QView #204 | May 13

Edward Smaldone (right), chief marshal for Commencement, was recognized by President Frank H. Wu at a gathering of colleagues on Monday, May 5.

Next, President Wu swung by the Muyskens Conference Room, where QCAP and Asian American Community Studies celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

He also made time to salute members of the class of 2025 at the Honors Senior Luncheon.

Jennifer Bisram ’04 (in yellow), a CBS News New York reporter and anchor profiled in QView 196, spoke to a Media Studies class on Monday through Professionals on Campus.

That evening, QC graduate Esther Fuchs, professor of international and public affairs and political science at Columbia University, and director of the Urban and Social Policy Program at its School of International and Public Affairs, spoke about antisemitism and the future of higher education. The well-attended lecture, based on Fuchs’s experience as co-chair of Columbia’s antisemitism taskforce, was presented by the Center for Jewish Studies and co-sponsored by Queens College Hillel, the Center for Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Understanding and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).  

Utopia Parkway, QC’s undergraduate literary journal, marked the launch of its latest issue on Tuesday, May 6.

Jamie Klein ’79, Kenneth Newman ’67, and Howard Rose ’77 were honored at Queens College’s 34th Gala on Tuesday, May 6. Klein received the President’s Leadership Award; Newman, the Distinguished Alumni Award; and Rose, the QC Lifetime Achievement Award. Christian Mark Gibbs ’14 performed two songs before an appreciative audience. Olympics Silver Medalist Gail Marquis ’80 moderated the event. The gala was alumnus Chaim Wachsberger ’73’s first as chair of the Queens College Foundation.

From left: Vice President for Institutional Advancement/Alumni Relations Laurie Dorf, Kenneth Newman, Jamie Klein, Howard Rose, President Frank H. Wu

CUNY Explorers X NYGU brought downstate high school students to this campus on Friday, May 9, to learn what QC and CUNY have to offer them.

Men’s Tennis Wins NCAA East Regionals to Advance to NCAA Tournament; Women’s Tennis Looks to Do The Same

The Queens College men’s tennis team is heading to the NCAA Tournament in Altamonte Springs, Florida after they won the NCAA East Regional on Saturday. The Knights defeated Adelphi University, 4-1 to secure their trip to the tournament. 

It is the second straight year that the men’s tennis team is heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights now wait to find out whom they will play in their opening match this week.

The QC women’s tennis team will be looking to join the men in the NCAA Tournament. They will have their east regional match on Tuesday, May 13 against Wilmington College in Delaware at 12 pm.

Also last week, the QC baseball team’s playoff run came up short in the East Coast Conference Championship game. After winning two games on Friday to advance to the title game, the Knights fell to Molloy University on Saturday, and their season came to an end.

Be sure to visit queensknights.com for the latest updates on the men’s and women’s tournament runs.

President Wu found a seat at the table during the May 12 reception for this year’s Jewish Studies graduates. The event was organized by the Director of Jewish Studies, Arnold Franklin.

On the same day, great weather enhanced the turnout for Israel Fest on the Quad. The event was organized by the QC Israeli Student Association (QCISA) and QC Hillel with support from other student organizations.

Dancing the Night Fantastic

Dressed to thrill in enchanted forest-themed attire or their best formal wear, 365 guests attended the Second Chance Prom on April 24. (Thanks to Northwell Health and QC faculty and staff who donated formal and semi-formal attire for a free, pop-up boutique as reported in QView 200). Prom-goers danced, dined to a live performance by the Queer alumnx band, D-Note and the Connection, and enjoyed a drag show by Freeda Kulo. A photographer was on hand so guests could receive framed portraits to commemorate the evening.

An annual event, QC’s Second Chance Prom gives students the opportunity to celebrate out loud and proud and bring the date of their choice, without any gender restrictions or stigma. The prom was organized by LGBTQIAA+ Programs at Queens College and the student-led Gender Love and Sexuality Alliance. This event was made possible due to the generous support of the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium in partnership with the New York City Council. Co-sponsors included the Alliance of Latin American Students, the Hispanic Club, the Committee for Disabled Students, Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, and the Office of Compliance and Diversity.

President Frank H. Wu joined partiers for fun and photos.

