It’s an Honor: Honors Program, PTK and DAPI at Guttman

Starting this Fall II, Guttman will offer HONS 250, the College’s first Honors Research Workshop. The class guides students in any major to develop their identity as academic researchers, to design and refine their chosen research, and prepares them to work individually with a faculty mentor on two sequential, advanced, self-paced projects. Students participating in the Honors program will also get to share their research with the Guttman community through the completion of an outreach project. “Every semester they are enrolled in Honors, they will receive a transcript notation,” explains HONS 250 instructor Dr. Ria Banerjee. “Before graduation, Honors will organize an award ceremony in recognition of their hard work.

Students can work on their Honors projects in both 12-week and 6-week semesters, in addition to completing their regular academic requirements for graduation. Honors level projects can grow out of existing courses and research opportunities (like CRSP or Study Abroad) but must have an additional component that qualifies them as “honors level.” Students in Honors need to: (a) maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.3, (b) pass HONS 250 Research Workshop, (c) complete 2 research projects with faculty in their disciplines, and (d) complete 1 campus outreach project related to their research.

On October 13-15, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Officers Issa Cisse (President), ChunYin Chu (Vice President of Service) and Giana Fernandez (Treasurer) attended the New York Region Honors in Action (HIA) Conference in Albany, NY, along with Co-Advisor, Associate Director of Advising & Transfer Support Diana Zechowski. This year's conference focused on the HIA theme: “The Art and Science of Play.” Students attended interactive plenary sessions and connected with peers from chapters across the Region. Guttman's Beta Phi Gamma PTK Chapter also recently received a grant to enhance their HIA project, studying how access and experiences of play differed based on ethnicity, class, gender, and nationality. Earlier this year, PTK members presented their work at the CUNY Celebration of Undergraduate Research conference along with Professor Samuel Finesurrey. The grant will ensure the continuation of meaningful undergraduate research. According to PTK President Issa Cisse, "With new sources of funding being injected into the PTK program at Guttman, students will be even more supported as they cultivate their skills as knowledge producers." The chapter is poised to maintain its prestigious Five-Star Status.

Black Student Union Kick-Off

Guttman’s very first Black Student Union (BSU) launched with a celebratory information session on Oct. 12. According to Jahsiah Montrevil, BSU’s 19 year-old founding president, his passion and drive for the new organization is to “create a safe space and environment to explore the different aspects and experiences of the Black diaspora. I also want to highlight various aspects of the Black identity that are often overlooked or not talked about enough.” Jahsiah, a second-semester Liberal Arts major, has a passion for bringing the community together and understands that there will be bumps in the road when starting an appealing new initiative for busy community college students, many of whom work fulltime and attend classes. He said, “I’ve learned things don’t always go as planned. More importantly, I’ve learned that I can take my life experiences and skills in many ways and adapt them, and myself, to better take on whatever challenges come my way.” This month, Guttman also welcomes new United Men of Color Program (UMOC) Facilitator Jose Garcia.

Faculty Scholars Invite Input

Convening a “Community Conversation and Panel on Public Health” on Oct. 18 in Guttman’s atrium, Associate Professor of Anthropology Kristina Baines brought current students, alumni, public health practitioners and social scientists together to discuss the future of the public health field. Asking for feedback and suggestions for the design of Guttman’s upcoming public health program, Dr. Baines encouraged the panel and audience to weigh in about public health education generally, and what is needed for the future of public health in NYC. The event was supported by a grant from Humanities NY.

On Oct. 19, Professor of Human Services and Department Chair Marcia Edwards co-facilitated a roundtable discussion on “Social Work and Human Sexuality” at the New York State Social Work Education Association’s annual conference held in Saratoga Springs. With its 2023 accreditation from the Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHSE), Guttman’s Human Services program is only the second college in New York State to receive CSHSE accreditation. The college meets the highest standards in human services education, well aligned with the conference’s theme of “Courageous Social Work: Implications for Justice Centered Teaching, Learning, and Practice.”

The Power of the Pen (and Keyboard)

On the National Day of Writing, Oct. 21, Guttman authors showcased their work and tried their hand at different genres through fun writing activities like a “Living Essay,” “Make Your Own Cuneiform Tablet,” a letter-writing station and a “Flash Essay Contest.” Lecturer Valdon Tau Battice shared his award-winning photo essay work with participants. Our across-the-street NYPL neighbors joined us from the main library’s Rare Book and Manuscript Division to provide an exhibition on “The History of the Book” at The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, popularly known as the Mid-Manhattan Library, on the corner of W. 40th and 5th. The day’s celebration was capped off with an invitation to a performance of the one-woman show, “From Poor to Rico” by world-renown poet "La Bruja," executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Café, Caridad de la Luz. The day’s events were facilitated by English Assistant Professor James Mellis.

Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium Reporting Fellow Guttman 2nd year Business Administration student Kameo Latortue joined 39 other distinguished Fellows at Pulitzer’s annual Washington Weekend conference Oct. 13-15. “Kameo presented their fascinating project about the biases within the Black queer community,” said his mentor, English Lecturer Amity Nathaniel. “Kameo also did a stellar job at the Q&A panel session, networked expertly through the various events held that weekend with confidence, and represented Guttman with total grace!”

• $197,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) supports the innovative development of the College’s undergraduate certificate in cybersecurity and an Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology degree. 

• With ROUND III of the CUNY Upskilling Initiative, Guttman’s new Cybersecurity program will benefit with an award of $34,376.10.   

• Guttman received the New York State CUNY OER Initiative grant approved for $105,630 for 2023-24, allowing more courses with “Zero Textbook Costs,” Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) exchanges and Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) partnerships reflecting on experimental pedagogy and student research.   

• $44,000 from CUNY’s Anti-Hate Initiative strengthens Guttman’s Strategic Pillar 1: Elevating Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB). As multi-year effort focusing on a variety of identity groups, this year’s funding focuses on combating anti‐Asian discrimination and antisemitism. Dynamic programs, skills training, curricular study, and cultural and artistic celebrations throughout the fall and spring semesters aim to end discrimination against the Jewish and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.