Our Fall 2025 Semester
September 10, 2025
To: John Jay Faculty & Staff
Fm: Karol V. Mason, President
Re: Our Fall 2025 Semester
I hope you all had a fulfilling and restorative summer. As we settle into our fall schedules, I would like to extend a warm welcome back to our returning colleagues and offer a special acknowledgement to the new faculty and staff members joining our vibrant community. We are delighted to have you in our Bloodhound family. I would also like to take this opportunity to share some community updates:
- In response to calls for more robust internal communications, I’m launching regular, informal luncheon discussions with small groups of faculty and staff starting this semester. In the most recent John Jay News faculty & staff newsletter, there was a survey requesting your thoughts about the kind of information you’d like to receive. We’re excited to hear from you. Additionally, I hope you’ll join this semester’s faculty or staff meeting. The staff meeting will be held on November 17 and the faculty meeting on December 10. We’ll have a combined faculty and staff meeting during the spring semester.
- This fall we are piloting our revised version of the First- and Second-Year Programs, Undergraduate Foundations, which for the first time at John Jay ensures that every incoming student, regardless of cohort, has an assigned academic advisor and a community lead, who coordinates communication and activities and can refer students to college supports such as tutoring, wellness, financial aid, and career advising. Students will be encouraged and supported to build strong academic habits, explore career options, develop a sense of community and belonging, and use campus resources to support their goals and well-being. In this way, our whole institution can collaborate as one to support our students’ success.
- In accordance with a university-wide initiative designed to strengthen our community’s ability to navigate ideological differences, combat hate, and promote an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging, John Jay is collaborating with the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) to provide faculty, staff, and students with the tools to have discussions across differences about a variety of topics. The Dean of Students Office is spearheading this initiative and will soon share opportunities for community members to participate in the creation of the implementation plan. Simultaneously, various groups will be invited to participate in one of the training programs offered through the CDI. If you are interested, please email deanofstudents@jjay.cuny.edu.
Our dedicated faculty and staff are the backbone of our community. Your steady efforts to uplift, encourage, and educate our students continue to transform lives. Let’s keep working together to create an environment where everyone in our community feels valued, respected, and inspired to achieve greatness.
Best wishes for a successful fall semester.
Sincerely,
Karol V. Mason
President