Discimus ut serviamus:
We learn so that we may serve.
|
|
QC is Open and Preparing for Distance Learning and Distance Work
Queens College—like all CUNY schools—has suspended physical classes on campus for the rest of the spring semester and is adopting telecommuting for all but essential staff. Additionally, out of an abundance of caution, the campus was closed for the day on Monday, March 16, after a library staffer tested positive for coronavirus. All campus locations visited by the staffer, starting with areas in Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, are being cleaned thoroughly.
The shift to distance learning was launched in accordance with an announcement by
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo
on Wednesday, March 11, suspending face-to-face classes in the CUNY and SUNY systems. The next day, QC began a week-long instructional recess for implementing a comprehensive transition to distance education. Except for fully online programs, no scheduled courses are running during this period. The Office of the Provost is working closely with faculty to prepare them to conduct classes remotely. On Thursday, March 19, the college will resume all instruction via distance learning, maintaining academic continuity for students.
To ease this transition, the college's Office of Information Technology Services has established a Faculty Support Hotline (718-997-4900) and a Student Support Hotline (718-997-3000) for technology assistance for distance learning, Blackboard, and CUNYfirst, starting on Tuesday, March 17 at 10 am.
“By transitioning to distance learning, CUNY will be upholding its responsibility as the largest urban public university in the country and meeting our goal of minimizing exposure to those on our campus communities to coronavirus transmission,” said Chancellor
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
.
This week, in response to a CUNY-wide directive from the chancellor and after Mayor Bill De Blasio closed New York City public schools until at least April 20, the college reduced on-site staffing to essential employees only. Scheduled campus events are being postponed; for details, see “Pushed Back to the Future” in this issue of
QView
.
The Academic Advising Center will provide advising services remotely, via eAdvising, phone, or Skype; students are urged to use the QC Navigate app, available for download through
https://navigate.qc.cuny.edu
. Drop-in consultations are suspended until further notice.
Interim President William Tramontano sent an
update to the campus community
on Monday, March 16. The interim president’s message includes valuable information on available services for students, faculty and staff. To keep informed about developments and announcements connected to COVID-19, members of the QC community are encouraged to visit
www.qc.cuny.edu/Coronavirus
frequently.
|
|
QC students who may have lost access to course materials with the rapid shift to remote learning will have free access to over 50,000 eBooks courtesy of the online book store Akademos and the digital course material platform VitalSource. Students can begin accessing the expansive catalog of texts beginning today and can use the service through the end of the Spring 2020 semester.
Students must register by going to
bookshelf.vitalsource.com
and using their official QC email address. Any customer service questions related to registration should be directed to VitalSource at
this help page
.
|
|
Pushed Back to the Future
Like many places around the country trying to prevent the spread of the contagious COVID-19 coronavirus, QC is experiencing the postponement and cancellation of a host of educational, cultural, and athletic events.
Events scheduled for this week and the following week have been canceled. Examples include:
Biology Colloquium:
“The Gotham Coyote Project: Monitoring the Latest Urban Expansion by Coyotes”
SEYS Science Research Symposium:
“Condensed Experiential Space: Technology and the Impact on Cognition”
Concert:
John Cage's MusiCircus
Workshop:
Writing Personal Statements
CUNY Tech Prep Info Session and A Guide to a Tech Career
LinkedIn Workshop
Open House:
QC Summer Camp
Book presentation:
Cyprus Under British Colonial Rule
Events postponed until the fall:
The Celebration of Women Breakfast with a keynote address by New York Attorney General Letitia James
The Queens College Chapbook Festival
March 26 Tech Showcase/Alumni Event
featuring Computer Associates co-founder Russell Artzt ’68
Also postponed:
2020 Virgina Frese Palmer Women's History Month Symposium
“Women, Activism, Advocacy, Action” (TBD)
Hack 2020 hackathon
(possibly June)
Additionally, all athletic events and all Calandra Italian American Institute events are canceled for the remainder of the spring semester.
|
|
Campus Write-in Goes Online
The Campus Write-in Event, originally scheduled for March 18, has been postponed to Wednesday, March 25, from 10 am to 4:30 pm, and will take place virtually. For information on how to participate, please visit
Writing at Queens
or
Writing Center
on Thursday, March 19, when classes resume.
Students who have a question about their project, would like to chat over how to move forward with a paper, or need a final check on finished work, should check out the Campus Write-in. Writing tutors will be available to assist with projects.
|
|
More Alumni Entrepreneurs
The recent study
of QC’s economic impact includes profiles of alumni entrepreneurs, such as Max Kupferberg ’42.
Kupferberg, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 97, had an immeasurable impact on the Queens community as both a businessman and a philanthropist.
A member of Queens College’s first incoming class, Kupferberg studied physics at QC and went on to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. In 1946, a year after the war ended, he opened Kepco, Inc. with his three brothers. They set up shop in Flushing, designing and manufacturing DC power supplies and associated electronic equipment. Their instrument products are found in automatic test equipment, avionics, aerospace, experimental electronics, and high-energy physics applications, and many of their designs led to technological advancements in the industry. More than 70 years later, Kepco remains a family-operated business in Queens.
$10 Million Donated
In 2006, Kupferberg and his wife, Selma, donated $10 million to support arts programs at Queens College. Named in their honor, the Kupferberg Center for the Arts encompasses Colden Auditorium, the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, the Queens College Art Center, and the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives. Each year, the center hosts concerts and exhibitions by world-class performers, outstanding regional and local artists, and QC students and faculty.
|
|
Building Futures:
Constantia Constantinou
|
|
From QC Music Major to Vice Provost and Director of UPenn’s Libraries
Constantia Constantinou BA ’87, MA ’91, MLS ’95, vice provost and director of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, had never left her home country of Cyprus until she enrolled at Queens College at the age of 18. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus divided her country and displaced her family, driving her to pursue an education in America. After three QC degrees and a successful career as a librarian, she returned home to help bridge the gap between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
In 1974, Constantinou and her family were displaced from their hometown, Famagusta—an east coast city that became occupied by Turkey—and moved to Larnaca in the south of Cyprus. Nine years later, Constantinou’s parents encouraged her to go to the United States to pursue her education. “My parents would always say that during wars, people can lose their possessions, their homes, even their countries and families, but the one thing they cannot lose is their education,” said Constantinou.
Her parents had no idea what school to send her to, so they sought the advice of someone from the U.S. Embassy. Since Constantinou played classical guitar and was an aspiring musician, the embassy recommended Queens College, because she could study at the Aaron Copland School of Music while also getting a well-rounded education studying its liberal arts curriculum.
|
|
Jessica Harris
(English), author of 12 critically acclaimed books about the food and foodways of the African diaspora, received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award; the ceremony has been postponed for the summer . . .
Maaza Mengiste
(English), author of the novels
The Shadow King
and
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze,
won the Literature Award from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
|
|
The
Q View
is produced by the
Office of Communications and Marketing.
Comments and suggestions for future news items
are welcome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
