Dr. Ricardo R. Fernández began his twentieth year as president of Lehman College with a trip to South Korea to accept an honorary doctorate in education from one of Lehman’s new international partners, Sungshin Women’s University.
In fall 2008, Lehman and Sungshin began a dual-degree, student exchange program, built on a successful collaboration for nursing students.
Other partnerships exist between Lehman and institutions in Antigua, the Dominican Republic, Ireland and, through HETS (Higher Education Telecommunication System), with other colleges in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America.
In his remarks at Sungshin, he compared the values shared by the South Korean and American colleges, which were shaped, respectively, by Dr. Lee Sook-chong, the founder of Sungshin, and New York Governor Herbert H. Lehman, for whom Lehman College is named.
They both believed, Dr. Fernández said, that “with faith and commitment, anyone can overcome the challenges that life presents. They both had an enduring respect for tradition and service to humanity and a willingness to embrace change.”
Dr. Fernández is the longest-serving current president of CUNY’s 23 institutions of higher learning.
