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

#39

Semper fi! Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Justin Constantine, who was critically injured on duty in Iraq, addressed a Disabled Veterans Awareness Program in the Rosenthal Library Auditorium on Wednesday, December 5, from noon to 2 pm. Recipient of a Combat Action Ribbon, Commendation Ribbon, and a Purple Heart, Constantine--standing in the middle of this group in modified business casual--dark suit, white shirt and no tie--is today the chief business development officer of JobPath, a veteran employment platform. His presentation was sponsored by QC's Office of Veteran Support Services.

President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez hosted (front row, left) Portugal's Consul General Maria Andrade Mendes and (back row) Deputy Coordinator for Education and Languages Jose Carlos Adao on Thursday, December 6, to complete some important paperwork: They signed the extension of the memorandum of understanding between QC and Camões I.P. for the Catherine of Braganza Portuguese Language Program. Also present at the occasion were (back row, from left) Nora Glickman, acting director of Latin American and Latino Studies; Elizabeth Hendrey, provost and vice president for academic affairs; and Brenda Salas, college assistant for Latin American and Latino Studies. 

Dollaride, CollabTrade, and Lootfeed emerged on top when PitchFest--an entrepreneurship competition sponsored by the QC Tech Incubator--culminated in a live round at Rosenthal Library Auditorium on the evening of Thursday, December 6. Ten finalists, chosen from entries submitted earlier in the fall, proposed ideas for tech-enabled products or services. Lootfeed received $2,500 for third place with its Acorn/Qapital for Gamers, a micro-saving platform that helps gamers save money as they play. CollabTrade, which promotes financial literacy to students and allows them to utilize that knowedge through collaborative market investment, came in second, and was awarded $5,000. Dollaride, which uses mobile technology to help dollar vans increase ridership in areas underserved by public transit, took first place and its $7,500 prize. In addition, all three won a year of discounted membership in the incubator.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Hendrey (front row) and QC faculty welcomed members of the National Institute of Social Development/Chinese Academy of Social Science to campus on Friday, December 7, for a joint colloquium, "Migration, Social Transition and Social Policy." Pictured in front are (from left) Hongwei Xu (Sociology), Yongyuen Chen, Du Yang, Hendrey, Yi Zhang, Amy Hsin (Sociology), Yue Qu, and Feng Tian; in back are Francesc Ortega (Economics), Kevin Shih (Economics), Zhaoyang Sun, Shige Song (Sociology), Michael Wolfe (History), and Andrew Beveridge (Sociology).

Pooled Resources

February 2019 will see the completion of a more than yearlong project to upgrade FitzGerald Gymnasium’s swimming pool, locker rooms, and shower rooms. The most comprehensive renovation of these facilities since they first opened in 1958 is being made possible thanks to a $1 million donation from an alumna and former leader of the QC women’s swim team, Dina Perry (right).

Given the pool’s nearly constant use for swim team practice and competitions, FNES programs, community recreation, and summer camp, making the renovations has been challenging, explains Zeco Krcic, AVP, Facilities, Planning/Operations. “It would have been finished a lot quicker, obviously,” he says, “if we were able to do everything at once, but that’s not possible.”

Consequently, work has been staged, beginning with last January’s winter break when the entire pool’s 250,000 gallons of water were drained to allow for re-grouting of tiles along with complete resurfacing of the original tiled pool deck surfaces.

“We purchased replacements for a lot of dated equipment for use by aquatic programs and to better maintain the facility,” says Krcic. Among welcome improvements are new starting blocks, a new timing system, benches, exercise equipment and various mandated informational signage and swim instruction equipment. 

While the phased work is ongoing, renovated areas are also benefiting from maintenance upgrades to the HVAC and exhaust systems. “We’ve also changed all the fluorescent lighting to LEDs so that element of maintenance is vastly decreased,” says Krcic. This includes both lighting in and above the pool and in the locker and shower room areas, where plumbing fixtures are being repaired and new ones installed where needed.

Parallel to this effort, the college is working with CUNY/DASNY on capital investment projects to upgrade the original pool water filtration system. "So, it's not just improvements that people can see," adds Krcic.

New anti-slip surfaces extend from the pool to the renovated locker and shower room facilities, where changes are also being made to enhance privacy. Everything, Krcic emphasizes, meets requirements for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and recent changes in law with respect to gender identification.

