Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.

#51

Ira Harkavy, associate vice president and founding director of the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania, visited QC last week and met with members of the administration and faculty to discuss his longstanding work on the practice of urban university-school partnerships and the history of the democratic and civic missions of higher education. A prominent author and lecturer, he helped to develop academically based community service courses and participatory action research projects that involve university-assisted community schools in UPenn's local community in West Philadelphia. The well-attended meeting was organized by Bill Keller (Finance and Administration).

Last month, CUNY recognized QC and City College as the only campuses that met the Chairman’s MWBE Challenge, a university-wide campaign to double spending with New York State-certified minority- and women-owned enterprises (MWBEs) in fiscal 2019. Surinder “Sunny” Virk accepted the award on behalf of the college. “All of the managers of QC contributed to this effort, but it was the leadership of Purchasing’s Sunny Virk and Devon Hariprashad that made us successful,” says Bill Keller (Finance and Administration).

[From left: Sunny Virk; Matthew Sapienza, senior vice chancellor and chief financial officer, CUNY; Brian Genzmann, director of Fiscal and Business Affairs, City College]

Much appreciation was in the air when CUNY Chancellor and QC President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and Senior Vice Chancellor Glenda Grace invited faculty and staff to enjoy a light breakfast in the James Muyskens Conference Room at the Summit Apartments on Tuesday, May 14.

Later that same day, the president joined members of the Class of 2019 in the Patio Room for Senior Toast, to celebrate their imminent graduation.

Did everything happen on May 14? Provost and Vice President Elizabeth Hendrey and Chancellor and President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez dished out food for thought—and studying—at Midnight Breakfast that evening. It’s a college tradition for the Student Association and QC administration to join forces to provide meals, music, and midnight oil as the library opened for 24 hours, enabling students to prepare for exams.

QC takes enormous pride in each year’s graduates, many of whom triumph over adversity. Among the class of 2019 is award-winning middle-distance runner Diana Cruz, who credits a QC scholarship with allowing her to stay on track educationally after her family lost their housing in a fire. Learn more about her through this video.

Kupferberg Center Names New Director

Following a national search, Jon Yanofsky has been appointed director of Kupferberg Center for the Arts. Yanofsky comes to QC after almost six years at Brooklyn College as director of its Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. In that capacity, he planned performances, artists residencies and workshops, school and community programs, and special events; raised funds from corporate, foundation, government, and individual sources; and served as the key liaison with the college administration about organizational needs. Prior to his position at Brooklyn College, Yanofsky was the interim director of marketing at BRIC/Celebrate Brooklyn and the director of marketing at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He holds a BA in Sociology and African American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Women’s Tennis Wins East Regional; Advances to Round of 16 in NCAA Tournament

The QC women’s tennis team took home the NCAA East Regional title and also earned a bit of revenge in the process after defeating rival New York Institute of Technology, 4-2, on May 14 in the East Regional Championship match.

Queens lost to NYIT in the East Coast Conference Championship last fall and had to wait seven months to get another crack at them. This time, on an even bigger stage, the Knights took care of business to advance into the Round of 16. 

It looked like QC would be on the losing end of the rivalry once again as they trailed 2-0 after losing a point in doubles matches and dropping the first singles match of the day. However, QC fought back, winning four straight singles matches. Luisa Auffarth’s 6-2, 7-5 victory at #2 singles was the clinching match for the Knights. 

The Knights are now the #11 seed for the Round of 16 and will travel to Altamonte Springs, Florida, to take on #6 University of North Georgia tomorrow—Wednesday, May 22—at 12 noon. Should they win, they would advance to the quarterfinals the following day. A complete tournament bracket can be found here.

Psychology Consortium Helps Community, Trains Students, and Advances Research

Responding to a growing need in the community for the kinds of expertise they possess both as educators and practitioners, while also satisfying important academic needs, members of the Psychology Department have created a center on campus called QC ACES, the Queens College Autism and Developmental Disabilities Center for Evidence-Based Services.

“QC ACES is a consortium of programs in the Psychology Department that operate in conjunction with the Applied Behavioral Analysis Master’s and Advanced Certificate Programs,” says Sara Bauer, director of QC’s Applied Behavioral Analysis Programs.

The center is building upon three existing community-focused programs created in the Psychology Department: SIBS Club, which addresses the needs of children with autism and their siblings, run by Emily Jones; Baby Butterflies, an inclusive mommy and me program, also run by Jones; and the Behavior Disorders Clinic run by Joshua Jessel.

Building on Success

“When I started SIBS Club in 2014, it provided the model for building and expanding QC ACES,” says Jones. “It really was designed as a program that serves the community—families with children with autism—serves our students, and serves the wider research community at the same time. When Dr. Jessel came on, one of the first things that he wanted to do was create the Behavior Disorders Clinic. So, it just made sense to think about this as the beginnings of a center.”

In addition to addressing the needs of people in the community, these programs fulfill important educational and research functions for the college. QC ACES serves to provide on-campus options for graduate students to receive the 1,500 supervised experience hours they have to complete for certification and licensure. “QC ACES provides an in-house program in which students can acquire those hours with optimal supervision, insuring that they’re getting exactly the sort of training that we want them to be getting,” says Jones. Students also participate in cutting-edge research to improve outcomes for families and children with developmental disabilities.

