A trio of Rockland Community College faculty and staff members has been selected to receive the 2018 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence. Josephine Coleman, Associate Professor of Business, earned the award for faculty service; Michael Albin, Coordinator of Academic Advisement, for professional service; and Edwin Gonzalez, Senior Account Clerk/Typist in the Bursar’s Office, for classified service. The award recognizes consistently superior professional achievement in the State University of New York, the country’s largest comprehensive system of higher education with 64 campuses.
As a member of the Business department, Coleman developed introductory accounting online courses to promote the online business degree, as well as a course in forensic accounting. She also serves the students by conducting tutoring sessions in the college’s tutoring center. A certified public accountant, Coleman has 20 years of experience in the financial field in both the private and public sectors. She has taught at RCC since 1999, and has been a full-time instructor since 2007. Coleman assumed leadership roles upon earning full-time faculty status. She served as RCC’s faculty senate president for two, two-year terms, served on the regional Faculty Council of Community Colleges, and has conducted Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) workshops at the college on various financial topics. “I hope my help can make a positive impact on my students as they reach for their dreams,” she says.
At RCC, Coleman has been campus facilitator for the college’s food drive, participated in the College Heart Walk and in the Great American Cleanup with members of the Rotaract Club, which she advises. Outside the academic realm, she contributes to numerous community causes and organizations, including the Rockland Gaelic Athletic Association, St. Margaret’s Church choir and as a religious education teacher. Coleman earned a BS in accounting from Brooklyn College, CUNY, and an MBA in finance from St. John’s University.
Albin, an 11-year RCC employee, advises and counsels degree-seeking students, and hires, manages and trains staff in the Academic Advisement Center. He has collaborated with the Student Development Center to hold fairs such as “A Slice of Success” and “PASSport to Success” that heighten awareness of the support services available. His commitment to RCC’s students is evident from his participation in student depression screenings and creation of informational videos to familiarize students with the college’s academic advisement and registration process as well as its academic forgiveness policy. He also initiated, introduced and trained faculty and staff on the SAGE early referral system, and has taught as an adjunct faculty member the past five years.
Beyond the scope of his daily academic work, Albin has demonstrated initiative and leadership while serving on committees such as Student Orientation Advisement & Registration (SOAR), Hispanic Heritage Awards, Native American Heritage, which he chaired, and Health and Wellness; co-advising the Fashion Club; and contributing selflessly to the college’s Hurricane Maria relief effort for Puerto Rico. He earned RCC’s 2016-17 Administrative Staff Assembly (ASA) Leadership Award and served as 2017-18 ASA vice president. Albin earned an AA in humanities/social science from RCC, a bachelor’s in psychology from Ramapo College, and a master’s in counseling from Mercy College.
“I was fortunate to be hired by the Student Development Center in 2007 and have been able to continue that legacy of caring and support that I received during my time at RCC,” Albin says. “I believe in this institution’s philosophy and mission so much that I encouraged my two sons to attend. I love connecting with and encouraging students from all walks of life to chase their dreams. This is why I entered the helping profession.”
Gonzalez wears several hats for the college. A 13-year RCC employee who earned an Innovator of the Year award from his colleagues in 2017, he assists students who visit the bursar’s office seeking clarification and help with their bills. Also a technologically savvy employee, he creates spreadsheets, writable PDF files and report queries and helps his colleagues informally with computer programming requests. Gonzalez is responsible for processing and posting students’ financial aid packages to their accounts and making sure they are reconciled correctly in his reports to the federal Department of Education, the state Education Department and to RCC.
Recognizing the value of communication channels for touting RCC’s story, Gonzalez ensures the continual updating of the RCC Wikipedia entry online. He also posts his own pictures of the campus on Google Maps to showcase the college to prospective students, parents and alumni. The photo images have received more than a quarter-million hits to date. Gonzalez obtained AAS degrees from NYC Community College (mechanical drawing) and NYC College of Technology (data processing – programming), and a BBA in management information systems from Pace University.
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