February 2009 February

Quinn’s Ghana Homecoming 2...Peress Performs Lincoln Tribute 3 ...QC at the Grammys 8...News Civil Rights Archive 9

Cirque USA Odyssey click here Queens College Faculty & fyfyStaff News ii Queens Named One Taking a Closer Look at the Air that We Breathe of America’s 100 The Center for the Biology of Natural exhaust; and using cleaner fuel “Best Value” Colleges Systems, led by Dr. Steven Markowitz, for heating homes and apart- recently received a four-year, $4.6 million ments. It didn’t succeed, but I Queens College ranks among the grant to work with the New York City think some variation of it will nation’s 100 “Best Value” colleges and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene eventually take effect. 50 “Best Value” public colleges and to monitor air quality at street level in the universities according to The Princeton city’s five boroughs. The following is an Q: Tell me about the New Review, one of America’s edited excerpt taken from an interview York City Community Air most widely known Markowitz recently did for a new CUNY Survey that recently was education services com- panies. The Princeton video project featuring scientists. launched. Review teamed with Q: Does New York City have A: We are trying to understand USA Today to present its an air pollution problem? better how much air pollution “Best Value” colleges there is in New York City and A: New York City does have an air pollu- lists for 2009. Schools tion problem, as do most major cities in the how it varies by neighbor- were chosen based on United States and all the megacities through- hood. Right now air-pollution criteria examined in monitoring in New York is done three areas: academ- out the world. Our problem revolves around particulates, also known as soot, which are in compliance with federal stan- ics, costs of atten- dards, which means it’s done on dance, and financial aid. most easily respired into the lungs. We are rooftops and spread throughout The “Best Value” colleges list out of compliance with federal regulations Steven Markowitz (center rear, with glasses) and colleagues reported in the paper on January 8 and concerning soot and ozone, particularly in some 15 or 20 different loca- in the NYC air pollution study gather beneath an air quality on PrincetonReview.com/bestvaluecol- Manhattan. Both ozone and particulate mat- tions. Of course, we don’t live monitor on a utility pole outside the CBNS offices. leges and BestValueColleges.usatoday. ter affect the lungs and the heart, and heart on rooftops. We spend most of com features 100 schools, half of them disease and lung disease are major killers in our time either in buildings or York City for 12 months. We will be in high- public institutions and half of them pri- New York City. at street level. So what is in the air that we traffic areas with a lot of buses and trucks and vate. “Best Value” schools in New York actually breathe most of the time? in the quieter neighborhoods to understand besides QC and three other CUNY col- Q: What is the city doing about The New York City Community Air leges include Barnard, Vassar, Cooper what their pollution levels are. We will use this problem? Survey will for the first time characterize the Union, and SUNY-Binghamton. the data to develop a map so we can say what A: The city has to its great credit, focused on major air pollutants at street level at a large “It is always gratifying to receive is the level of pollution at any given location external confirmation of what we in the the problem of improving the environment. number of sites. We began in the fall. Queens in New York. Queens College community have long Mayor Bloomberg put out his sustainability College is the major partner with the New known: there is no better education plan two or three years ago, called Plan NYC, York City Department of Health and Mental Q: How will this benefit the available than what we offer right which developed a number of ideas to lower Hygiene on this project. We developed the people of New York City? continued on page 3 air pollution: high occupancy vehicle lanes; portable monitors at CUNY and are putting A: It will provide information we haven’t congestion pricing; hybrid cars; retrofitting them on street poles about 10 feet off the had in the past. There’s been a lot of concern school bus engines so they put out less diesel ground. They will be at 150 locations in New continued on page 4 QC students

Spanish Fulbright At the age of six and without any formal piano training, Capdevila started Scholar Chooses QC creating his own melodies as well as Music School playing from memory pop standards like the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” “It was fun and Tenor Placido Domingo, cellist Pablo effortless,” he recalls. “I always knew Casals, and composer Joaquin Rodrigo that music would be my life.” His talent are three musical legends that Spain has and goal aren’t surprising; Capdevila’s given the world. And Lluis Capdevila, grandmother was a professional pianist a Fulbright music scholar from Catalonia, and conservatory teacher, and his mother hopes one day to be counted among them. a guitarist. When the Fulbright Commission in What is surprising is that this young Madrid awarded Capdevila a scholar- musician received his undergraduate degree in law. “I was convinced that it would help me better understand our society and develop certain skills that would be valuable in the arts field,” he explains. In the end, though, he felt that Members of the Habitat team in Ghana stand amidst a latrine foundation still under con- music ultimately provided the best instru- struction. In the background are typical Habitat for Humanity houses. ment to be “creative and communicate.” A full-time student who now lives in Flushing, Capdevila enjoys going to Building Homes and Hope in Ghana concerts every week in Manhattan and listening to all types of music—“anything Terrence Quinn (Educational and young social studies teacher. I was hitchhik- that is innovative and emotional”—which Community Programs) recently visited ing and wound up in the village of Mam- he says improves his musicianship. Ghana to take part in a Habitat for pong-Akwapim. I met the village chief, who Humanity project. gave me a tour of the area. When it was time Survivor of Rwandan for me to leave, he discouraged me because Q: What made you become involved the roads were too dark and dangerous. I Genocide Devotes with Habitat for Humanity? stayed overnight and woke up to the smell Capdevila Himself to Service A: Earlier in my career I of steak and eggs. That act of kindness and was a school principal with ship to pursue his music studies in 2007, For Donat Kubwimana, 43, a Catholic so many others gave me a long-time interest large numbers of home- he chose Queens College because “of religious brother in the Congregation of in Ghana. less children. Their parents the worldwide reputation of its Aaron Holy Cross, surmounting daunting odds did not come to school, Q: What is the country like? Copland School of Music jazz program, is part of the natural circle of life. After so I held PTA meetings at A: Ghana is a pro-Western, English-speak- and the high quality, affordable educa- learning that his friends and a fam- shelters for the homeless. ing nation known as the Land of Smiles tion it offers,” he says. Capdevila, 27, ily member had been murdered in the I remember one parent because the people are so pleasant and who is now pursuing his MA degree in Rwandan genocide, he began an eight- Quinn who registered his child cheerful. It remains a model for democratic jazz performance, says his goal is to year odyssey that eventually brought him for school and when asked to provide an ad- governments and has been largely free of become a composer and musician. to America. dress, he gave his car license plate number. corruption. There have been numerous “The campus is relaxed and comfort- According to Brother Donat, his stead- His car was his home. I learned from all my advances in health, transportation, and edu- able, which is ideal for focusing and creat- fast faith in God, the support of his order, students the importance of stable housing cation, but there are still numerous pockets ing music,” Capdevila continues. “It is also and dedication to a life of service gave for school success. of poverty. People have little so they waste close to Manhattan, which is probably the him consolation and the strength to per- little. They wear sandals made from car best place in the world for jazz music.” continued on page 4 Q: Why did you go to Ghana? tires. They use rocks to make music. They A: I first visited the country in 1969 as a continued on page 9

