“Open the doors to all – let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, g o o d c o n d u c t , and intellect.” — Townsend Harris c u n y.edu/news T H E C I T Y U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K • F O U N D E D 1 8 4 7 S P R I N G 2 0 0 5 CUNY Creates Options for A l u m n i — AT A GL A N C E At 50th Anniversary of and for the Children of A l u m n i Polio Va c c i n e, F u n d r a i s i n g Drive Begins For more than a century and a ful careers in real estate and engineering The University com- h a l f, City University has been giv- as well as, of course, in parenthood. H i s m e m o rates the anti- ing New Yorkers the wherewithal s o n , E l l i o t , the New York State A t t o r n e y polio vaccine devel- to build richer, more fulfilling lives. G e n e ra l , is very much mindful that his oped by Dr. Jo n a s In the narrowest sense, t h e f a t h e r ’s Ci ty College education is part of S a l k , a City College U n i v e r s i t y ’s diplomas have led to a legacy that helped him attend a l u m n u s, with a jobs with higher pay and greater Princeton and Harvard Law School and drive to raise schol- s a t i s f a c t i o n . But in the passing of ascend to high public office. arship money for the genera t i o n s, it becomes evident It is because of institutions like students going to that a CUNY education does more CCNY that “I am persuaded that this med schools. S e e than just help to create wealth. city will continue to thrive,” Spitzer said page 11. A CUNY education also creates a during a lecture at City College two Campuses Deal With wealth of options. years ago, as he reminisced about the Domestic Impact Consider the long list of alumni public university education of his father who have had distinguished careers B e r n a r d , who was in the audience. of Iraq War in politics, finance and the sciences, But the very word “ o p t i o n ” s u g g e s t s Nigerian immigra n t and who raised daughters and sons that while some children of successful Segun Fr e d e r i c k with measurable degrees of success alumni go on to prestigious private col- A k i n t a d e, a student in their own chosen professions. l e g e s, as Eliot Spitzer did, others choose at City Te c h , wa s I m m i g rants like the Au s t r i a n - b o r n to stay close to home and get their one of three Bernard Spitzer went on to success- degrees on the campuses of City College University students and Brooklyn College and elsewhere in killed in the wa r Restired state appellate judge the CUNY family. t h e a t e r. C o l l e g e s William T h o m p s o n , Brooklyn College One outstanding legacy family is a are trying to assist graduate and father of New Yo r k m o t h e r-daughter pairing: the renowned other students facing overseas duty. See page 12. City Comptroller Bill T h o m p s o n . continued on page 2 ➤ A Proposal for Middle East Peace C h a n c e l l o r : 2005 Inaugurates Queens College Professor Mark C U N Y ’s Decade of Scientific Research Rosenblum came up with an innova t i v e National Aeronautics and Space Newly named Rhodes Scholars Eugene course that has Chancellor Matthew Goldstein A d m i n i s t ration is teaching the principles Shenderov of Brooklyn College and Lev equal numbers of announced the kickoff of a ten-year peri- of research to a new generation of A . Sviridov of City College praised their Je w s, Muslims and od of expansion that will see hundreds minority students. professors but called for more investment C h r i s t i a n s. H e of millions of dollars invested in the sci- CUNY Matters has also decided to in science research equipment and facili- teaches them to ences throughout the University, w i t h put a spotlight on scholars from va r i o u s t i e s. “Both Eugene and Lev have opined “ walk in the other’s special emphasis on scientific research. campuses who are doing important can- that a lack of up-to-date equipment in s h o e s.” See page 4. cer research, a field of investigation often CUNY laboratories was a drawback to “This will be the decade for the Entering Careers in investment in science at CUNY,” t h e associated with pharmaceutical compa- their education,” Chancellor Goldstein chancellor told a luncheon gathering of n i e s, the federal government or hugely noted during his address at the Fe b. 1 Foreign Service and education advocates at the Harvard Club endowed research institutes. H a r vard Club meeting. International Affairs r e c e n t l y. “Universities allow intellectual free- And so the University is now Dana Agmon and “Modern facilities and equipment are dom and are not driven by bottom-line responding to that call for improvement other students are essential to our campuses, not only to profit considerations as is the pharma- from two of its highly valued members. t raveling and pursu- accomplish truly innovative research but ceutical industry,” says John Stevens, v i c e Goldstein says that nationwide the num- ing graduate work in also to attract the best faculty president for extra m u ral grants in the ber of students going into the sciences international studies, researchers and to encourage and nur- research department of the A m e r i c a n has been dropping and that it is impor- hoping to have an ture the best students… That is why we Cancer Society. “ You need both kinds of tant for CUNY to do what it impact someday on will be investing more than $360 million r e s e a r c h ; o f t e n t i m e s, the pharmaceutical c a n , here in New Yo r k world affairs. S e e to build new facilities or modernize companies can take the university C i t y, to help reverse page 12. existing science buildings at Hunter, research to the next level by that national trend. L e h m a n , Q u e e n s, and City Colleges over developing a drug.” Part of the effort to Oath of the next few years.” Investigations into the turn things around is Maimonides is a The goal is to “facilitate the develop- nature of cancer cells and the planned A d va n c e d Commitment to a Life of ment of an integrated research network treatments for it will grow Science Research Healing throughout the University,” Goldstein said. during the coming C e n t e r, a university-wide Scores of students take the oath every In this issue (beginning on page 7), “decade of the sciences,” $198-million facility that year at the Sophie Davis School of CUNY Matters is highlighting some of according to the will be built on the Biomedical Education, promising to the research being done by CUNY’s pro- U n i v e r s i t y ’s executive campus of City care for others. T h e y f e s s o r s. The range of their work is as vice chancellor of aca- C o l l e g e. According to do so at a “ w h i t e broad as it is collectively innova t i v e. demic affairs, S e l m a G o l d s t e i n , the center c o a t ” c e r e m o n y Some of the projects could save count- B o t m a n . will “provide our best researchers with for students on less lives. And as students are exposed to “CUNY remains committed to sup- the high-end instrumentation they need the path to the research, they hopefully will become porting cutting-edge research, and cancer and will facilitate the development of an b e c o m i n g the advance guard of a new genera t i o n research is a priority,” Botman says. i n t e g rated research network throughout p h y s i c i a n s. of scientists. Recently the two-pronged reality of the University.” See page 6. On Lehman College’s Bronx campus, C U N Y ’s status as a science research uni- The chancellor added: “Only then can a cornfield is being used as a natural lab versity was driven home dra m a t i c a l l y. A we ensure that faculty have the kinds of that may yield knowledge that will feed pair of University scholars, who found facilities to do their best work and that and heal multitudes. On Staten Island, a themselves in the public limelight as students are trained using the most nuclear magnetic resonance spectrome- new Rhodes scholars, declared that the sophisticated equipment guided by the ter is helping scientists understand University had made great strides in the best minds recruited to the University.” human vision and heart disorders. I n area of the sciences, but added that it B r o o k l y n , a partnership with the still has a long (and costly) way to go. FROM THE C H A N C E L L O R ’ S D E S K Budget Presents ‘ C h a l l e n g e s ’ Rhodes Scholars Overcame H which would be paid to students when a d van cement of immigrants—and all New arly in Fe b r u a r y, I testified before the they attain their degree. E Yorkers — through public higher educa- New York State Assembly Ways and The proposal effectively changes a he wonderful, pride-boosting repercus- T t i o n ,” Goldstein said. tuition program into a loan progra m . sions are still being felt across the Means and Senate Finance committees Brooklyn College student Shenderov is CUNY students need their financial aid U n i v e r s i t y. In an historic development, about The City University of New Yo r k a senior in the prestigious BA/MD pro- two CUNY students three months ago and the proposed fiscal year 2006 State while they study for their degrees. In Fa l l g ra m . The weekend the awards were Executive Budget. Because our partnership 2 0 0 3 , more than 61,000 of CUNY’s won prestigious Rhodes scholarships, announced he was on the beautiful with the state is critical to our ability to u n d e r g ra d u a t e, degree-seeking students awarded every year to brilliant students s p rawling campus where as president of offer students the quality programs and received TAP funding. The program is a with exceptional leadership skills. the chess club he was hosting a blitz chess services they deserve, I ’d critical safety net that allows these stu- Lev A . Sviridov of City College and t o u r n a m e n t . He is a graduate of Brooklyn’s Eugene Shenderov of Brooklyn College— like to explain some of dents to attend the University. Murrow High School. both immigrants from the former Soviet Shenderov is also a member of the the key proposals in the On the capital budget side, Union—will study at the University of Golden Key National Honors Society and Executive Budget and the State Executive Budget rec- Oxford in England. It was the first time a three-time letter-winner on the Brooklyn ommends an increase of $89 their impact on CUNY. ever that two students from CUNY were College varsity men’s tennis team. H i s million to the five-year capital With respect to named Rhodes Scholars. interest in cancer research evolved from C U N Y ’s senior colleges, plan enacted last year, for a total In the United States, the only other uni- his experience in the Ukra i n e, part of the the State Executive capital budget of $1.42 billion versities with more than one Scholar in old Soviet Union, when he was a boy. I n Budget recommends an for fiscal years 2004-2009. the recent group of awardees were: 1 9 8 6 , as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear increase in overall funding Of that $89 million increase, H a r va r d , the United States Nava l disaster there, he developed leukemia. H e of $88.4 million, or 7.1 $69 million is for projects at the A c a d e m y, M . I . T. , Ya l e, the University of came to the United States to receive treat- p e r c e n t , over the current senior colleges. The remaining Chicago and the University of Vi r g i n i a . m e n t . Chancellor Matthew Goldstein hailed y e a r. The Executive $20 million is for the replace- City College student Sviridov, a senior the news as “ h i s t o r i c ” and fraught with sig- and chemistry major, said he will use the Budget maintains the base ment of Fiterman Hall at nificance for the University as it gains Rhodes scholarship to pursue a Masters of aid rate used to fund community colleges Borough of Manhattan Community recognition for the academic advances it S c i e n c e, doing research in inorganic chem- C o l l e g e, the building irreparably damaged but increases overall base aid by $3.2 mil- has made in recent years. i s t r y, focusing on the crystalline properties in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. lion to allow for enrollment growth. “Our newest Rhodes Scholars are shin- of aerosols. While the $88.4 million recommended There are also challenges in our capital ing examples of how CUNY today is “I first became interested in chemistry for the senior colleges is indeed welcome, b u d g e t , areas that need additional funding. renewing its enduring commitment to the in 1997 as a sophomore at the Ethical the Executive Budget nonetheless presents We have requested that projects for the some significant challenges. senior colleges that were added last year Chief among them is that revenue from by the legislature be reinstated, and that tuition charges is set to rise by $37.3 mil- additional projects in the University’s five- Options Created by CUNY D l i o n . This equates to an increase in tuition year plan be funded. A total of $151 mil- revenue of 6.3 percent, from $4,000 to lion is needed, which includes facilities $ 4 , 2 5 0 , for full-time undergraduate resi- i n f ra s t r u c t u r e, network infra s t r u c t u r e, a n d continued from front page 1 construction projects. dents at a senior college. Such an increase artist Faith Ringgold, who gra d u a t- The capital budget needs of the com- would have a marked impact on our stu- ed City College in 1955, and her munity colleges and Medgar Evers College d e n t s. Six of 10 CUNY students come daughter Michele Wa l l a c e, a writer h ave a particular urgency. Since 1991, from households earning $30,000 or less. who not only graduated from City CUNY has received only $24 million to Seven of 10 work full or part time. A l l College but is now a professor of implement infrastructure-type projects experienced a tuition increase of $800 E n g l i s h , Women's Studies and Film whose funding needs now total over $130 annually in 2003. We must protect, as a Studies there. m i l l i o n . The conditions at some facilities first priority, qualified students who can- Known today for her colorful h ave deteriorated to such a point that, a s not afford to attend college. quilts that tell silent tales about responsible public serva n t s, we must The Executive Budget also proposes the African-American experience, address them or risk potential injury to reductions for the senior colleges, i n c l u d- Ringgold recalled living in the f a c u l t y, students and staff. ing the elimination of the financial aid 1940s near City College and To fund the infrastructure projects and to component of the SEEK progra m , and the declaring to her mother that some- provide for academic programs and enroll- elimination of an FY 2005 unfunded day she would take classes in the New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and his ment growth at our community colleges a p p r o p r i a t i o n . Gothic buildings there. father Bernard, an alumnus of City College. The son and Medgar Evers College, the University In sum, the Executive Budget proposal The dream came true. “I lived s a ys he owes much to his dad and his dad’s alma mater. has requested an additional $186.2 million. presents CUNY with a $70.5 million right down the street on Edgecombe This amount includes $108 million that wa s B a r b a ra went to Lehman College and o p e rating budget challenge: Avenue and 150th Street, so I just wa l k e d added by the legislature last year but subse- became a teacher. As for Michele, s h e • Raising $37.3 million through increases to school. It was wonderful,” she said of quently vetoed, as well as additional funding went on to write “Black Macho and the in tuition, which equates to an increase her college years. for repair, c o n s t r u c t i o n , and acquisition Myth of the Superwoman,” published in of $250 in tuition for each full-time resi- For Ringgold, the education at City wa s work at several community colleges. 1 9 7 9 . dent undergraduate student; a salvation from social and other problems Providing our students and faculty with Currently both mother and daughter • Securing funding of $26.3 million for that were destructive to many black men appropriate facilities, p r o g ra m s, and aca- h ave books coming out with Duke unfunded mandatory costs; a n d and women in her community, e s p e c i a l l y demic support is critical to CUNY’s ability University Press, Dark Designs & Vi s u a l • Financing the $6.9 million needed for m e n . to enhance research capabilities and to C u l t u r e s written by the Wallace and We the restoration of the SEEK financial aid “There were a whole lot of black kids e n c o u rage and challenge students with rig- Flew Over the Bridge, the paperback ver- p r o g ra m . who didn’t feel like there was a chance for orous curricula. A strong partnership with sion of the autobiographical book written Regarding financial aid, the Executive t h e m . I was asked all the time, ‘What are the state is the only way to ensure that by Ringgold. Budget retains current levels of funding you going to college for?’” these needs can be met, and we will con- For some reason, a good number of the for TA P, the Tuition Assistance Progra m . But the answer was that she was doing it tinue to work with New Yo r k ’s legislators CUNY parent-offspring success stories are H o w e v e r, it calls for the awards to be pro- for herself and for her offspring. She mar- to encourage their support for the men and women in public service. O n e vided in two components for full-time ried Earl Wallace in 1950, while still a stu- U n i v e r s i t y ’s priorities. such example, found over in the Bronx, i s f r e s h m e n : a “ b a s e ” awa r d , which is one- dent at City, and “I had two children with a mother-daughter pair of elected officials. half of the current awa r d , and a “ p e r f o r m- N OT E : For the full transcript of Chancellor h i m , Michele and Barbara . Both went to Last month Maria del Carmen Arroyo wa s a n c e ” awa r d , the remaining one-half, G o l d s t e i n ’s testimony, visit w w w. c u n y. e d u. C U N Y,” Ringgold said. elected to the City Council in a special election to fill a remaining term. Like her m o t h e r, Assemblywoman Carmen A r r o y o, Board of Trustees Prepared by she is a graduate of Hostos Community The City University of New York The City University C o l l e g e. Chancellor of New York Certainly one of the best known of the Benno C. Schmidt Jr. Matthew Goldstein Chairman Office of University Relations CUNY alumni-fathers is Colin Po w e l l , l a t e Secretary of the of the U. S. State Department and surely Valerie L. B e a l Randy M. M a s t r o Board of Trustees and Vice Chancellor 535 East 80th Street destined for other positions of eminence in John S. B o n n i c i Hugo M. M o ra l e s for University Relations Jay Hershenson New York, NY 10021 the future. John J. C a l a n d ra Kathleen M. Pe s i l e University Director for Media Relations (212) 794-5317 Michael Arena His son Michael Po w e l l , the outgoing Wellington Z. C h e n Carol Robles-Román Editor: Ron Howell Published by chairman of the Fe d e ral Communications Kenneth Cook Nilda Soto Ruiz Writers: Gary Schmidgall, Rita Rodin The Legislative Gazette C o m m i s s i o n , is a 1985 graduate of the Rita DiMartino Marc V. S h aw Photographer: André Beckles College of William and Mary, and has a PO Box 7329 l aw degree from Georgetown University. Joseph J. L h o t a Jeffrey Wi e s e n f e l d Graphic Design: Gotham Design, NYC Albany, NY 12225 A year and a half ago, Colin Powell told Lauren Fa s a n o S u s a n O’M a l l e y Articles in this and previous issues are ava i l a b l e at cuny.edu/news. Letters or suggestions for future 518-473-9739 a gathering at his alma mater that the C h a i r p e r s o n , C h a i r p e r s o n , stories may be sent to the Editor by email to Student Senate Faculty Senate M e d i a r e l a t i o n s@m a i l . c u n y. e d u . Changes of address www.legislativegazette.com options bequeathed by a CUNY diploma should be made through your campus personnel office. do not include selfish pursuits. T h e

