"Campus Update" is a weekly e-newsletter published by LaGuardia's Division of Communications and External Affairs to provide news and information to the college community. | |
"Campus Update" will take a brief hiatus in the coming weeks. We will return with regularly scheduled newsletters on Wednesday, July 17. | |
LaGuardia celebrated the graduation of the 1,909 members of LaGuardia’s Class of 2024, the college’s 52nd graduating class, at a Commencement Ceremony on Friday, June 21, on the Queens College quad. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards addressed the graduates in a ceremony led by President Kenneth Adams and Provost Billie Gastic Rosado. Special guests included CUNY Trustee Kevin D. Kim, CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Héctor Batista, and CUNY Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Denise B. Maybank. | The Class of 2024 was represented by Amena Shamia, a Biology major and 2024 Goldwater Scholar, and Carolina Lenes Arreola, a Business Administration major who began her LaGuardia journey at TELC. Both are immigrants to the U.S. and first-generation college students. This fall, Amena will begin pursuing a bachelor’s in biological science at Cornell University, where she has earned a full scholarship covering tuition, textbooks, room and board, and other essentials. Carolina plans to spend a year working full-time through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, a program at LaGuardia that allows international students to gain professional experience. In the fall of 2025, Carolina plans to begin pursuing a bachelor’s in statistics at Baruch College, and ultimately to earn a master’s or MBA. |
Congratulations to the Class of 2024!
PHOTOS: To view/download photos from Commencement 2024, click here and here. Please continue to check back as more images will be added in the coming days.
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The Strategic Planning Committee thanks you for your contributions! | |
The Strategic Planning Committee Chairs have submitted their findings and recommendations. Big thanks to all of you who participated in the brainstorming sessions, surveys, panels, and discussion groups that took place throughout the Spring Semester. Your feedback has been critical to ensuring that our next five-year strategic plan is relevant and meaningful. Please check out the Strategic Planning website to learn about the goals and objectives proposed to date. The planning process will go on hiatus over the summer, then reconvene in September. President Adams will describe next steps in his remarks at Opening Sessions. In the meantime, thanks again for your engagement and support. | |
Isaac Ramos (’24, Fine Arts) was named the 2024 Queens Creator by the New York Mets and New Balance Athletics, Inc. In this role, Isaac collaborated with Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor to design a T-shirt for the Queens community. The T-shirt designed by Isaac, which honors Latino representation on the Mets team. is being distributed to ticket holders throughout this baseball season at Citi Field. The Queens Creator opportunity came to LaGuardia via the Amazin’ Mets Foundation through its relationship with the LaGuardia Community College Foundation. For the past two years, the LaGuardia Foundation has awarded scholarships to students from a fund jointly supported by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. For more on this story, the New York Mets YouTube channel features three one-minute videos about Isaac, who will begin pursuing a bachelor’s in arts education at Queens College this fall, and his design process with shortstop Francisco Lindor. See below: | |
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LaGuardia’s Therapeutic Recreation Program Hosts Pinning Ceremony | |
LaGuardia’s Therapeutic Recreation Program hosted its 10th pinning ceremony on June 18 to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2024. This semester's cohort included 12 graduates. Remarks were presented by Dr. Tameka Battle, Program Director of the Therapeutic Recreation Program; Dr. Miguel Carvajal, professor in the Therapeutic Recreation Program; Dr. Dionne Miller, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; and Dr. Philip Gimber, Chairperson of the Health Sciences Department. Graduates who participated in the ceremony were: Rashel Anderson, Angelli Nyka Babaran, Carolina Alejandra Murillo, and Vanessa Parris. All students received a certificate of achievement as a student in the Therapeutic Recreation Student Association Club (TRSA). | |
Education and Language Acquisition Department Hosts Graduation Celebration for Education and TESOL Students | |
LaGuardia students graduating with associate degrees in Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) were honored with an inaugural Graduation Celebration on June 5 in the E-Atrium. The ceremony for future teachers celebrated 120 LaGuardia graduates from five tracks: Early Childhood, Childhood, TESOL, Secondary, and Bilingual Education. The celebration showcased students’ success and achievement. Special remarks were presented by Arthur Lau, Chairperson of the Department of Education and Language Acquisition. The ceremony was emceed by the Program Directors, Caterina Alemendral, Monika Ekiert, and Michele de Goeas-Malone. Education and TESOL faculty Eric Conte, Angela Cornelius, Joseph Evering, Leigh Garrison-Fletcher, Laurie Gluck, Bede McCormack, and Tomonori Nagano applauded the graduating class. Ten students were recognized for their academic accomplishments, including ePortfolio integration work, Computer Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) activities, and leadership qualities. Graduates watched a presentation highlighting the cohort’s accomplishments from their time at LaGuardia and received teacher education memorabilia sponsored by CUNY’s CITE Initiative. | |
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Students, faculty, and staff are invited to create and appreciate art! The Workforce Education Center and LaGuardia Community College present the Summer Youth Employment Program's Younger Youth Art Fair on July 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the LaGuardia Community Greenway, on 29th Street, from Skillman Avenue to 47th Avenue. Festival activities will include: an exhibit of past and present student art projects; interactive art sections for drawing, painting, collaging, origami-making and poetry writing; student short films showing; chess games; and a photobooth. For more information contact Marie Bismonte, Senior Education Specialist, at mbismonte@lagcc.cuny.edu or 718-482-5343. | |
Navigate is a student, faculty and staff portal that is replacing the student My LaGuardia portal. Its features will connect members of the college community through appointments, shared notes, communications features, and much more.
