]]>Co-curricular activities went from "on the move" to "on the run" with a dazzling Theatre and Performing Arts Center season. For that we extend congratulations and thank you to Professor Kenneth Adams and the faculty of the Fine and Performing Arts Department as well as to Matthew Katz, director of the Performing Arts Center, and his staff. The Jazz Series of the Performing Arts Center featured the legendary Cyrus Chestnut Trio, the Latin Giants Orchestra, pianist Geri Allen as well as Stefon Harris and Jacky Terrasson, Quintet of the Americas and others. The Special Presentation Series also featured a diverse lineup of performers and performances such as Ain't I a Woman and Unwritten. The Little Theatre featured performances by students and guest actors alike: Lynn Nottage's Fabulation, directed by Professor Tom Marion, featured York students and brought to the campus the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright to enjoy York's interpretation of her work, followed by a "talk-back." Thornton Wilder's Our Town, and Linda Nieves-Powell's Yo Soy Latina, both directed by Professor Timothy Amrhein, drew appreciative audiences; and The Tempest, York's first fully-staged Shakespeare play, directed by Prof. Marion, also enjoyed a successful run with support from the College as well as high schools, community members and seniors from across the borough.
Congratulations to everyone involved in these wonderful productions showcasing the talent of York faculty, student-performers and production crews!
While on the subject of performances, a big THANK YOU goes to everyone who supported the Third Annual Foundation Gala honoring music impresario George Wein, alumnus Patrick MacKrell, and Assemblywoman Vivian Cook. Our featured performer, Branford Marsalis gave an amazing performance and we were delighted that patriarch, Ellis Marsalis, joined his son on piano and while his youngest son, Jason, played drums.
Mr. Wein, was gracious, generous and engaging. Once again, Matthew Katz and his team did an outstanding job of preparing the theatre for performance. Professor Tom Zlabinger and his York College Big Band, also wowed the audience with their outdoor welcoming performance in front of the PAC. Indeed, it was a mini-struggle getting everyone to leave the entertainment outside for the featured performance inside!
About a week later we were honored that CNN correspondent, Soledad O'Brien premiered the documentary, Rescued at York and we applaud Dr. Ron Daniels of the Department of Social Sciences for his outstanding participation as a member of the post-viewing panel.
Under the leadership of Provost Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, York has joined the Council on Undergraduate Research, and established the Office of Undergraduate Research. Congratulations to Dr. Rishi Nath, the director, and dozens of students and their faculty mentors who presented their research in the sciences, literature, social work and the visual and performing arts during first Undergraduate Research Day in April.
We were pleased to have as our keynote speaker that day, Dr. Kenneth G. Furton, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University (FIU).
In a case of scholarly reciprocity and commitment to an idea, Mathematics Professor Nath served as host in April to visiting Trinidadian scholar, Steven Khan, a doctoral candidate at the University of Waterloo, (Canada) and as a faculty member of the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad. Professor Khan discussed the relationship between Mathematics and the Steel Pan, using connections between math and music to interest students of particular ethnic backgrounds in mathematics.
Prof. Nath met Professor Khan while he (was a visiting scholar at the University of the West Indies, at St. Augustine in 2008. He reported upon his return that there was an opportunity for international collaborations given his newly "internationalized perspective" on mathematics education and research. Prof. Khan gave a pair of talks to both a general audience at York as well as to the Tensor Scholars, a math group lead by Professors Lidia Gonzalez and Nath, dedicated to increasing the representation of women and minorities in the mathematical sciences.
Tensor Program participant, Kiran Bhamra, '10, has received a scholarship to Stevens Institute of Technology for a Masters in computer science this fall, in a run up to the doctorate. Ms. Bhamra joins Yi Di Zhang, '06, as the second York alum at the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology New Jersey's answer to MIT.
We are delighted that The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) has awarded accreditation to our Medical Laboratory Scientist program. York has been awarded this initial accreditation by the National Review Board.
