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She Took Seven Suitcases Across the Ukraine Border

Khrystyna Melnyk graduated from Weissman in 2017 with a degree in biological sciences. She's now a third-year medical student.

Last week, she posted on Facebook: "So, I felt like a secret agent this weekend. Specifically I was at the Polish-Ukrainian border where I crossed into Ukraine and brought 7 suitcases of aid."

The Police Department in Ukraine's Ternopil region thanked her for bringing them medicine, tactical gloves, and other protective equipment and supplies to help "fight the Russian occupier," adding: "We thank you Khrystyna Melnyk for your civic position, for lifting the spirit of every Ukrainian! You are our Angel! You are a part of us!"

Melnyk was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the US with her family in 1998. "I still have very close family there and many friends," she said. "My 83-year-old grandma is there as well as many, many uncles, aunts, cousins and so on."

You can see her posts and images here and follow her plans on Facebook for other efforts. Her former professor, Pablo Peixoto (Natural Sciences), said that reading her posts filled him "with pride, inspiration, and a bit of worry."
$142,000 to Baruch Climate Scholars for Green Energy

CUNY’s Green Energy/Offshore Wind initiative announced a $142,000 award to support 10 Climate Scholars at Baruch who will focus on topics related to green energy. The grant was sought by Professor Mindy Engle-Friedman (Psychology). The funds will support Professor Engle-Friedman and the Baruch College Task Force on Sustainability in implementing a green energy workforce training project.
Meet BPAC's New Director, Howard Sherman

The longtime director of the Baruch Performing Arts Center, Ted Altschuler, has stepped down. In his place BPAC welcomes Howard Sherman as interim director.

Sherman is an arts administrator, writer, and advocate. He has been executive director of the American Theatre Wing and O’Neill Theatre Center, managing director of Geva Theatre, general manager of Goodspeed Musicals and public relations director of Hartford Stage, as well as interim director of Inclusion in the Arts. He is the US columnist for The Stage in London and author of the 2021 book Another Day’s Begun: 'Our Town' in the 21st Century. He has been honored by the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund for his efforts combating theatrical censorship.

"Ted Altschuler’s leadership has built BPAC into a thriving resource for Baruch, for CUNY, for neighborhood and the New York cultural community," Sherman said. "I hope to build on the incredible foundation he created. It is essential that the work on our stages reflects the diversity of Baruch’s students, faculty and staff across the range of artistic disciplines. I’m committed to exploring new ways for BPAC to be a home for expressive and innovative entertainment in the heart of Flatiron, speaking to and about the city and the world."

BPAC hosts its first visiting production since the pandemic shutdown April 20-23, the Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY 2022 New York Season World & New York premiere, at the Rose Nagelberg Theatre; tickets here.
Faculty Media Mentions, Appearances, and Honors
  • Professor Michael Staub (English) recovers the history of a bubonic plague epidemic that engulfed Vietnam during the 1960s in "Making Sense of Plague in the Vietnam War," published in Environmental History. The disappearance of the epidemic from histories of the Vietnam War reflects what can happen when the very terms for how to make sense of a medical crisis become politicized and the existence and extent of that crisis are disputed. 
  • Wired quoted Professor Stuart Davis (Communication Studies) in a story about Netflix broadcasts in Russia. 
  • NY1 News interviewed Professor Eric Gander (Communication Studies) about President Biden’s Historic Nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court on February 26 (segment starts at 9:35:05)
  • Quad Cinema featured Professor George Gonzalez (Sociology/Anthropology) in a March 11 and 12 discussion of A Song for Cesar, about activist Cesar Chavez. 
  • Professor Geanne Belton (Journalism) was quoted by the Red Hook Star-Revue in a story about a collaboration between Baruch's high school journalism program and the new nonprofit Press Pass.
  • Professor Emeritus Walter Reichman (Psychology) is receiving the receiving this year's Humanitarian Award from the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology. 
In Memoriam: Judy Broadwin

Judy Broadwin, a beloved and exceedingly gifted teacher of math and a strong supporter of SEEK, has died. Her pass rates for calculus were the highest of anyone in the department and her dropout rates were the lowest, said Mathematics Department Chair Professor Warren Gordon, not because she was a lenient grader, but because she was such an effective teacher. Read more here.
Another MFE Triumph at Trading Competition

Weissman’s MFE program entered three teams this year in the Rotman International Trading Competition. They won first place, second place, and fourth place. It’s Baruch’s fifth win in the last seven years at the premier collegiate trading competition in the world. Read more here.  
Baruch Students Leading CUNYverse Platform for Student Voices

Baruch is playing a big role in a new site for student voices called CUNYverse.

