News from Academic Affairs
Academic Affairs Newsletter
The Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs created Intersections to provide a regular and informal opportunity to communicate and share stories and ideas across the Academic Affairs division. If you are interested in submitting a feature, please email Laurie.Savona@montgomerycollege.edu.
Intersections, The Academic Affairs Chronicles
View past issues of the Academic Affairs Newsletter.
- March 2021 (PDF,
) - December 2020 (PDF, )
- September 2020 (PDF, )
- December 2019 (PDF, )
- October 2019 (PDF, )
- April 2019 (PDF, )
- February 2019 (PDF, )
- December 2018 (PDF, )
- October 2018 (PDF, )
- September 2018 (PDF, )
- March 2018 (PDF, )
- December 2017 (PDF, )
- October 2017 (PDF, )
- September 2017 (PDF, )
- June 2017 (PDF, )
- February 2017 (PDF, )
- December 2016 (PDF, )
- November 2016 (PDF, )
- September 2016 (PDF, )
- August 2016 (PDF, )
- May 2016 (PDF, )
- April 2016 (PDF, )
- February 2016 (PDF, )
- December 2015 (PDF, )
- October 2015 (PDF, )
- September 2015 (PDF, )
- May 2015 (PDF, )
- April 2015 (PDF, )
- March 2015 (PDF, )
- February 2015 (PDF, )
- November 2014 (PDF, )
- October 2014 (PDF, )
- September 2014 (PDF, )
- May 2014 (PDF, )
Montgomery Scholars Program Newsletter: Fall 2023 - Another Year of Firsts (PDF, )
(PDF, )
August 2023: Academic Affairs Division Fall 2023 Meeting
July 2022: South Asia Monitor’s Washington Calling: Frank Islam speaks with Dr. Sanjay Rai
June 2022: US-India Civil Rights Legacy: ‘Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative’ launched
The June 14, 2022, launch of the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative, part of a much bigger plan, is the fruition of a cause close to the heart of late Congressman John Lewis. The plan announced by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, will bring together 20 emerging young civic leaders from India and the United States to advance civil rights, social justice, and inclusion on the local, national and international levels by exploring the histories and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Read more...
May 2022: Inside Higher Ed: Students Seek Stronger Connections With Professors but Rarely Take the Lead
Dr. Sanjay Rai was interviewed by Inside Higher Ed about how students can build stronger connections with professors. Read now...
April 2022: The American Bazaar: Dr. Sanjay Rai wins President’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Sanjay Rai, a noted Indian American educationist, has been honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for “lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service.” The award honors those who complete more than 4,000 hours of service over the course of their lifetime through AmeriCorps, an independent US government agency that engages more than five million Americans in service. “I am very fortunate to have opportunities as a first generation immigrant to contribute to the success of this nation,” said Dr Rai, senior vice president for academic affairs at Montgomery College, Maryland, who came to the US as an international student 32 years ago. Read more...
December 2021: The Workforce of Tomorrow Series: IgnITing Montgomery County’s Future Tech Talent
Leveraging the future IgnITe technology hub will help grow Montgomery County's tech talent pipeline & increase job opportunities. Join a conversation on igniting Montgomery County’s tech workforce with Montgomery County MD Council's Craig Rice & Montgomery College’s Dr. Sanjay Rai.
August 2021: MCTV | 5G Bootcamp @ Montgomery College!new window
Congressman David Trone is pursuing federal funding for Montgomery County to hold a 5G job training bootcamp to serve communities of color. Wireless employers will provide input on designing the curriculum and will develop 100 entry level jobs and apprenticeships that could be filled by bootcamp graduates.
July 2021: Facebook Live | The Workforce of Tomorrow: The Quantum Revolutions & The Talent Pipeline
A discussion about quantum technology with higher education and industry leaders. What does it mean for the Maryland economy and the talent pipeline? Maryland Tech Council Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (Md.) Montgomery County MD Council.
