Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.
#10
What’s News
President Matos Rodríguez Elected Board Chair of Hispanic Association

President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez was elected board chair of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), announced the HACU Governing Board on November 2. He replaces William V. Flores, former president of the University of Houston, Downtown, in the position. “We are honored to have Félix Matos Rodríguez serve as chair of HACU’s Governing Board,” notes HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores.

“The work HACU does each and every day has had an immeasurable impact on Hispanic students both in the United States and abroad,” says the president. “From the internships and scholarships they provide to the career-development programs that help ensure students are prepared to enter the workforce, HACU’s vital support for Hispanic students has never been more necessary. I am truly humbled to have the opportunity to serve as board chair.”

HACU was established in 1986 and represents more than 470 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United States, Puerto Rico, Latin America, and Spain. For more information about HACU, click here .
QC Scores High Marks in Student Mobility

The results of a recent Stanford University study, as reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education , provide insight into how well Queens College is propelling students up the economic ladder. The  Chronicle’s list  is drawn from  Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility , the widely reported study in which a team led by Stanford Economics Professor Raj Chetty assessed colleges’ impact on social mobility. Also, in a global assessment of 27,770 degree-granting institutions, the Center for World Universal Rankings placed QC in the top 3.5 percent for the quality of its education and faculty, the number of its alumni who find employment, and other factors. Read more .
Among those attending the reception were ( l–r ) Rossmery Dais, 1199SEIU Child Care Funds chief of staff; Jennifer Chapler and her daughters Elizabeth and Marissa; and President Matos Rodríguez.
College Honors Tauber Scholarship Recipients

On Wednesday, November 1, President Matos Rodríguez and the 1199SEIU Child Care Corporation hosted an inaugural reception--first time at a CUNY college--in recognition of our 2017–18 recipients of the Joseph Tauber Scholarship. These scholarships go to children of eligible 1199SEIU members and can be used to pay for books, personal expenses, transportation, and tuition, or to reduce student loan debt. Among those speaking about the program were dietitian Jennifer Chapler and two of her daughters, both QC graduates who benefitted from a Tauber Scholarship: Elizabeth, who is now a physician’s assistant, and Marissa, a speech pathologist (Jennifer’s son, also a QC grad, was home that night taking care of a newborn). In a bonus development, two of Jennifer’s children married QC alumni.
Wow! #75
The Moog synthesizer, one of the first widely used electronic instruments, was created by two-time Grammy Award winner Robert Moog ’57.
First Ethiopian Miss Israel Visits Campus

On Monday, October 30, the Hillel Club, Israel Student Association, and the QC Student Association hosted Titi Aynaw ( right ) , the first Ethiopian Miss Israel. She spoke about her difficult journey from Ethiopia to Israel, where she moved to live with her grandparents after her parents died. After initial difficulties assimilating, Titi threw herself into Israeli society, serving as a l ieutenant  in the  Military Police Corps  of the Israel Defense Force and representing Israel in the Miss Universe Contest. She is now an international social justice activist and founder of the Titi Project, which provides extracurricular activities and enrichment to Ethiopian children from disadvantaged backgrounds who are living in Israel. The event was sponsored by the Jewish National Fund.

Back from Zealandia

Stephen Pekar (Earth & Environmental Sciences) recently returned to campus following a two-month expedition to the newly discovered continent of Zealandia. The expedition, which included 30 scientists from a dozen countries ( below ), developed a climate and tectonic record of Zealandia that reaches back to the time of the dinosaurs. Stephen will be giving a talk about his trip, entitled “Exploring the Newly Named Eighth Continent of the World, Zealandia: International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 371” on Wednesday, November 8, at 12:15 pm in the Science Building, Room C207. All are invited to attend.
Building Futures
Tarry Hum: Empowering Communities--and Students--Through Urban Planning


“I got my degrees in city planning because I wanted to be in a field that works for systemic social change, helping people to improve conditions in their communities,” says Tarry Hum. Recently named acting chair of the Urban Studies Department after teaching there nearly 20 years, Hum knows the struggles of immigrants and marginalized populations firsthand.

