He has also worked with institutional partners in utilizing high-impact practices to help improve student outcomes.  Dr. Kane has both presented and trained in the areas of student development; diversity, equity, and inclusion, and cultural competency; minority-male identity developmental and support; academic program review; leveraging learning communities for academic success; among others.  Additionally, he has held many other senior-level administrative positions in both student and academic affairs at several institutions, including serving as Senior Education Policy Analyst with the Maryland Higher Education Commission, a state-wide higher education coordinating body.  His experiences afford him a depth of understanding of higher education at the campus, state, and national levels.  Dr. Kane’s passion for working with college students is best expressed through his professional motto of: “Students are never interruptions to our work; they are the reasons for it!” He holds a B.S in Biology and M.A. in Counseling from Bowie State University and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Morgan State University.

The Dean’s Message

About Dr. Alexis McLean, Dean of Student Affairs

Dr. Alexis McLean is the Dean of Student Affairs at Medgar Evers College (CUNY). She is responsible for supporting a robust student life agenda that promotes the growth and development and academic success of every Medgar Evers College student. She oversees programming, policy implementation, and personnel administration for the entire Division, including Athletics, Student Life, and Counseling, Accessibility and Accommodations, Health, and Interfaith Services. She also has direct oversight of the College’s Men’s and Women’s Centers and coordinates the structure of an environment conducive to the personal, social, and intellectual growth of students. This includes providing leadership regarding campus advocacy efforts that address students’ non-academic needs and/or challenges, especially housing and food insecurity (via the Transition Academy). Previously, Dr. McLean was a Doctoral Lecturer in the Department of Special Programs/Percy E. Sutton SEEK Program, where she provided students with academic and personal counseling, and taught courses focused on helping SEEK students acquire the psychosocial skills needed to succeed in college and upon graduation. She also served as SEEK’s Associate Director, and spearheaded SEEK’s advisement and curriculum matters, and professional development initiatives for MEC’s core advising units. In 2015, Dr. McLean founded POWWER! ™ (Passionate Outstanding Women Who Effortlessly Rock!), which highlights extraordinary women who have advanced in their field while simultaneously serving and shaping their communities. Recent honorees include Assemblywoman (and MEC alum) Diana Richardson and Dr. Juhanna Rogers of “The Great 8.” Dr. McLean’s research interests primarily focus on access and success in education, the role of institutional agents at educational institutions, and race and ethnicity in higher education, particularly as they relate to Black students’ experiences. This includes the impact of hip-hop pedagogy in counseling courses, and inquiries about the ways in which Black women navigate the doctoral completion process. Her research has allowed her to facilitate numerous workshops, and present and speak at the city, state, and national level. She recently co-authored and published A Seat At The Table: Womanist Narratives of Black Mothers in Doctoral Programs, which focuses on how the intersection of race, gender, and motherhood impact Black women pursuing a terminal degree.

Dr. McLean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, and a Master’s in Mental Health and Wellness, and Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from New York University.