Congratulations for this long-sought after accomplishment go especially to director, Peter Jackson, MS, MT (ASCP); Department Chair, Dr. Robert Brugna and Dr. Dana Fusco, Dean of the School of School of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Faculty scholarship continues to soar at York, elevating the stature of the College and the success of our students. This spring Dr. Gerard McNeil (Biology) received more than $472,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue his study of the function of RNA-binding protein critical to the female egg, using the common fruit fly as a model; Dr. Beth Rosenthal (Social Sciences) received more than $472,000 from the NIH to be applied her study of Adolescent Trauma, Psychopathology and Resilience; and Dr. Ruel Desamero (Chemistry) received more than $468,000 from the NIH toward his research project Dihydropterdine Reductase: Mechanism of Enzyme Action. These research projects have the multi-level effect of providing learning opportunities for our students as young researchers in the labs of their faculty mentors.
This year's graduation class saw an impressive number of scholars and we congratulate all the faculty mentors who made it possible:
Kudos to Dr. Ivica Arsov, Dr. Margaret McNeil and Dr. Emmanuel Chang, respectively, for their mentorship of Adeola Adebayo, Anika Toorie and Sherida Rahaman who have all been accepted into the PhD program in Pathobiology at Brown University in Rhode Island. Ms. Adebayo and Ms. Toorie are both MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) Scholars as is Dexan Brown, a Chemistry major who will study molecular pharmacology at Stony Brook University.
The group of three graduates going to Brown was recruited by our own alum, Dr. Andrew Campbell, '81, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
We congratulate all the faculty mentors and the counselors who guided all our students to the successful outcomes now fueling their promising futures.
The accomplishments cut an impressive swath across academic disciplines. Physics and Mathematics major Nicholas Hunt Walker has been accepted into the PhD program in Astrophysics at the University of Washington; Tanisha Placide who graduated with academic honors, and with honors in Social Science Research, is heading to nursing school in the fall, the first step in her plan to earn a Ph.D. in Nursing.
And then there is the compelling story of Charles Lugo. Mr. Lugo who grew up in foster care, found himself at York and the Chemistry lab of Professor Adam Profit with the support of Biology Professor Jack Schlein. He has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on full scholarship. He also credits the inspiration of his fellow students, including the person he calls his "smart friend," Chibuzo Chigewe, '10, now at Meharry Medical College.
And there's Bebe Haniff, who graduated with the BS/MS in Occupational Therapy. Ms. Haniff, a non-traditional student, graduated with the highest GPA of the BS/MS Occupational Therapy students. Ms. Haniff, mother of three adult children, endured extreme hardships to get to the United States to provide a better life for her family. Her outstanding example has now inspired her two daughters to enroll at York.
I am pleased to note that this year's valedictorian, Joi Yau, is a Mathematics major. Congratulations to the Department of Mathematics and Computer Studies for minting another woman mathematician from York! There is high demand for ethnic and gender diversity in the mathematical sciences and York must play a solid role in this area. Ms. Yau, who was born in Panama, will visit China, her ancestral homeland, studying and connecting with family before attending graduate school.
Congratulations to the director, faculty, students and staff of the CUNY Aviation Institute at York College for guiding the first cohort of graduates! It was a decade ago that the seed was planted and initial funding provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We are gratified by this successful outcome. This group of graduates has set the stage for future aviation scholars at York.
This year's Commencement Exercise was one of our best, not only for the impressive graduates, the inspiring faculty participation, and our special guests. It was also spectacular in its presentation -- from the repositioning of the podium to the welcoming awning and the receptions, alumni participation, the public reception amid red-and-white-covered tables on the plaza to the remarkable performance of the York College Big Band. Commencement delivered pomp and circumstance at its best. Congratulations to the entire committee for a job well done!
I wish for everyone, an enjoyable and restful summer!
]]>Enrollment of academically well-prepared students is at an all-time high; and an increased number of full-time faculty, has led to ever growing graduation numbers with students prepared for the rigors of graduate school and careers.
Faculty Scholarship at York continues to be a source of pride. Several directors and faculty members such as Drs. Emmanuel Chang, Mande Holford, Lawrence Johnson, Beth Rosenthal, Louis Levinger, Andrea Krauss, Ruel Desamero and Gerard McNeil as well as Ms. Dawn Hewitt, director of Research and Sponsored programs and Dr. Panayiotis Meleties, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, have raised the bar on grants to over $5 million received to date.
