Author: queensborough

Hispanic Educational Technology Services (HETS) — the first bilingual consortium dedicated to serving the higher education needs of Hispanic communities—awarded Queensborough Community College  “Best Practices in Teaching and Learning Through Technology,” at the recent Best Practices Showcase conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The award— for the proposal entitled, Culture and Family: The Digital Storytelling Project — recognizes Queensborough’s outstanding vision and innovation in the incorporation of technology in higher education.

In a special presentation of the Digital Storytelling project, students from Basic Educational Skills, English, and Speech Communications and Theatre Arts collaborated on a wiki, creating multi-media digital stories incorporating images, film, music, voice and text. The Basic Education and English classes focused on the development of writing skills while the Theatre Arts class created performance pieces from fellow students’ writings in the form of vlogs (video logs).  An important component of the wiki project featured performance students posting interview questions for the writing students in order to make their choices as actors. This exercise also allowed the writers an opportunity to clarify their ideas. This interdisciplinary project created a virtual community of learners.

“Learning through their native digital language helps all students make connections across academic disciplines and creates a sense of belonging and meaning,” says Michele Cuomo, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, and Associate Professor of Speech Communications and Theatre Arts. Professor Cuomo is also the author of the award-winning proposal, known at Queensborough as the Student Interdisciplinary Wiki Project.

Ghetto Home World, by Queensborough students Kelsey Velilla and Billy Jno Hope; and Memories of My Mother, by Kelsey Velilla — presented at the conference — are examples of vlogs which celebrate and reflect on students’ experiences as Hispanics. Other project teams were comprised of Basic Skills and English Department students, partnered with students in History, Sociology, and Education. Queensborough seeks to expand this model to other educational institutions.

Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary during the 2009-10 academic year, along with the launch of the Freshman Academies and the opening of the new Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center. Queensborough, located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens, offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising one of the most diverse populations of any college in the U.S., over 15,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu.

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Dr. Diane Bova Call, a distinguished administrator and faculty member, has been appointed Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Queensborough Community College, a college of The City University of New York (CUNY).

“Dr. Call brings to this position vast administrative experience — including over 30 years of service to Queensborough and to CUNY –and has a deep understanding of the benefits of public higher education and how this serves our City, plus a strong commitment to diversity,” commented Eduardo J. Martí, Ph.D., President of Queensborough Community College.

With responsibilities that have encompassed virtually all major areas of administration and academics at Queensborough, Dr. Call has had oversight of the Division of Finance and Administration; curriculum development; recruitment and retention of faculty; academic service programs; and enrollment management. Among her many outstanding achievements are the development of two dual-joint degree programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biotechnology with senior colleges in CUNY; along with her partnership with Student Affairs to implement the Freshman Academies for all full time, first time freshmen, and the establishment of an assessment protocol to measure the success of the initiative. She instituted the Instructional Support Services Center and Learning Lab at Queensborough, and has led  Admissions Services; Skills Assessment Testing; Academic Advisement; the Freshman Year Program; College Discovery; and CSTEP. She consolidated Tutorial Services and the Writing Center, substantially increasing the number of students served.

“Having been given the opportunity to serve as a faculty member and then to develop and advance as a senior administrator at Queensborough, I feel especially committed to our College and its revitalized mission to grow to be one of the leading community colleges in the country,” said Dr. Call.

Dr. Call holds a Doctor of Education degree, a Masters degree in Community College Administration and a second Masters degree in Student Personnel Administration, all earned from Teachers College, Columbia University. Additionally, she holds a Certificate in Curriculum Development from Harvard University, School of Education. She was an Adjunct Professor at Long Island University, C.W. Post, Graduate School of Education; and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Queensborough Community College, Department of English. Dr. Call’s academic credentials, along with her publications and research presentations at academic conferences, gained her the rank of Full Professor in Student Personnel Services in 1994, having acquired tenure in 1978.

“Through my education and experience in college and university administration, I have had the opportunity to work with extraordinary faculty and university leaders at CUNY,” added Dr. Call. “These relationships have shaped my approach to challenges faced by an institution striving for access, excellence and fiscal stability.”

