September 2025

I’d like to take this opportunity to amplify the message in my recent video and welcome all of you to the fall semester and the new academic year!

Since my last newsletter over the summer, Queens College has seen exciting developments, beginning with the fact that faculty members Michael Mirkin (Chemistry) and Yoko Nomura (Psychology) were named CUNY distinguished professors. This is the highest academic honor that CUNY can offer its faculty. Michael and Yoko are nationally recognized scholars in their respective fields; he studies nano-electrochemistry, and she explores the impact of prenatal and early childhood adversity on central nervous system development. I salute them on their latest achievements and take pride in the fact that Queens College now has 14 distinguished professors.

Michael Mirkin

Yoko Nomura

I am also happy to report that Queens College will be adding faculty in the computational sciences over the next five years. Specifically, we will gain one line in the photonics cluster, one and a half lines in urban AI, and one line in astrophysics. The new lines, part of the Martin S. Spergel Initiative in Computational Sciences, are supported through a grant to CUNY from the Simons Foundation. Kudos to Patricia Price, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, and her team for consistently pursuing new opportunities for enhanced faculty support.

CUNY is committed to becoming an international leader in science teaching and research. The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), launched in 2014, enhances scientific research across the university. I learned more about ASRC’s work—and opportunities for QC to participate in it—when Daniel Weinstein (School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) and I visited the facility on August 6.

Meanwhile, QC’s Project ExCEL, part of CUNY’s Black Male Initiative (BMI), won BMI’s Outstanding Institutional Commitment award for 2024-25. Project ExCEL’s Director/Academic Advisor Rajiv Singh and Coordinator/Academic Advisor Megan Alexandra were recognized for the activities and student supports they offer. Notably, they set up a professional development series that placed Project ExCEL mentors in summer internships in different campus areas, including the Academic Advising Center. Rajiv’s and Megan’s efforts have gained Project ExCEL increased financial support as well as recognition and acclaim: Queens College will receive a $75,000 award to support Project ExCEL. 

Rajiv Singh

Megan Alexandra

This summer, Queens College was ranked #8 in our country by Forbes Magazine for return on investment, a key category that speaks directly to the value of a quality education and its linkage to career advancement, earnings, and success. CUNY continues to be a nationwide leader.

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival has been an annual Queens tradition since 1990, attracting teams of paddlers to Flushing Meadows Corona Park to vie against each other in Meadow Lake. CUNY had never participated. That changed on August 9-10, when the CUNY Knight Dragons Team—drawn primarily from the Queens College community—made an impressive debut in multiple divisions. The CUNY Knight Dragons placed second In the regular mixed race and third, by a hundredth of a second, in the Educational Invitational, facing teams from four other schools. Our women's team won the women’s race and backed by Spectrum, the women’s Sponsors Invitational! I want to thank and congratulate CUNY Knight Dragons coaches Adrian Peters and Hemwatie Seusarran (Office of Public Safety); the team manager, Liza Marquez (External and Governmental Relations); and the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of QC who took part in the event after nearly three months of training.

Team members celebrated their success at the awards banquet on August 15, when six of the of the CUNY Knights Dragons joined Henry Wan, chairman of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, for a photo op.

The Queens College Summer Camp doesn’t—yet!—prep anyone for dragon boat races. But soccer, basketball, and other team sports were on the menu. So were robotics, theater, educational classes, and arts and crafts. I swung by the camp to see what was happening.

From left: Director of Athletics and Recreation Rob Twible, Jennifer Toro, Carmen Gonzalez, yours truly, Director of Camps Buz Considine, Education Director Karen Ponzo, Director of President's Office Stacey Romano

Numerous programs help Queensborough Community College (QCC) students transfer to QC to complete four-year degrees. With the launch of the Q74 bus last June, the MTA has been doing its part to simplify the journey. The Q74 provides limited-stop weekday service from QCC in Bayside to the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station; the route runs along Jewel Avenue and Horace Harding Expressway, with a stop one block from Queens College. On Monday, August 18, I boarded the Q74 in Bayside for a trip to QC with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., QCC President Christine Mangino, and administrators, staff, and students. This video documents our ride. Please do watch this very special excursion! Passengers were greeted at the Flushing bus stop by a QC contingent; then everyone attended a welcome reception in the Student Union Ballroom.

Late August is a time to support students transitioning to campus. On August 21, I had the pleasure of attending this semester’s orientations for the Global Student Success Program . . .

. . . and the National Student Exchange

. . . as well as the Family Fun Day for the Kessler Scholars Program.

With assistance from QC volunteers, students began moving into the Summit Apartments on August 22.

That same day, student scientists presented their findings during the QC Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Donna Shair helped Bill Haddican (Linguistics) extend his previous research.

QC’s pre-semester rituals continued Monday, August 25, when I had an especially packed schedule, with QC Honors Orientation in the morning . . .

. . . Welcome Day at lunchtime; this video captures the action . . .

. . . followed by School of Education graduate student orientation that afternoon.

Fall usually brings faculty and staff transitions, too.

John J. Chin has been appointed dean of the Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI)—which reports to Queens College—after serving in an interim capacity for nearly a year. He’s formerly a professor of urban policy and planning at Hunter College. Thanks again to Provost Price, AVP Jeffrey Rosenstock, and all involved who participated in the search process.

Vivek Upadhyay has been named QC’s assistant vice president for enrollment management. Many people on campus already know Vivek, a double QC alumnus who taught computer science here and previously held positions in Academic Advising. Vivek brings a unique combination of extensive experience at CUNY as well as the broader higher education landscape to this vitally important position. On board since mid-August, he has already implemented new initiatives to increase enrollment, which includes recruitment, retention, and paving the pathway toward graduation. Thanks to Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Jennifer Jarvis, to whom Vivek reports, as well as AVP Rosenstock and all who contributed their input to the search process. Enrollment support is our highest priority.  

John J. Chin

Vivek Upadhyay

Nathalia Holtzman, associate provost for Innovation and Student Success, has moved to the College of Staten Island as interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. A highly accomplished biologist and administrator, Nathalia had an outsized impact on this campus: She brought in more than $10 million in external funding from government sources and private foundations, supporting STEM education, transfer student success, faculty development, and institutional change. I thank Nathalia for her contributions to QC over more than 20 years and I wish her all the best in her new role. A search process for a replacement is underway.

I’ll close by urging everyone to watch—and share—this fast-moving video about the upcoming Queens College episode on the national television show, ”The College Tour.” The Office of Communications and Marketing produced this video with pro bono help of David Stern and the Creative Advertising Group (they have done movie promos for Spiderman, Top Gun Maverick, Black Panther, Casino, and more). I’m grateful to everyone for their splendid work. This excellent program will soon be the first at CUNY and you will be hearing and seeing much more in the weeks ahead. Find out why you should visit the QC website on Tuesday, September 16.

PS: Groundbreaking demographer Andy Beveridge had an enormous impact on his field and the institutions where he spent most of his career—Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. QC and CUNY will celebrate his life this Friday, September 5, from 4 to 6 pm in the Elebash Recital Hall of the Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The event will be hybrid; a Zoom link will be available closer to the date.

Let me wish everyone a productive and enjoyable academic year! Please do read your emails, visit our website regularly for announcements, and follow QC social media. Be healthy and stay safe.