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

QView #234 | September 15

In “Tragedy, Trauma, and Transformation: The 9/11 Catastrophe 25 Years Later,” presented on Wednesday, September 9, Steven Markowitz (Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment) and Melissa Checker (Urban Studies) and moderator James Vacca (Urban Studies) explored the long-term effects of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Interim President Betsy Hendrey provided a video message to the attendees in the Student Union ballroom and Student Association President Areeba Haseeb gave remarks. The event was live streamed and made available to the public. Those who missed the panel discussion can watch a video of it.

The Godwin-Ternbach Museum is observing the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with the exhibition Memento Mori. The show features six oversized photographs of the annual public art installation Tribute in Light—twin vertical beams designed to evoke the World Trade Center towers. Memento Mori, which includes other materials connected to 9/11, will be displayed through November 30.

The staff of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Leadership (CETLL) emerged from Kiely 111 for a recent photo op. The office is open Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm for in-person consultations; virtual drop-in hours are held Tuesday–Wednesday, 2–4 pm over Zoom.

From left: Jean Kelly, instructional technologist; Wayguard Wong, Brightspace administrator; Christopher Coleman, IT academic technology specialist; Kareena Khan, college assistant; Meagan Sullivan, administrative coordinator; Susan A. Davis, director

Soccer, Women’s Tennis Teams Looking Strong 

The Queens College men’s soccer team was dominant on the pitch last week, earning two convincing victories to improve to 4-1 on the young season. Last Wednesday, the Knights topped the University of Bridgeport, 4-0, and followed with a 3-1 triumph over Georgian Court University on Saturday. Keithlend Cesar led the charge, scoring three goals over two matches. 

Women’s soccer has played well, too. They dropped a 3-2 contest to Pace University on Wednesday but bounced back on Saturday to defeat Dominican University, 2-0. Ava Angiuli and Ana Impellizzeri each found the back of the net, and Samantha Hines-Hirsch had a season-best seven saves to record her fourth shutout of the season. QC’s record stands at 4-2. 

The women’s tennis season is also off to a great start. Last week, the Knights earned a hard-fought 4-3 win against Jefferson University in their season opener and then cruised to a 7-0 win over the University of the District of Columbia on Saturday. 

Coming up this week:

Men’s soccer hosts Wilmington University on Wednesday at 7 pm and Roberts

Wesleyan University on Saturday at noon. 

Women’s soccer travels to Southern Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 pm, then hosts Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday at 2:15 pm. 

Women’s tennis visits Post University on Wednesday at 3 pm, then hosts Jefferson on Thursday at 1 pm and Wilmington University on Saturday at 1 pm. 

Women’s volleyball will be home against Georgian Court this Thursday at 7 pm.

For the latest Knights news, scores, statistics, and more, visit queensknights.com.

B School To Serve Breakfast

Sujen Wu ’23, co-winner of the 2023 Blackstone LaunchPad Business Ideas Competition, will be the featured guest at the first QC Business Breakfast of the year on Thursday, September 24, 8:30–10 am, in the Patio Room. Wu will speak about her journey from college to a career in finance and entrepreneurship.

To attend, RSVP here.

Fair Outlook Next Week

This winter, QC students can earn credits toward their degree while experiencing life in Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, or Spain. Longer programs, lasting a semester or two, are offered in all those countries, as well as in Denmark, England, France, Ireland, and Portugal. Scholarships are available for some programs. Everyone can learn more about learning overseas at the Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, September 23, from noon to 2 pm in the Dining Hall Midway Court. To attend the fair, RSVP here.

Associate Provost Ahmad Sims Finds Unlikely Home at Queens College

During his career in higher education, Ahmad Sims has traveled around the country shaping student success; now he’s found an unexpected home here at Queens College.

As the new associate provost for innovation and student success, Sims provides strategic leadership and administrative oversight for five integrated centers of excellence that drive student achievement and equity at Queens College: transfer programming, honors and scholarships, advising, career planning, and academic support. It’s quite an undertaking, but one he has spent his entire career preparing for.

Finding His Niche

Sims started his career in higher ed in 2007 at his alma mater, Florida Atlantic University, as coordinator of transfer admissions. But he quickly discovered the role was not a right fit for him, so he moved to Palm Beach Atlantic University, eventually becoming an academic advisor, where he stayed for seven years.

“In transfer admissions, I felt like a used car salesman,” Sims explained. “In academic advising, I found my niche.”

After Palm Beach Atlantic, he took his first director of academic advising position at Lincoln University of Missouri and later held the same role at Tennessee State University and Western Kentucky University. After five years combined at those three institutions, he became the dean of student success at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee.

“That opened the door to the student success philosophy in terms of wanting to decrease and eliminate equity gaps and removing barriers from the student experience,” noted Sims.

Most recently, he had another opportunity to move up the higher education ladder, when he became associate vice president of student success at Weber State University in Utah.

An Unexpected Move to Queens

While Utah offered a major leadership opportunity, the environment didn't feel like home. When he heard of an opening at Queens College, he applied, even though he never saw himself living in New York.

“Earlier in my career, I had identified some states that I would never work in, and New York was one of them,” Sims joked.

Having grown up in the south, he was wary of the tighter living spaces and the city’s high cost of living. But he has been pleasantly surprised by his experience in Queens since he was hired last April. 