2 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 m e H a r d s h i p s, Now Heading for Oxford University

Culture Fieldston School,” S v i r i d o v Rhodes Scholars, Lev Sviridov of CCNY, l e f t , r e c o u n t e d . “Then at CCNY, where I had and Eugene Shenderov of Brooklyn College, the opportunity to do important research both immigrants from former Soviet Union. under the mentorship of outstanding fac- ulty even as an undergra d u a t e, I wa s h o o k e d .” S h e n d e r o v, President Christoph M. S v i r i d o v, like Shenderov, was in Kimmich said, “Eugene is a winner, a n Chernobyl in 1986 when disaster struck. outstanding student, active in the college The nuclear explosion triggered in him an and the community, with a wide range of interest in environmental research. i n t e r e s t s. For him, as for so many immi- As is the case with so many students at g rants who preceded him here, B r o o k l y n New York City’s public university, S v i r i d o v College is the gateway into productive overcame obstacles in life that might hav e lives and satisfying careers.” seemed insurmountable to others. He and The first Rhodes Scholar to hail from a his mother were homeless for a time after CUNY school was James T. M o l l o y, a City their arrival in the United States. But the College graduate who was awarded the experience only strengthened him. scholarship in 1939. Raymond Pe r e t z s k y, a In addition to an outstanding academic Queens College student, received one in r e c o r d , Sviridov has been involved in gov- 1 9 8 2 , and in 1991, Brooklyn College stu- ernance and public affairs both on and off dent Lisette Nieves, a philosophy and c a m p u s. He served in undergraduate stu- political science major, was selected. dent government for three years, i n c l u d i n g The Rhodes Scholarships were created as president of the City College student in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, body in 2003-2004. British philanthropist and colonial pioneer. City College President Gregory H. young man or woman. He stands for the About half a mile across town, to the east This year, 32 Rhodes Scholars were t h Williams said, “ We could not be more great promise of The City College, and of of the City College campus, on 125 chosen from the across the United States. proud of Lev, and no one deserves this public education.” S t r e e t , is the New York office of one of the They will join an international group of honor more. An immigrant who came to If Sviridov is ever in need of a Rhodes n a t i o n ’s most high profile former Rhodes Scholars selected from other countries America with nothing, he has received one Scholar role model to invigorate his politi- Scholars—ex-President Bill Clinton. around the world. Approximately 95 of the highest academic honors open to a cal skills, he doesn’t have far to look. Speaking of Brooklyn College student Scholars are selected worldwide each year. Y Degrees Have Led to Successes for Grads and Offspring

