Welcome to the month of April! This month gets its name from the Latin word aperio, which means “to open,” as in budding, growing. This meaning is so appropriate to describe our work at SUNY Empire this month, as we are celebrating the official opening of our beautiful facility in Manhattan. Our new site is centrally located in midtown Manhattan and is easily accessible to communities from across the metropolitan area, as well as to visitors from out-of-state. 

During April we observe Black Women’s History Month, Celebrate Diversity Month, and National Autism Awareness Month. These commemorations, along with the Latin roots of the word April, are deeply embedded in SUNY Empire’s mission to open and expand access to learning and intellectual growth at every stage of life for all members of society. 

As the Dean of the Harry Van Arsdale School of Labor Studies at SUNY Empire, I have had the privilege to contribute to the College’s mission by implementing existing programs and developing new initiatives in close collaboration with colleagues, students, and partners. At the Labor School, a key objective has been to prepare students for the challenges resulting from technological and socioeconomic changes that are reshaping the world of work, and that left to their own devices, can become new sources of inequality.  

Our approach is to view these challenges as new opportunities to identify pathways for socioeconomic advancement for workers and communities. To bring this approach to life, we continue to work closely with our union partners in the construction and manufacturing industries, and we have established new partnerships with worker and community organizations, including Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Laundry Workers’ Center, Workers’ Justice Project, and the New York City Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.  

With our new partners we are developing joint educational programs to professionalize occupations in low wage sectors of the economy and provide pathways for college education and better lives for workers and their families. This new work, along with our long-standing programs, is core to our college’s mission to provide lifelong learning models that meet learners wherever they are in their lives and careers.  

Please join me in this month of April to celebrate opportunities for diversity, inclusion, equality, and continuous self-renewal.  

Maria Figueroa 

Dean, Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies