President's Report for December 2022
Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Enrollment Management Update
The Office of Academy Advisement has had a robust demand for advising of continuing and new students in both modalities of virtual and in-person services. In addition, all Fall 2022 incoming first year students have advising holds this semester, requiring an advising experience before registration for spring 2023. As of November 20, 2022, 40% of first year students have had an advisement appointment in the Academies. In addition, all first year students will receive a phone call to assist them with making an appointment with their adviser to discuss spring 2023 course registration. Academy Advisement is also utilizing student leaders, Tiger Advisers, to assist in registering student for spring 2023 course registration and during in-person group advising sessions for incoming spring 2023 firs-year students. Lastly, we will be participating in a “Tips for Success” workshop on advising on December 12, 2022 for incoming spring 2023 students, and a QCC Saturday enrollment event on December 17, 2022.
Student Support Resources
- Faculty and staff are asked to encourage our students to avail themselves of the valuable and free resources through the QCC Advocacy Resource Center. Services provided include (but are not limited to) public benefits screening, financial coaching, legal assistance, tax preparation services, housing assistance, food pantry referrals, and more. For additional information, contact the QCC Advocacy Resource Center at [email protected].
- Emergency funding is available to students who face a financial crisis that puts at risk their continued enrollment toward their QCC degree. Supported through a grant from The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, the funds provide one-time, emergency grants to students in good standing with short-term financial emergencies to enable them to remain in school, rather than being forced to leave or drop out. Students with short-term financial emergencies should be referred to Ms. Amawati Gonesh, Advocacy Resource Center Administrator, via e-mail at [email protected]. Additional information can be found online at QCC Scholarships.
- Applications for The Guttman Scholarship for High-Achieving Community College Graduates are now open. Faculty and staff are asked to encourage our students to apply. To be eligible for a Spring 2023 scholarship, students must earn an associate degree from a CUNY community college in the Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Fall 2022 or Winter 2023 semester, and must currently have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Students must also be transferring to Brooklyn, City, Hunter, Lehman, or Queens College in Spring 2023, and must enroll full time (at least 12 credits/semester). Scholarship priority will be given to students who qualify for financial aid. Students who are awarded a scholarship will receive up to $4,000 paid over two years (four semesters at up to $1,000 a semester). The deadline to apply is January 3, 2023.
- TheDream.US Scholarship program provides college scholarships to highly motivated students who entered the United States as minors under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protect Status (TPS), and who, without financial assistance, cannot afford a college education. All funding is provided by private donations to The Dream.US organization. Full details, including eligibility requirements, can be found HERE. The application opens on November 1, 2022 and closes February 28, 2023.
- The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship makes it possible for the nation's top community college students to complete their bachelor's degrees by transferring to a selective four-year college or university. The Foundation provides up to $40,000 per year to each of approximately 45 deserving students selected annually, making it the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students in the country. Each award is intended to cover a significant share of the student's educational expenses – including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees – for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor's degree. Awards vary by individual, based on the cost of tuition as well as other grants or scholarships he or she may receive. The deadline to apply is January 12, 2023.
- The Women's Forum Education Award provides a scholarship of $10,000. The awards will be given to women aged 35 and over who have faced and overcome adversity and now, after an interruption in their education, have resumed the pursuit of their first Associate or Bachelor degree. Applicants must demonstrate noteworthy promise and resilience in the face of challenges and must also demonstrate a commitment to helping others and to making a difference in their community, large or small, when their own career goals are achieved. Financial need and academic excellence are not the primary determining factors in the selection of recipients, although true financial need should be evident and the candidate should be in good academic standing. The deadline to apply is February 1, 2023.
Upcoming Events
- Fuel Up for Final Exams: As the Fall 2022 semester is coming to a close and students prepare to take their final exams, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs has lined up a series of food events for students to get them ready. Fuel Up for Finals is open to all currently enrolled students beginning on Thursday, December 15 where a limited supply of free grab & go snacks will be available from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, followed by an afternoon session from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm, in the Science Building Atrium. Additional Fuel Up for Finals sessions will be held on Friday, December 16 and Monday, December 19.
