Our Mission
The Futures Initiative advocates greater equity and innovation in higher education at every level of the university. Housed at the Graduate Center and reaching throughout the CUNY community, the Futures Initiative empowers the next generation of intellectual leaders with bold, public, and engaged teaching and learning. With an emphasis on student-centered practices, the Futures Initiative redefines graduate preparation to include translation of specialized research into the best undergraduate teaching, including for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Futures Initiative also fosters greater understanding of the complexities of the higher education landscape by spearheading data-driven research in areas critical to institutional change. Through HASTAC@CUNY (a hub of the online network Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory), the Futures Initiative extends its collaborative peer-to-peer practices across institutions, disciplines, national boundaries, and economic and social disparities, promoting reinvestment in higher education as a public good.
Our Work
- Student-centered pedagogy: Non-hierarchical learning structures that emphasize peer learning, peer mentorship, and student agency.
- Technology: Using network and communications tools to build community and foster greater access.
- Leadership: Equipping graduate students to expand career horizons and connect their learning to the wider world.
- Research: Conducting meaningful, high-level research and connecting it to the wider world in creative ways.
- Advocacy: Promoting institutional change, social justice, and the reinvestment in higher education as a public good.
Learn More
- Read about our programs.
- Meet our team of faculty, staff, and graduate fellows.
- Read about our research initiatives.
- Learn about grant-funded projects like the Humanities Alliance and the undergraduate Leadership and Peer Mentoring Program.
- Visit the Future’s Initiative’s page on the Graduate Center’s website.
- CUNY Faculty and graduate students, connect with our group on CUNY Academic Commons.
