President's Report for December 2025

Center for Excellence in Teaching and learning (CETL) 

The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) is already looking forward to the Spring 2026 semester. 

• As always, we will offer High Impact Practice (HIP) workshops at the beginning of the Spring semester to support faculty in integrating Experiential Learning/Academic Service Learning, Common Intellectual Experience/Common Read, Global & Diversity Learning, Students Working in Interdisciplinary Groups, Undergraduate Research, and Writing Intensive teaching strategies to promote stronger student engagement, retention, success, and learning into their courses. Around QCC, some faculty additionally have noticed that the practices can foster deeper learning, promote inclusivity, create community in their classrooms and on campus, and help students connect classroom knowledge to careers and real-world applications. Dates for Spring 2026 workshops will be announced via email, and faculty/staff are encouraged to sign up for the workshops on the HIPs website.
• The Open Educational Resources (OERs) team is planning to continue to expand knowledge about OERs on our campus in the Spring 2026 semester. If you are new to OER and Zero-Text-Cost (ZTC) initiatives, please reach out to cetl@qcc.cuny.edu (or be on the lookout for an email from us). As part of the NYS Scale-Up initiative, CETL will offer trainings with stipends during the Spring 2026 semester to faculty within a variety of academic disciplines who are new to exploring the possibilities of implementing existing or designing new OER/ZTC materials to replace proprietary textbooks in their courses.
• Quiet Quill and CAFÉ events will continue during the Spring 2026 semester.
• Faculty & Staff are encouraged to visit CETL website to see a complete listing of all upcoming events and professional development opportunities and to submit suggestions for future events.

1. Overview

 Workforce Development, formerly a division of the Office of CEWD, now reports to the Provost in the Office for Academic Affairs. The division leads and implements Workforce Development Industry Certifications and short-term skills-based courses for students, alumni and adult learners throughout Queens and NYC and supports their career pathways to family-sustaining Good Jobs in the NYC region. Workforce Development collaborates with Senior Administration, Faculty, Academic Departments, Continuing Education and Administrative Depts. to secure funding from government agencies, foundations, organizations & corporations for Workforce Development Initiatives.

1.  Monthly Accomplishments

• Building Performance Lab Grant, CCNY: QCC is receiving a grant from CCNY's Building Performance Lab (BPL), to offer students and other adult learners in the community the opportunity to be educated in the CUNY "Green Jobs" Energy Training for NYS HCR/Weatherization: The Energy and Carbon Management Training Program, supported by funding through Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), a NYS agency. The program provides comprehensive training in the field of energy-in-buildings, equipping students with energy technology fundamentals and offering opportunities for multiple professional certifications, including the Energy Technician Certificate, as well as internships and job opportunities. Workforce Development is partnering with Dr. Dugwon Seo, ET Department, and Dr. Paul Marchese, Physics Department, on this project. QCC and CCNY are finalizing the MOU, and the CUNY “Green Jobs” Energy Training will begin in January 2026.
• OneTen: Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam Prep Course Grant: Queensborough Community College, Workforce Development, Office of Academic Affairs, is launching their new training program, the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam Preparation Course with funding from the OneTen non-profit organization, leading to an Industry-Recognized Certification for the banking and financial services fields. We are working closely with Chair Christina Manzo, Business Department, and will begin recruitment of students shortly through both in-person and virtual Information Sessions. The 12-week program will begin in January 2026. Employer partners include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, who will give students who successfully earn the SIE Certification access to apply for Internships and job positions at their companies. Workforce Development staff will work with students and offer them individual and group sessions on Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills and 21^st Century Workplace Skills Workshops, as well as work on placing students into careers at other banks and financial services companies.

Blackboard Retirement

As part of CUNY’s strategic initiative to modernize its learning management systems, we are officially retiring Blackboard as the university-supported LMS, now that our transition to Brightspace is complete. Please review the following key dates and action items:  

Important Dates 

• December 15, 2025: Final day to retrieve past course content or resolve outstanding issues in Blackboard. Examples include getting missing content from migrated Blackboard courses or downloading Collaborate recordings.
• December 18, 2025: Blackboard access will be permanently discontinued across all CUNY campuses. 

Transition & Data Archiving 

• All courses across CUNY are now being delivered exclusively through Brightspace.

• Faculty and staff are encouraged to migrate any remaining course materials before the December deadline. Please contact us at LMSSupport@qcc.cuny.edu if you have any questions or need assistance. 

Proctoring RFP Update

The work to get Yuja Proctoring software platform continues. The accessibility feature is still under review. Once Reviewed, there will be some engagements with campuses to learn more about the needs.

