President's Report for December 2020

Enrollment Management Update

 The Office of Admissions has been processing and admitting Spring 2021 applicants for the upcoming enrollment cycle.  They have received two recommendation files from the Central Office thus far and are admitting students for Spring 2021 via recommendation files and virtual direct admission. Recruitment is challenging due to Covid-19, but Admissions and New Student Engagement staff continue to work directly with students by hosting online information sessions and one-on-one counseling sessions to assist students with the application and enrollment process.

 Advisement and registration for both continuing and new students is underway for the Winter/Spring 2020 semester. The Office of Academy Advising successfully hosted a virtual event on Blackboard Collaborate on Thursday, October 29th, with on-the-spot advisers assisting nearly 40 walk-in students with their registration for the Spring 2021 semester. Academy Advisers are leveraging Schedule Builder to proactively create advisement recommendations for students who have not registered for the spring term.  We continue to incorporate social media, specifically Instagram Live, as a way to engage with our students. A very successful Q&A information session with Academy Advisement, Bursar and Financial Aid was held live on Instagram on Wednesday, November 18th.

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. Services provided include (but not limited to) public benefits screening, financial coaching, legal assistance, tax preparation services, housing assistance, food pantry referrals, and more.

• Black Mental Health Group – presented by Dr. Wilma Fletcher-Anthony on Thursdays at 2:00 pm. The groups focuses on current and historic events that affect the mental health and wellbeing of Black QCC students. Associated issues pertaining to social justice, systematic racism and segregation, disparities in healthcare, socioeconomic status, and unequal opportunities to education, along with the impact of the pandemic are also discussed. Interested students should contact Dr. Wilma Fletcher-Anthony via e-mail at WFletcheranthony@qcc.cuny.edu for information on how to join the group.

• LGBTQ+ Support Group– This group is facilitated by Dr. Dorith Brodbar on Thursdays from 3:10-4:30.  The group deals with issues that affect students who identify as LGBTQ+ or may be questioning their sexual and/or gender identities.  The goal of this group is to be able to provide a safe space where students can share and discuss their experiences and/or concerns among their peers.  Further discussion may focus on the COVID19 Pandemic as it presents uniquely difficult social, emotional and health challenges particular to this marginalized group.  Interested students should contact Dr. Dorith Brodbar via e-mail at DBrodbar@qcc.cuny.edu for information on how to join the support group.

• First-Generation Student Group - This group will be for students whose parents did not attend college in the United States.  ​In a supportive environment, students will share common challenges confronted in and out of college work demands and discuss tips on how to prepare oneself to be a successful college student.​ This group will be meeting on Fridays from 10:10 - 11:30 am. Students who are interested in joining this group must register by contacting Dr. Jannette Urciuoli via e-mail at JUrciuoli@qcc.cuny.edu.

• 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. Karen O’Sullivan, Associate Director of Financial Services, via e-mail at KOsullivan@qcc.cuny.eduor Ms. Amawati Gonesh, Single Stop Administrator, via e-mail at AGonesh@qcc.cuny.edu.  Additional information can be found online at QCC Scholarships.

• 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 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarshipmakes it possible for the nation's top community college students to complete their bachelor's degrees by transferring to a selective four-year college or university. The Foundation provides up to $40,000 per year to each of approximately 45 deserving students selected annually, making it the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students in the country. Each award is intended to cover a significant share of the student's educational expenses – including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees – for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor's degree. Awards vary by individual, based on the cost of tuition as well as other grants or scholarships he or she may receive. The deadline to apply is January 6, 2021. 

• 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 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. 

Academic Momentum Plan

STEM Waiver

We are currently processing the STEM Waiver Program applications for the winter 2021 session, allowing hundreds of students to take a tuition-free STEM course. The balance of the FY21 funding will be available to our students for the 2021 summer session courses. 

