President's Report for February 2021

Enrollment Management Update

Fall 2021 recruitment began in early January when the first electronic file of admission recommendations was delivered to the Office of Admissions followed by a second file in late January.  Admissions staff continue to virtually recruit in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by attending virtual college fairs and high school visits. The Office of New Student Engagement, in collaboration with the Office of Admissions, will continue to host virtual information sessions beginning in mid-February. 

The Office of Academy Advisement is assisting a high volume of new and continuing students with registration as we prepare for the start of the Spring 2021 semester.  With the spring semester being online, we will continue to leverage Starfish, Zoom, Blackboard, along with other technologies to advise our students.  Academy Advisement will host an Instagram Live Welcome Session on Wednesday, January 27^th for incoming students, and plan to host other sessions throughout the spring to engage with our students about QCC, Advising, Financial Aid, and other support services.

 

Student 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 not limited to) public benefits screening, financial coaching, legal assistance, tax preparation services, housing assistance, food pantry referrals, and more.

 

• Representatives from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance will help students prepare and e-file their income tax return virtually during a webinar Zoom session at no cost. Zoom sessions will be held every Wednesday and Friday, beginning February 17th, 2021 and ending on April 14, 2021.  Pre-registration is required.  As such, students should call the Advocacy Resource Center (formerly Single Stop) at (718) 631-6347 or e-mail [email protected].  Session days and times are as follows:  Wednesdays between 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Wednesdays between 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm, Fridays between 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, and Fridays between 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

 

• The 2021 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Programis now accepting applications. The program provides financial support to students pursuing careers in the brownfield industry in New York City. For more information, including eligibility requirements and application deadline, please visit their website.

 

• The Finch College Alumni Community College Transfer Scholarship application period is now open for all eligible female students. The scholarships, worth $5000, are awarded to second-year female community college students who will graduate from QCC at the conclusion of spring 2021 and transfer to a four-year university for fall 2021. For additional information, including eligibility requirements and application deadline, visit their website.

 

• 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. Please refer students with short-term financial emergencies to Ms. Amawati Gonesh via e-mail at [email protected].  Additional information can be found online at our QCC Scholarship Website.

 

• The Senator Jose Peralta NYS DREAM Act (DREAM Act)allows undocumented and other eligible students to apply for New York State financial aid. The NYS DREAM Act application is used to determine student eligibility under the provisions of the NYS DREAM Act. Students who meet the NYS DREAM Act's eligibility requirements for high school attendance, high school completion, in-state SUNY or CUNY tuition, and citizenship or immigration status will be able to apply for one or more NYS student financial aid programs. Students who qualify under the NYS DREAM Act can separately apply for NYS student financial aid programs. The program is administered by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.

 

• CUNY continues its partnership with The Dream. US Scholarship Program to assist undocumented students in obtaining scholarships. The Dream.US Scholarship Program provides college scholarships to highly motivated undocumented 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. Scholarships are available to currently enrolled high school students and community college students who will be completing their degrees by the end of the 2019 -2020 academic year. The annual application period to award scholarships for the fall 2020 cohort opened on November 1, 2020 and the deadline is February 25, 2021. Please refer students to visit Dream US Scholarship Program to apply.

 

• The Women's Forum Education Awardprovides 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, 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, 2021.

 

• The Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust Fundis now available for eligible students to apply. The award shall consist of the yearly undergraduate tuition for in-state students as set by the university. For additional information, including eligibility requirements and deadline date, please visit their website.  The deadline to apply is March 31, 2021.

 

• The American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholars Program awards renewable scholarships of up to $5,000 to underrepresented minority students who want to enter the fields of chemistry or chemistry-related fields, such as environmental science, toxicology and chemical technology. High school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores, or juniors are eligible to apply.  The ACS Scholars Program was established in 1994 to attract African American, Hispanic and American Indian students considered underrepresented in the chemical sciences by the National Science Foundation to pursue careers in the field.  The program also aims to help build awareness of the value and rewards associated with careers in chemistry and assist students in acquiring skills and credentials needed for success.  The deadline to apply is March 1, 2021.

