NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 3, 2023) – Twenty-six Stella and Charles Guttman Community College employees have been selected as 2023 NISOD Excellence Award recipients. In recognition of their significant contributions to student or employee success, employees were nominated by college leadership who are members of the President’s Strategy and Implementation Team.
“I am incredibly proud of the Guttman awardees, who represent the very best of Guttman and have made a substantial impact on the forward trajectory of the College as we all strive for excellence,” said Dr. Larry Johnson, president of Guttman Community College.
To quality for nomination, Guttman employees must have demonstrated excellence and worked for the College for at least three years. The recipients are as follows:
Tara Bahl
Andrew Bennett
Nicola Blake
Allyson Bregman
April Burns
Laura Clarke
Mary Coleman
Samuel Finesurry
Laura Fritz
Meghan Gilbert
Alexandra Hamlett
Keteya Harrison-Melville
Meagan Lacy
Bao Lin Zhu
Jazmin Lopez
Tom Martin
James Mellis
Andrea Morrell
Michelle Nunez-Leonardo
Ayechia Perez-Cruz
Thomas Philipose
Christopher Roth
Alia Tyner-Mullings
Crystal Vazquez
Elie Yoesoep
Diana Zechowski
The Guttman employees join approximately 550 additional recipients selected from community and technical colleges across the nation. The names are listed in the Excellence Awards booklet, and each awardee will receive a pewter medallion hung on a burnt-orange ribbon as well as a certificate. Recipients will also be honored at NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin, Texas on Sunday, May 28.
For more than thirty years, NISOD has recognized faculty, staff and administrators in honor of their service to students, colleagues and their communities. Guttman became a member of NISOD under the leadership of President Johnson as an avenue for highlighting and appreciating the College’s extraordinary talent on a national level.
Stella and Charles Guttman Community College was CUNY’s first new community college in more than forty years. Reimagining what community college could be, Guttman opened its doors in Manhattan in August 2012 to create a research-based, innovative model focused on moving students efficiently toward graduation. Offering associate degree programs in a nurturing environment, the College’s three-year graduation rate consistently surpasses the national average, and most graduates transfer to senior colleges. Guttman is federally designated as a Hispanic-serving institution and minority-serving institution with more than 85% of the student population identifying as Latine or Black/African American. The College was named the best community college in America in 2020 and the top community college in New York State for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Niche.com and other ranking agencies.