2 QC’s Maurice Peress Joins Ruby Dee and Sam Waterston at Performance of Best Value College from page 1 Rarely Heard Music Celebrating Lincoln here in Flushing,” says President James Muyskens. “In this economic On February 12, the 200th anniversary of the narrator, Sam Waterston as the voice downturn, more families are discover- the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the Queens of Lincoln, a barn-dance caller played by ing us as the smart choice—a college College Orchestra, Choir, and Chorus took composer and musician David Amram, and that combines excellent academics part in a concert held at Riverside Church banjo soloist Eric Weissberg (known for his with superb value. And with the in Morningside Heights. There, along “Dueling Banjos” in the film Deliverance). opening this August of The Summit with acclaimed actors Ruby Dee and Sam The QC Choir and Chorus were directed by at Queens College, our first residence Waterston, the New York City Labor Chorus, James John and Flora Metrick. The entire hall, we expect to attract many out- and the Riverside Inspirational Choir, they performance was conducted by Maurice standing students who no longer have to look elsewhere for a residen- performed Earl Robinson’s cantata The Peress, director of the QC Orchestra. tial experience.” Lonesome Train, which had not been heard The composition was premiered in In the profile of Queens College in its entirety for over 50 years. Seattle in 1942 under the title Abe Lincoln on USA Today’s website, The “To see Riverside filled to capacity for Comes Home Again. With the country at Princeton Review editors say the this historic concert, and hear such glorious war, this patriotic work caught on quickly. A Dee and Peress school has the “best reputation of music fill its soaring Gothic space was a radio broadcast and its subsequent recording all the CUNY undergraduate institu- proud experience for me and all the par- (1944) with Pete Seeger, who was then a pri- I later learned he was the composer of the tions” and cited its “top-rate . . . ticipants,” says Copland School Director vate in the army, was produced by Norman poignant labor folk ballad ‘Joe Hill’ (sung affordable education.” The current Edward Smaldone. “A collaboration involv- Corwin, who wrote the text for a new intro- by Joan Baez at Woodstock) [as well as] the tuition of $4,000 a year is made ing 250 people is never simple. Our students duction and gave the work its final title. ‘Ballad for Americans’ championed by the even more affordable through “out- come from all over the world; for example, Peress was a good friend of the composer amazing Paul Robeson, and ‘The House I standing merit-based opportuni- the ‘country fiddler’ part was played by of The Lonesome Train. “Earl and I met on Live In,’ Frank Sinatra’s ode to America.” ties,” including the Macaulay Honors a student from Israel. Seeing and hearing a beach on Shelter Island during the summer The performance at Riverside Church College and QC Scholar’s Scholarship, them together with the Labor Chorus and of 1961,” Peress noted in the program notes used an orchestration transcribed by Peress which both provide full tuition, and Riverside Chorus, performing a work about for the concert. “Alan Arkin introduced us, from a 1950 recording, with support from many partial scholarships, grants, the struggles of freedom and brotherhood, and we made an instant musician-to-musi- a PSC-CUNY grant. Also on the program loans, and work-study opportunities. was a truly memorable event.” cian bond. He told me about studying with were Copland’s Appalachian Spring and The editors note that “Cooper Union, The Lonesome Train is the story of the Copland and Hans Eisler, and his Banjo Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige. which is free, is probably the only funeral train carrying Lincoln’s body to its Concerto, How Can I Keep from Singing?, A new take by Bruce Saylor on “Amazing better deal available.” final resting place. It featured Ruby Dee as soon to be premiered by the Boston Pops. Grace” (Copland) rounded out the evening.

QC in the media

ALICE ARTZT (SEYS) was quoted in a Nov. 27 the subject of a Jan. 8 New York-1 News . . . A recent feature on Hungarian Na- on public radio’s Marketplace, contributing Queens Tribune article about the TIME 2000 feature . . . A Jan. 11 story in the New York tional Television devoted to Joe Muranyi, her thoughts to a story about advertise- program . . . A feature article about RIKKI Times concerning demographic changes the Hungarian-American clarinet player ments appearing on public transit to recruit ASHER (SEYS) and her international col- since 2000 in New York City neighborhoods who performed with Louis Armstrong in young men into the priesthood . . . JOSHUA laborative “Peace Quilts” was based on an analysis of census figures his later years, included a segment show- FREEMAN (History) was quoted in a Jan. 10 project that produced the provided by ANDY BEVERIDGE (Sociology) ing Muranyi visiting the Louis Armstrong Associated Press story about the impact of colorful quilts featured in . . . The Dec. 28 broadcast of “Study With House Museum and reminiscing with LAHM Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget cuts the recent Godwin-Tern- the Best” on CUNY-TV Channel 75 featured director MICHAEL COGSWELL about visiting on the city’s labor force . . . A federal study bach Museum exhibition an interview with KATHARINE COBB (VP, Armstrong there in his final days. It can of adult food and beverage consumption Power to the Peaceful, Finance & Admin.) and several QC students be viewed at www.dunatv.hu/felsomenu/ led by ASHIMA KANT (FNES) was cited in appeared Dec. 20 in the concerning QC’s sustainability efforts, in- nettv?video=1_483909 . . . MARA stories appearing Nov. 7 in US News & Epoch Times. It was also cluding the Zipcar rental program EINSTEIN (Media Studies) was heard Feb. 10 continued on page 8 Asher

