Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.
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QView #120 | February 15, 2022
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Dollars to donuts, people who happened to be in Kiely Hall on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 8, enjoyed the treats distributed by President Frank H. Wu. |
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Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Hendrey announced that she will be retiring at the end of this semester. In the 33 years since Hendrey joined the economics faculty, she has served the college in numerous capacities, including dean of Social Sciences, chief operating officer and vice president for Strategic Planning and Enrollment Management, and acting provost before she was appointed to that title.
President Frank H. Wu recommended to the CUNY Board of Trustees Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs Alicia Alvero to serve as Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
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Dream on Screen
The music and dance film Dream A Little Dream, a collaborative production involving ACSM, the Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance, and the Louis Armstrong House Museum, will be shown tomorrow—February 16—at 6 pm in LeFrak Concert Hall.
In the film, choreography by Dance faculty Yin Mei Critchell, nia love, and Edisa Weeks swirls through the garden and exquisitely decorated rooms of the historic Louis Armstrong House Museum. The work integrates music made famous by Satchmo and performed by the Queens College Jazz Repertoire Ensemble, led by Director of Jazz Studies Antonio Hart.
Tickets cost $5 and are available in advance. Identification and proof of vaccination against COVID 19 required (Excelsior Pass or CDC vaccination card). Patrons are strongly encouraged to continue to practice social distancing. Masks are required. Children under 5 will not be admitted.
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Big Ideas—the original video series created by the Office of Communications and Marketing to highlight cutting-edge work by QC faculty—launched its second season on Thursday, February 10, with “The Queens Gambit,” in which Francois Pierre-Louis (Political Science) explains how immigration has helped to revive the Borough of Queens. This coming Thursday, Jamie Cohen (Media Studies) will discuss the use and power of memes such as “Pepe the Frog” and “Doge.”
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Prominent Officials To Discuss Legacy of Care for Students of Color |
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In a special Black History Month event, the Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge Program (SEEK) and Africana Studies will present "Legacy of Care for Students of Color," a conversation with Deputy Manhattan Borough President Keisha Sutton-James (granddaughter of SEEK’s namesake) and Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson ’19. The discussion—the first installment of a year-long series, Diversity and Belonging for Students of Color—will take place virtually on Wednesday, February 23, at 12:30 pm; the Zoom room will open at 12:15 pm. To attend, make reservations here.
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Jewish Studies Debuts Values in Action Lectures
QC’s Center for Jewish Studies will launch its Values in Action lecture series on Wednesday, February 23, at 7 pm with “Fighting Forced Labor in the U.S. Construction Industry.” Over Zoom, attorney Aaron Halegua—founding partner of his eponymous firm and a research fellow at both NYU Law School’s Center for Labor and Employment Law and the U.S.-Asia Law Institute—will discuss the underlying causes of human trafficking and what he and other human rights lawyers are doing to combat it. To attend this event, co-sponsored by the Pre-Law Program and the Asian/American Program, make reservations here.
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Campus Improvements Continue
As people return to Queens College from the pandemic lockdown, they will find that college facilities teams took advantage of the depopulated campus to advance both short-term and longer-term projects, with still others to begin imminently, reports Zeco Krcic (AVP, Facilities, Planning and Operations). While some upgrades may be immediately apparent—touchless water fountains, new LED lighting, indoor air quality UV technology, numerous ventilation and mechanical improvements—others may not.
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Building on Expectations at Gertz |
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“The Speech-Language-Hearing Center project in the Gertz Building,” he begins. “It’s been seven years in gearing up, and we’ve eagerly just kicked off construction preparations. The staff has been relocated to Kissena Hall, which is their home away from home until we finish everything in the next year and a half or two.”
The completely renovated center will contain conference areas, student lounges, a library, therapy rooms, research laboratories, faculty offices, and augmentative communication and preschool language units as well as areas for clinical training and treatment. “The entry area will also be redesigned to make the center more welcoming and functional,” says Krcic. “The design was very carefully developed with the center’s expert faculty team.”
“In about two to three weeks we will kick off our campus perimeter sidewalk project,” he continues, addressing another long-planned project. “The campus’ 80 acres are framed by city sidewalks, and the cracks and unevenness show the city trees have been doing their work over the years. Soon, we’re going to be coordinating with the contractor to stage the materials and contractor’s base, somewhere around the perimeter, hopefully in the vicinity of Lot 15 North and South.”
Projects Reaching Completion
“While it is great to talk of projects that are soon starting, it’s worth noting some soon to be committed to our long-term memory,” he continues, referring to projects in their final phases.
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Near completion are safety exterior façade repairs to the library and Kiely Hall. Also built decades ago, Fitzgerald Gymnasium, too, required safety brick and windowsill replacement. In addition, the athletic fields and the track projects are near completion. “We have a beautiful new main soccer field, a smaller practice field, and a brand-new track for us and community to enjoy. And we are just waiting for the weather to warm up for the remainder of some hardscapes, track surfacing and utility work to be completed,” says Krcic. |
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The main heating plant is undergoing major renovations, as well: “We’re removing and replacing four aged steam generating industrial boilers with new ones,” says Krcic. “We’ve already set up one temporary boiler and have decommissioned and taken out two of the original boilers. This project is of special complexity since our original plant must maintain its operation 24/7, while contractors continue to build a new plant inside the existing location. Great credit to our engineering team on their efforts to maintain plant operation, and to project partners on great collaboration with our team each day.” |
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“Some may notice a lot of activity in and around Remsen Hall,” says Krcic. “We are about another month or two from finishing construction of a swing space for the Razran vivarium and research spaces, which must temporarily relocate to Remsen to allow for ongoing major infrastructure and interior renovations in Razran Hall. Hopefully, in early spring, we’ll be coordinating the logistics of moving not only the animals, but the people and research from Razran to Remsen. The Razran project can really pick up steam at that point.”
