Listening, Learning, and Moving Forward Together

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

As we begin Spring 2026, I want to thank the many members of our community who participated thoughtfully and candidly in the Presidential Evaluation process conducted during the Fall 2025 semester.

I am especially grateful for the wide range of voices who contributed—faculty, staff, students, administrators, trustees, alumni, and community partners. Your engagement reflects a deep commitment to Baruch and our shared mission, and I take your feedback seriously.

Overall, the feedback was positive and affirmed the progress we have made together during a particularly challenging period for higher education and for Baruch. Many respondents pointed to the College’s strengthened financial footing, steady leadership through multiple crises, improvements to infrastructure and operations, and growing national profile. Others noted the inclusiveness of our strategic planning process, the strength of our leadership team, and Baruch’s continued momentum despite longstanding space and facility constraints.

On a more personal level, respondents described a leadership style that is calm, thoughtful, data-informed, collaborative, and steady—qualities that matter deeply to me, particularly in uncertain times. I was especially heartened by feedback from students, who expressed both deep respect and a desire for broader engagement.

At the same time, the evaluation surfaced areas where we can—and must—do better.

Several themes emerged clearly across constituencies. In particular, students and staff emphasized that enrollment growth must be matched with corresponding increases in space, facilities, and operational capacity. Faculty shared mixed views about the Activity-Based Budget (ABB) model. While broadly recognized as a significant institutional accomplishment and strongly endorsed by Deans and the Faculty Senate, it also raises understandable concerns in some departments about enrollment pressures, class sizes, and long-term sustainability.

Many also encouraged me to strengthen communication by tailoring messages more deliberately to different constituencies, bringing a greater human touch through listening tours and town halls and being even more visible and accessible, especially to staff and students. I also heard clearly that staff morale deserves more direct attention, recognition, and engagement.

This feedback is not lost on me. In response, I am committing to several concrete steps in the near future, many of which align closely with work we are already preparing to undertake.

A timely starting point for this next phase will be our Strategic Plan Midpoint Calibration in Spring 2026, which will kick off a series of campus engagement efforts to reflect on our progress, surface challenges, and adjust priorities where needed. This process is fully consistent with the themes raised in the evaluation and will serve as the opening phase of a broader, intentional engagement effort.

Building on this midpoint work, we will continue with additional listening opportunities, including town halls, small-group conversations, and targeted engagement activities later this spring and into the next academic year. These efforts will allow us to deepen dialogue, improve how we communicate across constituencies, and translate feedback into concrete action—particularly around student experience, staff engagement, shared governance, infrastructure pressures, and institutional priorities.

In practical terms I will:

• Expand opportunities for listening and dialogue, including renewed listening tours across offices and departments and campus-wide online town halls
• Work more intentionally with Cabinet members and divisional leaders to tailor and translate messages for different parts of the community
• Deepen direct engagement with students through visits to student clubs, informal gatherings, and other opportunities to listen and learn from them more personally
• Place greater emphasis on staff engagement and recognition, acknowledging the pressures many face and the essential role staff play in Baruch’s success
• Work with the Deans and academic leadership to continue refining ABB implementation at the school level, with careful attention to academic values, enrollment realities, and transparent communication
• At the same time, remain focused on advancing Baruch’s visibility, fundraising efforts, and leadership role in areas such as AI and workforce transformation, where alumni and partners have expressed strong interest and expectation

For me, an evaluation is not a measure of success or failure; it is a mirror that invites reflection and continued improvement. What I see in that mirror is a community that cares deeply, holds its leadership to high standards, and wants to move forward together. I am grateful for your honesty, your trust, and your continued partnership.

Thank you for all that you do for Baruch College—and for holding me accountable as we work together to steer this institution forward.

Sincerely,

S. David Wu
President, Baruch College