FALL 2013, VOL. XVII, NO. 2 QUEENS THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE Escape from Egypt Abducted as a child, Nashwa El-Sayed ’13 made her way back to the United States ateway to uture QC’s Gthe F GE 20 PA 18 Focusing on the Big Picture ALUMNI DAY DAVID MCKAY WILSON 30 HOMECOMING 2013 20 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 • 1P M–6:30PM Gateway to the Future F MUSIC 26 OO One Woman’s Self-Liberation DONNA SHOEMAKER D 29 Taking a Novel Look at Ordinary Lives LESLIE JAY 30 GAMES Finding the Write Path 18 LESLIE JAY FEATURING SECTIONS Keynote speech by Hollywood producer Alan Siegel ’73—credits include 4 Mailbag 5 News 8 Bookshelf Playing for Keeps (2012) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013)— 9 Athletics 10 Giving Back our first Carnival on the Quad, and an evening performance 12 Kupferberg Center Events 29 14 Alumni Notes 28 Angel Investors by Grammy and Tony winner Cyndi Lauper! 31 2013 Donor Honor Roll Register Online by October 6 to save $15 on tickets and be eligible to win an Apple iPad! Ticket includes luncheon, carnival pass, student performances, and concluding cocktail reception. QUEENS THE MAGAZINE OF QUEENS COLLEGE Discount does not apply to concert tickets. Fall 2013, Vol. XVII, No. 2 Assistant VP for Governmental & External Affairs | Jeffrey Rosenstock Editor | John Cassidy Creative Director | Dyanne Maue Design Manager | Georgine Ingber Staff Designer | Jefferson Caballero Staff Writers | Leslie Jay, Jacquelyn Southern, Bob Suter Cover Photography | Edna Barth www.qc.cuny.edu/homecoming | 718-997-5534 | [email protected] 26 QUEENS: The Magazine of Queens College 3 QUEENS MAILBAG QUEENS NEWS Two from the Class of 1941 My parents—Grace Lawlor Abere and her New College Appointments—and a Presidential Milestone husband, Joseph F. Abere—were in the first graduating class of Queens College. Grace Over the summer QC revised its earned a degree in sociology. Joe earned administrative lineup. Elizabeth Hendrey, his bachelor’s degree at Queens, then went formerly acting chief operating officer and on to earn his PhD in chemistry at the vice president for strategic planning and Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn. Joe and enrollment management, became acting Grace were married in Queens Village on provost. “This past year, as chief operating December 26, 1943. After Joe served in officer, I have had the opportunity to work World War II, they moved to White Bear with students, faculty, and staff from across Lake, MN, where they raised their seven the college, and I hope to draw on that Hendrey Stellar Keller Michaels McClure children and Joe worked as a corporate experience in my new role,” says Hendrey. scientist for 3M. Joe passed away in 2003. She replaces James Stellar, who assumed On a recent visit with Mom, we the challenging new role of acting vice accomplishments of QC faculty, students, appointments in their respective divisions. discovered the “Class of 1941” article president for academic innovation and and staff,” he says. “I look forward to “We are delighted whenever search in Queens Magazine (Fall 2011–Winter experiential learning at the college. becoming part of the Queens community committees conclude that the best person 2012). Her memories of college days William Keller was named vice and to contributing all that I can to this for the job is one of our own,” says were awakened and we enjoyed a lively president for finance and administration, remarkable institution.” President James Muyskens. conversation. Mom passed away on April 5, a position that has been vacant since After national searches, two other But there are also constants amidst all 2013, just before she turned 94. She and Dad Katharine Cobb’s departure last year. A campus positions went to in-house the changes at the college. This fall marks enjoyed a wonderful life together for almost CUNY veteran, Keller held the same title candidates as acting deans Craig Michaels Muyskens’ twelfth year on campus, making 60 years. They both had fond memories of at Kingsborough Community College. “I (Education) and William McClure him the longest serving president in Queens their education at Queens College, and their have immense respect for the countless (Arts and Humanities) won permanent College history. children cherish the legacy they left behind. Grace Lawlor Abere and Joseph F. Abere, both from the college’s first graduating class. Mary Jeanne Hecht Oxford English Dictionary, and then write never visited). I chose a piece from Old a 1,000-word essay on the derivation and Kingdom Egypt, thus initiating a lifelong Belated Thanks evolution of the word. When he returned the fascination with the history and culture of I grew up in a tough, working-class district essay, the grade was an F and a comment on that ancient civilization. Armstrong Festival Set for June 2014 of Brooklyn. My father did piecework in a the first page read, “Is English your