Discimus ut serviamus: We learn so that we may serve.

QView #219 | February 10

CETLL is conducting Brightspace workshops for faculty this semester. An in-person session took place on January 13 and virtual sessions were held last week. For information about upcoming dates and their topics, click here. Each workshop will include a demonstration followed by a period when participants can practice the skills covered that day. 

Courtesy of the Sylvia Center, the Knights Table Food Pantry has an additional refrigerator for storing perishables. The food pantry now has a total of four fridges, all donated. In partnership with the Sylvia Center, which promotes health and well-being through culinary programming, the Knights Table offers the Knight Shift, an after-class series on cooking.

Staff from Academic Advising and the Offices of the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Bursar helped students register for the spring semester at three enrollment assistance events in Kiely Hall last month. Students benefited from overall academic advising, received guidance for specific majors and programs, and saw resolution of issues that impeded registration.

What types of work can students pursue after majoring in the social sciences or the humanities? President Frank H. Wu discussed his own journey and lessons learned about career paths in a talk sponsored by the Department of Political Science during free hour on Wednesday, February 4.

Winter weather did not diminish the appeal of QC’s varied extracurricular activities. Club Day moved indoors on February 4 so students could explore their options, including Greek life, sports, and pre-professional organizations.

From left: Former New York Community Bank Foundation Executive Director Marian Conway; Queens Chamber of Commerce President & Chief Executive Officer Tom Grech; Queens Borough President Donovan J. Richards Jr.; U.S. Astronaut Emerita Ellen Baker, Shulman’s daughter; President Frank H. Wu; Urban Studies Chair Melissa Checker; Queens Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board Member Eileen Auld; Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz

Announcing the new Claire Shulman Scholarship on February 5—less than three weeks shy of what would have been the honoree’s 100th birthday—the Queens Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Queens College held a press conference in the atrium of the Aaron Copland School of Music. Urban Studies was well represented at the event. Launched with a generous donation from the Queens Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the scholarship commemorates Shulman, a nurse and community advocate who went on to serve 16 years as Queens Borough president, the first woman to occupy that office. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz; Shulman's daughter, U.S. Astronaut Emerita Ellen Baker; Urban Studies Chair Melissa Checker; and Queens Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board Member Eileen Auld were among the speakers, as reported by QNS. Attendees included Shulman’s former staff and friends and Urban Studies alumni and faculty. 

From left: Tom Grech and Donovan Richards with a photo of Shulman

There’s no need for faculty and staff to go off campus in search of a warm lunch on a cold day. The Piano Room—the Faculty and Staff Dining Room—offers something for everyone, with kosher, halal, vegan, and gluten-free selections. Faculty and staff may bring guests, including students. The Piano Room is in Dining Hall 120, formerly the President's Lounge.

Indoor Track and Field to Compete at ECC Championships

The Queens College men’s and women’s indoor track and field team will wrap up the 2025–26 season when they compete at the East Coast Conference (ECC) Championship this Sunday, February 15, at 4 pm at the Ocean Breeze Complex. 

The Knights hope to have several athletes on the podium on Sunday, especially junior middle distance runner Carly Koprowski, who holds the top times in the ECC in the 800- and 1,000-meter runs this season. 

The men’s and women’s basketball seasons are also heading toward a dramatic conclusion as both teams are still in the hunt for an ECC playoff spot. This week, the women are on the road to take on Post University on Wednesday at 5:30 pm for a non-conference game, before heading to Rochester to take on ECC-opponent Roberts Wesleyan University on Sunday, February 15 at 2 pm. In their only contest of the week, the men’s basketball team also plays Roberts Wesleyan, immediately after the women’s game at 4 pm.

Be sure to visit queensknights.com for the latest Knights athletic news. 

GTM To Open Legendary Show

LEGENDS: Athleticism in Asian/American Art—the first exhibition to focus on the relationship between art and sports in contemporary Asian and Asian American art—will open at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum on February 10, with a reception from 6 pm to 8 pm.

