With a call to build on Bronx Community College’s (BCC) legacy as the “Crown Jewel of the Bronx,” Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. was formally invested as the College’s seventh president Friday, launching BCC’s 70th Anniversary year and a new chapter shaped by its Bronx Renaissance 2031 strategic plan.
The historic ceremony at the national landmark Gould Memorial Library brought together higher education leaders, elected officials, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners to mark Johnson’s formal installation and seven decades of educational opportunity and impact in the Bronx.
In his address, The Bronx Renaissance: Reclaiming Our Time, Johnson called on the BCC community to embrace the future while drawing strength from the history and legacy that have shaped the College.
“We will not consign the best of Bronx Community College to once upon a time,” Johnson said.
He spoke about Bronx Renaissance 2031 as the product of a year of listening and collaboration across the College and connected BCC’s work to the future of the city it serves. “We are not operating at the margins of New York City’s future. We are helping build it,” he said.
The ceremony featured an academic procession, musical performances, greetings from distinguished guests and the formal presentation of the symbols of office to Johnson. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor of The City University of New York, joined members of the CUNY Board of Trustees, college presidents and higher education leaders, elected officials and other distinguished guests in recognizing the occasion.
In welcome remarks, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez described an investiture as a moment that honors a college’s enduring mission while entrusting its future to a new leader. He also underscored Johnson’s longstanding commitment to community colleges, shaped in part by watching his mother pursue a community college education while raising her children and working to build a better life for her family.
As BCC enters its eighth decade, Bronx Renaissance 2031 sets four aspirational goals for the College: strengthening enrollment, retention and graduation; preparing students for long-term success; enhancing institutional capacity and operational excellence; and cultivating inclusive community connections.
“This plan belongs to the BCC community,” Johnson said. “It grew from your voices, our history, our aspirations and the work we have already begun together.”
The ceremony closed with Johnson reciting the poem “Life Without Purpose”, which he has shared frequently with students, faculty and staff throughout his career. He then brought the occasion back to its central message.
“Our time is now,” Johnson said.
And for Bronx Community College and the community it is privileged to serve, he added, “the very best is still yet to come.”
About Bronx Community College
The Bronx Community College (BCC) is home to more than 40 academic programs that will prepare you to continue your education at a four-year institution or begin your career. In addition to our high-quality academic programs, we offer you the opportunity to learn from our outstanding faculty, create flexible class schedules and grow with the support of our academic community. A Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), we enroll students from nearly 100 countries. Our campus is also home to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, the country’s first hall of fame. In October 2012, our campus was declared a National Historic Landmark, becoming the country’s first community college campus to receive such a designation.
