A Debt-Free CUNY Degree

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he experiment is to be tried… whether the children of the people, ‘Tthe children of the whole people, can be educated; whether an institution of learning, of the highest grade, can be successfully controlled by the popular will, not by the privileged few, but by the privileged many.” — Horace Webster Founding Principal, The Free Academy CUNYcuny.edu/news • THE CITY UNIVERSITYMatters OF NEW YORK • FOUNDED 1847 FALL 2013 GRANTS&HONORS

Recognizing Faculty Achievement HE UNIVERSITY’S renowned Bhaskaran faculty members continually Twin professional-achievement awards from prestigious organizations as well as research grants from government agencies, farsighted foundations and leading corporations. Pictured Simmons are just a few of the recent hon- orees. Brief summaries of many ongoing research projects start here and continue inside. Sunil Gupta and John Graham of Borough of Gupta Manhattan Community College have received a $2,939,619 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor-Employment and Training Administration (ETA) for the “BMCC Health Care Lattice Project.” The N.Y. State Bragg Education Department has awarded $374,239 to City College for the program “STEP: Gateway to Higher Education,” directed by Morton Slater. Jennifer Adams of Brooklyn College has received $133,051 in A Debt-Free CUNY Degree Salley grant funding from the National Science Foundation for “CAREER: % ILETES: Informal Learning Nearly 80 Graduate Without a Loan Environments in Teacher Education for STEM.” earing graduation from high school issue,” he says. “A lot of people I knew under debt by the time I graduated. So The project “College in 2007, Michael Suarez looked up were going to private colleges in the my counselor said, ‘Why don’t you apply Jang Opportunity to Prepare for Nsome of the colleges his friends Northeast, some out West. I had no idea to CUNY?’” Employment,” under the were applying to and felt nothing so how they were going to manage this. I Suarez checked the tuition at direction of Marie Beavers of much as alarm. knew I could never do it. People kept say- LaGuardia Community College. “At first, Kingsborough Community “I was apprehensive about college ing, ‘Just take out loans, just take out I didn’t believe it,” he says. “I didn’t think College, has been awarded a because I knew money was going to be an loans.’ But I didn’t want to be buried Continued on next page ‰ $447,632 grant from the N.Y.C. Human Resources Adams Administration. Hunter College has received a $358,042 grant from the N.Y.C. Department of INSIDE Environmental Protection for a Non-Proﬁt Org project directed by Sean Ahearn, CUNYMatters U.S. Postage PAID “Natural Resource Program Data Ofﬁce of University Relations PAGE Permit # 153 Management Services: GIS, 205 East 42nd St. ‘CUNY New Haven, CT New York, NY 10017 4 Countdown’ Becker WALIS, and STREAMS to Elections Geodatabase.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation has awarded $120,252 to Maria

PAGE Hartwig of John Jay College for Nobel Legacy Lives On the project “Eliciting Information 6 in Baruch Student’s Work in Intelligence Interviews: The Greenberg Effect of Priming Disclosure Concepts.” PAGE A Century of News 8 and Help — in Spanish Two individuals affiliated with City College’s Spitzer School of Architecture have received PAGE Taking Discoveries National Design Awards: 11 to the Marketplace Distinguished Professor Michael Murelli Continued on page 4 ‰ CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 2

THECHANCELLOR’SDESK Back to the Future

T MAY NO LONGER come with the ment was made possi- smell of sharpened pencils and freshly ble by the findings of copied syllabi, but the start of a new their Nobel Prize- A Debt-Free academic year still brings with it a stir winning predecessor, Continued from page 1 graduates who exemplify that compelling, of anticipation and possibility, espe- the late Jerome Karle I would be able to get a quality education for long-term trend: In great numbers, CUNY ciallyI at CUNY. — a wonderful exam- such an affordable tuition. But I researched students manage to emerge from college I welcome you to the 2013-14 year with ple of CUNY’s schol- it, and I was pretty confident when I walked with little or no loan debt in an era when gratitude for the encouragement and warm arly legacy. through the doors of LaGuardia.” their peers on campuses across the country wishes I’ve received from across the They come through the benevolence of In the spring, Suarez graduated from increasingly find themselves already deep in University. I am delighted to have the hundreds of students committed to building Hunter College with a degree in psychology, the hole as they enter the job market or opportunity to serve an institution I’ve a stronger future for all New Yorkers by a minor in Italian — and just $1,500 in loans move on to graduate school. loved since I first arrived at Queens College. becoming part of CUNY’s Service Corps, to repay. That’s a fraction of the more than “People think that taking loans is just I assume the position of Interim joining city agencies to take on New York’s $26,000 average debt that students nation- part of going to college, worry about it later, Chancellor during a time of great strength civic, economic, and environmental chal- wide graduate with and far less than the and that sounds like a good idea at the time,” for the University, evident in so many ways lenges. tens of thousands of dollars or more that says Suarez, who is hoping to go to medical — in our robust enrollment and And they come from deter- burden many graduates of high-end private school. “But then you graduate and get this diverse student body, mined teams of staff, adminis- institutions in these times of runaway letter, ‘Your repayment starts in six months’ in our new trators, and alumni across tuition bills. and the next thing you know you have to programs our campuses who build new Indeed, Suarez owes nothing at all for keep working and working and working to and record classrooms, residence halls, tuition. Like some 60 percent of CUNY’s pay off this standard education. So graduat- number of and child-care centers, offer full-time undergraduates, he qualified for ing with very little debt with hopes of going degrees con- critical financial-aid guid- need-based aid — grants from New York to medical school is a big deal for me. It puts ferred, in our ance, and create and fund State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) me way ahead of the game.” fiscal footing. new scholarship programs and the federal Pell program — that made his Christina Terracino graduated from the CUNY has that help CUNY students tuition free. He borrowed only to pay for a College of Staten Island with a degree in made remark- — including those pro- semester he spent living on campus at English literature this spring and says she’s able progress filed in these pages — to Queens College. “I wanted to try dorming moving on to graduate school “debt free across the last achieve an outstanding and had to take a loan for that,” he says. and worry free because I don’t have to tack- decade, and we and affordable educa- “Otherwise, I would be completely debt- le a graduate degree while holding a full- are positioned to tion. free.” He transferred to Hunter after that time job.” make even greater The Economist one semester and managed to repay most of Terracino had a “small amount in a col- strides in the once referred to the $3,500 loan by the time he graduated. He lege fund” when she started college and that months and CUNY as “the expects to pay off the rest within a year. was enough to cover her first year at CSI. years ahead. American dream Suarez is far from unusual at CUNY, State TAP grants and an annual CSI scholar- I thank all of machine,” using whose affordable tuition and availability of ship covered her remaining three years of you — students, alumnus and for- financial aid — close to $1 billion awarded in tuition. “The scholarships were a happy sur- faculty, staff, mer Intel chair- 2012-13 — allow nearly 80 percent of prise, but even without them I knew I’d be alumni — for enabling man Andrew Grove’s students to graduate free of student loan okay.” that progress. Your apt phrase. It falls to us to realize debt. He’s among the thousands of 2013 When Terracino was in high school and day-in, day-out com- that promise. That we will do so, I have no mitment to teaching doubt. What spurs our anticipation are the and learning has made all the difference. As countless moments of discovery yet to hap- joyful and inspiring as our recent pen, moments that epitomize CUNY’s sin- commencement ceremonies were, they did- gular mission of true access, high standards, Single Stop USA Aids n’t capture the marvelous, often unobserved and realized dreams. moments when learning happens: the long Low-Income CUNY Students $25 subway ride when an instructor’s patient million explanation of a complicated theory sud- ITH HELP from the philanthropic brought almost as much money to stu- denly becomes clear to a student; the ran- organization Single Stop USA, dents as federal Pell grants, Sanchez dom aside by a professor that sparks a new Health — William P. Kelly the University put more than said. An early study at one campus Insurance direction for a thesis. And it is the CUNY W Interim Chancellor $73 million in the pockets of more than found that Single Stop clients were 17 community — diligent, talented, inventive — 32,000 low-income community college percent more likely to stay in school. that creates those moments of discovery. William P. Kelly was appointed Interim students and their families between Williams said a broader study would They come through the persistent work Chancellor of The City University of New 2009 and 2012. start this fall to assess the impact on of researchers who solve longtime puzzles, York by the Board of Trustees effective The money came from government retention and students’ lives. such as Baruch chemistry professor Keith July 1, 2013, succeeding Matthew Goldstein. programs to which students didn’t know Two grant-funded Single Stop coun- $19 Ramig and chemistry student Olga Lavinda, Dr. Kelly, a distinguished scholar of they were entitled. Single Stop campus selors at each community college use million highlighted in this issue, whose break- American literature, is on leave from the counselors found that these students special software that in 15 minutes through work to crystallize an indigo pig- presidency of the CUNY Graduate Center. and their families qualified for health determines a family’s eligibility for ben- Free Tax insurance (worth $25 million), free tax- efits and tax credits. Aid is available for Preparation preparation ($19 million in refunds and food, health insurance, child care and services), legal counseling ($11 million tax refunds, as well as to cover small in savings), food stamps (worth $7 mil- setbacks — a sick child, car trouble or BOARDOFTRUSTEES lion) and financial counseling ($5 mil- temporary job loss — that can be The City University of New York CUNYMatters lion in savings), among other categories. catastrophic for the working poor. “More and more we’re seeing stu- Students at the senior colleges who $11 Benno Schmidt Philip Alfonso Berry William P. Kelly Jay Hershenson dents leaving community college not for receive Pell and state TAP assistance million Chairperson Vice Chairperson Interim Chancellor Secretary of the Board of Trustees and academic reasons, but because of finan- can find similar help through communi- Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations cial difficulties,” said Vice Chancellor of ty-based organizations that work with Valerie L. Beal Hugo M. Morales Michael Arena Legal University Director for Communications and Marketing Student Affairs Frank Sanchez. “That’s a Single Stop. A list is at www.single- Counseling Wellington Z. Chen Brian D. Obergfell tragedy for them and a blow to the future stopusa.org/locations/new-york. Kristen Kelch Managing Editor Rita DiMartino Peter Pantaleo of the city’s economy.” Single Stop began at Kingsborough Freida D. Foster Kathleen M. Pesile Rich Sheinaus Director of Graphic Design Cheryl Williams, the University’s Community College in 2001 following Judah Gribetz Carol Robles-Román Charles DeCicco, Margaret Ramirez, Neill S. Rosenfeld Writers associate dean of special programs, outreach by then president Regina Joseph J. Lhota Charles A. Shorter Miriam Smith Issue Designer added, “Single Stop helps keep students Peruggi to Elizabeth Mason, Single in school by connecting them with public Stop’s CEO and co-founder. The Robin Jeffrey Wiesenfeld André Beckles Photographer $5 benefits that they’re not receiving. And Hood Foundation initially financed it in Articles in this and previous issues are available at cuny.edu/news. million Kafui Kouakou Terrence F. Martell Letters or suggestions for future stories may be sent to the Editor by e-mail to when they stay in school, they have a New York City; now the Atlantic Chairperson, Chairperson, [email protected]. Changes of address should be made better chance at graduating.” Philanthropies supports Single Stop here University Student Senate University Faculty Senate through your campus personnel office. In 2012-2013, CUNY Single Stop and in seven states. Financial Counseling