3 Air that We Breathe from page 1 up, harvest them after two weeks, and send Students from page 2 he majored in French and minored in among city residents about air pollution in the filters to labs for measurement. We move severe. “God was the only friend I could education. When he received special rec- their neighborhoods. For instance, heavily our units every two weeks to different loca- rely on,” he recalls. “I talked to Him ognition for his French tutoring service trafficked neighborhoods—Williamsburg, tions. During a 12-month period, we will go every day in my prayers. At that time I from the college’s European Languages Brooklyn, the South Bronx, East Harlem— back to any specific site four times, so we almost gave up, but I never lost hope.” Department at his graduation last May, are high-asthma neighborhoods. People have will have our units there for two weeks in the After fleeing from Rwanda in 1995, he simply said, “I studied in order to made that association between air pollution spring, summer, winter, and fall. At certain Brother Donat and 10 of his peers work and serve.” and asthma, but we haven’t had real data to sites we will do continuous monitoring so made their way through the Congo into On January 8, Brother Donat took the be able to say, yes, this pollutant is worse in we can state with some confidence what the Uganda and then Kenya. For the next oath to become a U.S. citizen. Today he this particular neighborhood. We will soon air pollution level is at any particular site eight years, Brother Donat tried to put is working toward a master’s degree in have that information for the first time. throughout that 12-month period. We quality his life back together, attending a French French at QC, with the hope of becoming We will not only get that information, we control the data, which then go to the Health high school and taking construction and a high school teacher. will make it readily available by putting it on Department, where much of the statistical computer programming classes. The the web and giving it to community boards, analysis is done. rest of the time he worked in various environmental justice groups, and neighbor- parishes doing social work and teach- Two Students to Enter hood groups. This should stimulate discus- Q: How many units are there? ing catechism. Unfortunately, Brother Elite Medical School sion and help us develop policy options on A: There are 30 units: 25 are at neighbor- hood sites and five others are at what we call Donat had fled Rwanda without any Program how to lower air pollution. documents, which left him vulnerable reference sites, the sites where we’ll be doing to deportation by the Kenyan govern- When Nick Copeli graduates this Q: How will the survey information continuous monitoring throughout the year. ment. His Congregation finally managed spring, he’ll embark on a medical benefit researchers? Our sites lean toward more heavily trafficked to bring him to the U.S. in 2003 with a career by way of Mount Sinai School A: We know where asthma occurs in New areas, but we certainly cover quiet areas in religious visa. of Medicine’s Humanities and Medicine York City and we know to a lesser extent the outer boroughs where there’s more tree Brother Donat quickly learned English program. He is one of two trailblazing where people with emphysema are. When cover and less traffic. If you divide the city and earned his GED, was accepted into QC graduates to be admitted to this new we develop a more precise understanding of into 300-meter-square grids as we did, there Queensborough Community College, and program, which has accepted few public how air pollutants differ from one neighbor- are 7,000 of them. We picked 150. We have eventually transferred to Queens, where university students. He and Temitope hood to the next and match that up with good coverage and we’re confident we’ll be Ademuwagun, a native of Nigeria, will certain health outcomes, we will have a better able to say something about the entire city. attend in fall 2009. understanding of the degree to which, if we Q: Why was the Center for the Biol- “The program is literally an experi- can lower these pollutants, we can improve ogy of Natural Systems asked by the ment,” says the Macaulay Honors people’s health. city to be involved in this project? College student and anthropology major. Q: Who is involved in the survey? A: We had a track record in air pollution and “They wanted to see if students with no A: The principal agency is the Department of in developing a transportable way of measur- pre-med background can go to medical Health and Mental Hygiene, supported by the ing air pollutants. Also, I think the Depart- school and perform just as well as stu- Mayor’s Office on Sustainability, which has ment of Health understood that we at Queens dents who are entrenched in the sciences helped in terms of funding. The New York College take a public health approach to this during college. State Department of Environmental Conser- issue. We value answering health questions “I told them I want to do public vation has helped us develop our techniques that arise from people’s concerns. health abroad,” says Copeli, who has of monitoring. The New York City Depart- significant overseas experience. A ment of Transportation has been very helpful Q: You believe this is an unprecedented Gilman International Scholarship allowed by allowing us to put our monitors on their project in the United States. him to travel this past summer to Russia, street poles. A: Work like this has been done in Montreal, where he worked at St. Petersburg State in Toronto, and to some extent in southern University. A proficient Russian speaker California. However, this is the largest such Q: What is Queens College’s role? raised in a Bukharian family, Copeli project. We have more monitors in the field A: People at Queens College developed served as an English teacher and did than any other city. If this works in New Brother Donat continued on page 6 the basic plan of the survey and the air- monitoring unit we’re putting in the field. York, we’ll then see if this technique can be Queens College field teams put these units useful in other parts of the world.