 

• Love is in the air and the QCC Student Government Association (SGA) invites all students to attend the Virtual Valentine’s Day Party on Thursday, February 11^thfrom 9:00 – 10:00 pm.  Come with your best virtual background and your best red/pink outfit with music to complete the festivities by DJ Rei.  Registration is required to attend this event.  To register, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrdeirrTsjHdNHkiBLsLeI3N2kWWWuMlDV.  Registered students will receive a Zoom link before the event.

 

• On February 17^th from 12:30 – 1:30 pm, the Office of Career Services will host a virtual Information Session with the United States Secret Service. At the information session, positions such as Special Agent, Uniform Division Officer as well as Administration, Professional, and Technical careers will be discussed.  For additional information, please visit QCC Events calendar.  To RSVP for this event, visit here.  This event is open to all students who wish to attend.

 

• NYC Health will host a virtual presentation titled “ COVID-19: Virtual Community Conversations Mental Health, Equity and Resilience” on Thursday, February 18^th and Thursday, February 25^th from 1:30 – 3:00 pm. Sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global shared traumatic experience that disrupts and affects our families, friends and communities.  In New York City and nationally, people of color are disproportionally affected by COVID-19.  To address the mental health challenges brought by the pandemic and structural racism in our City, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is providing a free virtual presentation.  Registration is required to attend.  Please visit: here to register.

 

Black History Month Movie Series

• Join the QCC Student Government Association (SGA) in honoring Black History with a movie series celebrating the life and talent of Chadwick Boseman on Thursday, February 11^th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.  Featuring the movie 42, in 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process. This event is open to all CUNY students, faculty and staff and registration is required to attend. To register, please visit: here.

 

• On Thursday, February 18^th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, the QCC Student Government Association (SGA) will continue to honor the life, talent, and legacy of Chadwick Boseman by screening the blockbuster hit movie, Black Panther. In the movie, T'Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman), heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.  This movie is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o.  This event is open to all CUNY students, faculty and staff and registration is required to attend.  To register, please visit: here.

 

• On Thursday, February 25^th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, the QCC Student Government Association (SGA) will conclude the Black History Month Movie Series honoring the life, talent, and legacy of Chadwick Boseman with a screening of the 2015 biopic, Get On Up. Directed by Tate Taylor and starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, and Dan Aykroyd, the film chronicles the life of iconic musician James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.  This event is open to all CUNY students, faculty, and staff and registration is required to attend.  To register, please visit this website.

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Office of Educational Technology

The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) & the Office of Educational Technology (OET) continue to offer a full menu of professional development opportunities. Every Spring, CETL hosts a series of Common Read events that allow faculty and students to engage in thematically linked co-curricular activities. This year’s Common Read Book Selection is They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, a graphic memoir showing the impact of internment on the Japanese-American family and community. Virtual events will be scheduled from Mar 1-12. Faculty will have the opportunity to incorporate the text in their own classes and participate in co-curricular activities that promote integrative learning across the curriculum through multi-disciplinary approaches to a common text. These cross-disciplinary events provide an opportunity for increased social and academic engagement while supporting the learning that takes place in the classroom.

More information about Common Read (High Impact Practice) is available here​.

 

The Office of Educational Technology 

Twenty-six instructors are currently participating in the eLearning Institute –Winter 2021. After the successful completion of the eLearning Institute, these participants will receive a Certificate of Completion issued by the Office of Academic Affairs. By the end of this month, more than 90 instructors will have completed the eLearning Institute throughout the COVID 19 pandemic. 

The Office of Educational Technology will be offering the following Technology Webinars at the beginning of the Spring semester:

• Introduction to Blackboard 
• Introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra  
• How to Create Assignments, Safe Assign and Turnitin 
• How to Create a Discussion Board 
• Blackboard Tests and Grade Center 
• Introduction to VoiceThread 
• Enhancing Instructional Videos with Playposit 

We strongly recommend all faculty to visit the OET web site to see a complete listing of all upcoming Distance Learning Webinars and Professional Development Opportunities. 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.

