Claudia Schrader鈥檚 academic path can appear disjointed. A master鈥檚 degree in special education followed by a doctorate in International & Transcultural Studies and a career as a college administrator?
鈥淚t gets back to capitalizing on strengths and working on weaknesses,鈥� says Schrader (Ed.D. 鈥�02), named President of 19,000-student (part of the City University of New York) in September. 鈥淎t TC, Virginia Stolarski, Douglas Greer, Bob Kreschmer and Florence McCarthy taught me that all children can learn and that my role as an educator is to make that happen. That鈥檚 been my approach, with students of all ages.鈥�
Claudia Schrader (Ed.D. 鈥�02)
Born and raised in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Schrader says studying international education taught her the importance of team-building. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 go into a developing country and tell people what to do. They also have answers, so it is important to acknowledge and use their experience and skill base.鈥�
Most recently, as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Success at , Schrader helped improve graduation rates and expand the college鈥檚 . She calls her new institution, voted the nation鈥檚 fourth-best community college and again a finalist for the Aspen Prize, 鈥渁n amazing place.鈥�
鈥淢y role,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s to build on our strengths to get students the credentials they need so they can walk across the stage at commencement and into careers or four-year programs.鈥