The show, which will be on display through May 14, will debut installations by The Chinatown Basketball Club and Astria Suparak, alongside a new painting by Kaarina Chu Mackenzie. Additional artists represented include Lanna Apisukh, Christopher Chan, Jamie Chan, Maia Chao, Edward Cheng, Caroline Garcia, Jocelyn Hu, Alison Kuo, Andrew Kuo, Dustin Lin, Paul Pfeiffer, Kenneth Tam, Sixing Xu, and Johann Yamin. This exhibition was organized by Jayne Cole Southard, art historian and lecturer at the City College of New York, in collaboration with Godwin-Ternbach Museum Co-directors Louise Weinberg and Maria Pio.

LEGENDS: Athleticism in Asian/American Art is a Queens College School of Arts initiative funded by The Thomas Chen Family/Crystal Windows Endowment. Additional support is provided by the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Kupferberg Center for the Arts, and Queens College. This exhibition is supported in part by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

Meet QC’s First Ally Bridge Dean of Business, Carmen Cotei

Carmen Cotei, the first Ally Bridge Dean of Business at Queens College, has been tasked with shaping the future of the college’s new School of Business. The Office of Communications and Marketing spoke with Cotei to learn more about her background and what she plans to bring to Queens College.

Cotei’s path to Queens College began in a small mountain town in Romania, where she grew up before earning her bachelor’s degree at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. She went on to become head of finance for a global telecommunications company, but her drive to continue learning pushed her toward a new challenge.

On to America 

She moved to the United States to pursue a PhD in finance at the University of New Orleans. There, she gained hands-on research experience and originally envisioned a career as a researcher for an investment banking firm or the Federal Reserve Bank. After completing her degree, however, she discovered a passion for academics and accepted a faculty position at the University of Hartford, where she would spend the next two decades.

Cotei joined the University of Hartford in 2004 as an assistant professor and steadily advanced to associate professor and then full professor. During her tenure, she held nearly every major leadership role in the business school, including program director, department chair, interim dean, and associate dean. She led strategic planning efforts, oversaw faculty evaluations, negotiated the part-time faculty union contract, and served on multiple executive searches, including two for business school deans.

Her research portfolio is equally wide-ranging. Early in her career, she focused on capital structure decisions and initial public offerings for large corporations. After earning tenure, she joined a research team examining entrepreneurial finance and small-firm financing decisions, working with the Kauffman Foundation on a unique dataset of U.S. small businesses. In recent years, her scholarship shifted toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and impact finance.

Despite a long and successful run at the University of Hartford, the opportunity to build something new drew her to Queens College.

“A friend of mine saw the ad for the position, and she nominated me. And reading the leadership profile, it was clear to me that I was a very good fit for Queens College,” explained Cotei. “I like their mission. I like the fact that it's a very diverse school, located in a very diverse place—one of the most diverse places in the world, actually—and it was clear to me that I had the exact skills and qualities not only required but also preferred by Queens College.”

Queens College Means Business 

As dean, Cotei has an ambitious vision for the future of the Queens College School of Business. She plans to establish a pathway to AACSB accreditation (the gold standard for business schools), expand experiential learning opportunities for all students, strengthen partnerships with local businesses, and work closely with the alumni advisory board to open new career pathways.

She also intends to address longstanding challenges, from providing stronger support for transfer students, to helping the college raise additional funds and exploring expansions of noncredit program offerings.

Cotei believes Queens College’s location is one of its greatest strategic assets that will help her achieve these goals.

“New York City is a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship, and culture. That is the launchpad that we are going to use to interact with industry professionals, as well as business community members, and involve them in the School of Business Life, so our students will have a network they can leverage to find their first job or first internship,” explained Cotei. “From that perspective, this is a strategic advantage that New York City has, and Queens College is located in just the right place to have all those opportunities.”

The chance to build the Business School’s reputation and future is what excites her most.

“As the inaugural dean, I have the unique opportunity to build a new School of Business, to build its identity and reputation,” Cotei said. “We are not just building a school, we are building a brand that will be known for excellence, for equity, and for impact. And I think Queens College, and particularly the new School of Business, will be a place where excellence meets opportunity and where students from all backgrounds can thrive and be successful. I'm very excited to step into this role.”

Chamber of Commerce To Hold LinkedIn Workshop

The Queens Chamber of Commerce will present Building Your Future Before Graduation, a LinkedIn info session, on February 25, from 12:30 to 1:15 pm, over Zoom. The event, led by Maria J. Ramirez, will help students make the best use of the LinkedIn platform. Building Your Future Before Graduation is sponsored by Hydro Quebec, Champlain Hudson Power Express, and Queens College. Register here. 

