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$40K Donation for Undergraduate Science Research

An anonymous donor is giving $40,000 to the Department of Natural Sciences. The money will be used to fund undergraduate research projects.

"This wonderful gift will enable students to collaborate with faculty in labs and in the field, providing opportunities for invaluable hands-on learning," said Dean Jessica Lang. "It is thrilling to think of the impact of this gift for our students both while they are undergraduates and in their postgraduate lives. I am so very grateful to the generosity of this donor for creating the possibility of research partnerships between faculty and students."

The donor recalled that "decades ago, the Natural Sciences faculty created courses that allowed students to prepare for admission to medical and dental schools. I remember the great teachers: Professors Gernert, Hoffman, Bleyman, Malerich, Szalda and Sidran. It is wonderful that the College now has research labs where students learn science by doing it with a faculty mentor; and some students are even co-authors on publications. I wholeheartedly support these collaborations in research."

Stay tuned for details on how to apply for funding. Funds are expected to be available beginning in the fall.
Can You Help? Looking for Experts for Media Pitches

Baruch's Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs is looking for subject matter experts to pitch to media outlets for interviews on a variety of timely and newsworthy topics.

If you're game to talk to reporters on topics like the midterm elections, Supreme Court nominations, economics, Wall Street, critical race theory, local politics, immigration, book banning, entertainment and pop culture, climate change, psychology (suicide, the pandemic, violence), or any other subject that you think is newsworthy or that you see making headlines, we'd love to hear from you.

Please send an email to baruchwsas@baruch.cuny.edu with your area of expertise and the best way to reach you, preferably an email that you check often and/or cellphone where a reporter on deadline could reach you. And if you see something breaking in the news or brewing in your field that you'd like to be quoted on, feel free to reach out.

If you're a department head, we'd love to have you encourage your faculty to make themselves available for media. OCMPA is hoping to come up with a list of professors they can call on as warranted.
Faculty Publications and Media Mentions
'MITROCHONDRIAC': Professor Pablo Peixoto (Natural Sciences) got a shout-out for his research on mitochondria from BlackinNeuro.com.

HARLEM: Glenn Hunter, an adjunct lecturer in Mathematics, wrote an op-ed for Harlem World Magazine titled "Harlem Needs A Permanent Location That Tells Its Own Story."

WHALES AND AI: Discover magazine is the latest publication to quote Presidential Professor David Gruber (Natural Sciences) on Project CETI, which seeks to decode the language of whales using AI.

MFE SALARIES: Risk.net reported that graduates of Baruch's Financial Engineering master's program earn the highest starting salaries of any MFE program. That report was picked up by efinancialcareers and distributed to websites geared to readers around the world with a quote from MFE director Dan Stefanica.

IRAN: Iran Between Two Revolutions by Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ervand Abrahamian (History) has been translated into Persian and published by the Ney publishing house in Tehran. The book was originally published in 1982. TehranTimes.com describes Abrahamian "as one of the leading historians of modern Iran."

REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT: The Hill wrote about a study co-authored by Professor Els de Graauw (Political Science) which shows that refugees in the US have difficulty keeping jobs long-term. The study was published in Social Problems.
Mildred Weissman, School Benefactor, Dies at 102

Baruch President S. David Wu announced the passing of Mildred Weissman, who died February 6 at age 102. She and her late husband George were major benefactors of Baruch and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, which was named in their honor. They were strong supporters of a liberal arts education. Read more here.
A Tribute to the Late Philip Lambert

From Professor Andrew Tomasello (Music):

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Professor Philip Lambert of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. As a music theorist, Professor Lambert was a pillar of our Music Program for almost 35 years, formally establishing the teaching of keyboard harmony and the Music Theory minor. He was a devoted educator. In addition to his classroom duties, he individually tutored hundreds of students in theory and composition during his academic career, also mentoring CUNY doctoral students and shepherding dissertations. He served FPA for two terms as chairman, and with his brilliant mind, dry wit, and quiet presence, he was always a steady and secure source of advice and guidance.
  
A tireless researcher and writer whose interests were as wide as they were deep, Professor Lambert authored scholarly books on Charles Ives, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Broadway’s Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, composer Alec Wilder, as well as classroom textbooks for both music harmony and post-tonal theory, and many scholarly articles.
 
Professor Lambert spent his youth in Oklahoma, where he walked by the now-famous Ada water tower every day on his way to middle school. He played football and trombone and also performed in community theater productions (playing the Artful Dodger in Oliver! and Papageno in The Magic Flute, among other roles). He received his BA from the University of Oklahoma and his PhD from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music.
 
Professor Lambert succumbed to a long illness after a valiant struggle and is survived by his wife Diane and two daughters. He was 63. We all miss him very much.
 