“The renovations have and will dramatically impact all of our programs,” observes Interim Athletics Director Rob Twible. “The improvements have been way overdue and will positively impact our athletic, recreational, educational, and community programs. The improvements not only improve the aesthetics but also improve the functionality of all the spaces.” 

Dina Perry has enjoyed considerable success in the financial services industry since receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics (’67 and ’71) at QC. Her previous philanthropic efforts on behalf of the college have included endowing the Dina Axelrad Perry Professorship in Economics (currently held by Francesc Ortega). She also established the Dina Perry Student Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Economics or Business majors who demonstrate financial need or fellowships to graduate students in Economics or Business. In a ceremony next spring, the pool will be named in her honor.

Former Godwin-Ternbach Intern Comes Back as Co-Director

Queens native and QC alumna Maria Cristina Rhor has returned home to serve as the new co-director of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum. She has considerable experience in museums as well as higher education.

An art history major at QC, Rhor interned at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum and the Agora Art Gallery, as well as the United Nations, where she was a research associate for Global Action on Aging, a nongovernmental organization. She went on to earn a pair of master’s degrees: one in Leadership in Museum Education, from Bank Street College of Education, and another in Art History, Dutch Art from the Universiteit van Amsterdam. (She decided to spend a year studying in Amsterdam after developing a fascination with Dutch art while taking classes at QC.)  

Employed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for six years in various roles, Rhor worked in the education department, where she was responsible for managing, coordinating, scheduling, and supporting the educators who led private tours on site. Just prior to joining QC, she served a year as an enrollment coordinator and assistant director of graduate admissions at the College of New Rochelle.

Rhor's first major undertaking at Godwin-Ternbach will be to work collaboratively to develop and launch the spring 2019 exhibit and related educational programming. Her long-term goals are to ensure that the mission statement of the museum guides the programs it creates and the relationships it builds. She hopes to strengthen existing relationships within the community and form new relationships, too.

“Queens has always been my home,” says Rhor. “Being a student here was an extremely memorable experience. It really allowed me to navigate through the world. The school lives up to its motto, ‘We learn so that we may serve.’ I learned from here, went out and did a couple of things, and now I hopefully will be able to serve in the way they taught me. I personally want to invite the Queens College community to come say hello at the museum and have an opportunity to explore the space.”  

For more information about the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, please visit its website,  www.gtmuseum.org .

Adding Math Presentations to the Calendar

If you don't like numbers, think again. Christopher Hanusa (Math) reports that his students' end-of-semester projects range from interactive computer programming to 3D-printed art.

On Wednesday, December 12, from 10:05 to 11:55 am, in Kiely 061 (basement floor), students will demonstrate their original computer programs, offering anatomy exploration, clickable world maps, and one-player games. That evening, from 5 to 6:15 pm, everyone is invited to Kiely 508 for combinatorics poster presentations exploring the number of ways to plant flowers in a rectangular bed and counting questions from the world of Harry Potter, among other topics.

A show of math-based abstract art, sculpture, and jewelry--3D-printed in steel, nylon, sandstone, and base metals--will debut on Monday, December 17, from 11 am to 12:30 pm, at Rosenthal Library's Main Floor Exhibit Space. (From the main entrance, continue straight past the central staircase and turn left.) This is a true art opening, where visitors can meet the artists and enjoy a snack. Works will be on display through April 2019. Inspired to make your own pieces? Go to the Makerspace on the first floor, equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, electronic/computer assembly, and more.

Mathematical modeling students have worked in groups to complete computer simulations of real-world scenarios. On December 17, from 1:45 pm to 3:45 pm in Powdermaker 212, teams will present the real-world situation, the approach they took to model it, and an analysis of the quality of their model.

Here Comes the Sun: SEES Students Pitch Solar Energy to Real Estate Firm

A group of 25 students from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences completed their capstone course on December 10 by presenting the feasibility of solar energy to one of the largest property owners in the area. 

The presentation was the culmination of a semester-long project in which the students worked jointly to pitch the idea to A&E Real Estate, which operates over 50 apartment buildings throughout New York City. In collaboration with the owners and a consulting engineer, the students designed an installation comprising photovoltaic panels, associated hardware, and a battery storage system linked together in a microgrid controlled by an energy management system. 

