A host of notable guests were on hand on August 5 at Mason Hall in the historic 17 Lexington Avenue building, when Baruch hosted the first annual graduation of new principals from the intensive 14-month Aspiring Principals Program (APP) of the New York City Education Department's Leadership Academy.

Among the guests were Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, under whose combined aegis the academy and the APP were developed; Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, both of whom serve on the advisory board of the academy; Richard Knowles, the academy's director; and all 88 of the program graduates.

To Baruch attendees, however, none of the guests stood higher than did Sandra Stein, who returned to campus for the ceremony. Stein is on leave from the faculty of Baruch's School of Public Affairs in order to serve as academic dean of the Leadership Academy, developing curricula and pedagogy for the various programs it offers to current and future school leaders in the New York City public school system.

"I want each of you to close your eyes," Stein told the graduates, repeating an exercise that they'd used 14 months prior at the outset of their training. "And I want you to picture what it's going to be like at your school's first graduation, when you see the kids you've worked so hard for in their moment of success. That's the vision you need to keep in your mind no matter how tough things get this coming year."

Graduates of the APP move on this fall to take over schools across New York City. The program is the centerpiece of the current reform agenda for New York City public schools, the overall goal of which is to create a system of outstanding schools where every child and teacher has access to effective teaching and learning. According to the NYC Department of Education, projections show that by 2006 New York City will need approximately 600 new principals either to replace those who are retiring or to satisfy the demand for new school openings. The academy was developed with significant outside support in order to recruit and train this new generation of principals through a learning model that couples entrepreneurial management techniques with a strong grounding in instructional leadership.