QView #174 | March 12, 2024

The CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities (CCSD) spent Student Empowerment Day—February 26—in Albany rallying for additional funding for disability services within higher education. Students from all 25 CUNY schools in all five boroughs were invited to participate. LGBTQIAA+ Programs at Queens College and the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium went to Albany in solidarity with over 200 CUNY students in attendance. Many carried placards created earlier in the week at a poster-making session led by Arturo Soto, president of the Queens College Committee of Disabled Students and secretary of CCSD, and JC Carlson, coordinator of LGBTQIAA+ Programs at Queens College.

Recently, students in Women for Afghan Women’s ESL program enjoyed a customized tour of The Psychology of Portraiture at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum. Exploring a few objects from the exhibition through inquiry-based discussions, students practiced and refined their English language skills. Women for Afghan Women began holding ESL classes on campus last fall (see QView 169).

On Sunday, March 3, LGBTQIAA+ Programs Coordinator at Queens College and Associate Director of the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium, JC Carlson, organized a contingent of CUNY students, faculty, and staff to march again with the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium in the St. Pat’s for All Parade, turning the streets of Sunnyside and Woodside green and all the other colors of the rainbow. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and his team, including Queens Borough Advocate Norris Johns and LGBTQ and Health Coordinator Kim Watson-Benjamin, marched alongside the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium. Watson-Benjamin was a featured speaker at QC’s Transgender Day of Remembrance event last November. Luis Villa, a Queens College Pride Team student leader, is interning in the Office of the NYC Public Advocate. Villa is also the marketing and branding intern on Carlson’s Pride team at Queens College.

On March 5, story time at the campus Child Development Center featured a guest reader: President Frank H. Wu.

Students from Colégio Magno, a high school in São Paulo, Brazil, flew to New York City on Wednesday, March 6, to participate in the National High School Model United Nations. But first, courtesy of the Global Student Success Program (GSSP), they stopped at QC for insight into U.S. higher education system and campus cultures. Over snacks and coffee, President Wu offered the visitors a warm welcome.

Later that morning at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, President Wu announced a generous grant from the Szilvia Tannenbaum/Pine Tree Foundation to support calligraphy courses. New faculty members Amy Fortunato and Kristy Caldwell, who teach design and book arts, spoke at the event and handed out a limited-edition print copy of the catalog for the upcoming exhibition Home Is. The show will present works created by students in two illustration courses taught by Caldwell.

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? On March 6, Summit Apartments staff set up a Walk-in Taco Bar for its latest Resident Appreciation Wednesday. At Armstrong Alley in the Dining Hall, students helped themselves to fresh produce during Harvest Fest. Held by the Knights Table on the first Wednesday of every month during the school year, Harvest Fest provides students with produce purchased from the food pantry’s community partner, GrowNYC.

President Wu hailed student talents at the March 6 reception for the Second Annual Photography Thesis Exhibition, displayed in the Student Art Gallery on the fourth floor of Klapper Hall. The show will run through tomorrow—Wednesday, March 13.

From left: Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson, President Frank H. Wu, GNAC Senior Associate Commissioner Doug Chin, Assistant Vice President for Facilities, Planning and Operations Zeco Krcic

Doug Chin, senior associate commissioner of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference—the NCAA Division III conference based in Boston—came to QC on Thursday, March 7, to tour the campus and meet with staff members in Athletics and the Office of Communications and Marketing. President Wu is mentoring Chin through NCAA Pathway, a professional development program for senior athletic leaders who hope to become a commissioner or athletic director.

QCArts’ second annual Arts Leadership Bootcamp—open by competitive application to students at Hostos Community College and CUNY schools in the Borough of Queens—took place last weekend. Participants learned from experts in arts fields by attending panel discussions, workshops, leadership lessons, and more. The program began on the morning of Friday, March 8, with an orientation session in Klapper Hall.

Thanks to the New York Jobs CEO Council and its CEO Speaker Series, Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., joined President Wu for a conversation in the Student Union Ballroom on March 11. Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and Jobs Council Executive Director Kiersten Barnet introduced the program. Invited students and faculty heard about Dimon’s background and career pathway and gained valuable insight from his internationally known expertise. Dimon—who attended P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights—shared the lessons he learned, focusing on how to approach problem-solving situations and to prepare for career opportunities through learning and internships. After the conversation and a student Q&A, students had the great opportunity to join a networking session with both Dimon and corporate recruiters. Dimon subsequently met with faculty from the Business School and career placement leaders. They discussed strategies to expand outreach to students about future employment in the workforce through skills development at Queens College and CUNY.  

Jamie Dimon on the left, Kiersten Barnet to his right, meeting with Business School faculty and career placement leaders. President Wu and Chancellor Matos are at far right. They were joined by CUNY Board of Trustees Vice Chairperson Sandra Wilkin.  

