Richard E. Voigt Memorial July 13, 2018 Remarks by President Emeritus Cliff L. Wood I love/loved Dick Voigt and was honored when his beloved Elisabeth asked me to speak this morning. Elisabeth, you know you were the love of his life and that he adored you, “his great beauty.” That’s a sentiment shared by many of us—you are beautiful in every way. I remember Dick telling me when he knew he loved you. He had returned to Germany to visit you in your hometown and you were together at a bar. He looked over and there you were, elegant and sophisticated, leaning against a grand piano, another love of his. I first met Dick in 2005 shortly after I came to RCC and when Dick was appointed Trustee, a position he held at the time of his passing. A few days after Dick’s appointment, he called and invited me to lunch before I had a chance to call him. I was impressed by his warmth and generosity of spirit, and my feelings have never changed. Dick told me that as a Truste
My goal when I came to RCC in May of 2004 was to create a student-centered environment that put students and their learning and success at the center of the institution. I knew that for that to happen, there had to be transformation and change. And, since teaching and learning are the primary mission of the College, I knew that first we had to look at how we teach and how our students learn. Early in my tenure, I established the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) , and now, after more than ten years, CETL has thrived, and each year it has provided an array of programs to help and encourage our faculty. In addition to CETL, over the last several years, the State University of New York (SUNY) has charged its community colleges with looking at how they teach, especially in the areas of English and math, and to re-think remediation. RCC has emerged as a leader in both of these areas, and SUNY cites RCC as a model for its new math program called QUANTWAY and our develop