2 CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 3 CUNY Degree of Value brought up the possibility of going to NYU, her father told her he could pay for maybe half of her first year. She wound up applying to many schools without high hopes of attending any of them. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to many because of the cost,” she says. But she found CSI not a concession but a blessing — a high-quality education with affordable tuition near home. “I’ve had professors say it’s a great bang for your buck and that’s a great way to put it,” she says. “All my professors were great, especially in the English Department. They were brilliant professors, well-known, who did research.” Terracino says her eventual goal of earning a Ph.D. and becoming an academic librar- ian specializing in Victorian medievalism would be “a nightmare” — virtually impossible — if she had to pay back anything close to what some of her friends do. “I have one friend who’s in a Ph.D. program and she has close to $100,000 debt just from her undergraduate education at NYU,” she says. “When I was handed my diploma it wasn’t a bitter- sweet feeling of, ‘Now I have to deal with all this debt.’” I researched the different options and found there I didn’t want to be buried under debt… So my I thought, I don’t think I want this. There are people Like Terracino, Starshema Casiano started were a lot of grants and tuition assistance at CUNY. counselor said, ‘Why don’t you apply to CUNY?’ working their whole lives to pay off loans. out applying to many schools, most out of – Starshema Casiano – Michael Suarez – Zenas Gallion state, before deciding to stay close to home. “I John Jay College Hunter College Borough of Manhattan Community College was accepted to a lot of colleges that were a lot more expensive than CUNY colleges,” says Casiano, a spring graduate of John Jay College As it turned out, Casiano didn’t qualify enough, for her to pay her own way by work- want this. There are people working their of Criminal Justice who studied economics for TAP and Pell grants because her moth- ing full time and taking classes at night, on whole lives to pay off loans. So I figured and forensic accounting. “I researched the er’s income was too high. But CUNY’s weekends and even online. before I get into that hole I’ll just leave the different options and found there were a lot of tuition was still affordable enough, and Hassel Diaz says she grew up thinking she shovel and go.” grants and tuition assistance at CUNY.” John Jay’s class schedules were flexible would never be able to go to college, and if Gallion got a job in a mailroom but always she had gone anywhere but a CUNY school, expected to find his way back to school. He “I probably would have dropped out because did a few years later, enrolling at Borough of of the high cost.” But she had “four peaceful Manhattan Community College in 2011. TAP years” at York College, unworried about pay- and Pell grants covered his tuition and he Beyond CUNY, Student Debt ing her tuition. “The first year I got a scholar- graduated this spring debt-free. The grants ship, after that I had Pell and TAP. I took will continue when he continues this fall at Swamping Other Graduates $1.1 advantage of every grant, took summer and Hunter College and Gallion expects to gradu- trillion winter classes to graduate on time, and I ate without taking on any loans. worked part-time as a bank teller.” If anyone has a long perspective, it’s Bryan TUDENT DEBT has emerged as one borrowers hold over $1.1 trillion in out- Diaz graduated with an economics degree Peterson. He graduated from high school in of the nation’s most sobering eco- standing debt, most of it from federal in debt is held by more than and plans to continue on to a master’s and 2001 and “didn’t do a lot of research,” he says. Snomic and societal problems, as loans and the remainder from private 38 million student become a math teacher. Financial stability as “A lot of people said do what you want to do, college costs have dramatically outpaced borrowing, according to the federal loan borrowers. a student was important for her, she says, don’t pay attention to cost. I was interested family incomes, education debt has Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At because she was thinking ahead: “I wanted to in engineering so I enrolled in a five-year mushroomed past $1.1 trillion, and grad- the end of 2011, according to a build my credit so I can get an apartment program at the Rochester Institute of uates struggle to pay back their loans in bureau/U.S. Secretary of Education report that requires a credit check, or if I want to Technology. I got a [federal] Stafford loan, a shifting and often disappointing job to Congress, more than $8 billion in pri- buy a home in the future. After so many and after two semesters I did the math and market. vate student loans were in default, and applications I finally got my first credit card realized I would be about $100,000 in debt by Nationwide, about two-thirds of stu- even more were delinquent. $8 last year. Because CUNY is so affordable I the end.” It was especially risky, he said, giv- dents earning baccalaureate degrees in Students at the City University of New billion could think long-term.” en the uncertainty of the job market in the 2011 graduated with loans averaging York, however, are far less likely to gradu- Diaz has been unusually financially mind- post-9/11 economy. $26,600, according to Oakland, Calif.- ate with such debt burdens. The key is in private student ed and forward-thinking since she was a He quit, got an associate’s degree at a based Project on Student Debt at the CUNY’s affordable tuition, which ranks loans was teenager. Other students gain perspective trade school in Ontario, then came to New Institute for College Access & Success, among the nation’s lowest compared with in default in 2011. with experience. Suarez took a brief detour York and worked in a series of jobs in the which says the borrowing has increased other public and private institutions, early in his college life, transferring from audio industry. “But I saw my opportunities about 5% annually in recent years. In according to figures compiled by the LaGuardia to a private college for its nursing were limited with an associate’s degree,” he New York State, the student-debt average College Board. program, but came down with a case of pri- says. “I was self-taught in computers and I was $25,851; 60% of 2011 graduates Financial aid also keeps the indebted- vate-college sticker shock. “It was an awful wanted to learn it for real.” In 2009 he carried loans. ness of CUNY students strikingly low. Six experience,” he says. “I took two classes and enrolled part time in Baruch College’s com- Approximately 17% of borrowers were in 10 full-time CUNY undergraduates, the $26.6 it was more than the full-time tuition at puter information systems program, contin- more than 90 days past due on student majority from low-income households, thousand LaGuardia, so I went back.” uing to work full time in the technical debt payments in 2012, a 7% increase attend college tuition free, due to the There are many routes to graduation these support section of a city agency. Over the from less than 10% in 2004, according combination of relatively low tuition, full is the average days other than the traditional four years on next four years he set aside a third of each to a February 2013 report issued by the coverage by need-based federal Pell loan amount the same campus. Students transfer, take paycheck for tuition and this spring he grad- Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRB- Grants and New York State TAP, and fed- for 2 out of 3 breaks, sometimes graduate years after they uated with a 3.98 GPA and zero debt. NY), “Household Debt and Credit: eral American Opportunity Tax Credits for students started, often because of financial pressures. “I couldn’t have done it at a private col- Student Debt.” which many middle-class families are graduating Zenas Gallion began college at Long lege or even another public institution,” More than 38 million student loan eligible. nationwide. Island University, quickly took on a $4,000 Peterson says. “It was really affordable. I’m loan for his first semester and saw how his on very strong financial footing now and debt could grow beyond his means to repay. consider myself very lucky to have avoided So he quit school. “I thought, ‘I don’t think I the debt trap.”

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GRANTS&HONORS NEWSWIRE

Continued from page 1 Sorkin, who received a “Design Mind” Award that recognizes a visionary who has had a AVE YOU HEARD? The media campaign CUNY Countdown is in high gear to profound impact on design theory, practice or Hboost voter registration and participation… The University’s Energy Institute public awareness; and James Wines, the subject has developed a battery with breakthrough technology that ultimately can be of the Spitzer School’s exhibition this year “Line used to reduce greenhouse gases from vehicles… And a CUNY team in South Around An Idea,” who was honored with a Africa found baboons stick to a healthy diet no matter what the food temptation. “Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Patricia Velasco of Queens College has Trustees Vice Chair Philip Berry, received $497,597 in grant support from the N.Y. Rudolph Crew and Trustees Search State Department of Education for a “Bilingual Committee Chair Valerie Beal Common Core Initiative at Queens College.” The National Science Foundation has awarded a $249,998 grant to Frank Burbrink of the College of Staten Island for “Collaborative Research: An Inclusive Phylogeny for the Pseudoxyrhophine Snakes in Madagascar: Understanding Causes of Species Diversification.” Joshua Fifth Annual Freilich Freilich of John Jay College MWBE Conference has received a $113,486 grant from the Department of Homeland Crew, El-Mohandes Arrive, Peruggi Construction Fund Trustees Appoint Five New Security, via the University of Maryland, for the Retires. This fall, the University welcomes Hosts Minority Women Distinguished Professors. The Board of “Creation and Analysis of an Integrated U.S. two new college leaders and bids farewell to Business Conference Trustees recently approved the appointment Security Database.” the first woman president of Kingsborough In an effort to build more connections with of five new Distinguished Professors. Three Community College. Rudolph Crew, former Community diverse contractors and architects, CUNY are already members of the doctoral faculty: Borough of Manhattan New York City schools chancellor and most College has received $1,721,911 from the N.Y. and the City University Construction Fund Joshua B. Freeman, a history professor at recently Oregon’s chief education officer, State Education Department for “Perkins IV recently hosted the fifth annual Minority Queens College; Yunping Jiang, a mathemat- becomes the new president of Medgar Post-Secondary-Academic Support Services,” Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) con- ics professor also at Queens College; and Evers College. At the CUNY School of directed by Sandra Rumayor and Sadie Bragg. ference at John Jay College of Criminal Daniel M. Greenberger, longtime physics pro- Public Health in East Harlem, Dr. Ayman The National Institutes of Health has awarded a Justice. Last year, CUNY was responsible fessor at City College. Two professors will A.E. El-Mohandes, a pediatrician and inter- $141,300 grant to Ryan Murelli of Brooklyn for 20 percent of all new construction in join the CUNY Graduate Center as new facul- nationally recognized researcher in infant College for “Synthetic and Biological Studies of New York. The University’s facilities ty this fall: mathematics professor Jeremy mortality, takes the helm as new dean. The Understudies Unti-Tubercular.” Marzie Jafari of include 303 buildings throughout the five Kahn comes from Brown University and his- dean will be the subject of an interview in Lehman College has received $125,731 from boroughs. Speaking at the conference, Iris tory professor Megan Vaughan leaves an upcoming issue of CUNY Matters. Dr. Hospital League, Local 1199, for “Health Care Weinshall, vice chancellor for facilities Cambridge University for CUNY. El-Mohandes, a native of Egypt, served as Careers Core Curriculum/Certificate in Alcohol planning, construction and management, dean of the College of Public Health at the and Substance Abuse Counseling.” said with so many new projects, this is a ‘CUNY Countdown’ to Boost Voter University of Nebraska Medical Center great chance to partner with more minority Registration, Turnout. As election excite- Anne Zissu, chair of the business since 2009. And after nine years of service and women-owned businesses. Gov. Andrew ment builds across the city, the University department at New York City College of at Kingsborough Community College, Cuomo set a goal of 20 percent participa- launched a new “CUNY Countdown” social Technology, was the lead expert witness on President Regina Peruggi announced in tion by MWBEs in New York State. media campaign to increase voter registra- behalf of the plaintiffs in the April that she would retire. The news came Weinshall said CUNY has met that goal for tion levels and boost turnout at the polls. recent landmark $500 shorty after Kingsborough was named the past two fiscal years. In 2013, CUNY For 10 days leading to the Sept. 10 prima- million settlement of a class among the four best community colleges in spent $14.7 million on minority women’s ry and Nov. 5 general election, CUNY will action suit against the U.S. by the Aspen Institute. business enterprises. send University-wide email blasts and use Countrywide Financial Corporation. The case, which Zissu was litigated for five years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, resulted in the nation’s Jamaica Bay at the podium, and Interim largest mortgage-backed securities class action Chancellor William P. Kelly settlement. The plaintiffs were multiple Ecosystem (far right) at the conference retirement funds in Maine, Iowa, California and announcing the creation of the Oregon. Science and Resilience Institute Simone Rodriguez-Dorestant of Medgar Evers College has received four collaborative grants, totaling $936,743, for the following projects: $350,000 for the “Liberty Partnership Program,” with Lisa Superville- Jones; $278,681 for the “MEC Science Technology Entry Program,” with William Bailey; and $183,062 for the “Science, Math and Robotics Science Technology Entry Program,” with John Brown, all from the N.Y. State Education Department; and $125,000 from United Way for “Attendance CUNY-Led Team’s Research to Focus on Jamaica Bay Ecosystem Improvement/Dropout Prevention Program,” with Suzanne Hurley. he City University of New York will lead a con- gram for Jamaica Bay and the entire watershed.” ence. They also highlighted progress toward coop- Queens College has received $333,334 in Tsortium of top-tier research institutions in More broadly, said Vice Chancellor for erative management of 10,000 acres of federal- studying the interaction of storms, rising sea lev- Research Gillian Small, the new institute “pre- and city-owned parks in and around Jamaica Bay. grant funding from the Office of DARPA and the els and the impact of urban development in a sents an exceptional opportunity for CUNY and The CUNY-led research consortium includes U.S. Air Force for research entitled “SPARKLER new Science and Resilience Institute centered on our partners to test and evaluate the ideas and Columbia University’s Earth Institute and its — Scalable Prosodic Anomaly and Relational Jamaica Bay. programs that will become seedbeds for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Cornell Knowledge Exploration of Language with “Together with our distinguished partners, we wider movement to create a more sustainable University, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Enhanced Robustness,” directed by Andrew will engage in a groundbreaking effort to revital- and resilient world.” Studies, New York Sea Grant, Rutgers University’s Rosenberg. Deborah Vess of the College of ize the Jamaica Bay ecosystem,” Interim Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Secretary of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Stevens Staten Island has been awarded a $214,326 Chancellor William P. Kelly said. The goal is “a Interior Sally Jewell joined Kelly in announcing cre- Institute of Technology, Stony Brook University and grant from the N.Y. State Education Department comprehensive revitalization and restoration pro- ation of the institute at an Aug. 12 press confer- the Wildlife Conservation Society. Continued on Page 10 ‰