Important dates:
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- June 27: Last day of student access to current My LaGuardia portal; last day to book an appointment through My LaGuardia
- June 28- July 8: My LaGuardia deactivated; students should contact advisors via email or utilize drop-in hours.
- July 9: Navigate is live. Students can access the system to make appointments or check-in to offices.
- August 16: C2C deactivated. Faculty must utilize Navigate to issue alerts or to communicate with students in their courses.
- September 5: Navigate is fully operational.
Please visit our Navigate webpage to learn more about this important transition and to register for an upcoming training.
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Save the Dates: Upcoming Events on the LaGuardia Community Greenway | |
There’s plenty of fun programming coming up this summer on the LaGuardia Community Greenway. Here are just a few upcoming events to keep an eye out for:
- July 17: Summer Youth Art Expo
- July 25: Summer Safe
- August 7: BBQ on The Greenway
For the full line-up of events planned, visit the LaGuardia Community Greenway webpage. Campus or community groups who wish to table and participate during the Greenway events can contact Nayelli Valencia Turrent, Chief of Staff at nvalenciaturrent@lagcc.cuny.edu.
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Blackboard Home Dashboard Update - Transition to Brightspace
As we prepare to transition to Brightspace in the Fall of 2025, please take note of an important update to our current LMS, Blackboard. On June 29, the interface of the home dashboard will be updated: the landing page will look different when you log in, but the system functionality will remain the same. To preview these changes, please review this guide.
LaGuardia will begin using Brightspace in the Fall of 2025 (Blackboard will no longer be available). To learn more about our transition to this new LMS, visit https://www.laguardia.edu/brightspace.
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Fall 2024 Opening Sessions: Call for Presentations
Mark your calendars! Opening Sessions 2024, Career Readiness & Pathways: Guiding Students Towards Success in Education and Beyond, is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4. Similar to last year, Opening Sessions will be in-person. Please consider submitting a proposal for a 50-minute presentation connected to the theme. The deadline to submit your proposal is July 15. Please contact Jasmine Edwards at jaedwards@lagcc.cuny.edu and Cristina Natale at cnatale@lagcc.cuny.edu with any questions.
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LAGUARDIA AND WAGNER ARCHIVES | |
The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives have a new, comprehensive exhibition exploring the 15-year battle to get the Gay Rights Bill, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, and public accommodations, enacted in New York City. “The Battle for Intro. 2: The New York City Gay Rights Bill, 1971 to 1986” online exhibit launched June 20 on the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives website. Curated by Dr. Stephen Petrus, historian and the Archives’ director of Public History Programs, the exhibit introduces viewers to advocates and opponents of the civil rights measure. It features oral histories, conducted by Dr. Petrus and students, with 25 gay and lesbian activists involved in the battle. LaGuardia commercial photography students, under the direction of Associate Professor Maureen Drennan, photographed the interview subjects. These oral histories are supplemented with archival sources from the Archives’ City Council Collection. The exhibit is accompanied by a curriculum, developed by LaGuardia students overseen by Dr. Poppy Slocum (Communication Studies), for high school teachers and college instructors. | |
CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium to March at NYC Pride on June 30 | |
This Sunday, June 30, Pride Month comes to a close with the famed NYC Pride March. The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium will be marching with the CUNY float, featuring DJ Unico and CUNY Pride Dancers. Those interested in marching can register here; participants should bring their school banners; T-shirts and commemorative CUNY Pride flags will be provided. Together we will march proudly and CUNY strong! | |
Geoff Judge to Join LaGuardia Community College Foundation Board of Directors | |
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The LaGuardia Community College Foundation is overseen by a Board of Directors, and their energy and contributions are key to its ability to provide thousands of LaGuardia students with scholarships, stipends, internships, on-campus employment and emergency aid annually. The Board, currently led by Charles Boyce of Boyce Technologies, has recently elected Geoff Judge as a new member. Geoff Judge is the President of Trio Three Equity and a former Partner at iNovia Capital, a manager of Early-Stage venture capital funds, from 2010-2017. He has been an active seed stage investor since 2002. He serves on the public board of Everi, where he has served since 2006. He has invested directly in over 200 companies and sits on a few private boards, most of which are in New York. He received an M.B.A. from the Columbia Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University. He was previously a Trustee for the Sacred Heart School in Manhattan for 6 years and was also a founding board member of Children for Children in NYC, serving over 10 years. | |
LaGuardia’s Continuing Education Hosts Adult Basic Skills HSE Graduation | |
The Adult Basic Skills High School Equivalency graduation will take place on June 27, from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Little Theatre. Remarks will be presented by Vicki Greene, CEO and President, GED Testing Service; Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson (parent company of GED Testing Service); Dr. Billie Gastic Rosado, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs; Sunil Gupta, Vice President of Adult Continuing Education; and John Hunt, Assistant Dean of Adult Continuing Education. The Adult Basic Skills High School Equivalency Program helps students obtain basic academic skills through high school equivalency preparation; learn about college preparation and transition; and receive encouragement to pursue postsecondary education, training and career advancement. | |
Students looking for enrollment services support can now access virtual office hours every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Virtual One Stop takes place on Zoom and allows students to drop in and meet with staff from the Admissions, International Student Services, Registrar, Student Financial Services, Student Information Center, Transfer Credit Evaluation and Testing offices. | |
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Updates from LaGuardia’s Library | |
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- The Library will be closed Friday, June 28, as part of CUNY Summer Fridays. Please make sure to check our calendar before heading in.
