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

#58

On Friday, October 11, QC turns 82! On this day in 1937, 400 full-time students, roughly evenly divided between men and women, arrived on campus for the first day of classes. The “College of the Future” has been building futures ever since.

New Academic Year, New Programs

QC has entered 2019-2020 with new offerings at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Women and Gender Studies launched a minor in LGBTQ studies, which will introduce students to interdisciplinary research and theory that are breaking new ground. Urban Studies has added a minor in the growing field of urban planning; in a metropolitan area facing rising rents and shrinking public and green spaces, this minor addresses questions important to urban students and offers them the research tools to make a difference in their careers. The Art Department introduced a BFA in Photography and Imaging; it combines mastery of advanced imaging technologies with traditional training in art and photography, offering graduates expanded career paths in commercial and fine arts.

Risk Management added an actuarial studies concentration to its MS degree, which prepares students to become actuaries; the curriculum is aligned with the industry’s core actuarial exams. A new Advanced Certificate in Risk Management will be useful to students who already hold an MBA or graduate degree, but who wish to specialize in risk management. Data Analytics has created an Advanced Certificate in Leadership and Management, which teaches students how data analytics can help organizations achieve their goals; it also trains them to bridge the worlds of data and management.

Expanded Options Online

Several existing graduate degrees and certificates can now be earned online. Family, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences will be offering its MSEd in Family and Consumer Sciences fully online, meeting the needs of teachers who can benefit from the flexibility and convenience. Similarly, Special Education now offers the MSEd in Educational Leadership (formerly a certificate), which students may pursue online to become building or district leaders (e.g., principals, coaches, superintendents, and similar positions). Special Education also is now offering its Post-Master’s Advanced Certificate programs both online and on campus at the Birth–2, grades 1–6, and grades 7–12 levels.

Interim President William Tramontano ventured across borough borders into the habitat of Jim Breheny—executive vice president and general director of Zoos and Aquarium for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Jonathan Little Cohen Director of the Bronx Zoo—for an October 3 meeting of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Former Guest Curator Installed in Leadership Position

Effective September 16, Louise Weinberg has been appointed to the Godwin-Ternbach Museum as co-director, joining Co-Director Maria Rohr at the helm of this important campus institution.

No stranger to QC, Weinberg was the guest curator of the museum’s spring exhibition, Hope is a Thing with Feathers: Art of the Natural World. She worked most recently at the Queens Museum, organizing numerous shows, such as Bearing Witness: The Drawings of William Gropper; That Kodak Moment: Photographing the New York Fairs; The Islands of New York: Photographs by Accra Shepp; NYC Building Time Lapse: Photographs by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao 2009-2013; and Frank Oscar Larson: 1950s New York Street Stories. Additionally, she oversaw a specialized collection of World’s Fair artifacts and works of modern to contemporary art.

Weinberg has curated and designed over thirty exhibitions for a broad range of institutions—including the Hudson River Museum, Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Art Gallery of the Dalton School, SoHo20 Gallery, and the Atrium Gallery at LaGuardia Community College—and has managed numerous shows for the Queens Historical Society, the Poppenhusen Institute, and the Putnam History Museum in Cold Spring, New York.

An award-winning artist and photographer, Weinberg has had her work displayed at Otis College of Art + Design, Edinburgh Collage Collective, Metro Pictures, Materials for the Arts, Arsenal Gallery, Crest Hardware, Museum of Photographic Art, Art Gallery, Tempe State University, Brooklyn Art Library, Quetzalcoatl Gallery, Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, Art Gallery, C.W. Post, Long Island University, Local Project, Armory Center for the Arts, Art Shanty Projects, Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery, Barratt Gallery, Mobius, Inc., and many others. She holds an MFA in painting from University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.

Susheel Kirpalani ’91 (right) and Christopher Porter (left), partners at law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, discussed the value of persistence in “True Grit: How Passion and Perseverance Cultivate Our Greatest Potential,” presented by Professionals on Campus on Wednesday, October 2.

Mid-Season Sports Review

The calendar has turned to October and fall sports are well under way. Let’s see how the Knights are faring so far.

