LaGuardia Community College Presents Book Discussion and Signing by CUNY Dean Emeritus John Mogulescu, “The Dean of New Things” On April 4
Join us for a lively discussion about innovation in higher education
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (March 17, 2025) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY is proud to welcome John Mogulescu, for a conversation about his memoir, “The Dean of New Things: Bringing Change to CUNY and New York City.” Known for his transformative work as the Founding Dean of the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) and his long tenure as a senior administrator at the City University of New York (CUNY), Dean Emeritus John Mogulesu will be sharing stories about his illustrious 50-year career at CUNY and the challenges he faced guiding meaningful change in higher education.
The discussion, moderated by Dr. Eric Hofmann, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, which is being hosted by the Office of President Kenneth Adams and the Center for Teaching and Learning, is scheduled on April 4, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Room E-500 on the LaGuardia campus, located at 31-10 Thomson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. Click HERE to register.
“LaGuardia is honored to have John Mogulescu share his stories about his pioneering leadership at CUNY,” said President Kenneth Adams. “In various roles in CUNY, including in the Office of Academic Affairs, and, as the Founding Dean of the School of Professional Studies, John was a trail-blazer, innovator, advocate, and leader. His lessons on program development and expertise will resonate with anyone interested in higher education reform.”
In his book, Dean Emeritus Mogulescu uses the story of his unusual career to consider how change can happen in higher education. In addition to creating CUNY SPS, John and his team also created Guttman Community College and dozens of programs including the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), which has helped dramatically increase student success across CUNY.
Dr. Hofmann credits his tenure with John in the CUNY Office of the Senior University Dean in showing him the dynamic educational landscape in New York City.
“Working with faculty leaders and staff from the early childhood, workforce, adult literacy, and dual enrollment programs in John’s portfolio showed me the importance of a leadership practice that stresses collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement to ensure our efforts are actually helping more students achieve their goals,” said Dr. Hofmann.
About Dean Emeritus John Mogulescu
John Mogulescu is the founding dean emeritus of the CUNY School of Professional Studies and a former senior university dean for academic affairs for The City University of New York. Under his leadership, CUNY SPS has become one of the University’s fastest growing institutions, currently enrolling over 3,100 students in its degree programs and credit-bearing courses, and thousands more in its non-credit courses and programs. Created with the purpose of meeting the educational needs of working adults, organizations, and employers, CUNY SPS is home to CUNY’s first fully online degrees as well as a number of professional certificate programs.
Throughout his 30+ years in the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs, Dean Emeritus Mogulescu has developed programs in cooperation with virtually every New York City government agency and with many state agencies as well. From 2001-2017, the programs that Dean Emeritus Mogulescu oversaw generated over $1.1 billion in external grants and contracts.
Dean Emeritus Mogulescu oversaw the highly successful and acclaimed Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), and other collaborative programs between CUNY and the New York City Public Schools, including CUNY College Now and the Early College High School Initiative. He also oversaw the Dr. Derek Griffith CUNY Preparatory School, the CUNY Language Immersion Program, the CUNY Service Corps and the CUNY Cultural Corps, CUNY Start, the Adult Literacy and GED Preparation Programs, special training initiatives for City and State workers, programs for welfare recipients, and the University’s Workforce Development Initiative. He was responsible for Adult and Continuing Education at CUNY and its non-credit programs which enroll over 250,000 students annually. Dean Emeritus Mogulescu also oversaw the NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute and the CUNY Creative Arts Team, and he supervised the creation of the Emmy Award winning T.V. series, “We Are New York.”
Dean Emeritus Mogulescu is a past president of the Continuing Education Association of New York, a former member of the New York State Adult Learning Services Council, the past chair of the Board of Visitors of the New York City Police Department, and a longtime member of the NYC Workforce Investment Board.
Dean Emeritus Mogulescu received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.S.W. from New York University. He also attended the Institute for the Management of Lifelong Education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
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