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Dear York College Family and Friends,

As we close out the year, I want to thank all of you and continue to celebrate the successes of York College. Since I began my tenure in 2019, it has been an extraordinary experience to be part of this campus and community.

When I started, I remember walking into the atrium and meeting our incredible students. Their energy and joy have filled me up every day. They will always have a special place in my heart.

I am so grateful that our students are taught by such outstanding professors. And, I’m thrilled that over the last five years we have been able to increase our full-time faculty by 15%. At the same time, we benefit from the tremendous talents of York College staff, who behind the scenes, strengthen the College’s ability to be front and center supporting student success. And, our alumni! They are making a difference at the local, national and international level and serve as beacons of what is possible for future York College graduates.

Since I joined York, our College Foundation Board, elected officials, and community and corporate partners have been dedicated collaborators who -- at every chance they get -- champion our students and our efforts to ensure that access to higher education and social mobility is the province of all. They share our values and our vision that education is the great equalizer.

As I reflect on the years since I joined the College, I am humbled that through our commitment to being “One York,” together we broke ground on a new NCAA track and field, launched a new Hip Hop Scholars Fund, broke fundraising records, added a new Master’s in Nursing, and engaged in campus-wide strategic planning and enrollment management efforts. None of this would have been possible without working together, side-by-side, bonded in our commitment to our students and community.

In closing, I want to celebrate the news that our Welcome Center, which was so generously funded by the efforts of New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, is up and running: We have served more than 5,500 people in four months!

In recognizing a need, we started with a few information tables during Covid. Speaker Adams, who we proudly call a former York College student, stepped in and shared our vision to create a vibrant hub to meet the needs of community members and students who want or are pursuing a York college degree. As a result, York’s Welcome Center was constructed and furnished with comfortable chairs, standing counters, computers, and more. It is now a beautiful gem in our atrium that our students and community deserve. And, right on the spot, we help people apply to York College! Yes – our Welcome Center is helping make dreams come true. We also help applicants and students figure out financial aid, curricula offerings, and how to start at York or transfer to York.

Berenecea Johnson Eanes

President

York Professors Named Co-Editors of WSQ

Two York English Professors now head the premier scholarly journal WSQ, known around the world for highlighting perspectives on women, gender, and sexuality.

Before Dr. Shereen Inayatulla began an academic career, she already felt connected to WSQ, a 50-year-old academic journal published by The Feminist Press. “I had a minor in women’s studies, and the scholarship that came out of that journal profoundly impacted me,” she explains. When WSQ announced an opening for new co-editors, Dr. Inayatulla enlisted her colleague, Dr. Andie Silva, to become her co-applicant. The two met when Dr. Inayatulla was part of Dr. Silva’s search committee nine years ago and have a history of professional collaboration. Dr. Inayatulla believed being chosen for these roles would be a remarkable opportunity for the school. “It is an excellent way to go out into the world and talk about what we do at York to the CUNY community and a broader audience because the readership is international.” Launched in 1972, the peer-reviewed journal is an interdisciplinary forum for exchanging emerging perspectives on women, gender, and sexuality. It features scholarship from multiple disciplines, fiction and creative nonfiction, poetry, and the visual arts in issues published twice yearly in June and December.

The two bring diverse backgrounds and expertise to their work at York and WSQ. Dr. Silva is originally from Brazil and earned her Ph.D. at Wayne State University in Detroit. She is an early modernist (studying 16th and 17th-century printed books) and a digital humanist (applying digital methodologies to humanity subjects). Dr. Inayatulla has been a member of York’s faculty for 13 years. She grew up in Canada and came to the United States to get her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. Her scholarship is focused on composition and rhetoric (a.k.a. writing studies). However, her interdisciplinary work emphasizes anti-racist and feminist pedagogy.

Through this collaborative lens, they plan to continue WSQ’s mission. They are excited to join now as the issue called “Nonbinary” debuts. While the production happened before they assumed their roles last May, it indicates the work they hope to continue. “What brings me to WSQ is that intersectionality and the opportunity to advance conversations. The journal publishes artists, poets, people reflecting on the state of our time, and traditional academic research,” Dr. Silva says. The duo believes the journal’s work challenges boundaries and hierarchies often present in academia, which is often a siloed space. “We also get to connect with people we’ve previously only dreamed of contacting, like superstar writers, thinkers, academics, artists, and activists, and ask them if they’d like to write a piece.” Dr. Inayatulla notes.

But even with their increased responsibilities as co-editors, their commitment to York is unwavering. “It’s vital to consider where our attention is most needed to maintain our commitment to the school, the department, and the students. Our responsibilities go beyond the classroom. A York education can support students financially, intellectually, and structurally,” Silva says. “The students make it possible for me to imagine a glorious, equitable future for all of us. They constantly inspire me in all parts of my job,” Inayatulla adds.  

