As we look back on Black History Month, we think of it as a lasting invitation. It asks us to pause and consider not just what we know, but how we came to know it, and why that matters. Carter G. Woodson, the founder of what became known as Black History Month, understood this deeply. In his The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), he argued that education designed to diminish rather than expand the mind produces people who cannot fully participate in the world on their own terms. His insight was radical then. It remains urgent now.

At a moment when the very language of belonging — diversity, equity, inclusion, access — is under pressure, the Black and Latino Studies Department (BLS) at Baruch College holds firm to a different vision. We believe that Black History is History. It belongs to everyone. And a liberal arts education worthy of its name must cultivate what Woodson called for: a critical consciousness that names the world honestly and prepares students to engage it fully.

At BLS, it is the work happening every day.

For instance, in Professor Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana's classes, students collected first-person oral histories from US veterans who have been deported. Their stories are rarely heard in mainstream narratives of citizenship and service. Working with community partners, they transformed those histories into public murals embedded with QR codes, giving anyone with a phone access to unfiltered testimony. Those murals now stand at the US-Mexico border in California and Texas. Most recently, a new mural was installed right here in Brooklyn, inviting New Yorkers to encounter the human cost of immigration policy on their own streets.

In Professors Rojo Robles and Rebecca Salois' courses, students are doing more than studying Latinx culture, they are producing it. Through the Latinx Visions podcast, students transform their research and reflection into public episodes that reach audiences far beyond the classroom. In Professor Shelly Eversley's classes, students collaborated to write, edit, and produce short documentaries about climate justice, and they created work serious enough to air on CUNY TV, reaching communities across New York City.

This is what experiential and community-engaged learning looks like when it is taken seriously. And in spring 2022, the Mellon Foundation took notice. BLS just completed a two-year Mellon-funded grant — the first time the Mellon Foundation has ever engaged Baruch College — to support its Black and Latinx Publics initiative. From first-year general education courses to senior capstone seminars, students and faculty at every level contributed to a shared project of advancing innovation in teaching and learning in the service of the public good.

A liberal arts education, at its best, does not simply transmit knowledge. It produces people who can think critically, act ethically, and participate meaningfully in a democracy. The Black and Latino Studies Department has always understood this. Our students don't just learn about the world, they help to change it.

As we celebrate our work, we invite the entire Baruch community to join us in asking the question Woodson pressed us to ask:

What is education for?

Baruch Students Featured on CBS Mornings for Black-Jewish Unity Dinners

Baruch College students Aidan Herzlinger and A'kish El were recently featured on a national CBS Mornings broadcast discussing their participation in the Black-Jewish Unity Dinner series. The segment, which aired ahead of the Super Bowl, highlighted the national initiative aimed at combating hate and fostering dialogue, launched in partnership with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and Hillel International.

During the interview, Hersinger and El shared their experiences from the dinners, which have brought together more than 450 students nationwide. The students noted that the conversations extend beyond politics, focusing instead on finding commonalities between the Black and Jewish communities, sharing family histories, and connecting on a human level. Their featured appearance highlights the active role Baruch students are taking in this important national dialogue.

The full broadcast segment can be viewed on YouTube.

The Mishkin Gallery hosts Changing Cultures: Zhen Guo, A Retrospective curated by Prof. Gail Levin

The Mishkin Gallery at Baruch College is proud to present the first major New York survey of renowned artist Zhen Guo, March 12 – June 12, 2026.

Plan Your Visit

• Opening Reception: Thursday, March 12 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
• Exhibition Dates: March 12 – June 12, 2026
• Location: The Mishkin Gallery, 135 E. 22nd Street, NY
• Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM (and by appointment)

About the Exhibition

Spanning nearly sixty years of creative output, this retrospective traces Zhen Guo’s evolution from her first embroidery (Chairman Mao, 1966) to her 2012-2025 large-scale papier-mâché and sewn fabric breast sculptures, and handmade tufted tapestries.

Through these varied mediums, Guo explores the journey from China to New York, examining profound themes of immigrant identity, motherhood, and the violence embedded in patriarchal cultures. Her large-scale “muted landscape” paintings also serve as powerful protests against environmental injustice.

