It’s hard to believe, but the BIC Program launched ten years ago, accepting 21 risk-taking, curious students in Fall 2013. Since then, the program has succeeded beyond my wildest imagination, educating 60-some students each year who are changing the face of the communications industry with their multi-cultural diversity, multi-disciplinary passion, and CCNY mission-based values. But instead of celebrating a milestone anniversary, I’m sad to announce that I'll be stepping down as BIC Program Director and taking leave of City College effective January 5, 2024.
 
It’s been quite a ride. I proudly note that our BIC alums are entrepreneurs, professors, SVPs, and winners of nearly every industry award. They are outstanding ambassadors of the BIC Program and return frequently to lecture, tutor, network, and teach. I could not be prouder of them. They’ve cultivated careers at companies such as Droga5, TBWA, Edelman, IBM, American Express, JetBlue, Apple, The New York Times T-Brand Studio, McCann Worldwide, Interbrand, dentsu, Netflix, Weber Shandwick, Golin, Tik Tok, Google, Meta, NBCUniversal, Verizon, Bloomberg Media, The Wall Street Journal, Fenton... the list goes on and on.

Over the years, our success has been compounded by success. BIC students have won eight ONE Show and D&AD Pencils, 35 The LAGRANT Foundation Scholarships (the most of any graduate program in the nation), and over a dozen 4As MAIP Fellowships. When we launched our fourth track in Media in 2022, the BIC Media Impact Compactunited the top 6 media companies who donated $300,000 in scholarships adding to the $150,000 BIC students have received from other industry scholarships and awards. After landing on the PRNews Education A-List in early 2023, PRWeek named BIC as a finalist for 2024 Outstanding Education Program just last month.
 
As a professional program, our corporate and non-profit capstones have received more than $175,000 in funding to deliver substantive communications campaigns for organizations such as Sandy Hook Promise, Univision, Columbia Children’s Hospital, Diageo, Wells Fargo, Heineken, the UJA, Harlem Mothers SAVE, the Charles Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative, and CUNY Arts. Other courses have partnered on projects for American Express, Oscar Health, Mondelez, Amazon, Golin, Mountain Dew, VMLY&R, and small businesses here in Harlem.

BIC is notably defined by the depth of its instructional talent: Many of our amazing adjuncts are C-Suite and senior-level pros, including Chief Strategy Officer at VMLY&R, Global Creative Planning Director at Meta, CMO of Presbyterian Hospital, Director of Audience Insights at dentsu, Chief Experience Officer at VMLY&R, Creative Director at Ogilvy, etc. Unfortunately, as the program has grown exponentially, our full-time faculty has decreased. I step down as the last professor and discipline anchor in the program — a very disheartening fact. 
 
Over ten years ago on an extremely cold January day, I invited the industry to join me on the CCNY campus where we discussed why a graduate program in branding and integrated communications was so timely — and so urgently needed. We put this question to the industry: what type of leadership are you looking for? For the past decade, I believe that the BIC Program has answered that call and then some.
 
Our BIC community is incredibly valuable and strong. I will cherish it always.
 
See you around the bend,
nrt