A Message from the President

Dear Guttman Friends & Supporters, 

It’s been a remarkable spring at Guttman Community College, and I couldn’t be prouder to share a few milestones that truly define who we are. 

April also marks CUNY’s Disability Awareness Month, and I’d like to acknowledge something truly extraordinary: Guttman leads CUNY with the highest percentage of undergraduates with disabilities — 20.44% — and proudly, the two-year graduation rate for students with disabilities is higher than that of our overall student population. This is more than a statistic — it's myth-busting, challenging the narrative of who can succeed. It’s a testament to the powerful culture of action, allyship and advocacy embraced by our students, faculty and staff. A heartfelt thank you to the Office of AccessABILITY and all who champion inclusive excellence at Guttman.  

This month’s newsletter is packed with more reasons to celebrate. You’ll read about our participation in national conferences and leadership development as well as thoughtful conversations happening on campus through the new “Perspectives” dialogue initiative. 

You’ll also meet students making waves from Kansas City to Salzburg, dive into standout events like the Women in STEM panel, and see how Guttman’s faculty continue to publish, present and lead across disciplines. 

Whether you're checking out research presented in Pittsburgh or joining us in cheering on our Phi Theta Kappa chapter’s national recognition, I hope you feel the same immense pride I do. We are a College that leads with purpose — and this spring, that has never been more clear.  

Onward together, 

Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. ("Dr. J")

P.S. I enjoyed this surprise greeting from the Student Government Association when I arrived to work on April Fools' Day!

Exploring Workforce Opportunities with Careerwise NY    

On 4/22, President Larry Johnson, Vice Presidents Danny Ambrose and Paul Reifenheiser and Senior Advisor Robert Pagan met with Careerwise New York Senior Director of Education Partnerships Ayinde Bennett, Interim Chief Operating Officer Zara Anwarzai and Chief Program Officer Marie Adolphe to explore opportunities to collaborate on youth-based apprenticeships and workforce innovations. Special thanks to Guttman Foundation Board Member Jim Cochran of JP Morgan Chase for the introduction.

President’s Speaker Series Examines Housing Issues 

“Leadership, Housing and Democracy in Today’s Political Climate” was the topic of conversation between Dr. Johnson and DASNY President and CEO Robert J. Rodriguez for the President’s Speaker Series held at CUNY@Amazon on 4/23. DASNY, New York State's public finance and construction authority, finances, designs and builds health and education infrastructure to promote inclusive, sustainable communities. Rodriguez, who represented Assembly District 68 in the New York State Assembly for 11 years, served as New York’s 67th Secretary of State from 2021 to 2024 and as a member of DASNY Board of Directors prior to his leadership of the organization. 

Guttman Leaders Attend American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Conference

President Johnson, Vice Presidents Knight and Ambrose and Dean Luckett attended the annual conference from 4/12 to 4/16 in Nashville, Tenn., where they engaged in sessions focused on student success, assessment, workforce development and innovative practices taking place at over 1,100 community colleges nationwide.

It Takes All of Us 

Disability Awareness Month, an annual observance by CUNY, takes place each April to give greater visibility to individuals with disabilities, challenge misconceptions, celebrate achievements and advocate for policies and practices that support the rights of individuals with disabilities, such as equal access to employment, education and other services. Read more.

Guttman Students and Faculty in Salzburg  

Urban Studies student Michelle Liu and Liberal Arts and Sciences student Alexandra “Aleks” Korves were selected among five Guttman applicants to take EN 112 English Composition II: Writing and Rhetoric, an Honors course through Bronx Community College taught by Lecturer Andrew Rowan. Students spent one week of the class, from 4/12 through 4/20, studying in Schloss Leopoldskron, an 18th c. castle located on the outskirts of Salzburg, Austria. Read more.

Women in STEM 

Grizzlies enjoyed the opportunity to hear directly from outstanding scientists about their careers during the 4/8 Women in STEM panel organized by Dr. Shadi Ghaderi, the department of Science and Mathematics, Patricia Jean and the Center for Career Preparation and Partnerships. “In fields traditionally dominated by men, our panelists offered a powerful example of women succeeding in these important disciplines,” noted Ghaderi. Panel members offering their time and expertise, answering questions and providing encouragement and valuable advice were: Dr. Mahboubeh Rostami, a leading expert in genetic medicine with Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Arezoo Hajesfandiari, a professor of mechanical engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering-Polytechnic Institute, Storage Lead System Test Engineer and Software Test Specialist Brianna Ponder of IBM, and Senior Research Specialist and Program Manager Sarah Briggs of Green Chemistry and Emerging Contaminants at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Constructive Dialogue Pilot: Conversation with CDO Jewel Jones 

“Many campuses are struggling with both free expression and inclusion,” noted Jewel Jones, Guttman’s Chief Diversity Officer with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Compliance. 

In an effort to breach the seemingly intractable distance between both tenets long valued in higher education, Guttman launched “Perspectives,” an online pilot training program on 4/28 for a small group of students who volunteered to participate. The pilot aims to equip them with the skills needed to discuss sensitive and/or hard to navigate topics on campus. Read more.

Phi Theta Kappa Honors Chapter Stands Out  

Winning the Chapter Progress Award in the New York Region at the annual Phi Theta Kappa Catalyst convention from 4/3-4/5 in Kansas City, Missouri, Guttman’s Beta Phi Gamma chapter also placed as 1st runner-up for its Distinguished Honors in Action project, "Once Upon A Time in the Big Apple: Folklore and Fairytales in the Making of Hyphenated-Americans." Read more.