Her father, born in China, immigrated to Canada at age 14 with a third-grade education. He later worked at an industrial laundry in Brooklyn, spending weekends waiting on tables. Her mother, also a native of China, did embroidery piecework in Montreal, where Hum was born, and after moving to New York, toiled in the Chinatown garment industry. Read more .
What’s in a Building’s Name? FitzGerald Gymnasium

FitzGerald Gymnasium was named for Queens Borough President Maurice FitzGerald, who supported the construction of the gym but died in 1951, well before it was completed. At its 1958 ribbon-cutting, the facility named after FitzGerald had the largest free-floor area in the eastern United States, measuring approximately 50,000 square feet.
Queens College is still accepting donations to aid those who are recovering from the recent natural disasters. Monetary donations can be made by check or cash in Room 327 of the Student Union or deposited in a secure donation box located at one of the cash registers at the Knights Diner in the Dining Hall. A confirming receipt will be issued for donations made at Room 327. Please make checks out to the CUNY Research Foundation and in the memo area, write: Disaster Relief Fund­--Account Number: 78511-00-15. The college is also accepting donations of bottled water for disaster victims. These should be brought to the Student Development and Leadership Office, located on the first floor of the Student Union next to Starbucks. If you have any questions or would like to help, contact Emanuel Avila, our campus Disaster Relief Coordinator, at  Eavila@qc.cuny.edu  or 718-997-3971.
Palestinian and Israeli Public Opinions on Peace

A lecture and dialogue on “What Are They Thinking? Palestinian and Israeli Public Opinions on Peace,” took place last Wednesday in Rosenthal Library. It featured Khalil Shikaki (Brandeis University and Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research) and Tamar S. Hermann (Open University and Guttman Center for Surveys) discussing their research concerning trends in public opinion over the past decade regarding various scenarios related to peace, such as the two-state and one-state solutions, as well as other formulations. The event was co-sponsored by the Sociology and Urban Studies Departments and CERRU.

Tamar S. Hermann and Khalil Shikaki
The Lavender Line at Queens College

Last summer the Queens Museum hosted the exhibit The Lavender Line: Coming Out in Queens in celebration of the 25th Queens Pride Parade. Building upon the momentum created by that exhibit, the college is presenting The Lavender Line at Queens College. QC students, staff, and faculty involved in the project have made unique contributions to illuminate LGBTQ initiatives on our campus. 

Among the activities taking place on campus in conjunction with The Lavender Line is a photo display in the Rosenthal Library rotunda,  Why Queens Pride? Queens Pride Then & Now , on view now through the end of the semester. Next Tuesday, November 14, there will be a mural installation in the Student Union entitled The Past Meets the Present, QC Transforming Lives: A Mural Unveiling ,​ also on view for the fall semester. On Wednesday, November 15, a panel will address Coming Out in Queens: Queer Activism in the Borough and at the College at 6:30 pm in the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.

The Lavender Line at Queens College is part of a collaboration with other CUNY campuses in Queens. It was made possible through the generous support of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, LaGuardia Community College, and the New York City Council, through the office of Daniel Dromm (District 25). 
QC Bookshelf
Jason Tougaw (English) has long been fascinated with how the brain shapes the self, and has published and taught on neuroscience and the impacts of medical science on literature. In his new memoir, The One You Get: Portrait of a Family Organism (Dzanc Books), he explores the terrain where mind and body met in his own journey toward becoming a writer, teacher, and the resilient survivor of abuse and turmoil. For him, his intellectual coming of age was inseparable from his lineage, including an organic thread of schizophrenia and personal toughness (his jockey grandfather suffered a terrible accident, yet miraculously returned to horse racing after being pronounced dead). Growing up in southern California in the 1970s and 1980s, he dealt with his own dyslexia, hypochondria, and gay sexuality while contending with a fractious family of rebels and ex-hippies. “There’s something wrong with our blood,” family members would say, “and it affects our brains.” Tougaw’s often moving and always absorbing story, told with warmth and wry humor, was awarded the 2017 Dzanc Nonfiction Prize.  
Basketball’s Back
The defending NCAA East Regional and East Coast Conference (ECC) Regular Season Champion Queens College women’s basketball team earned two first-place votes and was selected fifth in the ECC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, the league office announced last week. The Knights collected 62 points in the poll, while St. Thomas Aquinas topped the field with 88 points and five first-place votes. And in the NCAA’s pre-season Division II poll, the Knights were ranked 12th in the nation.

Last season was a historic one for the Knights ( above ), setting a program record with 27 wins and ending the season ranked seventh in the nation. Reigning ECC Coach of the Year Elizabeth Naumovski brings eight players back from last season’s Elite Eight team along with an exciting group of newcomers.

