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

QView #235| September 23

QC observed National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 15, with the help of CUNY Votes and the Office of Judicial Affairs and Service Learning. Students visited tables at the WW2 Memorial, Powdermaker Hall, and both Dining Halls to register to vote—and meet members of the New York Public Interest Group (NYPIRG), the National Council of Negro Women, and the Andrew Goodman Foundation. If you weren’t on campus then, you can register to vote on CUNYfirst or the New York State DMV website before the October 24 deadline, which is also the start of early voting. Information about polling sites is available at CUNY Votes.

Two days later, the Office of Judicial Affairs and Service Learning called attention to Constitution Day, which celebrates ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and Citizenship Day, which celebrates all U.S. citizens, whether they attained that status by birth or naturalization. In honor of the occasion, Student Union 327 was stocked with free copies of the Constitution.

Groucho Marx famously said he wouldn’t join a club that would accept him, but even he would have been impressed by the options showcased on for Club Day, Wednesday, September 16. Students poured onto the Quad, enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Interim President Elizabeth Hendrey spoke at the Academic Senate’s first session of the academic year on Thursday, September 17. She discussed key senior administrative appointments to replace vacant positions due to retirements, promotions and transfers, academic and student-oriented initiatives, recent significant gains in external rankings of QC, and new funding made available to the college by the Queens College Foundation as well as ongoing efforts to improve enrollment. After her PowerPoint presentation, she took questions from senate members, while indicating she is planning a "State of the College" presentation in November.

On Thursday, September 17, students from the LGBTQIAA+ Resource Center attended the opening reception of the Apocalypse exhibit at Hunter College's East Harlem Gallery. Apocalypse features the work of AIDS activist and artist Keith Haring, with an introduction and correlating text by author and poet William S. Burroughs. The exhibit, on loan from the City College of New York to Hunter College, is on display through December 4.

From left: Reign Nunez Bailey, Luis Villa, Diego Then-Garcia, Violet Kessler, Mariya Rhakminova, Grace Rosen, and JC Carlson-Ortiz

Men’s Soccer Posts Two More Victories to Push Win Streak to Five

The Queens College men's soccer team continued its outstanding play last week, earning two more victories. The Knights have now won five straight matches and are 6-1-1 on the season. The team is so strong that United Soccer Coaches placed it 16th in NCAA Division II Rankings, the program's first-ever appearance on this nationwide list. Last Wednesday, the Knights rallied in the second half to top Wilmington University, 3-1, thanks to a goal and two assists from Bradyn Brown. Then on Saturday, QC earned a convincing 3-0 victory over Roberts Wesleyan University. 

The women’s soccer team also topped Roberts Wesleyan University, 3-0 on Saturday as they improved to 5-3 on the season. The Knights erupted for three second-half goals in the win. 

The tennis teams found the win column this week. The women’s team improved to 4-1, defeating Wilmington 4-3 on Saturday while the men’s team knocked off Division I Hofstra University by a score of 6-1 in its season-opening match last Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the women’s volleyball team was victorious in its match last Thursday, as they edged Georgian Court University, 3-2. Zoe Sercu and Mikayla Haskell each recorded 15 kills in the match. 

Coming up this week:

Cross country competes at the Golden Eagles Invitational on Saturday at 12 pm.

Women’s volleyball visits Pace University on Tuesday at 7 pm and Molloy University on Saturday at noon. 

Men’s soccer hosts the College of Staten Island on Wednesday at 7:30 pm and travels to Assumption University on Saturday at 3 pm.

Women’s soccer welcomes Saint Anselm College on Wednesday at 5 pm and goes on the road to take on St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday at 12 pm.

Men’s tennis competes at the Hofstra Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Times are to be determined. 



Women’s tennis travels to St. Thomas on Tuesday at 3 pm and Chestnut Hill College on Wednesday at 2 pm, then hosts Chestnut Hill on Friday at 1 pm. 