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

The Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) continues to offer professional development opportunities and individual consultations regarding instructional practices and pedagogical strategies for using educational technology. The Undergraduate Research Day on Fri, Dec 4 (10:00 AM-3:00PM) will showcase UR projects across the disciplines. The event will also include a breakout session on CETL's High Impact Practices (HIPs) projects and information about OER (Open Educational Resources). Please visit the CETL webpage to see a listing of upcoming professional development events.

The Office of Educational Technology will be offering the eLearning Institute (Jan 4-Jan 29, 2021) for a new cohort of faculty participants. After the successful completion of the eLearning Institute, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion issued by the Office of Academic Affairs. The application will be sent to all faculty by November 30^th.

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.

                                                                        Start Date                  End Date

Grants awarded:                                           10/21/2020                  11/19/2020

Biological Sciences and Geology

SUNY Downstate Medical Center (NIH Funded): $12,723, Nelson, Rochelle, “Identification of Escapee Genes in the Development of Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy”                             

Continuing Education and Workforce Development

Bank of NY (BNY) Mellon Foundation: $14,040, Hsu, Hui-Yin (Lead PI), Conkling, Lori (co-PI),“NYC Future of Work Initiative”                 

Mathematics & Computer Science

North East Big Data Hub (NSF Funded): $25,000, Danisman, Yusuf, “Data Science Workshop”

Annual Fund Campaign

Faculty and staff may choose to support faculty development, student scholarships, the QCC Food Pantry, the Coronavirus Community Fund, or other options by going online to:  Donate to QCC where you can make your selection from the drop-down menu.

If you prefer to give by writing a check, please make it payable to the QCC Fund, Inc. and mail it to Queensborough Community College, Office of Institutional Advancement, Room A-508, 222-05 56th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11364.  You may restrict your gift to an existing fund by writing the fund’s name in the memo section on your check or by making the check payable to the QCC Fund,Inc./xxxx Fund .

During these unprecedented times, your gift will make both an immediate and life-long impact on Queensborough students.

Fight Campus Hunger Virtual Pop-Culture Trivia – Wednesday, December 16, 2020 - 9 PM.

The grassroots student fundraiser, in partnership with the SGA and the student clubs, is raising funds for the Queensborough Cares Food Pantry. Students, alumni, faculty, and staff are ALL welcome to participate and/or become fundraising champions by posting the following message on their social media: Please support the Queensborough Cares Food Pantry and Help Us Fight Campus Hunger.   Haris Khan, a 2017 graduate, posted this message on Facebook and raised $342 for our Food Pantry. The suggested minimum contribution for students is $5, and for alumni/faculty/and staff to participate/sponsor a student player is $10. To register, go to QCC's Fight Campus Hunger.

Art Gallery

The QCC Art Gallery’s schedule, with details, will be featured on the Gallery’s website and Facebook page in December:

• Ten Thousand Miles: Route 66 and Beyond - Photography by Bing Yang

In conjunction with the photographer’s Yang’s recent publication with the same title (ISBN: 978-1-936658-46-6), this virtual exhibition explores the landscape of the American southwest.

• Italian American Women Artists Remember the Pandemic

A group exhibition in collaboration with the National Organization of Italian American Women features their work in a range of medias that are based on the current and post pandemic world.

• Virtual Literary Art Salon

A poetry and short story presentation from local literary artists, well-known authors and students will present their work via zoom. If interested in participating in the Literary Art Salon, please email the QCC Art Gallery’s Assistant Director, Lisa Scandaliato – LScandaliato@qcc.cuny.edu

• A Virtual Gallery Internship

The Gallery’s internship in coordination with the Department of Art & Design is running smoothly throughout the fall 2020 semester. Interns are developing a virtual exhibition to premiere in the spring of 2021.  

• Permanent Collection of African Art

Finalizing the virtual classroom based on the Gallery’s Arts from Africa collection, this online resource will be available to faculty for development of their curriculum utilizing the Gallery’s permanent collection. The teaching guide will be available for download via the Gallery’s website.