Meet the Artist: Zhen Guo

Born in 1955 in Shandong Province, China, Zhen Guo’s education was cut short at age twelve by the Chinese Cultural Revolution, leading to her assignment in a clothing factory. She later studied and taught at Zhejiang Academy in Hangzhou before immigrating to the United States in 1986.

Guo is a leading voice in feminist art, serving as the founder and president of the Chinese Feminist Art Alliance, NY. Recent solo exhibitions include showcases at the Ethan Cohen Gallery, NY (2026), Bard College (2024), and Connecticut College (2023).

Curatorial Notes

The exhibition is curated by Gail Levin, Distinguished Professor at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. This showcase follows Dr. Levin’s 1991 exhibition Changing Cultures: Immigrant Artists from China, which explored how Chinese immigrant artists navigate new worlds to express evolving identities.

This exhibition is generously made possible by the Edith B. Stein Symposium Fund, Friends of the Mishkin Gallery, and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College (CUNY).

2026 Salih Neftçi Memorial Scholarship Winners Announced

The Baruch MFE program is pleased to announce that students Lorenzo Senatori and Tianxiao Andy Wang have been awarded the 2026 Salih Neftçi Memorial Scholarship. The award recognizes students who embody the traits that the late Salih Neftçi held dearest: a deep dedication to helping and educating others.

The selection committee praised Wang's strong self-discipline and Senatori's generosity of spirit and sharp intellect. Both students have also secured highly competitive quantitative internships for the upcoming cycle. Senatori will intern with the central quant team at Balyasny, working under Baruch MFE alumnus Lyosha Smirnov, while Wang will join Point72 as a quant intern.

The department extends its gratitude to the selection committee, which consisted entirely of Baruch MFE alumni: Dr. Katie Hysenbegasi ('04), Mr. Alain Ledon ('08), Mr. Gus Tsahas ('06), and Mr. Chun Wong ('05).

Baruch MFE Wins 2026 Rotman International Trading Competition

The Baruch MFE program secured first place—and a $5,000 prize—at the 2026 Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC), widely regarded as the world championship of collegiate trading. This year’s event featured a highly competitive field of more than 35 universities from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

In a thrilling come-from-behind effort, the Baruch team surged ahead to capture the win, marking the closest finish in RITC’s 22-year history. "The 2026 Rotman International Trading Competition was like no other prior event," noted Prof. Dan Stefanica, co-director of the program.

For this year's team, RITC was a first-time experience. Students Sam DeCoster, Yueqi Rose Lin, Zhi Eliam Lin, Lorenzo Senatori, Shikai Yi, and Tianxiao Andy Wang won the volatility trading and liquidity risk cases, and placed in the top five in three additional events.

"I could not be prouder of how the students performed, demonstrating extraordinary focus and discipline under pressure," said coach Prof. Jarrod Pickens, who has now led Baruch teams to eight of their RITC victories. "We start with a new team every year, and our students always rise to the occasion."

This victory marks the program's ninth overall win and its eighth in the past 11 years. With this latest championship, more than 60 Baruch alumni have now won RITC. The department extends its gratitude to Virtu Financial, a leading global financial services firm and strong employer of Baruch graduates, whose continued sponsorship provided the optimal environment for the students to succeed.

This victory underscores the program's broader success and real-world rigor. Risk.net recently ranked Baruch MFE as the best financial engineering program globally for the third consecutive year, and QuantNet’s 2026 rankings placed it #1 in the U.S. The program maintains a 96 percent offer acceptance rate and a 100 percent employment rate at graduation.

Read the full story on the Baruch College News Center.

Announcing the WSAS Awards Student Category

Each year, the Dean’s Office of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences recognizes outstanding faculty and staff whose work reflects the four core values identified as central to the school's mission in the 2024-29 Strategic Plan: collaboration, inclusion, caring, and exploration.

This year, in collaboration with student leaders at Weissman, the school is excited to announce a new category recognizing outstanding junior or senior undergraduate students. This award honors students who embody two or more of the core values through their excellence in scholarship, service, engagement, and/or innovation within and beyond the Baruch community. A total of $1,000 has been allocated for this new category, which will be distributed among one to four deserving students.

All awards will be presented at the final WSAS faculty meeting of the spring semester.

Nominations are due by March 11th. For more information and to submit a nomination, please visit the new WSAS Excellence Awards webpage.