native I often wonder how different my quality factory that made men’s caps. My mother language?” However, Professor Silverstein of life would have been if I had gone to It’s official: The first annual Louis George Wein, the legendary founder was a housewife. They had both dropped met with me in his office and patiently college in today’s setting, when general Armstrong International Music Festival of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, out of school after the eighth grade. There showed me how to rewrite each sentence. education has been all but abandoned will take place on a weekend next June will serve as advisor. “This could be a were virtually no books in our apartment. I then had to do the assignment over again and students flit from “studies” course to at the USTA Billie Jean King National true world’s fair of music in the actual Like most teenagers, I didn’t work very and the second try resulted in a C. He then “studies” course, rarely if ever exposed Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows World’s Fair grounds,” Wein believes. hard in high school and was unsure about met with me for a second rewriting session. to a common core of knowledge. A Corona Park, which was home of the “It’s a spectacular concept to showcase what to do after graduation. At the end of By the end of the course my writing had recent survey, for example, revealed that 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs. not only jazz, but music from around my junior year my adviser asked me if I improved enough to receive an A. of the nation’s twenty “top” liberal arts “We want this festival to the world.” planned to go to college. I told him that Luckily, I also enrolled in a freshman colleges, only one has a general education embrace the legacy of Louis The festival, which is being produced it all depended on whether I could get into literature section taught by a dynamic requirement in history or literature. Armstrong, who traveled the by the college through the Kupferberg the New York City public system—which young instructor named Lillian Feder. Over the last decade I made a belated world and became known as Center for the Arts, has already secured was free. She opened my eyes to the world of books effort to locate and thank the professors ‘Ambassador Satch’,” notes Jeffrey support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Fortunately I did, and entered Queens and scholarship. Professor Feder’s skill who had enriched my life during those first Rosenstock (VP Government the City University of New York, and College in 1957. I was irritated, however, in bringing literature to life, from Greek two undergraduate years. Sadly, but not & External Relations), who is the Kupferberg Family. Collaborating to learn that my freshman and sophomore drama, through Shakespeare and Albert surprisingly, I discovered that they were no helping to organize the event. partners include NYC & Company, the years would be filled by required general Camus, had an enormous impact on my longer living. I had unthinkingly waited far “Indeed, this festival takes its NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, education courses in literature and English, imagination. Likewise, I took introductory too long to contact them. This brief letter inspiration from Armstrong’s the NYC Department of Parks and math and science, foreign language, art and history courses with Professor Richard serves, in a very small way, to try to make belief that ‘You gotta listen to all Recreation, the Louis Armstrong House music, and history. I had taken for granted, Emery, whose lectures (without any up for that oversight. kinds of music’.” Museum, and the USTA. as did my parents, that I would pursue either notes—something I have never been able to Sheldon M. Stern ’61 Rosenstock believes the festival, Keep your eye on the college’s medicine or the law and did not understand duplicate) were absolutely riveting. which will use multiple stages and website in coming months for more the purpose of two years of seemingly In addition, the freshman music course locations throughout the USTA grounds, information about performers and extraneous requirements. required students to attend a performance has the potential to draw over 60,000 tickets for what might be the most And, initially, things did not go very Send your letters to people. There will be an open festival exciting thing to hit Queens since the of Handel’s Messiah, which, after hearing [email protected] or well. My first writing assignment, from format each day from noon to 7 pm, and 1969 Mets. it for the first time, became a great favorite. Queens: The Magazine of Queens College a concert featuring major artists in the Professor Norman Silverstein, was to pick a Finally, the art history survey required Queens College, word from a list on the blackboard (I chose students to do a paper on a work of art at Queens Hall 270E Arthur Ashe Stadium each evening.