4 WPA Prints of New York from Godwin-Ternbach Collection on Exhibit Through June 9

play on sidewalks and rooftops, at the Automat, the beach, the parks, and the cul- tural institutions of New York. Exhibited alongside these works are iconic scenes of New York City and its environs. But next to such buoyant images are those of economic hardship and deprivation, the inevitable consequences of the Great Depression. These works were selected from over 300 WPA prints in the muse- um’s collection. Something to Smile About Seated in front of a very sizable stack of toys, President James Muyskens and a furry The exhibition includes works by friend join Human Resources staff members (l to r) Liza Torres, Ann Morgado, and Susan celebrated artists like Stuart Davis, Mavrelis in celebrating their enormous success in organizing QC’s collection for the a print depicting a less depressing moment Isaac Soyer, and Mabel Dwight, as well first-ever CUNY CARES Holiday Toy Drive. As a result of their efforts, more than 500 toys of the great Depression. as paintings and sculpture by WPA- were distributed to CUNY day care centers and 160 to NYC Homeless Services. sponsored artists O. Louis Guglielmi During the Great Depression, the Works and Chaim Gross that are also part of Progress Administration (WPA) created the Godwin-Ternbach collection. jobs for millions of Americans. Some These works have particular reso- 5,000 artists were employed by the nance at this moment. “Little did we WPA, which nurtured a distinctly mod- know when planning this exhibition that ern American art expressed via murals, we would be facing a new era of eco- QC Joins Program to Encourage Young Scientists sculptures, and prints. Focusing on the nomic crisis similar to that of the Great last category, Working Through the Great Next fall Queens College will participate in Depression,” say Winter and Simon. “The Depression displays 75 works, now part a unique program that aims to engage fresh- prints in this exhibition document the of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum collec- men in a national genomics research project response of the government and artists to tion, that were created through the New as a way of interesting them in the sciences. the challenges of hard times. Our hope York Regional Graphics Division of the Conceived by the Howard Hughes is to deepen understanding of the histori- Federal Art Project between 1935 and Medical Institute’s Science Education cal, political, and cultural issues evident 1941. Many of these prints have never Alliance, the National Genomics in WPA art and tie these perspectives to been on public view. The exhibition is co- Research Initiative got underway last contemporary parallels.” curated by museum director Amy Winter fall at 12 colleges and universities across Working Through the Great Depression and Marilyn L. Simon, an independent the country. It was so successful that it will be on view through June 9. For more curator and scholar who teaches in the was opened to additional schools for fall information call 718-997-4747 or visit college’s Art Department. 2009. Thirty-three schools applied to be www.qc.cuny.edu/godwin_ternbach. The prints depict people at work and part of the second cohort and QC was among the 16 selected. Under the initiative, QC will offer two the best way to get Your News out new courses designed and taught by biolo- faculty and staff have been taking advantage of the new, easy-to-use online gists John Dennehy and Michael Hickerson. submission form to send out their news and announcements via QC mailers, “It’s going to be called Genomics Research rial viruses called phage from soil. “We’re calendars, and plasma boards. to have the link always at your fi ngertips, Experience,” says Dennehy, who will also going to gather them right here on the bookmark this address: https://apps.qc.cuny.edu/Communications/. You can serve as director of the program. Quad, near the Science Building, and some- also access the form any time by clicking on “News & media” on the QC home The medium for this research experi- times further afield,” says Dennehy. Each page, and then clicking “home,” one of the links on the left. ence will be soil samples gathered by the student should be able to isolate his or her students, who will learn to isolate bacte- continued on page 6 5 Students from page 4 Mount Sinai saw Copeli’s potential as last summer abroad. Copeli is thinking of translation work. Previously, the Honors a humanities-oriented physician. In his working in Brazil, but first has to learn College afforded him the opportunity to first assignment, he interned with Global Portuguese. Characteristically unfazed, he travel to Peru, where he taught English at Kids, an organization that prepares urban remarks, “It’s decently easy if you know a remote orphanage in San Miguel and youth for global citizenship, and main- some Spanish.” mastered Spanish. tained its website. His next internship Internships made possible by a Watson found him at DonorsChoose, an organi- Temitope Ademuwagun, who was Fellowship may reveal more about why zation that links donors to projects that accepted into the Macaulay Honors improve public education. College in 2004, graduated cum laude Like many Macaulay students, Copeli from QC in May 2008. She worked had been offered full scholarships to a diligently to maintain high grades in her number of private schools. However, he Spanish major, while also regularly vol- chose to stay close to home to help sup- unteering at St. John’s Hospital and in the port his family. “I’ve been working college’s Big Buddy Program. since age 13 or 14,” he says. “I’ve been As a Nigerian immigrant, Ademu– a stock boy at a pharmacy. I’ve been a wagun had a special interest in health tutor for a subsidiary of Kaplan. I’ve done care issues for underserved populations. private tutoring jobs. I teach swimming. During her first two summers at QC, she I lifeguard.” Copeli also benefited from honed her interest in becoming a physi- Ademuwagun alumni and friends of QC whose generous cian by participating in pre-medicine sum- contributions made possible a scholar- mer programs at the University of Virginia sion to Mt. Sinai allowed her to focus on ship from the Queens College Foundation. Medical School and at the University of her interests in Spanish, Africana studies, Despite his many commitments, Copeli Connecticut Medical and Dental School. and sociology, and to participate in two still managed to do volunteer work for These experiences were the ground- study abroad programs sponsored by the a nursing home, a soup kitchen, and the work for Ademuwagun’s successful Honors College: one to the Galapagos and Coalition for the Homeless. application to the Mt. Sinai Humanities the other to the Universidad Antonio de Copeli Typically, Watson Fellows spend their and Medicine Program. Early admis- Nebrija in Madrid, Spain.

