City University of New York Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez announced the appointment of Dr. Claudia V. Schrader to serve as interim president of York College in Jamaica to succeed Dr. Bernecea Johnson Eanes, who will be stepping down to become president of Cal State Los Angeles.
Dr. Schrader has served as president of Kingsborough Community College since September 2018 and has held leadership roles in three CUNY schools and worked more than 20 years in the system. Her appointment will be effective Jan, 8, 2024, pending approval of the CUNY Board of Trustees.
“We will launch a national search for York’s next permanent leader beginning in the spring semester,” Rodríguez said in a message to the York College community. As your Chancellor, I am here to support you and the entire college community as we work through this time of transition, and I look forward to working together to find the next president of York College. In the meantime, I know that your college will be in highly competent hands.”
When Eanes announced in September that she would depart York, Rodríguez recalled her as interim president at York as one of his first decisions as Chancellor in 2019. Her appointment was made permanent one year later.
“She led the Jamaica, Queens, campus community through the coronavirus pandemic, moving the academic program to distance learning and keeping student success front and center with the launch of York’s campus emergency fund,” Rodríguez said. “Under Dr. Eanes’ watch, York hosted a large-scale vaccination site that administered life-saving COVID-129 vaccine to more than 175,000 residents of Southeast Queens and other New York City neighborhoods.”
During her tenure, York adopted CUNY’s Accelerate, Compete, Engage (ACE) support program to promote timely completion of degrees; establishing a Mentoring Collective Initiative; and opened a One-Stop Welcome Center to support former students who are looking to re-enroll through the CUNY Reconnect Initiative.
“Dr. Eanes also oversaw the completion of 11 capital improvement and infrastructure upgrades totaling more than $100 million, with six additional projects in the works, and York’s IT networks were upgraded to facilitate the hybrid delivery of courses,” Rodríguez said. “York and its foundation also established fundraising records over the years of Dr. Eanes’ tenure, including a year-over-year increase of more than 35% in the past academic year.”
Eanes joined CUNY in 2019 after seven years as vice president for student affairs at Cal State Fullerton. She had previously served in the same role at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the CUNY system from 2006 to 2012.
“Beginning in January, Dr. Eanes will continue her work as a champion of academic excellence, student success and equity as the ninth president of Cal State Los Angeles, the first woman to serve in that role,” Rodríguez said. “For now, we thank Dr. Eanes for her combined decade of leadership, and service to CUNY, and we wish her much success at Cal State.”
