President's Report for February 2020

Enrollment Management Update

The Office of Admissions was busy processing spring 2020 applications via their On the Spot admissions process. This process helped students complete the steps of the admission process from application to registration. The Office of Admissions utilized aggressive e-mail, texting and calling campaigns to recruit and enroll new students.

The Office of New Student Engagement hosted a successful New Student Orientation on Saturday, January 25th. Incoming students and their families met with administrators, advisors and faculty from various departments.  During the group sessions, students participated in activities that facilitated collaborative engagement and social interaction. The Orientation Program also featured a Student Services Expo, which showcased multiple departments, programs, and support services on the college campus.  New Student Orientation continued during the first week of classes with “Welcome Week”.  Over 1,000 students visited three (3) information stations set up in high-traffic areas. Student Ambassadors provided assistance, information, and resources to returning as well as incoming students to the college at each station.

Academy Advising was operating out of L-430/L-434 and A-206 as they advised and registered new and continuing students throughout the month of January for the spring 2020 semester. In an effort to work towards increased retention, Academy Advising utilized e-mail, text messaging, and phone campaigns, as well as Starfish and social media, to connect with continuing students.  We have registered 25 new students through the Fresh Start initiative, in collaboration with Admissions and the Registrar’s office.  Academy Advising also hosted a campus-wide advisement meeting with department chairs and faculty, to discuss academic programs, curriculum changes and course enrollment for spring 2020.

 

Personnel Appointments:

The Division of Student Affairs is proud to announce the appointment of Ms. Sandra Sacrestano as the new Director of College Discovery, effective Monday, January 6, 2020.  In this capacity, Ms. Sacrestano will be responsible for providing the overall leadership, supervision, coordination, and support of QCC’s College Discovery Program.  The College Discovery (CD) Program is the longest-running New York State Opportunity Program operating within the CUNY system, having provided counseling, academic, and financial support to select students for well over fifty (50) years.  Ms. Sacretsano’s relationship with Queensborough Community College began in 2004 when she was appointed as an Academic Adviser in the Office of Academic Advisement.  Three (3) years later, she transitioned into the role of the Student Psychological Counselor in the Office of College Discovery.  In 2016, she returned to the Queensborough Academies as Lead Adviser in the Liberal Arts Academy, in which she was responsible for managing the daily operations of the Liberal Arts Academy by way of overseeing a large advisement & clerical support staff and working with a diverse student population.  Her educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Science in School Counseling – both from Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus.  Her leadership and work ethic coupled with her vast knowledge of QCC/CUNY policy, practice, and procedure will help move the College Discovery Program in a new direction – one that will develop new strategic objectives & goals and execute new strategies/initiatives to improve the recruitment, enrollment, retention, and graduation of CD students.  Please join me in congratulating Ms. Sacrestano on her new appointment. 

 

Student Resources 

 

• Faculty and staff are asked to encourage our students to avail themselves of the valuable and free resources through the QCC Single Stop Program, located in the Library Building - Room 440. Services provided include (but not limited to) financial benefits screening, financial counseling, legal assistance, tax preparation services, food bank, housing assistance and more. Additional information can be found online at our QCC Single Stop website.

 

• Single Stop in collaboration with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance will provide Free Tax Preparation and E-Filing starting Friday, January 31^st through Wednesday, April 15^th.  Our service will follow the Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) model. Students and their family members will complete their income tax returns with the assistance from a tax department employee. There will be three sessions held on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Friday sessions will be from 9:00 – 11:00 am, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, and 2:00 – 4:00 pm.  Wednesday sessions will take place from 9:30 – 11:00 am, 12:00 – 2:00 pm, and 2:30 – 4:00 pm.  The January 31^st “kick-off” day will be held in the Library Building Basement – Room 16.  All other sessions will be held in the Library Building – Room 117.

