Executive Director of Academic Advising completes first-ever NYS Student Success Coaching Academy

Dante Cantú, executive director of the Center for Student Success and the Office of Academic Advising, was one of a select few higher education leaders statewide to complete the inaugural New York State Student Success Center Coaching Academy program.

The New York State Student Success Center launched the Student Success Coaching Academy in 2019 to provide a professional development & training program for college leaders to support student success reforms at campuses across the state.

By using effective coaching practices and project management strategies within a student success and guided pathways context, the Coaching Academy seeks to:

• Develop confident, skilled peer mentor and institute coaches
• Build substantive student success reform capacity, innovation and leadership across the state
• Support evidence-based strategies to support student success reforms at scale for all students
• Identify structural and cultural practices and policies that positively impact campus-based student success and support closing equity gaps.

Cantú completed the curriculum as a Peer Mentor Coach, and received targeted skills training that can be transferred directly to his work as a leader of student success efforts across the New Paltz campus.

The Center for Student Success will continue to provide advising, tutoring and peer mentorship services throughout the fall semester. Many of these services will be provided remotely in accordance with health and safety protocols related to COVID-19.

Learn more online about services available from the Center for Student Success and about the College’s fall 2020 reopening plan.