Academic Affairs
Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity
The Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity, Dr. Kerri-Ann M. Smith serves as the chair for the newly created Teaching Excellence Award. The committee consists of several faculty members across disciplines, who are framing the description and rubric for the award. The committee will establish an email address for inquiries and award submissions.
Dr. Smith hosted a FaculTEA mixer with Dean Tikola Russell focusing on the work of the Office of Community Standards. Faculty were informed about the processes and protocols in OCS and learned about ways that the Dean can support them in their classrooms and beyond.
The monthly FaculTEA was distributed to junior faculty of color, featuring fellowship opportunities and NCFDD notes.
Dr. Smith participated in the CUNY Incubator meetings, collaborating with colleagues from Queens College, York College, Baruch, and BMCC on DEI strategies to bolster belongingness at CUNY. She continues to lead the QCC Incubator, along with other members of the faculty and staff.
Dr. Smith continues to meet with junior faculty of color to address concerns and help support their efforts at QCC.
Office of Center for Excellence in Teaching and learning (CETL) and the Office of Educational Technology (OET)
The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) will offer High Impact Practices (HIPs) workshops (Jan 23-24, 2023) to support faculty in integrating Academic Service Learning, Common Read, Global Diversity Learning, Students Working in Interdisciplinary Groups, Undergraduate research, and Writing Intensive. The High-Impact Practices (HIPs) are teaching strategies that promote deeper learning and greater persistence. CETL and the Office of Educational technology (OET) will provide professional development opportunities on Open Educational resources (OER) development process. For the 6th consecutive year, as part of the New York State Open Educational Resources (OER) Scale-Up Initiative, CUNY has funded QCC's ongoing OER project. Queensborough has received funding for Cohort VI (2022-23). Thirty faculty from various disciplines will have the opportunity for redesigning course materials and implementing pedagogical approaches to replace proprietary textbooks with OERs available on campus-based, centralized technology platforms.
All Faculty are encouraged to visit the CETL and OET homepages to see a complete listing of all upcoming events and professional development opportunities.
The Office of Educational Technology (OET) continues to offer faculty development opportunities. During the two three weeks of the fall semester, OET offered nine webinars on a wide variety of EdTech applications. The most popular webinar was “Enhancing Instructional Videos with PlayPosit” with 6 registrations. Thirty-two instructors registered for these webinars. The Office of Educational Technology will offer three more webinars in December.
Four instructors are currently taking the Online Teaching Essential (OTE) course. The OTE course is a University-wide course managed by the School of Professional Studies (SPS – CUNY) and it is a critical component of the University’s ongoing efforts to support our faculty during this challenging time. Since 2020, 127 QCC instructors have completed this course.
Currently, the Office of Educational Technology is offering Drop-in Virtual Office Hours through Blackboard Collaborate. Faculty can join the OET Virtual Office to speak with an IT Academic Specialist, Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Office of Research
Announcements
The 7th Annual Undergraduate Research Day: Showcasing UR across the disciplines was held on Friday, December 2nd from 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The event featured sixty-four research presentations (including ten performances), showcasing the work of one hundred and forty-four students mentored by fifty faculty members over the past year.
STEM Tuition Waiver Program
We are currently processing the STEM Waiver Program applications for the Winter 2023 session, allowing hundreds of students to take one tuition-free STEM course. The balance of the FY23 STEM Tuition Waiver funding will be available to our students for the 2023 summer session courses.
Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs
Grants Awarded - October 20th through November 30th 2022
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Institutional Advancement |
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Con Edison: $15,000, Sheerazi, Saji; “STEM Support Program.” |
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Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation: $40,000, Di Dio, Stephen; “Debunking the Belief ‘College is Not for Me’: Making the Road to College Accessible and Affordable” |
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Nursing |
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CUNY Nursing Innovation Grant: $22,000, Sutton, Elizabeth; “Nursing Students as Supplemental Instruction Leaders for Anatomy and Physiology: Facilitating Successful Path to Nursing for First-Time Community College Students” |
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CUNY Nursing Innovation Grant: $30,078, Cupelli, Lorraine & Colalillo, Georgina; “Bridge to Success: Providing Supplemental Instruction to Increase Student Engagement with Course Content” |
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CUNY Nursing Innovation Grant: $21,695, Riekert, Susan; “Telesimulation as an Effective Teaching and Learning Modality for Nursing Students” |
Office of Institutional Advancement
Events Report – November 8, 2022
Office of Institutional Advancement
The Eugene M. Lang Foundation awarded $25,000 in emergency grant funds for the FY22-23 academic year for undocumented and immigrant Queensborough students to ensure they receive the support they need to stay in school and on track to graduate.
