QView #202 | April 22

An all-star lineup of Aaron Copland School of Music (ACSM) students, alumni, and faculty lent their talents to an April 6 concert marking the retirement of Professor Edward Smaldone, seen here center stage. Smaldone, a QC alumnus, taught at ACSM for 35 years, serving as its director for 14 of them.

Smaldone on campus in 1975 as an undergraduate with fellow student—and future wife—Karen Ajamian

Iyabo Oyewo-Hall, the recently appointed executive director of the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding (CERRU), met with President Frank H. Wu, faculty and staff to discuss the center’s goals and upcoming programming on Tuesday, April 8.  

Clockwise from left: Anthony Tamburri (Calandra), Daniel Weinstein (Mathematics and Natural Sciences), Simone Yearwood (Arts and Humanities), Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs Maria DeLongoria, Mary Ann Simeone-Watch (Academic Affairs), Poline Papoulis (Research and Sponsored Programs), Sean Pierce (Student Affairs), President Frank H. Wu, Maria Pio (Godwin-Ternbach Museum), Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson, Iyabo Oyewo-Hall (CERRU), Jerima DeWese (Compliance and Diversity), Donna Smith (Learning Commons), Jorge Alves (Political Science), and Bobbie Kabuto (Education).

A contingent from Deer Park High School on Long Island came to campus that Tuesday for a tour and presentations.

Admissions, Veterans Services, Student Success teams, and several academic departments collectively sent roughly 40 QC staff and faculty to LaGuardia Community College on Wednesday, April 9, for transfer recruitment. More than 350 students attended the event, arranged at LaGuardia’s request. “Daniel Yakubov and Ivan-Scott Lee coordinated this fantastic and successful venture,” reports Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success Nathalia Holtzman. Seven LaGuardia students were admitted on the spot and an additional 30 students applied for transfer.

Offices across campuses were represented at a town hall—What’s Next? Preparing and Supporting Immigrant Students—held at QC on April 9. Hosted by the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, the event covered QC protocol on law enforcement and data access, and summarized campus resources for all students regardless of immigration status. Speakers included Jerima DeWese (Diversity and Compliance); Carla Cordova Farfan (Immigrant Student Support Initiative); Jeffrey Gallego, Deborah Huggins, and Yasmin Maldonado (Public Safety); Francesca Girod (Counseling); Jennifer Jarvis (Student Affairs and Enrollment Management); Iyabo Oyewo-Hall (CERRU); Yhony De Paz and Rosemarie Lynch (Financial Aid); Patrick F. O'Connell (International Student Services); and Elinor Rahmani (CUNY Citizenship Now)

Jeffrey Gallego

Patrick F. O'Connell

Aspiring scientists from the borough’s CUNY campuses presented work on Friday, April 11, when Queens College hosted Undergraduate Research Day. Victoria Bamwo, a QC senior majoring in neuroscience, was among the student speakers; her topic was “Exploring the Brain and Beyond: My Path in Scientific Discovery.”

President Frank H. Wu and ACE Fellow Danielle Egan stopped by Athletics on Monday, April 14.

CUNY Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning, Construction and Management Mohamed Attalla paid another visit to QC on Thursday, April 17. The topics included priorities and needs related to campus facilities.

From left: Frank Tuitt (University of Connecticut), an ACE Fellow at Wesleyan University; Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson; President Frank H. Wu; CUNY Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning, Construction and Management Mohamed Attalla; Associate Vice Chancellor of Facility Operations and Emergency Response Zeco Krcic; Director and Chief Superintendent of Buildings & Grounds Denese Gordon; Chief Financial Officer Joe Loughren; ACE Fellow Danielle Egan.

Also on Thursday, QC executives and ACE Fellows Tuitt and Egan had lunch with STEM faculty.

From left: Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Senior Advisor to the President Jay Hershenson; Yoko Nomura (Psychology); ACE Fellow Danielle Egan; President Frank H. Wu; Frank Tuitt (University of Connecticut); Sebastian Alvarado (Biology); Salvatore Garafalo (Secondary Science Education); John Dennehy (Biology)

Men’s Tennis Heads into ECC Playoffs as Top Seed

The Queens College men’s tennis team closed out the regular season strong, winning seven straight matches and finishing in first place in the East Coast Conference (ECC) standings. This is the 13th time they’ve won the regular season title.

QC has an impressive record of 16-4 overall and 5-1 in ECC play and will host this weekend’s ECC tournament as the top seed. The Knights will be looking for their third straight ECC title and 11th championship overall.

The ECC play-in match will take place on Friday, April 25, at noon between St. Thomas Aquinas College and the University of the District of Columbia. The Knights receive a bye into the final and will face the winner of the play-in match on Saturday at 4 pm in the QC Tennis Bubble.  

