Discimus ut serviamus:
We learn so that we may serve.
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2018 State of the College Address: President Looks Ahead with Great Optimism
To the accompaniment of music by QC alumnus Arturo O’Farrill ’05, who had just garnered his fourth Grammy Award
, President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez began his February 7 State of the College address for 2018 as an opportunity to reflect on what has transpired in the four years since he assumed office: “
The combination of our ongoing 80th anniversary and my fourth year at the college provides a unique opportunity to reflect. Our anniversary allows us to look back at our mission and our origins and then consider how prepared we are to carry on that mission moving forward,” he said.
Referring to his previous year’s address in which he focused on the key indicators of the health of the college, he began, “Let me begin by saying that I address you here today more confident of our ability to advance our goals than when I started here almost four years ago.”
Where 2014 found the college coping with sagging enrollment and the demoralizing effects of mandated budget cuts, 2018 sees growing improvement on many fronts. “And why do I believe we have turned a corner, you might reasonably ask? One indicator is that we continue to be viewed with respect in academic areas where we have always been strong--Music, Education, Business and Accounting, Library Science, Languages, Neuroscience, and the Liberal Arts and Sciences, for example--and now have added new fields of distinction and strong reputation, like Environmental Studies, Computer Science, Risk Management, and Data Analytics, among others.
“Another indicator of us turning a corner is the increasing number of nonprofits, city, state, and federal agencies, and other institutions that are turning to Queens College for innovation, partnership, and collaboration to solve the issues they face.”
He then cited several examples to bolster his claims, including increasing numbers of outside groups and agencies seeking to partner with the college on a variety of initiatives, the achievements of students who’ve won significant academic awards, and the continued achievements of alumni such as Cristina Jimé
nez Moreta, recipient last fall of a MacArthur “Genius” grant for her work on behalf of undocumented immigrants.
“So, as you can see, part of my optimism about moving forward comes from the ever-increasing visibility of our work and the desire of many to collaborate with our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. There are a lot more people paying attention to Queens College and to the transformational work that we do. And yes, more and more people know that the great talent at Queens College--faculty, staff, students, and alumni--is ready and eager to be a partner in helping to tackle some of the more pressing issues affecting New Yorkers.”
Matos Rodríguez’s
address was preceded by the presentation of this year’s President’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching, of which he remarked, “The faculty awardees today are emblematic of our commitment to the success of our students and the importance of investing in professional development. These themes--student success and supporting faculty and staff excellence--are two of the four mission goals of our Strategic Plan.”
Click here to watch the President’s State of the College address.
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Winning Faculty
The President’s State of the College Address was preceded by the presentation of this year’s President’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Pictured with President Matos Rodríguez and Provost Elizabeth Hendrey (far right) are this year’s award winners (l–r): Michael Joseph (Mathematics), Carolyn Pytte (Neuropsychology), James Moore (Anthropology), H. Roz Woll (Aaron Copland School of Music), Katerina Hantzandreou (Sociology), Lourdes Rivera (Educational and Community Programs), and Monica Gigante (Educational and Community Programs). Not present was Hermann Haller (European Languages and Literature).
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A Letter of Profound Gratitude
President Matos Rodríguez concluded his February 7 State of the College address by sharing with attendees a letter he had just received from alumna Nadia Mawjzada-Azeem ’12, prefacing his reading by saying, “If we had asked the PR department to write something, it wouldn’t have been as good.”
The letter, which was addressed to Vice President for Student Affairs Adam Rockman, began, “With great gratitude, I’m writing this letter of appreciation as a QC Alumnus: the appreciation of your collaborative effort (Queens College Staff) in creating a diverse community to make education accessible for all cultures and roles at Queens College.”
She went on to describe how her time at Queens coincided with other life-transpiring events--marriage and the birth of her son--and how so many aspects of the college contributed to her being able to achieve her goals despite the very significant demands of motherhood and domesticity. A double major in Childhood Education (1-6) and Applied Mathematics, Mawjzada-Azeem received her BA cum laude in Elementary Education and Teaching. “Queens College kept me going,” she said, “and made it possible for me to dream of pursuing education to the next level.”