#CUNYTuesday – November 29, 2022
Last year, with the help of Queensborough faculty and staff we raised 62,000 dollars for #CUNYTuesday. Thank you!
This #GivingTuesday, Queensborough Community College is again participating in the social media-driven #CUNYTuesday fundraising challenge. 25 CUNY Colleges, 24 Hours, and one (1) chance to make a difference. We are excited to share that our social media campaign this year will also include TikTok and LinkedIn for the first time! Make a powerful statement about our shared commitment to student success and set an amazing example for our alumni, and friends by supporting #CUNYTuesday on November 29th. You can make your gifts online for #CUNYTuesday as early as today, just click here.
Check out our raffle prizes and remember, 100% of your gift is tax-deductible!
We are even planning a fun “Thank You” kick-off event on the Quad for Wednesday, November 30th so please stay tuned.
The Annual Fund Campaign
We are asking faculty and staff to please support the Annual Fund Campaign by donating to Student Scholarships, the Lucille A. Bova Food Pantry, the Student Emergency Fund, or another key area or program that resonates with them. Here is the link to give online. Please make your checks payable to the QCC Fund, Inc. and either drop off in A-508 or mail to Queensborough Community College, Office of Institutional Advancement, Room A-508, 222-05 56 Avenue, Bayside, NY 11364. Can we please count on your support?
Faculty and staff donations to the Annual Fund Campaign continue to make both an immediate and life-long impact on our students!
Thank you for your continued support!
There will be a Thanksgiving Food Distribution scheduled for Tuesday, November 22, 2022, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Perishables and Thanksgiving items will be purchased from a generous $1,000.00 donation from Ridgewood Savings Bank. There may be additional sponsors for the Thanksgiving distribution.
Art Gallery
November 17, 2022
Opening Exhibition Reception – 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the QCC Art Gallery
The Art of the Yaka and Suku
The Art of the Yaka and Suku - QCC Art Gallery (cuny.edu)
The Art of Yaka and Suku features a wide collection of objects produced by the Yaka and Suku people who reside in the Kwango region, the southwestern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The exhibition presents some of the finest examples from a major donation by the Dr. Arthur P. Bourgeois estate with contributions from international private lenders.
An appreciation for the works will be enhanced by the inclusion of Dr. Bourgeios' archival documents including field notes from (then) Zaire, films, photographs, letters which informed his
dissertation, as well as his many monographs and articles published throughout his career. Scott Rodolitz curates this exhibition.
November 17, 2022
Opening Reception – 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the QCC Art Gallery
Purple Sins: Eleanor M. Imperato
Purple Sins - QCC Art Gallery (cuny.edu)
The Purple Sins exhibition features 20 photographs by Eleanor M. Imperato, a writer, poet, and photographer. A hint of mystery and even danger suffuses these photographs: tall trees hiding secrets behind their slim trunks, their crowns splashed with sunlight; mushrooms growing strong and glowing in the darkness.
Viewers are invited to delve deeper into these mysteries through Imperato’s poetry book of the same name, Purple Sins, which accompanies this exhibition. The poetic images conjured by the poems, as well as the poetry evinced by the photographs that illustrate them, arouse our own sentiments and beliefs.
QCC Art Gallery Press
Purple Sins, 2022
ISBN: 978-1936658527
Softcover: 138 pages
Purchase Purple Sins on Amazon
In her second collection of poetry, Purple Sins, Eleanor M. Imperato melds both her poetry and her photography into one splendid, impressive creation. This publication accompanies the exhibition with the same title that opens on November 17, 2022.
