Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.
#32
What’s News
A Campus Celebration for Everyone
Unlike events created exclusively for alumni, Homecoming 2018—taking place this weekend—will embrace the entire QC community.

Like all the best weekends, this one starts on Thursday. Henceforth known as Spirit Day, October 11 commemorates the college’s 81st anniversary. Faculty, students, and staff are invited to get into the spirit on that date by wearing QC hats and clothing. If you want to supplement your wardrobe for the occasion, you’ll find T-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball caps, and more at the campus store, in the Dining Hall.

On Saturday, October 13, a cocktail reception at the president’s residence in Douglaston will toast members of the classes of 1943, 1948, 1958, and 1968. The next day, the celebration moves to campus with the Homecoming Festival, which starts with reunion brunches and concludes in a reception for the classes of 1978, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2008, and 2013. In between, the activities menu features tours, talks, and plenty to eat and drink, with food trucks offering “A Taste of QC on the Quad” and, for those of legal drinking age, the opportunity to sample beer and wine. For complete details, click here .
QC Alum Joins Shark Tank Cast for Season 10
Lori Greiner, host of Shark Tank, shares an on-set photo op with Matthew Higgins.
Matthew Higgins ‘98, will join “Shark Tank” as a guest Shark during the ABC reality show’s tenth season. He is set to appear in two episodes, beginning Sunday, October 21.

Higgins grew up in Bayside, Queens. He intentionally dropped out of high school at age 16 to enter college early, and began at QC in 1991. While at the college, he and his brother Todd served as president of the forensics society in alternating years. Higgins also worked as a reporter for the Queens Tribune  as a student, before obtaining his JD from Fordham Law and becoming the youngest press secretary in the history of New York City.

“‘Shark Tank’ represents everything great about the American dream,” Higgins said. “This show exudes positivity. These entrepreneurs walk in, many of them with nothing, and walk out with people who support them and believe in them—whether as investors, customers, or fans. I’ve been a huge fan of the show ever since the first season because it’s similar to what I do every day. The only difference is, now I get to sit in the chair and actually make some deals from the tank. It’s incredible.”

Higgins serves as CEO and cofounder of private investment firm RSE Ventures, as well as vice chairman for the Miami Dolphins. He also supports single mothers who are taking classes at QC through a scholarship fund, in honor of his late mother Linda Higgins, a QC alumna. 

Alumni and friends may watch Higgins’ “Shark Tank” debut on Sunday, October 21, at 9 pm. The episode will feature three siblings from Long island, who present a product in honor of their late father, a New York City firefighter who dreamed of pitching on “Shark Tank,” but passed away before he could make it on the show.
Recognition for Outstanding Undergraduates

More than 2,300 students will be honored at the Academic Excellence Award Ceremony on Thursday, October 11, in Colden Auditorium. David I. Weiner ’76, managing director at Neuberger Berman, will be the keynote speaker.

Held every fall, the ceremony recognizes top-performing undergraduates from the prior academic year. To be eligible, full-time students must have made the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA or higher) in both semesters the previous year. Part-time students must make the Dean’s List in two consecutive fall and spring semesters. Students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.75–3.899 will be recognized as Provost’s Scholars, while those with a GPA of 3.9–4.0 will be known as Presidential Scholars.

Weiner is a member of the Straus Group within the Private Asset Management Division of Neuberger Berman, a private, independently owned investment firm with over $300 billion in assets under management.

President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez will bring greetings and introduce the keynote speaker. Ross Wheeler, director of Honors Programs; Elizabeth Hendrey, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; and Adam Rockman, Vice President for Student Affairs, will also speak. 
Champion Against Holocaust Denial Speaks at QC
Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, will give a lecture on “Holocaust Denial Today” on Monday, October 15, at 6 pm in LeFrak Concert Hall. The subject is one she understands all too well: In 1996, she was sued for libel by English author David Irving, whom she had identified as a Holocaust denier in her 1993 book, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory .

Many may remember actress Rachel Weisz’s portrayal of Lipstadt in Denial , the 2016 film about the trial. Transpiring in a London court 16 years earlier, it yielded a verdict that completely vindicated Lipstadt and her British publisher, Penguin UK. The Times , a British daily, welcomed that decision by declaring, “History has had its day in court and scored a crushing victory.” The website HDOT.org, Holocaust Denial on Trial, created by Lipstadt and her colleagues, contains a complete archive of the trial proceedings and provides responses to claims frequently made by deniers.

