A Vision for the Future of Higher Ed
CUNY SPS’ Former Dean Looks Back to Look Forward
John Mogulescu, the founding dean of CUNY SPS, retired in 2021 but continues to be busy! Following the 2023 publication of his memoir The Dean of New Things: Bringing Change to CUNY and New York City, Mogulescu has been speaking to various press outlets about his long and illustrious 50-year career at the City University of New York, which was capped by his work launching CUNY SPS in 2003.
In addition to interviews with CUNY SPS and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, we are excited to highlight a few recent events in which Mogulescu spoke about his memoir, his unusual career, and his work at CUNY SPS.
Mapping the Future of Higher Ed
This March, Mogulescu was the guest speaker at a panel discussion hosted at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House as part of its series Mapping the Future of Higher Ed.
During the panel, Mogulescu sat down with Dara N. Byrne, dean of William E. Macaulay Honors College, to offer lessons from his long career to consider how change — difficult but necessary — can happen in higher education.
In this lively and informative talk, Mogulescu reflected back upon the many CUNY adult and continuing education programs he implemented during his career, the challenges he faced, and what he was able to achieve.
“You have to figure out what you need to do to do better…. We didn’t always succeed….And yet [due to] some of these programs alone — thousands and thousands of people who would not have graduated have graduated, have gone into the workforce, and are thriving. We’re proud of that.”
Watch the full panel discussion below:
One to One
John Mogulescu was also recently interviewed by host Sheryl McCarthy on the CUNY TV show One to One.
In the interview, Mogulescu reflected upon his long tenure and discussed the explosive growth of CUNY SPS, which under his leadership became one of the university’s fastest-growing institutions, pioneering online education and developing innovative programs to serve the needs of working adults and non-traditional students.
“We built this school [for adult learners] that started with certificate programs,… but in 2006 we were asked to build these [online] programs. People were very skeptical. ‘Why offer online instruction within a university that has all the students it can possible handle?’ The answer is flexibility, first and foremost, for working adults who don’t have the time to spend on campus….And over twelve years or so, we built twenty-six programs at masters’ and baccalaureate levels, almost all online, and we’re quite good at it.”
Watch the full interview below:
Want to read The Dean of New Things: Bringing Change to CUNY and New York City? Order the book here.