Dr. Call has served as a member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee of the College of Aeronautics (now Vaughn College); a Consultant to the United States Department of Education, Higher Education Programs’ Division of Institutional Development; and Consultant to the New York City Public Schools on Health Occupation Vocational Programs. She served on the CUNY Welfare Advocate Council and was a Project Participant for Change and the New Jersey Community College; the Faculty Perspective, The Center for Community Colleges, Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she serves on the Board of the Queens Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Call, a native of Long Island, resides in Old Brookville, New York, with her husband.

Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary during the 2009-10 academic year, along with the launch of the Freshman Academies and the opening of the new Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center. Queensborough, located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens, offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising one of the most diverse populations of any college in the U.S., over 15,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu.

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Holocaust survivor Seymour Kaftan has created a substantial body of oil paintings depicting the Nazi brutalities that took place in Lithuania when he was a young teenager. The exhibit, entitled Genocide among the Flowers: Seymour Kaftan’s Ponary Paintings will open at the Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, at 7:00PM. The exhibit will run through June 15, 2010.

Mr. Kaftan, who came to America after World War II, was driven to tell of his terrible experiences, but because of his inability to master the English language, he painted his story.  The exhibit of Kaftan’s paintings, curated by Rabbi Isidoro Aizenberg, Scholar-in-Residence, will be accompanied by excerpts from the Ponary Diary, a chronicle of the atrocities, written by Kazimierz Sakowitz, a Pole who lived in the woods near the murder grounds.

Stored in the basement of his daughter’s home in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Kaftan’s paintings were unwrapped only once each year to be shown at the local Hebrew day school on Yom Hashoah.

“The powerful combination of images, text and photographs offer a rare perspective into this very dark period of history,” says Arthur Flug, Executive Director, Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives. “We are very grateful to his family for generously donating this collection to the Kupferberg Holocaust Center.”

Please visit www.qcc.cuny.edu, or call 718-281-5770 for more information.

Recognizing his leadership and long-standing involvement in the New York Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) – the world’s largest scientific society– David M. Sarno, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Queensborough Community College, a college of The City University of New York (CUNY), received the New York Section 2009 Outstanding Service Award in January at the 2010 NY-ACS General Meeting and Section-Wide Conference at St. John’s University, in Jamaica, New York.

Dr. Sarno, who has been a member of the ACS for more than a decade, joined as a graduate student through the Binghamton section of the organization. In 2007, he became Chair-Elect of the Long Island subsection, and in 2008 he became Chair, holding monthly board meetings; helping to plan and implement the Chemistry Challenge, the LI-ACS High School Awards, and a monthly seminar at Hofstra University, featuring a local chemist. Currently, Dr. Sarno serves as Publicity Chair of the Long Island subsection, and as Director-at-Large of the New York Section of the ACS.

“While I am honored to receive this award, it should be shared by several people who were instrumental in creating exceptional programs and presentations throughout the years,” said Dr. Sarno, who also served as Co-Chair of the prestigious Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) of the American Chemical Society with Dr. Paris Svoronos, Professor and Chairperson of Chemistry at Queensborough.

Under the direction of Drs. Sarno and Svoronos, Queensborough hosted The 40th MARM of the American Chemical Society in the spring of 2008, attended by nearly one thousand scientists, students and educators over a four-day period. It was the first time the meeting was held in New York City; the first time it was held at The City University of New York (CUNY); and the first time it was held at a community college.

Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary during the 2009-10 academic year, along with the launch of the Freshman Academies and the opening of the new Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center. Queensborough, located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens, offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising one of the most diverse populations of any college in the U.S., over 15,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu.

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Who are some of the country’s most influential African American artists and what inspired them to create their masterpieces? What were the eight stages of the progression towards genocide in Rwanda and how can human tragedy on a mass scale be prevented? Who are the soul legends of the Disco era? The answers to these questions and more will be presented at Queensborough during Black History Month, the national, annual celebration of important people that have had a significant impact on African American culture.