Lipstadt has won the Emery Williams Teaching Award, an honor that Emory alumni give to a faculty member who most influenced them. As a historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she helped design the section dedicated to the American response to the Holocaust. She has held a presidential appointment to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (from Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) and was asked by President George W. Bush to represent the White House at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

A native of Far Rockaway, Queens, Lipstadt has a BA from City College and an MA and PhD from Brandeis University. Her most recent book, Antisemitism Here and Now , is anticipated to be published in February 2019.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies and the History Department. To reserve seats, RSVP by October 8 to rsvp.dev@qc.cuny.edu .
New Campus Security Director on Duty

Beth A. LaManna is the new campus security director, following a distinguished career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She brings to the campus 22 years of meritorious service as an FBI agent and is the first woman to serve in this college public safety position at any CUNY senior college.

Throughout her FBI career, LaManna was assigned to the criminal division in the New York Field Office, where she conducted investigations involving organized crime and racketeering, complex financial fraud, money laundering, the 9/11 attacks, and civil rights violations. She was a crisis negotiation coordinator for the office’s crisis negotiation program, working with it for over 11 years. 

Additionally, as coordinator for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, LaManna served as the liaison between state and local law enforcement agencies—including the New York City Police Department— requesting assistance from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. In this capacity, she coordinated and orchestrated training focused on active school shooters, threat assessment mitigation and management, and violence in the workplace.

LaManna holds a BS from Cornell University. Subsequently, she attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, earning a master's degree in School and Community Psychology and a PhD in Educational and Clinical Psychology. For almost 10 years she provided clinical counseling and school psychological services in the Detroit Public Schools, while maintaining a private clinical practice in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Additionally, she taught graduate-level psychology courses at Wayne State University as an adjunct professor.

The college is grateful to Lieutenants Deborah Huggins and Jose Sanchez, who managed the department since the retirement of former Director Pete Pineiro this summer, and to Odalys Diaz Pineiro and the members of the committee who conducted the search for his replacement. This is also the perfect opportunity to thank our Public Safety Department for their important work throughout the year.
Exhibition of Students’ Paintings Marks Anniversary of Hurricane Maria 
 
After Hurricane Maria, the CHICAS by Alejandra Foundation (CHICAS Foundation)—a Puerto Rico-based nonprofit—held an unusual art contest: Children all over the island were encouraged to submit original works expressing their feelings about the storm. Hundreds of students participated, submitting 630 paintings. A panel of artists, art teachers, and community leaders selected 80 winning entries. Now those pieces will be displayed in an exhibition , Acciones Que Levantan a Puerto Rico (Actions That Lift Puerto Rico) ACCIONES, on view in the Art Center on the sixth floor of the college’s Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library from October 9 through November 9, 2018. 
 
“Students and staff from Queens College participated in Governor Cuomo’s NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative by helping to clean, restore, and reconstruct homes on the island in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria,” said President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “By hosting this exhibition, we want to continue to honor Puerto Ricans’ courageous struggle and the positive message of recovery that the young people of the island are sending out into the world.”
President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez joined (from left) Univision 41 Senior Reporter Mariela Delgado, Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón, and Lehman College President José Luis Cruz on a panel at The Hispanic Education Summit in Manhattan on Tuesday, October 9. The focus included strategies for Latino student success.
Preparing Students for Jobs of the Future

Many of the jobs that today’s learners will hold have yet to be invented. So how can QC students prepare for those work paths? Self-proclaimed “nonlinear multimodal careerist” Christopher Bishop addressed that topic in Campbell Dome on September 26 in his workshop, “How to Succeed in Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet.”

Bishop might be the perfect person to lead such as a talk. After graduating with a degree in German literature, he played the bass and sang the “Gimme a Break” jingle in KitKat commercials, created the first corporate website for Johnson & Johnson, and led social media strategy for IBM. He is now a consultant, writer, and public speaker, helping people to be successful in the evolving global workplace.

Bishop stressed that the same qualities that allowed him to get ahead as a freelance bass player—creativity, resourcefulness, resilience, and the ability to work across disciplines—also served him well at IBM. Expertise, he added, is often the least important component to being successful. 

He also identified three secret ingredients to mastering the journey through multiple careers: voice (defining your own brand), antenna (mapping what you do to what is happening), and mesh (finding and sharing with people who value your skills). In other words, it’s necessary to identify your interests and skill sets, analyze how they can be applied to today’s world, and network heavily with people of common interests. He recommended connecting with at least five people on Linkedin every week in order to build up a solid base of contacts.