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

¡Viva! Hispanic Heritage

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from mid-September to mid-October, and QC starts its celebration today—Wednesday, September 23—from noon to 2 pm, on the Quad. Enjoy Latin and Caribbean percussion, performed by student ensemble Orquesta Queens; Latin food; and the opportunity to make your own Piñata. Rain location is the Student Union Fishbowl.

Tomorrow, the Knights Table will hold a session of the Knight Shift Meal Series: Cooking After Class, 7–8 pm, with a free meal kit inspired by Hispanic Heritage Month. Sign up here to get the kit and instructions on preparing it. 

Apply Now for Internal Scholarships

Deadlines are approaching for internal Queens College scholarships in amounts ranging from $250 to $2500. For the few remaining scholarships for the fall semester, it’s necessary to apply by October 1. For scholarships for Spring 2027, the deadline is October 25.

The list of available scholarships is posted here. Some scholarships are designated for students in specific majors.

For more information about internal scholarships, please review the September 18 mailer.

Special Collections and Archives Names Three Fellows

Grace Menninger

Ayana Mondesir

Anjuli Rathod

Each year, the Special Collections and Archives (SCA) Fellowships Program offers hands-on experience, mentorship, and stipends to a limited number of graduate students in library and information science. The fellows for fall 2026–spring 27 are Grace Menninger, Ayana Mondesir, and Anjuli Rathod.

An archivist, Menninger earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government at the University of Kansas, where she cataloged manuscripts at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library. As Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal Papers Fellow, she will process the papers of the library’s namesake, a progressive legislator who represented northeast Queens for two decades.

Mondesir, who holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Hampton University, is this year’s Freda S. and J. Chester Johnson Civil Rights and Social Justice Archives Fellow. She is pursuing a dual MLS/MA in Library Science and History, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Archives, to develop expertise in preserving and amplifying the histories of Black, Brown, immigrant, and other underrepresented communities. As a fellow, she will digitize materials from the SEEK Collection in celebration of SEEK’s 60th anniversary.

Rathod, who has a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is pursuing an Advanced Certificate in Archives. She maintains her own art practice while handling archival materials of several artists in their New York City studios. She’ll draw on this background to process the Queens College Art Center collection through the Shirley and Edwin Klein Family Fellowship.

Since the Queens College Library launched the SCA Fellowships in 2019, 18 students have participated. Their work has included processing archival records and oral history transcripts for QC’s SEEK History Project; curating the collection of Queens College women's basketball coach Lucille Kyvallos, who was recently inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame; and cataloging and uploading the Queens College COVID-19 Collection, which highlights the experiences of QC faculty, staff, students, and alumni during the pandemic.

Publishing Veteran Lorie Pagnozzi Welcomes New Challenge as QC’s Creative Services Director

Before bringing her artistic vision to Queens College, Creative Services Director Lorie Pagnozzi spent years designing books for Hollywood A-listers and best-selling authors, overseeing hundreds of top-tier publishing titles annually. Now as QC’s creative services director, she will bring her wealth of publishing experience to the world of higher education.

As creative services director, Pagnozzi oversees the design, preparation, production and distribution of hundreds of print materials distributed by Queens College. This includes QC’s alumni magazine; marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, signage, certificates, and booklets; and print requirements for the college’s commencement ceremonies and other campus events throughout the year—to name a few.

Prior to Queens, Pagnozzi was the design director for Penguin Random House, one of the industry’s most prominent publishing houses. Many of her book designs were for best-selling authors and celebrities. Those titles include Drew Barrymore’s cookbook, Rebel Homemaker; Lisa Scottoline’s Eternal; Maria Semple’s Go Gentle; and Neil Patrick Harris’ cocktail recipe book, Both Sides of the Glass. Additionally, she spent time as the art director at Sterling Publishing and a design manager for HarperCollins, where she also worked on designs of best-selling books.

“The highlight of working at different publishing companies is that you get a span of different types of authors,” explains Pagnozzi. “You have to work within the scope of those personalities. That was the fun part of the job. I enjoyed collaborating on the design process.”

While growing up in both the Bronx and Massapequa, Long Island, Pagnozzi developed a love for art.

