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12/9/2014

Honors Students Meet with Distinguished Columbia University Scholar

 

Suffolk County Community College Honors Program students recently met with Dr. Thomas Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University.

The CCRC is the leading independent authority on the nation’s nearly 1,200 two-year colleges. Bailey, who holds a doctorate in economics from MIT, has authored or co-authored nine books about various topics connected to higher education. One of Bailey's areas of expertise is student persistence, completion, and transfer. Honors students spent a few hours discussing some of the CCRC’s research findings in these areas and also had an opportunity to engage Dr. Bailey in a discussion about higher education equity and funding issues.

This is the third year that the Honors Program has visited Columbia University. In 2012, Honors students met with Dr. Andrew Delbanco, author of College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be; and in 2013, Honors students met with post-doctoral research associates to discuss a journal article about the community college first-year experience.

 

Honors Program counselor, Professor Matthew Zisel, hopes to continue this collaboration with Columbia University. By visiting an Ivy League college for a day and discussing issues related to higher education with Ivy League faculty, Honors students feel empowered and motivated to transfer to highly selective colleges and universities. And indeed, many Honors students have done so with the assistance of the Honors Program faculty and staff over the years.