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NEWSWIRE

prize for GetKosher.com, which makes it fast and easy to get delivery from kosher restaurants. • Baruch undergraduate finance major Eli Attias was awarded fourth prize, access to the virtual business incubator, for Coufsa, which will partner will shipping companies like Fedex and UPS to allow retailers to advertise and offer coupons to a targeted ZIP CODE audience on the blank spaces of the packages. • Baruch undergraduate finance major Ronald Zorrilla’s fifth-place entry, Outdoor Project, is a nonprofit that will partner with the New York City school system, as well as religious and cultural institutions, to offer elementary-school children outdoor experiences. He will use the virtual business incubator to finalize the idea.

Look for Pepsi. The City University of New York has signed a $20.75 million agreement that gives the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Inc., exclusive rights to provide most carbonated and noncarbonated drinks on campuses for the next 10 years. After the contract took effect on July 1, Pepsi distributed first-year royalties totaling more than $1.38 million above the previous contracts that individual colleges had Facebook and Twitter to post daily The baboon diet. If you want to eat signed with varying vendors. reminders about registration deadlines and healthy, ape the baboon. When Queens Future royalties will vary with sales, voting issues. Students will also be encour- College associate professor Larissa Swedell which also will be the basis for dividing the aged to serve as primary and Election Day and a trio of students spent a month study- revenue among campuses. The colleges will poll workers or interpreters, positions that ing the eating habits of a female baboon in use the revenue to enhance programs. In pay up to $575 for completing a training the Tokai Forest of Table Mountain National addition, the CUNY Athletic Conference course, passing an exam, and working two Park in Cape Town, South Africa, they dis- will receive $300,000 over 10 years; previ- election days. covered that she was never tempted to ously, it did not receive any income from The theme of the CUNY Countdown is overindulge. No matter what goodies they “pouring rights.” Another $200,000 over the “My City, Our Future, CUNY Votes.” More offered, she stuck mostly to her veggies. life of the contract will support CUNY-wide information is available at the CUNY Votes or campus-based sustainability initiatives. website (www.cuny.edu/vote) and a CUNY In the spring of 2012, CUNY’s Board of Votes Facebook page and Twitter account Trustees voted to seek a University-wide beverage contract. The trustees acted after #cunyvotes. clean water. Irvington Mayor Brian Smith, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief During a meeting to launch the CUNY who happens to be a Republican, placed the Operating Officer Allan Dobrin identified a Countdown campaign, Senior Vice blame on both parties, but said the facts potentially higher stream of revenue by sin- Chancellor Jay Hershenson reported that clearly warranted more spending in this gle University-wide contract instead of the nearly 60 percent of CUNY students are reg- area. istered to vote, exceeding the average voter varying beverage contracts that individual colleges had executed with different vendors. registration rate for New York City college The play’s the thing. Over the summer, a Following a standard procurement process, age students by almost 10 percentage points. dozen master’s students took roles as “act- the University named a committee Interim Chancellor William P. Kelly ing” teachers at the Kigali Institute of composed of five campus vice presidents for attributed the high rate of voter participation Education in Rwanda. The idea of bringing administration and chaired by Deputy Chief among students to the University’s historic drama to the classroom was to help the insti- Operating Officer for Management Services public-service mission, coupled with more tute’s students perfect their pedagogical Burt Sacks. The commit- recent outreach efforts of the CUNY Votes skills so they can make lessons fun, partici- tee interviewed company campaign, civic partnerships, social media, patory and thought provoking. At the end of Ten teams of NYC college students used representatives, who and the scheduling of dozens of mayoral the three-week training, the group acted out their brains to promote their business ideas then submitted their forums across CUNY’s 24 campuses. the principles in a play. at the 11th Annual SmartPitch Challenge, a The University struck partnerships with partnership of the CUNY Institute for best and final offers. The panel chose Pepsi several civic organizations to increase city- Recharge. The Energy Institute has devel- Virtual Enterprise, the Lawrence N. Field because it offered more wide voter participation including the New oped a highly efficient zinc-manganese Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch money and more forms York Public Interest Group, the New York rechargeable battery College and IBM. of promotional support City Campaign Finance Board Voter whose breakthrough Baruch undergrad Dwight Peters, the top than competitors. The Assistance Unit, Common Cause and technology ultimately winner, took home $5,000 for contract covers carbon- Citizen’s Union. can be used to reduce CrowdCases.com, a B2B company that ated and noncarbonated greenhouse gas emis- makes limited-edition iPhone and Samsung natural and artificially It’s no secret that the water quality of sions from vehicles, Galaxy cases for nonprofits’ fundraisers. flavored nonalcoholic the Hudson River stinks, but a new study improve gas mileage The designs are voted on via social media, beverages, including by Queens College, Riverkeeper and and supply renewable and $7 from each sale is funneled back to sodas, juices, cold teas, Columbia University provided startling energy farms. The $5- the charity. bottled water, sports raw fuel for a U.S. political agenda. The million project was The other winners were: drinks and cold packaged coffee drinks. study, led by Queens College assistant pro- funded by the Energy • Baruch MBA student John Fout won fessor Gregory O’Mullan, tapped sites from Department’s $2,500 and the second-place place spot for New York Harbor to the Tappan Zee Bridge Sohha Greek Yogurt, which is from a family Advanced Research Get daily Newswire reports at cuny.- and affirmed that illness-causing, antibiot- recipe. He plans to add vegetables and other Projects Agency and edu/newswire. To download the free app for your ic-resistant bacteria do indeed multiply savory toppings to it as is done in will be manufactured mobile device, search The City when untreated sewage overflows pipes. Mediterranean countries and bring it to the by Urban Electric University of New York at the Apple Armed with these facts, U.S. Rep. Nita U.S. market. Power, which has a or Android online stores. Or snap Lowey (D-Harrison) took congressional Baruch undergraduate finance student history of making eco- • the nearby box with your smart- Republicans to task for cutting money for Morris Sued took the third-place $1,000 friendly batteries. phone to subscribe to Newswire.