Genome Project from page 5 students excited about careers in science: own unique “species” of phage. the NIH-funded MARC (Minority Access Six Students Receive Greek Scholarships According to the Science Education to Research Careers) Program under the Six Queens The Athanasiades Foundation, Alliance’s website, once students have direction of Zahra Zakeri (Biology) and the College stu- which is dedicated to the spread gathered samples, they prepare each virus NSF-funded URM Program (Undergraduate dents were of Hellenism, is named for its for DNA sequencing, then annotate and Research Mentoring in Ecology, Evolution among 40 benefactor, the former publisher compare the sequenced genome. “The and Behavior) directed by Stephane named as the of the newspaper Kampana. For course builds on themes and techniques Boissinot (Biology).“We’re all working 2008 recipi- the past 16 years it has made from across biology, including microbiol- together,” Dennehy explains. “MARC and ents of schol- these awards to students who ogy, molecular biology, genomics and bio- URM mostly target sophomores, so we’re arships from submit compositions promoting a informatics,” explains the site. hoping the Genomics Initiative will encour- the Costas positive sense of Greek identity. “We’re targeting freshmen,” says age students who are interested in research Athanasiades Costas Athanasiades presented Dennehy. “We’d like to reach them before to move into those programs.” Cultural Foundation. the awards at a Nov. 25 event they declare a major. By offering them a Both MARC and URM target under- The QC recipients are Magie at the hall of the Athanasiades real research experience, they will learn represented minority students, and M. Christodoulou, Maria Gueros, Cultural Center in Astoria. The what being a research scientist is all about Dennehy says his program will do the Despina Galatoulas, Markos recipients hailed from schools and possibly consider science as a career.” same. He is also exploring with Martin Papadatos, Elena Christine in the United States, England, According to Dennehy, the new pro- Braun the possibility of offering the Toumaras, and Irene Zoupaniotis. Greece, and Albania. gram will provide an important link to two Genomics Research Experience as part of existing QC programs that also try to get the Freshman Year Initiative.

6 QC People

AMPARO BARRERA (Campus Committee of the wRAP-Up Newsletter, published ing of the Beethoven string . . . GREGORY SHOLETTE Facilities) received a national by NAFSA: National Association of International quartets with his group, the (Art) recently completed design award at the 29th annual Educators. He also was elected to serve on the Orion String Quartet . . . production of the special Conference of the Association editorial board of the newsletter . . . HELEN MIHAELA ROBILA (FNES) issue of the British journal of University Interior Designers, GAUDETTE (History), QC’s Director of Prepara- received a research fellowship, Third Text, entitled Whither held in October at Ohio State tory Programs, spoke on behalf of the college funded by the U.S. Department Tactical Media? . . . JOSEPH University. The award was for at the Dec. 9 installation ceremony for Kenneth of State through the American SUNGOLOWSKY (ELL) is Barrera Phillips the design of the Student Lounge Bonamo, Jr., the new principal of Townsend Councils, to conduct her study Sholette the author of “Joseph Sint- in Kiely Hall. Barrera took Harris High School . . . JEFFREY HALPERIN on “Parental Economic Migration and Children zheim, President of Napoleon’s Sanhedrin and second place in the Renovation (Psychology), the director of the QC Preschool Proj- Outcomes in Moldova” . . . George Zhao, who First Chief Rabbi of France,” which appeared in Under $50,000 category . . . ect, is being honored for his work on ADHD with translated MORRIS ROSSABI’s (History) book Midstream (Winter 2009). He also wrote “Ho- KEVIN BIRTH (Anthropology) an award from Education Update at the second Khubilai Khan into Chinese last year, reports locaust and Autobiography” in Bloom’s Guides: gave a talk at the Guggenheim New York Citywide Special Education Conference that the book is Number 6 on the best-seller Wiesel’s Night (Chelsea House) and reviewed Les Museum on Jan. 7 as part of . . . MICHAEL HICKERSON (Biology) was one list in Humanities and Social Sciences in China Trains du souvenir by Victor Brombert in Tsafon, their 24-Hour Event on the of the co-authors of a study appearing Feb. 5 in . . . CATHY SAVAGE-DUNN (Biology) co- no. 56 (Hiver 2009) . . . The Third Miracle, a Concept of Time, associated Birth the journal Science, describing their development organized the first meeting of film co-written by RICHARD VETERE (Media with the Any Space Whatever of a new way to improve biodiversity predic- the New York Area C. elegans Studies) based on his novel, exhibit . . . Harold Gomes, an applied math- tion and protection in tropical hotspots . . . On Discussion Group at the New was screened at the Museum ematics/physics double major working in the lab- Nov. 21 PREMILLA NADASEN (History) was York Academy of Sciences on of Modern Art in December as oratory of JOSHUA BRUMBERG (Psychology), called by the NYS Assembly Committee to testify Nov. 19. A bonus at this meet- part of a retrospective of the was awarded a travel grant to the Joint Math- as an expert witness about the Domestic Worker ing was a celebration with Dr. work of its director, Agnieszka ematics Meeting in Washington, DC in January Bill of Rights. On Feb. 5 she gave a lecture on Martin Chalfie, a winner of the Holland. Vetere’s new play, . . . Director of Graduate Admissions MARIO “Black Feminism and the Politics of Welfare” at 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemis- Savage-Dunn Lady MacBeth’s Lover, received CARUSO has been elected to a two-year term Sarah Lawrence College . . . DANIEL PHILLIPS try. Savage-Dunn introduced its first reading Jan. 23 at the Vetere as chair of the Admissions Research & Resource (Music) recently completed a multi-CD record- Chalfie, who was her PhD thesis mentor Cherry Lane Theater.

