New BCC president can relate to students' struggles

As Bronx Community College (BCC) enters its sixth decade, it is welcoming its sixth president.

Dr. Thomas A. Isekenegbe is the successor to Carole Berotte Joseph, who served for three years. Dr. Isekenegbe brings impressive credentials and, he says, a passion for serving his students.

“The thing we’re going to be taking a hard look at is what we need to do to make sure that more of our students become successful,” Dr. Isekenegbe said. “What I mean by that, in short term, is that they stay with us and they graduate from us.”

When the opportunity to become the college’s next president was presented to Dr. Isekenegbe, he had no plans to begin a new job at a new institution. 

“I saw the ad in the Chronicle of Higher Education and I didn’t really pay attention to it because I didn’t see myself coming to live in the Bronx or live in Riverdale,” he said.

Dr. Isekenegbe did not even have a resume prepared at the time, but decided to write one up and submit his name for consideration, anyway.

“The more I dug deep about it, the more I read about the institution, the diversity of the student body, the number of faculty they have, it sparked my interest,” he said. “And the rest is history.”

Dr. Isekenegbe came to the United States from Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He attended Indiana State University to pursue a master’s in science education. Despite plans to return to Nigeria after obtaining his degree, the university offered Dr. Isekenegbe a doctoral fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. for free as well as the opportunity to earn money as a teaching assistant. Dr. Isekenegbe said he wants to return to the classroom as soon as possible.

“Teaching is a therapy for me,” he said. “I’m going to use next summer to prepare myself to teach a freshman seminar. I see myself doing it next fall.”

Service learning is a top priority of Dr. Isekenegbe’s presidency and he is working on creating ways for students to become more involved in the Bronx community at large. His suggestions include courses requiring students to work or volunteer in the community.