Dr. Keizs leads York to new heights

It’s been a year since Dr. Marcia Keizs, veteran educator and CUNY administrator, took the reins as president of York College in Jamaica.
Keizs, the sixth president of York, took over during a very difficult time in the college’s 39-year history. Faculty relations were poor, student enrollment and attendance were down, and the overall academic standing of the school had been in decline. Keizs, who took office in February 2005, quickly outlined specific goals that she wanted to accomplish to turn the college around.
At the forefront of Keizs’ plan was her desire to strengthen the academic programs offered at York. Keizs sought to improve the college’s academic mission through its relationships with the on-campus Food and Drug Administration Laboratory and Federal Aviation Administration partnership and through the relationship with the community and with the faculty.
Next, Keizs was determined to increase student enrollment and retention. Thus far her efforts have paid off boosting enrollment by almost 3% in the last year. Keizs set up the Enrollment Work Group which allows faculty and staff to meet and share recruitment ideas. In an effort to quell non-attendance, Keizs employed attendance monitors that contact students with attendance issues and offer them guidance and counseling.
Finally she set out to increase the marketability of York and the resources available to the students.
“We wanted to remind the community through our marketing strategies how well our students are doing in college and after college,” added Keizs. “We wanted to present York as an institution providing quality education.”
One of the major problems at York prior to Keizs’ tenure was the ratio of full-time to adjunct or part-time professors. Keizs has successfully secured more funding from CUNY to hire 15 more full-time professors and plans to keep with her goal of increasing that ratio.
Overall Keizs’ presence at York College has been marked by an increase in academic performance. Student-faculty relations are stronger and the general learning atmosphere at York has improved.
“I feel in the last year that we have laid the groundwork but there is still a lot to be done,” said Keizs. “At least now we have a foundation to stand on.”