Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.

#79

What’s News

Since assuming office on July 1, President Frank H. Wu (upper left corner) hasbeen virtually all over campus. He spoke to history, political science, andurban studies classes, led respectively by Erin Wuebker, Carl Bonomo, andJames Vacca, and held three interactive introductory sessions with students,faculty, and the broader QC community (another Meet President Frank H. Wuis scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, at 6 pm; mailer forthcoming).Meanwhile, the president has been expanding his local media presence. OnJuly 7, CUNY TV debuted his “One to One” conversation with Sheryl McCarthy ,Distinguished Lecturer of Journalism at Queens College. Six days later, theQueens Eagle published his opinion piece supporting QC’s internationalstudents and City & State named him one of the Queens Power 50; City andState subsequently listed him among the Asian Power 100. In addition, Wutalked with Queens alumnus U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat and filed acomment with the U.S. Department of Education, objecting to its interim finalrule that DACA recipients are ineligible for grants under the CARES Act.

Recognizing the English Language Institute’s longstanding position in thecommunity, in mid-July, Wu charged the Ad Hoc Working Group on CertificatePrograms with assessing means to bring back “a more robust EnglishLanguage Institute.” The president noted, “As a non tax levy aspect of theinstitution, ELI is required to be self-supporting. The goal is to design aprogram—perhaps oriented toward English for business use or in partnershipwith a union or other source of significant numbers of students—that would befeasible to operate. The working group may reach out to others for concreteproposals and consider best practices at other higher education institutions.”ELI enrollments in recent years had declined due in part to federal immigrationrestrictions and the availability of other low-cost and virtually free community-based programs.

Staying PrimarilyOnline for the ComingSemester

This fall, complying withCUNY-wide policies, QC willstick to a distance model formost academic courses,programs, and supportservices. Access to thecampus remains restricted.The college is reviewingcourses for whichdepartments haverequested permission for anin-person component, aswell as alternatives for students who may be unable to participate dueto health concerns or limited Internet access.

Researchers who meet guidelines are allowed to access their campus labsvoluntarily, while continuing to work remotely to the greatest extent possible.In conjunction with the East Coast Conference, QC has postponed allintercollegiate athletic competition for the Fall 2020 semester due to concernsstemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision currently applies onlyto fall semester sports. A decision on the remaining competition calendar, andon whether fall sport competition would be feasible in the spring, will bedetermined at a later date. Regardless of whether competition takes place thisacademic year, the college will honor all athletic scholarships for student-athletes in the 2020–2021 school year. Student-athletes will not lose a year ofNCAA eligibility if no season is held.

For the latest information about campus operations, visit the ReopeningGuidelines page on the QC website.

After borrowing one of Satchmo’strumpets from the Louis ArmstrongHouse Museum, Paul McCartneyjoined the Preservation Hall JazzBand remotely in a rendition of“When the Saints Go Marching In.”The New Orleans standard was the

closing number in a June 22fundraiser for the Preservation HallFoundation’s Legacy Relief Fund,created to help musicians who areunderemployed as a result of thecoronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, July 26, CUNY ChancellorFélix V. Matos Rodríguez marked the30th anniversary of the AmericansWith Disabilities Act, whichguaranteed civil rights protections toall members of the disabilitiescommunity. “We remain committed tomarshaling the strength of the ADAand doing all in our power to ensurethat no opportunity is denied any member of the CUNY community on the basisof a disability,” noted the chancellor in the statement he issued on behalf ofthe university.

Apparently, many students are opting for academic staycations this year: Classregistrations for QC’s entirely online summer session reached 14,728, thehighest figure in a decade and a better than 30 percent increase over 2019.The college offered a total of 640 courses in four sessions from June 1 toAugust 6, allowing students to make progress toward their degrees from thesafety and convenience of home. The summer package includes virtual libraryprivileges and live technical support.

To show prospective studentsaround campus—and perhapsallow nostalgic alumni a sociallydistant visit to their alma mater—the Office of Communicationsand Marketing has created avideo tour of Queens College.Using a map to anchor viewers,the video starts at JeffersonHall—as the in-person itinerary

does—and covers the groundsin about seven minutes, idealfor an audience of electronicmultitaskers. Thanks to VP forEnrollment and StudentRetention Richard Alvarez andVP for Student Affairs AdamRockman for their helpful input.The campus tour video hasbeen imbedded in the newdigital publication of “QueensCollege at a Glance.”

Speaking of campus, QC’snew four-seat golf cart allowsPublic Safety to traversegrounds quickly and accessareas where a marked patrolvehicle cannot travel. Uponrequest, the cart may also beused to transport importantguests around the 80-acreproperty. After years ofservice, the college’s previous—and first—four-seaterbecame inoperable, butelements of it were salvaged.

