Candice Baldwin of RIT named Forty Under 40 winner

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Candice Baldwin

Candice P. Baldwin, senior director for Academic Success and director of the Multicultural Center for Academic Success (MCAS) in the Division for Diversity and Inclusion at Rochester Institute of Technology, has been selected as a “2015 Forty Under 40” award recipient from the Rochester Business Journal.

“I am very excited, overwhelmed and humbled to be chosen for this award,” said Baldwin, who joined RIT in 2011. “I was fortunate to join RIT during an exciting time in its history. My leadership at MCAS at this pivotal time allowed for a new direction for the center, an introduction of curricular and programmatic innovations, and a renewed sense of pride. In MCAS, our goal is to be a nationally recognized model for academic excellence and student success, in which we have a curriculum and model that can be utilized by any institution that can supports students.”

Also on this year’s list of honorees for the Forty Under 40 is alumnus Jason Aymerich ’00 (packaging science), president of Complemar Partners Inc. Both RIT recipients will be attending an awards luncheon on Nov. 19 at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

“Candice is an exemplary professional who adds energy and depth to our division and is an invaluable resource for our students,” said Kevin McDonald, vice president and associate provost for diversity and inclusion at RIT. “This recognition is an important validation of her hard work and commitment to RIT and her ongoing contributions within our community.”

Baldwin serves on the board of directors for the Jordan Health Foundation, and was named recipient of the Rochester Women’s Network 2015 Up & Coming Businesswomen’s Award. At RIT, Baldwin is the founder of the Determined Individuals Victoriously Achieving Success (D.I.V.A.S.), an empowerment group for women of color at RIT, and she received the Presidential Staff Excellence Award in 2013, and Faculty Advisor of the Year Award in 2012.

Baldwin says students are the reason why she enjoys coming to work every day. “I stay late and I work hard in hopes of making a positive impact on their experience at RIT,” she said. “As a first-generation college student, I really understand the sacrifice and the struggle, and I want students to know that MCAS is always here to support them.

“Lifting as we climb is not only a model I have for myself but something I’ve tried to instill in the students and the team in which I get the pleasure of working with every day.”

A native of Richmond, Va., Baldwin earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and a master’s degree in public policy and PhD in Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William & Mary. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Kappa Delta Pi, Pi Sigma Alpha, Golden Key National Honor Society and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Rochester Business Journal’s prestigious designation, now in its 21^st year, is given to the region’s top 40 men and women under the age of 40 who have achieved professional success and made significant civic contributions in the local area.