o p t i o n s, he indicated, must spring from a received three battle stars.) After Brooklyn C o l l e g e, and then Harva r d sense of obligation to one’s family and C o l l e g e, he went to Brooklyn Law School. L aw School. c o u n t r y. The ex-judge said there was a time, i n The CUNY connection “Happiness cannot be achieved solely the 1960s, when his estimation of his old is through his mom, by amassing possessions or power,” he said. c o l l e g e, and indeed of the University as a Selma Rosen Schumer, “Real happiness is a byproduct of serving w h o l e, dropped a bit. “It was because of who is a 1948 graduate of o t h e r s.” the way they started letting everybody in,” Brooklyn College. High up on the local list of CUNY he said, offering his feeling about the then- Judging by the activi- Options families is the father-son team of controversial decision to have an open ties listed under her name retired state appellate Justice Wi l l i a m admissions policy. in the yearbook, S e l m a Thompson and his son Bill, the New Yo r k “But then changes came along and final- Schumer laid the ground- City Comptroller. The elder T h o m p s o n ly they said, ‘ Yo u ’re going to have to hav e work for her son’s future On left, former U. S. Secretary of State Colin Po w e l l , a graduate attended Brooklyn College, though the son the right av e rages to get in, and if you in politics. The yearbook of CCNY, and his son Michael, outgoing chair of the Fe d e r a l exercised an option and went to Tu f t s. “ We h ave to do remedial work, i t ’s not going to says that Selma Rosen Communications Commission. talk every day,” the proud father said be in the four-year colleges.’ Everybody studied political science recently about Bill, J r. , a rising political screamed and moaned that you’re going to and was involved in the “bureau of govern- A January article in Time m a g a z i n e s t a r. The former judge, now practicing law h ave fewer minorities. But that hasn’t hap- ment research.” explained how the son of a CUNY gra d u- on Court Street in Brooklyn at the firm of p e n e d . The schools have been getting bet- If Charles Schumer ever felt guilty ate made his way smoothly through the Ross and Hill, remembers the sense of ter and better. So it’s going back up to the about not attending a CUNY college, h e halls of two Ivy League universities, f o r t i- privilege he felt while attending Brooklyn standard they had once before.” more than compensated for it. In addition fied by the things of the mind and spirit College in the years immediately after Asked if he would be happy to see his to the connection through his mom, h e that he picked up early in life from his World War II. (Thompson served as a ser- g randchildren attend one of CUNY’s col- married a Brooklyn College gra d — N e w f a t h e r. geant in the army infantry in Italy and leges now or in the future, retired judge York City Transportation Commissioner Eliot Spitzer is quoted as saying that his Thompson said, Iris We i n s h a l l . father Bernard, now 80, “never let us for- “A b s o l u t e l y. No problem. And who could deny that one of the get how blessed we were and that we had Artist and City College I ’d be happy.” finest options that a person can be handed an obligation to help those who were less alum Faith Ringg o l d ; I n d e e d , there are in life is love? Sen. Schumer knows it. B u t f o r t u n a t e.” As children, Eliot and his two i n s e t , her daughter, extended CUNY others who have been affiliated with siblings would sit at the dinner table and writer Michele Wa l l a c e. Options families CUNY know it well also. be prepared to talk about throughout the city. O n e According to the important issues of the day. extended family member December issue of Va n i t y “I was always expected not also belongs to a ra r i f i e d Fa i r m a g a z i n e, in the just to know what was going club known as the 1960s two European on in the world,” Eliot Spitzer United States Senate. i m m i g rants met while s a i d , according to Ti m e,“but to S e v e ral ago, when it attending City College care about it.” was time for him to go and fell head over heels As did former Secretary of to college, young Charles for each other. I r m e l i n State Po w e l l , who derived Schumer headed up the from Germany and from his CCNY experience a New England Tu r n p i k e George from Italy were sense of obligation and duty to and attended Harva r d very much into the free things and people beyond him- wheeling atmosphere of s e l f, Bernard Spitzer also learned that altruism is of the era , in spirit and 1948 Brooklyn College year- greater value than money. A n d m i n d . To g e t h e r, t h e book photo of Selma Rosen, it was something that he made DiCaprios had a son they mother of U. S. S e n . C h a r l e s sure he instilled in son Eliot named Leonardo. S c h u m e r. The Oscar- n o m i n a t e d and Eliot’s two younger sib- actor can be excused for lings when they were children, not attending CCNY—his mother and according to the Ti m e a r t i c l e. father moved to Los Angeles soon after " We tried to teach them that it isn't the mother became pregnant. enough just to make your own pile, " Perhaps more than anything else, a col- Bernard Spitzer said. N o, you should make lege degree should carry with it a sense of piles that you can share with the rest of va l u e s, values that are passed on to one’s the world and pass on someday to your c h i l d r e n , giving strength and depth to own children. their options.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 3 in support of the Israeli side she rushes to Queens Professor’s Middle East Solution: cover it all within her allotted time. After class Gisele A d a m s k i , one of the senior auditors, is obviously moved by what Walk in the Other’s Shoes she just witnessed. “I’m pleased by how much they learned, how much they picked By Bob Suter up—what happened, what led to everything. I thought they did a wonderful job.” When I grew up, two things Referring to Iman’s narra t i v e, she offers, “ I were in the window of our am a Holocaust survivor and I’m glad he modest little place in Pa r k brought it up—why they [Jews] needed a Forest,“ recalls Mark Rosenblum h o m e l a n d . of his childhood in Chicago’s “And this wasn’t a Jewish boy. I was very, s u b u r b s. very impressed.” For his part, I m a n , w h o s e ” We had a picture of Ben heritage is Bangladeshi, o b s e r v e s, “I find that Gurion and a picture of A d l a i the more I learn about the other side, t h e S t e v e n s o n .” more I am learning about my own side.” One is remembered as a tire- Decades Devoted to Dialogue less champion for the creation Since the 1980s Rosenblum has com- of a Jewish homeland, the other bined academic research and policy analysis as an advocate of reason in set- with direct involvement in resolving the tling conflicts between nations. Middle East conflict. He attended the T h i s, p e r h a p s, tells much about Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 and has why Rosenblum labors indefati- monitored all subsequent peace talks. He has gably for a cause others might organized and moderated six major confer- consider futile: creating a bridge ences with leaders of the PLO and Isra e l i of understanding between Je w s national figures; hosted a roundtable discus- and Muslims in the Middle East. sion series, “ From the Battlefield to the Nearly three years ago, Professor Mark Rosenblum of Queens Colleges meeting with students in class composed of Muslims, Jews and Negotiating Ta b l e,” on U. S. t e l e v i s i o n ; a n d R o s e n b l u m , a history professor Christians trying to “walk in (each) other’s shoes.” founded the Isra e l i - Palestinian Yo u t h and director of the college’s Dialogue progra m , which brought together Michael Harrington Center for students are attentive and well prepared, Palestinian conflict and Rosenblum’s con- Palestinian and Israeli junior high and high D e m o c ratic Values and Social Change, and he has an easy rapport with them. To stant admonishments to balance every par- school students. began collaborating with Jack Zevin achieve the necessary balance for the class, tisan observation with a counter- a r g u m e n t . Rosenblum has also had a long association (Secondary Education) and Michael Rosenblum actively solicited the six Alternating between pro-Palestinian and with Peace Now, a pro-peace group founded K rasner (Political Science) on a public M u s l i m , five Je w i s h , and four Christian stu- p r o - I s raeli speakers, students offer detailed in Israel in 1978 by former Israeli military education project. This ultimately led to d e n t s. Also attending are an assistant princi- arguments supported by particular inci- o f f i c e r s. He describes them as “ M a c h i av e l l i a n his designing and teaching a course which pal and six teachers of world studies and dents and historical analysis — arguments doves”—very tough and security oriented, takes a radically different approach to history courses from Queens public high they might never have imagined them- but also very pragmatic in their desire to exploring the conflict in the Middle East. s c h o o l s. They observe in hopes of learning selves making. Each presentation is fol- reach an accommodation with the Debuting last fall, “The Middle East and more about the Middle East conflict and, lowed by a critique from other class mem- Pa l e s t i n i a n s. In his work with this group, A m e r i c a : Clash of Civilizations or Meeting u l t i m a t e l y, to find a compelling way to bers with occasional prodding from Rosenblum became a bridge when Isra e l of the Minds,” includes films, r e a d i n g s, l e c- teach the topic to their own students. R o s e n b l u m . enacted a law (now defunct) that forbade tures and guest speakers with firsthand Twelve senior auditors from the com- In the course of his narra t i v e, I m a n direct dialogue with the PLO. experience in the Isra e l i - Palestinian conflict. munity also attend. They are mostly K h a n , a Muslim student, b ravely mentions “I found myself playing a facilitating role, Its most controversial element — which has Jewish and include a Holocaust survivor. how his belief in the Palestinian cause wa s bringing messages back and forth— not vio- garnered considerable media attention, One woman has an even more startling shaken after two members of the Isra e l i lating the Israeli law but finding those open including a feature nationally broadcast on h i s t o r y : born in Germany in the 1930s, s h e security forces who roamed into Ramallah spaces where I could bring together those in the CBS Evening News January 8 — is its had been a member of the Hitler Yo u t h . were seized by Palestinians and lynched. the PLO who had begun to reject violence requirement that Jewish and Muslim stu- The revelations of the Holocaust at the “It was a turning point for me to see how with peace-minded Isra e l i s.” Perhaps in dents immerse themselves in the opposing wa r ’s end jolted her into a lifetime com- Palestinians joined in, were happy about it; recognition of this work, the Fo r ward news- g r o u p ’s history relative to the Middle East mitment to Isra e l , including service in the it almost seemed festive.” paper selected Rosenblum as one of the 50 conflict and construct a compelling “ n a r ra- I s raeli army. In the follow-up discussion, E z ra most influential American Je w s. t i v e ” that supports the opposing viewpoint. Class begins with an announcement H e r s k o v i t s, a Jewish student, r e s p o n d s, In his many years at Queens, R o s e n b l u m I t ’s a process Rosenblum calls “ walking in that the course’s final guest speaker, t h e “On both sides there are so many attacks, has addressed the Middle East conflict in the other’s shoes.” Middle East desk officer from the W h i t e there are so many incidents. I don’t really different wa y s, but he attributes his new, In 2003, Rosenblum received a Queens H o u s e, will be visiting on December 19. think it has a long-term effect on history. more radical approach to two pivotal inci- College President’s A ward for Excellence in Then it’s on to the important work of the But I guess it has an emotional effect.” d e n t s. The first was the collapse of the peace Te a c h i n g. A visitor to his class quickly final two classes: students reading their Time allows for a half-dozen more pre- negotiations initiated by President Clinton in notices that he connects with his students n a r ra t i v e s. This is the culmination of s e n t a t i o n s. One Muslim student, S a d i a July 2000. These ended, he recalls, “not with in a way other instructors might envy. T h e weeks of immersion in the Isra e l i - M o h a m m e d , has so much material to offer a whimper, but with a horrific bang of mur- der and mayhem as Israelis and Pa l e s t i n i a n s Student Leaders Call College returned to the battlefield. It dragged on and t h e n , bang! one year later, the second inci- ‘Middle East of the Northeast’ d e n t , September 11, 2 0 0 1 . The Middle East By Bob Suter had come to visit us in a very unexpected decided they would and deadly wa y.” give high priority to According to Zeeshan Suhail, vice These events, combined with increased fric- the problems of inter- president of the Queens College Student tion between Jewish and Muslim students national students Association, he and president Elliot (“They felt they had to present a public rela- regardless of origin. Schimel “spend more time at home. The tions campaign which presented their side as Schimel, who has majority of our day is not spent in classes; totally righteous and the other side with com- strong ties to several it’s spent in the office working with each plete ridicule”), forced Rosenblum to think Jewish groups, went to other.” about “What do I do as an educator? How do bat for all international Despite the seemingly intractable divi- I teach about this with an increasingly diverse students when he went sions that plague relations between many student population?” to Albany on Lobbying Muslims and Jews worldwide, that this The answer, as played out in his class- Day to protest recent Queens College student leaders Zeeshan Suhail, l e f t , a Muslim, amiable pair—who like to refer to Queens r o o m , may be viewed as a logical progres- tuition increases which and Elliot Schimel, a Je w, have learned much from each other. College as “the Middle East of the s i o n , given Rosenblum’s years of devotion to Northeast”—can work together and virtu- he says make these Student Association all in the same ten- maintaining a dialogue between opposing ally live together on a daily basis without students “pay almost as much as they foot radius and right across from each f a c t i o n s, even in the face of open hostilities. any hint of hostility is, by their account, would for private school.” other. You can walk into Hillel and see the U l t i m a t e l y, he hopes his work at Queens not exactly remarkable, at least at Queens Diplomacy is something of a family Jewish kids and the Muslim kids playing becomes the foundation “for the creation of C o l l e g e. affair for Suhail, whose father is a diplomat ping-pong with each other because they a learning community” where the lessons of Says Schimel, “Our student govern- posted to the Pakistan Mission to the U. N. feel comfortable.” his class would extend through undergra d u- ment has such diversity. Zeeshan is “If you just go to the second floor of the “Sometimes I stop and think: Why a t e s, senior citizens, Muslim and I’m Jewish, and I am learning student union,” he observes, “all the reli- would you ever put a Muslim club in front high school teachers, and their students. so much about Muslim culture and vice gious clubs are housed together. Their first of a Jewish club?” says Suhail. “It’s pretty I d e a l l y, he would like to be able to bring versa. For example, I saw Zeeshan going i n t e rac tion is just bumping into each other. obvious why it works out so well. Because I s raeli and Palestinian high school students through Ramadan, and he saw me cele- But it grows from there.” they play up the similarities in their back- to serve as mentors in both his classes and brating Chanukah.” Schimel adds: “You have the Catholic grounds and they forget about the differ- others in New York City. Even before running for office, the two Newman Center, Hillel, and the Muslim ences they have.”