Women’s Tennis

The Knights are off to their usual strong start, going undefeated in their first four dual matches.

In tournament play, QC freshman Maja Makal earned an upset victory at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional Championship as the #13 seed. She upset the #1- and #8- ranked players in the tournament en route to victory at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She will now head to Georgia from October 17–20 for the ITA National Tournament.

"She showed incredible heart in winning the final from a set down after playing one hour earlier in the semi-finals,” noted Head Women’s Tennis Coach Alan Nagel. “She truly showed what an outstanding player she is and is going to be. I cannot wait to see the progress that she will make in the future."

The Knights were also well represented at the Hofstra Invitational on September 28. Mana Koitabashi claimed the singles “C” draw championship, while Luisa Auffarth was the runner-up in the “A” singles draw, which was made more impressive by the fact she played against mostly Division I competition. The championship appearance highlighted a strong month for Auffarth, who also earned East Coast Conference (ECC) Player of the Week honors three times in the month of September.

Men’s Soccer

The Knights are off to a 3-4-1 start with the majority of its ECC matches still to come. QC earned non-conference wins over Dominican College, Jefferson University, and Seton Hill University and played to a draw against Franklin Pierce University. The Knights boast one of the top defenses in the league, led by QC goalie Marek Strzelczyk, who has posted three clean sheets thus far. On offense, QC has featured a balanced attack, with Emgi Gousse leading the way with three goals. The Knights will have several key ECC matches over the next two weeks including home matches on October 12 and 19 at 3 pm vs. Daemen College and Bridgeport University, respectively.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team has vastly improved this year, having already eclipsed their win total from last season. The Knights are 5-5, due in large part to the play of Victoria Ramirez. The senior forward leads the team with five goals and ranks first in the ECC with eight assists, earning two ECC Player of the Week honors in the process. The Knights hope to improve upon their already strong start with four straight home matches coming up (October 9, 3 pm; October 12, 12 pm; October 16, 3 pm; October 19, 12 pm).

Cross Country

The cross country teams had some notable performances in September. Crystal Jia had the top finish for any Knight thus far when she placed fourth at the York College Invitational on September 22. Meanwhile, the men had a solid outing at the season-opening Adelphi Invitational, placing fifth overall. Pablo Hernandez posted a season-best finish of 16th place at that meet. The Knights have one more meet at the St. Joseph’s College Invitational on October 12 before they compete at the ECC Championships on October 25.

Women’s Volleyball

The Knights women’s volleyball team has struggled since winning its season opener on September 6. However, they still have time to make up for the slow start with the majority of the ECC schedule still to come. Setter Alisha Matthews has been a key contributor, averaging 5.47 assists per set and 0.47 aces per set, which rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the ECC. Alexis Deodat is 5th in the ECC in blocks per set (0.72). They host Molloy College on October 8 at 7 pm and Flagler College at 12 pm on October 12.

For daily updates on all the athletics teams, visit queensknights.com.

Documenting the WWII Service of QC Personnel

Nearly 1,900 Queens College staff and students served in some capacity during World War II. Now a new research guide, “ Queens College World War II Veterans History Project: Queens College in the Second World War” lists these men and women by name, branch of service, and class, and provides useful historical context and links.

Scott Lipkowitz, a student in the MLIS/MA History dual degree program, created the guide under the supervision of Kara M. Schlichting (History) in collaboration with Annie Tummino (Special Collections and Archives) and Johnathan Thayer (GSLIS). “The data had been hanging around in half-finished Excel sheets, so publication is a meaningful achievement,” observes Tummino.

This project, funded by the family of Arnold Franco ’43, a WWII vet, was first conceived of in 2005. Actual data collection began ten years later. “Five undergraduate interns processed each and every record in the Register archive by hand, searching for evidence of involvement in the war effort,” explains Schlichting. “The second phase required two interns to analyze the transcript data and build a database. In the third and final phase, Scott—our graduate intern—marshaled the data to create an accessible guide. This project would not have been possible without the excellent work of our history students.”