- Welcome back for Spring II! Students can borrow chromebooks, ipads, calculators, laptops from our Media Help Desk on the second floor.
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HUMAN RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL UPDATES | |
Payroll Announcement: Paper Check Distribution on Friday, July 5
Due to the holiday on Thursday, July 4, the Payroll Office will distribute paper checks dated July 5, 2024 only on Friday, July 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in room E-402. If you can’t pick up your check during this time, you can pick up your check the following week, Monday, July 8 through Thursday, July 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Paper checks not picked up will be returned to the City Monthly.
This distribution is for employees not enrolled in Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit paystubs are accessible to view and print by using NYCAPS ESS-Employee Self Service.
If you need help or have any questions, please contact the LaGuardia Payroll Office at payroll@lagcc.cuny.edu.
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IT Update: Mandatory CUNY Cybersecurity Awareness Training Course
CUNY has announced that the 40-minute Cybersecurity Awareness training course, designed specifically for faculty and staff, is now mandatory annually, beginning this year. This course will help safeguard the security of our data against increasing cybersecurity risks, such as phishing attacks, spam, and hacked accounts, while providing best practices for safeguarding your data. You can view the course on Blackboard. All LaGuardia faculty and staff are required to take this course and we encourage you to take it as soon as possible to protect your own and the University's data. If you have any questions regarding the training, please contact Maritza Acero.
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Security Alert: Guard Against Increasing Phishing Email Attacks
There has been an increase in phishing attacks directed at CUNY from a variety of Gmail accounts. Most are of the familiar job scam variety which students are prone to acting on. CUNY/CIS teams are working with Microsoft to block these attacks, which are not “spammy” or “phishy” in nature so they aren’t automatically blocked by email security measures. CUNY/CIS urges all to guard against responding to potential phishing emails, as well as to communicate with colleagues and students to generate greater awareness about the scam increase.
Recommended User Actions Include:
- DO NOT reply to unexpected or unusual emails.
- DO NOT reply to emails with personal information or passwords.
- DO NOT click links or open attachments in unsolicited emails.
- DO read the CUNY Ransomware and Phishing Advisories.
- DO complete security awareness training at security.cuny.edu.
If you suspect you’ve received a suspicious or phishing email, please forward it to spam@lagcc.cuny.edu. Do not forward it to the LAG Information Technology Division or other group distribution lists or employees, including IT personnel. If you already responded to a phishing email, immediately contact our IT HelpDesk by submitting a ticket through the Faculty & Staff Portal or by email at ITHelp@lagcc.cuny.edu, or call 718-482-6134. If you have questions, please contact LaGuardia's Information Security team.
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LAGUARDIA IN THE HEADLINES | |
PATCH: LaGuardia Community College celebrated the graduation of the 1,909 members of LaGuardia’s Class of 2024, the college’s 52nd graduating class, at a Commencement Ceremony on Friday, June 21, on the Queens College quad.
BRIAN LEHRER SHOW, WNYC: Stephen Petrus, director of Public History Programs at LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College and curator of “The Battle for Intro. 2: The New York City Gay Rights Bill, 1971 – 1986," talks about the work he and his students did in putting together a digital exhibit on the New York City Gay Rights Bill, which passed after a long fight between advocates and opponents.
QUEENS LATINO: Isaac Ramos (LaGuardia'24, Fine Arts) was named 2024 Queens Creator by the New York Mets and New Balance Athletics, Inc. As the 2024 Queens Creator, Isaac collaborated with Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor to design a T-shirt honoring Latino representation on the Mets team. The T-shirt is being distributed to ticket holders throughout this baseball season at Citi Field.
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"Campus Update" is produced and published by the Communications and External Affairs Division. Faculty and staff who wish to submit items for publication can email CampusUpdate@lagcc.cuny.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday to be considered for publication on Wednesday. |
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