When Mercy Students Speak, Provost José Herrera Listens

This fall, Mercy hosted three "Lunch with the Provost" events on the Dobbs Ferry, Manhattan and Bronx Campuses. Designed to invite student feedback through candid conversations with Dr. Herrera and other members of the administration, the lunches prompted an impressive student turnout. All told, more than 150 students offered their views on various topics.

While I pride myself in understanding the students, I don't know all of the challenges they face in their education and their career," said Dr. Herrera. "Our aim was to begin developing a more personal connection with students in which they feel comfortable sharing those challenges—what they feel needs correcting, as well as what we're doing right."

Jannatul Yesmin, a business administration/marketing major in the class of 2021, attended the Manhattan campus event. "I spoke to Dr. Herrera and thanked him for doing a great job," she said. "I hear from a lot of people who feel Mercy is such a great place with wonderful professors. I wanted him to know how much that's appreciated."

Nzingha Primus, a media studies/film major from the Class of 2020, stopped by to grab lunch and offer her thoughts. "As a student, it's really important to be given the chance to speak my mind about Mercy," she said. "Feedback is a great way to maintain whatever is working and to improve what needs more work."

While some students stopped by only to leave a few brief comments, others took the time to convey what they saw as the shortcomings of a particular campus or program. The result was a spotlight on certain issues that might not otherwise have come to light.

"For example, we discovered that the 7:30 a.m. van that shuttles students to the main campus is so popular it's always overcrowded," said Dr. Herrera. "Thanks to student feedback, we've already added a second van to ease the overcrowding. Sometimes knowing exactly what the problem is makes it easy to solve."