Remarks at the Bernard Baruch Dinner

Remarks at the Bernard Baruch Dinner

April 27, 2011

Chancellor Goldstein introduces President Wallerstein

Thank you, Chancellor Goldstein. And good evening to one and all, friends and alumni of Baruch College!

I am pleased to welcome you on behalf of the College to the 22nd Annual Bernard Baruch Dinner. Thank you for being here tonight to take part in this wonderful College tradition.

As you probably know, this is my first Bernard Baruch Dinner since becoming president of the College. Iattended last year, shortly after my appointment was announced by the Chancellor, but well before I was seated as president in August. Even in that “freshly minted” condition last spring, I was struck by the warmth, generosity and friendliness of the Baruch College community. And now,after almost nine months on the job, I continue to be impressed every day by the quality and dedication of our faculty and staff, by the loyal support and engagement of our alumni, and most of all, by the extraordinary talent, character and commitment of our students.

Without question, it was when I had the opportunity to meet the studentsof Baruch, whose families come from more than 160 countries and who speak more than 100 languages, that I became convinced that I should accept Chancellor Goldstein’s offer to become Seventh President of theCollege. I am inspired by their life stories and by their hard work and determination to succeed, often despite significant economic hardship and social obstacles! But I have learned that this is indeed the “Baruch story,” onethat is typical not only of the College’s student bodytoday, but also of Baruch students throughoutthe nearly five decades of the institution’s existence as an independent senior college. I learn a new version of the “Baruch story” each time that I meet with an alumnus or alumna of the College. And I know that there are “Baruch stories” represented at virtually every table in this room tonight.

We gatherhere this evening to celebrate thecareer accomplishments and personal qualities of this year’s honorees, Terrance (Terry) Martell and Howard (Howie) Smith.

TerryMartell has been an important part of the Baruch college family for more than twenty years. Dr. Martell is the Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance, the director of the Weissman Center for International Business, Chair of the Baruch Faculty Senate, and Vice Chair of the CUNY Faculty Senate. (I keep telling Terry that he really needs to find something to do to keep himself busy!) I was fortunate to get to know Professor Martell, and to benefit from his institutional knowledge of the College and his advice on a variety of issues, even well before I took up my responsibilities asBaruch president. During the course of my first year, I have come to rely on his wisdom and to enjoy his wonderful, dry sense of humor. I would also like to note with pleasure that this dinner is historic—it marks the first time that a member of the Baruch College faculty has been designated as an honoree. I can think of no one more deserving than Professor Terry Martell.

Howie Smith’s career is an example for all of our students and young alumni to emulate. He is a member of the Class of 1965. He is director and vice chairmanof the C.V. Starr Company and a director of the Starr International Company. Howie also has found time to give back to Baruch College in a variety of ways, including through his role as Chair of the Advisory Council of the Weissman Center for International Business. And I am delighted that he has agreed to join the Board of Trustees of the Baruch College Fund, beginning this July. I have had the opportunity to get to know Howie Smith in a variety of settings over the past year, and I greatly value his strategic thinking and admire his deep commitment to his alma mater. Most of all, I was pleased to discover that we are fellow New York baseball fans!

You’ll hear more about both of our deserving honorees a bit later.

This evening, and each year at this time, we honor the legacy of our namesake, Bernard M. Baruch, the self-made financier, philanthropist, anddedicated public servant, who provided the first endowment for our College. A son of immigrants, like so many of his fellow students,Bernard Baruch rose to become a trusted advisor to a number of U.S. presidents,as well as a successful financier and businessman. Our students are inspired by Bernard Baruch’slife story, even thoughfollowing in his footsteps is so easy, especially in today’s challenging economic environment.

As I suggested earlier, part of the “Baruch story” forthe majority of our students is that they come from families who have not enjoyed the benefits of wealth or higher education. Thus, the opportunity to study at Baruch historically has opened doors by providing the intellectual underpinnings and a first chance at a successful career in business, government and many other walks of life. Here are some interesting characteristics of last year’s graduating class that support this assertion:

Forty percent were the first in their families ever to go to college.
About a third were first generation Americans, or the children of immigrants.
The majority were from families with annual income below $44,000.
Most worked at least one, and sometimes more than one, full- or part-job while balancing full-time studies and family commitments.

Thanks to professors like Terry Martell and to mentorsand committed alumni like Howie Smith,they persevered and triumphed.

Tonight, we have a number of students and young alumni with us. I would like to ask all of these individuals to raise their hands and be recognized. Several of these students or former students have agreed to share a few words about their experiences at Baruch. Let me first introduce:

Carmen Cortez,who is a public affairs major with a minor in English. She has a 4.0 GPA and is a recipient of the Zicklin Family Scholarship as well as the Hagedorn Fellows Scholarship in Public Affairs.She serves as the secretary of the American Humanics Student Association and as a college planning volunteer at Bard High School Early College in Queens.