 

• 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. Ms. Veronica Lukas, Dean for Enrollment Management, will be sending periodic e-mail reminders to the college community outlining the grant eligibility and encouraging faculty and staff to refer students to apply. Please refer students with short-term financial emergencies to Ms. Amawati Gonesh, Single Stop Administrator, via e-mail at AGonesh@qcc.cuny.edu. Additional information can be found online at our QCC Scholarship Website.

 

• The 2020 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program is 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 The NYC Brownfield Partnership website.

 

• The Freya Moskowitz Stern and Laura Rollins Hockaday Scholarships are now available for eligible students. The scholarships, worth $5000, are awarded to second-year female community college students who will graduate from QCC at the conclusion of spring 2020 and transfer to a four-year university for fall 2020. For additional information, including eligibility requirements and application deadline, visit the Finch College Scholarship website.

 

• 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, 2019 and the deadline is February 27, 2020. Please refer students to visit US’s scholarship website to apply.

 

• The Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust Fund is 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 the Belle Zeller Scholarship website.

 

• The New York State Transfer and Articulation Association (NYSTAA) Scholarship is available for students who anticipate they will complete their degree by August 2020 and enroll in a select four-year university for Fall 2020. For full details, visit the NYSTAA 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.  Additional information can be found on the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation website.

 

Upcoming Events 

• February is Black History Month and the QCC Student Government is hosting the Black Inventions Exhibit (BIE) on Tuesday, February 11th from 10:00 am -5:00 pm in the Student Union Lounge. This is a multimedia presentation, which pays tribute to Black inventors and innovators.  The exhibit will reveal many surprising facts, and highlights the accomplishments of Blacks in the fields of Science, Aerospace Communication, Health Care, Agriculture, Transportation, and Engineering.  The aim of BIE is not only to give credit to the inventors, but to inspire others to believe that anything is possible.  Over 150 authentic artifacts are represented in the collection and include: Patent designs, personal letters, rare photographs, brief biographies of Black American inventors and video documentaries.  This exhibit is free for all students, faculty, and staff to attend.

 

• The Queensborough Student Government Association will host a Winter Formal Party on Thursday, February 13th from 5:00 – 9:00 pm in the Student Union Lounge. The themed formal party will featuring music, food and entertainment.  QCC Student ID required for entry.

 

• The QCC Blood Drive, hosted by the Office of Health Services, will take place on Wednesday, March 11th at 9:00 am in the Student Union Lounge. There is an ongoing blood supply shortage that strains the ability of our community to meet the critical health needs of its people. As a member of the Queensborough community, you can make a difference. All students, faculty and staff are welcome with a valid QCC ID Card.  Every drop counts in saving lives so, come and donate!

 

• The Office of Career Services will host the Annual QCC Job Fair on Wednesday, April 1st at 12:00 pm in the Student Union Lounge. The Job Fair provides QCC students with a unique opportunity to meet with employers without having to leave the campus. These employers can help students now and in the future, not only with the jobs they are offering but, with their knowledge of the job market, industry, and careers.  Students are advised to bring their QCC Tiger Card and several copies of your résumé to the Job Fair.  Students in need of assistance with their résumé are welcome to visit the Office of Career Services, located in the Library Building - Room 429 during walk in hours for answers to their questions and résumé review on Mondays from 10:00 – 11:30am and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 – 3:30 pm.

Academic Master Plan

Development of the Academic Master Plan (AMP), a five-year planning document, is progressing. Three working groups—Curriculum, Teaching Excellence, and Student Needs—are meeting to develop a vision statement, goals, and outcomes for its section of the AMP. This semester, you will be receiving emails about open forums to discuss evolving drafts of the documents the three groups are developing. By the end of the academic year, a final draft of the full AMP, including all three sections above, should be available for campus distribution. Open forums for review and discussion of the full planning document will commence in fall 2020; following that, the final version of the AMP will be submitted to the Academic Senate for review and approval.