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 5 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 6

CUNYRESEARCH BREAKING THE CODE OF Nobel Prize winner Karle’s legacy lives on in Baruch student’s research

By Margaret Ramirez OYAL PURPLE, the color of robes swathing the er have been possible if not for the work of CUNY Nobel fields, and inspired countless young scientists including emperors of Rome, ancient kings and high laureate Jerome Karle, who died in June at age 94. Karle Lavinda. priests, and prized for its richness of hue and a shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for creating the “It’s an immeasurable contribution,” said Lavinda of brightness that wouldn’t fade, has long carried method for determining the X-ray crystal structures of Karle’s work. “Virtually, all drug development is heavily its own molecular mystery. molecules. reliant on X-ray crystallography. When you think of how RFor years, chemists tried but failed to crack the code Karle’s discovery revolutionized research into new many lives have been saved and how much progress we for the dye used to create Tyrian purple, named for the drugs, paved the way for advances in medicine and other have made in just a small amount of time, it’s hard to even ancient city of Tyre where it was found. Solving its molec- quantify.” ular structure held out the promise of important informa- Hunter College chemistry professor Lou Massa, a col- tion for the textile industry and could lead to use of the league and close friend of Karle, said the Nobel Prize crys- indigo dye for medical fluorescent probes. tallized Karle’s fame as one of the greatest scientists of his The original source of the highly valued dye had long “Karle had to have this whole imagination to see generation. been known — predatory sea snails — but the crystal “Solving X-ray crystal structures … was for decades structure of the indigo pigment, monobromoindigo, or atoms and understand that every atom has its own thought to be mathematically impossible,” Massa said. MBI, remained a puzzle. “There is now almost no field of science and technology Intrigued, Baruch College chemistry student Olga charges and how they are influencing each other wherein crystal structures are not important.” Lavinda teamed with Baruch chemistry professor Keith Karle was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1918, and Ramig, and together they were able to crystallize MBI for and how to calculate the prediction of where attended Abraham Lincoln High School. At 15, he graduat- the first time and solve its structure, publishing their find- ed and enrolled in City College. His student commute was ings last year in the prestigious journal of X-ray crystal grueling, he recalled in his autobiography, traveling three structures, Acta Crystallographica C. those atoms have to be. That to me is absolutely hours a day on the subway from Coney Island to City “I was amazed that this was possible and it inspired me College and back. a lot,” said Lavinda, who earned a bachelor’s degree from mind-boggling.” After earning his undergraduate degree from City Baruch in 2011 and is currently a Ph.D. fellow at New York — Olga Lavinda College in 1937, Karle received a master’s degree in biolo- University. Baruch graduate 2011 gy from Harvard University in 1938 and later a doctorate But her remarkable research on MBI would likely nev- in chemistry from the University of Michigan, where he met his future wife and frequent laboratory partner, Isabella. Near the end of World War II Karle worked at the University of Chicago on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, focusing on the extraction and purifi- cation of plutonium. In 1946, Karle and his wife moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the Naval Research Laboratory where he remained for more than 60 years, becoming the U.S. Navy’s highest-ranking scientist. The following year, CCNY classmate and mathematician Herbert A. Hauptman joined the laboratory and they began working with X-rays and crystal structures. X-ray crystallography had been discovered in 1912 by physicist Max von Laue as an important technique for displaying the atomic structure of a crystallized molecule by ana- lyzing X-rays. But it was impossible to calculate exact structure because the difference in positions of scattered X-rays was unknown. Karle and Hauptman’s breakthrough was to devise a mathematical formula in X-ray crystallography for solving those unknown atomic positions. Their discovery, known as the “direct method,” is now used by scientists worldwide to discern the structures and shapes of complex molecules. “One of the fundamental ideas in chem-

Olga Lavinda worked with Baruch chemistry professor Keith Ramig to crystallize the structure of the indigo pigment.

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CUNYRESEARCH F ROYAL PURPLE

istry is atomic structure,” Massa said. “In medicine, when a drug is discovered the first question that is asked is: what is its structure? So, Karle’s legacy is in providing the mathematics to solve that structure. And that is an amazing discovery.” When Karle and Hauptman published their discovery in the early 1950s, it was met with some opposition by scientists who weren’t sure it worked. In his autobiography on the Nobel website, Karle recalled with frustration “a large number of fellow scientists did not believe a single word we said.” With increased use of computers in the 1970s, the “direct method” was confirmed and gained wide acceptance. The process of discerning the structure of three-dimension- al molecules, which had sometimes taken months or years, could now be completed in a matter of days. According to the Naval Research Laboratory, Karle’s work enabled the charac- terization of potent toxins, antitoxins, heart drugs, antibiotics, antiaddictive substances, CCNY Nobel laureate anticarcinogens, anti-malarials, and explo- Jerome Karle shared the 1985 prize in chemistry. sives and propellants. Karle worked at the Naval Today, scientists, like Ramig, stand in awe Research Laboratory for of Karle for his brilliance and perseverance. more than 60 years. “When we say, here is the structure of a molecule, it has to be based on a certain method of analysis and X-ray crystallography also known for encouraging young people to devote their factly: “Oh, that does not look too hard. Would you mind if is the only direct method where you can almost see the lives to science. That interest in mentoring future scien- I tried to crystallize the molecule for you?” atoms,” Ramig explained. tists grew after he received the Nobel Prize, Massa said. Within a few weeks, she and Ramig had made the crys- “So, Karle wrote the mathematics for solving the crystal “He loved talking about science to young people,” tals, using a method known as high-temperature recrystal- structures. In those days, back in the 50s, they did calcula- Massa said. “Youngsters wrote to him from faraway places. lization. Dr. David Szalda, a Baruch chemistry professor, tions by hand, and the mathematics is incredibly complex. He not only wrote back, he wrote to their parents, too, used the crystals to solve the structure. But Karle was able to do it.” with his best advice for supporting curiosity and freedom For Lavinda, the research with the indigo-like In more recent research, Karle, along with Massa and of thought in their children.” molecules formed an important part of her career because CUNY Ph.D. graduate student Lulu Huang, created a new Karle would have appreciated Lavinda’s intelligence it allowed her to learn about crystallography, as well as field known as quantum crystallography that combined X- and skill in solving the problem of the purple-dye origins of color, both fascinating branches of chemistry. ray diffraction data for crystals with quantum mechanics, molecule. But the research also made her realize the extraordi- according to the Naval laboratory. Massa said he met Lavinda when she came to Hunter to nary nature of Karle’s work, she said. Aside from his groundbreaking research, Karle was study physical chemistry. While they were having coffee “It blew my mind that somebody could mathematically one day, Massa told her about define or describe the positions of atoms in space,” the difficulty in crystallizing Lavinda said. the MBI molecule. “He had to have this whole imagination to see atoms During their conversation, and understand that every atom has its own charges and Massa showed Lavinda a how they are influencing each other and how to calculate research paper related to MBI the prediction of where those atoms have to be. That to and explained how several me is absolutely mind-boggling.” professional synthetic chemists had failed to crystallize the molecule. Lavinda, a Ukrainian native, stared at the “Solving X-ray crystal structures … was for line drawing of the MBI molecule in the paper. She then said matter of decades thought to be mathematically impossible. There is now almost no field of science and technology For the past several years, Massa spent summers wherein crystal structures are not important.” working at the Naval Research Laboratory in — Lou Massa Washington, D.C., to work Hunter College chemistry professor and close friend of Karle directly with Karle.

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 7 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 8

CITYCULTURE El Diario100 Years of News By Margaret Ramirez

HEN AN EAST HARLEM LAWYER named Oscar García Rivera was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1937, La Prensa covered the news as the history it was for its Wreaders and the country: Rivera that day became the first Puerto Rican elected to public office in the United States.

Two decades later, La Prensa and its new competitor, El Through the decades, the city’s Hispanic population grew Diario, were covering not only news, momentous or and diversified with the arrival of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, mundane, but also events that changed the city’s cultural Dominicans and Mexicans, and their political and economic fabric: The struggle to organize the first Puerto Rican Day struggles gave Spanish-language journalists much to cover — Parade in 1956. The assassination of Dominican Republic and advocate. El Diario de Nueva York came on the scene in President Rafael Trujillo in 1961. The wave of immigration to 1948, and the two newspapers not only documented the his- Washington Heights. tory of New York City’s Latinos, but became their fiercest By the late 1970s, a few years after they merged, New advocates on labor, education and immigration. The motto York’s Spanish-language papers formed a single institution so on the front page plainly states that mission: “El Campeon de entrenched and influential that it sometimes made news los Hispanos” or “The Champion of the Hispanics.” itself: In 1978, after reporting on possible Edwin Meléndez, professor of urban affairs negotiations for the release of Cuban pris- and planning at Hunter College and director of oners, its offices were bombed by a the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, said El paramilitary group opposed to Fidel Diario’s centennial is significant because it com- Castro. memorates detailed reporting on Latino historic The merged paper, now known as El events that received minimal coverage by main- Diario/La Prensa, is the nation’s oldest stream English-language newspapers. Spanish-language daily newspaper, and “El Diario is a window to the history of the this year it celebrates its 100th anniver- community here,” Meléndez said. “The newspa- sary. To commemorate the milestone, the per reflects the vibrancy of the community.” Brooklyn-based paper has organized a In a recent interview with the Spanish news number of projects and events, including agency Efe, El Diario publisher Rossana Rosado an interactive centennial website and a said: “During these years, we’ve been the voice of photo exhibit tracing the growth and New York Latinos, especially during the times transformation of New York’s Latino com- Aside from its historical when we didn’t have a voice.” munity over the past century. Aside from its historical significance, El In gathering historic newspapers and significance, El Diario Diario editors and Latino leaders say the paper photos for the centennial, El Diario editors has served two additional roles: helping immi- and researchers worked closely with the editors and Latino leaders grants adjust to their new home and advocating of homesickness that he and my mother — and so many oth- Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter for Latinos from the Prohibition era through ers of their generation — felt for su patria.” College’s Silberman School of Social Work say the paper has served today’s battle over immigration reform. La Prensa was founded by Rafael Viera, a Spaniard, and in in East Harlem. The center library houses In a commemorative supplement, Pulitzer- 1963, its 50th year, merged with El Diario, forming El the most comprehensive collection of El Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos wrote Diario/La Prensa. In 2003, Canadian newspaper executive Diario and La Prensa on microfilm and an two additional roles: about how his father always arrived home from John Paton purchased the paper, merged it with the Los extensive cache of archival images and work with a copy of El Diario in hand. Hijuelos, a Angeles-based Spanish newspaper La Opinión and co-found- documents on Latinos in New York. helping immigrants adjust City College graduate, is the son of Cuban immi- ed impreMedia, the largest news and information company The modern-day El Diario traces its grants who arrived in New York in 1943. for Hispanics in the United States. roots to the founding of the weekly La to their new home and “Like a ray of sunlight, this newspaper surely Last year, the Argentinian newspaper company La Nación Prensa in 1913, around the time when made my father’s hard-working days more purchased impreMedia, with plans to boost readership of its Spaniards were settling in Lower advocating for Latinos enjoyable and, I think, less culturally lonely,” online and digital operations. El Diario/La Prensa has an Manhattan amid the strife of World War I Hijuelos wrote. “For in those times, long before average daily paid circulation of about 40,000 readers. and establishing a thriving community of from the Prohibition era the event of television stations like Univision Reflecting on the archives, El Diario executive editor Erica families that imported wine and olives, and Telemundo — when Spanish-language pub- González said that in the early years there was more empha- performed operatic zarzuelas at the newly through today’s battle lications were not so easily available as they are sis on Latin American and international news. Today, the constructed Apollo Theatre and formed now, the newspaper he read faithfully in the paper still includes coverage of major Latin American events, cultural societies. over immigration reform. evenings after work surely helped ease the pangs but its main focus is local news.

