NYC Gazette

On May 20, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and The City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez announced a nearly $12 million expansion of the CUNY Inclusive Economy Initiative. This initiative leverages CUNY campus resources to create college-to-career pipelines for CUNY students. Since its launch in 2022, the initiative has served over 3,100 students and worked with more than 2,000 industry partners. It advances the city’s goal to connect 80 percent of CUNY graduates with careers following graduation by 2030.

The $11.8 million expansion comprises a $4.8 million investment in the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget and $7 million from private partners including Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Bank of New York Mellon Foundation, Centerbridge, Bloomberg LP, and Goldman Sachs. This will bring industry engagement, career advising, internship, and full-time opportunities to an additional 1,200 students annually across over 20 new academic departments.

Mayor Adams stated that "Our city’s future depends on being able to help our young people to grow, fulfill their potential, and thrive in an ever-changing economy — and that means investing in the future of CUNY students." He added that today's investment sends a clear message to young people: New York City is still the place where anything is possible.

CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez said that the CUNY Inclusive Economy Initiative is a critical component of CUNY’s mission to serve as an engine of upward mobility. By connecting students to careers in fast-growing industries like tech, health care, and green jobs they are working to build a truly sustainable economic model for New York City.

New York City First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright said this historic $12 million expansion underscores their investment in young people and the jobs of the future. The initiative is core to their priority of ensuring equitable access to education and career opportunities, and reaffirms that New York City can work for every New Yorker.

The CUNY Inclusive Economy Initiative is designed to bolster student career outcomes by creating connections with employers, and providing students with hybrid academic and career advisors to ensure they have the support needed to achieve their academic goals and professional aspirations. The initiative currently serves 17 departments across nine campuses on sectors ranging from tech to health care and to the green economy. Today’s new investment will expand departments and offerings, growing the capacity of colleges to prepare students for these in-demand fields and others.

As part of this expansion, the initiative will begin offering students career opportunities in the financial industry for the first time by incorporating CUNY Futures in Finance. Launched in 2021 in collaboration with Centerbridge Partners, Bloomberg LP, and Goldman Sachs, Futures in Finance has exposed over 3,000 students at Brooklyn College, City College, and Lehman College to opportunities in the financial sector.

The Adams administration has made continued investments towards CUNY to prepare young people to enter and thrive in the workforce. Last year, Mayor Adams announced “Pathways to an Inclusive Economy: An Action Plan for Young Adult Career Success,” a $600 million roadmap to build inclusive pathways for the city’s young people.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today serves more than 225,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awards 50,000 degrees each year.