“Even when I was little, I was painting and drawing, and I had a little portfolio. Through high school, I took art classes and AP art.”

When she went to college, she chose graphic design as a major since she felt it was more practical for a career than traditional types of art. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and has design certificates from New School University and The London Institute of Graphic Design.

As she moved on to her career in publishing, she also taught basic publication courses at Adelphi University. This was where she first became interested in working as a designer in higher education.

“When I was working at Adelphi, I thought it would be interesting to one day work at a university,” noted Pagnozzi. “So when I saw the opening at Queens, I applied. My two sisters and brother-in-law attended Queens, and I knew it had a good reputation.”

So far, Pagnozzi has been enjoying the transition to academia.

“Everyone’s been very helpful. I like the projects. I like the people. I was so grateful for the job when I got the call. I was really so excited.”

Any new role does come with new challenges, however. While there are many similarities to the workflow process at Queens compared to her previous jobs, the budget constraints at a public university are something she hasn’t faced before. But Pagnozzi sees that as an opportunity to use her creativity. 

“I can try to come up with creative solutions that don’t rely on large budgets and instead rely more on the design,” explained Pagnozzi.

She also hopes that over time she can build strong relationships with the many departments in an effort to facilitate more creative projects for Queens College. 

“I want to get to know everyone so they know they can come to me to discuss different, outside-the-box projects.”

Pagnozzi welcomes the challenge and is looking forward to this new type of publishing role.

“I like what Queens College stands for,” she added, “and I am very excited to take what I know and bridge it to the academic environment.” Pagnozzi replaced Georgine Ingber, who served as director of creative services in the Office of Communications and Marketing for over 25 years.

Happening in Queens

The New York Art Book Fair will return to MoMA PS1 Thursday, September 24, through Sunday, September 27. The event, presented by Printed Matter, will feature more than 310 exhibitors from around the world—interdisciplinary artists, rare-book dealers, and distributors, as well as representatives from contemporary galleries, collectives, nonprofit art spaces, and small presses. Live performances and an interactive installation will be part of fair programming.

In Queens as in Bavaria, Oktoberfest starts in September. Celebrations at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria began last weekend and will continue this Friday, September 25, through Sunday, September 27, from 5 to 11 pm. Expect standard bar fare as well as pierogis, potato pancakes, and giant pretzels; suds are available by the glass or by the pitcher. Oktoberfest Flushing Style at the Voelker Orth Museum on September 26, 5:30–8 pm, will feature sauerkraut, kimchi, brats, japchae noodles, and of course, beer.

Delaram Kahrobaei (Computer Science) received coverage in the current issue of CUNY Research in Focus for her work developing encryption technology that allows AI systems to analyze data while it remains encrypted. See

“From Pure Math to Truly Safe” . . . . Nerve Macaspac (School of Information Studies) was interviewed by the Associated Press on map design . . . .

Howie Rose ’77 was the subject of a New York Times essay and a magazine profile in connection with his retirement as the voice of the Mets . . . . Christopher Williams (English) has been appointed faculty liaison for evaluation and assessment . . . .

Jon Yanofsky (Kupberberg) is featured in a podcast from the Queens Economic Development Corporation . . . . Queens College placed highly in the latest U.S. News and World Report college rankings, including Top Public Schools - Regional Universities (North) #13, Best Value In-State - Regional Universities (North) #4, Best Colleges for Veterans - Regional Universities (North) #14, and Social Mobility - Regional Universities (North) #5 . . . . Queens College Kessler Scholars appeared in the opening photo of Beyond Financial Aid for First-Gen Students, published by Inside Higher Ed. The article gave enthusiastic coverage to the Kessler program, mentioning Queens College several times . . . . Queens College School of Education, recently reaccredited by Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), received the council’s Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement . . . . Queens College is one of the institutional partners in the new National Synthesis Center for Organismal Resilience (NSCORE), created with a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences (NSF BIO) and led by Columbia University. “QC students will train at the NSCORE, learn AI, and apply AI to biology problems,” reports Sebastian Alvarado (Biology).