 

ACUE Online Pedagogy Workshops

 

During Fall 2020, 60 full time college faculty took part in one of the two online pedagogy workshops:  “Creating an Inclusive and Supportive Online Learning Environment” or “Promoting Active Learning Online.”  The workshops were offered by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE).  Funding for the workshops was provided by the central Office of Academic Affairs at CUNY through an external grant.  Over 90% of faculty who took part in the workshops completed them. Additionally, faculty satisfaction with the workshops was very high (> 90%).  We hope to provide the ACUE workshops to 60 more faculty this spring.  Details will be provided soon.

 

Grants Awarded – November 19, 2020 – January 21, 2021

Biological Sciences and Geology

• CUNY Office of Research, Community College Research Grant (CCRG): $7,500, Ghoshal, Sarbani, “Targeting Energy Expenditure pathways to combat obesity, insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in aged mice “         

 

Continuing Education and Workforce Development

• New York Jobs CEO Council: $99,843, Hsu, Hui-Yin, Conkling, Lori, Micro-Credential Development
• US Department of Labor (USDOL): $4,999,002, Hsu, Hui-Yin, Conkling, Lori, “Strengthening Community College Training Grant (SCCTG) (Consortium of 6 CUNY Community Colleges led by QCC)”

 

English

• CUNY Office of the Dean for Recruitment and Diversity, Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP): $3,878, Diaz, Noelia, “Lola Arias' Memory Sites: Bridging the Political and the Personal”
• CUNY Office of the Dean for Recruitment and Diversity, Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP): $3,878, Murray, Cara, "Educating the Masses" at the Bombay Mechanics' Institute, 1847-1900”

 

Foreign Languages and Literature

• CUNY Office of the Dean for Recruitment and Diversity, Faculty Fellowship Publication Program (FFPP): $3,878, Chaves-O'Flynn, Carolina, “On Types of Bilingualism: Narratives of Inequality in Colombia”

 

 

Mathematics and Computer Science

• CUNY Office of Research, Community College Research Grant (CCRG): $15,000, Couto Pinheiro, Susana, “Modeling the COVID-19 pandemic and its interaction with a forthcoming flu season”

 

Upcoming Events

Sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs in conjunction with the Faculty Executive Committee and Academic Senate Steering Committee several faculty workshops are planned for the following dates in spring 2021:

• Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 2-3:30 PM:  What You Need to Know When Applying to the Rank of Full Professor, panelists: Professors Sharon Lall-Ramnarine, Anne Marie Menendez, Gil Visoni.

 

• Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 2-3:30 PM:  Promotion and Tenure for Mid-Career Faculty, panelists: Professors Jeff Jankowski, Kathy Wentrack, Barbara Blake-Campbell

 

• Friday, February 19, 2021, 2-3:30 PM:  General Information on Reappointment and Tenure Processes for Assistant Professors, panelists: Professors Nidhi Gadura, Andrea Salis, Zivah Perel Katz

 

• Friday, February 26, 2021, 2-3:30 PM:  Opportunities for Service to the College and Opportunities and Programs at QCC and CUNY, panelists: Professors Steven Dahlke and Margot Edlin

 

• Practice Sessions for Full Professor, 1-3:00 PM: February 25, 2021, March 3, 2021 and March 5, 2021, coaches: Professors Ashlie Klepper, Christine Saindon, Elaine Thompson, Gail Lewis

Art Gallery

Virtual Exhibitions:

 

February 15, 2021 – QCC Art Gallery

 

A History of Pride Flag Symbolism

This virtual exhibition will look at the history and symbolism behind a selection of Pride flags within the LGBTQ+ community. As there are many flags that celebrate the diversity of gender and sexuality, the exhibit will focus on the evolution of the most familiar such as The Rainbow Pride Flag, as well as explores some of the lesser-known flags within the community. This exhibition is researched by the Fall 2020 Art Gallery interns.

 

March 4, 2021 – QCC Art Gallery

 

SPIRITS OF THE RED SAVANNA  - Art and Culture of the Bamana People of Mali

A selection of objects that will be featured in the Gallery’s Spring 2022 exhibition explores the diversity of the art forms of the Bamana people of Mali in West Africa. The Bamana people are known worldwide for their beautiful art forms consisting of sculpted wooden objects, forged iron figures, intricately woven textiles, leather goods, and ceramics. The objects made are together a reflection of the Bamana way of life and their understanding of the world. 