8 CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 9

CITYCULTURE ws — and Advocacy — for the Spanish-Speaking Community

Photographer Justo Marti buying a copy of La Prensa at a NYC newsstand (center). La Prensa, which started as a weekly in 1913, merged with EL Diario in 1963. The paper was to be found at the city’ s bode- gas catering to ethnic tastes (bottom, right).

vicemen from New York prompted El Diario to publish stories and profiles of soldiers on the frontlines that families could read back home. The paper even began offering special gift subscriptions that families could purchase for Latino troops serving in Vietnam. The coupon read: “A special service for the men who defend democracy.” “The idea that this newspaper was a lifeline to hundreds of soldiers and that it provided comfort to young sons facing uncertainty and death is deeply moving,” Rosado said. Indeed, in the 1960s the bond between El Diario and the Latino community was so strong — and trust of the police so weak — that criminal suspects were apt to turn themselves in at the newspaper offices instead of at the local police precinct. In February 1961, for example, the paper reported that Julio Soto Maduro walked into La Prensa’s offices after stab- bing his neighbor for making too much noise in his Brooklyn building. “She collapsed and I ran away without bothering to take out the knife, got on the subway and headed toward La Studies Prensa,” Maduro told the police editor. at Hunter, said the print edition of El The news dominated the front page the next day, but Diario still serves a purpose for the newly arrived immigrant Carlos Rodríguez Martorell, a freelance writer who without access to the Internet. researched 100 years of El Diario’s archives, said people turn- “The reality is that not everyone has access to those ing themselves in became so common that it stopped being resources. Even if they have the access, El Diario is an easy front-page news and was moved inside the paper. The phe- way to keep in touch with what’s happening,” Meléndez said. nomenon died out in the 1970s. “It is still a newspaper that is catering to that niche, the In addition to its advocacy, El Diario/La Prensa won recent immigrant.” acclaim for investigative journalism, which highlighted abuse While the Internet has fueled the rise of hundreds of toward Latinos. In 1961, the paper published a series of inves- Latino websites and blogs, González said El Diario’s unique tigative stories that exposed the harsh conditions for Puerto brand of ethnic and advocacy journalism is still needed. Rican migrant workers in rural areas. The headlines read: “El Diario champions workers, tenants and others in ways “Esclavizan a Boricuas en NY” or “Enslaved Puerto Ricans in that many other media don’t,” González said. “We bring per- NY” and “Por $13 Venden a Boricuas” or “Puerto Ricans Sold spectives and experiences to the table that others don’t or for $13.” that others catch onto after the fact. We give voice to issues In recent years, El Diario/La Prensa, like many other that are marginalized or invisible elsewhere.” newspapers, has faced declining print circulation and began “What has changed throughout the decades is the diversi- devoting more resources to improving its web- ty of Latino communities,” she said. “In the earlier decades, site, digital content, and mobile applications. there is more of a noticeable reflection of Spaniards, Cubans, According to 2010 census figures, the U.S. Puerto Ricans, then Dominicans, South Americans, and more Latino population grew to more than 50 million, recently, Mexicans and Central Americans. El Diario/La with most of the growth attributed to U.S. births, Prensa has been responsive to different waves of immigration rather than the arrival of new immigrants. and growth.” Latinos are also increasingly bilingual, which Despite the changing faces of Latino immigration, could signal trouble for the future of Spanish- González said the paper’s mission has remained the same. language media. But a recent report by the Pew “Throughout our archives, you see a consistent thread — the Research Center found that it is faring better advocacy for Latinos,” she said. “In all of the decades, the than its mainstream English-language counter- commitment to that mission is evident. For example, during parts and remains “important to a changing, the Prohibition era La Prensa railed against city inspectors more acculturated, and more U.S.-born for coming down on a Puerto Rican mother selling Hispanic population in the United States.” moonshine to support her children. So this interest in While dozens of major English-language defending our community has been a defining characteristic newspapers have been forced to shut down, the of El Diario/La Prensa.” Pew report found the total number of Spanish- During the Vietnam War, the large number of Latino ser- language newspapers has remained stable. Meléndez, of the Center for Puerto Rican

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 9 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/21/13 11:33 AM Page 10

GRANTS&HONORS GREATTEACHERS

Continued from page 4 for the “Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program (C-Step).” Regina Miranda of Hunter College has received a $169,290 grant from PHS/NIH/National Institute of Mental Health for “Measurement of Social-Cognitive Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation and Behavior.” Christina Tortora of the Department of English at the College of Staten Island organized the 43rd Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages, held for the first time in New York City, which brought together the preeminent Romance linguists from all over Europe, Latin America, Canada and the United States. The symposium was sponsored by the college and held at the Graduate Center. The American Physical Society has announced that Robert Alfano, Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at City College, will receive the 2013 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, which includes a $10,000 stipend, for “pioneering contributions to the field of ultrafast NAME: laser science, including the discovery of Dara Byrne supercontinuum generation and new laser materials, as well as the study of pulse propagation in strongly COLLEGE: scattering media.” John Jay College TITLE: The U.S. Department of Education has Associate professor awarded Borough of Manhattan Community College of Communication a $575,000 grant for a project, directed by Erwin and Theatre Arts Wong, “V e-Learning Grant- Strengthening Academic FOCUS: Programs.” City College has “Most people hate received a $372,925 grant from the idea of public the National Institutes of Health speaking. All your for research on the insecurities come up. “Neurobehavioral Consequences You’re exposed, Wong of Adolescent Alcohol: Role of you’re vulnerable, Gonadal Hormones,” directed by your thoughts about Ratna Sircar. “Teacher Education for Advanced competency are the Science Preparation,” a project directed by Stefan elephant in the Becker of Lehman College, has been awarded classroom.” $236,312 in grant funding from the N.Y.C. Department of Education. Ivonne Barreras of New York City College of Technology has received two grants from the N.Y. State Education Department: $200,000 for “Title IIA TLQP,” and $164,189 for the “Science and Technology Entry Program.” Robert Abramovitz of Learning to Speak Your Mind Hunter College has received $300,000 in grant funding from Fordham University/Substance Abuse & Mental Health S.A. for “Creating and Sustaining the ARA BYRNE, an associate professor of commu- Great teaching is at the heart of grading, her assessment rubric and college stan- Next Generation of Trauma-Informed Practitioners.” nication and theatre arts at John Jay College of dards, so there won’t be surprises when they are evalu- The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a Criminal Justice, says her “favorite place is in of a great university, and Dara ated. Afterward, she says, students are less likely to $132,514 grant to Eric Neutuch and John Graham of Da class with freshmen, because I enjoy helping hand in subpar assignments. “They’ll say, ‘I didn’t get Borough of Manhattan Community College for them see what the higher-education environment can it done and won’t insult you with an excuse.’” “BMCC MEOC TRIO – Education Opportunity Center do for them.” Byrne is among The Princeton Freshmen need such an introduction to college-level Project.” And she teaches just the course – the one they don’t learning to succeed socially and academically, she want to take. Review’s The Best 300 says. Queensborough Community College “Most people hate the idea of public speaking,” Junior psychology major Radhalisa Zarzuela says has received two grants from the N.Y. State says Byrne, who also directs the William E. Macaulay Professors (Random House Byrne’s public-speaking course was far from easy. Education Department: $299,087 for “CSTEP – Honors College at John Jay. “They dread being in front of “When we’d give a speech, if we didn’t have enough Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program,” an audience. All your insecurities come up. You’re 2012) selected from among eye contact, she’d tell us to calm down and relax, try to under the direction of Paul Jean- exposed, you’re vulnerable, your thoughts about compe- engage and have a conversation,” she says. “I’d look at Pierre and Marie-Francesca tency are the elephant in the room. It’s a great class to 42,000 submissions and 1,000 her and learn how to look at others. She taught us how Berrouet; and $212,990 for have right out of high school.” to get people’s attention.” “Liberty Partnerships Program Public speaking is part of John Jay’s First Year semifinalists nationwide. Preparing for doctoral studies via the federal — Project PRIZE,” directed by Experience. Byrne grounds discussion and research in Ronald E. McNair undergraduate program, Zarzuela Paul Jean-Pierre and Sherri- issues that directly affect students, giving them a forum to explore topics in conducts research with assistant professor Maureen Allwood on how home Ann Simmons. Jean-Pierre front of their peers. violence relates to jealousy and aggression. She also tutors public-speaking The Mayor’s Fund to Byrne asks students to combine aspects of ancient Greek rhetorical prac- students who are in the SEEK Program for high-potential, low-income stu- Advance New York City has tice – the Western standard – with contemporary communication techniques. dents. awarded $334,346 to Saul W. Katz of Kingsborough Emphasizing public speaking as a means to civic engagement, she tells stu- Byrne edited several books in Black Issues in Higher Education’s Community College for the project “Access to dents that if their ideas can improve society, they have a responsibility to pre- Landmarks in Civil Rights History series, including The Unfinished Agenda of Success”; while the National Secretariat of Migrant sent them effectively to others, which takes practice and skill. “It isn’t what Brown v. Board of Education. She looked at race, ethnicity and learning on Affairs (SENAMI) has extended $200,000 in grant you say to people, it’s what they hear, so you need to think about your audi- social networking sites for the MacArthur Foundation’s book series on youth, funding to George Contreras and Saul W. Katz for ence. I see this course as a learn-to-teach model,” she says. digital media and learning. “Education and Training for Ecuadorian Nationals.” Students write speeches, read famous speeches, watch TED Talks and She also recently co-authored a paper on cyberbullying with senior John The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has study research on student engagement. They learn to rewrite and take a dif- Cusick, who intends to enter a J.D./Ph.D. program. Cusick says Byrne’s public- awarded a $368,463 grant to Richard Veit of the ferent approach if a rhetorical stratagem isn’t working. speaking course “played a major role in my intellectual development.” Calling College of Staten Island for “Avifauna Survey.” She has a clever way to help her students assess their own work. She Byrne “a support system,” he adds that she was readily available to help with Continued on page 12‰ gives them speeches from prior classes – some As, some Fs, some in between work and consider graduate programs and fellowships. “Every time I speak – for them to “grade” before they write their own. They discuss the mechanics with her, I learn something new about myself,” he says.

