John Mogulescu is affectionately regarded as the founding father of many of CUNY’s most innovative and consequential programs of this century. He’s been an unstoppable force and a guiding spirit bent on breaking down educational and career barriers for New Yorkers of all backgrounds. “I’ve never believed in the status quo,” he says. “I think that’s just boring.” This spring, after a prodigious career spanning nearly 50 years, he announced his retirement. To many, CUNY won’t be the same without him.

Dean Mogulescu joined CUNY as a young and idealistic social worker in 1972 and went on to become senior university dean in the Office of Academic Affairs, where he oversaw the creation of everything from the nationally acclaimed ASAP program to Guttman Community College. In 2003 he took on a second job — founding dean of the School of Professional Studies, which he built from scratch into a school that has helped tens of thousands of adult New Yorkers advance their careers or find new ones. Under his leadership, SPS created the first online programs at CUNY and has been recognized as one of the leading providers of online instruction in the nation.

On the eve of his departure, Mogulescu sat down for an exit interview — a conversation about his life at CUNY and what it took to launch so many trailblazing initiatives that changed the lives of countless students, and arguably changed CUNY and the city too.