The Scholars, he said, “are bright and ambitious and proud of their achievements.
“Research shows that the BMCC Foundation Scholarship recipients are nearly four times more likely to graduate within three years than comparable non-recipients, and three times more likely to go on to earn second and third academic degrees.”īMCC President Antonio Pérez next took the stage, introducing three Foundation Scholars Chandi Samlall, Tesfamichael Demeke and Jihad Gadsden. “The scholarship dollars we raise tonight are an investment that speeds the time to graduation for some of the hardest-working students in our city,” said Portannese. The evening’s Honorees were Carol Britton, Chief Operating Officer for Corporate Services at BNY Mellon, and Jeffrey Gural, Chairman of Newmark Knight Frank. Special Guest Star Honorees were Oscar®- and Grammy®-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.īMCC Foundation Board Member David Steingard - who served as Gala Co-Chair along with BMCC Foundation Board member Bill Fisse - opened the event and introduced BMCC Foundation Chair Anthony J. Borough of Manhattan Community College ( BMCC/CUNY) and the BMCC Foundation hosted the 2017 Gala, “ Invest in a Future,” on May 18 at Cipriani, 25 Broadway, raising more than $1.12 million to benefit the BMCC Scholarship Fund.
