NYC Instruction Librarians Gather at Guttman  

For their first-ever hybrid LILAC conference, over 50 instruction librarians in the New York metro area gathered at Guttman on Friday, June 9, where they were welcomed by Chief Librarian and Associate Professor Meagan Lacy and her library colleagues. LILAC is a CUNY library faculty committee formed in 2004 to promote the integration of information literacy across the University. Charged with advising the Council of Chief Librarians and the University Librarian, LILAC members help integrate information literacy, assessment, and professional development activities. This year’s theme, “The One-Shot Wellness Exam,” was inspired by a recent issue of College & Research Libraries Participants discussed the challenges of drop-in instruction and how they can work within the limitations of this structure to build relationships with students and better connect them to the library’s resources.

Book Talk Focuses on Children’s Need for Cultural Representation  

On June 8, Dr. Tashana S. Samuel, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Program Coordinator for the Liberal Arts & Sciences, hosted a book talk entitled, “Representation in Children’s Literature,” featuring Danielle Fairbairn-Bland, LCSW, author of twelve children’s books. Originally intended for Dr. Samuel’s Child Psychology class, students taking Introduction to Psychology courses, Liberal Arts & Sciences majors, and Human Services majors were all invited to attend. Passionate about shattering stigmas around mental health and using her platform to support communities across the African Diaspora, the author provided participants with copies of her books and a guide for self-publishing children’s literature.

Pre-Calculus Class Investigates Water Quality and Sustainability with Jordanian Peers  

This semester, Guttman Lecturer Luis Zambrano’s math students engaged in online synchronous and asynchronous dialogue with an engineering class from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) as they tested the safety of drinking water of their respective cities. Their collaborative research, centering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations #6 Clean Water and Sanitation and #10 Reduced Inequality, was enhanced by guidance in career success strategies to promote the skills and experience gained through the project in their professional portfolios, resumes, and LinkedIn profiles. “The objective was for students to select and measure variables that characterize water quality, complete a comparative analysis of those variables with their teammates from Jordan, and to determine any functional relationships between key variables. My students’ research focused on TDS (total dissolved solids) and pH (acidity or basicity)” explained Zambrano. Not only did students apply theoretical learning and calculations, but their post-project observations demonstrated geo-political perspective-taking and cultural competencies gained through international teamwork. The Pre-Calculus students joined four other Guttman classes among five CUNY colleges and four universities in the Middle East and North Africa presenting their findings at the May 30 virtual Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) Conference. 

Zambrano and fellow Guttman professors Jihyun Kim, Nicole Kras, Jinzhong Niu and Karen Williams led courses in partnership with GSACS through LaGuardia Community College with support from the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative, a U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute. Read more.

Reflecting on Pride Month

Thanks to the creative genius of Associate Director of Academic Technology Chris Roth and his Pride Month planning team, it was hard to choose from June’s abundance of scheduled activities celebrating, educating, and advocating LGBTQIA+ past, present and future. Appreciating all the programming and her Stonewall Club advisors, Business major Gianna Fernandez, club president, paused during Pride Month to share her thoughts about the resurgence of the Club for students after its COVID hiatus and during this time of increased anti-gay rhetoric and policies: 

There’s definitely a need for our club. Yes, we enjoy the festivities; they’re fun and good stress relievers. But what students really love are when we host our roundtable discussions. It gives everybody an opportunity to sit down with their peers, to connect by hearing their stories and build camaraderie.  

After COVID, we’re all re-building ourselves. And that’s especially hard when you’re gay. You’re constantly re-affirming your identity, and you’re curious about who YOU are. You see so many amazing creators on social media and you want to investigate and find out more. Even if you have a solid sense of yourself, it’s not always one thing, like “I’m gay, or I’m bi, or I’m trans.” It’s perplexing because we see that identity can shift and you end up some days feeling lost, unsure.  

Sometimes in our roundtables we talk about cultural reticence because in saying who we are, it can feel like we have to constantly hide, adapt, or compromise to still belong to our culture. As a leader, I want everybody to feel welcome, without having to join the club as a member if they don’t feel comfortable. We try to always ask if it’s OK to post a photo or video. We welcome the “fringes!”

Since taking on this role, I’ve gotten so many experiences. For one, I’ve never written so many professional emails! I’m doing communications, planning, marketing all the time now—things I want to learn more about in my classes. I’m interested in protecting the rights of people, of workers. I could see myself in the future going into Human Resource Management.

Commencement speaker Andrea Shapiro Davis, senior advisor to New York City Mayor Adams and director of public service engagement, surprised the Class of 2023 by offering each graduate two $50 gift cards—one for themselves, and one to pass along to someone else, totaling $18,000.

Additionally:

• Associate Professor of Human Services Nicole Kraus received a second round of PSC-CUNY Research Grant funding to expand Nature-Based Learning pedagogy across disciplines. 

• Guttman concludes the fiscal year with a grant from JobsFirstNYC that launched a Healthcare Sector Network to strengthen collaboration among workforce training providers and employers to increase access to higher-quality jobs requiring less than a four-year college degree.

On June 28 and 29, ten faculty from two departments gathered to prepare for Guttman’s inaugural Honors Program that will begin this fall. Led by Associate Professor of English Ria Banerjee, the Honors Program offers students opportunities to earn transcript notations for self-directed research projects developed and executed in collaboration with a faculty member. The program aims to improve retention in the second year and foster opportunities for students and faculty to work together on academic projects designed by the student, which go beyond coursework in their majors. Honors students complete 2 such projects and their 3rd requirement is community-oriented, where they bring their research to Guttman audiences. “As Guttman enters our second decade, we aim to expand opportunities for students to fulfill their aims as scholars and prepare them to make a signal impact in their chosen fields of study if they choose to advance in their academic careers,” said Banerjee.