4 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 NOTED AND QUOTED Easy Access to Continu i n g replaced by the new Au . D. d e g r e e. Ed Courses Via New We b s i t e Clinical services will continue to be Students Organize to Help Vi c t i m s offered at the accredited clinical facilities on the Brooklyn and Hunter campuses, The University has introduced a new of Tsunami Disaster Continuing Education website featuring providing doctoral students with both supervision and laboratory experience. an interactive map and enhanced search Karmy Law, 2 0 , a junior majoring in finance at Baruch College, feels the after- e n g i n e, allowing visitors to select the near- effects of the December tsunami disaster in Asia in personal wa y s. Students will also benefit from exceptional est college and programs with just a click. “I have friends from Indonesia who lost relatives in a matter of hours,” said Karmy, clinical externship opportunities that exist The search engine can be used to find pro- who serves as president of the Asian Student Association (ASA). at world-renowned facilities in the New g rams and classes at any CUNY campus. “When you walk around York metropolitan area. By going to w w w. C U N Y. e d u / c o n t i n- the campus you can see and u i n g e d on the Internet, visitors can learn D r. Keizs Promises feel their grief and about thousands of courses—everything h e a r t a c h e.” ‘Excellence’ at York College from a one-session seminar on personal fit- One of history’s worst ness to a 240-hour online training progra m n a t u ral disasters, the tsunami Dr. Marcia V. Keizs began her tenure as for administrative dental assistants. was triggered by a powerful president of York College vowing to bring Someone who has always dreamed of “institutional stability and academic excel- undersea earthquake near the writing the Great American Novel can type l e n c e ” to the Jamaica-based institution. Indonesian island of Sumatra the word “ f i c t i o n ” in the search box and, “I look forward to working in partnership on December 26, 2 0 0 4 . T h e v o i l a, 238 options pop up on the screen. with faculty, a d m i n i s t ra t o r s, students and q u a k e, with a magnitude of Some 200,000 New Yorkers benefit alumni to achieve those goals,” Keizs said. 8 . 9 , was the world’s most from CUNY’s Continuing Ed progra m s, In appointing Ke i z s, the Board of powerful in over 40 years which are flexible, low-cost and conve- Trustees was expressing confidence in a and sent walls of water ra c i n g niently located throughout the city. I n figure long known to the University. across thousands of miles of addition to visiting the website, one can Before the new position she was vice o c e a n , inundating low lying call 1-866-344-CUNY. president for academic affairs at Bronx areas as far away as A f r i c a Community College, and prior to that she and resulting in over 150,000 CUNY Law School Staff had served as acting president of York and d e a t h s. acting president of Borough of Manhattan Helps Lepers and Others The calamity had rever- Community College. Suffering in Nigeria b e rations around the Chancellor Matthew Goldstein said, “ D r. U n i v e r s i t y, which has Keizs’ extensive and distinguished record of red Rooney, 1986 graduate of CUNY A m e r i c a ’s most diverse stu- F academic and administrative leadership at L aw School and the director of its dent population, i n c l u d i n g Community Legal Resources Network, C U N Y, including two terms as an acting many students with family returned last month from a 13-day trip to p r e s i d e n t , make her very well-prepared to and friends in the affected area. N i g e r i a , assume the presidency of York College.” L aw herself has donated money to the Red Cross, and ASA is planning an event to where he At Bronx Community College since raise awareness about the effects of the tsunami and support relief efforts. S i m i l a r made dona- 1 9 9 7 , D r. Keizs improved existing curricu- efforts are underway at other campuses of the University. tions of l a , revitalized the core curriculum, a n d Lauren Sutherland, a 20-year-old junior at Hunter College and president of A s i a n money and expanded and clothing col- Students in Action (ASIA), said many student clubs at Hunter have banded together enhanced the lected by to raise money and contribute goods to aid tsunami victims and their families. C o l l e g e ’s aca- faculty and ASIA organized an event called “Glowing Hearts” that raised over $1,000 for the demic pro- staff at the relief effort, and is planning other events. g ra m s. H e r s c h o o l . “ I t ’s very heartening to see so many non-Asian students, together with Asian stu- career spans Fred Rooney with A d e b o y e R o o n e y d e n t s, displaying such care and generosity,” she said. S u b u l o y e. over three took the trip Chancellor Matthew Goldstein said, "At the City University of New Yo r k , we are decades at at the invita- especially mindful of this tragedy — an estimated 5,800 students trace their heritage to C U N Y, i n c l u d- tion of Adeboye Subuloye, a Nigerian I n d i a , Sri Lanka, T h a i l a n d , I n d o n e s i a , S o m a l i a , M y a n m a r, and Malaysia. Many of our ing service as a i m m i g rant who is a security guard at the faculty and staff also have families and colleagues in the affected areas.” Dean Harry professor of l aw school and a Yoruba prince. R o o n e y Franklin has been designated as the Disaster Relief Coordinator for the University. was accompanied by his daughter Caitlin English at S t i l i n - R o o n e y, 1 8 . Q u e e n s - b o r o u g h In recent years Subuloye had told President Marcia V. Ke i z s Rooney about the Nigerians Subuloye had Modernization Task Fo r c e. C o r p o ra t i o n socio-economically diverse population. C o m m u n i t y left behind in his homeland, and how Counsel Michael A . Cardozo will head the Hearing loss is the third most common C o l l e g e. much help they needed. Subuloye spoke nine member body, which will recom- disorder in the U. S. , behind heart disease mend ways to improve the Board of of lepers, orphaned children and the hand- and arthritis, affecting approximately 10 City Te ch Launches Upgrade E l e c t i o n ’s overall efficiency and modernize i c a p p e d . percent of the population. G raduates of of Culinary Fa c i l i t i e s the city’s voting machines. At Rooney’s instigation, the CUNY the new doctoral program will be capable Bloomberg says the task force will also L aw School community responded with of providing comprehensive diagnostic and he hospitality management program at e n c o u rage the state legislature to pass T 700 pounds of clothing and financial rehabilitative services for individuals from New York City College of Technology pro- long-overdue legislation allowing access to donations that he brought from the infants to senior citizens. duces some of the nation’s most talented more than $200 United States. Rooney and his daughter D e m o g raphic and technological devel- chefs and restaura t e u r s. But the college’s million in federa l went with Subuloye to a leper colony in opments are fueling a growing demand for teaching kitchens were last upgraded over funds to upgra d e Ogun State, part of Nigeria. They also vis- a u d i o l o g i s t s. These developments include 40 years ago. the city’s outdat- ited Ogbomosho, where they got together the aging of the population, the wide- To maintain the quality of its tra i n i n g ed and inefficient with officials and students from Ladoke spread use of newborn hearing screening p r o g ra m , City Tech recently embarked on election equip- Akintola University. p r o g ra m s, a d van ces in digital hearing a major renovation of its culinary tra i n i n g m e n t . At the end of the trip, R o o n e y instruments and growing use of cochlear f a c i l i t i e s, thanks to grants totaling $2.2 D o b r i n , a gra d- remarked about his friend and co-worker i m p l a n t s. The result is a growing need for million secured by Brooklyn City Council uate of Queens S u b u l o y e, “As a Nigerian in the diaspora , technically sophisticated professionals who m e m b e r s, Brooklyn Borough President C o l l e g e, wa s Adeboye continues to directly support are also skilled at dealing with counseling Marty Markowitz and the Independence named senior vice both his immediate and large extended and interpersonal aspects of the profes- Community Fo u n d a t i o n . chancellor and family through his hard work in New Yo r k Senior Vice Chancellor s i o n . President Russell K. Hotzler called the Allan H. D o b r i n chief opera t i n g C i t y. After my amazing experiences in The transition from master’s to doctor- r e n o vation “a shot in the arm for an aca- officer in 2001. Nigeria this past week, I can return home ate is in line with new standards for pro- demic program that has been a centerpiece He was previously commissioner of New and speak first hand of the warmth and fessional training adopted by the Council of City Tech for more than 50 years.” York City’s Department of Information hospitality of the Nigerian people.” on Academic Accreditation (CAA) in And the chair of the hospitality man- Technology and Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s, a n d Rooney says he will continue working audiology and speech-language pathology agement department, James Reid, said the the city’s chief information officer. with Subuloye to try to raise donations to of the American Speech-Language- r e n o vated facilities “will enable us to pro- help meet the needs of the Nigerian insti- Doctor of Au d i o l o gy Hearing Association (ASHA). A p p l i c a n t s vide students with the training and educa- tutions he visited. For further information, Program A p p r o v e d for clinical certification in audiology will tion commensurate with the increasingly please contact Rooney at be required to possess a doctoral degree. sophisticated demands of the food service r o o n e y @ m a i l . l a w. c u n y. e d u. The new CUNY Au . D. p r o g ram is the i n d u s t r y.” he Board of Trustees has approved a T only accredited clinical doctoral audiology While initial work began this winter, new Doctor of Audiology degree progra m p r o g ram in New York City. major construction will be done over the M a yor Names Allan H. ( Au . D.) that will be offered jointly by the The Graduate Center, which will awa r d Dobrin to Election Task Fo r c e G raduate Center, Hunter and Brooklyn next two summers to avoid disrupting C o l l e g e s. the degree, currently offers doctora l classes for students. Allan H. D o b r i n , senior vice chancellor The new doctoral program is designed degrees in 31 areas, including Speech and The Hospitality Management Progra m and chief operating officer, has been to prepare audiologists who will be able to Hearing Sciences, while Hunter and has 683 students, of which 422 are pursu- appointed by Mayor Michael R. meet the hearing health-care needs of Brooklyn Colleges offer master’s progra m s ing bachelor’s degrees, and the rest associ- Bloomberg to the new Election New Yo r k ’s cultura l l y, linguistically and in audiology. The M.S. p r o g ram s will be a t e ’s degrees.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 5 A Mosaic of Modern Medicine: The University Trains T h o u s a n d s By Curtis Stephen and Ron Howell universities nationwide in the number of On a blustery mid-January evening in blacks applying to med schools, according Harlem, the spacious dining hall inside to calculations from AAMC data. the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical “That’s phenomenal,” said Dr. Clinton Education was packed with relatives, fac- Brown, an endocrinologist, or kidney dis- ulty and others celebrating a special group ease specialist, commenting on the num- of students and their symbolic first step ber of African-Americans going from into the medical profession. CUNY colleges into medical schools. The annual “white coat” ceremony Brown graduated from Queens College in introduces the students to principles of 1971 and was a pioneer in the early internal medicine, and involves two fea- efforts to get minorities into medical pro- tures rich in ceremony: the recital of an grams. He went to Tufts Medical School oath pledging allegiance to the healing and today is based at Brooklyn’s arts, and the donning of an enduring sym- Downstate Medical Center. bol of the medical profession—the physi- The data clearly show that CUNY is cian’s white jacket. “working really well to get students into Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, 37, a graduate medical schools,” he said, referring to the of Sophie Davis, offered words of encour- data on African-Americans. He argued it agement to the rainbow array of future is important for a city like New York to doctors. “Always remember that the core have an ethnically diverse population of of your value is in being human,” he told highly-skilled physicians. “They have a them. sense of belonging and feel comfortable Instilling core values and giving back to working there,” he said. “I think you stand one’s community are at the heart of a better chance of those physicians being CUNY's efforts to produce a widely involved in the community, staying in the diverse roster of graduates going to med- community.” ical schools. This is true not only for the As for Hispanics, Carrasquillo, who was Sophie Davis School, the 31-year-old five when his parents moved to the Bronx accelerated medical pro- from Puerto Rico, is a symbol of their sig- gram that trains doctors nificant progress. An assis- for underserved com- tant professor of medicine munities, but also for and health policy at the premedical bac- Columbia University, he is calaureate programs at one of scores of Hispanics The White Coat Ceremony at Sophie Davis “The white coat ceremonies began in 1993… [and have] subsequen many of the senior col- who graduated from training and acknowledging the humanistic side of medicine that physicians need to always keep in mind. In tradi CUNY colleges and went leges. Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education] we have decided to hold the ceremony annually before the Gross A on to medical schools Since 1990, some coat, which is given to each student, symbolizes the mantle of the profession–the symbolic role in doctor-patient rela 2,000 students have around the country. fessional training… Family and friends are invited to share in the experience… so that they better understand and graduated from CUNY One of the recent grad- colleges and gone on to uates is Leonardo Santana, vate other students,” Santana said in a past 15 years. “There are so many people medical schools, accord- who immigrated to New telephone interview from Philadelphia. who want to be in the medical profession, ing to figures gathered York from the Dominican He is aware of one very encouraging but discount it because they either can’t from the Association of Republic eight years ago, at fact: that the physician who oversees afford it or were told they couldn’t do it.” American Medical Richard A . C a r m o n a , U. S. the age of 18, not speaking health care for the whole United States is Asians by far have been registering the Colleges (AAMC) and Surgeon General and Bronx a word of English. He sold both a CUNY alum and an Hispanic. strongest gains among ethnic groups, at Sophie Davis. In 2004, Community College graduate. coconuts on the streets and Born to Puerto Rican parents and ra i s e d Sophie Davis as well as in pre-med pro- 117 undergraduates then enrolled in Bronx in New York City, U. S. Surgeon Genera l grams nationwide. D r. Christopher Chan, from CUNY institutions were accepted Community College, where he learned Richard A . Carmona was a high school physiology professor at Sophie Dav i s, s u r- into medical schools. English and got his A.A. He earned his dropout before enrolling in Bronx mised that the success is due in part to the Asians were the largest single ethnic bachelor’s at Lehman and today is in his C o m m u n i t y. He later attended the fact that some Asian groups have large group, with 40 percent of the total, first year at Drexel University College of University of California, San Fra n c i s c o, numbers in health professions such as reflecting a strong nationwide presence in Medicine in Philadelphia. obtaining his bachelor of science degree p h a r m a c y. “Some of them come from such medicine and in the sciences. But the Santana said he is committed to boost- there in 1977, and went on to earn his b a c k g r o u n d s,” he said, and therefore as number of blacks was especially striking. ing the number of Latinos in pre-med. medical degree. In 2002 he was appointed parents they might be especially “ i n t e r e s t- They accounted for 26 percent of the Last year, 11 Hispanics, or nine percent of Surgeon General by President George W. ed in their children getting into medical total, two percentage points ahead of the total, went from CUNY colleges to B u s h . s c h o o l s.” whites and a dramatic improvement from med school. “We suffer from a lack of role In a speech last year, Carmona said he Chan and others noted that Asians hav e years past, according to the AAMC. models and I’m trying to break that… I pinches himself when he thinks about his been excelling in science programs in local CUNY today ranks among the top ten want to be a mentor, to be able to moti- achievements, and gives credit to his alma public high schools, making them natura l mater in the Bronx. “The fact of the mat- candidates for pre-med progra m s. “I think ter is Bronx Community College gave me you need only look at our applicant pool,” THE “OATH OF MAIMONIDES” an opportunity at a time when nobody said Dr. Dani McBeth, associate dean for else would,” he said. student affairs at Sophie Dav i s. “I… think it Taken by Students at White Coat Ceremony The University’s aggressive efforts to mirrors what’s happening in the public The eternal providence has appointed turn out doctors for underserved commu- s c h o o l s. High performing students who do nities date back 31 years, when the well in high school will apply to schools me to watch over the life and Sophie Davis School of Biomedical like Sophie Dav i s. T h a t ’s the phenomenon.” health of Thy creatures. May Education opened its doors, laying down a As for Latinos and blacks, programs are welcome mat for high-achieving students in place throughout the University to the love for my art actuate me from low-income households. The course encourage them to go into the sciences at all time; may neither avarice of study involves five years at Sophie and/or medicine. One such program, Davis, leading to a bachelor’s degree, and sponsored by the National Institutes of nor miserliness, nor thirst for two years at cooperating medical schools. Health and called Minority Careers (or glory or for a great reputation The cooperating medical schools are the MARC), has offices at several CUNY col- State University of New York Syracuse, leges, including Brooklyn, Queens, Hunter, engage my mind; for the SUNY Albany, SUNY Downstate, New Lehman and City. enemies of truth and York Medical College and New York And then there is York College, which philanthropy could easily University Medical School. Students for 20 years has been operating the pledge that when they become doctors Queens Bridge to Medicine program, serv- deceive me and make me they will practice primary care in an ing about 70 high school seniors a year. forgetful of my lofty aim underserved New York City community. The students go to York College every day “We have a larger percentage of to study chemistry, calculus and English. of doing good to Thy African-Americans, Asians and Latinos The goal is to get them accepted into Children. May I never see than we’ve had even 10 years ago. And Sophie Davis and other pre-med pro- our students have been getting stronger grams, said Wesley Pitts, deputy director in the patient anything but and stronger, particularly in the past five of the program. a fellow creature in pain… years,” said Dr. Stanford A. Roman, who “The whole idea is to increase the has served as Sophie Davis’ dean for the number of underrepresented minorities