The site's editing team includes journalism major Phoebe Richiez and marketing management major Yuliia Pylypenko. Guest contributors include Weissman alumna Yelena Dzhanova, now a reporter at Insider, and business management major Jessica Yauri. Yauri's moving tribute to her parents, who collect cans for a living, was published recently by The Nation.
  
The site is currently showcasing students who are Ukrainian immigrants or who are of Ukrainian heritage sharing their concerns about the war.
New Media Artspace: Body-Image Show and Talk

The New Media Artspace, with support from the Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center, presents Pinar Yolaçan: Body-Image online through May  9.

Body-Image includes studio images in which the artist paints and adorns the bodies of her subjects, alongside documentary work with Brazilian Amazon Indigenous communities who practice full-body painting.

The artist will give a livestreamed lecture April 5, 6-7:30 pm. Register here.
With 'BLUES,' Mishkin Gallery Picks Up Where It Left Off in March 2020

Mishkin Gallery reopens to the public March 21 with BLUES. This exhibition originally opened in March 2020 but closed soon after due to the pandemic.

BLUES features work by the Sierra Leone-born, New York-based musician and artist Lamin Fofana. The gallery describes Fofana’s music as "a conduit for engaging" with issues involving Blackness, migration, displacement, and race through collective listening. The exhibition centers on a trilogy of sound works along with texts by Sylvia Wynter, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Amiri Baraka, and videos and photographs by Fofana and his collaborators Jim C. Nedd and Nicolas Premier. Mishkin Gallery will be the main site of the exhibition, with additional elements such as posters, sounds and events.
'What Is Home?' Correction

An item in the February 28 newsletter incorrectly identified the source of funding for a student essay contest. Baruch alumnus David Shulman '64 is funding the "What Is Home?" contest through the Shulman Family Charitable Fund.
Events
PROVOST BOOK EVENT: A conversation with Provost Linda Essig about her new book, Creative Infrastructures: Artists, Money and Entrepreneurial Action. With Professors David Milch (director of Weissman's MA in Arts Administration), Lilia Ziamou (Zicklin, Marketing), and John Casey (director of Marxe's MPA). March 31, 11 am-noon, in person, Room 750, Baruch Library Building. RSVPs preferred: baruchwsas@baruch.cuny.edu

CLIMATE JUSTICE: "A Conversation about Climate Justice" with Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals. The conversation with Dr. Gumbs will be led by students from the Black and Latino Studies capstone course “Climate Justice is Racial Justice.” This event is presented by the Department of Black and Latino Studies, the Department of English via Globus Lectures, and the Dean’s Office at Baruch’s Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. April 14, 1 pm. Register here.

JEWISH PASTS, UKRAINIAN PRESENTS: Presented by the Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center. Discussion with Professors Robert Weinberg (Swarthmore College), Faith Hillis (University of Chicago), and Brendan McGeever (Birkbeck-University of London) about how periods of crisis in the fraught Ukrainian-Jewish past might allow us to make clearer sense of the present conflict. March 15, 6:30 pm, Zoom. Register here.

NONPROFIT NEWS: “The Role and Vision of Nonprofit News.” Speakers: Susan Chira, editor-in-chief, The Marshall Project; Akoto Ofori-Atta, co-founder and chief audience officer, Capital B, written by and for Black people; Mazin Sidahmed; co-founder and co-executive director of Documented, covering NYC’s immigrant community. Moderator: Professor Gisele Regatão (Journalism). March 31, 5:30-7 pm. Register here.