 

Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD)

Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) has been awarded a $25,000 Legislative Grant from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services to offer two Workforce Development Programs and a $75,000 grant from the Capital One Foundation entitled, “Building Innovative Stackable Micro-credentials in Cybersecurity to advance the Non-Credit/Credit Model of Workforce Development Learning for Career and Technical High School Students.

CEWD has also established a new partnership with Emblem Health and Advantage Care focusing on employer engagement and development, Health/Advantage Care jobs or internships, and creating Culturally Responsive Care/Management online learning modules, among other initiatives.

 

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

The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) & the Office of Educational Technology (OET) continue to offer a full menu of professional development opportunities, and the staff are available for individual consultations regarding your instructional practice, scholarship, and use of educational technology. Also, please be on the lookout for communications coming up soon regarding the CETL Pedagogical Research Challenge Awards and the June 2020 eLearning Institute. 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 Blackboard upgrade was completed on December 30 and will facilitate navigation on mobile devices.

 

Office of Research

 

New Initiative:

QCC is announcing the premiere of the Queensborough Community College Undergraduate Research Journal (QCCURJ). It is opened to all undergraduates in all fields of research. The purpose of URJ is to showcase our students’ research mentored by faculty members. If your students are interested in submitting a research paper for publication, please visit the URJ website (QCC Undergraduate Research Journal Website). Questions about the journal please contact the editor-in-chief Dr. Rochelle Nelson (RNelson@qcc.cuny.edu).

 

Upcoming Events 

• Responsible Conduct of Research Workshops: 2/3 (3 pm to 4 pm), 3/3 (12 pm to 1 pm), 4/8 (1 pm to 2 pm), and 5/7 (2 pm to 3 pm), all at CETL L313. All faculty members and students who are involved in a research project on campus are required to complete the RCR CITI online training and the in-person workshop.

 

• Undergraduate Research Brown Bag Lunch Discussion: 2/19 (12 pm to 1 pm, Oakland Dining Room), and 4/29 (12 pm, M142).  We are looking for presenters who would like to share their UR experiences with their colleagues. Please let us know if you are interested in presenting on either of these two dates by contacting Joan Petersen (JPetersen@qcc.cuny.edu).

 

• 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 2020:

 

• What you need to know when applying to the rank of Full Professor, Wednesday, February 5, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm in the Oakland Dining Room

 

• Promotion and Tenure for mid-career faculty, Friday, February 14, 10:00 am to 11:30 am in the Oakland Dining Room

 

• General Information on reappointment and tenure processes for Assistant Professors, Wednesday, February 19, 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm in CETL L-313

 

• Opportunities for service to the College and opportunities and programs at QCC and CUNY Professional Development, Wednesday, February 26, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm in the Oakland Dining Room

 

Grants Update

 

Grants Awarded November 18, 2019 through January 22, 2020

 

• New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD): $70,345, Jacqueline Montgomery, Career Development Connect Participant Trainings
• American Psychological Association: $9,000, Anissa Moody, Increasing the enrollment and retention of ethnic and linguistic minorities in the newly developed Associate Science degree program in Psychology in the Department of Social Sciences at QCC-CUNY
• American Psychological Association: $2,460, Anissa Moody, Circling the Wagons: Establishing a Regional Network of High School Instructors of Psychology to Increase the Enrollment and Retention of Ethnic and Linguistic Minority Students in an A.S. Degree in Psychology Program
• Westchester Medical Center (WMC) Health Performing Provider System (PPS): $10,740, Lori Conkling, Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) Training & Technical Assistance Plan - Westchester County
• William Talbott Hillman Foundation: $5,000, James McCracken, Photography and Darkroom Upgrade

Mentor-Connect (NSF): Monica Trujillo, 2020 Mentor-Connect Mentorship (NSF ATE Proposal Preparation)

The 2020 Partners for Progress Gala is on Thursday, April 30th at Terrace on the Park.

Cocktails at 6:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m.

All faculty and staff of Queensborough are eligible for a discounted rate of $150 per Gala ticket. External tickets are $350 per person.