Taskforce Affirms that Inclusion Is Essential to Excellence at the College It’s been nearly two years since Cynthia and Diversity Programs. Among her We’re looking at curriculum, recruit- positive outcomes of a diverse learning Rountree’s arrival at Queens College as responsibilities she chairs QC's Inclusive ment, interaction with community groups environment. It builds diversity in current Director of Affirmative Action, Compliance Excellence Taskforce, which is part of and always asking: What can we do to and critical ways. IE directly confronts a CUNY-wide initiative. To date, increase diversity while maintaining the myth that diversity and access mean she says the findings of the group the excellence CUNY is noted for in all ‘dumbing down’ the academic environ- suggest that while much has been aspects of our work?” ment. On the contrary, IE maintains that accomplished at QC, much remains And, as though it cannot be emphasized inclusion is fundamental to excellence.” to be done. enough, Rountree firmly asserts, “You can- Rountree notes that the work of the As envisioned by CUNY, not have excellence without inclusion.” taskforce is consistent with the objectives Rountree explains, “each campus As she outlined in a recent memoran- of the president’s Strategic Plan. President taskforce consists of representatives dum: “The Inclusive Excellence Project, James Muyskens, Rountree says, “has been from faculty, administration and widely promoted by the Association of extremely supportive of our efforts.” staff. So we have people from all American Colleges and Universities, is The taskforce has completed three QC’s Inclusive Excellence Taskforce: seated (l to levels of the campus workforce. seen by many as the next generation of phases of the project and has identified r) Frank Franklin, Cynthia Rountree, Thomas “Each taskforce,” she continues, “was access and retention efforts for underrep- four initiatives to increase diversity at QC Strekas, Mirian Detres-Hickey; standing Ray asked to look at all aspects of college resented minorities in higher education. It by 2012, which will be passed on to the Rivera, Esthela Arriaga, Gladys Sapigao, operations to determine which areas are recognizes that numerical diversity is nec- president, provost, and other administrators Criseida Garcia. ripe for initiatives to increase diversity. essary but not sufficient in a quest for the for review. 7 QC in the Media from page 3 Abroad . . . President JAMES Nov. 21 in a Long Island Jewish Week story Hall were the subject of stories Dec. 26 and World Report and at the MUYSKENS offered his about efforts by Jewish doves to press then Jan. 4 in “The City” section of the New York WebMD website, and views on the college, cos- President-elect Obama to keep his campaign Times . . . The Jan. 13 Daily News, Jan. 15 Nov. 11 in the Washing- mology, and more for the promise to make Israeli-Palestinian peace Times Ledger, and Feb. 5 Queens Courier ton Post. The stories con- Nov. 27 Queens Chronicle a primary foreign policy goal . . . An article featured stories about Donat Kubwimana cerned a new study that feature “q&a,” which about Christmas creches in the Dec. 13 New being sworn in as a U.S. citizen (see story, appeared in the Novem- focuses on borough leaders. York Times quoted JOSEPH SCIORRA (Calan- p. 2) . . . Queens College’s inclusion in The ber issue in the American Menon In the Jan. 22 Queens Cou- dra) . . . AMY WINTER (Godwin-Ternbach Mu- Princeton Review’s 2009 list of the 50 “Best Kant Journal of Clinical Nutri- rier Muyskens wrote about seum) was quoted in a Nov. 27 Times Ledger Value” public colleges merited a Jan. 13 tion concerning breakfast how President Barack Obama can improve feature about the museum’s exhibit Medita- feature on New York-1 News and stories consumption . . . CARMELLA MARRONE education in America . . . TheaterMania.com tion in Contemporary Chinese Landscape . . . Jan. 15 in the Queens Tribune and Times (Women and Work) was carried a story Feb. 4 about the presentation Queens College was described as a “hidden Ledger, Jan. 22 in the Queens Courier, and quoted in a Feb. 5 story at the Riverside Church of the cantata honor- gem” that has become known for “provid- Jan. 20 in the Daily News (see story, p. 1) about the program in the ing Abraham Lincoln, The Lonesome Train, a ing an affordable, quality education to local . . . The Godwin-Ternbach Museum exhibi- Queens Tribune . . . CECILIA performance being conducted by MAURICE young people,” particularly those of “various tion Working Through the Great Depression MCHUGH (EES) was one PERESS (ACSM). He was also interviewed for ethnicities who are the first in their families was featured Feb. 5 in both the Queens of a number of scientists a Feb. 11 segment of National Public Radio’s to attend college,” in a feature that appeared Chronicle’s “qboro What’s Happening” and whose research was cited “News and Notes” that included a concert in November on America.gov, a sister service Time Out New York . . . The January 23 in a Dec. 29 New York Marrone excerpt performed by two members of the to the Voice of America . . . Several Queens Green Business Summit held on campus and Times article describing Queens College Orchestra papers carried stories about Lluis Capdevila, co-hosted by the college received coverage evidence from core samples suggesting that, (see story, p. 3) . . . A Dec. the Fulbright scholar from Spain who is study- from the Queens Courier on Jan. 15 and 29, some 2,300 years ago, the New York City/ 18 New York Times story ing jazz piano at the Copland School. They in- the Queens Chronicle on Jan. 22 and 29, Long Island area may have been swept by a about “vanity medicine” cluded the Dec. 18 Queens Tribune and Times the Queens Tribune on Jan. 22, the Queens tsunami caused by a meteorite impact quoted VICTORIA PITTS- Ledger, the Dec. 19 El Correo de Queens, and Gazette on Jan. 28, and the Times Ledger . . . VINON MENON’s (Physics) development TAYLOR (Sociology) . . . Jan. 1 Queens Courier (see story, p. 2) . . on Jan. 29 . . . New York-1 carried a feature of a flexible laser was reported Jan. 15 in MARK ROSENBLUM (Jew- . The photographs of Queens street scenes Feb. 8 about the bright prospects for QC’s the Queens Tribune and Jan. 30 in India ish Studies) was quoted Rosenblum that decorate the wall of Powdermaker women's basketball team.

