Suzanne McGillicuddy, assistant dean of students, was named one of City & State magazine’s Responsible 100 for being among the New Yorkers who are “setting new standards of excellence, dedication and leadership in improving their communities and making transformative change in New York.”
McGillicuddy is a co-chair of FIT’s Sustainability Council and has helped oversee the college’s extensive efforts to promote environmental responsibility, from its green roofs to its beehives, to its biannual Sustainability Awareness Week. She is also responsible for student and community engagement, organizing events such as the recent Inclusive Beauty panel, which advocated for definitions of beauty that allow for diversity.
She received the award at a reception on Thursday, December 14, alongside winners like New York First Lady Chirlane McCray and NAACP New York State Conference President Hazel Dukes. Last year’s Responsible 100 included fashion designer Eileen Fisher, former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and New York Public Library President and CEO Anthony Marx.
McGillicuddy was chosen by an advisory committee of City & State‘s editorial and business team along with outside advisors, which selects the honorees in 10 fields, including higher education, based on their work promoting core principles: charity, diversity, environment and sustainability, equity, ethics, privacy, sourcing, transparency, volunteerism, and community engagement.
McGillicuddy is also an active member at WFUV, an NPR affiliate located at Fordham University in the Bronx, with 450,000 listeners, where she has volunteered for 20 years. McGillicuddy has a major role in WFUV’s major public awareness/public service campaign, Strike a Chord, which spotlights a local issue each quarter. This fall, the station aired PSAs on substance abuse, using the voices of people affected by it, and coordinating with local TV stations and newspapers to encourage discussion and garner support.
For more information, contact McGillicuddy, 212 217.3803.