Saluting Students Online

With all Queens College commencement ceremonies postponed this yearbecause of the COVID-19 pandemic, several of QC’s departments honoredtheir 2020 graduates in the best way possible by holding virtual events.

The Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge(SEEK) Department hosted a Facebook Live Celebration on June 4 for all194 graduates of the program. SEEK Director Norka Blackman-Richards, VP forEnrollment and Student Retention Richard Alvarez, and Associate Provost forInnovation and Student Success Eva Fernandez gave opening remarks. Eachgraduate was also acknowledged and had a chance to express their gratitudefor their time at Queens College.

The English Department set up a beautifully designed wix.com website,which included messages from members of the English faculty as well as avideo student commencement address from Emily Shih. Also included was acomplete list of graduates and award winners. There were more than 400visitors to the site on the day it was released.

The History Department combined many of the aforementioned featureswith its virtual graduation. Faculty wrote or posted video messages ofcongratulations and invited students who graduated with various prizes andhonors to do the same.

The Aaron Copland School of Music also held an elaborate virtual ceremonyfor its graduates and award winners on May 28, which included musicalperformances from many of its students.

Finally, Biology and the School of Earth and Environmental Sciencesposted prerecorded videos as well, with congratulatory messages from severalof its faculty and staff.

QView encourages other departments to notify us about virtual celebrations forthe Class of 2020.

In other end of academic year news, students Reaa Ali, Andrea Buzon, CaylaKempf, and Siddharth Malvia received Student Affairs awards. To learn moreabout these honorees, see the Knight News.

Because local high schools could not hold their customary graduations oncampus, the Kupferberg Center stepped in, showcasing outstanding studentsthrough the Valedictorian Project.

ACSM Offers Free SummerShares

This summer, Aaron Copland School ofMusic launched QClass, a freeeducational series presented online bytop industry performing artists amongthe faculty. Open to students, faculty, staff, and the general public, theclasses develop young artists’ practical skills, encourage conversation acrossthe diverse creative community, and promote public awareness of theimportance of the arts.

David Berkman started the series on June 29 with Introduction toImprovisation. Three days later, ACSM Director Michael Lipsey interviewed JazzStudies Director Antonio Hart in Race, Music, and Hope. On July 8, FrankMorelli offered Seeking Inspiration, Consolation and Motivation through Music.Would-be do-it-yourselfers learned about Home Recording for the 21stCentury Musician and Why It Matters from Peter Calandra on July 23. ThisThursday, July 30, Andy Blanco will talk about his experiences on and off theGreat White Way in Broadway and Beyond. To make reservations, click here.

The series continues next month, with How to Be Your Own Best Advocate--Being an Artist Leader, featuring violist Brett Douglas Deubner, on Thursday,August 6, at 5 pm, RSVP here and a conversation between Lipsey and Directorof Orchestral Studies Mark Powell on Resilience, Rehearsal and Staying in theZone on the following Thursday, August 13, at 5 pm, RSVP here.

Promoting a Good Sport

Rob Twible '97, interim director ofAthletics since February 2018, has beenappointed director of Athletics. Hebrings over 20 years of collegiateadministrative experience to theposition, in which he is responsible forthe overall development and general

management of the college'sintercollegiate athletic programs and itsNCAA Division II membership.

"I am incredibly honored to continueleading and could not have been in thisposition without the support of theuniversity's leadership, our dedicatedcoaches, and staff," said Twible. "Thereare challenges ahead and muchuncertainty in this pandemic, but Ibelieve that anything is possible if weall work together. I look forward toworking closely with our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and collegeconstituents to position our student-athletes for success in the classroom,community, and within their sport."

Building a Career That’s Up to Code

Want to pursue a career in technology?Pursuit, a nonprofit organization, offersa four-year fellowshippursuit.org/fellowship that preparespeople to enter the field, and threeyears of career support for those who complete the program. Applicantsrequire no prior coding experience.

Students and recent graduates, regardless of major, can learn more about thisfellowship on Wednesday, August 5, from 12 noon to 12:30 pm, at aninformation session held by the Center for Career Engagement and Internshipsand Pursuit.

RSVP for the session on Hire QC: www.qc.cuny.edu/HireQC (Student login >Events > Workshops > RSVP & Add to Calendar). The meeting link will beprovided closer to the date of the event to those who register.

Looking for Class Acts

Public-spirited individuals are sought to fill a total of six vacancies onCommunity Education Councils (CECs) in Queens before the beginning of theschool year. Council responsibilities include holding monthly public meetingswith the superintendent to discuss the state of the district’s elementary andmiddle schools, reviewing the district’s educational programs, and approvingzoning lines as submitted by the superintendent.

