A Message from the President

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Welcome to the May edition of "Press from the Prez." As the academic term ends, there is much to celebrate. Over the last few weeks, students, faculty and staff have illuminated topics of positive mental health and honored the powerful contributions and proud traditions of the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American communities.  

This zeitgeist is also significant as it represents a milestone year for faculty and staff who have served the institution for 10 years. In alignment with Guttman traditions, the campus community joined in celebration of colleagues who also received commendations for their service, scholarship, collaborative spirit and much more. 

As you peruse this communication, take note of the incredible alumni and high-impact programming occurring at Guttman. It is an exciting time to be a Grizzly, and the best is yet to come! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. ("Dr. J")

President Attends African American Clergy & Elected Officials (AACEO) Breakfast

At the invitation of Medgar Evers College President Patricia Ramsey, Dr. Johnson enjoyed the opportunity to network and establish partnerships with area clergy, local government, and community leaders at the AACEO breakfast on May 3 in Brooklyn.

President’s Speaker Series

On Thursday May 9, Dr. Johnson hosted James Rhee, the author of red helicopter for a fireside chat in celebration of APIDA Month. This lively discussion took place a CUNY@ Amazon and featured highlights of the book and Mr. Rhee’s perspectives on math and upward social mobility.

City Council Executive Budget Investment and Restored Funding for CUNY

President Johnson joined his fellow presidents in a meeting with Council Members Justin Brannon (Chair of the Finance Committee) and Eric Dinowitz (Chair of the Higher Education Committee) to advocate for funding to support both institutional and CUNY priorities on May 17.

Dr. Johnson Attends Opening of Guttman Alum's Cafe

On Saturday, May 18, President Johnson attended the grand opening of Don Carvajal Cafe in Irvington, NY — owned and operated by Guttman alum Hector Carvajal, class of ‘18. (See our Alumni Spotlight featuring Carvajal.)

Empowering Guttman's Future: Cultivating Strategic Collaborations

Laura Qaissaunee

Grants Specialist

Robert Pagan

Senior Advisor for Partnerships, Alumni Engagement and Development

Q: You’ve both had a lot of success making connections that garner resources for mission-driven institutions of higher education. What drew you to Guttman?



Laura: I am inspired by Guttman's dedication to improving student outcomes and preparing them for the future— all of which can be aided through external resources. The potential for change that can be achieved through grant funding has been my driving force, and it was first sparked by my grant work at John Jay over thirty years ago and central to my long career with Brookdale Community College. The goal of adapting to the community's needs also truly speaks to me. I have a genuine fondness for the people at Guttman, and I am confident that my skills are well-suited to make a valuable contribution in this environment.

Robert: I was inspired by Guttman's dedication to fostering inclusive education and empowering students from diverse backgrounds. This resonated with me, as it aligns with my passion for fostering connections and driving positive impact within our community. My ability to support education fundraising initiatives across multiple CUNY colleges is grounded in my personal journey as a first-generation college graduate, much like many Guttman students. This shared experience enables me to authentically convey the significance of support for students facing similar challenges and aspirations. By blending personal stories with targeted messaging, I will emphasize the real-world impact of Guttman’s inclusive education model in transforming lives.

Q: What superpower do you bring to your work?

Laura: Before applying for grants, I carefully review agency guidelines to ensure that they align with Guttman's mission and the resources available to effectively carry out the proposed program. The grant should address a specific need of the college and provide additional support to benefit our students and college community. Strategic thinking is key for me in making informed decisions for successful grant acquisition. Carefully evaluating all aspects of a program and its potential impact will enable us to make the best decisions and secure grants that will truly benefit our college community.

Robert: I am drawn to challenges that push me to grow personally and professionally, and working at Guttman provides precisely that opportunity. I am genuinely honored to contribute to the college's mission of providing transformative educational experiences for all students, while also playing a role in elevating Guttman's visibility and securing partners who share our commitment to this mission.

Q: What's one professional goal you have going forward?

Robert: My immediate goal is to bolster the college's relationships with stakeholders, including alumni, donors and partner organizations. Additionally, I'm dedicated to fostering a vibrant and engaged community that actively supports Guttman's mission. This involves prioritizing engagement strategies such as personalized outreach, targeted events and collaborative projects. By focusing on these efforts, I aim to cultivate stronger connections and garner increased support for the college's mission and initiatives.

Laura: Securing a major institutional grant, such as the Federal Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program grants (SIP/Title III) or one of the TRiO grants like the Student Support Services, would have transformative benefits for Guttman.

SIP/Title III grants are designed to improve student persistence, retention and completion rates, especially for high-need students, including low-income and minority students. A SIP/Title III grant would lead to improved academic offerings, higher program quality, greater institutional stability and more comprehensive student support services.

TRiO grants, and specifically Student Support Services, are designed to increase the number of students, including low-income and first-generation students with disabilities who successfully complete a post-secondary program of study. The services provided through these grants can increase retention and graduation rates for students and facilitate their transfer from two-year to four-year colleges and universities.

