About 400 school social workers and psychologists gathered at UFT headquarters, and another 900 joined remotely, for a day of professional development to mark Clinicians Appreciation Day on Jan. 12.

The 20th annual UFT African Heritage Committee’s awards dinner, held on Feb. 2 at Antun’s of Queens Village, was bigger than ever this year, befitting its landmark anniversary.

Members of the UFT Veterans Committee appreciated the opportunity to reconnnect at a meet and greet at union headquarters on Nov. 8 — the committee’s first in-person event since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

UFT members had the rare opportunity to hear a first-hand account of the creation of the Paraprofessionals Chapter more than 50 years ago from Velma Murphy Hill, the chapter’s founder and first chair, and her husband Norman Hill.


For Cedric Hawkins, a school counselor at Wings Academy HS in the Bronx, the UFT’s college fair at Borough of Manhattan Community College on Nov. 3 was an opportunity for his students not only to meet recruiters from more than 80 colleges and other post-secondary institutions but also to mingle with 2,500 other college-bound public school students.

In presenting the Cogen Award to UFT Treasurer Debra Penny, UFT President Michael Mulgrew spoke of her compassion. “It’s the humanity she brings to her job at all times,” he said. “She’s just a person who never stops caring.”