June 2021: MC News | Montgomery County, University System of Maryland, and Montgomery College Create Landmark Partnership to Expand Region’s Leadership Role in Life and Regulatory Sciences Education and Innovation
Montgomery County, the University System of Maryland and Montgomery College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create the “Montgomery/Maryland Life Sciences Education and Innovation Partnership” to facilitate collaboration among industry and the academic partners on cutting-edge research, and allow students from across Maryland opportunities to gain work experience and conduct translational research with Montgomery County’s industry leaders. It is envisioned that the Montgomery/Maryland Life Sciences Education and Innovation Partnership will guide the future of post-pandemic education leveraging existing assets to create an economic development powerhouse for Maryland in life and regulatory sciences. Read more...
May 2021: Voice of America (VOA) | Calls for Free Community College as Fewer Go During Pandemic
Dr. Sanjay Rai is a senior vice president at Montgomery College in Maryland. He said that during the 2008 recession, the college saw a large growth in enrollment. But during the pandemic, the college has seen a 4 percent drop. In Montgomery County, unemployment went from 2.4 percent in December 2019 to almost 9 percent in May 2020. Rai said that more than half of Montgomery College students lost some or all of their income. “I don’t think this is a recession,” Rai said of the economic struggles of the pandemic. “I think this is an entirely different phenomenon.” Read more...
March 2021: Foundation Focus | A Textbook Formula for Giving (PDF, )
Growing up in India, life was difficult for Sanjay Rai. Scarcity defined life in the
small efficiency apartment with no air conditioning he lived in with his parents and
sister. “My parents did not finish high school—and they had a hard life because of
it,” he says. “Had I not gotten into college, it would have been the end of the road
for me,” says Rai, senior vice president of academic affairs at Montgomery College.
When he left India to earn his master’s degree at Dalhousie University in Canada,
he had $50 in his pocket. Read more... (PDF, )
March 2021: The Montgomery College Advocate | The Student News Site: 7-Week Courses at MC Explained
In the Fall semester of 2020, Montgomery College announced its decision to offer more classes in a 7-week period starting this spring semester as opposed to the regular 15-week semester. Some students’ concerns were brought up, such as the worry over not being able to learn comprehensively in a 7-week period and whether or not the regular 15-week format would still be offered upon registration. Read more...
December 2020: NPR/WAMU | All Things Considered: How Montgomery College Navigates The Pandemic’s Effect On Student Enrollment
Dr. Sanjay Rai, senior vice president for academic affairs at Montgomery College, explains how school leaders are addressing the needs of students looking to enroll in short-term courses at a time when so many are unable to afford full-time tuition.
October 2020: Maryland to Bridge Cybersecurity Workforce Gap with Groundbreaking Bachelor's Degree Program
BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Maryland Higher Education Commission has approved a groundbreaking professional cybersecurity bachelor's degree – the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Applied Cybersecurity (BACS) to be granted by the SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu), a regionally accredited college in Maryland. Read more...
Blog from Dr. Sanjay Rai on Fulbright Study in Russia
Colleagues,
I have just boarded a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. I am honored and excited to be participating in the 2019 Fulbright Russia Community College Administrator Seminar (CCAS), but for me, this trip is a very special journey.
My father worked in a steel plant in Bhilai, India, from 1962-1993. He did not have an opportunity to finish high school. After passing grade 10 in a village in India, he moved to the eastern part of the country and worked in a coal mine for a few years before coming to Bhilai, which is in the central part of India. India became independent in 1947 after a long freedom struggle – led by Mahatma Gandhi. This was the first successful non-violent freedom movement against a major world power. The power of similar non-violent civil movements played a crucial role in the ending of apartheid in South Africa and in the civil rights movement in the United States.
March 2019: Dr. Rai Awarded Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of the Year
The National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCIA) has selected Dr. Sanjay Rai, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs their Chief Academic Officer of the year for 2018! In selecting their Chief Academic Officer of the Year, the NCIA used the American Association of Community Colleges core leadership competencies: organizational strategy; institutional finance/research/fundraising/resource management; communication; collaboration; and community college advocacy as their foundation.
March 2019: MCPSTV - Dr. Sanjay Rai spotlights various options for gaining college credits while still in high school
Montgomery College offers several programs for high school students, including the opportunity to take college-level classes and even earn an associate's degree while still in high school.