With the confidence she had acquired while pursuing her undergraduate degree, she subsequently went on to receive an MS in Elementary Education and Teaching while expecting her second child. Mawjzada-Azeem is currently teaching fourth grade at nearby PS 117.
In closing she said, “Thank you Queens College for building not just a starting point in my future, but a secure future . . . I hope my message comes across to many Queens College students who’ve experienced a lack of confidence, destitute, or loss of hope, as a turning point in their lives that they can achieve.”
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Do Look Back
Jessica Harris (SEEK) signs a copy of her recently published memoir,
My Soul Looks Back
, for Justin Homer (Office of the President) at a her February 6 Black History Month event, "My Soul Looks Back: Reflections on My 50-Year Career at Queens College." A noted food historian and cookbook author, Harris’s book was described in the
New York Times
as offering warm recollections of her time among New York’s black elite in the 1970s.
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An Alumna with Your Vision in Sight
The face of a new campaign promoting graduate studies at the SUNY School of Optometry is QC alumna Daniella Perlstein ’17. A magna cum laude graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she says she wanted to pursue a career in a medical field because she appreciates how science is constantly discovering new ways to help society and she wanted to be a part of it. “
My general chemistry professor, Dr. Daniel Gloster, helped me see science with a different perspective and his enthusiasm towards the subject definitely made that class one that stands out in my mind,” she says.
Additionally, the Lawrence native says she loves working with people who come from different walks of life. “Optometry gives me the opportunity to improve patients' lives by giving them the gift of sight,” she says. “My classes in Queens College gave me the foundation I needed to pursue this career and helped me develop a serious work ethic in both my studies and professional relationships.”
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A Year of Dog Day Afternoons
Friday, February 16, marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. According to Chinese tradition, each new year corresponds to one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. 2018 is the Year of the Dog. Pictured here is a pottery figure of a dog from the Han Dynasty. It is part of the college’s Daghlian Collection of Chinese Art, donated to the college in 2012 by William Daghlian, a former piano faculty member of the Aaron Copland School of Music. During the Han dynasty, it was common practice to bury pottery models of dogs in graves, in the belief that they would keep the deceased humans company in the afterlife.
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Laura Silverman: Keeping Students on Track to Graduation. And Exploring Life’s Possibilities
At first glance, a BS in Communications and Journalism and an MA in Media Studies followed by work at Comedy Central and an entertainment law firm might seem unusual background for a career in academic advising.
But for Laura Silverman, director of QC’s Academic Advising Center (AAC), there is a strong connection. “For me, a liberal arts degree provided the foundation for a lifetime of experiences and options--and most important, the characteristics of agility and adaptability,” says Silverman. “Public higher education gave me--as we give our students--the opportunity to grow, mature, expand, and explore.”
After graduating from Oceanside High School on Long Island and earning a BS at SUNY New Paltz, Silverman enrolled in a master’s program at QC. To earn income, she took a job as a college assistant in the Dean of Students Office, an experience that exposed her to a future career serving students. For seven years she worked in the Office of Honors and Scholarships under then-director Elizabeth Roistacher (Professor Emerita, Economics). “Professor Roistacher’s focus was solely and wholly on our students,” says Silverman. “I had a remarkable experience under her tutelage.”
Read more.
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Summer Session is Coming
They may still be forecasting snow, but it’s not too early to consider summer study at QC. Registration is now open. Students can earn up to 15 credits and get a jump on completing their degree, or on meeting the requirements for the Excelsior Scholarship or on advancing in QC in 4--and still have time left over for a long vacation. Summer Session features:
- over 700 undergraduate and graduate courses, including 30 online courses
- choice of three sessions (each lasting four or six weeks)
- affordable tuition
- free on-campus parking
- inexpensive and exceptional on-campus housing
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Marie Maynard Daly ’42 was the first African American woman in the nation to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.
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