Welcome to the Spring 2025 Semester

January 27, 2025

To: The John Jay College Community
Re: Welcome Back!

I’d like to wish everyone in our Bloodhound family a warm welcome as we start the Spring 2025 semester. We have a lot to look forward to—like marking John Jay’s 60th year—and we accomplished a great deal this past year. Here are a few noteworthy achievements that we can celebrate as a community. 

We conducted our first staff satisfaction survey to better understand our staff’s sense of contentment and fulfillment, as well as support for the 2025 – 2030 strategic planning process. The survey received a 32.5 percent response rate. Some of the results included: 

  • 73 percent of the respondents reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs
  • 85 percent of the respondents stated that their work was interesting
  • 61 percent of respondents were satisfied with their department’s ability to retain employees
  • 44 percent were satisfied with the College’s ability to retain employees
  • 56 percent reported satisfaction with career opportunities 
  • 82 percent of respondents felt appreciated by their colleagues
  • 71 percent felt appreciated in their departments/units
  • 57 percent felt appreciated by college leadership

We are learning from the results that our college staff members are experiencing a wide range of variables. We take these results and recommendations seriously and will be addressing these concerns. We are also committed to conducting this survey regularly, tracking progress, and continuously improving. I’d like to express my appreciation to the staff satisfaction survey committee for their hard work and thank the respondents for sharing their views. 

Mark Flower, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Finance & Administration, also reported some encouraging news for our community. We anticipate that we will complete the fiscal year 2025 with a balanced budget and no longer be experiencing a structural deficit. CUNY’s budget request asked the state to cover the recently approved Professional Staff Congress (PSC) CUNY contract, in a similar manner in which District Council 37’s (DC 37) contract was previously upheld. Although the state budget has not been approved, the governor’s recently released executive budget appears to provide support for the increases due to the new PSC contract. Further analysis is still needed to determine if the amount covers the total cost of the contract.

In our ever-changing society—with complex, difficult, and often opposing views surrounding us—it’s essential that we continue to respectfully communicate with each other. This past semester, I engaged the John Jay community on two related questions: 1. When do we speak? (When should I make an institutional statement?) and 2. How do we speak? (How do we equip our community for meaningful/productive dialogue on challenging/charged topics?) I met with the John Jay Foundation Board, the President’s Leadership Council, the HEO Council, the Faculty Senate, the College Council, the Alumni Association Executive Board, and the Council of Chairs. We also held a community forum and took feedback via an anonymous online form. I plan to meet with the Student Council very soon. These sessions have been lively and participants shared thoughtful, sincere, and substantive feedback. I’m grateful to everyone who has contributed and I plan to share my follow-up to these conversations later this semester.

As we immerse ourselves in compelling academic pursuits, engaging research, and collaborative projects, I urge everyone to practice self-care and support each other. Anything is possible when you stay focused, strive for excellence, and have the right people in your corner. I wish everyone a productive and rewarding spring semester and look forward to seeing you on campus!

Warmly,

Karol V. Mason
President