Carmen stands, says a few words and sits.

Thank you, Carmen. Next, I’d like to recognize:

Irina Mironova,who is an Economics major and a Spanish minor with a 3.9 GPA. She is a member of the Max Berger Pre-Law Program of the Starr Career Development Center. She has volunteered for the International Institute of New Jersey in the Survivors of Torture Program.

Irina rises, says a few words and sits.

Thank you, Irina.

Christian Sarmientois our third student speaker; he is in our Rising Starr Sophomore Program with a 3.84 GPA.He is majoring in Finance and Investments. He is active in the local chapter of the International Student-Run Nonprofit Association, and was just accepted in the investment banking summer program at Goldman Sachs.

Christian rises, says a few words and sits.

Thanks, Christian. Finally, I’d like to call upon:

John Tevlin,who graduated from the Zicklin School of Baruch College in 2009 with a BBA degree in Finance and summa cum laude honors. John was involved with numerous organizations while on campus, including the Wall Street Careers Program. John also helped found the Baruch College chapter of Cents Ability, a non-profit volunteer organization that teaches underprivileged high school students about financial planning. Since graduating, John has been with J.P. Morgan as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Institutions Group.

John rises, says a few words and sits.

Thank you, John.

Aren’t they wonderful, ladies and gentlemen? [Applause] I am extremely proud of our Baruch students. Though the four individuals who spoke this evening are all highly accomplished, they are not out of the ordinary on our campus. Indeed, all17,300 students at Baruch have amazing stories to tell!

As a College, we can measure our success in many ways---the number of careers launched; the students and alumni who volunteer and give back to the community; the awards garnered by our faculty. One of the most visible measures of accomplishment, of course,is the national rankings issued by publications such asU.S. News & World Report. In 2010,

Baruch College was ranked #25 in the U.S. News “Best Regional Universities” list
The Zicklin School of Business MBA program just recently was ranked #1 for Best Value.
Zicklin overall is regularly ranked as a Top 100 Business School

The College also has been ranked highly by the Princeton Review, the Newsweek/Kaplan poll, and byForbes magazine.

These rankings demonstrate the academic progress that Baruch College has achieved during the past decade. As President, it is my responsibility—and, indeed,my firm commitment—to make sure that these academic accomplishments continue and to position the College for further success. But in these times of declining state and city budgets, we must be disciplined, agile and creative. In the past three years, the State of New York has reduced its direct support to CUNY by $300 million, and a significant portion of these reductions have been passed on to the individual colleges of the CUNY system.

While private philanthropy cannot—and, indeed, should not—become a substitute for public funding and tuition, we depend increasingly on our alumni and friends to help maintain the academic excellence of Baruch and help the College continue to advance. This is, by the way,quite typical of ALL of the leading colleges and universities in the country.

Over the past fiscal year, the College raised more than $7.9 million in gifts from generous friends and alumni.
Our Baruch Means Businessfundraising campaign is now more than three-quarters of the way towards our $150 million goal.
And tonight, as a result of yourgenerosity, we have raised over $1 millionfor the benefit of Baruch students and faculty!! This is only the 4th time in the 22-year history of the Bernard Baruch Dinner that we have succeeded in breaking the million barrier. Please give yourself a round of applause for this wonderful accomplishment! And may I say, on a personal basis, how gratifying it is to start my term as president in this fashion.

Finally, I want to thank the Baruch College Fund Trustees and members of the Dinner Committee, and especially our two honorees, all of whomhave gone to extraordinary lengths to make this dinner such a rousing success. I would also like to thank Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and the other senior leaders of the City University of New York who are with us tonight for their efforts to protect and advance the university through an especially difficult period and to buffer Baruch as much as possible from the vicissitudes of New York’s current fiscal difficulties.

Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen; and at this point I invite you to enjoy your dinners and good conversation around your tables.

At this point, dinner will be served.

President Wallerstein returns to stage after Howard Smith’s acceptance remarks for closing remarks.

Thank you, Howie. And congratulations once again to our two, most worthy honorees!

Thanks also to Brenda Buttner for doing such a marvelous job as tonight’s gracious mistress of ceremonies. Many people on the Baruch College staff worked very hard to ensure the success of this evening. The list is too long to thank them all from the podium, but I would like to acknowledge the special efforts of David Shanton, Jessica Leitner, Brenda Vercesi—and of course, the man who leads the Office of College Advancement, Vice President Mark Gibbel.

Finally, thanks again to each of you for attending this year’s Bernard Baruch Dinner, and for making it such a grand success. It is your generosity that makes it possible for Baruch College to offer a world-class education to an amazing group of more than 17,000 dedicated and deservingstudents.

Thanks for coming, and please travel home safely. Good night.