Speaking with Chancellor Rodriguez provided valuable insight on not only his personal journey throughout CUNY but also his goals for the university. A quote that struck me was when he was answering our question about making challenging decisions that impact diverse groups of people, and he said he asks for the “guidance to be fair.” It was reassuring to hear that the head of our university is seeking fairness in all of his decisions (whether they be about the budget, personnel, social mobility programs, etc.), and that he truly cares about the students. It’s clear that his personal connection to city universities from his parents and his experience throughout CUNY as a professor and president of Hostos and Queens Colleges have shaped his student-centered approach as Chancellor.

I appreciated his humor and candor. His response to our question of whether he thought CUNY could ever be completely free was impressive. I expected a straight up “No,” but his idea of having CUNY be free for the first two years was quite clever. Especially with the uncertainty the Department of Education is facing right now, I don’t know how CUNY would be able to offer free tuition while maintaining the incredible opportunities and student-support programs they offer; the first two years seems like a workable compromise. I was a bit surprised by the response to the CUNY prestige question. As a proud CUNY student, I don’t know many people who would consider CUNY “prestigious.” While I agree that the impact of the university on the community is a more important metric of success, I do think that, from a recruitment standpoint, it’s important for the public perception of CUNY to shift, especially as schools like Columbia and NYU have begun offering free tuition for students from annual household incomes less than 100K. CUNY has incredible opportunities, but I don’t think that many people know about them (I certainly didn’t when I was applying to college), making this more of a marketing issue.