PS: The CUNY Queens Lavender Graduation—for LGBTQIA+ and Ally undergraduate and graduate students from Queens College, York College, Queensborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and CUNY Law School—will be held at Queensborough on May 22. To attend, sign up by May 16 at Graduate Registration Lavender Graduation.

Museum Education for Educators

Teachers from Townsend Harris High School (THHS) got lessons in integrating art and museum-based learning into their classrooms through a series of workshops presented this semester at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.

From late February through early May, Maria Pio (Godwin-Ternbach) and SEYS faculty Susan McCullough and Wendy Tronrud—respectively, program director for art education and assistant professor of English education—held five workshops. All told, more than 85 Townsend Harris teachers from multiple disciplines—including math, science, history, English, and art—attended these sessions, which introduced them to the museum and its collections. Participants engaged in object observations and inquiry-based discussions; in smaller breakout groups, they completed a range of writing and drawing prompts inspired by objects from the current exhibition.

“This was such a great collaboration among the Secondary Education and Youth Services Department (SEYS), the College Prep Program at QC, and the Godwin-Ternbach,” says museum co-director Maria Pio. “Robin Hizme, director of College Preparatory Programs (QC-THHS Collaboration), also played an integral part in this workshop. It marks an important step in strengthening partnerships between the museum and Townsend Harris High School.”

THHS teachers have already expressed interest in opportunities for the upcoming academic year; some have started bringing their classes for museum visits.

Matos Visits SIBS Club on Mother’s Day

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez came to campus May 11 for a morning Mother’s Day session of the SIBS Club, a QC program for families of children with autism. Run by faculty and students, SIBS works to improve social interactions between children with autism and their neurotypical siblings. Meanwhile, it helps psychology, education, and behavioral sciences students to better understand children with autism.

“Programs like SIBS Club, in which students can apply their passion and knowledge in the service of children with autism and their siblings, ensure everyone benefits—students and families alike. This is what makes CUNY a leader in educating students with disabilities and why our campuses remain a vital resource for the communities they call home,” said Chancellor Matos. “As students with autism continue to pursue higher education in ever-growing numbers, we remain steadfast in our commitment to help them thrive.”

The SIBS Club operates on a ten-week cycle, meeting once a week. Each session involves individualized instruction for children with autism, activities for their typically developing siblings, and full group activities meant to teach positive sibling interactions. Over the past 12 years, more than 500 children and their families have benefited from the program.

“We are deeply grateful to Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez for taking the time to visit the college’s SIBS Club,” said Queens College President Frank H. Wu. “Based at the Queens College Psychological Center, which provides a variety of mental health services, the SIBS Club fosters inclusion for children with autism and their families; it also gives our students invaluable experience in working with neurodivergent individuals. This is a wonderful example of how, in keeping with our school motto—we learn so that we may serve—the college is committed to being a contributing member of the community.”

AAARI Observes AAPI Month

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the Asian American / Asian Research Institute has compiled a list of events taking place around the city and online.

Tonight—Tuesday, May 13—Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung, coeditors of the new anthology, The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration, will discuss the book with Cathlin Goulding (Hunter College), granddaughter and daughter of incarcerated Japanese Americans. The panel will be held from 6 to 8 pm at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College (47-49 East 65th Street, Manhattan).

An online teacher workshop on Wednesday, May 14, Asian Americans in the “American West,” will cover ways to make educational use of photographs, legal cases, writings, and life stories of Asian Americans. Register here.

Actor, writer, and director Kim Chinh, daughter of a Vietnamese father and a white mother, will present her autobiographical Culture Bridge: Reclaiming Vietnam – A One Woman Show on Friday, May 15, 6 pm, at Flushing Library (41-17 Main Street, Flushing). Chinh will field questions after the performance.

For the month’s complete calendar, go to Events for May 2025 - Asian American / Asian Research Institute.

Fun and Games on Campus

Get ready for Springfest! The Quad will morph into fairgrounds on Wednesday, May 14, from noon to 4 pm. There will be something for everyone, with old-time standards (funnel cakes, carnival rides) and new (ziplines, virtual reality). Springfest is sponsored by the Office of Student Development and Leadership, the Committee for Disabled Students, and the College Union Programming Board.