Four QC Graduates Recognized at Grammy Awards The Aaron Copland School of Music has Grammy Awards ceremony recognized no Awards category: “The Aaron Copland School of Music many distinguished alumni, and the recent fewer than four of them: JoAnn Falletta ’78 is the conductor has a strong, longstanding reputation in Pianist, bandleader, and composer of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, classical music performance and com- Arturo O’Farrill ’00 received the which performed Mr. Tambourine Man: position,” says ACSM Director Edward Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Seven Poems of Bob Dylan, a work that Smaldone. “George Tsontakis studied Year for Song for Chico, which he per- was awarded a Grammy for Best New composition with Hugo Weisgall, arguably formed with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Classical Composition. The winning the leading American composer of opera. Conrad Herwig ’05 was also recog- composer was Distinguished Professor JoAnn Falletta received an MA degree in nized in this category. Both a bandleader John Corigliano of Lehman College. (The guitar performance when her conducting and composer, Herwig was nominated recording also received a Grammy for career was just beginning. Our jazz pro- for his album The Latin Side of Wayne Best Vocal Performance by soprano Hila gram—whose formative faculty included Shorter, which he performed with the Plitman.) Corigliano beat out Copland Jimmy Heath and Sir Roland Hanna—has Latin Side Band. School alumnus George Tsontakis developed an international reputation. Its Two Copland School graduates and (’83–’84), whose Violin Concerto No. graduates are a force within the field and one CUNY Distinguished Professor 2 was also nominated in the Best New include five recent winners in the presti- were recognized in the Classical Music Classical Composition category. gious Thelonius Monk Competition.” O’Farrill

8 Ghana from page 2 tough in 90 degree heat, but we all laughed QC Receives Alum’s Civil Rights Collection use big cargo containers for housing. and told stories while working. Laughing became our way of adapting to sleeping on Mark Levy ’64, an activist in the civil rights Q: What kind of housing did your a floor in insecticide-treated nets; eating movement of the 1960s, has donated his per- team build? chicken and goat every day; and learning sonal materials of that era to the college. This A: We lived in the village of Tindonsoblogu how to outrun a croc. donation includes photographs, posters, buttons, in the remote Bolgatanga region near the letters, Mississippi student writings, and news Burkina Faso northern border. The hous- Q: What were the highlights of your clippings. They will be used to start the college’s ing built by Habitat for Humanity is made time in Ghana? Civil Rights Archive. The library will preserve, of cement block, basic 2–3 rooms with a A: It was especially pleasant to see the catalog, and make these documents available to utility block (kitchen, shower area, toilet). completion of the home we built. We at- students, faculty, and other researchers. No electricity or plumbing. The shower is tended the dedication ceremony in which a “The materials in Mark Levy's collection outdoors and we used scoops of water to local man, David Msor, took possession of help us better understand the role played by bathe. The toilet area is an outdoor latrine. his Habitat house for his wife and children. students from the college during the Civil Rights The kitchen is 5 by 10 feet. Each house is a David worked with us every day on building Holding items from the Levy collection Movement, a time of great change and turmoil are (l to r) GSLIS students Heather Ball, simple one-story about 15 by 30 feet with a the house. in our nation's history,” notes Chief Librarian Kelli Petrowski and Matthew Michaels. life expectancy of about 30 years. Habitat We had the great opportunity to chat with Robert Shaddy. houses are much sturdier than the huts made the locals each night over dinner. We learned Levy, who recently retired as executive direc- of mud or mature elephant dung. A person about their schooling, their economy, their tor of the medical residents’ union CIR/SEIU, has civil rights volunteer Andrew Goodman. The can expect to pay $2500 for a house with a religions, their politics, and their customs, been in contact with other 1960s alumni who library’s new archival collection aims to give a six-year mortgage. like courtship and marriage. When I told the are prepared to donate materials from their fuller picture of what students and faculty did Our job was to assist the local carpen- village elder my daughter was engaged, he collections. “When I retired, I came across big during this time. Levy notes that among other ters and masons. There were no bulldozers, kept asking how many cows I had received boxes of old photographs and files, many now things, QC students were involved in civil rights no backhoes, no cement mixers. The most as a dowry. The last time I saw the elder he yellowing and cracking,” he says. “History is work in several southern states; they picketed in sophisticated equipment was a wheelbar- was still shaking his head that I would give useful to pass along.” opposition to discrimination at the 1964 World’s row. I mostly mixed mortar, carried bricks, up a prized possession like a daughter and Levy believes the history of QC student activ- Fair and at local department stores; and they tu- plastered, and dug a latrine. The work was get nothing in return. ism has been overshadowed by the fact that tored in South Jamaica and at community-based Queens was the college attended by murdered educational help programs in Harlem.

QC Women in the Civil Rights Movement Women, Queens College, and the Civil 1964. That June Michael, James Chaney, Rights Movement will be the topic of this and Andrew Goodman were murdered in year’s Virginia Frese Palmer Conference. Mississippi. It will take place on Monday, March 16, Lucy Komisar ’64: Spent a year in on the fourth floor of the Student Union Mississippi in 1962–1963 as editor of the and will run from 9 am to 2:30 pm. Mississippi Free Press. Sponsored by the QC Women’s Studies Rosalyn Terborg-Penn ’63: Professor Program, the conference is held each of history emerita at Morgan State year in celebration of Women’s History University and cofounder of the Month. Association of Black Women Historians. Among those scheduled to speak are: Dorothy Zellner ’60: Worked with Branching Out to QC’s Student Union the SNCC in Georgia, Mississippi, and When New York Community Bank Chairman, President, and CEO Joseph Ficalora cut the ribbon Rita Schwerner Bender ’64: She Virginia. Feb. 6 officially opening a full-service branch in the QC Student Union, he was joined by elected and husband Michael Schwerner went To attend and receive a complimen- officials, campus officials, and others including Robert Wann ’82 (fourth from left) and Max Kup- to Mississippi as field workers for the tary lunch, RSVP to 718-997-3098 or ferberg ’42 (center, gray suit)—who are both NYCB officials and graduates of Queens College. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in [email protected] Wann is also a member of the Queens College Foundation Board.