6 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 Who Become Primary Care Doctors and Medical Research e r s

grams, said Dr. Charles S cholarship Fundraiser desBordes, biology professor at Medgar Evers. “This is the first Marks Half Century Ph.D.-M.D. student we’ve had.” of Salk Va c c i n e Yeku is so talented that “he boldly refused to be considered he University is launching a major for just the M.D. programs. He T scholarship fundraising drive in conjunc- always wanted to be a tion with the anniversary of the Salk va c- researcher,” desBordes said. It c i n e, which half a century ago stopped the will take Yeku six or seven years polio epidemic in its tra c k s. to receive his two degrees and The vaccine was developed by the late begin his work as a research D r. Jonas Salk, an alumnus of City physician. C o l l e g e. The desire to become a The “Salk Scholarship Fund Campaign” physician, of course, knows no will seek to increase the amount of schol- boundaries of ethnicity or gen- arship money available for CUNY’s top der. Some manifest it early in pre-med students who also show talents in life; others, much later. But a r e s e a r c h . raison d’etre of a university is to An event will be held on April 5 at the give students the wherewithal G raduate Center, and Dr. Jonathan Salk, to recognize that desire and son of Dr. Jonas Salk, is expected to then act upon it, professors say. a t t e n d . Present also will be past winners of D r. John Wa h l e r t , a paleontol- the Jonas E. Salk Scholarship A wa r d , ogist in the natural sciences which over the past 50 years has helped department at Bernard Baruch hundreds of University students pay for C o l l e g e, said many Baruch stu- medical school. dents are immigrants who On April 12, believe the best way to get 1 9 5 5 , the anti- ahead in America is to take busi- polio va c c i n e ness courses. But then some of developed by Dr. them are bitten by the sciences Salk was declared and by the idea of becoming a “ s a f e, effective and d o c t o r. p o t e n t ,” s o u n d i n g “They start taking the sci- the death knell for … [and have] subsequently spread nationwide… They are basically a rite of passage, symbolizing the passing into medical ences and discover that it’s a lot keep in mind. In traditional schools the ceremonies take place at the beginning of the four years of med school. Here [at the one of the most of fun,” Wahlert said. ally before the Gross Anatomy course begins as this is very much the “beginning” of med school for our students… The white deadly epidemics But if it’s fun, it’s also, for le in doctor-patient relations. Students are cloaked by the MD faculty of the institution as a way of welcoming them into pro- of modern times. most of them, a huge challenge. better understand and can help to support their loved ones as their training continues…” Later that year, And they confront that chal- D r. Jonas Salk lenge in personal ways. going into primary care medicine,” Pitts competitive. “This year there were 250 turned down an The late Dr. Jonas Salk Wahlert mentioned the case of Rudy said. About seven students each year wind applicants for our 17 spots,” said Dr. Ken offer that a ticker M u r i l l o, who was from a poor family and up going to Sophie Davis, which has an Miyano, a physicist who is director of the tape parade be held in his name, and sug- had dropped out of high school at age 16. extremely tough admissions process, Pitts program. gested instead that a scholarship progra m The young man realized he wanted more said. A number of other students end up “This is a path by which many students be established encouraging CUNY stu- out of life and applied to Baruch. H e “at places like Stony Brook… or Queens from Brooklyn become M.D.’s,” M i y a n o dents to enter careers in medicine. planned to major in finance there, but an or City College or Brooklyn,” he added. said. The hundreds of scholarships awa r d e d interesting experience helped change his In a ten-year span examined by CUNY Farther north in Brooklyn, where the since 1955 “reflect the population of the m i n d . Matters, 1992 to 2001, the University c o n c e n t ration of racial minorities, e s p e c i a l- U n i v e r s i t y, which has always reflected the According to a profile of him two years sent 1,490 students to medical schools. ly blacks, is strong, Medgar Evers College population of New York City,” a c c o r d i n g ago in the college alumni magazine, Sophie Davis made up 563 of that says it is aggressively encouraging students to a University booklet describing the Murillo got the flu one semester, and total. Of the remaining 927, Brooklyn to become biologists and doctors. L a s t s c h o l a r s h i p s. “Many have overcome incred- while in the hospital, waited for many College had the largest number, produc- D e c e m b e r, Medgar Evers College President ible obstacles to complete their educa- hours to receive treatment. Finally he ing more than a third, or 321. Hunter, Edison Jackson hosted a reunion at his t i o n ,” the booklet says. complained to an attending physician who City, Queens, Lehman and York each also Brooklyn home for several alumni who The list of Salk scholars includes young told him “if I thought I could do a better graduated scores of students who went to went on to become physicians. men like Leonardo Santana, who sold fruit job to do it myself.” med schools during that period, according Among them was Dr. Carole De Costa, on the streets of Brooklyn before going to And so Murillo decided he would to the AAMC. who today runs a clinic and spa in down- Bronx Community College and then to indeed try to care for himself, and others Brooklyn’s distinction is due in part to town Brooklyn. Another object of pride at Lehman College and then to Drexel as well. He did AIDS research in Uganda, its special relationship with the State the Central Brooklyn college these days is University medical school in Philadelphia, and is now in a joint M.D.-Ph.D. program University of New York-Downstate Nigerian-born Dapo Ye k u , who in Fe b r u a r y where he is now in his first year; a n d at the University of California-San Diego Brooklyn medical center, which accepts received letters of admission to three presti- young women like Eyiuche Okeke, w h o medical school. students from the college’s B.A./M.D. gious joint M.D. - P h . D. p r o g ra m s : A l b e r t came to New York from Nigeria and then CUNY is full of stories of young people program. One of the undergraduates in E i n s t e i n , SUNY Stony Brook and the enrolled at York College, where she rising to the challenge, with a little help. the program this year is Eugene University of Iowa schools of medicine. majored in mathematics and minored in As Dr. Roman of Sophie Davis put it: “ We Shenderov, the immigrant from the for- “I just want it known that we were able c h e m i s t r y. After getting her bachelor’s at provide an outlet for students interested in mer Soviet Union who was recently to do this, to train a student from fresh- Yo r k , Okeke attended Harvard University studying medicine, but [who] just needed named a Rhodes Scholar. man and have him stay here his four years Medical School, g raduating in 2002. an opportunity to pursue it.” The B.A./M.D. program is extremely and gain admission” to such joint pro- D r. Salk died in 1995 at the age of 80. The Changing Face of Medicine: More Women Going to Medical Schools

200 miles to the northeast, that women Castillo-Page said of female applicants, Slowly but surely, women are outnum- might be naturally less inclined to the sci- “and finally in 2003 they went over the bering men at American medical schools. ences than men are. 50 percent mark.” And the progress being made by women The gains of women at CUNY reflect a The very high percentage of women is especially strong here at CUNY. trend across the country, as more and applicants at CUNY reflects great gender Of the 117 students going to medical more female students opt for pre-med disparities among minority men and schools from the various CUNY colleges studies and experience the thrill of women. The gender disparity is especially and the Sophie Davis School of acceptance into medical school. wide among African-Americans, but also Biomedical Education, 64 percent were “For the second year in a row women can be seen among some Latino groups, women, according to 2004 figures from have surpassed men” in the number of Castillo-Page said. the Association of American Medical students applying from American colleges “Among African-Americans, women are Colleges and Sophie Davis. to medical schools, said Laura Castillo- about 70 percent of the applicants,” The steadily improving numbers of Page, director of research with the Castillo-Page said. women entering medicine are a strong Association of American Medical Colleges Overall, “the face of medicine is chang- (AAMC). ing,” Castillo-Page noted. “It’s becoming York College and Harvard Medical School rebuttal to suggestions being made on a “Since 1994 they’ve been creeping up,” more female.” graduate Eyiuche Okeke. certain ivy-covered campus, located about