To purchase Gala Tickets online visit:  QCC Partners For Progress Website.

Please make checks payable to the QCC Fund, Inc. and return to the Advancement Office, Room A-508.

For those departments and faculty and staff who wish to purchase journal ads, please submit the copy for your journal ads by Thursday, March 26, 2020.

In order to accommodate those faculty and staff who wish to sit together, your Gala tickets must be purchased no later than Thursday, April 9, 2020.

 

2020 PARTNERS OF THE YEAR

 

Dr. Jasmin Moshirpur, MD, our Healthcare Partner is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Hospital, and Dean for Queens Hospital Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has devoted over fifty years to women’s health and is the recipient of the distinguished Jacobi Medallion, the highest honor the New York City medical center awards to its alumni.

For the Nursing Partners, we will be paying a special memorial tribute to Johanna & Bridget Brady, the late wives of John Brady. Mr. Brady is a proud veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force in Strategic Air Command during the Vietnam War.  He took evening non-credit ground school pilot refresher courses at Queensborough in the 1990’s. Joanna and Bridget Brady were both nurse practitioners and in honor of their lifetimes of service helping others, Mr. Brady has established the Johanna & Bridget Brady Excellence in Nursing Endowment.

Mr. Saleem Iqbal, our Corporate Partner, is President and CEO of HAB Bank, a New York State-chartered bank focused on meeting and serving the banking needs of the South Asian community. Mr. Iqbal, who served on the QCC Fund Board, recognizes the financial struggles of our students and established the HAB Bank Scholarship Endowment to support Queensborough students in need of financial assistance. Queensborough Community College and HAB Bank are both drawn together in service to their communities.

 We truly value the attendance of ALL faculty and staff on Thursday, April 30th!

 

 Fight Campus Hunger 

The Fight Campus Hunger grassroots student fundraiser in support of the Food Pantry kicked off last semester with a series of sports tournaments. Their goal is to raise $10K and our students have collectively raised close to $6K to date.  In their quest to reach their goal, there will be a Fight Campus Hunger volleyball tournament on Wednesday, March 25^th in the RFK Gym from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. To register for the tournament or to sponsor a student:

QCC Fight Campus Hunger Volleyball Tournament website.

Students participating in the upcoming tournament will be asked to contribute $5 and the suggested minimum contribution for faculty and staff is $10.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to actively participate/sponsor a student player or attend the tournament to show their support.

 

Art Gallery

 

Miriam Beerman: Collages 1965-2008

February 6, 2020 through April 2, 2020

Miriam Beerman is a prolific American artist whose work reveals her deep emotional responsiveness to the tragedies of the human experience, both historical and modern. The collage work highlights her sympathetic preoccupation with injustice and tragedy through the visual expression of strong emotions, as well as her quick intellect, erudition, sense of humor, and most importantly, her intuitive, spontaneous artistic process.

P.O.T.U.S.  - Josefina Brunés

February 6, 2020 through April 2, 2020

Spanish artist Josefina Brunés presents her series of busts of former Presidents of the United States (P.O.T.U.S.). In her sculptures, the artist expresses herself with a formal realism. The main motivations are the fun and the personal pleasure of creating the subject, together with the desire to obtain a multiple and circular view of the “object.” The result is a play that seeks to highlight the beauty and elegance of the human figure.

 

 

Kupferberg Holocaust Center

 

Memorialization and Memory

Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the Kupferberg Holocaust Center

How are collective memories shaped and how do the forms they take inform our interpretations and actions in the present? And why is the process of memorialization so contested? This event looks at the roles that memory and memorialization play in resisting different iterations of authoritarianism.

