December 20, 2024
Dear CT State Community,
As 2024 ends, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of you. Your dedication, resilience, and commitment have been the heart of CT State's progress this year. Together, we’ve faced challenges, celebrated milestones, and laid the foundation for a bright future.
Our work is undoubtedly challenging, and, while much remains to be accomplished, I am deeply confident in our institution's ability to meet the moment and successfully navigate the important work ahead in 2025. Below, I share a few updates, reflections, and key items firmly on the horizon as we close the book on 2024.
Leadership Transitions
We congratulate Dr. Duncan Harris, CEO of CT State Capital, who has announced his intent to retire in September 2025 after 30 years of impactful service in higher education to the state of Connecticut. His leadership and steady guidance have been invaluable during this period of transition for CT State.
I also want to thank Dr. Tom Coley for continuing as interim CEO of the Gateway campus through Spring 2025. After conducting a comprehensive search, we determined that the right candidate to succeed Dr. Coley has not yet been identified. His steady guidance remains critical as we search for a permanent successor.
Plans for these two leadership searches will be determined in the new year.
Reflection and Achievement
This fall, we embraced opportunities for connection and growth through campus town halls, fostering meaningful dialogue, with the New Britain Town Hall on the docket next. These gatherings have provided a platform to address our shared priorities and core challenges while fostering a sense of community and purpose. I appreciated the candor and heartfelt discussion that took place on each campus and the opportunity to hear from many of you. We’ll continue our conversations in 2025.
We also celebrated a promising increase in enrollment for Fall 2024, reflecting the welcoming and transformative education we provide, and we remain cautiously optimistic about maintaining this momentum for Spring 2025. At the same time, we’ve made significant strides in strengthening statewide shared governance, highlighted by a successful statewide governance summit in October. This is a testament to our principal belief in collaboration and open communication, and our commitment to fostering trust among faculty, staff, students, and administrators. Progress was also made in restoring student services. While this process is ongoing and far from perfect, it reaffirms our belief that the student experience should remain central to our decision-making. This is only the beginning, with more enhancements that I hope to come.
As we set our sights on the future, we have begun pre-work on strategic planning, focusing on campus DEI committees and the March 2024 campus climate survey results. This phase involves drafting the "core values" section, which defines the principles guiding our actions, culture, and decision-making. Starting with DEI committees ensures alignment with stakeholders addressing campus climate and leverages survey insights to highlight areas for growth. It’s great work underway.
Importantly, we established two mission-critical departments within CT State. Launched in May 2024, our new Compliance office has already bolstered accountability and integrity throughout our organization, evidenced by state ethics training for over 500 staff and the disclosure of more than 10,000 records under the Freedom of Information Act, underscoring our dedication to transparency, ethical governance, and regulatory compliance across the institution. And most recently, the transition of HR Strategy and Recruitment and Talent Acquisition teams to CT State Human Resources represents a pivotal improvement, enhancing our ability to directly support and develop the exceptional talent driving our CT State mission forward.
These institutional advancements, among many others, help to establish a strong foundation to support the work of our campuses and satellite locations, where faculty and staff continue to lead the all-important work that is fundamental and at the core of our organization’s success.
Looking to 2025
The coming year presents another opportunity to strengthen our mission and leave a lasting impact on our students, faculty, staff, campuses, and communities. It’ll be a highly consequential year for public higher education. Together, I’m confident that we will move forward with shared determination, regardless of any political headwinds or external challenges that may arise. Here are a few of the key events and initiatives we can expect as we enter 2025.
A New Presidential Administration
As the country prepares to navigate the transition to a new administration, I acknowledge the sense of uncertainty that often accompanies periods of change. While national leadership shifts bring questions about policies and priorities, our commitment to our mission, our people, and our values remain steadfast and unchanged.
Biennial Legislative Session
Public higher education will more than likely have its moment during Connecticut’s upcoming biennial legislative session, with critical decisions on funding, policy, and workforce alignment possibly on the agenda. As a collective, we’ll continue to advocate for the good of students and higher education in the state of Connecticut.
CT State’s First Economic Impact Statement
Early in the new year, we will formally release CT State’s inaugural economic impact statement. This report will highlight the profound contributions of our college to Connecticut’s economy, workforce development, and community well-being.
ACT Framework Goals
In January, we’ll collaboratively identify measurable outcomes for the Board of Regents' ACT Framework, advancing accessibility, student completion, and workforce talent development. This initiative will guide our efforts to improve student success in alignment with the Board’s vision. We’ll be asked to present our outcomes at a Board meeting in February.
NECHE Accreditation Site Visit
This April, we’ll welcome NECHE for a focused site visit. We’ll intensify our discussions and campus-wide education in the new year for what we should expect, but we’ve been actively planning for their visit, and further preparations will ramp up in the new year.
Expenses and Academic Programs
In 2025, we will launch an initiative to ensure academic programs have the instructional supplies that are needed to serve students. CFO Kerry Kelley and Provost Karen Hynick are leading efforts to assess current resource needs, develop stronger funding models, and explore cost savings through bulk purchasing, starting with the sciences and allied health programs. Feedback gathered from program coordinators and lab associates will inform improvements before expanding to other areas like manufacturing, studio arts, and culinary arts. This process has been shared with key campus and academic leaders, and your participation and feedback are vital for its success.
Strategic Planning
In 2025, we’ll embark on developing CT State’s first official strategic roadmap. This collaborative process will help chart a path for the college’s long-term success.
Empowering Students, Faculty, and Staff
Throughout it all, we’ll continue to focus on building initiatives that enhance student services, create equitable opportunities, and strengthen professional development for our faculty and staff within the resources available to us. Student success —inside and outside of the classroom — will always help to inform us of our forward-thinking approach to how we conduct our work.
As we close 2024, I offer my thanks and appreciation to each of you for your time, talent, and the energy that you offer to our proud institution and state as we solidify our footing as one of the country’s premier community college institutions. We continue to navigate unprecedented opportunities and challenges through our commitment to excellence, equity, and inclusion, as well as the many other values that we hold dear.
I encourage you to take advantage of any moment to rest, unplug, and to enjoy the company of those around you during the holidays. Our collective efforts will continue in 2025. And as you can see, they’ll require our full focus.
Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a wonderful start to the new year.
O. John Maduko, M.D.
President
O. John Maduko, M.D.
President
Connecticut State Community College
