Congratulations to Weissman's Class of 2023! | |
During Tuesday's Commencement Exercises, held before a packed house at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences conferred 950 undergraduate degrees and 164 to graduate students.
The impressive lineup of speakers included, Baruch President S. David Wu; Provost Linda Essig; Dr. Jill O’Donnell-Tormey of the CUNY Board of Trustees; U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer; New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani who took classes at Baruch; and award-winning film director Sam Pollard (Class of ’73). Ulukaya and Pollard were awarded Doctorates of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
Emanuela Gallo, a Weissman graduate and the class valedictorian, praised her classmates’ resilience and accomplishments: “Today, we celebrate our membership in something larger than ourselves. We have the power to make a difference. Let us use our education not only to advance our careers but also to serve our communities.”
We can't wait to see what they do.
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MFE is No. 1 in the World | Shawn Roy, trader at Chicago Trading Company, graduated with a BS in Financial Mathematics from Baruch in 2022. He will begin his studies in Weissman's MFE program in Fall 2023. | |
Weissman's Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MFE) program has been crowned the best of its kind in the world in Risk.net's 2023 Quant Finance Master's Guide.
The "Quant Finance Master's Guide" is widely regarded as the go-to resource for Wall Street recruiters seeking the most promising academic programs currently nurturing the quant leaders of the future. Trailing behind Baruch in the rankings this year are Princeton, UC Berkeley, ETH Zurich, the Sorbonne, and Imperial College London. Traditionally, attending a prestigious private college gives graduates an edge on the financial job market. Baruch proves anew that a public institution can be just as good—maybe better.
A key factor that sets Weissman's MFE degree apart is its exceptional employment rate, with an unprecedented 100% of graduates securing some of the highest paying positions in the field. The program's alumni network is a testament to its success, boasting influential professionals at leading financial services firms such as Virtu Financial, GTS, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley.
This top ranking marks a significant milestone for Weissman's MFE program, which held the No. 2 position for the past two years and ranked No. 3 in 2020 and 2019. The program's consistent presence at the top of global rankings demonstrates its commitment to excellence and its dedication to preparing students for successful careers in the financial industry.
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Amid the festivity and flying confetti of Tuesday’s Commencement Ceremony at the Barclays Center, one of 2023’s more accomplished graduates was conspicuously missing. Rather than passing the tassel across her mortarboard, Lelani Pacific-Jack, a political science major with a minor in Japanese, was crossing the Pacific. This spring she was awarded the prestigious Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) grant, which has given her the opportunity to travel to Washington DC, then onto Japan, for the very first time. Pacific-Jack’s journey is a testament to her passion for Japanese culture, her burgeoning interest in international relations, and her estimable dedication to learning the language.
A Brooklyn native and first-generation college student who grew up helping support a single mom and five younger sisters, Pacific-Jack’s interest in Japanese culture started when she discovered Japanese comic books, referred to as manga, after being brought to a bookstore in her neighborhood. She would soon find herself spending hours reading and exploring, inaugurating a lifelong obsession with the world of Japanese storytelling.
“Those adventures and those distinct cultural differences that I read about affected my imagination really deeply,” she said. “I guess I started to realize how much I liked reading about people different from me. I wasn’t really exposed to a lot of diversity when I was really young. For me, It was so interesting to read this combination of fantasy and reality and not be able to tell the difference between the two. I just went completely down the rabbit hole.”
In high school, Pacific-Jack studied French for four years. However, it was in Baruch College’s growing Japanese Program, housed by the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, that she finally had the opportunity to learn Japanese. Pacific-Jack describes learning the language as the hardest thing she has ever done, but despite the difficulties her all-out enthusiasm for the culture has allowed to persevere. In her final semester at Baruch, she completed her fourth Japanese class and is well on her way to advanced proficiency.
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New Publishing Course Prepares Students to Confront Inequality in the Publishing Industry | Malachi Davidson, a student in the course | |
Students and publishing industry leaders joined on May 16 to celebrate the end of a new course that explored the future of experiential learning in the humanities. The course, created by Professor Tim Aubry, the English Department chair, aimed to tackle the lack of diversity in the publishing industry, while giving students experience at some of New York City’s top publishers, including New York magazine, HarperCollins, and Archipelago Books.
At the event, students reflected on their experiences and unveiled a website created over the semester, to provide information and resources relating to the world of publishing. The site will be available to Baruch students interested in venturing into the dynamic industry.
The course was supported by a BRESI grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Professor Aubry was inspired to create the course after an article in The New York Times in 2020 reported that 85% of individuals involved in book acquisition and editing in the United States are white. This lack of diversity has far-reaching consequences, influencing the types of articles and books that are published and by whom. Baruch College, located in downtown Manhattan—the bustling heart of the U.S. publishing industry—and renowned as one of the nation's most diverse colleges, is uniquely positioned to confront and address this issue. By nurturing the talents and amplifying the voices of underrepresented students, Professor Aubrey’s program has taken a stride toward creating a more inclusive and representative publishing landscape.
In a series of moving testimonials from the podium, the students feelingly examined the ways that this opportunity affected them. Abegail Grant, an English major, called it one of the most rewarding and confidence-boosting experiences of her life. “Being afforded the opportunity to intern at HarperCollins was the launch into the workforce that I needed. I realized that careers of passion and cultural influence, like publishing, are within my reach. Finishing this course, I am not only completely grateful, but confident that books are a passion that I cannot be without and confident that when I walk into certain spaces, I belong, I am deserving, I am skilled."
By equipping aspiring editors with the necessary skills, insights, and connections, this initiative made a start in fostering a community of emerging professionals who will contribute to reshaping the industry.
