February 2026

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and returned to campus feeling refreshed. Our semester got off to a snowy start when the first day of classes was held remotely following a major winter storm. We owe a debt of gratitude to our hardworking faculty and staff for pivoting so quickly and for ensuring the campus was safe for our return the following day.

Last Sunday, Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and I had the pleasure of meeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when he visited the Louis Armstrong House Museum. In celebration of Armstrong and Black History Month, Mamdani announced that the Museum will offer free admission to all visitors on Saturday, February 7, ensuring black history is accessible to all New Yorkers. I hope you can take advantage of this great opportunity. Special thanks to Executive Director Regina Bain and the LAHM team for organizing this successful event. 

L to r: Frank Wu, Former City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Mayor Mamdani

Group photo inside the museum

Armstrong will also be celebrated at Hunter College on February 24 at 7 pm for a special musical tribute that will commemorate Armstrong’s legacy and mark the recent publication of two-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Riccardi’s Armstrong biography Stomp Off, Let’s Go! Riccardi is the director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. For tickets click here.

There were many other exciting developments during the break. 

On Monday, December 15, 2025, I swung by the Child Development Center and served as a guest reader for storybook time. 

Frank Wu along with Gerald Cannon and his sons Caleb & Gabriel during the President’s recent visit to the Child Development Center for Storybook Time. Seargent Cannon is a US Army Veteran, a Student-Parent and Volunteer with Veterans Services on campus.

That afternoon, the School of Mathematics & Natural Sciences hosted a party in Remsen 3000.

Three days later, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry held its own holiday fete . . . .

. . . and students presented their work during the Voices of NY Undergraduate Research Symposium on Language held in the Dining Hall Patio Room.

Gail Marquis ’80, a basketball star at QC, was part of the U.S. team that won a silver medal in Montreal in 1976, when women’s basketball made its Olympic debut. Gail played for pro teams at home and in France, worked as an analyst for the NBA and WNBA, and enjoyed a long career in brokerage, finance, and banking. Devoted to her alma mater, she spent years serving on the Queens College Foundation (QCF) and emceed several of the college’s fundraising galas. Gail stepped down from the QCF, and I had the distinction of honoring her as a foundation emerita on December 19, in the presence of her wife, Audrey Smaltz, and my wife, Carol Izumi. 

From left: Audrey Smaltz, Gail Marquis, yours truly, and Carol Izumi. 

Winter Session wasn’t the only event bringing people here in January. 

On Tuesday, January 6, hundreds of high school science students and their teachers turned out for the 28th annual Thomas Hayden Chemistry Demo Show. This exciting QC tradition honors the memory of a chief college laboratory technician who served the college and the department for 40 years.

QC’s commitment to diversity emphatically includes people with disabilities. On January 10, the college once again hosted the CUNY Adaptive Basketball Tournament. Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Alicia Alvero, and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright attended the tourney, when the CUNY squad prevailed over a team from the University of Michigan. As an alum of Michigan’s law school, I had divided loyalties, but that’s another way of saying that I couldn’t be displeased with the outcome, either way.

L to r: Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Coach Ryan Martin and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright

The Queens County Farm Museum is a wonderful borough institution and a supportive college partner. During its annual holiday drive, the farm collected donations for the Knights Table Food Pantry. More than 500 items were delivered to campus on January 12. 

I welcomed personnel from China’s Wuhan Institute of Design and Sciences (WIDS) to campus on January 13—the institute’s second visit. Among WIDS’ nine colleges are schools for business, environmental design, fashion, film, and nursing.

