Candidate Statements October 2020

Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols, Assistant Professor, Department of Music/Music Technology

I am honored to be running for a Faculty Member at Large seat on the Academic Senate. Currently in my fourth year of full-time teaching at QCC in the Department of Music, I welcome any opportunity to learn more about the workings of our college. As a faculty member on a tenure track, and an artist driven by empathy and innovation, I have a keen interest in engaging more deeply in the governance of our school and in the shaping of its future.

 I am a historian and practitioner of electro-acoustic music, classically trained, with a specialty in music composition and music production for multimedia. My work in teaching is about interfacing - interfacing culture with technology and finding/adjusting mediums through which these connections can take form. 

 In the current semester I am participating in HIPS, serve as advisor to Music Society, serve as member in the the E-Learning Committee and the Music Department’s Curriculum Committee, and as mentor in the ASAP student mentorship program. I am particularly excited to be among the 60 CUNY faculty members taking pedagogy classes this semester through a partnership between CUNY and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). I will be a faculty learner in the Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Online Learning Environment course which will, I hope, complement my work at the college extremely well.

 I love sharing my students’ work through the initiatives like the 2019 QCC Spring Student Symposium and the upcoming Students Working in Interdisciplinary Groups conducted through HIPS. I believe that opportunities like these strengthen my understating of the efficacy of my teaching in preparing our students for their professional lives. I am motivated to do all I can for our students, to contribute to the advancement our college’s mission, and to work with my colleagues in the creation and promotion of a just and effective governing body here at QCC. Thank you for your consideration.

 Kimberly Riegel, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics

It would be a great pleasure to serve as a Faculty-Member-at-Large of the Academic Senate at Queensborough. I am starting my 6th year at Queensborough as an assistant professor in the Physics Department.  I specialize in acoustics and have worked hard over the past 5 years to build a computational acoustics lab involving undergraduate students in innovative and practical solutions to real world noise problems.

 I believe whole heartedly in a holistic approach to education for both the students and the faculty.  To that end, I have brought active learning methodology into my classroom using many proven pedagogical techniques including a flipped classroom approach to keep the students engaged in active learning.  In addition, I am using research in the classroom to help my students apply what they are learning in class to subject matter they are most interested in.

 I have worked closely with student activities as both the chair for the student activities standing committee as well as a faculty advisor to the women in science club to provide opportunities outside of the classroom for student engagement and community building.  For the past two years I have spearheaded a month long celebration of women’s month highlighting themes such as women in STEAM and gender discrimination in the workplace. In addition I’ve worked collaboratively with faculty and staff in other departments including biology and social sciences and programs like CSTEP and ASAP to develop grants and opportunities to work together to provide additional opportunities for our students.

I think that serving on the academic senate will allow me to broaden my reach to work collaboratively with a larger body to improve the experience and opportunities for the entire college community.  I appreciate the opportunity to introduce myself to you all and look forward to working with you to make Queensborough even more amazing.