Student Scholarship in Action

York College Senior and Movement Science Major Stephon Baldeo presented his winning abstract “Acute Effect of Yoga on Psychological Health Changes Following Chronic Yoga” at the fall conference of the American College of Sports Medicine - Greater New York Regional Chapter (ACSM-GNYRC) as part of the Conference’s undergraduate abstract competition. His poster presentation came in second place, with 68 points -- only one point behind the first-place winner! His research, which found that “quiet mindful activities lead to significant psychological health improvements,” contributes to the important growing body of research exploring the impact and intersection of physical activity and mental well-being.

Commitment to Student Success

As part of their commitment to their students’ futures, the Nursing Department faculty held its annual Transition to Practice Workshop for senior nursing students. This interactive day provided graduating students with an opportunity to prepare for their roles as Registered Professional Nurses. Specifically, the workshop included guest speakers, including a talent acquisitionist from the hiring team at a medical facility/organization, a representative from a professional organization, and others. Students learned about cultural diversity, professionalism in the workplace, education pathways, and hospital system opportunities.

The seniors also had an opportunity to work on their resumes and have a Q/A session with a panel of prior graduates and nursing faculty. There were also mock interviews where students practiced interview skills, while other students observed and provided feedback.

Political Prisoner Memoir Translated into Italian

Dr. Margarita Drago, York College Professor of Spanish, continues to share her insights and experiences around the world. Her powerful memoir documenting lifechanging and haunting experiences during her five years as a political prisoner in two Argentine prisons – Fragmentos de la Memoria. Mi Vida en dos Batallas/Fragments from Prison. My Life in Two Battles – was just translated into Italian under the title Frammenti della Memoria. La Mia vita in Due Bataglie, published by Officine Pindariche Editore, Salerno, Italy. The book was translated by Rita Tartaglione and curated by University of Salerno Professor Rosa Maria Grillo.

This newly-revised and expanded edition incorporates a love story lived in prison – an act condemned by prison authorities, national institutions, and society. Dr. Drago, originally from Argentina, has published widely and Fragmentos de la Memoria was declared of national and cultural interest by the Honorable National Congress of the Republic of Argentina. As an expolitical prisoner and writer, she has represented Argentina in congresses in the United States, Brazil, Perú, México, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Canada, Spain, and France. She is a faculty member of York’s World Languages, Literatures and Humanities Department in the College’s School of Arts and Sciences.

Global Influence at the United Nations

York College History Department Professors Patricia Haggler and Remi Alapo participated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit High-Level Town Hall side event organized by the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWPI) Office for United Nations (UN) Relations – NY on the topic: UN and Local Government Initiatives to achieve the SDGs. The program included an information session on UN and local government initiatives geared towards achieving the SDGs. Read More Here >

(Left to Right) Prof. Patricia Haggler, York College Coordinator, History and Black Studies; Ms. Merly Baalan - CEO, Women’s Federation for World Peace International UN Relations Office (WFWPI); Attorney Abigail Binay, Mayor, Makati City, Philippines; Prof. Remi Alapo, York Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cultural Diversity and Black Studies; and UN Rep, WFWPI Dr. Elaine Duval: UN Rep, WFWPI

Distinguished Service Recognized



Dr. Nicholas Grosskopf, Professor & Chairperson of York College’s Health and Human Performance Department, received a Distinguished Service Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS). He received the Award at the 2023 annual SSSS conference in New Orleans. Dr. Grosskopf has served as chairperson of the SSSS Continuing Education Committee since 2019. His scholarly interests include the intersection of health and technology, health equity/health policy implications for gender and sexual minority individuals as well as human participant research ethics.

York Professor Dr. Nicholas Grosskopf (left) Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, President of SSSS (right)

Making a Difference

Rachelle Antoine (Class of 2018), Manager of External Relations and Community Outreach at JFK Redevelopment Program, shares what inspired her to transform her academic and professional course trajectory.

John Lewis, the late United States Representative and civil rights icon, once said, “You have to be persistent.” For Rachelle Antoine, joining a group of other students on a 27-hour bus ride to Selma, Alabama in 2015 was the catalyst that changed the direction of her academic career. The trip, led by York’s Distinguished Lecturer Emeritus Dr. Ron Daniels, was to witness the commemoration of the 50^th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March. Antoine was among the 40,000 people in attendance when President Obama and the Congressman gave speeches on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. But, as the festivities wrapped up, Antoine held up the bus’s departure. “I have to meet John Lewis, and I am not leaving here without a photo,” she recalled. Her determination paid off, but she got into trouble with the chaperones for not listening, which wasn’t the “good trouble” Lewis talked about. Read More Here >

READ MORE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS >

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