March 2019: "As higher ed eyes adult learners, community colleges add supports"
Montgomery College, in suburban Washington, D.C., offers employer-guided training in technical skills. In particular, it provides training for lower-level lab jobs at biotech companies and retrains tech workers with skills in that and other in-demand fields. One cybersecurity retraining program is designed to fill strong regional demand in that field, according to Sanjay Rai, the college's senior vice president for academic affairs.
"Community colleges were created to be very responsive to the needs of their regions, and that's even more critical today in our fast-moving digital economy," he said, noting that Montgomery College restructured itself several years ago to be more flexible to students' needs, allowing it to create pathways and programs without the approval process four-year colleges may require. Read more...
February 2019: “Discovering the Laplace Transform in Undergraduate Differential Equations”
In 2008, Dr. Sanjay Rai and Terrance Quinn co-authored and published the article “Discovering the Laplace Transform in Undergraduate Differential Equations”. As of February 2019, the article has over 200 reads on Research Gate.
January 2019: The Washington Post LIVE - Transformers: Education
Students looking to avoid the debt associated with a college degree are turning to alternatives like skills-based training. University Ventures Co-Founder Ryan Craig, Kettering University President Dr. Robert McMahan and Dr. Sanjay Rai, Montgomery College Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs talk about the collegiate alternatives students are seeking to prepare them for the workforce.
January 2019: Q&A with Dr. Sanjay Rai and David Petr, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC)
Dr. Sanjay Rai, spoke with Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation of Maryland (MCEDC) on an innovative, yet easy-to-learn Apple coding program. This program has the potential to provide more jobs, more engaging educational opportunities, and stronger economic development for Montgomery County. Read more...
November 2018: Cyber Pathways Across Maryland (CPAM)
Working to close the skills gap and connect more Maryland residents to high-quality employment in the cybersecurity industry. Visit the Montgomery College Cybersecurity Program for more information.
October 2018: Cyber Education Opportunities Abound at Montgomery College
Montgomery College is a future-focused higher education institution with multiple campuses delivering content and innovative programming that is both affordable and accessible, on campus and online. Spearheading a statewide consortium of community colleges, and using grant dollars to continuously update and expand offerings, Montgomery College is always looking to innovate, and cybersecurity is one of their top priorities. Read more...
October 2018: Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Maryland - MOCO365
September 2018: 7th Annual DC South Asian Film Festival
January 2018: The Translational Life Sciences Technology Program
Montgomery College has partnered with the Universities at Shady Grove and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to offer a new degree program called the Translational Life Sciences Technology program. Students in the program would spend two years at Montgomery College's Germantown campus, and then two years at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville.
September 2017: 6th Annual DC South Asian Film Festival
June 2017: Dr. Rai Received Leadership Montgomery’s Outstanding Leader Award
November 2016: American Association of Community Colleges/Community College Daily
Bringing universities to the students. Published November 11, 2016.
January 2016: Dr. Sanjay Rai Appointed to Life Sciences Board by Governor Hogan
Dr. Sanjay Rai, senior vice president for academic affairs, was appointed to a newly formed Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board by Governor Hogan. The new board will support activities to grow the biotechnology and health technology industry sectors in the state. Learn more about the new Maryland Life Sciences Advisor Board appointeesnew window.
October 2015: Dr. Sanjay Rai Appointed to Newly Formed Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Board
Washington Business Journal new window- Leggett Appoints 11 Biz Leaders to run MoCo Economic Development
Montgomery County, Maryland - Conversation with County Executive's Appointees to Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
November 2015: Yolanda Vazquez talks with Dr. Sanjay Rai, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for Montgomery College.
They discuss the World of Montgomery Festival. Follow Montgomery College on Facebook and Twitter. Taped 10/14/2015
November 2014: Montgomery College Presentation - Delegation Trip to India
Montgomery County Sister City Delegation Trip to India, November 2014 (PDF, )
July 2014: Dr. Sanjay Rai Interviewed on The Frank Islam Show
June 2016: Dean & Provost Article
Read the article highlighting MC's support of Part Time Faculty members (PDF, ) .