Dimon stayed for a networking session and talked to students individually.

Alwin Harahap (English), Khánh Lê (Multilingualism and English Education), and Amy Wan (English) facilitated “How to Encourage Students to Start Writing” on March 11 in President’s Conference Room 2. Presented by the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Leadership, the session was the second part of the workshop “Revisiting Writing in our Classrooms.”

Softball Earns Five Wins, Baseball Tops Nationally Ranked Team, and Men’s Tennis Knocks off Division I Opponent

The Queens College softball team won five games during a busy week in Florida, where they played nine games in six days to open the 2024 season. Meanwhile, the baseball team continued its winning ways, splitting a four-game series with Goldey-Beacom College—the #25 team in the nation—and the men’s tennis team earned an impressive victory, defeating Division I Merrimack University last Friday.

Softball opened its season on March 4 with a 9-2 victory over Thomas More University and later a 9-3 triumph versus Dominican University of New York in Jan Phyl Village, Florida. Later in the week they traveled to Winter Haven, Florida and added wins against Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Goldey-Beacom, and Bloomfield College. Caylea Campbell earned four of the team’s five wins, pitching to a minuscule 1.44 earned run average and a 0.97 WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched).

The baseball team had a tough task this week against nationally ranked Goldey-Beacom but they proved to be up to the challenge. They dropped the first two games of the four-game set but rallied to win 12-11 and 8-4 in a doubleheader on Friday. The Knights are 6-4 on the young season.

Meanwhile, the men’s tennis team improved to 2-1 on the year with a dominant, 6-1 win against Merrimack College. The Knights swept three doubles matches for the first time this year.

This week, baseball will visit Adelphi University at 3 pm on Tuesday, March 12 and will then host Assumption University for a four-game series, with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Softball will travel to Adelphi for a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 13, beginning at 2:30 pm, and men’s tennis welcomes the University of the District of Columbia to QC on Friday at 1 pm.

To keep up with Knights news, visit https://queensknights.com/.

Queens Showcases Female Artists

The Queens College Art Center’s gallery, on the sixth floor of Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, held a reception for Femina Creativa on March 9.

In honor of Women’s History Month, several borough galleries are featuring female artists.

The Queens College Art Center is presenting Femina Creativa until April 26. The exhibition, sponsored by QCArts, features 23 female artists from the New York City area; the curator is Garage Art Center Founding Director Stephanie Lee, a Godwin-Ternbach staffer.

Behind the Mask: The Art of Women Welders Behind the Mask - The Art of Women Welders | Culture Lab LIC is on display at Culture Lab LIC through April 28 (see website for gallery hours). A highlight of Behind the Mask is Michelle Jaffé’s “Wappen Field,” an installation that combines sculptural and audial elements.

The two-artist Kaleido-Femina Art Opening: "KaleidoFemina: Women in Bloom" : Events Calendar | Art Opening: "KaleidoFemina: Women in Bloom" : Events Calendar | Long Island City Partnership, at woman-owned Zaruma Gold Coffee LIC, runs through May 31. The show features collages by Stacey Burgay and paintings by Rujuta Paradkar. 

Campus Partners Collect Toiletries and Nonperishables

In another Women’s History Month initiative, the Office of Student Development and Leadership (OSDL), the Knights Table Food Pantry, and Gamma Beta Phi are holding a donation drive. They are collecting unopened toiletries and feminine hygiene products, as well as canned and nonperishable food items. These materials will go to the pantry and the Pomonok Community Center. Donations may be left through March 29 at the OSDL Office, Student Union LL23, or the Knights Table, Student Union LL29. 

Career and Internship Fair Goes Hybrid

This month, the Center for Career Engagement and Internships will present its first hybrid Career and Internship Fair. The fair will take place virtually on Friday, March 15, from 11 am to 1 pm. To attend, register here. The in-person fair be held on Monday, March 18, from noon to 2:30 pm in the Student Union, 4th Floor; register here (Student>Event>Attend).

Nearly 50 employers will participate in the fair, which is open to QC students and alumni. To make the most of this event, internship- and job-seekers are encouraged to attend a virtual prep session tomorrow—Wednesday, March 13—at 6 pm.

LGBT Youth Summit on Campus This Friday

LGBTQIAA+ Programs at Queens and the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium will co-sponsor the LGBT Network’s seventh annual NYC LGBT Youth Summit at Queens College on Friday, March 15. Up to 300 college-bound queer, trans, and gender non-conforming students are expected to attend the summit, which will offer workshops on anti-bullying and leadership, social justice and activism, and other topics. Admissions teams from LaGuardia Community College, Queens College, Queensborough Community College, and York College will be on hand to talk to students.

Byzantine and Modern Greek Library Gets an Upgrade

Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the Queens College Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies is in the middle of a project that will modernize its Harry J. Psomiades Library and increase its usage.