QC men’s basketball team was selected eighth in the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, gathering 38 points in the poll. Last season the Knights put together their best record since the 2010-11 season with a 13-13 mark. Queens won eight road games, its highest total since 2010-11. The Knights earned their most ECC wins (10) since 2012-13, while returning to the ECC Tournament after a two-year absence. Head coach Matt Collier enters his second season at Queens with a new-look squad for 2017-18. 
Heard Around Campus
Bassist Jason DiMatteo ’97 was the subject of a Crain’s New York profile focused on his following in his father’s footsteps as a performer. Jason earned his master’s degree in performance and composition at QC . . . After a national search and the approval of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York,  Laurie Dorf has been appointed Vice President for Institutional Advancement/ Alumni Relations at the college . . . The Professionals on Campus series continues on Thursday, November 9, with Amber Guth ’79, a specialist in surgical oncology/breast surgery and NYU’s first female attending surgeon. This takes place at 12:30 pm in Kiely Hall 170 . . . Jessica Harris (SEEK) recently wrote a piece in the New York Times Magazine under the heading of “The Dinners that Shaped History.” She chose a dinner in 1908 given in jest by Pablo Picasso and poet Guillaume Apollinaire in honor of the then little-known painter Rousseau. The guests included a number of famous painters, such as Georges Braque and Juan Gris. Following the meal, the diners headed to the bars where some fell down drunk or took part in brawls. But, as Harris notes, “Despite beginning as a joke, the dinner is often credited with legitimizing Rousseau in the art world” . . . For the second consecutive year, QC’s women’s tennis head coach Alan Nagel was named the East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year. Alan has now won the award 12 times, including in four of the last five years. The Knights won their first regular season title since 2012 with a 9–0 record and earned the top seed in the conference tournament . . . Professor Emerita of English Marie Ponsot received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University. The recipient of several poetry awards and a translator of 40 books from French, the 96-year-old poet was on hand to accept the award and read selections from her poems.
Mark Your Calendar
Freedom Walk Scheduled for November 8

On Wednesday, November 8, the college will launch a tradition that celebrates our nation’s freedoms and helps us reflect on our motto, “We learn so that we may serve.” Alumni, faculty, students, staff, and friends will walk around a section of the Quad decorated with flags bearing the names of members of the military, police officers, firefighters, civil rights advocates, and any individual who has served humanity. If you wish to participate, be at the flagpole on the Quad at noon.
Music, Music, Music

This week the Aaron Copland School of Music will present a quartet of concerts in LeFrak Concert Hall in celebration of the college’s 80th anniversary. The music kicks off this Wednesday, November 8, with a jazz concert featuring QC faculty. On Thursday night the Queens College Choir and Vocal Ensemble will perform, followed on Friday with a concert by the faculty of the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music. All three concerts begin at 7:30 pm.

At 8 pm on Saturday, the Norma & Murray Horowitz Concert Series will present a concert of Copland School faculty and guests.   The all-star faculty lineup--William Anderson, Cathy Callis, Paul Cohen, Younju Namkoong, Sidney Outlaw, Morey Ritt, Marcy Rosen, and H. Roz Woll--will join a group of outstanding guest performers, including sopranos Tony Arnold and Jin-Xiang “JX” Yu; flutist Tara Helen O’Connor; pianist Roy Jennings; and harpist June Han. The program will include works by faculty members Sunny Knable, Joel Mandelbaum, Jeff Nichols, and Edward Smaldone, as well as works by Brahms and Debussy. 

All the concerts are free of charge, except for Friday night ($15); voluntary donations are always welcome.
Remembering Kristallnacht

The college’s annual Kristallnacht commemoration will take place on Sunday, November 12, at 2 pm in the Goldstein Theatre. The keynote address, “ Casablanca,  the Refugee Question, and the Fateful Summer of 1938,” by Noah Isenberg, will include clips from the popular film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The program, which is free and open to the public, will include a candle-lighting ceremony with Holocaust survivors and family members of the subsequent generations. There will also be musical interludes, including performances by Townsend Harris HS students and Sara Kahan (Development), who will perform the national anthems of the U.S. and Israel. Read more .

Conference Looks at Diverse and Inclusive Communities

The college’s Division of Social Sciences and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will present a two-day conference, Sustaining Diverse and Inclusive Communities , on Monday, November 13, 8 am–6 pm--with a reception at 6:30 pm--and on Tuesday, November 14, 8 am–6 pm. Registration is free and open to the public. For more information and to register, click here

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Comments and suggestions for future news items and the 8Oth Anniversary Website are welcome.