Race to 100 Alumni

Edward Rohrlich

KCC Class of 1979
Major: Performing Arts
Current Title/Profession: (Semi-retired) Professional Musician (Former) Assistant Director of Events Management & Performing Arts at KCC (43 years)

Self-Nomination

Few people can claim to have witnessed the evolution of an institution from the inside out the way Edward Rohrlich has, but as a Kingsborough Community College alumnus turned longtime faculty member, he has decades of his life with Kingsborough throughout various phases of the institution. Edward spent 43 years as Assistant Director of Events Management and Performing Arts at Kingsborough serving students, colleagues, and the performing arts community alike with equal commitment. He is now a semi-retired professional musician whose work in the industry continues to this day.

Edward arrived at KCC as a student in the late 1970s, a time when the college's Manhattan Beach campus was still being built. For him, KCC was a place where he could redefine himself and discover who he was while preparing for the next chapter of his education. He pursued a degree in Performing Arts before continuing to complete a bachelor's in music management and eventually earned his master's degree at Brooklyn College.  In his master’s thesis, he examined the role of individuals without empathy within the business world, which was work he completed under the mentorship of a Harvard Business School professor.

After graduating, Edward took a leave of absence to pursue his music career, gaining firsthand experience as a professional musician before returning to KCC as a member of the faculty and staff. As head of the Music Department from 1980 onward, he pioneered experiential learning long before the term became a buzzword. He assigned students concert reports, deliberately sending them to live performance venues that many had never visited, believing that real cultural exposure was essential to a meaningful education.

Over four decades, Edward became an institutional anchor. He trained incoming staff, helped shape the events infrastructure of the college, and embodied the idea of "talking the talk and walking the walk" by bringing genuine real-world experience into every classroom interaction.  What kept him at Kingsborough for all of those years was the people. He shares, "KCC represents stability and good people who understand what it means to get there and know how to get there." Edward sees Kingsborough as a vital institution in the higher education landscape, one that serves students that larger universities often overlook. From his perspective, “KCC maintains a kind of institutional memory, a record of where the college has been and why it matters.”

Edward's advice to today’s Kingsborough student revolves around perseverance. He cautions against abandoning education when things get tough, while acknowledging that some may need breaks or pauses along the way. His solution: “If you need to step away, do it properly so you can return. A degree is the key to unlock the door to your future." Throughout his long career at KCC, Edward dedicated himself to helping students find that door.