At Jefferson Hall, one of the campus’s oldest buildings, repairs are ongoing to a wooden truss in the attic that runs the length of the building. More than 100 years old, the beam, which is being accessed through the ceiling of the Bursar’s Office, was exhibiting cracks caused by the building settling. “The sheer size and evident engineering mastery,” marvels Krcic, speak to the quality of the early construction and the craftsmanship that went into how these period buildings were built. But like everything else, buildings shift with time, and require care and upkeep.”
Also, he notes, the complete replacement of the Dining Hall roof is several months from completion.
Making Use of the Lockdown
The dramatic reduction of campus population during lockdown offered a strategic opportunity, explains Krcic, describing how facilities teams planned and executed numerous proactive improvement efforts: “We’ve learned things and responded accordingly,” he says, describing the new water fountains being installed across campus. “They’re completely touchless. You can bring your favorite water bottle and fill it with water that’s UV light treated, 24/7.”
Installation of an initial 45 water filling stations is near completion, with plans to continue replacing older fountains each year.
UV light, as a proven technology, he notes, is also being used for air disinfection in hundreds of offices and classrooms, with the effort still ongoing. Two campus buildings were retrofitted with whole building HVAC system UV solutions, with more building systems to be retrofitted in the near future.
Additionally, notes Krcic, energy savings and labor efficiencies are being achieved by replacing fluorescent lighting fixtures with more energy-efficient, longer-lasting LED bulbs and fixtures. “Instead of replacing bulbs frequently, you get a decade of lifespan, if not more, with LED bulbs. Labor time saved on frequent repetitive maintenance is then utilized on other preventive maintenance tasks.”
Facilities teams also collaborated with contractors on a recent overhaul of Remsen Hall lecture halls 100 and 101. Awaiting a final paint job to be pronounced complete, improvements originally began as an LED lighting upgrade and technology improvements but were expanded to include new ADA-compliant fixed seating, floor painting, new whiteboards, with a soon to be added whiteboard lighting system.
“Of course, you may ask, says Krcic: “why would you not fix the roof before you fix the house,’” referring to longstanding issues with “stubborn, hard-to-trace” roof leaks at Remsen Hall.
With the arrival of warmer weather, he assures, a roofing contractor will be brought in to trace and repair the leaks. “We’ll get to the paint when we are positively done with the roof issues.”
No Job Too Big or Too Small
In addition to the previously mentioned, notes Krcic, Facilities teams have proactively performed numerous in-house, small and larger improvement projects to assist various academic units and research activities and executed numerous mechanical infrastructure repairs, improvements, and upgrades, with more underway.
Krcic wishes to share a long list of thank-yous for the work he’s described. “Great appreciation for President Wu's steadfast support and our dedicated, and innovative, facilities teams: from managers to all classified trade shops teams in Buildings and Grounds, the custodian’s team, campus Planning Design and Construction, and the Environmental Health and Safety team. Thanks to Public Safety, Human Resources, and Information Technology Services for their steady support, too. Important thanks to our partners at CUNY and DASNY; project contractors; state, city and borough funding agencies and representatives; and our administration and the budget team."
“Special and final thanks to our campus community of staff, faculty, and students for their great understanding and patience throughout the past and ongoing necessary campus renovation activities.”
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On-campus food service has resumed, including kosher, halal, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free choices. Kosher grab-and-go offerings are available in the Student Union, Library kiosk, Science Building kiosk, and the Q Café (located in main Dining Hall). Hot Halal selections are sold in the Q Café; hot vegan dishes are sold at Q Dining (main Dining Hall). For vegetarian options, visit the Farmer's Fridge vending machine in the SA Diner (Student Union). All of these locations carry gluten-free items. |
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Queens College extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of student Gregory Campos, who died over the weekend. “We were very much looking forward to seeing Gregory on campus in the fall,” said President Frank H. Wu. “We have reached out to the Campos family to offer services and support. Our heartfelt prayers and sympathies are with them at this profoundly tragic time.” |
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Heard Around the Virtual Campus |
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Zabdiel Roldan Ayala, a SEES graduate student and recipient of a FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant in 2021, will be making a presentation on March 1 at the Virtual 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting. Ayala will talk about phytoplankton research he conducted last summer in Long Island Sound with the use of a FlowCam 8100 instrument . . . . Peter Calandra (ACSM) wrote the score for The 96 Effect, a three-part docuseries that recently won the Olympic Golden Rings Award from the International Olympic Committee, for Best Equality and Inclusion Content. The 96 Effect covers four USA women’s teams that triumphed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, bringing home gold medals in basketball, gymnastics, softball, and soccer . . . . Howard Elson ’69—Knickerbocker Conference “Pitcher of the Year” on the 1967 QC baseball team and a member of the Queens College Athletics Hall of Fame—keeps his eye on the ball. A semi-retired pediatric dentist, he played in the 2021 Men’s Senior Baseball League (MSBL) Over-73 World Championship tournament and was named Most Valuable Player . . . . Joshua Freeman (History) was quoted in “Scaling new heights: The women iron workers of New York,” published in the Financial Times . . . . Tarry Hum [Urban Studies] spent part of her sabbatical serving on a citizens’ commission, New Yorkers for Social Justice, which on February 7 presented its report to Mayor Eric Adams. The commission was convened by civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, former executive director of the NYCLU . . . . Carole King turned 80 on Wednesday, February 9. The celebrated QC alumna is roughly five years younger than her alma mater, but her music is ageless . . . .
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The Q View is produced by the
Office of Communications and Marketing.
Comments and suggestions for future news items are welcome.
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