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FACULTY NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS | | |
David Lindsey Publishes Delegated Diplomacy
Assistant Professor of Political Science David Lindsey has published his latest book, Delegated Diplomacy:
How Ambassadors Establish Trust in International Relations, with Columbia University Press.
The book develops a theory of diplomacy that illuminates why states find ambassadors indispensable to effective intergovernmental interaction, even in the digital age. He argues that the primary diplomatic challenge countries face is not simply communication—it is credibility.
Check it out here.
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Dr. David Sitt Publishes ADHD Refocused
Dr. David Sitt, Lecturer in the Department of Psychology and a licensed clinical psychologist, has just published ADHD Refocused: Bringing Clarity to the Chaos.
The book is based on Dr. Sitt's personal and clinical experiences, and provides adults with ADHD a set of tools to help improve probabilities of thriving. The mindsets and methods he presents have direct application to current students, alumni, and faculty who may live or interact with ADHD.
Check it out here.
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Donald Mengay Publishes Debut Novel
Donald Mengay, Professor Emeritus of English, who taught Queer and Post-Humanist Lit at CUNY for more than 30 years, will publish his debut novel, The Lede of Our Undoing, the first in a trilogy, in September of 2023.
The novel is set in 1970s rust-belt America. Twins Jake and Wren are raised in the white-flight suburb of Laurentine, but the two find it hard to conform to the norms of their environment. Their story is told from the perspective of the family dog, Molly, whose outsider status offers the reader a unique view on human culture.
Preorder here!
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Tatiana Aloi Emmanouil helps win NSF Grant for the Establishment of New AI Institute
Tatiana Aloi Emmanouil, Assistant Professor of Psychology, has spent her career investigating the cognitive and neural mechanisms of vision. Her expertise has now helped secure a groundbreaking $20 million fund from the National Science Foundation to establish the AI Institute for ARtificial and Natural Intelligence (ARNI). Housed at Columbia University, this interdisciplinary center aims to connect advancements in AI systems with our evolving understanding of cognitive neuroscience.
Emmanouil's focus on vision and multimodal processing contributed to the proposal, emphasizing the need to bridge the gap between AI and non-verbal human cognitive abilities. Emmanouil's contribution also reflects her commitment to promoting underrepresented students and fostering a broader impact.
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Stephanie Hershinow in The Washington Post
Associate Professor and Deputy Chair of English Stephanie Hershinow co-authored an op-ed that appeared in The Washington Post.
Check out the article, "Like today, 18th-century laws about pregnancy aimed to control women" here.
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Celebrating Years of Service at Baruch | | | |
Stephanie Govan of the Weissman Dean's Office celebrates 35 years of service to Baruch College. | |
This year, we recognize these amazing faculty and staff members from the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences for their many years of service to Baruch College.
Gail Levin, Distinguished Professor of Art History, American Studies, and Women's Studies — 35 years
Stephanie Govan, Director of Scheduling, Registration, and Enrollment Data Management — 35 years
Sue Ng, Senior College Lab Technician — 35 years
Danny Cayas, IT Senior Associate — 25 years
Keisha Mcleod, Coordinator, Student and Academic Services— 15 years
Myeika Steward, Senior College Lab Technician — 10 years
Irit Katash, Senior College Lab Technician — 10 years
John Lee, Associate Director of Graduate Studies — 10 years
These milestones will be recognized at the Baruch College Employee Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, June 6.
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Scenes from Research & Creative Inquiry Day |  | |
The Research & Creative Inquiry Expo aims to celebrate the strength and diversity of both undergraduate research and artistic expression at Baruch College. Once again, this year's expo provided an opportunity for students to participate in a community of ideas and watch their research affect perceptions in real time.
The research topics included an examination of Tolstoy's nihilism, female subjectivity in Mexican culture, a novel invention for pill dispensing, and a study of the relationship between income and the success of flooding prevention initiatives.
In addition, the CUNY Office of Research also organized the first CUNY-wide Undergraduate Research Celebration this year, bringing together students from all 21 CUNY campuses to display their posters and speak about their original work. The event took place on Wednesday, May 31 at Borough of Manhattan Community College.Ten Baruch students were also selected to represent the College at the event.
See all the winners and their research here.
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Celebrating the Winners of the 'Lost & Found' Essay Contest | |
Join us in celebrating the winners of the "Lost & Found" student essay contest organized by the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions and the Harman Writer-in-Residence Program. A reading of the winning essays was held in Mishkin Gallery on May 24 with prizes generously given by Baruch alum David Shulman.
These students produced powerful and personal pieces of extraordinary quality.
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First Place:
Kenia Torres -"The Sun’s Gift"
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Second Place:
Mia Mikki - “Act 4 Scene 7”
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Third Place:
Caspar Gajewski -- "My Daughter’s Father"
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Honorable Mentions:
"Fannie Davis Prize"
Emanuela Gallo - "Adriana"
Sydney Thomas - Untitled
Lylia Saurel - "Changing The Tides"
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AAE Conference: The Creative Ecosystem - From June 1-4, Baruch College welcomes more than 150 arts administrators, educators, and students to our campus in New York City.
View the program here.
For more information about the conference, please visit the AAAE website.
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Entanglement: Spring 2023 New Media Arts Capstone Exhibition. May 5, 2023 – September 1, 2023 The Spring 2023 New Media Arts Capstone class exhibition Entanglement will be on view on Floors 2 and 3 of the New Media Artspace. Members of the public who wish to attend may RSVP to newmediaartspace@gmail.com.
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METAVERSUS: Spring 2023 New Media Arts Capstone Exhibition. May 15, 2023 – September 1, 2023. New Media Artspace opens the second half of the 2023 Capstone exhibition, METAVERSUS, a group exhibition featuring various artists and mediums organized as a semester long project. Members of the public who wish to attend may RSVP to newmediaartspace@gmail.com.
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