9 QC Authors

Best known for his Oscar-winning dramas Robert E. Kapsis (Sociology) has as- early colonies to the present, Americans view and synthesis The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia sembled a collection of conversations have been fascinated by violent crime, of current research, and popular comedies such as Married spanning three decades that uses the direc- and many of the best writers of their day theories, and mod- to the Mob and Something Wild, director tor’s own words to describe his mixture (Hawthorne, Poe, Twain, Edna Ferber, els related to the Jonathan Demme has also achieved ac- of artistry and social consciousness and Mencken, Zora Neale Hurston, Capote— topic. Spring intro- claim for the illuminating documentaries perhaps best explains why he remains to name a few) have given expression duces readers to the The Agronomist, My something of a film world enigma. to that fascination. From the hanging in processes, institu- Cousin Bobby, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony of John tions, and forces Jimmy Carter, Man True Crimes: An American Anthology Billington, a Pilgrim father described by by which schooling (The Library of America) finds from Plains, as well Harold Governor William Bradford in a letter as a has been global- (English) again working in as the successful Schechter “miscreant” and “one of the profanest men ized, and examines his favorite medium—the evil men (and concert films Stop among us,” to writer Dominick Dunne’s the impact of these women) do to each Making Sense (the account of the murderous Menendez forces on schooling other. This hefty Talking Heads) and brothers of latter-day Beverly Hills, True in local contexts. Designed for courses on volume (772 pages) Neil Young: Heart Crimes presents a sometimes grisly chro- globalization and education, international offers a collection, of Gold. Yet, despite nology of some of the darker chapters of and comparative education, educational edited by Schechter, decades of cin- the American Experience as interpreted by foundations, multicultural education, and aptly described as ematic achievements, some of our best chroniclers. educational policy, the text is written in “350 years of brilliant Demme’s name is often overlooked when a clear narrative style to engage readers writing about dark Continuing Joel Spring’s (Elementary & conversation in the popular press turns to in thoughtful consideration of the topics deeds.” Early Childhood Ed.) reportage and analy- the great directors (Scorsese, Eastwood, discussed. Each chapter includes “Key As he explains sis of the intersection of global forces and Spielberg, Coppola) of our time. Points” that summarize the content and in his introduction, education, Globalization of Education In Jonathan Demme: Interviews suggest issues and questions for critical from the days of the (Routledge) offers a comprehensive over- (University Press of Mississippi), editor analysis, discussion, and debate.

Print Ads Win Gold Award from Higher Education Organization

A series of print ads gold Accolades Award from the Council for “Discovery,” “Community,” or “Change.” created by the Office the Advancement and Support of Education Designed by Georgine Ingber (Design of Communications (CASE), a highly respected national orga- Services) to reflect the theme of the cur- has received the 2009 nization for higher education profession- rent banners on Kissena Boulevard and als. The prize in the “special advertising other streets bordering the campus, they programs” category was given were photographed by Nancy Bareis, by CASE District II, the larg- with copy by Bob Suter (Editorial est of the eight geographic Services). Placements included such districts. “Your accomplish- publications as U.S. News and World ments in creative planning, Report, the New York Times Magazine, production and promotion of and Newsweek. programs merit the accolades The ad series and individual A Showing of the Green and admiration of your peers,” “Achievement” ad also received a Merit The Jan. 23 Queens Green Business Summit noted the CASE co-chair. citation from the Annual Admissions at the Student Union was a rousing suc- The ads employed a Advertising Awards, sponsored by Higher cess. Dozens of local businesses sponsored common headline “Queens Education Marketing Report. booths extolling their green efforts. At College is a Place for . . . ” The ads are on display in the main lobby QC’s booth, student Jennifer Louie offers a followed by a different noun: of Kiely Hall, adjoining the elevators. display of the many green initiatives under- “Achievement,” “Inspiration,” taken by the college.

10 Events For information on all upcoming events, visit www.qc.cuny.edu/calendars/

17 MARCH 19 APRIL Greil Marcus, Joyce Carol Oates, and 1March Lecture: “Sesame Performance: Norman Rush. 7 pm, LeFrak Concert Concert: Concertante String Octet. Street in the Cirque USA in Hall. $20. www.qc.cuny.edu/readings 2 pm, LeFrak Concert Hall. $34. Middle East: Odyssey. 3 pm, www.kupferbergcenterarts.org Paving the Road for Colden Audito- Coexistence,” by rium. $14. 1-2 MAY QC alumnus Lewis www.kupferberg- Concert: Monteverdi’s opera L'Orfeo. MARCH 9 Bernstein. 6 pm, centerarts.org Fully staged production with singers President’s Roundtable: Mark LeFrak Concert Cirque USA Odyssey from the QC Opera Studio and QC Rosenblum (Jewish Studies) and Hall. Buffet dinner Choir. 7:30 pm, LeFrak Concert Hall. another peace expert will discuss their 27APRIL of Kosher and $15. insights on both the war in Gaza and Presidential Roundtable: Halal food follows Sesame Street in the post-election realities. 12:15 pm, Middle East Roger Sanjek (Anthropology), lecture. Q-Side Lounge, Dining Hall. Age and Youth in Action: The Gray www.qc.cuny.edu/Jewish_Studies Panthers from 1970 to Today. Q-Side Lounge, Dining Hall, 12:15 pm. 20-29 MARCH Performance: Anything Goes 28APRIL presented by Drama, Theatre & Evening Reading: 50th Anniversary Dance Dept. and Copland School. celebration of the work of Philip Roth See events calendar for details. with the author and Norman Manea, www.qc.cuny.edu/dramadance/ Louis Armstrong Civil Rights Rally

Concertante String Octet 16 MARCH Exhibits Virginia Frese Palmer Conference: Women, Satchmo’s Stuff: Survey of Louis’s Queens College, and the life using artifacts from the Louis Civil Rights Movement. Armstrong House Museum’s collec- Featuring a number of QC tions. www.louisarmstronghouse.org/ alumnae who were active in the Civil Rights Movement. 9 am–2:30 pm, 4th Floor, Student Union. 718-997-3098. FYI items should be submitted to Maria Matteo, [email protected], Kiely 1310, x75593. FYI is now a quarterly. The next issue publishes in late May.

11