Collaborative scholarship is also on the rise. For instance, Professor James Popp has accepted a year-long engagement at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) in Batavia, IL, to advance the Muon-to-Electron Conversion Experiment (MU2E). According to Dr. Popp, no one else in CUNY is doing this type of research. There are numerous other faculty members pursuing groundbreaking research and bringing in impressive grants to fund their continuation. We will keep you posted as they come to fruition.
Students and faculty have also continued joint research/presentation projects, as was the case at the 2009 American Association of Health Education Case Study Competition, in which three York students (Marie Benjamin, Desmay Holland and Mary Lawhorn) majoring in Community Health Education, presented and placed fourth for their proposal, “Achieving Success through Building Collaboration: Reducing Falls in Wisconsin.” The event was held in Tampa, Florida and the students were accompanied by their York advisor, Dr. Linda Rose Barley. Dr. Timothy Paglione’s student, Nicholas Hunt-Walker, Physics and Mathematics major, received honorable mention in the Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award Competition at the recent national meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. The recognition is for a poster presentation on his X-ray studies of dwarf galaxies. The competition, according to Dr. Paglione, includes both graduate and undergraduate students, making the York achievement all the more impressive.
Students of the Aviation Institute continue to soar as well. A trip to Orlando to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and Jet Blue’s training center proved fruitful as did their participation in “LeaderShape Institute,” an intensive workshop in White Haven, Pennsylvania, which focused on how to create career visions and lead with integrity. York is the first CUNY College to have participated in the program. And we anticipate another first achievement: this May we will graduate our first full cohort of Aviation Management majors!
On the executive leadership level, York’s expertise is also in demand across state and national borders.
In December, Provost Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on the topic, “New Direction or Old Path: Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).” Among the experts testifying along with Dr. Griffith was Deputy Secretary Julissa Reynoso, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs for the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Griffith, who was invited by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which is based in Washington DC, was well-received for his scholarship by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chairman of the committee and other members, represented York in the outstanding manner for which we are becoming known. And in January, I participated in the NCAA national conference in Atlanta where I joined fellow presidents Mark F. Adams, University of Georgia and Thomas J. Haas, Grand Valley State University, in a discussion on “Perspectives on Inclusion and Diversity in the hiring of Athletic Directors.”
The fifth anniversary of my arrival at York is up-coming in February. This milestone will be marked by the Chancellery’s evaluation of my presidency. The three-part process will include: a self assessment, the utilization of data from four consecutive Performance Management Processes (PMP), and an electronic survey randomly administered. With the contribution of the entire college and the CUNY community, York has grown on many fronts in keeping with our initial strategic planning goals. In our current economic climate, our fundraising mandate becomes even more critical to our success. Thus we are building a team to lead the way in this vital arena while we execute plans for our Third Annual Foundation Scholarship Gala, to be held in the Performing Arts Center, on April 19th featuring Grammy Award- winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis.
Finally, Strategic Planning is in full swing at York and I extend appreciation to the many stake holders who participated in the October and December workshops. This spring we will be ready to launch our new mission, our vision, and our value statements for broader consideration. For more information on the work of the Strategic Planning Committee, I invite you to visit the website at www.york.cuny.edu/president/strategic-planning.
Let me close by wishing you a productive, happy, and healthy 2010!
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I am pleased to report that we are seeing fruits born of these efforts. When we hired (or made permanent), over 40 faculty members last fall to make these goals feasible, we expected quantifiable outcomes and we are starting to see them. I am also pleased to report that many in the College Community are engaged in our Gen Ed Faculty Inquiry Groups and our outcomes assessment committee is expanding its reach; and the follow-up on syllabi standardization in the Gen Ed courses is complete. And I invite everyone to join me in congratulating our faculty and students who have conducted and presented research on and or off campus or who have published during the past year.