Adds Tummino, “It’s also an example of how the library can help facilitate interdisciplinary projects, which is one of the goals in our strategic plan.”

LED Fixtures Illuminate Parking Deck, Lighten Costs

Just as many of us are contributing to sustainability efforts while also achieving savings by switching to energy-efficient LED lighting at home, so, too, is Queens College.

The most recent step in this effort took place over the summer months with a change in the lighting on the parking deck. “Our in-house electricians replaced all Parking Lot 14 light posts with a new LED,” says Zeco Krcic (Facilities, Planning/Operations). “We went from 250-watt metal halide fixtures down to 78-watt LEDs.”

This was the first of three such projects slated for this year, he explains. “We borrowed funds from the Sustainability Investment Fund at CUNY to do energy and efficiency projects to realize the savings, improve energy efficiency, and in this case also enhance public safety in a lot of that size.”

Given their long life, explains Krcic, the new fixtures enhance productivity with the reduction in the need to replace bulbs, a time-consuming process that required specialized equipment. “We put these in and we should be okay for 22 years,” he says.

Two winters ago, says Krcic, B&G made the same conversion to LED lighting in 185 fixtures in the lower deck parking garage, Lot 5. “So, taken together the two replacement projects are a tremendous amount of energy saved,” he reports. These improvements also improve general lighting and therefore overall campus safety. More such upgrades are under way ahead of this winter.

Collecting Supplies for Hurricane Relief

QC’s Student Association, Circle K, Inter Greek Council, and Caribbean Students Association have set up a collection drive to help people in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

Working with the Bahamas Consulate, these organizations are asking for donations of blankets, pillows, indoor and outdoor clothing, water, nonperishable food, first aid kits, feminine products, baby products, candles/matches, dental products, soap, tissue, plastic plates and utensils, flashlights, batteries, and nonprescription medicine (Advil). Collection boxes have been placed on the first floor of Powdermaker, first floor of Section B of the Science Building, the Dining Hall’s Armstrong Alley, CSA/BSU club space, the Summit Apartments lobby, the third floor of Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, Kiely Hall, and the Student Union’s Lounge and first floor.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Student

Development and Leadership at 718-997-3970 or via email at  studentlife@qc.cuny.edu.

Keeping Up with the Times

Here’s some good news: All QC students, faculty, and staff qualify for a free digital subscription to the New York Times. The free subscription provides unlimited access to the tristate area’s paper of record, including past articles as well as archives going back to 1889. To take advantage of this offer, sign up at nytimes.com/qc using your QC email.

Investment Contest Seeks Traders

Students have the opportunity to make millions in virtual dollars and win cash prizes during the college’s annual trading competition, now under way. The contest is organized by the Economics and Business Club and the Department of Economics, in association with the Division of Social Sciences and working with Experiential Education at QC. Participants, who may enroll at any time, manage simulated accounts in a free platform provided by MarketWatch. Each account starts with $1 million; winners are determined by the final account balance when the competition ends on November 29. For information, go to www.qc.cuny.edu/etc or contact faculty advisor Luc Marest in Powdermaker Hall 306H, luc.marest@qc.cuny.edu.

Open Data Project Seeks Participants

Getting a head start on New York City’s next Open Data Week—held annually in March—QC and data analytics consultancy CrossCompute are holding a remote kickoff session on Friday, October 11, from noon to 1 pm. Students from all majors are invited to attend virtually; a computer science background is not required. Participants will develop problem-solving skills by working in three-person teams, using information made available for free by the city to help urban emergency management agencies analyze and visualize their risk landscape. Selected teams will present their projects at the NYC Open Data Week Student Showcase. To sign up, go to http://bit.ly/nycopendataqc​.

Integrating Da Vinci into Italian Language Instruction

An Italian language teaching development workshop at the Calandra Italian American Institute on Friday, October 18, from 10 am to 4 pm, will be woven around Leonardo da Vinci.