Marcos Quinones Keeps His Composure as a Pulitzer Reporting Fellow

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs… you’ll be a Man, my son!”

Guttman student Marcos Quinones’s father could have penned Kipling’s words, written over a century ago in his oft-quoted poem “If.”

Marcos’ dad, a 36-year veteran detective, died of a Sept. 11-related cancer in 2021, only three years before his son and namesake would merit recognition for his keen intellectual inquiry and ability to tell balanced stories in contentious settings. These, and a strong faith, are traits the 26-year-old investigative journalist is proud to share with his father, who was an NYPD specialist, author and devout Christian.

Quinones learned this month that he won the prestigious Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship, an honor preceded by the news that he was chosen as a Guttman-Emerson James Baldwin Writers’ Colony Scholar. Both awards provide him with the paid opportunity to study, travel widely and hone his academic and reportorial writing skills. 

For the Pulitzer Center Campus Consortium Fellowship, Marcos pitched a project in which he’d interview former Young Lords, a Chicago-based street gang, about their civil and human rights activism in taking over a Harlem church which they used as a sanctuary for political prisoners and members of the community seeking refuge and food. “The Pulitzer Committee was blown away by Marcos' ideas and were impressed by his photojournalism skills,” says Dr. Amity Nathaniel, English lecturer and the program’s faculty liaison at Guttman. “After discussion with him, Pulitzer knew that Marcos' unique ability to report on radical topics and in the midst of dire circumstances made him a perfect candidate for the fellowship,” she added.

“When I told them that I used an ethnographic approach to interview students and faculty with vastly different perspectives on geopolitical issues recently, they suggested I change the focus of my fellowship to document the Columbia University occupation and protests, and I agreed. It’s important to let people tell their own story. I actually learned ways to navigate the ethics of a sensitive space in my Ethnographic Methods of Work (EMW) class,” Marcos said.

Pulitzer Reporting Fellows pursue independent journalism projects covering a wide range of critical global issues. In turn, they benefit from Pulitzer Center mentorship, networking opportunities and journalism resources. Just as he taught himself to do when he started covering Black Lives Matter Protests in 2020, Quinones considers reporting on controversial topics in tumultuous environments to be a mix of professionalism, artistry and a level of dissociation. “I need to check myself, go in very grounded and calm. I’ve been called names by people on all sides of issues, had a baton thrust in my chest, my camera grabbed. As a man of color, I have to manage myself with some kind of grace. It’s like a tango; sometimes I lead the charge but more often than not I am adjusting to the steps of my partner. Only my partner is the unpredictable streets of NYC,” he says. He points to Maya Angelou, Dick Gregory, James Baldwin, Tupac Shakur and Jon Stewart as influences.



Marcos is quick to acknowledge the power of mentors close to home whose words and actions have had immediate effect: David Ward, his high school teacher/advisor at Manhattan’s James Baldwin School and his Guttman professors James Sevitt, Tom Philipose, and Ria Banerjee, to name a few.

Next month, he’ll leave his Lower East Side home and travel with the three other Guttman students selected as Guttman-Emerson James Baldwin Writers’ Colony scholars for a unique four-week, eight-credit writing program in the Netherlands. As part of Emerson College’s Education Abroad, and thanks to the coordination of Guttman’s Dr. Tashana Samuel, the Liberal Arts major and his peers Ryan Moran, Alex Atack and Tyshaun Braxton, will read, discuss, write and revise, inspired by the works of literature by authors of the African American diaspora who lived and worked in Europe. From their “home base” at Kasteel Well, a restored 14th century castle, Quinones and workshop participants comprising student scholars from both Emerson and select HBCUs will also travel to Paris and will tour Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam.

“Coming to Guttman was transformational for me,” said Marcos as a member of the first cohort of the college’s new Honors Program. “I’ve come a long way to get to where I am now,” he noted, rising through the depression that marked the years of the pandemic and his dad’s illness and death. “But I have to say I’m thankful for where it’s led me and so eager for what lies ahead.”

Professor Brings Nature-Based Learning to Guttman

Implementing Nature-Based Learning (NBL) with urban community college students is something that “comes naturally” to Dr. Nicole Kras, Associate Professor of Human Services at Guttman. When she first arrived at the college six years ago, Kras offered an eco-art workshop to students and collaborated with the Central Park Zoo to design a program focusing on career exploration for students in her Ethnographies of Work course. “Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” she recalled. 



From there, she began to study research on NBL, where learning occurs in natural settings or when natural elements are brought into the classroom. NBL integrates subject matter across disciplines, theoretical perspectives and methodologies. The literature documenting cognitive, affective and pro-social effects of NBL focuses primarily on K-12 students, so Kras sees an opportunity to explore benefits for college-aged students. “Most of the current practices of nature-based experiences in higher education are occurring with 4-year, residential college students,” says Dr. Kras. “I see a gap in the research when it comes to embedding NBL experiences into the curriculum at the community college level.”

With questions designed using The Nature-Based Learning Collaborative Research Network ’s guidelines for transformative research, Kras and 10 of her Guttman faculty colleagues are currently asking: How might NBL and classroom-based instruction complement each other? How does nature exposure impact learning for urban community college students?