“Although I'm still navigating the smaller space that I live in, I really love New York because I get to see different people and cultures walk up and down the street,” said Sims. “Every time I drive to Queens, I get to see people living in their identity and embracing who they are, and it's so amazing just being here to just see that every day. I didn't have that at previous colleges.”

That profound sense of community also matched perfectly with New York City’s and QC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

“New York and Queens College is a place where you can practice diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is appealing to me,” Sims added. “They believe in DEI.”

A Plan to Meet QC’s Challenges

But while QC’s diverse student body is a welcome change from his previous stops, Sims says Queens faces many of the same challenges that colleges are facing nationwide.

“Queens College is just like any college in the higher education system. We're all dealing with the ramifications of this enrollment cliff. We're all dealing with competing for the same students and hoping that they will come to our college. We're all struggling with not only enrolling students but retention as well.”

One of Sims’ main goals is to significantly improve the retention rate for first- and second-year students. He plans to put together a retention council to develop ways to better retain QC students, and he wants to include a first-year and second-year student on the council who can speak firsthand about the challenges they are facing.

“Our students are different now than they were 10–15 years ago. The ways that we retained students 10 years ago may not work now. Therefore, we need to figure out how to retain students, not just by asking faculty and staff, but students, too. They can speak to what they believe and can then market our services to other students.”

Achieving these goals won't be easy, but Sims believes collaboration is the key to moving forward.

“We're in a challenging environment because of the budget deficit that is cutting a lot of our resources, so we have to be very collaborative if we're going to move the needle forward to make any of these goals a reality,” Sims added.

Navigating a difficult fiscal environment won’t be easy, but with a wealth of experience and a collaborative vision for the future, Sims is ready to tackle these challenges head-on and to make his new home a thriving place for student success. 

Register To Vote

Every vote matters. This fall, New Yorkers will elect members of Congress; the governor and other state executives; state legislators; and judges. Proposed amendments to the New York City Charter will also be on the ballot.

U.S. citizens who have lived in New York for at least 30 days and will turn 18 on or before November 3—this year’s Election Day—are eligible to vote. The deadline for registration is October 24. For more information, go to the New York State Board of Elections Portal or the NYC Board of Elections Portal.

If you are not registered, you can fill out a voter registration form via your CUNYfirst account or pick up a form in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (Student Union 327) or the NYPIRG office (Student Union LL36). You can also contact the campus voter registration coordinator, Emanuel Avila emanuel.avila@qc.cuny.edu.

A Taste of the Great Outdoors

Looking for a low-cost way to stretch your food budget? Wild Edibles, a hands-on foraging class offered by the Queens County Farm Museum (QCFM) on Thursday, September 17, at 5:30 pm, gives new meaning to the expression “eating out.” QCFM botanist and horticulturalist Tess Fleming—a CUNY alumna—will teach participants about edible plants growing wild on farm grounds and perhaps, elsewhere in the borough.

Laura Nuzzi O’Shaughnessy ’66

Laura Nuzzi O’Shaughnessy, a St. Lawrence University professor and United Church of Christ minister, passed away on July 23. She was 80.

In 1978, equipped with a BA from QC and an MA and PhD from Indiana University,

O’Shaughnessy joined the government faculty at St. Lawrence. She focused on religion and politics, conflict resolution, and Central American politics. After a distinguished academic career in which she won recognition for teaching excellence and was appointed to a named professorship, O’Shaughnessy changed careers. She earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in 2007 and was ordained five years later.

Predeceased by her husband, O’Shaughnessy is survived by her two daughters and their husbands, grandchildren, and other family members.

Alan Stein ’68

Alan Stein, mathematics professor emeritus at University of Connecticut Waterbury, died on August 3. 

Upon graduating from QC, Stein earned his doctorate at New York University’s Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences on a full fellowship. He taught at UConn Waterbury for 37 years.

Active in the Jewish community, Stein served as president of the Jewish Federation, vice president of his synagogue, editor of a Jewish community newspaper, and a member of the board of Jewish Federation Associations of Connecticut, among other leadership roles. With his wife Marsha, whom he met at QC, and their daughter, he went to the Soviet Union to meet with Jewish refuseniks who were denied permission to emigrate.

After Stein retired in 2009, he and his wife set up a household in Israel, dividing their time between Netanya, on the Mediterranean coast, and Natick, Massachusetts.

Stein is survived by his wife, daughter, and extended family.

Francois Pierre-Louis (Political Science) has been named the inaugural winner of the Michael Seltzer Award for Social Justice Leadership. The award includes a $1,500 stipend and will be conferred on Friday, November 6. The late Michael Seltzer, a former member of the University Advisory Council on Diversity, dedicated his life and career to advancing diversity, inclusion, and community well-being within CUNY and in the broader community . . . .

Donald Pirone (ACSM) recorded Karol Rathaus’s 4th Piano Sonata in 2011. The recording was recently cited by the New York Times as one of “Five Classical Albums You Can Listen to Right Now.” Rathaus, a European Jewish émigré, was Queens College’s first professor of composition . . . . Joel Mandelbaum and Edward Smaldone (both of ACSM) were among the composers whose work was featured in a concert on Sunday, September 13, at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, Long Island . . . . Michael Sanchez (ECP) is listed on City & State’s 2026 Latino Trailblazers . . . .

Queens College is fourth in Forbes magazine’s 2027 Top 25 Colleges with the Highest Payoff Nationwide. QC is rising in Forbes’ rankings; last year, the college came in eighth.