10 CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:50 PM Page 11

SCIENCEONTHEPATH

Chip to evaluate the effectiveness of drugs on cancer cells (above) and developers City College assistant professor Sihong Wang, left, and City From College Ph.D. Zeynep Dereli Korkut. Discovery

over three years. If there’s one thing Dereli has learned, NYCRIN includes 22 other universities in New York, New it’s “the importance of customers. If to the Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, including Princeton, there’s no demand for your technology, Yale and SUNY. “Our aim is to become a global there’s no reason to try to market it.” leader in technology innovation Marketplace and entrepreneurial business tors — and not only to facilitate the shift development by leveraging the from an academic to a business mindset. innovation ecosystem in New “When inventors get into the real world and OT LONG AGO, assistant professor York City, which meshes with other initia- discover, say, that their remote-sensing dis- from the “it’s-a-go” stage to “we’ve made it.” Sihong Wang and Zeynep Dereli tives aimed toward building research and covery could be developed as a medical At the event, Medgar Evers assistant Korkut, who earned her Ph.D. in entrepreneurship at CUNY,” Small said. device, the mentor needs connections and a chemistry professor Michele Vittadello said NWang’s lab at City College’s Grove Those initiatives include the University’s Rolodex in that sector.” that under an Air Force contract, he seeks “a School of Engineering, would have technology transfer office, which licenses Universities generally own the patents to bottom-up reconstruction of the molecular rhapsodized about the dinner-mint-sized patented discoveries, and a forthcoming researchers’ discoveries and take equity components of photosynthesis to produce chip that simultaneously evaluates the effec- business incubator. positions in startups, although professors hydrogen.” In the process, he developed a tiveness of dozens of cancer drugs on an indi- NSF designated similar centers at Georgia retain some rights. “If we don’t play in this resin that he says can purify proteins far bet- vidual patient’s tumor cells. Now, thanks to Tech; University of Michigan; University of arena, the most creative faculty will not ter than existing products. “It’s predicted entrepreneurship training that CUNY leads Maryland; with George Washington come or stay here,” Small said. Other univer- that in the next 10 years, seven to 10 of the with Columbia and New York Universities, University and Virginia Tech; and University sities, particularly in California, have the most-sold drugs will be proteins isolated they also discuss commercializing the device. of California-Berkeley, with Stanford and research-commercialization loop down to, from natural resources,” he says. If there’s one thing Dereli has learned, it’s UC-San Francisco. well, a science. Wang and Dereli of City College are in I- “the importance of customers. If there’s no NYCRIN trains entrepreneurial teams to NSF awards each team that it selects Corps training at Berkeley. Oncologists could demand for your technology, there’s no rea- determine whether a discovery is commer- $50,000 for the training. The centers use the use their device — which has 100 chambers, son to try to market it.” cially viable and, if so, whether licensing or same seven-week, National Innovation each less than a millimeter wide — to quickly Understanding that a gee-whiz discovery starting a company makes more sense. More Corps (I-Corps) curriculum, which mixes in- find the best drug to treat each patient. doesn’t necessarily translate into a whiz- broadly, it intends to encourage person instruction and webinars. Teams Pharmaceutical companies could use a larger bang product is a key message in the entrepreneurship in the consortium must interview 100 industry experts and version to simultaneously test thousands of program, which is available to college-based through lectures, webinars, networking and potential customers before making a go/no- potentially therapeutic compounds. researchers nationwide. other means. go decision on starting a company. Teams Dereli is reaching out to regulators and to “The National Science Foundation estab- Each three-person team consists of a pro- draft a business plan with metrics for esti- hospitals and insurance companies, which lished commercialization training because fessor, a doctoral or post-doctoral student mating the chance of financial success. would pay for individuals’ tests. potentially game-changing discoveries that and a business mentor. The student is the Speaking at a NYCRIN informational Wang said the most useful information it had funded were not being taken to the team leader on the theory — and this is a gen- event in July, Errol Arkilic, who runs a non- she heard from oncologists is “that the mar- marketplace as often as they should,” said eralization — that he or she is more likely to profit venture capital fund for startups, said ket doesn’t need a perfect product, as long as Vice Chancellor for Research Gillian Small. take risks and have entrepreneurial drive, he created I-Corps when he was at NSF “as a it functions.” Previously, she had worked to She also is the principal investigator for the while professors are more likely to want to direct result of the gaps we saw in translating shrink the tubes that feed fluids to the training initiative, the New York City pursue basic research in academia. research out of labs.” He targeted the “ditch device, which measures about 1 x ½ x ½ Regional Innovation Node (NYCRIN, pro- John Blaho, who leads CUNY’s technolo- of death” where nascent companies inches. “As engineers, we first want our baby nounced ny-srin), which NSF designated in gy innovation/entrepreneurship teaching foundered before being able to apply for to be perfect. It’s hard to say, ‘We’ve done March 2013 and financed with $3.74 million efforts, underlined the importance of men- large federal grants that can take startups enough.’”

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 11 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/21/13 11:33 AM Page 12

GRANTS&HONORS ENVIRONMENT

Continued from page 10 Rooftop solar panels to heat the Science Hall’s water were among a number of Seogjoo Jang of Queens College has received sustainable technologies that earned the building its LEED Platinum Certification. $120,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for “Elucidating Positive Quantum Effects for Efficient Energy and Charge Transfer Dynamics in Soft Solar Energy Conversion Systems.” Sunil Bhaskaran of #1 in NYC Bronx Community College has received a $100,000 research grant from ESRI, PCI Geomatics. Lehman College has received a $479,973 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for a project concerned with “Meeting High Need and High Demand for Social Workers in the Bronx,” headed by Joy Greenberg, Norma Phillips, and Evan Senreich. Sheilah Paul of Medgar Evers College has received $249,682 from the U.S. Department of Education for a project entitled “Change Agents in Special Education.” Maria Tamargo of City College has been awarded a $209,000 grant from The U.S. Department of Energy for a project entitled “Enhanced Materials Based on Submonolayer Type II Quantum Dots.” Cheryl N. Williams, University associate dean of special programs, has received a $500,000 College Access Challenge Grant from the N.Y. State Higher Education Services Corporation. Borough of Manhattan Community College has received two Lehman College Science Hall grants: $308,651 from the N.Y. City Human Resources Administration for “COPE –Name College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment,” under the — So Green It’s Platinum! direction of Sondra Salley and Michael Gillespie; and $286,077 EHMAN COLLEGE’S new Science izes CUNY’s commitment to creating state- measurable green building design, construc- from the U.S. Department of Hall has earned a prestigious LEED of-the-art buildings that will enhance its tion, operations and maintenance. The non- Education for the “Upward Platinum Certification from the U.S. educational mission while reducing the profit council, based in Washington, D.C., is Boutis Bound Program,” directed by Green Building Council, making it University’s carbon footprint and increasing committed to achieving a sustainable future Antonette McKain and Michael the only teaching/research lab in energy efficiency dramatically,” Interim through cost-efficient and energy-saving Gillespie. The National Institutes of Health has NewL York City to receive the council’s high- Chancellor William P. Kelly said. green buildings. awarded $274,750 in grant funding to Gregory est award. The four-story building is the first of a More than 18,000 projects have achieved Boutis of Brooklyn College for “NMR Studies of the The hall, designed by Perkins+Will and three-phase complex that will create a “cam- LEED certification worldwide, yet fewer Effects of Mode of Birth on Vaginal Elastin.” built by the Dormitory Authority of the pus within a campus” at Lehman College than 1,200 have been awarded the highest State of New York, is the first CUNY build- dedicated to the sciences. It was constructed designation of Platinum. Sixty-seven of The College of Staten Island has been ing to win the Platinum designation. It is with $70 million in funding from New York those are in New York State, including the awarded $212,420 from the Hospital League 1199 one of only nine Platinum higher-education State, through the CUNY Capital Program. Fifth Avenue headquarters of Tiffany and for the “1199 HC4 Program,” directed by Hugo Kijne. projects in the state and is the fourth Capital funding for the rooftop greenhouse Co. and One Bryant Park, the New York The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Platinum lab in the state. of $1.5 million was provided by the New York headquarters of Bank of America and third has extended $210,309 in grant The eco friendly hall is part of the overall City Council. tallest skyscraper in the city. funding to City College for sustainability plan. It joins the CUNY School Iris Weinshall, vice chancellor for facili- “With each new LEED-certified building, “Development of a Methodology of Law, which has a LEED Gold ties planning, construction and we get one step closer to our vision of a sus- for the Retrieval of Certification, and the Bronx Community management, noted that the University has tainable built environment within a genera- Characteristics of Water College North Hall and Library and Hunter set an ambitious goal to have as much as a tion,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and Constituents from Satellite College’s School of Social Work, which are quarter of its facilities portfolio, which founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Bittman Polarimetric Observations,” LEED Silver. The two science towers under includes many historic and landmark build- Council. “As the newest member of the directed by Alex Gilerson. construction at City College are applying for ings, energy efficient by 2017. “This is a huge LEED family of green buildings, Lehman Robert Bittman of Queens College has received LEED Gold Certification, and a new building and important task that we are making great College is an important addition to the $174,375 from the National Institutes of Health for at New York City College of Technology is strides to achieve,” she said. growing strength of the green building research concerning the “Synthesis of Novel going for Silver. Lehman President Ricardo R. Fernández movement.” Bioactive Sphingolipids.” The Science Hall, which hosted its first said that Science Hall “represents the col- According to the council, buildings are The New York City Council has awarded classes in Spring 2013, earned its certifica- lege’s commitment to a culture of environ- responsible for 39 percent of carbon dioxide Kingsborough Community College $231,250 for the tion for an array of environmentally sustain- mental responsibility and the creation and emissions, 40 percent of energy consump- “Lighthouse Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program,” able technologies, including a adoption of clean- energy innovations on tion and 13 percent of water consumption directed by Michael Geller. Derrick Brazill of Hunter rainwater/greywater system to clean and re- campus and throughout New York City.” nationwide. College has received a $229,410 grant from the circulate water for use in toilets, and rooftop LEED, or Leadership in Energy and The council estimates that greater build- National Science Foundation for the study solar panels to heat the building’s water. It is Environmental Design, is an internationally ing efficiency can meet 85 percent of future “Regulation of the Cytoskeleton by Signaling Proteins also equipped with a rooftop teaching and recognized green building certification sys- U.S. demand for energy, and a national com- during Quorum Sensing.” Anne Rothstein of Lehman research greenhouse. tem that provides a framework for identify- mitment to green building could generate College has received a $225,944 grant from the N.Y. “Science Hall at Lehman College symbol- ing and implementing practical and 2.5 million American jobs. State Education Department for the “Science and Technology Entry Program: Mathematics and Science through Excellence and Research.” The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded $271,027 to Marom Bikson of City College for the project “Cellular Mechanisms QUEENS HARLEM BRONX of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded Leon Johnson of Medgar Evers College a $235,873 grant for the “New York City Research Initiative.” John Chin of Hunter College has received $213,508 in grant support from PHS/NIH/National Institute of Child Health & Human Development for “Examining the Geographies of Immigrant Sex Work: CUNY School of Law Hunter College School of Social Work An Exploratory Study of HIV Risk.” BCC North Hall and Library LEED Gold Certification LEED Silver Certification LEED Silver Certification

12 CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:51 PM Page 13

NEWTITLES / CUNYAUTHORS From Coups to Tattoos History, Reﬂections, Sociology and Fiction by University Scholars

