Discimus ut serviamus:
We learn so that we may serve.
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Proud QC alumnus and former Congressman Joseph Crowley ’85—
seen above with his former professor, Patricia Rachal (Political Science), and QC President F
é
lix V. Matos Rodr
í
guez—
met a warm and appreciative audience on Thursday, February 7, when he deeded his congressional papers to Benjamin Rosenthal Library. (Special collections already archived in the library include the papers of its namesake, Congressmember Benjamin Rosenthal, as well as those of Congressmember Gary Ackerman, New York State Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, and former Queens Borough President, Assemblymember, and City Council Member Helen Marshall.) “We are so proud and thankful to our friend, Congressman Joseph Crowley, for formally donating his papers to his alma mater,” said Matos. “No matter where life took him, he found ways to remain connected to the college and to higher education to make sure that the needs of the college were met. What better embodiment of the Queens College motto, “We Learn So That We May Serve,” than Joe Crowley, who has dedicated his life to service, and what a great gift to our students for whom these materials will hopefully serve as inspiration for careers of great distinction.”
Here’s how NY1 documented the event.
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Provost and Vice President Elizabeth Hendrey and New York City Department of Education First Deputy Chancellor Cheryl Watson Harris met at the My Brother’s Keeper event hosted on campus on February 1 by QC's Division of Education.
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New Director in the House
After an extensive search, the Louis Armstrong House Museum has named its next director: Kenyon Victor Adams, who will oversee the institution’s ongoing expansion. “The Armstrong legacy has the opportunity at this moment, with the new [visitors] center, to be brought into the 21st century,” he told the
New York Times
, which covered his appointment. “I don’t think anyone is aware of just how grand and rigorous and expansive the legacy will show itself to be.”
Adams is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and poet. In his previous position as founding director of arts initiatives at Grace Farms—a cultural and community center in New Canaan, Connecticut—he established collaborative and site-responsive works. Formerly a White House Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Adams studied religion and literature at Yale Divinity School, as well as theology of contemporary performance at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he was an artist in residence in 2015-16.
Photograph by
Ike Edeani
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New Interim Chief Diversity Officer on Campus
Annette Durrant has been appointed Interim Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX Coordinator, succeeding Gina Fini, who filled in most recently due to the retirement of Cynthia Rountree.
Durrant’s 30-year resume as an attorney encompasses work at New York City Transit and the Long Island Rail Road. She has extensive experience in handling discrimination and retaliation claims, dispute resolution, grievances, employee counseling, and accident and incident investigations. She has also created and delivered training programs.
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Understanding Memory Disorders
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Few responsibilities are as challenging as caring for a loved one who has memory issues.
Tomorrow, from 12:30 pm to 1:20 pm in Queens Hall 171, the Queens College Psychological Center will offer an information session on memory problems, caregiving, and coping skills. The presentation, based on the latest empirical research, will address the causes and symptoms of different types of disorders that affect memory (such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease). The program will also cover tools for managing caregiver responsibilities and techniques for responding to difficult behaviors. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the Psychological Center’s ongoing caregiver support group, run by advanced trainees in the clinical psychology doctoral program under the supervision of Yvette Caro, the center’s director, with specialty consultation from Nancy Foldi, director of QC’s Neuropsychology Laboratory of Aging and Dementia.
Refreshments will be served at tomorrow’s session, which is open to QC faculty and staff free of charge. Reserve your place by calling 718-570-0500 or emailing
qcpc@qc.cuny.edu
; walk-ins are welcome.
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Leaping Across Political Chasms
As the United States grows more diverse, it seems more divided than ever. Recent studies have shown that sectarianism is becoming more extreme and that people are increasingly sorting themselves into homogenous groups by race, religion, and politics.
Following the 2016 election, the Center for Ethnic Racial and Religious Understanding (CERRU) created Political Leaps of Faith, a six-week fellowship designed to reverse polarization. In the program, students of varying political opinions develop important skills that promote bipartisan knowledge, advocacy, and collaboration. Specifically, participants learn about engaging in difficult conversations, media literacy, social identity, party history, political leveraging, forms of civic engagement, and tools for organizing and campaigning.
Sessions will be facilitated by self-identified Democrats Sophia McGee and Yael Rosenstock of CERRU; Pierry Benjamin, a Republican organizer who works on national outreach with the Black Conservative Federation; and another Republican soon to be announced.
CERRU is looking for ten student participants from across the political spectrum. Those chosen for the cohort will work together on Thursdays from March 7 through April 18, from 4 to 6 pm. Pizza or another small meal option will be provided. Fellowship applications
http://goo.gl/nUomdy
are now open and the deadline is February 15, so don’t delay!
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Awakening Student Writers
Dreaming Out Loud comprises creative writing workshops, mentorship, and public programs. Participants are expected to attend eight sessions on campus starting Monday, February 25, as listed in the application. In addition, participants will attend a career symposium at a major publishing house. Writing produced by students during this project will be published in an anthology—anonymously, if desired—and read at the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. Upon successful completion of the program, each participant will receive a $400 stipend.
Finalists will be contacted on February 19 and interviewed at QC or via phone on Wednesday, February 20, and Thursday, February 21. Winners will be notified on Friday, February 22, and must respond by the next day.
