LaGuardia Community College in Queens. Photo courtesy
When classes begin on September 5 for the Fall 2024 semester at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, students will have a new major, academic department, and courses to explore. The Business Administration: Facilities Management major is designed for students interested in business operations and maintaining a business’s physical space, whether the location is a warehouse, an office complex, a storefront, or a residential building. Three courses serve this major. The newly introduced Community Health and Wellness Department will house non-clinical healthcare-related jobs. And new courses will offer experiential learning and health humanities courses for existing majors in Liberal Arts and English, and additional skills training for Industrial Design majors.
“At LaGuardia Community College, we are constantly evaluating our academic offerings to ensure that we’re meeting employer needs and fostering student success. This fall, we are pleased to be introducing eight new courses, a new academic department, and an exciting new major for entrepreneurial-minded students,” said Dionne Miller, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. “The Facilities Management program is the first of its kind in New York State at a two-year college. With new high-rise buildings dotting the Long Island City skyline, and the ongoing challenges of maintaining older buildings, the need for facilities managers can be seen outside our windows.”
The new Business Administration: Facilities Management major aims to prepare students, upon graduation from LaGuardia, for transfer to a bachelor’s program in facilities management, business administration, finance, international business, and related fields. Facilities Management is one of the fastest growing fields, especially post-pandemic. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects [bls.gov] a 5% growth in this area for 2022-2032, which is faster than average. Students can enter entry-level positions with the Associate degree. Potential careers include facilities manager or coordinator, chief operating officer, occupational safety specialist or technician, construction project manager, property manager, and building supervisor. New courses for Facilities Management majors, developed in collaboration with the International Facility Management Association Foundation, include Introduction to Facilities Management, Building Systems: Anatomy of a Building, and Project Management.
“The IFMA Foundation and the NYC Chapter of IFMA were instrumental in creating these courses that meet the standard for Facilities Management education globally. The Foundation and the NYC Chapter will continue to interface with the college as graduates flow into the workforce filling a great need; especially as NYC moves into a more technical and sustainable building operations model. I am thrilled that LaGuardia has created this much needed program,” said Regina Ford Cahill, Chair of the IFMA Foundation.
In response to workforce demand for candidates to fill roles that are critical to maintaining and enhancing the health and wellness of New York communities, a new academic department, Community Health and Wellness will house all non-clinical healthcare-related majors. These majors, Nutrition and Culinary Management: Culinary Option, Nutrition and Culinary Management: Nutrition Option, Human Services: Mental Health, Public and Community Health, and Therapeutic Recreation, were previously part of the Health Sciences Department. The new Community Health and Wellness Department will be chaired by Dr. Nicolle Fernandes, professor of nutrition and culinary management.
Health Sciences, chaired by Dr. Phil Gimber, will continue to house majors for clinical healthcare jobs, which include Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Veterinary Technology, and the certificate in Practical Nursing.
“The new Community Health and Wellness Department will enhance student success by clarifying advisement and career pathways for students interested in health-related careers,” said Dr. Miller. “Additionally, the new department will foster faculty collaboration, thereby improving academic instruction and curricular development, and supporting enhanced faculty scholarship, research, and development.”
Additional new courses added to the 2024-2025 Academic Catalog include:
Introduction to Integrative Research Methods will give Liberal Arts: Social Science & Humanities and Liberal Arts: Math & Science students hands-on experience in using research methodologies to address global issues through a local NYC perspective. Developed by a team of faculty from the six academic departments at LaGuardia that teach liberal arts, this course aims to expose students to the broad, interdisciplinary nature of the liberal arts and serve as a midpoint course for those majoring in these areas
Literature, Health and Medicine will be a required course for Liberal Arts: Health Humanities students and an elective for English majors. Students will examine how understandings of health and illness is shaped by literature and how diverse experiences of health and ability inform literary expression.
Computer Aided Industrial Design II and Computer Aided Industrial Design III will teach Industrial Design students techniques in 2D and 3D computer graphics. A third new course, Human Factors, will explore human factors and ergonomics, highlighting their role in the product design development process.
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