African American Artists Documentary Film Series: The QCC Art Gallery will present a series of films on Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00PM, and Thursday evenings at 5:30PM, throughout the month of February regarding the following renowned African American artists: Jean-Michel Basquiat: a rare interview with the brilliant, mercurial 1970’s graffiti artist in his Manhattan studio; Benny Andrews, who grew up in the 1930’s in a sharecropper’s family, shines a sensitive light on these ‘invisible’ people through collages, paintings and drawings; Aaron Douglas, a painter and important figure in the Harlem Renaissance art movement, whose murals are featured at Fisk University in Nashville, and the Harlem YMCA in New York; and Kara Walker, whose work depicts the American pre-Civil War south, combining fact, fiction and fantasy so that viewers must unscramble the ‘official’ history of African Americans.

“We have a collection of wonderful films that offer a rare glimpse into the psyches and life stories of some of the nation’s most revered African American artists,” says Faustino Quintanilla, Director and Curator, the QCC Art Gallery.

The QCC Art Gallery’s next major exhibit (to open March 20, 2010) will feature African American artist Danny Simmons, known for his abstract, expressionist paintings.

The Predictability of Genocide: The Case of Rwanda: The Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center will present a video, based on a recent event featuring Dr. Cynthia Kamikazi, Human Rights Officer at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations on Wednesday, February 17, from 1:00-3:00PM. The video presentation will be followed by a student panel discussion on Rwanda.

“Dr. Kamikazi—a powerful and distinguished speaker—helped us to further our mission to educate visitors about the ramifications of prejudice in all cultures, as exemplified by the Holocaust,” comments Dr. Arthur Flug, Executive Director, Kupferberg Holocaust Resource & Archives.

Also, disco royalty Sister Sledge and Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes will perform their classics at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC) at Queensborough Community College on January 30, 2010 at 8:00PM.

“This show is the perfect kick- off to the second half of Queensborough’s 50^th Anniversary celebration.  The evening will be a star-studded, high-energy occasion for disco and rhythm & blues fans!” declares Susan Agin, Artistic Director of Queensborough’s Performing Arts Center. There will also be a live disc jockey and dancing after the concert for audience members. For more information about this event, visit the box office online at www.visitqpac.org. Tickets are $35 and $40.

Learn more about these exciting upcoming events at www.qcc.cuny.edu, or by contacting The Kupferberg Holocaust Center at 718.281.5770, and the QCC Art Gallery at 718.631.6396.

Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary during the 2009-10 academic year, along with the launch of the Freshman Academies and the opening of the new Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center. Queensborough, located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens, offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising one of the most diverse populations of any college in the U.S., over 15,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu.

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Queensborough Community College has been awarded twenty-two, $6,000 Technology Scholarships for qualified graduating high school seniors through a National Science Foundation grant for study in Electrical Engineering Technology and Laser & Fiber Optics Technology. Interested graduating high school seniors must apply by March 1, 2010.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for graduating high school seniors to come to Queensborough and reap the benefits of the College’s personalized academic attention—tuition free,” says Stu Asser, ’67, Professor and Chairperson, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET), who co-authored the grant proposal with Dr. David Lieberman, Professor and Chairperson, Physics Department.

“The need for skilled workers in science and technology is expected to dramatically increase over the next 30 years,” comments Dr. Lieberman. “Through this program, students can take advantage of the College’s partnerships with local industries that often lead to internships, and jobs.”

Indeed, students who graduate from Queensborough are employed at competitive starting salaries in positions such as fiber optics technicians, electrical designers, laser safety officers and field engineers, to name a few.

All of the first time, full-time students in the Technology Scholarship Program will be enrolled in the Freshman Academy for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)—one of six Freshman Academies at Queensborough—participating in High Impact Learning activities, such as writing intensive courses and virtual learning communities, plus benefit from the personalized academic and student support services that each academy student receives.

With six active, NSF multi-year grants totaling nearly $4.5 million, Queensborough is in the top 1% of community colleges in the number of NSF grant awards, and sixth in total dollars–nationwide. In addition, Queensborough was the largest recipient of National Science Foundation (NSF) education funding of all the community colleges within The City University of New York (CUNY) in the 2008-2009 fiscal year (Source: NSF Awards database).

Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, has embarked on a banner academic year with the celebration of its 50^th Anniversary, the launch of the Freshman Academies and the opening of the new Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center. Queensborough, located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens, offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising one of the most diverse populations of any college in the U.S., over 15,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized supplemental educational resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu.

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