Uncertainty Surrounds Vincent Boudreau’s Title at CCNY

By: Katie HerchenroederSince October 13, 2016, the word “Interim” has been used 90 times in emails sent out to the entire population of The City College of New York (CCNY).With what seems like constant transitions, the students, faculty, and the administration are left in a state of perpetual confusion. This disorientation has been lasting for an entire year.Yet, it seems like change was on the horizon when The New York Times published a headline which read, “Leader of City College of New York Will Shed Interim Status.” The leader they allude to is Dr. Vincent Boudreau.Boudreau has been serving CCNY as Interim President for just over a year. Since his appointment, he has helped open the first food pantry on campus, launched WeAreOneCCNY, and actively denounced the executive order about DACA.The Times’ reported that Boudreau would be “given the job on a permanent basis on Monday [10/23] by CUNY’s board of trustees,” a claim made by “college officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging the announcement.”However, on the 23rd The Times published another article, “City College Delays Appointing President After Leaders’ Criticism.” This objection was made by prominent African-American leaders from Harlem. Over the weekend, “a letter emailed to The New York Times bearing the names of 20 community leaders, including former Gov. David A. Paterson, former Representative Charles B. Rangel and former Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, expressed ‘disappointment’ with Dr. Boudreau, saying that their ‘input, insight and influence’ had not been included in the search process,” David W. Chen, a reporter at The Times since 1995, wrote.There remains no clear information as to how long this “delay” will last. It is October 26th and nothing has been declared.That being said, some are already seeing Boudreau as more than the “Interim.” Associate Professor of Biology, Ana Carnaval, recently tweeted a congratulations at him. “Time to erase that Interim word from your page, @Vgbcc1! Congrats on the exciting news - we're looking forward to the years  ahead! Go CCNY,” she shared. Currently Boudreau's twitter describes him as, “Interim President, @CityCollegeNY one of the most diverse campuses in the US. Educator, political scientist and avid fly fisherman.”Boudreau quoted the tweet and said, “Thanks, Ana. There's still a bit more of this process to go, but one way or another, we'll be working to make @CityCollegeNY better.”Whether or not this is a confirmation of an impending title switch is unclear. Come what may, one thing is crystal: no matter his nameplate or twitter bio, Boudreau is here to stay.