 

Virtual Artist Talk:

 

Speakers: Julia Rothenberg, Associate Professor of Sociology, QCC

Peter Pacheco, Artist, Between Flesh and Brick, 2019

 

This prerecorded Q&A led by Dr. Julia Rothenberg focuses on the social and political environment and how Pacheco's career in nursing influenced his art throughout the pandemic. Peter Pacheco has shown his work in the QCC Art Gallery's 2019 exhibit, Between Brick and Flesh. In October 2020, and Pacheco was in the group exhibition, “A Room of Your Own,” at the Lithuanian Alliance of America, NYC, NY.

This exhibit can be viewed on the Gallery’s website and YouTube:

QCC Art Gallery Virtual Artist Talk Series: Peter Pacheco (October 16, 2020) - YouTube

 

 

Kupferberg Holocaust Center

 

Oppression and Resistance in America’s World War II Concentration Camps
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Click here to register

 

Many historians and Japanese Americans cite the loss of US citizenship rights as the biggest injustice of the camps and many believe cooperation and not resistance was the norm. Join Dr. Gary Okihiro, Professor Emeritus of international and public affairs at Columbia University and Visiting Professor of American studies at Yale University, as he outlines the nature of the oppression in that historical experience and the resistance posed to those oppressive acts. This lecture is part of the 2020-21 Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) and National Endowment for the Humanities Colloquium entitled, “Internment & Resistance: Confronting Mass Detention and Dehumanization,” and is presented in partnership with the Asian American / Asian Research Institute-CUNY and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, Cincinnati.

 

Italian Internment During World War II and the Limits of Racism in America
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Click here to register

 

Even before the United States and Italy went to war, various fascist and anti-fascist efforts impacted Italian Americans. During the war, over a half a million Italian citizens living in the United States (not American citizens) had to register as enemy aliens, thousands were forced to resettle, and a small number were interned. In the same era, Italian soldiers and merchant marines were imprisoned throughout the United States. Well before the war with Italy would end, the United States government lifted restrictions on Italian citizens in this country and, later still, the status of many Italian POWs also changed. The differing ways Italians and Italian Americans were treated in the United States were not only influenced by political concerns but also by practices of xenophobia and racism, a point made especially clear in comparison to the experiences of Japanese Americans. And yet, better understanding the multiple realities of Italians in the United States in this era helps complicate our sense of how race and ethnicity shapes experiences in wartime and in peace. Dr. Laura Ruberto, Humanities professor at Berkeley City College, will reflect on how political pressure, cultural visibility, and an emerging position of whiteness helped build public acceptance of this immigrant community. This lecture is part of the 2020-21 Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) and National Endowment for the Humanities Colloquium entitled, “Internment & Resistance: Confronting Mass Detention and Dehumanization,” and is presented in partnership with the Calandra Italian American Institute at Queens College-CUNY and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, Cincinnati.

 

Graphic Internment
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Click here to register

 

Join two faculty members from Queensborough Community College’s English Department for a conversation about the internment of Japanese-Americans in the United States during WWII. John Yi, Lecturer, will discuss QCC’s 2020-21 Common Read text, George Takei’s graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, while Dr. Aliza Atik, Associate Professor, will review Mine Okubo’s Prisoner 13660. This lecture is part of the 2020-21 Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) and National Endowment for the Humanities Colloquium entitled, “Internment & Resistance: Confronting Mass Detention and Dehumanization and both books are related to the KHC’s original exhibition, “The Concentration Camps: Inside the Nazi System of Incarceration and Genocide.” This event is co-sponsored by Queensborough Community College’s Art & Design Department and the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL).