The sciences are thriving at York as demonstrated by several professors from various departments:
Dr. Gerald McNeil (Biology) recently joined the Genomics Education Partnership, which includes over 50 undergraduate institutions across the country joining forces in teaching undergraduates how to conduct a team-based research project in the cutting-edge area of genomics. York had three students participate last spring (Crystal Dol, Joanna Haye-Coradin, and Justina Chinwong) who presented their results last May at the College and will be authors on an upcoming manuscript. Our involvement also resulted in Dr. McNeil being an author on a Science paper describing the success of this method of teaching. This past semester our student, David Bartlett, completed a project which is going to be presented to the College and Dr. McNeil’s Bioinformatics course this semester. The semester will also see five additional students (Adeola Adebayo, Christopher Wilson, Shreida Rahaman, Sarasi Paramananda, and Eunice Georges), participating and should present their results this spring. Some of their work will be posted on the GEP website and will be available to the public showing the outstanding work that is being done by York’s undergraduates. Upon completion of their work, they also will be authors on an upcoming publication.
Dr. Louis Levinger (Biology) reports that his student, Christopher Wilson, a Biotech major, is the co-author on a MS, which was recently submitted for publication. The student is supported on Dr. Levinger’s AREA (R15) award and the project concerns the Flexible Arm tRNase Z. Recent alumna, Salk Scholar Angela Hopkinson, who also worked in Dr. Levinger’s lab, and is now a PhD student in Microbiology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, is also a co-author.
Dr. Margaret MacNeil (Biology) along with Cheryl Purrier, who graduated from York in 2007, presented “The Organization of the Inner Nuclear Layer of the Cat Retina,” at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington, DC last November. I am delighted to know that Ms. Purrier, an outstanding student while here at York, will be entering medical school this fall.
Dr. Gregory Boutis (Physics) reports that a number of his students made presentations at various locations. All his students who participated are listed as Physics & Math (double) majors at York.
Nicholas Hunt-Walker
Title: The Radio and Mid-Infrared Star Formation Rates of Compact Emission Line Galaxies in the COSMOS Field
Location of Presentation: American Museum of Natural History - Kaufmann Theater
Advisor: Timothy Paglione (York College/ Dept. of Earth and Physical Sciences)
Victor Udinwe
Title: "Applying Spherical Harmonics to Model Yeast Cells"
Location of Presentation: Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Location of Presentation: Dept. of Earth and Physical Sciences, York College Physics Colloquium
Research Performed at Vanderbilt University
Odingo Mitchell
Title: Connecting Air Pollution Parameters to Optically Measured Parameters to Assess Air Quality Monitoring Capabilities
Location of Presentation: York College Physics Symposium
Research Performed at City College
Odingo Mitchell
Title: Development of 13C - 1H double-resonance solid state NMR probe with a mechanism that allows for mechanical deformation of biological samples
Location of Presentation: Tampa Florida (LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate Program)
Advisor: Greg Boutis
Research Performed at York College
Thompson Ukpebor
Title: Thunderstorm NowCasting
Location of Presentation: City College
Research Performed at City College
Title: A Plot Study For the Use of Infra-Red Photography for Snow Properties Characterization: Camera Settings, Sensitivity and Software Development.
Location of Presentation: El Paso Texas
Research Performed at City College
Odingo Mitchell
Title: Development of 13C - 1H double-resonance solid state NMR probe with a mechanism that allows for mechanical deformation of biological samples
Location of Presentation: National Society of Black Physicists Conference February 9, 2009
Advisor: Greg Boutis
Research Performed at York College
Last fall Drs. Nazrul I. Khandaker and Stanley Schleifer (Earth & Physical Sciences) conducted the following topical session (No.158) at the 2008 Joint Meeting of The Geological Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies with the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM. Title of the Session:
Disseminating Hands-on Geological Knowledge and Creating a Greater Awareness for the Environment: Emphasis on the Involvement of Undergraduates and K–12 Students (Posters). They also report that their students have been actively engaged in research and presentations as well as represented by the following students:
Jahmillah Khabir: Point Source Determination of Pollutants in the Coastal Sand, Tobago, supported by Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Award.
Charren Cabaroy: Geochemical Investigations of the Chert-Bearing Units Associated with the New Scotland and Kalkberg Limestones (New York).
Andrew Singh: Sedimentology of the Beach Placer Deposit (Montauk Point, New York).