Brightspace Usage

The most recent report from CUNY CIS shows:

• • 1,863 active courses for Fall 2025.
  • 753 faculty currently enrolled in active courses

Brightspace Technical Support and Training 

Technical Support

• For technical questions, please contact LMSSupport@qcc.cuny.edu
• Toll-free support line for all Brightspace users: 1-888-895-2511

 If you are interested in training:  

• One-on-one training and consultation, contact us at LMSSupport@qcc.cuny.edu
• Brightspace Guided Training  
• D2L Website  

YouTube Videos:
These resources are designed to support you in making the most of Brightspace. Explore the full playlist here.

Additional considerations: QM Rubric

Follow the QM Rubric to review and improve course quality and accessibility for Brightspace.

Athletics Update

The Women’s Volleyball Team has won their third consecutive CUNY Championship, and their eighth in the past 9 seasons. Additional highlights include the following:

• Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Lia Briffa was named CUNY Coach of the Year

• QCC ASAP student Genesis Benavides was named CUNY Tournament MVP
• QCC ASAP student Aryam Perez Capellan was named CUNY Rookie of the Year

Next, ASAP students Samantha Mateo and Aryam Perez Capellan were named to the All-Tournament Team. Lastly, the Women’s Cross Country Team finished second at the Region XV Championships, while the Men’s Team finished third. Also, the Men’s Basketball Team is off to a successful 4-0 start during the 2025-2026 for the first time in over 20 years!

2026 Commencement Ceremony

• QCC’s 65th Annual Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 29, 2026 at 10:00 am on the Athletic Field. Faculty, HEO-series employees, Adjuncts, and members of the President’s Platform Party (college cabinet, deans, faculty governance leaders, dignitaries/elected officials, and academic department chairpersons) will receive an email inviting them to pace an order for regalia beginning Monday, December 1 at 10:00 am, with an order deadline of Monday, April 27 at 12:00 pm EST.
• Starting with the upcoming May 29, 2026 commencement ceremony and moving forward, summer candidates for graduation will be invited to participate in the following year's ceremony. What this means is summer 2026 graduation candidates will be invited to participate in the 2027 commencement ceremony (date TBD) and considered a class of 2027 graduate (degree conferral will still take place in 2026). Therefore, a class of 2027 graduate is defined as a student who has completed their degree requirements by the conclusion of the summer 2026 or fall 2026 semester, or anticipated to complete their degree requirements by the conclusion of the winter or spring 2027 semesters. This change in process will allow the Office of the Registrar/Graduation Audit to appropriately capture all summer candidates for graduation in one query, assist the Office of Student Affairs with extending a ceremony invitation to all summer graduation candidates with zero omissions, and no longer rely on these students to self-identify as a summer graduation candidate as previously required of them. QCC now joins 12 other CUNY institutions who are currently following this practice.

Student Support Resources:

• The Office of Financial Services will be hosting weekly FAFSA Fest events to assist students with completing their financial aid applications. For the fall 2025 semester, events will take place on Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 – 4:00 pm in Humanities Building Room 238 on September 9 through December 10 (click HERE to view upcoming dates). Additional events may be added and will be posted to the QCC Campus and Virtual Events Calendar. Please encourage students to attend. If students have any questions, please refer them to the Office of Financial Services located in the Administration Building - Room 106 or email FinancialAid@qcc.cuny.edu.
• 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.
• 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 Program Manager, via email at AGonesh@qcc.cuny.edu.  Additional information can be found online at QCC Scholarships.
• 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. Five (5) QCC alumni have previously received this prestigious scholarship and we hope to produce more. The application opened on October 1 and will close on January 7, 2026.
• The 2026 Women's Forum Education Award provides a scholarship of $10,000 to women age 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's 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. Most recently, two (2) QCC students were announced as 2025 award recipients. The scholarship application opens October 1 and will close on February 1, 2026.
• The Dream.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 opened on November 1 and will close on February 28, 2026.
• The ASSP (American Society of Safety Professionals) Foundation Scholarship awards academic scholarships for eligible students enrolled in a degree program related to Environment Health and Safety. The application period is open and will close on Sunday, February 15, 2026. Additional information can be found on their website at https://foundation.assp.org/academic-scholarships/.
• *The Red Thread Foundation Scholarship supports women of international backgrounds, including foreign students, immigrants, and first-generation Americans, who are beginning their college or university education in the U.S. Eligible applicants must be a woman of international background, starting college/university for the first time this fall, and embody the spirit of international leadership. The deadline to apply is Saturday, February 28, 2026.
• *The What Will Be Your Trademark? Scholarship Contest exists to help alleviate financial burdens that stand in the way of a student thriving. All students currently enrolled in a community college are eligible to apply for this opportunity, which closes on June 10, 2026. Winners will receive $2,500, which can be used for any expenses associated with a college education, including (but not limited to) rent, food, clothing, books, technology, tuition, or paying off loans.