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA TODAY: Moderated by Political Science Department Chair and Professor Stephanie Golob. Speakers: Professor Enrique Desmond Arias (Marxe Chair of Western Hemisphere Affairs), Jo-Marie Burt (George Mason University Senior Fellow), Jorge Peniche (JTMX - Justicia Transicional in Mexico initiative). March 16, 12:30 pm via Zoom. Register here.
AN INDESTRUCTIBLE LIFE: REFLECTIONS ON MARRONAGE: Activist/scholar Pedro Lebron Ortiz in conversation with Professor Rojo Robles (BLS) hosted by the Black Studies Colloquium. March 16, 6 pm. Register here. 

BLACK FUTURES IN THE CLASSROOM: Faculty Presentation and Fireside Chat with the Baruch Community. Hosted by the Black Studies Colloquium. March 31, 12:30-2:30 pm. Register here.
CRIME FICTION: "Perspectives in Crime Fiction: Navigating the Past." The renowned Belfast crime fiction writer Sharon Dempsey will be interviewed by Elizabeth Mannion, who teaches English at Baruch, in conjunction with the US release of Dempsey’s latest book, Who Took Eden Mulligan? Co-hosted by Baruch's English Department and the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast, March 25, 1-2:15 pm ET. Register here.

HARMAN WRITER: Lecture by Harman Writer-in-Residence Ersi Sotiropoulos, April 7, 6 pm, in person, Room 750, Baruch Library Building. Open only to Baruch staff, students, faculty.

LIVE MUSIC BY STUDENTS: A concert featuring student performances is planned for the Clivner=Field Plaza for May 12 at 1 pm. Help spread the word: Let students know they can submit an audition video or MP3 to abby.anderton@baruch.cuny.edu by March 31. All musical styles, acts, and genres are welcome.
MADISON SQUARE PARK ARTIST TALK: On March 15, 6-7 pm, artist Hugh Hayden will speak about his installation in Madison Square Park, titled Brier Patch, with sociologist and CUNY Graduate Center Professor Carla Shedd (author of Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice). The work's themes include educational inequity, opportunity, and folklore. RSVP for this in-person event and guided tour here.
Look Who's on TikTok: Mishkin Gallery!

Forbes recently reported that TikTok has surpassed Google and Facebook as the world's most popular domain. The platform is best known for short dance videos and cooking tutorials (if you haven't made the famous TikTok baked feta recipe, you're missing out). But other content is increasingly popular, like a story about bees' perception of time that has 2 million views. Many Baruch students are avid TikTok users, and Baruch hashtags turn up plenty of content.

Now Mishkin Gallery is joining the fun with a TikTok channel produced by student employees. Follow the account and email us with info about other Weissman entities on TikTok, along with your thoughts on a future Weissman TikTok account: baruchwsas@baruch.cuny.edu.
Recognizing At-Risk Students: Mental Health Training for Faculty

Faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of Kognito’s At-Risk Mental Health Training, a 30- to 45-minute virtual role-playing class that helps build skills to assist at-risk students.
Grant Workshops and Opportunities
The Office of Sponsored and Public Research lists workshops and grant opportunities in its March newsletter, including:
  • April 27 workshop on the NIH Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) Program (register here)
  • May 11 workshop on Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Andrew T. Mellon Foundation grants (register here)
  • Ford Foundation's Just Film Grant
  • Public Welfare Foundation's Social Justice Programs grants
  • Waitt Foundation's Rapid Ocean Conservation grants.
The newsletter also describes research by Professor Sarah Saddler (Fine and Performing Arts) on industrial theater in South Africa.
Partner with Starr: Career Development for Weissman Students

Baruch's Starr Career Development Center is looking to partner with faculty. You can request a Starr representative to visit classrooms or departmental meetings here. Starr is also looking for faculty moderators for two events: the Government and Non-Profit Panel, April 22, and the Arts and Sciences Panel, May 5. Starr welcomes suggestions for alumni and employers to join the panels.

Finally, help spread the word to students about a job search bootcamp, Project Starr: Get Hired, Mondays 4 -5:30 pm,  March 28, April 4, 11, 25, and May 2. Students will get help with resumes, LinkedIn, networking, and interviews. They can sign up here. 
Past newsletters here. Next newsletter: March 28. Weissman blog here.
Got news, feedback, or questions? Email baruchwsas@baruch.cuny.edu