The presentation outlined the benefits of such a system and showed successful case studies for similar businesses that significantly reduced energy costs and carbon emissions. The presentation also provided a detailed scope of work, which included a timeline, cost of installation, and projected savings of $311,004 per year on A&E’s electric bill, with a payback period of 7.5 years on the cost of installation.

George Hendrey (SEES), who oversaw the capstone course, says its goal is to give students collaborative experience on a project they did not choose. Many of these students will go on to work for agencies and consulting firms, and this assignment provided valuable real-world experience. Hendrey has overseen several other successful capstone projects, among them participation in EPA’s Campus RainWorks Challenge in 2014, when QC finished in second place nationally.

QC Athletes Finish Fall Season and Warm Up to Winter

With the semester wrapping up, let’s take a look at how the Knights teams have fared.

The women’s tennis team had another successful fall, going undefeated during the regular season but losing the East Coast Conference (ECC) Championship match to New York Institute of Technology. Despite the defeat, the Knights still have a good shot at qualifying for the NCAA Championship once again during the spring season. 

Men’s soccer came on strong at the end of the fall, finishing with ten wins—its highest total since 2009—and qualifying for the ECC playoffs. The Knights lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals to eventual champion LIU-Post on penalty kicks, but five QC players earned postseason honors, including Michael Bolvin, who was selected as the ECC Goalkeeper of the Year.

In cross country , both the men’s and women’s teams placed seventh overall at ECC Championships, while the women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams came up short in qualifying for the playoffs.

Winter sports are now well under way, with women’s swimming, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s basketball taking center stage.

Women’s swimming has gotten off to a solid start, going 3-2 in dual meets following wins over Baruch College, Brooklyn College, and the College of New Rochelle. The team will be idle for most of winter break, but will return to the pool on January 20 with a road meet at St. Francis College (NY). 

Indoor track teams are still in the early part of the season, competing in just one meet so far—the Yale Season Opener on December 8. They will be off for most of winter break as well, returning to action on January 12 for the Spartan Invite. 

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have both struggled in the early part of the season, but have plenty of time to turn it around now that conference play has begun. Much of the season will take place before students return to school, as each team has nine games between now and the start of the spring semester, and seven of those are against ECC opponents. The Knights will host the University of Bridgeport on December 15 in a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 pm and will also welcome District of Columbia on January 19 in a doubleheader at 1:30 pm. In addition, the women will entertain American International College in a single game on December 19 at 7 pm. 

If you can’t get to the games this winter, be sure to check out QC’s athletics website, queensknights.com, for game recaps, news, live stats and video, and much more.

Tis the season to plan ahead! Now, for the first time, QC students can take advantage of the earliest summer registration offered by any college in the tristate area.

Heard Around Campus: Ava Chin, a QC graduate and third-generation CUNY alumna who teaches creative nonfiction and journalism at the College of Staten Island, received the CUNY Distinguished Asian American Alumni Award at the Asian American/Asian Research Institute's 17th Annual Gala on Thursday, December 6, at Jing Fong Restaurant in Manhattan. Chin is the author of Eating Wildly : Foraging for Life, Love, and the Perfect Meal, and editor of the anthology Split. John Liu, senator-elect for the New York State Senate's 11th District, in Queens, was also honored at the event, which raises funds for student scholarships   . . . .  Tarry Hum (Urban Studies) is quoted in an NBC News article about an artist who paints Chinese symbols and imagery on security gates in Chinatown . . . . Greg O'Mullan (SEES) reports that his lab group recently published papers in Science Direct , Current Pollution Reports, and Frontiers in Microbiology. Much of the work was done in partnership with Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental organization . . . . John Waldman (Biology) was busy last month. On Sunday, November 18, he was on a panel addressing "The Hudson River as Life Force" at the Hudson River Museum, in connection with its Maya Lin exhibit . The next day he chaired a conference at the Dutch Embassy in Washington, DC, on "Connecting Fish, Rivers and People," organized by the World Fish Migration Foundation . . . . Dana Beth Weinberg (Sociology) got a glowing review from the Jewish Book Council for her latest novel, To Catch a Traitor, published under her pseudonym, D.B. Shuster . . . . Research that Chuixiang Yi (SEES) conducted on drought and trees was featured on CUNY's SUM website , which highlights the work of faculty.



This is the last  QView  of 2018. Happy Holidays to all!

We'll resume publication next semester.