As Susan Astor states in the Afterword to the book, “Imperato’s poetry touches on a broad variety of subjects, from the natural world to the ambiguities of human relationships, from the pull of memories to the push of rapidly changing norms. The subjects covered in the pages of Purple Sins, though universal in their appeal, are tied to events and emotions, real and imaged fused in the poet’s life. Intimacy and its absence, literature and its themes, history and current events, nature in all its lushness and cruelty — the reader feels her connection to each.”
The Hats or Hats Nots, 2022
ISBN: 978-1936658510
Hardcover: 110 pages
Purchase The Hats and Hat Nots on Amazon
“The Hats or Hat Nots” explores the territories of those who make up the overwhelming majority of the black diaspora in the enormous American lands. Its focus, the Hat, and all its sub-textual trappings, legitimacy, power, honor, righteousness, and the glory and resurrection.”
“Allen’s images are knee-deep in the estuaries of life, Black life, and their unique communities that have adapted and flourished nonetheless within the brackish waters, and not so delicate nuances, of ongoing cultural oppression.” “His image cadence interjects black and white color onto the populated rectangular solids, cubes, spherical, and triangular edifices of the clotted hierarchical urban spaces we call home.” “Moreover, like his imagination, this refined palette can place whites
on top of each other with perfect separation and definition and corral unlimited shades and values of gray while coalescing around blacks, the most prominent color in the universe.”
Extracted from the Introduction, by Joe Lewis
” The Hats and Hat Nots”
Internship Program:
The Gallery continues the internship program for the Fall 2022 semester. The program demonstrates undergraduate research by providing unique opportunities for the individual to develop practical experience in the art administration field. The participating individuals continue to assist with the documentation of the permanent collection and incoming donations.
- The Gallery is hosting two (2) interns from the Gallery and Museum Studies program through the Department of Art & Design.
- The Gallery’s Internship Program with Bayside High School is in person this year and will begin the first week of November.
Kupferberg Holocaust Center
2022-2023 KHC-NEH COLLOQUIUM
Trauma, Remembrance and Compassion
https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/neh-programs/
What is trauma? What does it mean to remember? What is compassion? This year’s colloquium explores trauma, both historically and in our contemporary culture, and how remembrance and compassion both have and continue to offer meaningful responses to atrocities. If genocide and incarceration are crimes and practices that silence people and remove their humanity from them, then remembering is an act of restoration. In preserving the stories of those who have been dehumanized, we honor their suffering and affirm their humanity. In this colloquium, we explore remembrance as a social action that speaks back to the destructiveness and dehumanization of trauma. We also explore how to meaningfully engage with trauma, to hold space for and learn from past traumas. Finally, we seek to identify ways to respond to trauma through compassion, to consider how in the face of traumas, we can choose to act deliberately to alleviate suffering.
Organized in dialogue with contemporary issues, the series is aligned with the current KHC exhibit, The Concentration Camps: Inside the Nazi System of Incarceration and Genocide.
2022-23 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Angela Ridinger-Dotterman, Associate Professor of English
Dr. Ilse Schrynemakers, Associate Professor of English
Dr. Jodi Van Der Horn-Gibson, Associate Professor of Communication, Theatre, and Media Production
John Yi, Lecturer of English
KHC ORIGINAL EXHIBITION
The Concentration Camps: Inside the Nazi System of Incarceration and Genocide
On View and Online
https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/camps/
This year, the KHC will be offering self-guided audio tours of its original exhibition which surveys the scope and brutality of the Nazi system of incarceration and genocide, underscoring the horrific consequences of antisemitism, racism, and authoritarianism. In addition to the exhibit’s text, images, and artifacts, personal testimonies from local Holocaust survivors offer painful insights into these excruciating landscapes of degradation and dehumanization. Dr. Cary Lane curates this exhibit, KHC 2020-21 Curator-in-Residence and Associate Professor of English at QCC.