Eugenia Paulicelli (ELL) organized the program, which—in honor of the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death—will use da Vinci’s interest in fashion and textiles to explore content and language integrated learning (CLIL). The workshop will begin with sessions in English on the subjects of Leonardo and CLIL methodology and later will engage participants in hands-on laboratories with a variety of modules—in Italian—focused on the theme of the day and on classroom activities at middle-school and high-school levels. Speakers in addition to Paulicelli will include Carmel Coonan of Ca' Foscari, Venice; Annavaleria Guazzieri, director of education at the Italian Consulate in New York; and Nicola Lucchi (ELL).

This workshop is co-sponsored by the Italian Program at Queens College, the Calandra Institute, the Italian American Committee on Education the Center for Teaching and Learning at Queens College, Fashion Studies at the Graduate Center/The Fabric of Cultures Project, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the Italian Consulate in New York.

Teachers will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the workshop. For more information, call 212-642-2094.

Work for the Board of Elections

The Board of Elections needs poll workers and interpreters for the next citywide elections which, for the first time, will include 61 early voting locations https://nyc.pollsitelocator.com open from October 26 to November 3. The general elections will take place on Tuesday, November 5.

To participate, new voters must register by Friday, October 11. New York State licensed drivers may register online: go to https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov and click on “Register to vote.” If you do not have a driver’s license, click here for details on all the ways you can register.

Making and Teaching Art

A working artist and former professor of Socially Engaged Art at Queens College and director of Public Engagement for a small non-profit called More Art, Jeff Kasper recently accepted a position as a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Department of Art teaching interdisciplinary art and design. He credits the QC MFA program in Studio Art and Social Practice not only for what it teaches but for giving artists like himself the contacts and connections with entities that artists will most likely work with beyond graduation.

Originally from Queens, Kasper grew up on Long Island and was educated entirely in private schools, including receiving private art lessons from age seven. “I was lucky enough to have art education throughout most of my life,” he says.

He obtained his BA at City College but elected to come to QC for his graduate degree.

“Uniquely, Queens College is one of the only schools in the world to have a concentration in Social Practice Art,” he says, explaining that it involves working in media and settings which people may not necessarily associate with art. “I knew that Queens College has a reputation for artists who are educators and activists.”

Being in New York City, one of the major centers of the art world, was another element in his decision, as was the ability to have his own studio and individualized program of study and support. Additionally, he notes that many of his fellow students were fulltime educators, and QC was exceptional in its willingness to accommodate the demands of their work and family responsibilities. 

Kasper lauds the longstanding collaboration between the MFA program, its social practice component, and the Queens Museum of art for giving students opportunities to mount exhibitions and make contacts. “Since graduating I’ve been able to get fellowships and artist commissioning opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to get without the support of my cohort and the MFA faculty,” he says.

“I’m the first in my family to receive a master’s degree and as a first-generation American, I find it an amazing privilege to be a leader in my field.”

Great Value Colleges ranked QC’s Anthropology Department fourth in New York State and third in New York City (ahead of both Hunter College and City College) in the Top 35 Most Affordable Bachelor’s Degrees in Anthropology for 2020 . . . Ryan Black (English), author of The Tenant of Fire, a book of poetry inspired by Queens, was the subject of a story on CUNY’s SUM website . . . Melissa Checker (Urban Studies) and Glen Johnson of the CUNY School of Public Health received funding through the CUNY Interdisciplinary Research Grant Program to evaluate the association between certain land use changes and gentrification . . . Scott Ewing (Psychology) explains the difference between addictions and cravings on an episode of CUNY TV’s “Simply Science” . . . Amy Hsin (Sociology) has been named a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation for 2019-2020 . . . Amir Khafagy, an Urban Studies alumnus, has been named a 2019-2020 New Economies Reporting Project Fellow . . .  Michael Krasner (Political Science) will be leading Let’s Talk Democracy’s 2019 fall civics education series Can Democracy Survive? at the Queens Public Library in Forest Hills on October 23 and 30, and November 6, 13, and 21, from 6 to 7:30 pm. Let’s Talk Democracy is a Forest Hills-based nonprofit organization that offers free classes, seminars, and discussion forums . . . Maaza Mengiste (English) got a rave from the New York Times Book Review for her novel about Ethiopian women warriors, The Shadow King.