Thanks to funding she’s received from PSC-CUNY grants and Guttman’s Office of Academic Affairs, the Human Services faculty member has been able to engage her instructional peers in researching student learning by incorporating NBL experiences into their own fields of study, spanning Science, English, Urban Community Health and American Studies, to name a few. Some have presented at conferences and, in addition to work Kras has already published, are preparing papers that analyze their findings.

Meanwhile, according to initial outcomes summarized on the project’s website, “Students report not only enjoying the experience, but also finding it effective in deepening their understanding and engagement in course content. Feedback highlighted the value students placed on experiential learning, the importance of making real-world connections, and the excitement of exploring natural environments throughout NYC.”

Celebrating APIDA Month on Campus

With the theme of "Make Us Visible," Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month kicked off on May 7 with an interactive South Asia and Indian dance workshop led by Ajna Dance Company and a Taste of Asia. Throughout the month, Guttman celebrated our APIDA students, faculty, staff and administrators, inviting local leaders and creating personal and professional opportunities for everyone. For example, Peer Leader Sabrina Qui planned the May 28 Asian Street Market with a variety of classic games (and prizes!) inspired by Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Bengali cultures within the Asian Diaspora. That evening, Grizzlies headed to Citi Field to watch the Mets face off against the Dodgers. The event-packed APIDA month closed on May 30 with the help of Guttman Foundation Board Member Jeff Gu, who worked with Student Life to assemble a dynamic Career Panel of professionals sharing their advice and experiences within the finance industry, featuring individuals from companies including Jet Blue Ventures, BSE Global (BKNets and NY Liberty) and JP Morgan.

Associate Director of Academic Technology Chris Roth was a featured voice in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s article “Pride in the Halls” discussing the LGBTQ+ programming he’s helping support at the college.

Dr. Tom Martin, Ph.D. served as guest co-editor of a special issue on MA Critical Craft Studies for The Journal of Modern Craft 17(1), 7–12 in which his article, “Where Craft Begins,” was published. Professor Martin also published the article “Calculations without math: Smart instruments and the transposition of complex shapes in the wooden boat workshop” in the Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science.

Congratulations to Dr. Juan Rodriguez, who successfully completed his doctoral studies at New Jersey City University in Education with a focus on Educational/Instructional Technology, pictured here with two of his students who celebrated his degree conferral.

Recognized at the May 23 Eighth Annual Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony with the 10-year Longevity Award were the following:

• Crystal Vazquez
• Danny Cordova
• Jinzhong Niu
• Kristina Baines
• Marisol Cortes
• Marla Sole
• Matthew Mead
• Meagan Lacy
• Melissa Arias
• Michael Wong
• Molly Makris
• Patricia Jean
• Ria Banerjee
• Samantha Gregoire-James
• Sebastien Buttet
• Shani Pierce
• Thomas Hiotakis
• Marcus Allen
• Marcia Edwards
• Forest Fisher
• Chulsung Kim
• Camila Torres

UMOC Mentorship Night at Yankee Stadium

Guttman’s United Men of Color mentees and mentors enjoyed a home game watching the Yanks trounce the Astros on May 7 at Yankee Stadium.

Promoting Mental Health Awareness

Starting with “Sonic Connections” on May 2, the Counseling and Wellness Center Director Xioel Terrero and her team hosted a variety of events to raise awareness, reduce stigma and promote self-care and self-expression. Health screenings, Pilates classes, Narcan training, mindfulness coloring and a May 14 Wellness Fair all promoted well-being.

Guttman Leaders Convene

Ouida Vendryes, of Resolution Management, facilitated a training on strategies for navigating difficult conversations with the Guttman Leadership Team during their annual retreat held on May 14.

New Honor Society Inductees

Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society is an organization for students who openly acknowledge their disability status. The Theta Chi chapter of Guttman Community College inducted new members on May 16.

Voter Literacy Project Welcomes Lt. Governor Delgado

At the invitation of Guttman’s Beta Phi Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society and their voter literacy project, NY Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado came to campus on May 28 to speak to students about his journey and civic engagement.

Alumni on Career Success Panel

On May 28, CUNY Career Success Fellows Drs. Anya Y. Spector and Nicole Kras organized a Career Success Panel for students. The panel consisted of Guttman alumni and staff. The interactive discussion aligned with NACE career readiness competencies and included topics such as self-development, networking, career exploration, technology and professionalism.

Guttman Finalists for Reporting Fellowship Commended by Pulitzer Center

Finalists for the Pulitzer Reporting Fellowship, Guttman students Sabrina Qui and Samantha Sanders submitted proposals that the Pulitzer Campus Consortium Committee found extremely impressive. Qui's proposal about anti-Asian hate crimes in San Francisco was considered by the committee to be some of the best student writing across all applicants. Moved by Sander's proposal on the history and legacy of a Harlem restaurant, Pulitzer is actively seeking other publishing opportunities for her work.

“Cafecito” with Entrepreneur Héctor Carvajal, Class of 2018

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