PROGRAMMING
For list of all public programming offered in the Fall 2022 semester, visit:
https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/events-2/
Holocaust Memory/Annual Kristallnacht Commemoration
Keynote: Stones of Memory with Dr. Ruth Mandel
Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. EST
Click here to register: https://tinyurl.com/pfemw443
On the anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 9 and 10,1938, Dr. Ruth Mandel, Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University College London, discusses her ethnographic research on Stolpersteine, a counter-memorial art project marking the final homes of Jewish and Romani victims of Nazi violence found throughout Europe.
KHC-NEH Workshop (Faculty Only)
Mindfulness and Meditation: Towards a Compassionate Self
Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. EST
Click here to register: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ydmw5
Are you stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed? Do you want to learn how to practice mindfulness and meditation to slow down? Join QCC Professors Alison Cimino, Lecturer of English, and Dr. Joanne Chang, Professor of Music, in this workshop as they help us to deepen awareness, mindfulness, and compassion for self and others, especially during stressful and busy times.
KHC-NEH Workshop (Faculty Only)
Imagining Possibilities: Social Practice as a Pedagogy of Care
Friday, November 18, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT
Click here to register: https://tinyurl.com/4222x8j5
In this workshop, participants will hear from artist-researchers Heather Huggins, Assistant Professor of Theatre at QCC and Dr. Tania Alice, a Professor of Performance Art at Federal
University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. They will share social practices at the intersection of performance and mindfulness, along with concrete examples from their research applying these
practices in their campus communities. Attendees are invited to experience these practices for themselves by engaging in embodied practice, reflection, and discussion.
PLEASE NOTE:
All programming will be held virtually for Fall 2022.
Recordings will be available on the KHC website: https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/recordings/
Visit the Education page of the KHC website at https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/education/ for a complete listing of our comprehensive library guides and to view recorded events from our past
NEH colloquia.
Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)
August 25, 2022 – December 16, 2022
QPAC’s From Page to Stage (On-Going Faculty Collaborations:
Virtual reenactments of classic novels and plays, historic events, and dramatic readings. This is an ongoing series of educational presentations (done live and recorded for continued use). These virtual renditions of great works will be available in perpetuity for use by the collaborating department (English, Theater, History, Language, Media classes, etc.). Any work can be researched, rehearsed, and presented. Historic speeches can be recreated. There is NO fee for this service. After the initial live presentation, these works can be utilized in the classroom over and over. Special in-person live events can be accommodated where classes can be invited.
THE SUBMISSION PROCESS IS ON-GOING:
- Requests for adaptations will be reviewed on an on-going basis.
- Faculty can request specific works by sending an email to Susan Agin, Executive & Artistic Director, QPAC ([email protected]).
- Assuming the availability of the material and copyright permissions, a performance/recording schedule will be submitted within two weeks following each proposal received.
We encourage submissions and we are available to answer any questions.
CREATIVE SERVICES
Small Mouth Sounds
In-person theatre has returned to Queensborough! The Department of Speech, Communication and Media Production’s fall production is Small Mouth Sounds. Set at a silent retreat, six characters in search of stillness arrive at a wellness center hoping to quiet the inner cacophony that has led them to sign up for a five-day break from their smartphones and small talk. Promotional collateral for the show includes original artwork, flyers, posters, banners and social media and the College’s new digital signage. The show runs from Tuesday, November 22 through Friday, December 2. Attached is a poster featuring original artwork designed by Creative Services.
October is Advisement Month
The Division of Marketing & Communication continues to support our Student Affairs offices with advisement and registration communications through October and into November. Additionally, the
office will be conducting further Signal Vine training for administrative offices on Friday, October 28. To schedule a refresher, please email Angelica May at [email protected].
Undergraduate Research Day
The Division of Marketing & Communication is supporting student research and success by assisting the Office of Academic Affairs in promoting this year’s Undergraduate Research Day, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 2 in the Student Union from 10AM – 3PM. This event is a showcase of faculty-mentored undergraduate research efforts across the disciplines at the College. It provides an opportunity for faculty at Queensborough to showcase the range and depth of the research projects in which they engage our students. The conference gives undergraduate students an opportunity to present their research activities in various fields.
