March 2026

If you like snow, this winter has given you a lot to enjoy. I’m grateful to everyone for the smooth switch to remote modality last month. Our dedicated Building and Grounds team did a heroic job of clearing college grounds so we could resume in-person operations. Thanks to Public Safety, IT, Academic and Student Affairs, the Office of Communications and Marketing, Human Resources, and all the faculty and staff who helped us work through the large snowstorm that blanketed much of the city, state, and region. 

Our one winter casualty is the Student Union (SU), which has been vacated for repairs for the time being. Services normally provided in the SU will continue remotely, and some offices will offer limited in-person support through temporary pop-up locations elsewhere on campus. We are sorry for this disruption, including for students who parked in the underground SU garage. For the rest of the spring semester, parking decals were sold for $148 apiece on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible students.

QC is well positioned to be a hub for tech education, and we’re beyond thankful for all the support we receive in this area from New York legislators. In this year’s round of federal funding, Congresswoman Grace Meng, New York’s senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, secured over $3 million for student- and community-focused STEM projects on campus.

Grace Meng

Kirsten Gillibrand

More than $1 million, allocated with the support of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, is intended to go toward construction of the borough’s first nanofabrication facility, or “cleanroom.” In this lab, students will get hands-on experience in creating and working with incredibly small devices, needed in fields such as electronics, solar energy, and medical technology. The remaining funding will help create the Queens College Working Group for Digital Forensics: Analysis and Defense – Education, Studies, and Applications, based in the Computer Science Department; and support rollout of the Queens Technology and Innovation Hub at the college’s Tech Incubator. Such first-time federal support is both a great reflection of the support of our elected officials and strong recognition of the high quality of our faculty and staff.

In very exciting news, former QC faculty member and administrator Alicia Alvero was named CUNY executive vice chancellor and university provost, becoming the first Latina in the history of the university system to hold that title. We couldn’t be more delighted.

Alicia earned a BA in psychology from Florida International University and both an MA in industrial-organizational psychology and a PhD in applied behavior analysis from Western Michigan University, where she received the school’s first-ever Ford Foundation Fellowship for her research on behavioral safety. She started her academic career at QC in 2003, teaching organizational behavior management and serving as the college’s associate provost for academic and faculty affairs. In 2022, Alicia joined the CUNY administration. A first-generation college student and first-generation American, she has helped make education accessible to others, leading efforts to simplify students’ ability to transfer from one CUNY college to another.

“Queens College is immensely proud of Alicia Alvero’s appointment as CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Price. “As an institution, we have a well-deserved reputation for cultivating leadership throughout the CUNY system and the greater New York City area. EVC Alvero’s appointment epitomizes this. On a personal note, I have now had the opportunity to work with several executive vice chancellors during my time at CUNY. It is clear to me that Alicia is an immensely talented leader, and that she is very proficient at the EVC work and genuinely enjoys the role.” 

Last week, I attended a conference sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez just finished his successful service as chair of the ACE governing board. Many of the workshop discussions involved federal administration actions in the higher education arena and related strategies and responses. These national convenings allow college presidents to learn from their peers from all sectors.

Two current QC executives were in the spotlight last week. 

Chief Diversity Officer and Dean of Diversity Jerima DeWese participated in an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) webinar on interfaith programming. Her fellow panelists were Rev. Dr. Kirstin Boswell, university chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement at Elon University; Rabbi Getzel Davis, director of interfaith engagement at Harvard University; and Rabbi Jordan Braunig, the Jewish chaplain at Emory University. Their comments feel especially timely as members of our community observe Lent, Ramadan, Purim (today—Tuesday, March 3), and Holi (through tomorrow).

Jerima DeWese

Simone Yearwood

At a February 25 gala at Russo’s on the Bay, Schneps Media honored Arts and Humanities Dean and Interim Chief Librarian Simone Yearwood as one of the company’s Power Women of Queens Power Women of Queens 2026 - Schneps Media. Simone, a triple QC alumna, was recognized for her exemplary educational leadership.

While the warm weather hasn’t arrived yet, it hasn’t stopped our spring sports teams from beginning their seasons.  

Our baseball team opened the 2026 campaign in South Carolina recently, and they are scheduled to host several games on campus this weekend as some warm temperatures move in later this week. 

Our tennis teams (thanks to the warmth and cover of our QC Tennis Bubble) have gotten their spring seasons started as well. The men’s team recently defeated NCAA Division I opponent Hofstra University to start their spring season in impressive fashion. The Knights will be looking for their fourth-straight East Coast Conference (ECC) championship this season. The women’s team will be looking to repeat as ECC Champions as well. 

The softball team will open their season this week as they head to Bartow, Florida from Saturday, March 7 through Wednesday, March 11, where they are scheduled to play eight games. One of those contests will be against the Czech Republic National Team on March 11. 

Be sure to visit queensknights.com for the latest Knights’ news, scores, and schedules. 

Effective this week, Queens College has a new director of Public Safety: Vincent Sinclair, formerly a captain in the New York State Court Officers Academy (see photo). He holds an associate’s degree from Nassau Community College, a BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an MPA from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Please join me in welcoming him to campus. We especially thank Deborah Huggins for her service as interim public safety director; she will be assisting Director Sinclair as deputy director. He reports to Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration Troy Hahn. 

Campus theatrical productions share students’ talents and enable audiences to see thought-provoking plays at affordable prices. This month, the Department of Drama, Theatre, Dance and Fashion and the School of Arts will present Marvin's Room, a darkly comic story about estranged adult sisters and their extended dysfunctional family. The show will run March 5–8 and 12–15; for times and tickets, click here.

I’ll close with a friendly reminder that peer evaluators from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) will visit the QC campus March 22–25. Seats are still available in the three open sessions—separate ones for students, faculty, and staff—on Tuesday, March 24. To reserve your place, RSVP here. We heartily encourage attendance and participation. The following day at 10 am, the MSCHE team will offer its preliminary findings in a Read-Out Session in LeFrak Concert Hall. Hope to see many of you there.

P.S.: The Queens Chamber of Commerce launched its Student Workforce Readiness Program last week with Building Your Future Before Graduation, a virtual LinkedIn workshop. The next workforce readiness event will be a Student Resources Fair on Monday, March 9, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in the Midway Court (Dining Hall). Sponsored by Hydro-Quebec and Champlain Hudson Power Express, the fair will give students, regardless of major, an opportunity to meet with representatives from leading names in the energy sector, such as NineDot Energy, New York Power Authority, and ConEdison.