“WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE ABOUT AN INSTITUTION BECOMES THEIR REALITY UNLESS THAT IS TURNED ON ITS HEAD.”
When Dr. Yolanda T. Moses assumed the helm of the City University
of New York’s City College of New York (CCNY) in 1993 she set about the
task of making the Harlem campus one of the premiere urban public
institutions in the nation. To accomplish that, she has instituted
ongoing program reviews of all academic departments by outside experts,
introduced a collegewide planning process to chart the institution’s
future, developed a much-needed fundraising campaign, and raised
admission standards.
Before going to CCNY, the nationally recognized cultural
anthropologist was vice president for academic affairs at California
State University-Dominguez Hills. She also was dean of the College of
Fine Arts at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. She has
taught, and continues to teach, anthropology in addition to whatever
other duties she has had.
In 1995, Dr. Moses became the first African American president of
the American Anthropological Association. She chairs the American
Council on Education’s Commission on the Status of Women and The
College Fund/UNCF’s National Advisory Board for Service Learning, and
serves on the executive board of the Association of American Colleges
and Universities. She is a member of the National Science Foundation’s
Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, and
has been elected to the board of trustees of the Ford Foundation.
Her writings have appeared in several educational journals, and she
was instrumental in producing the text, Black Women in Academe.
Dr. Moses received an associate’s degree from San Bernardino Valley
College, a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State
College-San Bernardino, and a master’s degree and doctorate in
anthropology from the University of California-Riverside.
Last month, Black Issues had the opportunity to discuss educational
issues with Dr. Moses on the CCNY campus. The following is excerpted
from that discussion.