This program is made possible, in part, with public funds from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
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Educational Conference Explores Race and Identity
An all-star lineup will take the stage at LeFrak Concert Hall on Tuesday, March 12, when QC’s Center for the Improvement of Education holds its inaugural conference,
Race, Identity, & Liberation: Transforming K-12 Public Education and the Academy for the Greater Good
. Award-winning author Jack Tchen, founding director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute at New York University, and Queens resident Jin Park, a recent Harvard University graduate and the first DACA recipient to receive a Rhodes Scholarship, are among the speakers. For complete details, visit the conference’s website,
https://race-identity-liberation.carrd.co/
.
Early registration tickets are $40 until March 1, 2019. After that date, all tickets will be $55. Ticket sales will end on Friday, March 8. A limited supply of free tickets is available for the QC community; interested faculty, staff, and students will be given a separate, password-protected Eventbrite link for registration.
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Big Buddies Befriend Homeless Children
QC’s Big Buddy Program is helping to better the lives of homeless children, while giving QC students the chance to make a difference.
Arthur Salz (EEC) founded Big Buddy in 1989 as a service-learning initiative to mentor, inspire, and educate at-risk children. Revitalized last year by Karla Manning (EEC), the program—which is always recruiting additional Buddies—has seen student participation more than double.
Each QC student is paired with a child or teen (ages 7 to 15) who lives in a homeless shelter. For ten Saturdays each semester, mentors and mentorees go on outings to destinations such as the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum; the Lewis Latimer House Museum; and Harriman State Park (transportation is covered by the program). Participating students receive three credits, 50 service-learning hours, and a memorable learning experience.
To become a Big Buddy, get information about volunteer or community partnership opportunities, or offer monetary support or in-kind donations, please contact Karla Manning at 718-997-5651 or
bigbuddy@qc.cuny.edu
.
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Building Futures: Profile
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Building Futures: Immigrant Entrepreneur Bases Business at QC’s Tech Incubator
NewtonX
, an artificial intelligence-powered knowledge search engine that matches clients to the world’s leading investors, consultants, and technology experts, wanted to open an office in New York City. Sascha Eder, the co-founder and operations manager of the company, found everything it needed at the
Queens College Tech Incubator
.
As a member of the incubator, Eder has access to college facilities and to QC’s biggest asset—its people. “Queens College students and faculty are a great resource for us,” he says, “whether it’s talent in software engineering or a business professor’s expertise.” In turn, he has involved himself deeply in campus and community life.
The mutually beneficial relationship between Queens College and Eder, a German native, results from the
International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC)
. Inaugurated in 2016 by the New York City Economic Development Corporation in collaboration with several CUNY colleges, IN2NYC is designed to attract foreign-born entrepreneurs to our city. Applicants who meet the qualifications receive the coveted cap-exempt H-1B visa to work in the United States while building their businesses in tech incubators at participating CUNY campuses and New York University. Additionally, IN2NYC participants serve as mentors to students, create internships and job opportunities, and contribute to academic research and curricula.
“When we established our tech incubator in 2016, we had in mind a rich partnership between tech-focused entrepreneurs, our students, faculty, and staff and the borough,” says Queens College President Félix V. Matos Rodr
í
guez. “Having Sascha with us thanks to IN2NYC is exactly the kind of knowledge-sharing collaboration we anticipated.”
After undergraduate studies at the University of Mannheim and the University Carlos III of Madrid, Eder earned a master’s degree at the HEC School of Management in Paris. At 23, he moved to the United States to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing his second master’s degree, in entrepreneurship and technological innovation.
At QC, Eder launched a lecture series in which he discusses artificial intelligence and other technology subjects. These no-cost, one-hour events are open to students and the larger community. Eder also held a full-day weekend workshop focusing on the steps needed to succeed as an entrepreneur. [To receive notifications of upcoming events, visit
https://techincubatorqc.com
, scroll down to “Subscribe to Our Mailing List,” and fill out the online form.]
Using a unique algorithm, Eder is now discovering pertinent information about QC alumni that is being shared with the college’s Alumni Office and Center for Career Engagement and Internships. “We’ve been looking at the data on recent graduates,” Eder said. “What kinds of jobs are they getting? Where are they working geographically? What’s the correlation with their major?”
For Media Studies Professor Douglas Rushkoff’s Tech Development Lab class, Eder gave a talk, provided feedback on the students’ work, and was a judge for their final presentations. In December, he joined the jury for the Tech Incubator’s first “Pitch Fest,” a competition awarding cash prizes to budding entrepreneurs who propose the best ideas for tech-enabled products or services.
“I’m excited to be here,” says Eder. “I enjoy mentoring and teaching students and helping them to become the next generation of entrepreneurs,” he says. “They will come up with the ideas that will at some point change the way we do things.”
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Now, for the first time, QC students can take advantage of the earliest summer registration offered by any college in the tristate area.
Hundreds of courses are available in four sessions, along with free campus parking and shuttle buses.
www.qc.cuny.edu/summer
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Q View
is produced by the
Office of Communications and Marketing.
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