Since the center was founded in 1974, it has acquired thousands of books. The Harry J. Psomiades Greek Studies Library has been building an extensive collection of books, journals, and scholarly publications that supports the center’s academic initiatives as well as the country’s largest Greek community, located here in Queens. 

For most of its history, the library, located in Jefferson Hall, was not integrated into the main library’s catalogue, limiting its potential reach in the community. However, in November 2022, the center received a large donation from an anonymous benefactor that has helped modernize the library. 

“We were looking for ways to improve the center and for ways to make the library more accessible. In the meantime, we had a donor who came to us and wanted to donate a considerable sum to the center,” explained Gerasimus Katsan, director of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. “Because the library had not been catalogued using the Library of Congress system, it has never been part of the main library system. We decided to use his donation to catalog the library and incorporate it into the main library computer system.”

Through the work of Katsan and Neophytos Ioannou, assistant to the Greek center, the library’s extensive collection of Greek and Byzantine studies is being added to QC’s main library computer. Books from the collection—which comprises texts on history, politics, literature, poetry, and more, and includes books written in English, Greek, and even French and Italian—can be checked out by anybody through Interlibrary Loan. This service allows patrons to borrow materials from other libraries that aren't available at their local facility.

“Now the library is more useful and searchable in a way that will make it open to anyone who is looking for titles in the field the library covers,” added Katsan. “Basically anyone in the world can request it through their own university library system.”

As an additional part of the project, the center is determining what books are rare and valuable and hopes to digitize them in the future, so that they can remain in the collection in the long term. They are also working to preserve any fragile books.

“The goal is to finish cataloging the main collection and identify the books that need special preservation. We’ll finally have a complete knowledge about what’s in the collection.”

While much has been accomplished, a lot remains to be done. Cataloging is a labor- and time-intensive process. But thanks to the hard work of Katsan and Ioannou as well as many employees in Rosenthal Library, the project has made great progress; the anonymous donor was pleased enough to make an additional contribution so that the project can continue until its completion.

“We worked very diligently in that first year to get the project underway to organize with the library, because it required coordinating with the library’s cataloging department,” added Katsan. “Our goal is to make it available to people to get the word out so that researchers, whether students or faculty, can come and discover something useful here.”

Taking Care of Businesses

Ying Zhou has been named interim associate director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Queens College Outreach Center, a satellite site of the LaGuardia Community College SBDC. She will work part time in her new role and continue to serve as the executive director of the Tech incubator at Queens College (TIQC), where she began in 2016.

Reporting to Queens-LaGuardia SBDC Director Rosa Figueroa, Zhou will maintain relationships with college faculty and administrative and support staff to enhance the quality, diversity, and timeliness of services; prepare internal program reports and assist in the preparation of externally mandated reports; maintain a client counseling caseload and provide support to staff in their counseling needs; represent and assist the director in public outreach efforts, such as engaging with public- and private-facing organizations; and assist in the supervision of all staff functions.

In a unique partnership, QC and LaGuardia Community College jointly established an SBDC presence on the Queens College campus in 2019, with support from Congresswoman Grace Meng.

Fran Drescher, a QC alumna, was the subject of a CBS News “Sunday Morning” profile on March 10 . . . . Matthew Kasper ’07, ’11 conducted and Elaine Chelton ’78, ’86 played solo piano on stage during a Balanchine program presented by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater, February 29-March 3 . . . .

Gail Marquis ’80 will be a panelist for Sports Roundup at Gracie Mansion: Commentaries on the Future of Sports in NYC, a benefit for the Gracie Mansion Conservancy . . . . Tito Munoz conducted the Orchestra of St. Lukes and the Westminster Symphonic Choir in the Carmina Burana at Carnegie Hall on February 28 . . . . Harold Rosenbaum ’72, ’74 conducted the New York Virtuoso Singers in a performance of a choral work by Joel Mandelbaum (Music) at the Society for Ethical Culture, March 3 . . . . President Frank H. Wu will give a talk, “Asian Americans in the Ivory Tower,” at New York University on March 13 . . . . SEEK faculty will be featured at CUNY conferences later this month. Sandra Cordoba (English), Aliza Ashraf (English and Philosophy), and Mattheus Oliveira (English) will be presenting "Opening Opportunities in the Post-Pandemic Freshman Classroom: Addressing Student Needs Through a Pedagogy of Care” at the CUNY IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Conference on March 14 at the CUNY Graduate Center. Seth Lehman (Math) will present “Getting Started with Learning Mindsets” at the CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference on March 22 at the CUNY Graduate Center . . . . QC Enrollment was represented at a networking event that the Queens Jewish Link and Bukharian Jewish Link hosted at Young Israel of Jamaica Estates on February 28.