Openings are available at CEC 25, serving Flushing, Whitestone, Beechhurst,Kew Gardens Hills, Bay Terrace and College Point; CEC 28, serving Rego Park,Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Briarwood, Richmond Hill and Jamaica; CEC 29,serving Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, St. Albans, Queens Village, CambriaHeights, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Hollis and Rosedale; and CEC 30,serving Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria andLong Island City.

Positions are unpaid; candidates must live in or own a business in the districtwhere they seek to serve. Applications must be filed by email on Friday,August 7. Appointees will fill the remainder of two-year terms that started onJuly 1, 2019, and will conclude on June 30, 2021.

For more information, a link for downloading an application and instructions forsubmitting it, visit www.queensbp.org/education.

Summarizing the QC Mission in a Few Words

You cannot appreciate how Queens College arrived at its motto, Discimus utserviamus (We learn so that we may serve), without considering theextraordinary period in which the college came into being.

1937 was an eventful year in the eventful decades between the ends of theFirst and Second World Wars. In January, President Franklin Delano Rooseveltbegan his second term in office. Among the achievements of his first termwere historic measures to fend off the devastating effects of the GreatDepression--measures for which the idea of service to the needs of the nationwas integral.

Anyone who has visited our national parks, traveled our highways, crossed anynumber of bridges (including the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge), or turned on alight fed by hydroelectric power has experienced some of the legacy of one ofRoosevelt’s most significant accomplishments, creation of the Works ProgressAdministration. Established in 1935, the WPA recruited millions of unemployedAmericans and saw to it that they learned the skills necessary to acquire jobsworking in a vast array of public works projects throughout the country. TheWPA also sponsored art, music, theater, and writing programs.

Founding QC President Paul Klapper created the college's motto; the buildingbearing his name originally housed the campus library.

By 1937, the idea of learning in order to provide service for the common goodwas very much the zeitgeist and very much on the mind of the man whobecame Queens College’s first president, Paul Klapper. To commemorate its50th anniversary in 1987, Queens College published a book chronicling its firsthalf-century, The People’s College on the Hill. Under the title, Paul Klapper’sDream, its preface succinctly addresses how the college has kept faith with itsmission as expressed in the motto that Dr. Klapper created to inspire its firstclass of students and generations more to follow:

Queens College has always been immensely responsive to the history ofAmerica–social, political, economic; local, metropolitan, national. This

responsiveness is not at all surprising. Unlike many other colleges Queensgrew out of the immediate needs of the community. The ever-growingborough, peopled with immigrants, needed a college. The people who livedhere could not afford to send their children away to school, but it was theirdream that their children be educated. To Dr. Paul Klapper, the College’s firstpresident, “reality was just a dream realized.” His dream of a community ofscholars serving others (“We learn in order that we may serve” was his choicefor a motto), became Queens College.

Because the students went out into the larger community each day, asresidents, family members, and jobholders, they were always part of the realworld, and responded to it immediately and fully. Proud of the quality of theireducation, they were eager to translate it into service, and to live the lives itenabled them to appreciate. . .

Remarkably, this description of Queens College from its founding through itsfirst 50 years continues to ring true some 33 years later. And its motto,created by a man who was himself an immigrant to these shores, remains justas resonant for a student body today that is more diverse than Paul Klappercould have ever imagined.

Greeting New Students

On August 24 at 10 am, Queens College will for the first time hold Ubuntu: IAm Because We Are, a welcome resource fair and networking opportunity.Designed as an introductory program for Black students, Ubuntu is open to allnew students. The event will include remarks by President Frank H. Wu andstudent leaders, exciting entertainment and more.

The annual New Student Welcome Day will take place the next day. Festivitieswill start at 9 am with greetings from President Wu. Provost ElizabethHendrey, Vice President for Student Affairs Adam Rockman, and StudentAssociation President Zaïre Couloute will also speak. Brief presentations bystudent clubs and organizations and QC offices will follow. The program willfeature student leaders in a live panel discussion; during the session, incomingstudents and their parents will have the opportunity to submit questions.

Student Senate Elections

Results of a certain hyper-local race were confirmed over the summer.Siddharth Malviya, a senior, will chair the Student Senate for 2020-2021.Serving on the executive committee are seniors Andrea Buzon and AlihaiderHassan and juniors Marie James and Rida Zaidi.

The Student Senate—the legislative branch of the Student Association—iscomposed of student delegates in the Academic Senate. As a governancebody, the Student Senate solicits the opinions and concerns of the studentbody and supports its general welfare.

Capitalizing on Social Media

At a campus as large as QC, no single office can trackall faculty activity. Therefore, the Office ofCommunications and Marketing is inviting facultymembers to share their professional social mediahandles by emailing them to Comms@qc.cuny.edu, forpossible sharing or use in other campus media.