Undergraduates Present Chemistry Research  

Two science majors travelled to Pittsburgh with Chemistry Professor Chulsung Kim to present their work at the 2025 National Conference on Undergraduate Research from 4/7 to 4/9. Lisa Ansvananda’s study, “Brewing Temperature Effects on the Total Antioxidant Capacity in Arabica Dark Roast Coffee” and Nathalia Marmol’s “The Correlation Between Total Amount of Antioxidant Capacity and the Available Polyphenols in Various Vegetables” were accepted as poster presentations.

On 4/26, Nicolli Mesquita presented at the 2025 NY American Chemical Society Undergraduate Research Symposium at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. She discussed the findings of her research with Chemistry Professor Ji Kim on the level of PFAS contamination in communities of color compared to predominantly white communities, exploring socioeconomic factors and policy loopholes.

Business Students Tour Bloomberg Tower

On 4/15 over a dozen business majors got a “VIP tour” of one of the city’s most iconic skyscrapers. “The tour of the financial news and information corporate headquarters at 731 Lexington Ave. was led by two Bloomberg employees, one from HR and the other from engineering. It provided a glimpse into Bloomberg's operations and very flat organizational structure,” said business professor Dr. Sebastien Buttet, who accompanied students along with Student Life Director Drew Bennett, who helped organize the tour.

Students learned about different positions at the company, from engineer to sales and marketing. “They explained that tenure at Bloomberg is about seven years, longer than the usual two years in the tech sector, and that during this time employees often move laterally and vertically within the company,” Buttet added. Students also toured the Bloomberg Museum, which depicted different iterations of the Bloomberg terminal over time, from inception in 1982 to the present day.

Eid Extravaganza 

The Muslim Student Association invited the Guttman community to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan’s month of fasting, on 4/3. Students shared traditional dishes and sweet treats, fashion and music.

Supercharging with Internship Power Hours    

The Center for Career Preparation and Partnership (CCPP) hosted its first two Internship Power Hours this semester on 4/3 and 4/24, with four more on the calendar for May and June! Students of all majors actively worked on their application tools — resumes, cover letters and Handshake profiles — and began applying to the latest paid internships featured on Grizzly Jobs.

Grizzly Finance 101  

For students who receive financial support or are managing their own bills for the first time, millennial money expert Tonya Rapley delivered real-time solutions in Finance 101. The 4/24 session, part of Guttman’s continuing Project Adelante grant, reinforced skills such as debt control through personal budgeting, expense tracking, understanding loans and interest rates.

UMOC Students Joined National Leadership Conference   

Six members of the campus United Men of Color student organization, Alhassane Kane, Mamadou Keita, Norberys Cano, Aziz Abdul Wahhab Alexis, Randy Cazado and Mamadouu Diallo represented Guttman at the National Student Leadership Diversity Convention (NSLDC), the nation’s largest gathering of student leaders and advisors focused on professional development in diversity and social justice, on 4/25-27 in Orlando, FL.

“One of my professors just agreed to mentor me for a research project. We’ll be mathematically modeling the biological needs of astronauts. It’s basically what I want to do with my life and I can’t wait.”

• Dr. Ria Banerjee, professor of English, published “Distances Blued and Purpled by Romance: Revisiting the Midcentury Colonialist Gaze in Black Narcissus” in Modernism/modernity. On 4/1, Banerjee delivered a keynote, “Genre and the Midcentury Colonial Gaze in Powell and Pressburger’s Black Narcissus” at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. On 4/3, she presented her work, “Drafty Houses in Forster, Eliot, Woolf” for CUNY Academy’s April Book Talks. 

• Dr. Shadisadat Ghaderi, professor of Mathematics and department chair of Math and Science was accepted into CUNY’s Spring 2025 New Supervisors Professional Development Program. 

• Patricia Jean, director of the Center for Career Preparation and Partnerships, was recognized by the New Yorks Jobs CEO Council for her “commitment to enacting, engaging, and empowering CUNY talent.” 

• Dr. Jihyun Kim, professor of Chemistry, presented "The Integration of Generative A.I. with Green Chemistry in the Organic Chemistry Course" on 4/3 at the 2025 CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference.  

• Dr. Nicole Kras, professor of Human Services, and Dr. Tara Bahl, professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, presented “Learning Beyond Words: Initial Findings on Non-Discursive Learning in Nature-Based Education at Guttman Community College” on 4/4 at the CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference. 

• Dr. James Mellis, professor of English, presented "Hauntings in Global Gothic Literature" at the Popular Culture Association annual conference on 4/18 and published "Of Pancake Mix and Wild White Horses: Sterling Brown’s ‘Ungrateful’ Critique of Fannie Hurst’s Imitation of Life" in the 4/15 digital The Langston Hughes Review. 

• Dr. Kristina Baines, professor of Anthropology, delivered the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research keynote entitled "Heritage in the Body: Sensory Investigations in Global Health Practice" at the sixth annual Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health Research Workshop at York University on 4/29.

• Dr. Luis Zambrano, professor of Mathematics, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in March 2025 to earn a Ph.D. in Urban Education from the Graduate Center, CUNY. 

$3,500 was awarded by the PSC-CUNY Research Awards to support Dr. Kristina Baines, professor of anthropology, to capture interviews and video documentation of the traditional ecological practices of research participants in Belize.

$5,998 from the PSC-CUNY Research Awards will support Dr. Molly Makris, professor of urban studies, to conduct research and data collection in Copenhagen in support of a project entitled “Parents Organizing for School Integration Across Global Cities.”

CUNY Leader and Guttman ’16 Alum Reshma Jaigobin

Empowers CUNY’s Next Generation 

This first-generation student became a creator of impactful leadership programs. Reshma believes in the power of civic engagement and relational leadership.

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