• Visual Artist Talks will be presented monthly and the schedule will be sent out through the Gallery’s email blast and Facebook. Currently, Dr. Julia Rothenberg’s interview with artist Peter Pacheco is available on the Queensborough Community College’s YouTube page.  Search for the title: QCC Art Gallery Presents Virtual Artist Talk featuring Dr. Julia Rothenberg with artist Peter Pacheco.  QCC’s Julia Rothenberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology holds a prerecorded Q&A with artist Peter Pacheco.  A discussion details current projects Pacheco is working on, as well as how his experience as a nurse working in the current climate has influenced his art.  Professor Rothenberg's teaching and research   focuses on sociology of the arts and urban sociology. Additionally, she has published academic books and articles on the arts and urbanism. 
• If you would like to be informed about the Gallery’s events and happenings via email, please email the Gallery at artgallery@qcc.cuny.edu

Kupferberg Holocaust Center

Virtual International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. EST

The KHC will moderate a discussion between Michael Brovner, Chief of the Queens District Attorney's Hate Crimes Bureau and Mark Weitzman, Director of Government Affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The conversation centers on iterations of antisemitism in America on both the left and right, as well as the challenges in prosecuting anti-Semitic and hate crimes at the local level.

The event is co-sponsored by several Holocaust education centers throughout the Greater New York metropolitan area. Registration information forthcoming

​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. Dr. Cary Lane, KHC 2020-21 Curator-in-Residence and Associate Professor of English at QCC, curates this exhibit.

Visit khc.qcc.cuny.edu/camps to view the virtual exhibit.

PLEASE NOTE: The KHC is physically closed and all programming is being held virtually for the 2020-2021 Academic Year.

Visit the Education page of the KHC website at khc.qcc.cuny.edu/education for a complete listing of our comprehensive library guides and to view recorded events from our past NEH colloquia.

Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)

Tuesday, December 8, 2020 – 7:00 p.m.

Name That Tune on QPAC Live! MOTOWN EDITION

Join us for a new twist on the classic game – Name That Tune!

The fabulous DJ Bucciarelli hosts the show with special appearances by Executive Director Susan Agin, to test your knowledge of music for a family fun night. Compete against friends or relatives around the corner, or across the country! A different theme each time. There will be an on-line scoring sheet and an Amazon Gift Card for the winner!

Saturday, December 12, 2020 – 11:00 a.m. 

Virtual Gotta Dance Adults

Professional dance choreographers teach dance numbers from some of the most popular musicals of all time! This special three-session workshop provides a great outlet for individuals looking to have fun and jump-start a healthy regime.  One hour of exhilarating music and caloric-burning activity.

Friday, December 18, 2020 – 7:00 p.m. EST

A Charl Brown Holiday Special

Back by popular demand. After appearing on Broadway in Jersey Boys and the original cast of Sister Act, Charl Brown was selected to play music legend Smokey Robinson in Motown The Musical on Broadway. His performance was so truthful that he earned a 2013 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Join us as we celebrate the holidays with a live performance and Q&A.

 The City University of New York has not issued a full year budget to the colleges as of mid-November 2020, including Queensborough, due to the uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus induced financial crisis in the State and City of New York. Currently, the University has provided operating allocations for seven months of the fiscal year (July through January.) The outlook is difficult as the University copes with declining enrollment, coupled with State and City resource reductions, while awaiting news of potential stimulus relief from Washington. QCC remains vigilant in the use of available allocations by holding staff vacancies open and scrutinizing and approving only critical OTPS expenditures. There have been two meetings with the Academic Senate Committee on Budget Advisement this fiscal year (August and November) as we work together to explain and identify strategies to confront the budget situation. We expect to have some finalization of funding available over the next sixty days and hope to update the Senate more definitively in the February Senate meeting.

Facilities Update

NYC has authorized work to restart on the ADA renovation of the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC) theater in the Humanities building. The project is expected to be completed by September of 2021 in time for the resumption of academic activities for the Fall semester.