In Memoriam

Marianne Cooper

Associate Professor Emerita Marianne Cooper, a QC faculty member for nearlyfour decades, died of COVID just after her 82nd birthday.

Born in Budapest in 1938, Cooper—nee Abonyi—grew up in a turbulent timeand place, surviving both World War II and the Soviet invasion of Hungary.Helped by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, she and her mother made theirway to Syracuse, New York; they became U.S. citizens and Marianne earned abachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. Continuing her education atColumbia University, she completed a doctorate in Library Science and beganher 36-year-career at Queens College.

Cooper taught in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies,serving as chair for the department as it adopted new technology. Then shebecame the college’s affirmative action officer. A working mother and civicleader described by loved ones as a suburban superwoman, she retired in2011, giving her more time to spend with her husband, children, andgrandchildren.

Wilma Winnick

One of CUNY’s longest-serving professors, Wilma Winnick passed away on May12, 2020, at the age of 96.

Winnick began working as an adjunct in Queens College’s PsychologyDepartment in 1946 while pursuing doctoral studies at Brown University; fiveyears later, she joined QC’s professorial faculty. Focusing on human learning,she wrote one of the seminal papers to empirically establish what wouldbecome “implicit memory” or “procedural memory.”

Colleagues recall that Winnick served at least three terms as deputy chair aswell as two three-year terms as chair. She was in her eighties when sheretired. The room PSY 213W (SB A337) is named after her. The PsychologyDepartment also established the Wilma A. Winnick Award in her honor; theprize is given to a graduating senior who has made substantive contributionsto the department.

Heard Around Campus

President Frank H. Wu will join LaGuardiaCommunity College President Kenneth Adams,York College President Berenecea Johnson Eanes,and Queensborough Community College PresidentChristine Mangino on Thursday, July 30, at 6 pm,in Meet the Presidents, a Schneps Media webinarfeaturing the new leaders of CUNY institutions inQueens. To register click here,. . . . KhaleelAnderson ’19 won the Democratic primary for thevacant New York State Assembly seat representingDistrict 31 in southeast Queens. His victory in thepredominately Democratic district puts him in a goodposition for the November 3 elections . . . . JohnAndrejack (Student Advocacy and Appeals) published an article in Brain andLife Magazine about the positive side of his experiences during the coronaviruspandemic as a person with Parkinson’s Disease. He also contributed thepatient perspective to an article in Lancet Neurology . . . . Queens Collegealumnus Danny Burstein won the Drama League’s Distinguished PerformanceAward, the oldest and most exclusive theatrical honor in North America . . . .

Zaire Couloute, president of QC’s StudentAssociation, was quoted in a Queens Eagle articleabout a July 19 rally in Roy Wilkins Park against gunviolence . . . . Late saxophonist, arranger, andcomposer Jimmy Heath, one of the founders ofACSM’s jazz program, was given a virtual salute byFlushing Town Hall on June 19 with I’m BackSwinging Again. Featuring performances by people

who had known and or played with Heath, includingAntonio Hart (ACSM), the livestreamed eventsupported the Jimmy Heath Fund at Queens College. . . .

Seogjoo Jang (Chemistry and Biochemisty) got athree-year, $483,685 grant from theU.S. Department of Energy for a project studyingmolecular excitons--transient quantum mechanicalobjects that play key roles in capturing andprocessing solar energy . . . . Queens Memory, acommunity archiving program supported by theQueens Public Library and the Queens CollegeLibrary, streamed the first segment of a two-partdocumentary, “The COVID-19 Project: Navigating aPandemic,” on Facebook live and QPTV on Sunday,July 26. Part two will air on Tuesday, August 25, at10 am on Spectrum Channel 1997, RCN Channel85, and Verizon Channel 37, and on the same date at 7 pm on SpectrumChannels 34/1995, RCN Channel 82, and Verizon Channel 34 . . . . NuriaRodriguez-Planas (Economics) received international media attention for"The Perfect Storm: Effects of Graduating in a Recession in a Segmented LaborMarket," a paper she co-wrote with Daniel Fernández-Kranz from IE BusinessSchool and published in March 2018 in Industrial and Labor Relations Review.In May, Spanish newspaper El Pais covered her research. On June 19,Rodriguez-Planas appeared on Spanish TV in the program “La SextaColumna,” discussing how her research can provide insight into the currentrecession’s impact on millennials. . . . .

Gregory Sholette (Art) delivered the keynote forthe Arts in Society Conference, Galway, Ireland, onJune 24; he can be seen in conversation with curatorMegs Morley . . . . James Vacca (Urban Studies) iscited in We Humans and the Intelligent Machines fortrailblazing work he did on the City Council topromote algorithm transparency

The Q View is produced by theOffice of Communications and Marketing.

Comments and suggestions for future news items are welcome.Send them to jay.hershenson@qc.cuny.edu.