Jessica Rampersad: Mineralogy of the Coastal Sand Obtained from the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Mande Holford (Chemistry), along with two (York) students, Pamela Lebron and Rashia Burrell, attended the 16th General Meeting of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences in St. George, Grenada. Professor Holford presented on her research on using local biodiversity (venomous marine snails) as potential drug development targets while Pamela Lebron, a Chemistry major mentored by Dr. Ruel Desamero, presented her research on determining the Pka of the SH group using vibrational methods.
We are pleased that the York College Marketing team for the CUNYfirst (Fully Integrated Resources and Services Tool) Marketing Competition edged out Baruch College for first place. Congratulations to Marketing professor, Dr. Paul Salisbury and the creative and hard-working students, Aisha Niang, Jonathan Hubbard, Thelma Suarez and Vimmy Seajatan.
CUNYfirst is meant to modernize systems for finance, budget, human resources, purchasing and students and is developing a marketing plan for the new CUNY management systems. The judges were “blown away” by the quality of the York team’s research. Baruch had two teams of students in the competition to York’s one team but York’s team triumphed. It was the (York) group’s first foray into marketing competition and they have made us proud.
The Aviation Institute continues to soar and in January Aviation Director Michel Hodge took a group of eight students to Washington, DC for the Transportation Research Board Conference. They visited the Capitol Building and were escorted by Congressman Gregory Meeks to witness a number of bill signings in Congress. There are a number of other conferences and visitors planned, as well, including the upcoming visit of Susan M. Baer, the author of “One Woman’s Journey in the Aviation World.”
We will keep you posted.
Congratulations to all our achievers!
Well done -- York Community!!
President Marcia V. Keizs
Dr. Griffith’s academic leadership experience includes service as associate dean for budget and facilities of the College of Arts and Sciences and later as dean of the Honors College at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and as provost at Radford University in Southwest Virginia. He has been a visiting scholar at The George Marshall European Center for Security Studies and elsewhere, and he has served as a consultant to the Organization of American States, USAID, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and other bodies. A recipient of research funding from the MacArthur Foundation and elsewhere, he also has written articles in many scholarly journals, including Journal of Inter-American Studies & World Affairs, Dickinson Journal of International Law, University of Miami Law Review, International Journal, Caribbean Perspectives, Latin American Research Review, Naval War College Review, Third World Quarterly, Low Intensity Conflict & Law Enforcement, Joint Force Quarterly, and Social & Economic Studies.
I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Dr. Linda Rose Barley who served York College for one and a half years; first as dean and then as vice president of academic affairs. The accomplishments of the OAA during her tenure have been significant and provide a wonderful platform for the college as we move to strengthen our academic programs and recruit well prepared students into them. Among the major accomplishments are: initiating and securing a Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education; the development of a broad faculty development seminar program for all faculty including new faculty and adjuncts; the establishment of an Outcomes Assessment agenda for the college; the restructuring of the sciences into three discrete departments; the delivery of more effective and enriched library services; and the completion of the long awaited Degree Works project — Cardinal Check. Also important has been her work to strengthen, reorganize and staff the Office of Academic Affairs so that it can be more responsive to both the internal and external demands placed on it.
I thank Dr. Barley for her commitment, drive and energy in leading the OAA during this period of transition and offer her good wishes as she returns to the Department of Health, Physical Education and Gerontological Studies and Services.
Please join me in welcoming Provost Griffith and in thanking Acting VP Barley.
Marcia V. Keizs
President
All of us at York are excited about your decision to earn your degree here in any one of our nearly 50 academic majors under the guidance of our world-class faculty and dedicated administrators. We look forward to partnering with you for this exciting journey toward your goal. We will support you in every way possible.
I urge you to commit to earning your degree and to be diligent in seeking the support you need to succeed. We have in place, numerous support systems to augment your classroom experiences. I encourage you to make yourselves known in the Scholarship Office and the Office of Career Services. Stay in touch with the Academic Advisement Center to keep track of required courses for your major and for graduation. Finally, empower yourselves by visiting the Academic Achievement Center in Room 3H13for tutoring in any number of subject areas in which you may need help or simply to boost your knowledge of the subject.
I wish everyone -- students, faculty and staff -- a productive semester and academic year.
President Marcia V. Keizs
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