"How has the Uncertainty in the Economy Affected You?"

As I reflect back on the financial economic news of the past few weeks, I recognize that the state of the economy has an impact on all of us. How we spend our money in these uncertain times takes on a whole new dimension when we are making lifestyle decisions.

On Friday, August 5, one of the nation’s largest credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, took the unprecedented step of downgrading the credit rating of the United States government from AAA to AA-plus.

The action dealt a significant blow to what has long been the world’s largest and most stable economy. Wall Street reacted to the news with a roller coaster ride of ups and downs that mirrored the moods of investors shaken by fears of another recession.

The truth is that the state of our national economy affects us all. As we are anxiously waiting for the economy to recover, I am very interested to hear from you about how you are changing your lifestyle to ride out the storm.

Please add your comments in the space below.

LinkedIn

Have you been asked “to join my professional network” recently? If you have, you must be a registered LinkedIn network user. At Berkeley College - our alumni, associates, faculty and students are actively participating in the LinkedIn network looking for internships, job opportunities, corporate partnerships, and overall opportunities to connect with individuals. The popularity of the site is growing.

When LinkedIn blasted on to the stock market on May 19, the shock waves resounded around the world and across cyberspace.

After issuing its Initial Public Offering (IPO) at $45 a share, stock in LinkedIn (trading as LNKD) catapulted to the top of the market, ending its first day as a publicly traded company at $94 per share.

In the space of a single day, the value of LinkedIn more than doubled, skyrocketing from $4.3 billion to $8.9 billion -- pretty good for a company that was born not in a board room but in the living room of company co-founder and former Yahoo executive Reid Hoffman, in 2002.

Today, new members join LinkedIn at the rate of more than one per second, and the social networking site for professionals now has 100 million members worldwide, including CEO's of Fortune 500 companies, recent college graduates, entrepreneurs, mid-career professionals, human resources managers and executive "headhunters."

What makes LinkedIn so attractive?

Unlike Facebook, where the emphasis is more on the social aspect of social networking, the emphasis is on networking at LinkedIn. You don’t make “friends,” but you may just find the job of your dreams or make a critical connection.

That doesn't mean you can't find friends on LinkedIn or enjoy the lighter moments that we all need in our working lives. The power of LinkedIn lies in its ability to help its users build or enhance their professional identities by taking the old-fashioned business of networking from horse and carriage to warp speed.

LinkedIn users have access to a worldwide pool of employers, career candidates, business colleagues and professional resources that simply exists in no other place.

As a member of the Berkeley College community, please let us know your experience with LinkedIn so that others can learn the benefits of utilizing this social network. Please add your comments in the space below.

Berkeley Brooklyn Campus Grand Opening Unveiling of Berkeley College Heritage Time line

Photo by Kathryn Kirk

Friday, April 15, 2011 marked a milestone in the history of Berkeley College as we celebrated the grand opening of our Brooklyn campus and the unveiling of the 80th Anniversary Berkeley College Heritage Timeline.

Our distinguished guests at the event included Kevin L. Luing, Chairman of the Berkeley College Board of Trustees; Board of Trustees Timothy D. Luing, Warren J. Martin Jr. Esq., José A. Tavares, and Kenneth L. Weinstein; Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, area legislators, and members of the Brooklyn business community, who joined Berkeley faculty, associates and students in marking this historic occasion.

As the Berkeley College Heritage Timeline so effectively illustrates, the establishment of our Brooklyn campus is only the latest achievement in the proud history of an institution that has been changing lives for 80 years.

Developed as a class project by the Leadership Berkeley Class of 2010, the timeline traces Berkeley’s growth from its origin as a secretarial school established at the height of the Great Depression in 1931 to its present status as a four-year college providing academic opportunities to 9,000 students at eight locations in New Jersey, New York and Online.

The establishment of the Brooklyn campus is particularly meaningful to me because it was in Brooklyn that I began my own academic journey as a community college student, commuting each night from my home in Bayside, Queens. I later transferred to Queens College, where I earned my bachelor’s degree.

Our efforts to establish a campus in Brooklyn began more than five years ago with the idea that Brooklyn was a place we wanted to be. Over the next few years, we made many visits to this borough in search of an appropriate location.

With the invaluable assistance of area legislators, borough officials, members of the academic and business communities and the guidance and leadership of Tom Alessandrello, Berkeley College Vice President of Operations and Conrad Walker, Campus Operating Officer - we were able to find, renovate and open our new facility at 255 Duffield Street (the corner of Duffield and Fulton).

Our new location is easily accessible via public transportation from all five boroughs. The new facility has 10 classrooms, a student support center, a student lounge, bookstore, library, office space and an art gallery that will engage Berkeley students, faculty and associates in the intellectual life of this diverse community.

The largest borough in New York City, Brooklyn hosts people from 150 countries that speak 136 languages. As Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz puts it, Brooklyn is “home to everyone from everywhere.” In short, it is a Berkeley College kind of place.

Today, more than 500 students are receiving the student-centered Berkeley education of which we are so proud right here in Brooklyn. We look forward to changing the lives of students at our Brooklyn campus for many decades to come.