More Time To Hit the Books

As usual, Rosenthal Library will maintain extended hours for the benefit of students preparing for final exams. From Thursday, May 15, the last day of classes, through Thursday, May 22, the last day of final exams, the library will be open from 6 am to 10 pm. An active QCard, CUNY ID card, or QC Alumni ID card is required for library entrance.

Portrait of Student Success

Honors student. Athlete. Cat rescuer. Cassidy Pong, daughter of a CUNY alumna, is having a rewarding experience at QC as she recovers from a sports injury and prepares for a career in finance. Scholarship Success Stories Cassidy Pong - YouTube, screened at the recent college gala, tells her story.

James Allen Owre ’66

James Allen Owre, an educator who shifted into community and international development, died on April 8, a few weeks short of his 89th birthday.

Upon graduating from Flushing High School, Owre, known to family and friends as Jim, enlisted in the Marines. When his tour was up, he enrolled at QC, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. Teaching first on Long Island and then moving with his family to Vermont, he grew involved in community projects. He left a position at Blue Mountain Union School to devote himself to the creation of a community arts center, now known as Catamount Arts, in St. Johnsbury.

Accompanied by his wife, Owre went on to spend 14 years working around the world in post-civil war community re-integration, providing technical assistance to newly elected democratic parliaments in Croatia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. A talented tenor saxophonist, he proudly sat in with bands in Malawi and Nigeria. Retiring to North Carolina in 2011, he returned to Vermont during the summer. 

Owre is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Christine (Chris) Owre; his brother; four children and their spouses; eight grandchildren; and two great-children.

Ammiel Alcalay (Classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian Languages and Cultures) has released a new poetry collection, CONTROLLED DEMOLITION from Litmus Press | Asterism Books. Subtitled a work in four books, Controlled Demolition combines three previously published poetic texts—Scrapmetal (2007), the cairo notebooks (1993), and from the warring factions (2002)—with a new work, “Controlled Demolition.” With Khaled al-Hilli & Emna Zghal, Alcalay is a co-translator of Nasser Rabah’s Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece | City Lights Booksellers & Publishers . . . .

Lauren Kinhan (ACSM) is a member of New York Voices, which was named "Jazz Vocal Group of the Year 2025" by the Jazz Journalists Association . . . . Keena Lipsitz (Political Science) and Steve Romalewski (Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center) received a $275,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation for a project that will help Pennsylvania mobilize for a successful 2030 Census. Lipsitz and Romalewski will develop online applications to help groups find under-counted communities . . . . Junichiro Mataga MM ’20 won the jazz category in the 2024 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. He will compete against winners in 11 other categories for the contest’s Song of the Year, which has a $20,000 prize . . . . Beatriz Carolina Peña (HLL), who earned her master’s and doctorate at CUNY, is among this year’s alumni honorees Announcing the 2025 Alumni Awards Winners | CUNY Graduate Center . . . . David Rivera (ECP) will be a panelist for an ACE webinar on May 28, noon-1 pm . . . . Jasminder Singh has been selected as this year's recipient of the Carol Douglas Student Diversity Award. A CUNY Tech Prep fellow and member of Code For All, Singh is pursuing dual majors in computer science and history, with a minor in Irish Studies. The Student Diversity Award was established in honor of Carol Douglas, an administrative executive assistant for the School of Social Sciences, a QC and CUNY alumna, and a founding member and leader of the Black and Latinx Faculty and Staff Association . . . . Anna Skarpelis (Sociology) was awarded a $5,000 project development grant by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). She is one of 36 scholars Recent Fellows - ACLS funded through this program . . . . Schiro Withanachchi (School of Business) has been appointed associate dean for Undergraduate Programs at Rutgers University School of Business–Camden, effective this summer . . . . President Frank H. Wu is included in City & State’s roster of Asian Trailblazers for 2025 . . . . A team from the Queens College Speech Language Hearing Center raised more than $4300 in donations at the Parkinson's Unity Walk in Central Park on Saturday, April 26. The event, organized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, brought in over $2.2 million, with 100 percent of these funds going directly to crucial Parkinson’s research and advocacy for important public policies.