“The most beneficial advice was Chris' revelation on how many of the top jobs today did not exist five years ago,” said Wilson Delmas, a freshman physics major who attended the workshop. “I found that to be an important notion that should be acknowledged, because of what it means to students who are pursuing degrees in fields such as medicine, accounting, and computer science.”

You can learn more about Bishop at improvisingcareers.com or by visiting his LinkedIn page
Fall Fest a Great Success

The Quad turned into a carnival for Fall Fest on Wednesday, October 3. Students enjoyed a bounce house, jousting, giant Jenga, races, air hockey, and basketball, among other options. A tent housed old-school arcade games, such as Ms. Pac-Man, pinball, and skeeball. Free t-shirts and food were handed out, including ice cream—a Mister Softee truck made an appearance. The beautiful weather was the cherry on top to a great afternoon.

Fall Fest was organized by the QC College Union Programming Board (CUPB), whose goal is to promote and coordinate student-initiated activities to meet all types of cultural, social, and religious needs. Fall Fest is designed to give students a break so they can enjoy their campus and each other.

“We are quite pleased with how Fall Fest went,” said Brian Klein, CUPB chairperson. “The primary changes for this year’s event involved the area where waivers were signed, as well as where the students received food. The changes were done to make things more ordered, and were a resounding success: Students said the fest was considerably more organized and wait times on lines were shorter.”

CUPB will apply those lessons when it hosts festivals in the winter and spring.
Addressing a full house at President’s Conference Room 2 in Rosenthal Library on Thursday, September 27, Sarah Ozacky Lazar (left), director of the Forum for the Promotion of the Arab Society in the Israeli Academia, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, and Mona Khoury-Kassabri (right), dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's School of Social Work--the first Arab woman to become a dean at that school--described their efforts to include Israel’s Arab citizens in higher education. The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Urban Studies, the Department of Sociology, the Division of Social Sciences, and the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding.
Teeing Up in a Good Cause

Facilities for QC’s Annual Golf Classic on Monday, October 22, are way above par: This year’s event will be held at Glen Head Country Club, a celebrated 6,700-yard golf course nestled on 160 acres in Nassau County’s upper North Shore. The day includes an 11:30 am shotgun start and a 5 pm cocktail reception dinner. Proceeds of the golf classic benefit the Queens College Foundation, which provides scholarship support for students in need. To buy tickets, visit www.queensknights.com/golf .
In Memoriam
The college community was saddened to learn that John J. McDermott, who taught philosophy at QC from 1956 to 1977, passed away on September 30 at age 86. A native New Yorker, McDermott was the first of eight children in a working-class Irish Catholic family; in his teens, he volunteered with the Catholic Worker Movement. After earning his bachelor’s degree at St. Francis College, he continued his education at Fordham University. He began teaching at QC before he’d finished his doctorate. An electrifying lecturer and dedicated educator who preferred the title “Professor” to “Doctor,” he gave classes that were so popular that auditors competed for standing-room-only space (as Jay Hershenson, Vice President of Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President, recalls in this link ) .

From QC, McDermott moved to Texas A&M, where he would teach, remarkably, for more than 40 years, becoming one of the university’s distinguished professors as well as a Regents professor, an honor within the Texas State University System. American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia celebrated him for making classical philosophy accessible to Americans and addressing modern-day culture through the lens of philosophy. He was the general editor of critical editions of the Writings of William James and Correspondence of William James , the latter a 12-volume project. His research interests extended into the philosophy of medicine and existentialism.

McDermott was also remembered for helping to found A&M’s faculty senate and serving as its charter speaker. His service to his discipline and his colleagues never really ended. Late in life, he became the founding director of the Community of Faculty Retirees at his university.
The QC community was shocked to learn of the sudden death of History Professor Satadru Sen, a highly respected scholar and valued colleague. We will report on his life and career in a future issue of QView.
Heard Around Campus
Harry Feiner (DTD) has gotten excellent reviews for his set design at the Mint Theater for  Days to Come . Including that work, he has three shows playing on Off-Broadway at the moment . . . . Gregory O’Mullan (SEES) and John Waldman (Biology) made presentations at the American Chinese Environmental Protection Association’s First Annual Convention, held on Sunday, September 16, at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing . . . .

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