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 11 Campuses Cope With Impact of Iraq Wa r, as Three Students Die Over T h e r e

in a vehicle accident g ram in computer systems when he wa s Colleges across the near Baghdad. called up in the fall 2003. While he dis- University are coping with the A 21-year-old mem- agreed with the decision to go to wa r, local impact of the war in ber of the “ F i g h t i n g according to his friend Ayo Balogum, “ n o t h I ra q , even as they are absorb- 6 9 ” National Guard one could doubt that once he was called ing the news that three stu- R e g i m e n t , he immigra t- up he would give it his all.” dents serving in Iraq were ed to the U. S. f r o m James E. P r e v e t e, 2 2 , grew up in k i l l e d . Many others are on Nigeria in 1994 and W h i t e s t o n e, Queens and graduated from duty in the war theater, a n d applied for U. S. c i t i- S t . Francis Prep in 2000. He began col- campuses are trying to coun- zenship three years lege at Sacred Heart University in a g o. Following gra d u a- C o n n e c t i c u t . After a year he took a sel and otherwise help stu- Left to right, City Tech student Segun Frederick A k i n t a d e ; College of Staten Island dents in the reserves and student Francis Obaji and Queens College student James E. Prevete were killed in tion from Brooklyn’s semester off and enrolled at Queens National Guard. line of duty in Iraq. E rasmus Hall High College in 2002. He decided to enlist in As the war has stretched School he entered the the Army in August 2003. Prevete wa s U. S. manpower thin, the mili- ly helped a student return home on College of Staten killed last October in Habbaniya, I ra q , tary has turned to the Reserves and the l e ave following a death in his family. I s l a n d , where he majored in microbiolo- when the military vehicle in which he Guard for additional troops, which in The three students whose lives were g y. Francis Obaji wanted to become a was riding crashed during a sandstorm. turn has affected CUNY’s students. A t claimed by the war in Iraq were: Fra n c i s d o c t o r, but first “he wanted to give back “He was a very astute young man,” Brooklyn College, for example, six stu- O b a j i , an aspiring doctor who was a stu- to this country,” his father said, e x p l a i n - said Professor Andrew Hacker of dents are serving in Iraq and two recent- dent at the College of Staten Island; ing why the young man enlisted. Queens’ political science department, ly returned from the war zone, a c c o r d i n g Segun Frederick A k i n t a d e, a computer National Guard Specialist Segun who taught Prevete. “I remember him to Claudette Guinn, the Coordinator of systems major at City Te c h ; and James E. Frederick A k i n t a d e, 3 4 , who like Fra n c i s because it was a very smart class and the Ve t e rans A f f a i r s. Twenty Reservists are P r e v e t e, who was enrolled at Queens Obaji was a Nigerian immigra n t , was the competition was very stiff.” eligible for call-up at the college. College before enlisting in the Army in oldest of five children. He became an While the anti-war film Paths of Glory “ We keep in touch with students in August 2003. American citizen a year ago and was killed was one of his favorite movies, a c c o r d i n g I raq via e-mail and phone,” Guinn said, Francis Obaji joined the National when a roadside bomb exploded beneath to his sister, L a u ra , he supported the wa r “letting them know they’re in our Guard after witnessing the attack on the his Humvee on October 28, 2 0 0 4 . and told her he enlisted because he did- thoughts and informing them of devel- Twin Towers on 9/11, said his father, Akintade earned an associate’s degree n’t want to “ watch other people defend opments at Brooklyn.” Her office recent- C y r i l . He was killed on January 17, 2 0 0 5 in computer science from City Tech in his country on T V.” 2003 and had begun the bachelor’s pro- Students Take First Steps Toward Careers in International A f f a i r s Jordan-Cooley agrees with For Kerry Hyre, the Charles B. R a n g e l D r. Marina Fe r n a n d o, d i r e c t o r International Affairs Fellowship offered of CCNY’s International an extraordinary opportunity to study Studies Program and organizer abroad in Morocco, along with the of the Rwanda Initiative, w h o chance to meet a person she has admired described the CUNY students all her life, former Secretary of State as “unofficial ambassadors” Colin Po w e l l . from the U. S. “ We visited the State Department and Originally scheduled to stay met Secretary Po w e l l ,” she said. “It wa s for six weeks in Rwa n d a , really quite euphoric for me.” Jordan-Cooley remained Hyre is a senior majoring in political another six weeks because “ i t science at City College, which is also was such a fascinating and Po w e l l ’s alma mater. A native of the r e warding experience that I Caribbean island of Ja m a i c a , she recently wasn’t ready to leav e.” became an American citizen. Po w e l l ’s From CUNY BA family also is from Ja m a i c a . The Rangel International A f f a i r s Program to Ya l e Fellowship Progra m , based at Howa r d ana Agmon came to the University in Wa s h i n g t o n , D. C. , seeks to D CUNY Baccalaureate Progra m a t t ract outstanding young people inter- with diverse life experiences. ested in careers in foreign service. The member of a distin- The Rangel progra m , geared primarily guished Israeli family, h e r for graduated students, offers scholarship g r e a t - g randfather was the lead- CUNY BA student Keisha Toms pursues advanced CUNY BA student Dana Agmon begins joint money toward tuition, r o o m , b o a r d , ing rabbi in Morocco. S h e studies in international affairs. law/international studies program. books and fees. served as a first lieutenant in e rational differences on the relationship ized indigenous Africans living on the the Israeli Defense Force and is the Te a c hing Art in Rwanda between Israel and the Pa l e s t i n i a n outskirts of Egyptian society.” That wa s founder of The Conspiracy of Hope, a n Au t h o r i t y, as well as on the peace followed by internships with the hen City College student Sydney organization that seeks solutions for W p r o c e s s. Her faculty mentor is Professor Defense Intelligence Agency and the Jordan-Cooley visited Rwanda as part of peace between Israel and the Jean Krasno of CCNY’s Political Science America Prepared Campaign, a non- C U N Y ’s Rwanda Initiative last summer it Pa l e s t i n i a n s. She was recently accepted to D e p a r t m e n t . Agmon will receive her profit organization that promotes terror- wasn’t a typical study-abroad experience. Yale University’s joint MA/JD program in CUNY BA in June 2005. ism preparedness. A 23-year-old senior majoring in foreign relations. “The CUNY BA Progra m ’s flexibility printmaking in City’s art department, “I found my interest in international Studying “ M a r g i n a l i z e d ” g ave me the freedom to choose Jordan-Cooley taught art to Rwa n d a n affairs and politics fairly quickly when I Pe o p l e s courses and design my own major,” s h e students who were between ten and 13 took a course in Global Pe r s p e c t i v e s s a i d . “I was challenged academically and years old. with Professor Chudi Uwarurike at City Keisha Toms entered the CUNY respected as an older student.” She found herself responsible for over C o l l e g e,” she said. Baccalaureate Program in the Toms also captained the Medgar Evers 350 students at the Rwandan school, She noted that the CUNY BA spring of 2002 and received a $65,000 College women’s basketball team, l e d which also serves as an orphanage. T h i s P r o g ram exposed her to a wide range of Fellowship from the Institute for the nation in rebounding for Division III, meant that her art supplies were academic environments. “While CCNY is International Public Policy in 2003. A s and was named CUNY’s Female A t h l e t e stretched very thin. my home college, I was able to take an IIPP Fellow she traveled to Egypt and of the Ye a r. She received her CUNY BA “ Teaching there was much more diffi- courses at Hunter, the CUNY Gra d u a t e studied A rabic and anthropology at in January 2005 and was accepted to cult because of the language difference,” Center and the New School,” she said. American University in Cairo. Tufts University’s Fletcher School of she noted. “But when I couldn’t explain Last summer she conducted research She says she chose Egypt “to investi- International A f f a i r s. an art concept, I could always show it.” in the Middle East on the impact of gen- gate the contributions of the marginal-

Physicist Receives Prize Professors Win Fulbrights At CCNY, Distinguished Professor of Physics Myriam P. S a rachik received the 2005 Two CCNY faculty members received 2004-2005 Fulbright Scholar gra n t s. They are Oliver E. Buckley Prize in Condensed Matter Physics from the American Physical Society. D r. Latif M. J i j i , who is the Herbert G. Kaiser Professor of Mechanical Engineering; a n d She was cited for “fundamental contributions to experimental studies of quantum spin Visiting Professor Linda R. P r o u t , who heads the College’s journalism progra m . F u l b r i g h t dynamics and spin coherence in condensed matter systems.” The prize includes a $5,000 Scholar grants are awarded annually to leading U. S. faculty and professionals by the award that she will share with Gabriel Aeppli of the University College, L o n d o n , a n d Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Board for study, teaching or research D avid Awschalom of the University of California, Santa Barbara . a b r o a d .