A Century of Immigrants tattoo of a snake eating its tail (the elite intellectuals, while supposedly weaving his own fictional creations symbol of eternity) on her wrist. reactionary blue-collar workers largely around them as he spans continents ANCY FONER has edited an Published by powerHouse Books supported the war effort. In Hardhats, and leaps three centuries. His latest, Nabsorbing anthology, One Out of Hippies, and Hawks: The Vietnam TransAtlantic, opens with two Three: Immigrant New York in the My Life as a Monk Antiwar Movement as Myth and pioneers in aviation — Jack Alcock and Twenty-First Century, which features Memory, Penny Arthur Brown — the first to complete a in-depth portraits of diverse ethnic N THE FIRST PUBLICATION in Lewis challenges nonstop flight across the Atlantic in populations, revealing surprising new IEnglish of a major work by this popu- the collective 1919; the story then time travels back realities of immigrant life in the 21st lar Thai author, A Man in Saffron memory of class to Dublin in 1845, as the former slave century. A Distinguished Professor at Robes: A Rainy Season as a Buddhist polarization. Frederick Douglass arrives in Ireland Hunter College and the Graduate Monk at a Through close to raise funds for Center, Foner’s contributors include Hilltop readings of the abolitionist experts, both in and outside the Temple in archival docu- cause from a sym- University, who have shown how near- Northern ments, popular pathetic people. ly 50 years of massive inflows have Thailand, by culture, and The first part of transformed the city’s economic and Maitree media accounts the book ends in cultural life, as well as the lives of Limpichart, at the time, she New York in 1998, immigrants is now avail- offers a more accurate, “counter-mem- as former Sen. themselves. able. The ory” of a diverse, cross-class opposi- George Mitchell In her translation tion to the war in Southeast Asia that prepares to depart introduc- by Steven included the labor movement, work- for Belfast to help tion, Foner Landau, who ing-class students, soldiers and veter- negotiate the describes is project ans, Black Power, civil rights and peace agreement. And, through it all, New York’s manager for Chicano activists. Lewis, an assistant beats the heart of the Irish housemaid role as a CUNY’s Office of Computer professor of labor studies at the Joseph Lily Duggan, a pivotal character, as special Information, offers a unique Thai per- P. Murphy Institute for Worker well as her daughters and granddaugh- gateway to spective on the tradition of entering Education and Labor Studies, investi- ters. McCann, a Distinguished America, the monkhood for the rainy season — gates why the image of antiwar class Lecturer in Hunter College’s MFA and subse- called phansa — only to disrobe at the division gained such traction at the Creative Writing program, has quent end and return to life as a layman. time and has maintained such a hold garnered praise from the critics essays Limpichart’s memoir, which the on popular memory ever since. including a New York Times Book focus on Kirkus Review called a “remarkably Published by ILR Press Review that called the novel “electric the Chinese, Dominicans, Jamaicans, candid, deeply fascinating account of and profound.” Koreans, Liberians, Mexicans, and Thailand and Buddhism,” documents Published by Random House Jews from the former Soviet Union, his early preparation and ordination to Tale of Two Cities who have now become part of the city’s monkhood. HIS NEW LOOK at old rivals, New permanent fabric and future growth. Published by CreateSpace TYork and Los Angeles: The Uncertain Coup for a Despot Published by Columbia University Future, offers a fresh perspective on N AUGUST 1953, the U.S. Central Press Reﬂections of Vietnam Vets the similari- IIntelligence Agency orchestrated the ties and dis- swift overthrow of Iran’s democratical- The Tattooed Ladies RINGING IT ALL BACK HOME: similarities, ly elected lead- B An Oral History of New York City’s as well as er and installed N THIS NEW EDITION of Bodies of Vietnam Veterans, by Philip F. Napoli, functions and an unpopular ISubversion: A Secret History of assistant professor of history at dysfunctions Muhammad Women and Tattoo, 3rd Edition, Margot Brooklyn College. Although the war in between the Reza Shah Mifflin has heavily updated and Vietnam ended four decades ago, it still two cities. Pahlavi, along resplendently illustrated this edition weighs heavily on Co-edited by with his secret of the work, first published in 1997. the men and wom- Andrew police, in its The new edition arrives at a time en who served Beveridge, place. In his when, according to a 2012 Harris Poll, there, as well as professor of new book, The American women are more likely to be for those who, for sociology at Coup: 1953, tattooed than men. No longer a rebel one reason or Queens The C.I.A. and emblem, tattoos are a mainstream another, did not. College and the Graduate Center, and The Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian fashion statement, according to Napoli has worked David Halle, professor of sociology at Relations, Ervand Abrahamian, Mifflin, an assistant professor in the with Vietnam vet- the University of California, Los Distinguished Professor of Iranian and English department at Lehman erans for years as Angles, the book provides in-depth Middle Eastern History and Politics at College and director of the Art and directors of the comparative studies of the two largest the Graduate Center and Baruch Culture pro- college’s Veterans Oral History Project. metropolitan areas in the United College, reveals some of the primary gram at With his book, he has created a power- States. Written by leading experts, the motivations behind the current CUNY’s ful reminder of the lifelong sacrifices chapters discuss and compare a host of Iranian hostility toward the U.S. and Graduate made by these individuals. Bringing It economic, social and political issues, other Western governments, as well as School of All Back Home is a moving collection of while examining the achievements and the details behind the 1953 CIA-sup- Journalism, New York City veterans’ voices — in challenges faced by both regions of the ported coup that ousted Iran’s prime where she their transcribed words, as varied as nation. minister, Muhammad Mossadeq, and also teaches. the men and women who shared their Published by Oxford University Press backed the shah. Her research experiences with him. Published by New Press has Published by Hill and Wang unearthed Jumping Generations some choice Hardhats and Hippies N HIS FIRST NOVEL since the CUNY Matters welcomes information tidbits of INational Book Award-winning, Let about new books that have been written social history: Following the upper- N THE POPULAR IMAGINATION, the Great World Spin, Colum McCann or edited by faculty and members of the class social trend of the late 19th cen- Iopposition to the Vietnam War was once again places real-life historical University community. Contact: tury, Winston Churchills’ mother had a driven largely by college students and figures in the foreground, while deftly [email protected]

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 13 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/20/13 1:51 PM Page 14

FORYOURBENEFIT ‘MICROAGGRESSIONS’ IN THE WORKPLACE

HEN PRESIDENT Obama “President Obama was definitely describing is important to understand microaggres- spoke about racial discrim- microaggressions. While he did not use the sions because it gives people the framework ination after the Trayvon actual terms, he provided examples that and vocabulary to describe what has so Martin verdict, he said that black men experience regularly…. In some often been experienced.” most African-American of the research on microaggressions An extensive University report on diver- men, including himself, have been unjustly (including my own), it has been found that sity was published last year and other W the more microag- CUNY faculty have followed in department stores. Or they have heard locks click as they walk by cars — or gressions that peo- Microaggressions are aimed — in served on panels on noticed women clutching their bags when ple of color these and related they walk into an elevator. experience, the perhaps subtle and unconscious but issues as part of the His speech no doubt rang bells with more likely they are University’s diversity CUNY employees who recently have been to experience men- nevertheless detrimental ways — in initiative. At these attending sessions to learn how to identify, tal health issues, sessions, various types deal with and eradicate comparable like depression and regard to race as well as other of microaggressions “microaggressions” in the workplace. low self-esteem. are identified and dis- Microaggressions, as described by Kevin One of my recent attributes, including ethnicity, gender, cussed, as are strate- Nadal, a psychology professor at the John studies found that gies to stop them from people of color who occurring. Jay College of Criminal Justice, are aimed sexual orientation and disability. — in perhaps subtle and unconscious but experience more Participants are invit- nevertheless detrimental ways — in regard microaggressions ed to confidentially to race, as the president mentioned, as well are more likely to have a negative view of discuss their own experiences. as other attributes, including ethnicity, gen- the world, which parallels what President As did President Obama, in a far more der, sexual orientation and disability. Obama was explaining about the context of public forum. Nadal, an associate professor and deputy why African-Americans are so upset by the Rubain notes that panelists at a recent director of the Forensic Mental Health verdict and mistrustful of the justice sys- CUNY Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Counseling Program at the college, has con- tem.” According to Nadal, quantitative Conference panel on how this issue relates Rubain says: “I could relate to the example ducted educational sessions at John Jay research has found that microaggressions to race, gender and sexual orientation given of black professionals often being and other CUNY campuses for staff, stu- also have an influence on physical health. included Virginia Valian, Distinguished praised for being articulate by well-inten- dents and faculty and plans to lead more. To this, Jennifer Rubain, University Professor, at Hunter, and Ryan Smith, asso- tioned colleagues. I recall speaking to a fac- On Obama’s remarks, Nadal says, dean for recruitment and diversity adds, “It ciate professor, at Baruch. About that panel, ulty member who was the only person of

ATYOUR Help Finding Care for Aging Relatives SERVICE O YOU NEED HELP organizing services and care to all CUNY employees and their relatives. Simply call for an elderly relative? Whether that relative the CCA hotline at (800) 833-8707. Dlives nearby or at a distance, the answer may Imagine how much easier this would make find- Pilot Project be in hiring a Geriatric Care Manager. ing a manager for a relative who lives many miles As a benefit to CUNY employees, Corporate away. for Onboarding Website Counseling Associates (CCA), which administers Geriatric Care Managers offer a wide array of ser- UNY’S OFFICE of Human Resources CUNY’s Work/Life Program, can help your family find vices, often including crisis intervention and coun- Management (OHRM) now has an onboarding such a manager. seling. Some can help to manage bill paying and Cwebsite for new Central Office employees. This Although these managers often charge a fee, the housing issues. And although they don’t provide is a pilot project; OHRM is trying it out for its own efforts of CCA to locate an appropriate one are free hands-on care, they often can help to arrange it and newly hired staffers to see if it will be help to ensure a care plan is useful throughout the University. followed. These managers come It will allow new hires from a variety of backgrounds, joining the Central Office to including social work, nursing access HR forms and poli- and counseling and often have cies, get required training, master’s degrees in their fields. and review benefits and pay- Many geriatric experts roll information weeks believe that the fee paid to a before they actually sit care manager is money well down at their desks. spent; it may help you to save Designed by OHRM in when it comes to the big pic- collaboration with Central ture. Office Web Services and the More information is available University’s Office of in “Lifelines,” the CCA newslet- Communications and Marketing, the new website ter that was sent to employees features a welcome video and a “subway stop” as an email attachment. For a theme to guide new employees through the onboard- broad view from the National ing process. Association of Professional To take a look at how it works: Geriatric Care Managers, visit Search.cuny.edu www.caremanager.org. “HR onboard”

