Rockland Community College's New President Has Lofty, Specific Goals

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Deep into the listening tour he started when he took over July 1, Rockland Community College's new president has started making a list of goals that range from the concrete to the aspirational.

"I’m having a meeting with every college administrator, educator and staff to make sure I understand their concerns and the concerns of students," Dr. Lester Edgardo Sandres Rápalo told Patch.

One of the immediate objectives is to enlarge RCC's school of nursing. At a time of health crisis with an ongoing nurse shortage, the college had more than 400 applicants for this fall's entering class, but only room to accept a quarter of them, he said. "We are doing our community a disservice if we don’t build more labs and more classrooms. That’s something I will talk to the board about."

Then there's a lofty goal: to win the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, which comes with a $1 million grant.

"I know what it means, and I know what it takes, and it’s my sincere hope and desire that we can compete — and one day not too far from here win it," he said. "One time Barack Obama called it the Oscars of community college. I've made it part of my strategic plan. It’s at the front and center of everything that we’re doing."

Rapalo comes to RCC from Bronx Community College, where he was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

He said he saw similarities and differences.

"Similarities — our students are very diverse and our faculty are committed 100 percent," he said. "Where I see the difference is that every place where I go and visit, almost every person I run into, they tell me they are an RCC alum. People from all different walks of life, all different titles. It speaks very highly of the programs. This community college is a jewel of the county. It's an honor for me to carry the torch."

Rapalo is the college's eighth president, succeeding Dr. Michael Baston, who stepped down in 2022.

He started his career at a four-year college: The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Then he went to Valencia College in Florida, progressing from adjunct professor to chairman of the Foreign Language Department at the junior college turned 4-year school. He transitioned to full-time administrative work at Union College in New Jersey, where he was the first Latino dean in the community college's history. In 2020 he went into the CUNY system at BCC.

Community colleges serve an important and evolving purpose, he said, from workforce development to affordable higher education, year-round.

One of the biggest changes has been the increasing flexibility that community colleges are able to offer students.

"Now we have more online programs and more online classes," he said. "We have what we call the high flex model. The student will take a class on-campus or off-campus. The faculty come to the campus and teach that class for the in person and online."

Another has been in business education and training.

"In the last five to seven years there has been seriously an explosion — in a good way — of workforce initiatives at community colleges," he said. "Workforce development was always present; now more than ever it’s prevalent. At RCC, our workforce initiatives have flourished."

That bolsters the mission of community colleges to promote economic mobility. The priority is providing knowledge, and experiences that have immediate value in the job market and relevance in a professional field or discipline. The academic credits and the customization add value.

"Not only does it help them get a job, a good paying job, but if they decide to continue, those credits don’t go to waste," he said.

Changes are happening for the large group of students who graduate from RCC and transfer to 4-year colleges, too.

RCC is highly esteemed for its associate's degree program.

"We have placed students at MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, NYU," Rapalo pointed out. "And it's very affordable."

For in-state students, the cost is $5,212 a year. From out of state: $10,424. And the college has millions in aid for needy students.

The student body of 5,251 include international students from 27 countries. And that's where Rapalo's new initiative comes into play.

The attitude of four-year colleges and unversities continues to shift when it comes to community school grads, he said. "Now the 4-year colleges come to RCC. They want our students. They know the value we offer: retention, which is very important - they stick around and they graduate."

One of his goals is to have articulation agreements with strong institutions outside the United States.

"When I started in July one of my first trip was to Mexico, where I signed 2 articulation agreements. I did the same thing with some universities in India. I want to do that with others."

It means that if, during the summer, a student wants to study abroad, they could earn 3-6 credits.

The point of all these initiatives is to help students, regardless of background, to envision and accomplish their goals, he said.

"As a proud immigrant myself — I came from Honduras many years ago — I see myself in our students not necessarily because they’re immigrants but because I know exactly what it means to not have a lot of money and to have an institution that cares for you," he told Patch.