12 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 BOOK TALK OF THE CITY distinct neighborhoods of the borough, Move Over Hollywood, Let Brooklyn S a t u r d ay Night Fe v e r ( 1 9 7 7 ) , Do the Right Thing ( 1 9 8 9 ) , and S m o k e ( 1 9 9 5 ) . Amata Schneider- L u d o r f f ’s essay, Take a Long-Overdue Bow “Exploding Multiculturalism in Global B r o o k l y n ,” looks at the controversial but By Gary Schmidgall became a major player after the turn of But in Brooklyn she goes to jail. not financially successful film The Siege the century. In the movies, life is finer, (1998) because, with scary prescience, i t s Listen to a famous New York scribe’s The editors are keenly aware of the Life is cleaner. first half focuses “on the doings of an elu- fond memories of film-going in his native huge variety of “ B r o o k l y n s ” that cine- But in Brooklyn, i t ’s a minor sive group of Islamic terrorists who, i n Brooklyn when the price of admission wa s m a t o g raphers have given the world, e s p e- M i s d e m e a n o r. spite of the FBI’s frantic and technological- ly sophisticated investigation efforts, c o n- just cents: “There were always more movie cially the contrasts between the “ y e l l o w The first of the essays, which were edit- tinue to bomb a number of sites in New houses than libraries and they became our brick road” of Manhattan vs. the mean ed by Singer, is Manbeck’s and begins with York City.” secular temples. The Minerva was on the streets on the other side of the Brooklyn a capsule summary of the highlights of his On a lighter and more archival note, corner of Seventh Avenue and 14th Street, B r i d g e. They highlight the problem of f i l m o g ra p h y. It is bound to leave any Cezar Del Va l l e ’s “Brooklyn Moviegoing: A passed each weekday morning in winter B r o o k l y n ’s bad rep in their choice of epi- Brooklynite feeling proud, listing many of Short History from a Fa n ’s Pe r s p e c t i v e ” on the way to school. This was the small- g ra p h , a snippet from Stephen Sondheim’s the big-marquee natives of the borough focuses on the early establishments were est and least expensive of our dark dream first musical, S a t u r d ay Night, which is set (Mae We s t , Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, films were shown. Del Valle tells of projec- p a l a c e s : cents before noon on Saturdays in a Flatbush movie house: Woody A l l e n , B a r b ra Streisand, to name a tors called Eidoloscopes and Phantoscopes, and Sundays. When piles of snow had If one person treads on the path of sin tiny few) and several great directors who of the Kinetoscope parlors that ran brief 5 turned black and scabrous, or when ra i n So her daughter can eat quail, were natives (Lumet, M a z u r s k y, H a r t , mm “ m o v i e s,” then the “nickel madness” poured down from the skies, off we went In the movies she’s a heroine, R o s s, and A l l e n ) . M a n b e c k ’s essay, c raze that swept Brooklyn in the 1900s as to the Minerva , to its merciless bare seats, h o w e v e r, is devoted entirely to the nickelodeons prolifera t e d . Then he moves its raucous cheers and hoots.” “ L o vable Lug” William Bendix, on to talk about Marcus Loew’s first theater, T h a t ’s nostalgic w h o, though a pristine the Royal at Pearl and Willoughby Streets, Pete Hamill, w r i t i n g Manhattanite with no Brooklyn which mixed vaudeville with film shorts, in his foreword to T h e t i e s, was cast as the quintessential and then on to the huge, a r c h i t e c t u ra l l y Brooklyn Fi l m : E s s ay s Brooklynite in numerous films. exotic film palaces of the 1920s and 1930s. in the History of In “A Fantasy Straight Out of Mark Brown proves you can take the Fi l m m a k i n g B r o o k l y n ,” Tony Williams exam- Dodgers out of Brooklyn, but not baseball ( M c Fa r l a n d ) , a collec- ines how the novel The Gentle out of Brooklyn film in his “Brooklyn and tion of essays about the Pe o p l e by the Brooklyn-born Baseball in the Films of Paul Au s t e r.” Pa i r e d b o r o u g h ’s place—as stu- novelist Irwin Shaw was turned with it is Joe Dorinson’s essay, “A Life dio site, as story-telling into the film Out of the Fo g Worth Living: The Jackie Robinson Biopic.” i n s p i ra t i o n , and as a ( 1 9 4 1 ) , with Ida Lupino and In the final essay, Michael Schiavi looks “ c h a racter”—in the cine- John Garfield. S i n g e r ’s own at how the 1998 film The Object of My matic world. Hamill adds e s s a y, “What Grows in the A f f e c t i o n, with Paul Rudd and Je n n i f e r that each of those H o o d ? ” begins with the wry Aniston (screenplay by We n d y Brooklyn theaters of his remark that “the tree that once Wa s s e r s t e i n ) , positioned Manhattan and youth “ was what comedi- grew in many Brooklyn neigh- Brooklyn amid the current cultural wa r s ans would call a To u g h borhoods has been trimmed over sexuality. S c h i avi concludes that R o o m .” and stripped of its bark once director Nicholas Hytner “ i n v e r t s ” t h e But even tough guys like too often.” This is his way of usual borough stereotypes “by having a Hamill liked to dream. “ T h e introducing the darker vision s t raight woman and her gay best friend try movies helped us to imagine. of the borough that has to re-invent themselves and family life in The movies fed our dreams.” been offered in more recent B r o o k l y n , safely removed from H a m i l l ’s point is clear: y o u f i l m s : “a racially divisive, Manhattan-enforced conventions that can get only so much wisdom somewhat exotic, p o t e n- make them misera b l e.” from Minerva , the goddess. ( I tially dangerous, d é c l a s s é There are two small but charming can sympathize: my Minerva m i l i e u .” He focuses on, touches in The Brooklyn Fi l m. F i r s t , a short was a theater on Main Street in Last Exit to Broadway introductory letter from Red Hook native A l h a m b ra , C a l i f o r n i a , called the ( 1 9 8 9 ) , Straight out of (and a City College master’s grad) Eli El Rey—minus the dirty snow, B r o o k l y n ( 1 9 9 1 ) , L i t t l e Wa l l a c h . Among his memories is taking of course. ) O d e s s a ( 1 9 9 4 ) , a n d the Italian director Sergio Leone on a The Brooklyn Fi l m has been G i r l f i g h t ( 2 0 0 0 ) . scouting tour in Brooklyn for Once Upon a edited by John B. Manbeck and Wilbert Tu r n e r, J r. Time in A m e r i c a ( 1 9 8 4 ) ; s e v e ral scenes Robert Singer, professor emeritus follows with his essay were eventually shot there. S e c o n d , t h e and professor of English, r e s p e c- on “Race Relations in cover photo, which shows an audience t i v e l y, at Kingsborough Cinematic Brooklyn,” watching a movie al fresco in the summer Community College. A PSC- in which he discusses of 2001, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the CUNY grant helped fund their three films set in three r e s e a r c h , and it scarcely needs b a c k g r o u n d . adding that both are Brooklyn resi- d e n t s. (Manbeck was the borough’s official historian from 1993 to 2001.) A perusal of their book makes it quick- She Was a Pioneer Among Sch o l a r s ly clear that Brooklyn’s significance in film history is wildly out of proportion to its with Wieruszowski ensued. She died at 84 population and its mere 81 square miles. Emil J. Po l a k , a professor of history at on November 9, 1 9 7 8 , the 40th anniver- This is made particularly obvious by a Queensborough Community College, h a s sary of Kristallnacht. richly detailed 65-page “ S e l e c t just published an obvious labor of love This belated scholarly festschrift, Po l a k F i l m o g ra p h y,” M a n b e c k ’s work, of films honoring one of the first woman medieva l- n o t e s, had its genesis in a session celebra t- shot entirely or in part in Brooklyn. It runs ists in the nation and, beginning in 1949, a ing Wi e r u s z o w s k i ’s career that he from Academy of Music Fi r e (a 1903 silent long-time historian at City College. a r ranged for the 1994 meeting of the short about fighting a fire at the original In his editorial preface to A M e d i e val Academy of A m e r i c a . I t Academy of Music in Brooklyn Heights) M e d i e v a l i s t ’s Odyssey: H e l e n e appears as #41 in the Uomini e Dottrine to Z o m b i e (a 1979 horror flick with a Wi e r u s z o w s k i , S c h o l a r, Polak offers high- series of the Edizioni di Storia e Brooklyn Bridge scene). lights of a life that involved the German- L e t t e ra t u ra (Rome) and includes four Silent movie-making, in fact, started in born Wi e r u s z o w s k i ’s flight from the Nazis e s s a y s : Catherine Epstein’s biogra p h i c a l Brooklyn well before the industry “ d i s c o v- in the 1930s and, after retirement from s k e t c h , “ Wo m a n , R e f u g e e, H i s t o r i a n ,” ered the sunshine of Hollywood,” the edi- C C N Y, two New York City muggings (a James J. M u r p h y ’s “ H e l e n e tors say in their introduction. They point move to Lugano-Pa ra d i s o, S w i t z e r l a n d , Wi e r u s z o w s k i ’s Contributions to the out that a rooftop on St. Marks Avenue in soon followed). Study of the Ars Dictiminis,” Ke n n e t h Park Slope was the location for the first Polak notes that he met the distin- Pe n n i n g t o n ’s “The Birth of the film shot in New York City, a silent direct- guished expert on the ars dictiminis, t h e Modern Nation State in the Work of ed by Charles Chinnock in 1894. B r o o k l y n m e d i e val art of letter- w r i t i n g , and the emi- Helene Wi e r u s z o w s k i ,” and a was later the back lot for the Edison com- nent humanist Paul Oskar Kristeller while “ C o m m e n t a r y ” by Ronald G. Wi t t . p a n y ’s famous one-reelers. In 1898 Edison a graduate student at Columbia University. The final item speaks eloquently produced “ Pa rade of Marines” by mounting “My research and publications on the sub- for itself: a Wieruszowski bibliogra- a camera on the U. S. cruiser Brooklyn in ject can be attributed in large part to their phy that begins in 1922 and ends in the Brooklyn Navy Ya r d . The Vi t a g ra p h expert direction and encoura g e m e n t ,” h e 1 9 7 7 . Company of A m e r i c a , based in Midwood, w r i t e s, adding that a “lasting friendship”

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 13 Blackboard Gains Acceptance as a Teaching Tool

300 faculty and staff attended the first CUNY Systems A d m i n i s t rator Mara Bianco online version of her introductory Po l i c e Living without email? For many profes- University-wide instructional technology notes that the “Enterprise“ version offers Studies course. “A few of us sat down with s i o n a l s, i t ’s hard to imagine. Teaching with- conference held two years ago. The next u p g rades that make it easy to tra n s f e r Bob Hong, our campus’ computer guru, out “Blackboard?“ For some tech-sav v y y e a r, that number doubled to 600. L a s t course plans and resources from one course and learned. p r o f e s s o r s, i t ’s unthinkable. N o v e m b e r, more than 900 attendees to another, allowing for much greater ease “One thing that is nice about These new enthusiasts of Blackboard, showed up to explore the new technology in recycling and updating coursework. Blackboard in my other regular courses is the course management software now in and its applications for pedagogy. “Going University-wide equalizes access that I don’t have to feel like a human use throughout the University, say their Otte reports that 90 percent of the fac- among the ‘ h ave’ and ‘ h ave not’ campus- copying machine. Even though I’m not early fears that instruction would be ulty who try online learning will continue e s,“ says CUNY Director of Education and teaching those classes online, I do post “dehumanized“—and that brick and mor- to use it. Sixty percent of students who try Training Colette Wa g n e r, previously affili- announcements and handouts, and the stu- tar classrooms would be figura t i v e l y it say they learned more than in the tra d i- ated with LaGuardia Community College. dents can check those any time of day. “ demolished—were grossly exaggera t e d . tional class setting. Ninety percent say A CUNY Steering Committee for Online Sylvie Richards, faculty development With the aid of “real time“ discussion they learned as much or more. Resources and Education, composed of and instructional support specialist at b o a r d s, one of Blackboard’s many features, “The movement now is towards ‘ h y b r i d ’ representatives of each campus, will meet Brooklyn College, has written about what instructors and students interact with or ‘blended’ courses,“ Otte says, “ c o m b i n- r e g u l a r l y. many consider Blackboard’s strongest fea- greater frequency; and by posting and ing work online with a set amount of time, The degree of faculty enthusiasm for t u r e—i n t e ra c t i v i t y. “The use of Blackboard reading comments as their schedules allow, meeting in person in a class setting. This is Blackboard runs a gamut, from those like is huge here but we are still demystifying they are able to explore topics more especially suitable at CUNY where so Yelena Melikian, who teaches economics at it for many. “ deeply and, as a result, enhance the tra d i- many students work and have family obli- New York City College of Technology and She demonstrated a simple example of tional classroom learning experience. g a t i o n s. CUNY is becoming known nation- says she can’t imagine going back to work- the sort of creative feature professors can “I was suspicious,“ says Dorothy Schulz, ally as a leader in the development of ing without it, to those who believe in-per- p o s t . Her computer screen displayed sheet of the Law and Police Science Department blended courses. “ son-only contact is the essence of teaching. music for Mozart’s “Eine Kleine at John Jay College of Criminal Ju s t i c e. The University-wide introduction of Even faculty members who are wary of Nachtmusik.“ As the piece played, e a c h But now she believes many students actu- Blackboard is at the cornerstone of this technology can’t help but be aware of it. bar was highlighted in color on the sheet ally learn more online. “They have to write e f f o r t . Karen Lundstrem, New York City College m u s i c. The highlighting moved along, m o r e, and to do that they have to really Many campuses had used their own ver- of Te c h n o l o g y ’s instructional technology allowing a student to follow the piece. read what’s been posted.“ Student partici- sions of Blackboard assisted by an instruc- d i r e c t o r, s a y s, “Students ask professors ‘ W h y This sort of resource embodies what pation with Blackboard, says Professor tional technology director, often a faculty aren’t we using Blackboard in our class?' So some professors like about Blackboard and S c h u l z , “requires a greater commitment.“ m e m b e r. They also offered workshops to they look into it.“ There have been lively what others consider the biggest unre- The same may be said for the faculty. help faculty learn Blackboard’s functions. and substantive discussions about solved issue in its use—a tremendous time E m b racing new software can strike fear, i f In a major step forwa r d , this academic Blackboard on the Senate Forum listserv. c o m m i t m e n t . not loathing, in the hearts of some schol- y e a r, the Blackboard Enterprise System— S c h u l z , of John Jay College, first looked Many find that commitment well worth a r s, who tend to see the printed page—as the most up-to-date edition of the soft- into using Blackboard a year and a half ago it and, as several professors put it, a l m o s t opposed to the virtual one—as the true wa r e—has been released CUNY- w i d e. when a colleague asked her to develop an “ a d d i c t i v e,“ as they seek new materials, resting place of links and issues to post and k n o w l e d g e. B u t d i s c u s s. “In my field,“ says history Professor Howa r d Blackboard involves Students at Hostos use PDA’s, or Palm Pilots, w i t h Wach of Bronx an intellectual flexi- global positioning software to study species of trees. bility that many Community College, “ t h i s would argue is a has changed everything. hallmark of the We can bring students pri- scholarly life. In a mary sources. “ p ractical wa y, u s i n g Lehman College English Blackboard means Professor Nathalie Bailey adapting and inte- and biology Professor g rating existing Maryam Bamshad both course materials into took Professor Wa c h ’s a new learning workshop on Blackboard f ra m e w o r k . T h o u g h last spring. arduous effort may B a i l e y, who has taught be required, the end at Lehman for 17 years, result can be a rich- says it was “ o v e r w h e l m i n g er teaching and to absorb the different learning experience. technical procedures you U n d e r s t a n d i n g h ave to know in order to t h i s, more and more do all the things you faculty are taking potentially can do, and I the plunge, or some- had to deal with glitches. t i m e s, tiptoeing in, The workshop I took wa s says Professor very helpful in getting me George Otte, through that.“ C U N Y ’s Director of She uses Blackboard in I n s t r u c t i o n a l L e h m a n ’s computer lab Te c h n o l o g y. with her writing students. Otte notes that There was an American lit- A World of Technical Information in the Palm of the Hand