“Last semester, we started a continuing education program through QC ACES,” says Bauer. “We’ve also done a lot of student workshops and we’re starting a series of continuing education workshops for Board Certified Behavior Analysts who need continuing education credits [to maintain their certification]. [These programs] are also open to our students.”

Plans for Future Growth

Jones, Bauer, Jessel and Patricia D’Ateno (who specializes in learning processes and behavior analysis) spent last summer planning the growth of QC ACES. The goal is to develop three divisions of QC ACES: Assessment and Treatment Services, Family Services, and Continuing Education. Some programs are already operating while others are still in development.

All of these efforts should enjoy the success of SIBS Club, which takes over the third and fourth floors of Kiely Hall’s south wing each weekend. “We serve a minimum of about 20 families a semester and about 40 students are involved,” Jones says.

Heartfelt letters from grateful parents offer testimonials to the importance of the work done in these classes. And a letter from a former student cited the SIBS Club experience, in particular, for her success in finding internship opportunities during her graduate studies in social work. “My undergraduate experience at Queens College was unique because of the valuable knowledge and experience I gained with children with autism and their families,” she wrote. “I am looking forward to the continuation of building my career which was strongly benefitted by the sibling program.”

Additionally, Jones mentions that SIBS Club has already generated two articles in academic journals, with more to come. The program has also received development grants.

“We have all of these expert faculty,” she concludes. “Why not offer these programs here?”

Graduate students (from left) LaShae Williams and Hanna Chang prepare for teaching careers under the guidance of Lenwood Gibson.

Lenwood Gibson, associate professor of special education (Educational and Community Programs), is trying to make a difference in New York City’s often fractious classrooms. He trains graduate students in using applied behavioral analysis (ABA) to help young urban children—especially children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those who manifest behavioral disorders—succeed academically.

The stakes are high, particularly in special education. By third grade, Gibson says, inability to read at grade level may lead to “more and more school failure. A lot of the behavioral issues are masking not wanting to be in the classroom. Students think ‘If I act up, I’m going to get sent out. That’s happening to a number of my peers, and where we get sent out to might end up becoming fun.’” Gibson points to research indicating a “pipeline from special education to prison. In juvenile detention centers and adult prisons, the literacy rate among prisoners, who are disproportionately black and brown, is comparatively much lower.”

The problems are complicated, he adds. Schools expect children to arrive “school-ready,” not always possible if they are from immigrant families dealing with a language barrier, or households where parents hold multiple jobs. Hard-pressed teachers and administrators may adopt an “us versus them mentality,” making them less attuned to students’ needs.

Gibson’s research is aimed at improving the core academic skills that students need to become proficient readers and learners. He promotes the use of culturally relevant pedagogies in urban classrooms. The ABA techniques that he teaches involve proven strategies for changing behavior, such as positive reinforcement.

Gibson came to QC with extensive experience in his field. He completed a BA in child psychology at Eastern Connecticut State University, an MS in applied behavior analysis at Northeastern University, and a PhD in special education at Ohio State University. He taught at City College before joining the Queens College faculty in 2014. Here, he coordinates the Board Certified Behavioral Analyst track for master’s students, which he greatly expanded, and enjoys being part of a department with four lively programs. “They’re all interrelated because they’re all working to help kids who really need it,” he explains.

Make Summer Meaningful

You can advance your studies and still have time to go to the beach. Registration remains open for summer session. Here’s your chance to take an especially difficult course or pursue an elective that never fit into your schedule. Learn more about your options for learning at www.qc.cuny.edu/summer.

Rafael De Balanzo (Urban Studies) was interviewed on Radio-Canada Television, Canada’s francophone public broadcaster, on urban resilience policies that the de Blasio administration has been trying to implement in lower Manhattan in response to Hurricane Sandy . . . . Lucy Komisar ’64 was a featured speaker at the Offshore Alert Conference in Miami on April 30. Her topic: William Browder . . . . Frank Kameny ’48, an astronomer, was listed in a New York Times article by Ginia Bellafante about LGBTQ pioneers whom the city should honor with statues. Readers were asked to nominate deceased activists who aren’t already commemorated . . . . Marge Kyrkostas (Anthropology Museum of the People of New York and the Armenian Cultural Educational Resource Center Gallery) curated Ladies From Your Past: A Traveling Exhibit on the Contributions of Outstanding Women, on display this month at the Douglas-Little Neck Public Library. The show was previously displayed at Benjamin Rosenthal Library . . . . Shaul Wertheimer (Chabad on Campus – Queens) was recently published in the book Jewish Spirituality and Social Transformation: Hasidism and Society (Jewish Spiritual Traditions and Contempo). His paper concerned the Jewish view on aging, with particular focus on the contributions of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson . . . . Sixty First Productions (QC Tech Incubator) made a video about the human-centered design workshop that the YCenter held at the incubator during spring break . . .