February 2024 Alumni Spotlight

This month we spotlight HEA alumna and Academic Program Specialist/Department Administrator at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Josephine DiMaggio. She tells us about her work in CUNY and her experience at the Marxe School.

Tell us about your role at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy. What have the biggest challenges been?
My new role as a Department Administrator at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy (SPH) is quite different than my previous role as an ASAP Recruitment Specialist at CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). I am now involved in numerous different aspects of the academic departments’ administration, whereas previously I was really mainly focused on recruitment for the ASAP program. Although this new role has many moving parts, I was able to transition and adjust fairly quickly due to excellent guidance and support from my fellow co-workers at CUNY SPH.

As a Department Administrator for two academic departments at SPH, my role includes supporting department chairpersons, supervising and managing department budgets and operations, developing and maintaining systems to maximize department efficiency and preparing analytical and statistical reports. I recently conducted and oversaw a focus group, producing a detailed report from the results, which provided valuable input for our department’s strategic plan. Being involved in the processes that help the departments improve their strategies and functionality is extremely rewarding.

I am also currently developing our department’s social media presence. Many of our students, like many graduate students across the country, take their courses fully online as it more adequately adapts to their demanding schedules. So, in order to give them a platform to connect with each other, I am in the process of creating Facebook and Linkedin accounts. This will hopefully provide students, alumni, and prospective students a space to converge and further develop their professional contacts. I have been quite lucky here as I work with amazing chairs who really value my input and let me run with my ideas. I think that’s really important in a professional environment.

You took the Marxe School’s specialization in Institutional Research. How has that been helpful to you?
I think research is at the forefront of innovation and adaptation. It allows us to make informed decisions about which direction to move in. As I mentioned previously, I am involved with producing some of the analytical reports for the chairs. I collect and gather data to evaluate strategies and outcomes. This has been quite useful as we pivot in different directions to adapt to new challenges.

You had a good experience with Marxe Career Services. Can you elaborate on that?
Yes, with Samantha Bruno in Career Services. I initially met her during my capstone course as she was a guest speaker. She had some really great advice and I later reached out to her a few times when I had initially begun searching for a new position. Sam helped guide my professional outlook and assisted me in polishing my resume. The key aspect which I will be forever grateful for, was that she increased my confidence in searching for a new position. I think a boost in confidence, more than anything, helps propel you forward.

What were your favorite classes? Any favorite professors?
My favorite classes were Research Methods I and II, and Institutional Research. I know, may sound boring to some, but that really is what I am mostly interested in.  My favorite professors were Jessica Greene, Hector Cordero-Guzman and Jim (James) McCarthy who taught the aforementioned courses respectively. Professor Greene provided a great introduction to Research Methods. She was informative and provided excellent lectures. Professor Cordero-Guzman is now the President of the CUNY Research Foundation. I feel extremely fortunate to have had him as my instructor for Research Methods II. His class was challenging in the best way. It was an asynchronous online course, and I have to say I think he could teach a class on the most effective and engaging strategies to teach such a course. He was excellent at it! I also quite enjoyed the capstone course as it was a nice culmination of the whole program. I had Casey Boland for that class, who was very helpful throughout my capstone research paper and even provided insight and assistance with some additional professional materials I had been working on for my career profile.

Professor Jim McCarthy, as you know, unfortunately retired due to his health. I am extremely honored to have had him for two courses and to have been a part of his last class. He was inspirational, admirable, embraced change and innovation in the best way, and was one of the best professors I have ever had the pleasure to study under. I feel blessed to have encountered him and hope that his health is improving and he is getting the rest he truly deserves.