a c t i o n , as professors can quickly assess the enced the growth and development of the gastrointestinal system and were discussing Information is power, and a select group student's work, disseminate information trees under study. peptic ulcers,” she explains. “Students can of students at Hostos Community College and collect quizzes. Funded by a grant from the Institute for find out immediately what drugs are appro- in the Bronx is learning how to harness Faculty and students alike are just begin- Schools of the Future, the program is the priate for that and be alert for problems. that power--quite literally-in the palm of ning to explore the educational possibilities. b rainchild of Instructional Te c h n o l o g y We also study patient education-how to their hands. Professor George Rosa's students trav- Director Loreto Po r t e, a mathematics pro- explain to patients what they need to know N u r s i n g , biology and math stu- eled downtown into Central Park to study f e s s o r, who applied for the gra n t . N u r s i n g about their own medications and care.” dents are working with “ Palm m130s,” p e r- the distribution of specific types of trees. professor Kathleen Donohue, b i o l o g y Donohue obtained reference softwa r e sonal data assistants that combine the func- Using the Palm m130 equipped with glob- Professor John Gillen, and instructional for the Davis Drug Guide Reference, tion and portability of Palm Pilots with the al positioning softwa r e, groups of students technology Professor Rosa of Hostos' which allows her students to look up computing power of personal computers. were each assigned a tree species. Instructional Technology department, t o o k almost any prescription drug, its appropri- The devices allow them to seek and ana- They logged in information about the workshops along with Po r t e, learning sever- ate uses and its contra i n d i c a t i o n s, or wa r n- lyze information, to download their data locations of individual trees as points on a al ways they could use the tiny machines, ings to avoid usage with other drugs a into conventional computers, and to litera l- virtual map, and organized the information which serve as hand-held mini-computers patient may be taking. ly “ b e a m ” their work to their professors by into database files. They also used the PDA for the students. “The students grew so fond of them,” holding up their own PDAs and pointing it to take field notes and analyze their data- Donohue's students do classroom work Donohue says of the powerful little to the professors'. species densities, i n t e ractions between the at Hostos and clinical work at Montefiore d e v i c e s, “that they cried when it came time This last function allows for rapid inter- species and many other factors that influ- H o s p i t a l . “Let's say we were studying the to return them.”

14 CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 A Little Role Reversal for Professors and S t u d e n t s At LaGuardia Community College's Center for Teaching and L e a r n i n g , an unusual role reversal is t ra n s p i r i n g : technology-adept student mentors are helping interested faculty build web pages, troubleshoot softwa r e applications and demonstrate how to i n t e g rate sound and images into web- s i t e s. These students, called Student Technology Mentors (or STMs) also assist professors in the classroom. A n d they tutor their fellow students in class, helping them carry out the computer- assisted tasks assigned by the instructor. P r o g ram director Josephine Corso guides the mentors, who also learn some traditional skills while they expand their computer abilities. “The students learn that they can't go in there and just fix something or Faculty and staffers attending recent University-wide Information Te c h n o l o gy conference learn about Blackboard and other teaching tools. simply do the task at hand,” says Roslyn O r g e l , who works with Corso in the e rature component to her writing classes the course to life,“ she says. learning collabora t i v e. In the long run that c e n t e r. “They have to explain and and she used the discussion board in con- At the College of Te c h n o l o g y, M e l i k i a n helps with the time factor. “ d e m o n s t rate it. The process does a junction with readings twice a week when set up a web site. “I form teams and Melikian agreed. “This is how we com- tremendous amount for their commu- the class met. A pattern emerged. “ B e c a u s e become an observer at some points, l o o k i n g municate and learn in today’s world. T h i s nication skills. It can prove to be a huge students can answer at the same time more in on discussions and seeing whether stu- is the future. “ help in their later professional life.” of them participate. And they write more. “ dents come to a consensus as they work out B l a c k b o a r d , I n c. , based in Wa s h i n g t o n , Bret Eynon, assistant dean for aca- A tutor is present in the lab, so the p r o b l e m s. I step in when it’s important and D. C. , says the number of teachers and stu- demic affairs and director of amount of one-on-one work is further engage them as a group or as individuals. “ dents relying on its e-learning software is LaGuardia's Center for Teaching and i n c r e a s e d . If they miss a class, B l a c k b o a r d Says Lundstrem, “Blackboard makes it g r o w i n g , and is currently used by 12 mil- L e a r n i n g , says the mentors receive allows them to keep up by checking easier for professors to share modules. lion people at 2,000 universities and other t raining in teaching techniques, in addi- assignments that were posted and the dis- Students alert each other to resources. schools around the world. tion to intensive training designed to cussions on the board. This increased communication makes sharpen their web design skills. T h e y “The students think it’s cool,’ she says. must furthermore complete a tutorial “ T h e y ’re used to surfing the Web and project requiring them to research an working with computers. “ a d vanced software application and Her colleague, Maryam Bamshad, What Professors develop instructional materials about teaches anatomy and physiology to nursing t he topic. s t u d e n t s. Bamshad already had a web site Can Do With Blackboard: The Center also runs a range of pro- students could consult but “my husband g rams providing professional development had set it up for me. I wanted to know support for faculty who want to learn about new digital teaching tools. T h e how to do that for myself. “ • Post a course's syllabus, list of readings, assignments and class announcements. This is the first semester that she has largest progra m , Designed for Learning, Some professors post their lectures after having given them. Students can retrieve done so, using Blackboard. which explores interactive pedagogy and postings at any hour. "They can't come to you anymore saying they lost your hand- She posts all of the course’s materials— i n t e ractive technology, was recently recog- outs," laughs Steven Wallach of Queensborough Community College. the syllabus, lecture notes, r e l e vant gra p h - nized with a Hesburgh A ward Certificate ics and much more—so her students can • Post web links and audio and visual resources, bringing students' reading and of Excellence for Exemplary Contribution to the Enhancement of Undergra d u a t e access them at any time. research far beyond the textbook and to post visual and audio resources. Artwork, E d u c a t i o n . “The textbook has a website but I scientific simulations, articles, primary historical sources and theatrical sound are Faculty who take part in the year- wanted to go deeper. I refer the students just a few examples of resources posted by professors. to web links and I find that that has made l o n g , faculty-led Designed for Expand discussions from traditional professor-to-class style to discussions among the course much more intera c t i v e, as stu- • Learning program become eligible for dents look things up and have questions. “ students, who often comment on one another's work and offer advice. Faculty can sustained help from a student-mentor She is pleased. “I find it helpful.“ choose to join in or simply monitor. p a r t n e r. And these partnerships are bearing fruit. Together the faculty and As for the graphics and images that are • Foster on-line communities through “bulletin boards.” Gary Chinn of Baruch the mentors have developed hundreds infinitely available through Blackboard, College says Blackboard allows students who can't be on campus for club hours to of academic web sites, some of which Bamshad explains that simulations of participate in extracurricular activities by following announcements and topical anatomical functions can be presented by can be seen at http://www. l a g c c. chats. “This provides a much stronger sense of community than most urban com- way of the software in “dynamic“ form (a c u n y. e d u / c t l / f a c w e b p r o j e c t s / d e f a u l t . h t muter campuses have.” He notes academic departments set up Blackboard bulletin beating heart, for instance) as opposed to a m And more than 5000 students each boards “like traditional bulletin boards where students check about internships and static textbook photogra p h . year take web-enhanced or hybrid Bamshad hopes to develop a hybrid—or study opportunities.” courses at LaGuardia. Data show that part in-class, part online—version of her these courses improve critical thinking c o u r s e, using Blackboard. “It really brings and other outcomes. Message from Chief Information Officer Brian Cohen Regarding Blackboard may continue to experience service dis- traffic during peak use periods: have developed—portal registration and Exceptionally high usage associated ruption during some peak demand peri- • Faculty should confirm the accuracy of training efforts that begin well in with the start of the new semester has ods. We are working to address these all course management system informa- advance of the first week of classes. resulted in some CUNY portal service dis- growing pains with additional hardware t i o n , including teaching assignments, • Provide detailed information to local ruptions. With the introduction of new and software upgrades and other technical c o u r s e s, student enrollment and “help desks” when experiencing problems. improvements throughout the semester. features and services, portal traffic has Blackboard shells, with their Blackboard • Know where your Blackboard course Some of this work is already complete. more than doubled in the last six months a d m i n i s t ra t o r s. resides. Many courses still run on local We anticipate noticeable improvements to 1.2 million pages served per month. • Students and faculty should register installations at their colleges and they from the steps we are taking. Some faculty and students have reported with the portal as soon as they register are not on the Enterprise Blackboard We ask for your patience as we work difficulty in logging into the portal and for classes, thereby avoiding high 6.x servers. Local Blackboard servers are through this transition together, and we accessing the Blackboard software. demand (or peak) times. most likely running earlier versions that urge all portal and Blackboard users to CIS has already taken several steps to may no longer be supported by follow these tips to help us better manage • Consider adopting what some colleges help ease the congestion, but the portal Blackboard maintenance agreements.

CUNY MATTERS — Spring 2005 15