Todd Fine, President of the Washington Street Advocacy Group and Dr. Kerry Whigham, a postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at Binghamton University's Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, will discuss recent debates around memorials in the United States as well as explore the capacity of memory initiatives both to incite and mitigate risk for identity-based violence.  Part of the KHC/NEH 2019-2020 Colloquium: Authoritarianism on the Continuum

Special Collaboration: KHC & Columbia University’s Harriman Institute

The Holocaust in Yugoslavia: A Two-Day Symposium

Thursday, February 20, 2020, at 6:30 pm and Friday, February 21, 2020 at 9:15 am

SPECIAL LOCATION: Columbia University, International Affairs Building,

420 West 118^th Street, 12^th Floor, New York, NY 10027

The KHC and the Harriman Institute at Columbia University are pleased to co-sponsor a two-day symposium about the Holocaust in Yugoslavia. On Thursday, February 20^th, we will screen the documentary, Besa: Rescue in Albania, followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer, Dardan Islami. Then on Friday, February 21^st, join us for three (3) panels: first, Dr. Jelena Subotić (Georgia State University) will discuss her latest book, Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance After Communism (Cornell University Press, 2019). Next, Professor Hikmet Karčić (University of Sarajevo) and Dr. Aleksandra Bunčić (Harvard University) will recount the miraculous story of the Sarajevo Haggadah followed by Teuta Skenderi (Independent Scholar) and Tanya Domi (Columbia University) about the Albanian rescue of more than 2,000 Jewish refugees during World War II.

Film Screening of Warrior Women and Q&A with Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota)

Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00. p.m. at the Kupferberg Holocaust Center

Warrior Women (2018) is the story of mothers and daughters fighting for indigenous rights in the American Indian Movement of the 1970’s. The film unveils not only a female perspective of history, but also examines the impact political struggles have on the children who bear witness. The discussion following the screening will be led by Danyelle Means who has direct ties with this community of women.  Means is the Director of Institutional Advancement at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as the co-curator of Survivance and Sovereignty on Turtle Island: Engaging with Contemporary Native American Art. 

Survivance and Sovereignty on Turtle Island Exhibition Event is currently on view at the KHC through May 22, 2020.

 

 

Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

 

Wednesday February 12, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday February 13, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

Children’s Book Club and Performance Series - THE PAPERBAG PLAYERS

The award-winning Paper Bag Players have been keeping it simple---and simply hilarious for over 60 years! 

All shows begin at 10:30 a.m. Pre-K through 3^rd grades

The Paper Bag Players celebrate their 61^st season with a blend of classic sketches and hilarious new works. The family-friendly show is packed with whimsical stories, singalong songs, freewheeling dances, colorful painting, raucous audience participation, and the company’s signature paper bag costumes and sets! It's a funny, friendly, and thrilling hour of theater — perfect for children pre-K through 3^rd grade, perfect for everyone!

 

February 15, 2020, 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Gotta Dance

Professional dance choreographers teach popular dance numbers from some of the greatest movie musicals of all time!

First, watch a clip of the dance number being re-created in the context of the original movie.  Then, get ready to learn a reimagined version of the routine you just finished watching.

A great outlet for individuals looking to have fun and jump-start a healthy regime.  Two (2) hours of exhilarating music and caloric-burning activity.

Suggested age: 18 – 90!

Individuals of all abilities are welcome – Do what you can!

 

Friday, March 6, 2020, 7:00 p.m.

Dinner, Dancing and NYC3 at Verdi’s Restaurant in Whitestone

Everything you need for a super fun night out!  Bring your appetite, dancing shoes and love of music for this special event!  All the food, drink and fun that New York has to offer!  Feast on Verdi’s sumptuous Italian buffet, recognized as the most outstanding cuisine on the Queens North Shore, and dance to a DJ playing your favorite top dance and party songs!  And if that weren’t enough, enjoy a performance by NYC3 – Today’s Hits Live! Three incredible NYC based vocalists performing songs and remixes from the last decade.  Tap into the pulse of today’s music with this high-energy concert event.  Music lovers will enjoy classic hits played by the DJ and the hits from the last decade as performed by NYC3!  Limited seating. Valet Parking.  Presented at Verdi’s Restaurant of Whitestone, 149-58 Cross Island Parkway, Whitestone, NY 11357