• QCC Class of 2026 graduates set to complete their degree requirements at the conclusion of the fall 2025 or winter 2026 semester are invited to sit for their Yearbook Portrait, beginning Monday, December 1 through Thursday, December 4, in the Student Union – Lower Level. To schedule an appointment, students can contact Ms. Cha Huang in the Office of Student Activities via email at Chuang@qcc.cuny.edu.

• Free On-Campus Immigration Assistance - A CUNY Citizenship Now! immigration attorney will be available to assist students on Friday, December 5. To schedule an appointment, students should email ARC@qcc.cuny.edu or complete the Call Back Request Form. Students using the form are advised to select Queensborough Community College under “What elected official or organization referred you to our services, if any?”.

• The Office of Health Services will host the Fall 2025 Annual Health Fair on Thursday, December 11 at 11:00 am in the Student Union – Upper Level. All QCC students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend and get information on health insurance enrollment, nutrition education, family planning, HIV testing, blood pressure, and much more. Direct any questions to Ms. Isabel Hocevar, Director of Health Services, at IHocevar@qcc.cuny.edu.
• As the fall 2025 semester draws to a close and students prepare to take their final exam, QCC has lined up a series of food events for students to prepare them. As such, "Fuel Up for Finals" (sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs) is open to all currently enrolled students. Beginning Tuesday, December 16 through Monday, December 22, 2025, free grab & go snacks along with coffee tea, and hot cocoa will be available for students from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, followed by an afternoon session from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Humanities Quad (rain location: Science Atrium).

Events Report

A BIG THANK YOU TO Professor Ernie Jackson for helping to secure a generous gift of $7,500 from Mr. & Mrs. Robert Kunstadt to award scholarships to students in the Music Department at Queensborough.

Mr. Simon Bergson, Class of 1969, donated $5,000 to the Kupferberg Holocaust Center.

THANK YOU to our campus community for their outpouring of support for #CUNYTuesday and to our amazing #CUNYTuesday team captains!! Trophy presentations will be at the Winter Celebration on Thursday, December 18, from 3 pm to 5 pm on the 5^th floor of the Administration Building.

CONGRATULATIONS to our five (5) 2025 NYC Marathon runners, Christine Pagano, Nursing Department, Jonathan Alexandratos, CUNY Start, Rich Linger, Andrew Caon, and Joseph Arias, for participating in the NYC Marathon and for collectively raising $15,000 for the QCC Fund Promise Scholarship!

ANNUAL FUND I DIDN’T KNOW CAMPAIGN

Your donation to the Annual Fund Campaign creates both an immediate and lasting impact on students like Emmanuel Ford, ‘2025 Class Valedictorian. You can choose to support the Lucille A. Bova Food Pantry, the PRIDE Center, and the Promise Scholarship. Please make checks payable to the QCC Fund, Inc., and mail them to The College, Division of Strategic Initiatives and Advancement, Room A-508. Click here to make your payment online.

With your donation of $75, you will receive a pair of limited-edition

QCC socks (while supplies last).

www.qcc.cuny.edu/give

Thank you for your continued support and for always caring!

Art Gallery 

Internship Program:

The Gallery’s internship with Flushing International High School and Bayside High School will resume this spring semester and will host three student interns.

Attendees (Community/Students) October – December 2025

• CUNY Explorers- Medical Arts Building - 20 Students
• CUNY Explores- JHS 210 – 21 Students
• CUNY Explores- MS 124 – 23 Students – 3 Adults
• Vivian Fernandez (OAS) – 10 students- 1 Adult
• CUNY Explorers- Queens Prep Academy - 12 students and 4 adults
• CUNY Explorers- IS 237 – 27 students – 4 Adults
• CUNY Explorers- IS010 – 20 Students - 3 adults
• Prof. Emily Epple- Arch 111 – 22 students – 1 Adult
• English 101- 20 Students – 1 Adult
• IHSHS High School- 54 Students - 6 adults
• Prof. Felix Rosado- English 2 Port of Entry - 25 students
• Katherine Griefen- Museums Study class - 12 students

List of Exhibits/Events in November and December 2025 – Oakland Building:

Book Launch 

La Horrible Noche by Dr. Oscar Osorio 

Art Gallery Theater 

November 12, 2025  

Time: 12:10 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Kupferberg Holocaust Center

RECORDED EVENTS:

KHC public programs: https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/recordings/

KHC curated playlists: https://www.youtube.com/user/CUNYQueensborough/playlists

2025-26 KHC-NEH COLLOQUIUM:

Resistance, Resilience and Reinvention: Artists and Academics Escaping Nazism

https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/neh-programs/

In 1933, as Hitler consolidated power, thousands of Jewish and dissident German artists and academics faced persecution, not only from Nazi antisemitism, but also from the regime’s totalitarian control over culture and society (known as Gleichschaltung). As Nazism spread, many painters, writers, filmmakers, and scholars sought refuge in Europe and the U.S., though restrictive and antisemitic immigration policies often blocked their escape. This series explores the history, contributions, and lasting impact of those who escaped, with help from various support networks, through lectures, poetry readings, and faculty development events each semester. Additionally, the series highlights the resistance and creative works that emerged from their survival. Before each event, we will have a moment of silence in remembrance of those who did not escape the Nazi religious, intellectual and artistic persecution.

Faculty Fellows:

Alison Cimino, Lecturer, Department of English, M.F.A. Dr. Beth Counihan, Professor, Department of English

Dr. Mark Zelcer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Department of Social Sciences

An Introduction to Discussion Based Pedagogy of Transformative Texts

Recorded on October 17, 2025

Poetry of Witness and Resistance: A Conversation with Ilya Kaminsky

Recorded on October 21, 2025

Albert Einstein: Refugee, Activist and Humanitarian

Recorded on October 28, 2025

Deciding Who Was Worth Saving: American Universities and the Refugee Scholars of the Nazi Era

Recorded on November 12, 2025

Flight or Fight? Artists in Nazi Germany, 1933-1945

Recorded on December 3, 2025

HOLOCAUST MEMORY & COMMEMORATIONS:

The Impetus to Remember: Holocaust Memorials Erected by Jewish Burial Societies

Recorded on October 16, 2025

“Una Cosa Viva”: The Futures of Holocaust Memory and Meaning in Argentina

Recorded on November 6, 2025

Fragments of Memory: Lost Notebooks of Children's Testimonies from the Holocaust

Recorded on November 10, 2025

SPECIAL COLLABORATIONS:

LGBTQIA+ Consortium Collaboration

Beyond All Binaries: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, the German-Jewish Queer Rights Activist Who Took on the Nazis

Recorded on October 22, 2025

Unseen Threads Series:

Memorializing Black History: Heritage, Culture and Community at the Weeksville Heritage Center

Recorded on November 19, 2025

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE MUSEUM SERIES:

From Częstochowa to Bayside: The Story of the KHC’s Torah Scroll

Recorded on September 17, 2025

KHC ORIGINAL EXHIBITION:

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

On View and Online at: https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/camps/

The KHC continues to offer 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. This exhibit was curated by Dr. Cary Lane, KHC 2020-21 Curator-in-Residence and former Associate Professor of English at QCC.

A national search is being conducted for the next Director of QPAC. An assessment will be conducted to determine how we can expand QPAC’s involvement in the borough and further integrate the Center with the College as we enter this next chapter in QPAC history. While a national search is launched and conducted, Mark Amsterdam, who has worked for QPAC for three decades, has been appointed Interim Director.

There are 19 confirmed events in the theatre between December 9^th through the end of the year.

• Arts on Stage, Daytime (Rentals)
• Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• Wednesday, December10, 2025
• Thursday, December 11, 2025
• Friday, December 12, 2025
• Monday, December 15, 2025
• Tuesday, December 16, 2025
• Wednesday, December 17, 2025
• Thursday, December 18, 2025
• Kwanzaa Rehearsals - (Evenings)
• Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• Wednesday, December 10, 2025
• Kwanzaa Performance - (Dance Dept.)
• Saturday, December 13, 2025
• Music Dept. (Evenings)
• Thursday, December 11, 2025 - Jazz Ensemble Concert
• Monday, December 15, 2025 - Electronic Music Ensemble Concert
• Tuesday, December 16, 2025 - Percussion Ensemble Concert
• Wednesday, December 17, 2025 - Choral Vocal Ensemble Concert
• Queens Oratorio Society (Rentals)
• Saturday, December 20, 2025 - Rehearsal
• Sunday, December 21, 2025 – Concert
• Polish American Music Operetta Rental)

• Sunday, December14, 2025 - Daytime/Evening 

• Shema Youth Orchestra - (Rental)

• Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - (Evening) 
• Friday, December 12, 2025 - (Evening) ON HOLD
• Greek Concert (Rental)

• Saturday, December 27, 2025 - (Evening) ON HOLD 

• Persian Concert (Rental)