14 CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 CMfall2013xx_CM Spring 09 8/21/13 11:33 AM Page 15

Kevin Nadal, psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, conducts sessions on CUNY campuses about ‘microaggressions.’ (More) On the Web at cuny.edu ligently express themselves.” In his presentations CUNY CROSSWORD— ON CAMPUS Nadal suggests that supervi- sors and other employees lead by example, provide a hink you know about CUNY? Test your knowledge with the CUNY safe place for back-and- TCrossword Puzzle in each issue of Salute to Scholars magazine. The forth discussion and be will- latest puzzle focuses on a particular campus, asking for the names of a ing to admit when mistakes singer and actress who attended, one of its schools an alumnus who was are made. He also suggests an audio pioneer and its student newspaper, not to mention the size of providing “microaffirma- the donation that led to the college’s creation. It’s fun and informative. tions”— subtle or apparent- Give it a try. ly small acknowledgements search.cuny.edu “Salute45” of a person’s value and accomplishments.” And, in an recently published arti- cle for the American SCIENCE WINNERS — TOP IN THE NORTHEAST Psychological Association, Nadal notes that since UNY students and alumni continue to excel in the sciences, winning a record 23 National Science “microaggressions appear CFoundation Graduate Research Fellowships in 2013 – more than any other public university system in to be quite common in soci- the Northeast. This year these $126,000 federal grants, payable over three years, will finance doctoral-level ety, perhaps it would be best research by 18 CUNY graduates in the hard sciences and five in the social sciences. Among them is Jamar not to place all of the blame Whaley (Queens College, B.A., magna cum laude, 2011), who landed a 2013 federal Fulbright Fellowship to on George Zimmerman or study Internet addiction disorder at an internationally known Beijing clinic. Raised by his now-91-year-old the NYPD [Sean Bell case] great-grandmother or the faulty legal system” without much but rather to look at the money in Jamaica, negative impact of our own Queens, he earned unconscious biases. a GED and enrolled Nadal has also just pub- at Queens College. lished a book: That’s So Gay! And he won both a Microaggressions and the federal Goldwater Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Scholarship and a color in her department and she Transgender Community. In summer biomedical remarked that it feels demeaning to con- explaining the title he has said: “An research internship stantly be told you are articulate because example of a verbal microaggression is a for underrepresented minorities at Yale University. He taught science to impoverished students while apply- she had never heard her colleagues person saying ‘That’s so gay’ to convey ing for doctoral programs, the NSF grant and the Fulbright, but then learned he had thyroid cancer, which praise each other for being able to intel- that something is bad, weird, or differ- he battles while studying Chinese and raising funds to support his China trip and his great-grandmother ent. An example of a behavioral microag- via GoFundMe, a crowdfunding site. “People have it much worse than I do.” Cancer, he said, “is just anoth- gression is a person inappropriately er obstacle I have to overcome.” staring at same-sex couples showing search.cuny.edu “2013NSFwinners” Employee Status public displays of affection.” He also notes other microaggressions in Same-Sex Relationships such as assuming that an Asian- S MOST CUNY EMPLOYEES now know, American would be good at mathematics BABIES AND BIRDS — VOCAL LEARNING RESEARCH on June 26 the portion of the or science, based on ethnicity not ability. “Defense of Marriage Act” that limit- A Another would be repeatedly asking an hat does a baby’s babbling have in common with the chirps of juvenile finches? They both follow “a ed the definition of “marriage” and individual of Asian or Latino descent common, stepwise pattern of acquiring vocal transitions,” say researchers at Hunter College’s Laboratory “spouse” to opposite-sex couples was ruled W what country they are from, when they of Vocal Learning. Writing in the journal Nature, lead author Dina Lipkind, a research assistant professor, unconstitutional by the United States were born in the United States. In the with professor Ofer Tchernichovski and colleagues, found that babies and birds use similar strategies to Supreme Court. disability community, it is considered a learn how to put vocal elements into new sequences. Before they If you are a CUNY employee involved in microaggression not to first assume an can speak, babies spend months babbling. “We’ve discovered a a same-sex relationship, what this means individual’s competence, rather than previously unidentified component of vocal development,” depends a great deal on whether you and focusing on what he or she cannot do — Lipkind told The New York Times. “Babbling is not only to learn your partner are legally married and and then inquiring if any accommoda- sounds, but also to learn transitions between sounds.” The whether the marriage is recognized in the tions are needed to support successful research involved three studies. First, scientists trained juvenile state where you live. endeavors. zebra finches living in soundproof boxes to perform one song. In short: It’s complicated. But soon Nadal points out that at the Then “the training target was altered, prompting the birds to CUNY will be there to help figure it out. University some campuses have differ- swap syllable order, or insert a new syllable into a string,” the researchers write. The same “stepwise” pat- The June ruling impacts the definition of ent cultures than others, and it cannot be tern was found in the natural development of the more complex songs of Bengalese finches – and in human marriage and spousal status regarding assumed that all cultures are accepted infants.Collectively, these results point to a common generative process that is conserved across species,” more than 1,000 laws and regulations. on all campuses. the study finds. According to Leslie Williams, University “Even in a place like CUNY, where executive director of Shared Services, “You there are many diverse individuals, search.cuny.edu “Birdsl” and your partner may now have access to a statements can be uttered by well-inten- myriad of new rights, responsibilities and tioned people that have the effect of benefits that may affect everything from demeaning or insulting others,” says WE REMEMBER — LEONARD GARMENT your tax and immigration status to your Gloriana B. Waters, vice chancellor for eligibility for family leave and public hous- Human Resources Management. eonard Garment, the Watergate lawyer who stepped down in 1973 when it ing assistance.” He advises consulting a “Because we are so diverse, it is all the became apparent that President Nixon would go down in the scandal, died in tax adviser and emphasizes that, “The more necessary for us to be aware of the L July at 89. One of the capital’s top lawyers, he represented a variety of powerful implications to CUNY’s policies and benefit microagressions in which we may figures, notably Attorney General Edwin Meese III and President Reagan’s national programs will need to be researched and engage, and also to learn how to respond security adviser, Robert McFarlane. He went to Brooklyn College then to Brooklyn will be announced shortly.” if we are the target of a Law School. The top graduate of the class of 1949, he was editor of the law review. microaggression.”

search.cuny.edu “Garment”

CUNY MATTERS — Fall 2013 15 LECTURES/PANELS Dershowitz-Beinart, THEATER/FILM MUSIC/DANCE SPECIAL EVENTS Round 2 CUNY Graduate School of Sept. 4 Sing with the Queens College September 16 Journalism Choral Society CUNY SPH at IDEALIST n a follow-up discussion to Queens College Graduate Fair their appearance last fall, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The CUNY School of Public I Free Health jurist Alan Dershowitz and 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Free journalist Peter Beinart Search.cuny.edu >>Go to search.cuny.edu In the World & on the Web continued the debate, “The “Public health” Sept. 21 ART/EXHIBITS Crisis of Zionism,” as part of the Perspectives: Tamar of the River by Prospect Theater Company Conversations on Policy and Baruch College Rethinking The Power Place series at the Graduate 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. Kahn’s Architectural Vision of Audio Storytelling Center. Beinart insists that with power comes Sept. 28 City College, CUNY Lecture CUNY Graduate School of Maria The Korean Bride Sept. 12 responsibility. Series Journalism The World of Wal-Mart Borough of Manhattan Search.cuny.edu n “Rethinking Kahn,” part of s founder and executive Baruch College Community College 12:30 p.m – 2:15 p.m “Israeli debate” 4 p.m. $15 the Bernard and Anne producer of “Radio I A Spitzer School of Architecture Sept. 9 Diaries,” Joe Richman has THOKOZA: I Sing for Freedom Sept. 16 spring lecture series, urged people to record their The Questions US Business Baruch College architectural historian William own lives and histories since Riddle Needs to Ask 7 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. Baruch College J.R. Curtis discusses the $15 - $30 1996, and along with the of the Labyrinth 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. legacy of famed architect groundbreaking series, Brooklyn College, CUNY Louis Kahn, including his Sept. 28 “Teenage Diaries,” has Lecture Series Sept. 27 Eddie Palmieri final project — Four helped pioneer the genre of Inspiring Women Scientists Lehman College Through Sept. 15 N HER NEW BOOK, The Freedoms Park — a four-acre first-person narratives for New Light CUNY Graduate Center 8 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. IRiddle of the Labyrinth: The 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. memorial to Franklin D. National Public Radio. In a on Early Art Forms Quest to Crack an Ancient of the Indian Subcontinent Free Roosevelt that was completed Oct. 4 conversation at the CUNY Eduardo Fernandez, Queensborough Community Code, Margalit Fox chronicles posthumously as “a powerful Graduate School of College the pursuit to decipher Linear Oct. 18 Guitar, by NYC Women in the Pantheon of work of monumentality.” Classical Guitar Journalism, Richman dis- Time varies, Free B — an unknown script Illustrious Men Search.cuny.edu Society cusses the power of audio dating to the Bronze Age — The Graduate Center “Kahn” Baruch College storytelling and the impor- Through Sept. 30 From the Bordertown and how key research by a 5 p.m. 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. Oct. 5 tance for a radio producer of Out Into the World: Brooklyn College classics Free $22 – $99 Breast Cancer Walkathon mining through hours and Jews in Memel professor, Alice Elizabeth College of Staten Island Oct. 21 Oct. 13 9 a.m. Free hours of raw tapes to find Queensborough Community Kober, helped to crack its Dorothy O. Helly Lecture: The Butterfly Search.cuny.edu the best material. But in the College code. Time varies, Free Lady Bird Johnson Lovers “Walkathon” end there will be more Search.cuny.edu The Graduate Center Lehman College nuggets of gold than you can “Labyrinth” 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 use. In fact, Richman says, Free Aaron Neville Oct. 26 Borough of Manhattan “If you’re not heartbroken Nov. 5 Big Apple Chorus about something in the story Community College Job $mart Career Hour: Oct. 16 Borough of Manhattan 8 p.m. $65, $55, $45 that you had to leave out, Asset Management: Auschwitz: The Great Escape Community College then you didn’t cut enough.” Identifying Trends The Graduate Center 7:30 p.m. and Opportunities 6:15 p.m. $25-$60 Search.cuny.edu Baruch College “Storytelling” 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Nov. 13 Nov. 10 Hitler's Children NY Flute Club presents Nov. 19 The Graduate Center Gergely Ittzes Job $mart Career Hour: 6:15 p.m. Free Baruch College Networking Essentials 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Through Oct. 1 Baruch College A Summer of Art: Student Nov. 17 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Sleeping Beauty Narrated by Art at QCC Nov. 21 David Gonzalez Marie de Medici’s Ballets at Queensborough Community Borough of Manhattan the Court of Henri IV College Community College The Graduate Center Time Varies, Free 1:30 p.m. 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Through Dec. 31 $25 Free Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Nov. 23 Deana Martin and Chris Archives, Permanent Gillespie Trio Exhibit Lehman College Queensborough Community 8 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. College $40, $35, $25 Time varies, Free

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