Harry Braunstein ’71

Harry Braunstein, founder of commercial and real estate law firm Braunstein Turkish LLP, passed away in November 2025. After graduating from Queens College with a degree in political science, Braunstein received a JD from Brooklyn Law School. He was part of Wall Street law firm Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C. for over twenty years, becoming head of its real estate group. Then he established his own practice, serving not only as an attorney but also as a business and real estate principal. At QC, he established the Jean & Murray Braunstein Scholarship Fund, which awards need-based scholarships, and supported the angel investor program and the Knights Table Food Pantry. Most recently, he supported the founding of Pages of Hope, which facilitates peaceful dialogue and understanding among students of different religious backgrounds; in a series of sessions led by facilitators, participants read and discuss writings by Israelis and Palestinians.

James Como BA ’67, MA ’70

James Como, professor emeritus of rhetoric and public communication at York College, died in November 2025. He was 79. A native New Yorker and product of New York institutions, he graduated from Long Island City High School two years early and went on to earn an MA in public and group communication from QC, an MA in medieval English literature from Fordham University, and a PhD in language, literature and communication from Columbia University. In 1968, when he joined the York faculty, he was about four years older than his first students, whom he regaled with boxing metaphors; as a former Golden Glove champion, he remained fond of the “sweet science.” To fellow academics, he was known as an eminent scholar of C.S. Lewis—author of books on Christianity and faith, as well as the Narnia series—and founding member of the New York C.S. Lewis Society.

Philip Klubes ’56

Philip Klubes, former professor of pharmacology at The George Washington University School of Medicine, died in December 2025 at the age of 90. A chemistry major at Queens College, Klubes went to the University of Minnesota for his PhD in biochemistry and then completed a post-doc at Harvard University Medical School. He taught at George Washington and conducted research on cancer chemotherapy from 1965 until his retirement in 1999, and is credited as author or co-author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles. After taking up fishing in graduate school, he pursued the sport with family and friends; his favorite location was in Nags Head, North Carolina. 

Michael Krasner (Political Science) will examine the first year of Trump’s second term on Thursday, February 19, 7 to 8:30 pm, when the Taft Institute for Government and Civics Education presents Trump 2.0: America on the Brink. The event will take place over Zoom; register here The Taft Institute Presents: Trump 2.0 - America on the Brink Tickets, Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite . . . . Khánh Lê (LCD) is one of the editors of Asian Americans in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: The Long Overdue Voice, published in December by Multilingual Matters . . . . Laiba Mahmood is among 29 CUNY students awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships. Offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Gilman Scholarship grants up to $5,000 to students who are traditionally underrepresented in education abroad with the goal of helping them develop professional skills, language proficiency, and understanding of the world . . . . Caroline Rupprecht (Comparative Literature) discussed Asphalt, a newly discovered 1929 Weimar German film, on City University Television . . . .

John Scarinci (Office of Communications and Marketing) got coverage for his book from the Massapequa Herald . . . Edward Smaldone (ACSM) reports that his compositions were performed by the Alegria String Quartet on January 11 in Greenport and January 18 in Port Washington; by pianist Joseph Martin on January 16 in Baldwin; and by members of the Island Winds Chamber Ensemble on January 25 in Roslyn . . . . Anthony Tamburri (Calandra) was the subject of an ItalPress article in connection with the release of Expanding Diasporic Identity, published in English and Italian . . . . President Frank H. Wu was featured in the February 3 episode of The Equity Pulse, a new monthly webinar series that shares insights from the Committee of 100’s annual State of Chinese Americans Survey . . . . Books by two faculty historians are being considered for major awards. Jews in the Soviet Union by Elissa Bemporad has been shortlisted for the 75th National Jewish Book Award. An Efficient Womanhood by Africana Studies Director Natanya Duncan is a finalist for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Book Prize . . . . The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $120,000 to Queens College to support development of a Community Memory Framework for Master’s of Library Science programs. Johnathan Thayer (GSLIS) is serving as the solo PI on this grant . . . . Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent visit to the Louis Armstrong House Museum is captured in this video . . . .

Borough President Donovan J. Richards Jr. held his inauguration ceremony on campus on February 8, marking the beginning of his second full term.