Condolences may be conveyed to Mrs. Lambert at Philip.Lambert@baruch.cuny.edu.
Student and Alumni News

I/O PSYCH ALUM: Lilia Hayrapetyan, the global head of people analytics and insights at Citi, was named a "people analytics leader to learn from" by Perceptyx. She holds an MS in industrial-organizational psychology from Baruch and a PhD from the Graduate Center.
THE LOCKE PRIZES: Professor Emily Johnson (Journalism) is soliciting submissions for the Locke Prizes, funded by a gift from Professor Emerita Susan Locke (Psychology) to encourage Baruch undergraduates to engage in scholarly activities that address threats to the natural world and the climate change crisis. First, second, and third prizes of $200, $150, and $100 will be awarded in two categories: Research and the Arts. Projects are due May 24 but will be accepted on a rolling basis. Research done for class assignments, honors theses, independent study, journalistic work, written or visual arts, or interdisciplinary work are all eligible. The submission form is at the bottom of the Locke seminar web page.
Events
MINDFULNESS: "Mindfulness as a Strategy for Improving Relationships and Reducing Stress," February 15, 12:30 pm-1:30 pm. Speaker: University of Georgia Professor Lillian Eby, an industrial-organizational psychologist. Zoom registration here. Details here. The event is presented by the Psychology Department.

TRANSLATING SPANISH SONGS: "Lost in Translation: The Beauty and Message of Latinx Music, " hosted by ISLA, February 17, 6-7 pm. Register here. Famous Spanish songs will be translated into English and analyzed with an eye to what's lost in translation.

BOOK TALK: The CUNY Graduate Center Department of Anthropology hosts an event for Professor Glenn Petersen's book War and the Arc of Human Experience, February 18, 4:15-6:15 pm. 

CARNAVAL/CARNIVAL: ISLA and Black and Latino Studies celebrate the Afro-Latinx tradition of carnival in the Americas, February 23, 6-8 pm. Register here.

DEI: The Robert C. Weaver Society presents "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Panel Discussion: How to Build a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy," February 24, 6 pm. Strategy. Moderator: Professor and Interim Chair Shelly Eversley (Black and Latino Studies). Panelists include Baruch Chief Diversity Officer Elliott Dawes. Register here.
COMEDY DUO: The Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center is hosting the comedy duo El Salomons, a married Jewish-Palestinian lesbian couple, featuring Jess Solomon and Eman El-Hussein, February 24, 7 pm. Register here.

ART WALKING TOUR: Walking tour of public art in the Gramercy neighborhood, hosted by the Mishkin Gallery, February 26, noon, free, RSVP: mishkingallery@baruch.cuny.edu. Masks required, capacity limited to 20 people; first-come basis.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Links to sign up or join these events here.

BLACK LIFE FUTURES: Baruch's Black Studies Colloquium is presenting a special public-facing research and pedagogy series: "Black Life Futures: Black Ecologies and African Diaspora." Details here; schedule and registration links below.
  • March 1, 6 pm: Film screening of Quilombo. Audience discussion led by Professors Erica Richardson (English) and Tshombe Miles and Rojo Robles (Black and Latino Studies) will focus on racial capitalism, radical Black feminism, and "telling impossible stories" from archives of slavery as explored in Saidiya Hartman's essay "Venus in Two Acts." Register here. Co-sponsored by Mishkin Gallery, which is hosting the event in person for the Baruch community.
  • March 16, 6 pm: Conversation with activist, scholar, and writer Pedro LeBrón Ortiz. Register here. 
  • March 22, 12:30-2:30 pm: Black Futures in the Classroom Part I: Faculty and Student Teach-in. Register here.
The Black Studies Colloquium will also present:
  • February 16, 6 pm: "Racial Imaginaries, Classification Schemas and Place in Puerto Rico and among Puerto Ricans in the Continental USA," Marxe Professor Hector Cordero-Guzman. Register here.
  • April 8, 11 am: Faculty works in progress with Professor Rojo Robles (BLS). Register here.

NYC LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY WORKSHOP: Back at Baruch for the spring semester, in person. Pre-registration required. Email Mark.Rice@baruch.cuny.edu.
  • March 4, 11 am-1 pm: Isabella Cosse (CONICET; Columbia), “Revolutionary Love and Political Struggles in Cold War Argentina."
  • April 29, 11 am-1 pm: Daniela Traldi (Lehman), “'Real' Feminisms: Gender, Race, and the Far Right in 20th Century Brazil (1920 to 1985)."

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.
Past newsletters here. Next newsletter: February 28. Weissman blog here.
Got news, feedback, or questions? Email baruchwsas@baruch.cuny.edu