From left, front row: WIDS Director of International Affairs Nelly Hu Huo, WIDS Chairman and Co-founder Frank Cheng Fan, yours truly, Yin Mei Critchell (Dance) Back row: Dan Liu (Computer Science student), Director of WIDS Innovation Hub Lisa Tu (Linguistics), WIDS Board Member David​ Cheng, Meghan Healey (Drama), WIDS Co-founder and Board Director Wennie Bin Cheng, Director of Long Museum of WIDS Frank Wei, Dean of Jackie Chan Film and Media School Yang Heng, Vice-Director of International Affairs Edward Zhang, Film Director and faculty of Jackie Chan Film and Media School Haishan Bao

An inspiring time was had by all on Sunday, January 18, at the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration in Goldstein Theatre. Queens Borough President Richards reprised his role as co-host. QC’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award was presented to activist and Emmy-winning broadcast journalist Carol Jenkins, founder of the CUNY TV program “Black America,” who gave the keynote. A highlight of recent MLK celebrations has been the debut of episodes in the Office of Communications and Marketing’s original docuseries Legacy Connection: QC & Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - YouTube. The latest video, “Rooting for Seek”, covers the creation of the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) Program—marking its 60th anniversary this year—and its roots in the civil rights movement. In the musical segment, the Tyreek McDole Quintet performed compelling repertoire rooted in Black American music. Special thanks to Dean of the School of Arts and Interim Chief Librarian Simone Yearwood, Dean of Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer Jerima DeWese and the MLK Celebration Planning Committee. (Coverage: QNS l Caribbean Life)

Donovan Richards, Carol Jenkins, Frank Wu

The Global Student Success Program (GSSP) saw the arrival of its first Queens College cohort in January 2020. Since then, more than 700 students have come here from overseas to continue their education. I was delighted to speak to newcomers at their student orientation in the Patio Room on January 22. 

The Modern Greek and Byzantine Center, founded in 1974, promotes scholarship and connects it to the needs of the local Greek community. On Wednesday, January 28, I met with its interim director, Fevronia Soumakis, for coffee and heard about the center’s plans for this year.  

L to R: Prof. Arnold Franklin, Dean of Faculty and School of Arts and Humanities Simone Yearwood, President Frank H. Wu, Interim Director of the Greek Center Fevronia Soumakis, Dean of School of Business Carmen Cotei, Prof. Karen Weingarten, Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Graduate Studies Maria DeLongoria

I had the pleasure of meeting with Queens County elected officials and leaders from fellow CUNY schools in Queens at the 2026 Queens Legislative Breakfast at LaGuardia Community College on January 30. Together with CUNY vice chancellors, all the presidents advocated budgetary improvements needed from the state and city to strengthen support for public higher education in the borough. I was joined by Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson, Assistant Vice President for Governmental Relations and External Affairs Jeff Rosenstock, Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Chief Librarian Simone Yearwood, Ally Bridge Dean of Business Carmen Cotei, and Director for External and Governmental Relations Liza Marquez.

Top row L-R: Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry, Assembly Member David Weprin, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Senator John Liu, Senator Claire Valdez, Assembly Member Steven Raga, Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson, Council Member Nantasha Williams. Bottom row: LaGuardia President Kenneth Adams, Queensborough CC President Christine Mangino, Queens College President Frank H. Wu, CUNY Law School Interim Dean Natalie Gomez-Velez, York College President Claudia Schrader

Later that day, we had a table alongside our sister institution, Queensborough Community College, at the Flushing Chinese Business Association Gala. This annual event is hosted by a nonprofit organization that has led the revitalization of one of the city’s most entrepreneurial downtown districts for over half a century. Attorney General Letitia James, pictured below with Associate Provost Maria DeLongoria, Dean of the School of Arts and Interim Chief Librarian Simone Yearwood, and me, promised to visit our beautiful campus sometime soon, as did Comptroller Thomas diNapoli. Our delegation was able to meet many prospective partners for the Tech Incubator and employers of our students.