Alumnus Likhon Roy Granted EB-2 National Interest Waiver

Baruch College alumnus Likhon Roy recently received approval for an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW), a highly selective immigration classification recognizing his professional work and expertise as holding significant national importance.

Roy credits the foundation of his nationally recognized work to his time at Baruch. He noted that this milestone reflects the strength of the college's interdisciplinary training, as well as the essential support provided by the International Student Service Center (ISSC).

During his time as a student, Roy was a highly engaged campus leader. He was active in the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and collaborated directly with the Provost to advocate for students and address important campus issues. His recent NIW approval serves as a strong testament to the real-world impact and career trajectory of Baruch alumni.

Baruch PAC Recital Featured on WNYC and Recognized by Classical Music Publications

The Baruch Performing Arts Center (Baruch PAC) recently hosted bass-baritone Joseph Parrish for a recital highlighting songs from the Harlem Renaissance. The performance garnered notable media attention, including a feature on WNYC’s Morning Edition as a daily "Gig Alert." Securing a spot in this curated, city-wide listing provides valuable visibility for Baruch PAC and its ongoing programming.

In addition to the WNYC feature, the Tuesday night recital received dedicated reviews from two classical music publications. The blog Voce di Meche offered a thorough appreciation of Parrish's performance and the center's programming. Furthermore, Classical Voice North America—the journal of the Music Critics Association of North America—reviewed the performance, noting the "gratifyingly diverse audience" in attendance. The coverage notably highlighted Baruch PAC alongside peer venues such as Merkin Concert Hall and 92NY, placing the college's performing arts center in excellent institutional company.

The full "Gig Alert" feature can be viewed on WNYC's website. The performance reviews are available to read at Voce di Meche and Classical Voice North America.

Weissman Faculty Secure College-Wide AI Innovation Grants

Weissman School faculty are playing a leading role in a series of newly awarded AI Innovation grants, partnering with colleagues across the Zicklin and Marxe schools to advance AI literacy, ethics, and teaching strategies at Baruch.

The funded initiatives featuring Weissman leadership include:

• AI Under the Hood—Building AI Literacy Through Customized Hands-On Chatbot Development: Co-led by Prof. Zoe Sheehan (Fine and Performing Arts, Weissman) and Prof. Romi Kher (Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Zicklin), this project was awarded a $25,000 grant. Building on successful pilot projects in the Baruch MakerHub, the initiative will develop a modular, scalable curriculum that guides students step-by-step through creating their own custom chatbots. By building AI rather than simply consuming it, students will gain critical literacy skills that transcend their individual disciplines, preparing them for an AI-integrated workforce. The resulting instructional modules will eventually be made available to any faculty member wishing to use them.

• Ethical AIms: Addressing AI in Contemporary Challenges: Co-led by Prof. Elizabeth Edenberg (Philosophy, Weissman), Prof. Rhiannon Nielsen (Marxe), and Prof. Yafit Lev-Aretz (Law, Zicklin). This funding will enable the expansion of an upcoming Ethics Week conference to include follow-up dialogues recorded at CUNY-TV and the publication of a series of briefs.

• AI-Responsive Pedagogy: Collaborative Strategies for Course-Level Assessment: Led by Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Director Meechal Hoffman, alongside Associate Deans Cheryl Smith (Weissman) and Kannan Mohan (Zicklin). This project will assist faculty in implementing the Cross-College Curricular Framework developed last year. The initiative will convene AI-pedagogy working groups—organized by discipline, modality, and class size—to explore practical strategies for AI-responsive course-level assessment.

Jennifer Alberghini, PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor

Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature

Engaging non-majors in required courses can be challenging, especially when students don’t immediately see the relevance to their career goals. In our second faculty blog post of the year, Jennifer Alberghini, an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, shares how she engages students who take her Great Works course as a degree requirement—often without plans to pursue the humanities—by challenging the idea that the class is just a hurdle to clear. Specifically, Jennifer highlights strategies for helping students see the relevance and value of studying the humanities, even for those planning careers in business or other fields.

Read more: https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/starr/2026/01/12/jennifer-alberghini-i-am-a-weissman-faculty-member-and-this-is-how-i-embed-career-readiness/