Knights softball will host Family Day earlier that Saturday. QC students, staff, and faculty are invited to bring their families to the softball field at noon to watch QC take on St. Thomas Aquinas. There will be free water and snacks for all; the first ten families who arrive at the game and have previously RSVP’d will receive a free QC picnic blanket.

The baseball season is winding down, and the Knights are fighting for a playoff spot with two weeks remaining on the schedule. This week, QC will have a crucial four-game series against Mercy University. They will host Mercy on Friday at 3 pm and Sunday at 12 pm. On Saturday, the Knights will travel to Mercy for a doubleheader beginning at noon.

For the latest schedules, news, and more, be sure to visit queensknights.com.

Celebrating the City of Women

In the City of Women, a collection of photos anthropologist Ruth Landes took of the Brazilian Candomblé in 1938-39, has been on display in Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library’s Barham Rotunda since mid-March. On April 21 at 12:15 pm, a ribbon-cutting was held for the show, followed by a discussion and a reception in Rosenthal 525. Speakers included the exhibition’s curator, Jamie Lee Andreson, a postdoctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean; Cheryl Sterling, associate professor of English and African Studies at Penn State University; and QC’s Jorge Antonio Alves, associate professor of Political Science and director of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS).

This event, held in conjunction with Diversity Week, was sponsored by LALS, Department of Anthropology, the Office of Compliance and Diversity, and the Office of Student Development and Leadership. In the City of Women will run through May 21.

President Frank H. Wu and Jamie Lee Andreson cut the ribbon.

SEES Student Wins Goldwater

Laiba Mahmood, a junior in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and a member of the Queens College Kessler Scholars Program, has been named a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2025. The prestigious scholarship, awarded to students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, supports outstanding undergraduates with strong potential to become leaders in research.

Mahmood is one of 441 scholars nationally recognized for the 2025-2026 academic year. She is studying environmental biology and geology, with a keen interest in planetary science and astrobiology, particularly the study of planetary habitability and the evolution of life. She has participated in microbial biogeochemistry research at the University of Michigan and modeled landscape and species evolution in the LEGACi Lab. This summer, she will conduct research in planetary science at MIT/NASA. She hopes to pursue a PhD in planetary science.

"Winning the Goldwater Scholarship is an incredible honor that solidifies my place in science,” says Mahmood. “To be honest, I almost backed out of applying multiple times, doubting my own capabilities. I’m so grateful I pushed through with the support of my mentors and family, who saw something in me that I struggled to see in myself. This scholarship motivates me to continue pursuing science, and I’m excited for what the future holds."

Poetry Month, Part 2

Andrew Beveridge

Andrew Beveridge, professor emeritus of sociology, died on April 10 after suffering a heart attack while attending the Population Association of America’s annual meeting. He was 79.

Beveridge, pictured here with students in 2013

Apart from a year at the California Institute of Technology, Beveridge was educated at Yale, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s and a doctorate in sociology. After teaching at Columbia from 1973 to 1981, he joined the sociology faculty of QC and the CUNY Graduate Center. During his 39-year CUNY career, he served as department chair, led the Applied Social Research program, and helped found the Institute for Demographic Research. “Andy was a force of nature at Queens College and at the GC,” observes Sociology Chair Amy Hsin. 

Celebrated for his understanding of New York and U.S. demographic patterns and trends, Beveridge had tremendous impact beyond his field. As president of the Yonkers Board of Education in the late 1980s, he helped manage the court-ordered desegregation of the city’s school system. The following decade, he and software engineer Ahmed Lacevic created Social Explorer, which evolved into a website that visualizes U.S. Census data over time and space.

Beveridge was a long-term consultant to the New York Times. Other clients included Time Warner Cable of New York, the Newspaper Association of America, law firms, and such nonprofit organizations as the Open Housing Center of New York City and Westchester Legal Services. In recognition of his exemplary contributions to advancing the understanding of sociology, sociological research, and scholarship among general audiences, the American Sociological Association gave him the Public Understanding of Sociology Award. 

Beveridge is survived by his wife Fredrica Rudell, professor emerita of marketing at Iona University and secretary-treasurer of Social Explorer; their daughter; and their granddaughter.

Susan Isaacs ’65 will give a book talk at Hunter College on the evening of Thursday, May 1. Her 15th novel, Bad, Bad Seymour Brown will be available for purchase; Isaacs will autograph it. For details and reservations, click here . . . . Carol Leifer ’78 is the co-author of the recently published How to Write a Funny Speech … for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn’t Want to Go to in the First Place. Leifer is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer who worked on hit comedy shows, including “Seinfeld” . . . . Anthony Tamburri (Calandra) was an “expert” witness for the reacquisition of Italian citizenship during a meeting of a committee of the Italian Senate . . . . QC faculty members Karen Strassler (Anthropology) and John Yao (ACSM) have been named Guggenheim Fellows. This news will be covered in greater detail in a future issue of QView.

Karen Strassler

Photo credit: Julio Grinblatt.

John Yao