L to r: NY Attorney General Letitia James, Simone Yearwood, Frank H. Wu, Maria DeLongoria

L to R: Frank H. Wu; Michael Wang, Executive Director, Flushing Chinese Business Association and organizer of Lunar New Year parade; Tom DiNapoli, Comptroller of the State of New York; NYPD Deputy Chief (Transportation Bureau) Sylvester Ge

Officially, Lunar New Year—the Year of the Fire Horse—begins on February 17, but the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company ushered it in a little early with a spectacular performance at Goldstein Theatre on February 1.

Photo by Kupferberg Center for the Arts

Speaking of spectacular performances, our winter sports teams were in full swing during the break, and several of our talented student-athletes are having standout seasons. 

Nkiru Awaka has been a star for the women’s basketball team, averaging a double-double (14.5 points/11.4 rebounds per game) and earning multiple weekly honors from the East Coast Conference (ECC) and Met Basketball Writers Association. On the men’s side, Tahj-Malik Campbell ranks third in the ECC in scoring (19.4 points per game). Both basketball teams are fighting for a berth in the ECC playoffs as the season enters the final month. In track and field, Carly Koprowski is running circles around her competition, earning multiple top finishes at the Knights’ meets this season.  

I wish all the teams the best of luck for the rest of the season. I hope you can support them at some of their remaining contests. The schedules can be found on our athletic website. www.queensknights.com

In conjunction with Black History Month, NY1 produced a special focusing on historically significant places throughout Queens. I’m proud to report that two of the locations are part of QC: the Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clocktower. In a campus visit coordinated by Annie Tummino (Special Collections and Archives), NY1 interviewed us in Rosenthal Library. It was a great opportunity to share items related to the construction and dedication of the clocktower. We also talked about Civil Rights Collection items related to Andrew Goodman's work in Mississippi and Dr. King's appearance at the college.

As part of QC’s celebration of Black History Month, Africana Studies and SEEK will be hosting a roundtable discussion on February 18 at 4:30 pm on Zoom entitled Black to the Future: 100 Years of Black History Month and Beyond. Prominent guest panelists include Regina Bradley, Stefan Bradley, Kenton Rambsy, Karsonya Wise Whitehead, and Ytasha L. Womack. Registration is available here.

This month, we are also recognizing local hero Claire Shulman, who would have turned 100 on February 23. In her 16 years as Queens Borough president—she was the first woman to hold that position—Shulman dedicated herself to improving the lives of people who live and work in Queens. She successfully championed the borough’s cultural and educational institutions. On this campus, she will be honored, fittingly, with the Claire Shulman Scholarship, through an endowed fund, hosted by the Urban Studies Department, which will be announced at a press conference on February 5. The college is deeply grateful to the Queens Chamber of Commerce Foundation for its generous gift supporting this scholarship. 

Chen, Shulman

Queens College benefactor Thomas Chen credited Shulman with helping him navigate the process of opening a manufacturing plant in Queens for his company, Crystal Window and Door Systems. In deep gratitude, he commissioned a larger-than-life-size bronze sculpture of her, now installed in his Dutchess County art park and nature preserve. On February 10, Chen will return to the Godwin-Ternbach Museum for a reception for LEGENDS: Athleticism in Asian/American Art, the latest campus exhibit funded by the Thomas Chen Family/Crystal Window Endowment. The show will debut works by the Chinatown Basketball Club, Kaarina Chu Mackenzie, and Astria Suparak, and will be on display through May 14. As a recreational marathoner, I much appreciate this theme. 

In closing, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of our new Director of Alumni Relations, Maria Hataier. Maria brings more than two decades of leadership experience in higher education, with a strong record of building meaningful alumni engagement and strengthening institutional partnerships. Most recently, she held senior leadership roles at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Enjoy the rest of this short month!

PS: QC and the Queens Chamber of Commerce have created a Green Career Student Workforce Development Initiative, sponsored by Hydro-Québec and Champlain Hudson Power Express. Participants will earn a Queens Chamber Workforce Readiness Endorsement, certifying their working understanding of green industry fundamentals and general business practices. To learn more about this exciting program, see the attached flyer.