 

For a full listing of the KHC’s Spring 2021 events calendar, as well as links to the recordings for each of our Fall 2020 programs, please visit the KHC website by Clicking here

 

KHC VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

The Concentration Camps: Inside the Nazi System of Incarceration and Genocide

 

This new, original exhibition at the Harriet & Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center surveys the scope and brutality of the Nazi system of incarceration and genocide, underscoring the horrific consequences of intolerance, racism, and authoritarianism. Approximately 44,000 concentration camps and ghettos existed across Nazi-occupied Europe and North Africa during World War II. These incarceration sites, which Adolf Hitler used as a mechanism to terrorize and eliminate non-Aryan groups (those seen as “subhuman,” “useless eaters,” and not part of the pure, white, Germanic race), ranged from small barns to compounds with populations of a medium-sized city. These extensive networks of ghettos, transit camps, women’s camps, forced labor camps, and extermination camps, to name a few, played a central role in the Holocaust—the annihilation of six million Jews—as well as the mass murder of millions more Poles, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals, people with disabilities, social outcasts, Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as other political and religious opponents. 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. This exhibit is curated by Dr. Cary Lane, KHC 2020-21 Curator-in-Residence and Associate Professor of English at QCC.

Visit The KHC Website to view the virtual exhibit.

 

PLEASE NOTE: The KHC is physically closed and all programming

will be held virtually for the 2020-2021 Academic Year.

 

Visit the Education page of the KHC website for a complete listing of our comprehensive library guides and to view recorded events from our past NEH colloquia.

 

 

Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

 

Friday, February 12, 2021, 7:00 p.m. EST

 

Tyce Green

 

Tyce Green is an actor, model and recording artist who tours regularly and has opened for mega-hit bands: Heart, Air Supply and Berlin. He is best known for working with legendary Grammy Award-winning songwriter Jim Steinman (Bat Out Of Hell, Total Eclipse of the Heart, It’s All Coming Back To Me). His debut album, HERO, is written and co-produced by Steinman. Tyce is the first male vocalist to record with Steinman since Meat Loaf. HERO is currently streaming on Spotify. Calling all rockers to join us for this presentation. You’ve seen Tyce on American Idol and Project Runway, now see him on QPAC Live!

 

Friday, February 12, 2021, 8:30 p.m. EST

QCC Student Film Premiere Part I

On Friday, February 12, at 8:30 p.m. EDT, QPAC Live! will host a streaming broadcast of short documentary, comedy and horror films by QCC's Video Production students, showcasing the talent and creativity of these accomplished student directors. The program of short films will be followed by interviews with the filmmakers, conducted by QPAC's Executive & Artistic Director Susan Agin and presiding faculty member Daniel McKleinfeld of the Speech & Theatre Department. Get to know these artistic students before they win their Oscars!

 

Friday, February 19, 2021, 7:00 p.m. EST

 

Ted Louis Levy and Friends

 

Ted Louis Levy is a tap dancer, singer, choreographer and director who is widely celebrated as one of America’s premier tap dance artists. His professional training began in Chicago with Finis Henderson II, Master Tap Dancer and manager of Sammy Davis Jr.  Levy made his Broadway debut in the smash hit Black & Blue, and collaborated with George C. Wolfe and Gregory Hines on the choreography of Jelly’s Last Jam, for which he received a Tony nomination, a Drama Desk nomination, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. He earned him an Emmy Award for his performance in Precious Memories on PBS and appeared in the movie Bojangles with Hines. He also assisted in the choreography of Broadway’s Tony Award winning hit Bring In ‘Da Noise! Bring In ‘Da Funk! Paying it forward, Levy introduces us to some extraordinary new talent.

 

Friday, February 19, 2021, 8:30 p.m. EST

QCC Student Film Premiere Part 2

On Friday, February 19, at 8:30 p.m. EDT, QPAC Live! will host a streaming broadcast of short documentary, comedy and horror films by QCC's Video Production students, showcasing the talent and creativity of these accomplished student directors. The program of short films will be followed by interviews with the filmmakers, conducted by QPAC's Executive & Artistic Director Susan Agin and presiding faculty member Daniel McKleinfeld of the Speech & Theatre Department. Get to know these artistic students before they win their Oscars!

 

Workshops: Virtual Gotta Dance Kids

Saturday, February 27, 2021 - 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 6, 2021 - 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

$5 per workshop

Space is limited

All levels welcome

Ages 8-14