QView #167 | November 21, 2023

In collaboration with the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, the Queens College Library’s Special Collections and Archives welcomed two visiting fellows to conduct research with the James J. Periconi Collection of Italian-Language American Imprints. From left: Anthony Tamburri (John D. Calandra Italian American Institute); Lindsey Kingston, research fellow; Annie Tummino (Special Collections and Archives); Carmen Petruzzi, research fellow; and James Periconi, collection donor/curator.

The MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literary Translation held a virtual open house on November 15.

Faculty participants included John Rice above, and on far right of image above

Briallen Hopper, Jason Tougaw, Julie Goodale, Rebecca Suzuki, all of the English department, and Ammiel Alcalay from CMAL.

From left: Cinematographer Adriana Aponte, Claddagh cast members Kevin Wagner (a QC alumnus) and Artie Brennan, and writer/director Brendan Lee.

Love crosses cultures in The Claddagh, which made its New York City debut in Rosenthal 230 with a November 16 screening co-sponsored by the Irish Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and Media Studies programs. The indie feature was inspired by the real-life romance between Brendan Lee, an Irish American writer, and Adriana Aponte, a Colombian photographer he met when she was visiting the city for the first time. Lee wrote and directed the movie and Aponte was its cinematographer.

President Frank H. Wu and ACSM Associate Director Ed Smaldone enjoyed a visit with Bunny (Avonelle) Walker, a big supporter of music scholarships.

Also last week, President Frank H. Wu met with Assemblymember Sam Berger, whose district includes Queens College. Berger replaced Daniel Rosenthal, who resigned earlier this fall to accept a senior position with UJA-Federation of New York.

Conversation and dim sum were on the menu when President Frank H. Wu got together with the board of the Asian American / Asian Research Institute.

From left: Antony Wong, Yung-Yi Diana Pan, Vinit Parmar, Catherine Ma, Wu, Ellen Lai, Ann Matsuuchi, Trang-Le Chan, Soniya Munshi, and Lili Shi.

Friends, colleagues, and former students gathered in LeFrak Concert Hall on November 19 to take part in a program celebrating the life of cellist Alexander Kouguell, who taught music at QC for 68 of his 102 years. You can watch the concert here.

Fan Brings Good Luck to Soccer Team

The Queens College men’s soccer team was losing 1-0 at their first-round NCAA Tournament game in West Virginia on Wednesday, November 16, when one of their biggest fans in Queens—Liam, age 11—took his seat on the bench. Thirty seconds later, the Knights scored and tied the game. Minutes later they scored again, defeating Notre Dame College (Ohio). In celebration, the Knights sang, “Liam is so fire! The other team is terrified because Liam’s so fire!”

Liam, who incurred a spinal cord injury in a car accident when he was five years old, met the Knights toward the end of the regular season through Team Impact, a nonprofit that matches children facing serious illness or disability with college sports teams. With him on the bench and standing with the starters for each game, the team won their first East Coast Conference tournament title in school history and got an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Smitten with Liam, the team begged Head Men’s Soccer Coach Frank Vertullo to let the boy and his mom join them in West Virginia. Vertullo covered the fare for Liam and his mom to fly there from LaGuardia, while Team Impact staffers Mariela Jácome and Amy and Emily Moore set them up with food and travel to and from the airports.

Soccer team boarding the bus

The team’s incredible run eventually came to end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday with a loss to the University of Charleston, the second-ranked team in the country. Despite the defeat, the season was arguably the greatest men’s soccer season in QC history, and it featured their first East Coast Conference (ECC) title and a first-round victory at the NCAA Tournament. Five members of the squad earned All-Conference Honors.

In other athletics news, the women’s volleyball team’s 2023 season also came to an end last week with the Knights falling in the semifinal round of the ECC Playoffs to Daemen University. The team also has a lot to be proud of, as they concluded their first winning season in 15 years (13-11 overall, 7-5 ECC) and had three members of the team earn All-Conference honors.

With the fall sports season officially completed, basketball season is now underway, and the men’s basketball team is off to a hot start, winning three of their first four games. They earned a hard-fought overtime victory against Adelphi University on November 11 and then added wins over Cheyney University on November 15 and University of Bridgeport on November 18. The women’s basketball team also picked up its first win of the season last Saturday, defeating Bloomfield College, 72-58.

This week, the women’s team will visit Caldwell College on Tuesday at 7 pm and then compete in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament at Felician University on Saturday and Sunday, where they will take on Felician and Dominican University of New York respectively. The men’s team will have a light week with just one game on the slate, a road contest against Dominican on Wednesday at 2 pm.

For the latest Knights news, be sure to visit https://queensknights.com/.

Registration is open for Winter Session at Queens College!

Winter Session has something for everyone. Current students can enroll in courses that often fill up quickly in fall and spring semesters; new students can get a taste of what college life is all about.

Winter Session offers over 70 undergraduate and graduate courses from a variety of disciplines. With online and hybrid classes, students have extra flexibility in their schedule. ​In three weeks (January 2–24, 2024), it's possible to earn up to four credits.

For more information, visit the Winter Session website.

Teaching English in Vietnam

There’s still time for QC students to apply for positions teaching English in Vietnam this coming summer. Interns in Summer Fun, hosted in Ho Chi Minh City by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, create lesson plans and co-teach kids aged 6 -15 for about 21 hours a week.

The six-week internships start in late June and include complimentary housing, a small stipend, guided tours with travel opportunities throughout Vietnam, and a full subsidy for round-trip airfare.

To apply, complete this form Summer 2024 Teaching in Vietnam Program Application (office.com) by November 22. Send any questions to teachinginvietnam@qc.cuny.edu.  

QCArts Launches Website

The latest presentation by the Queens College School of Arts is a revamped website. The new site enables students to explore the school’s 40+ degree programs, access resources and professional opportunities, and stay updated on news and upcoming events. Reflective of the school’s dedication to fostering an environment where art and innovation can flourish, this hub provides a centralized space for collaboration and active engagement with QC’s vibrant arts community.

Envisioned by former Dean of Arts and Humanities Bill McClure, with input from arts department chairs, the site was completed by School of Arts’ Administrative and Program Assistant Neo Ioannou with oversight from Associate Dean Julia del Palacio and Interim Dean of Arts and Humanities Simone Yearwood.

The website is expected to be a powerful tool for School of Arts faculty and students and Queens College at large, expanding outreach to current and prospective students, highlighting the diversity of campus arts offerings, and guiding emerging artists to their specific disciplines and creative passions.

Happy Holidays at the LAHM

The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) has an exciting lineup for the next few weeks, with appearances by multidisciplinary performer Amyra León, jazz vocalist Vuyo Sotashe, and pianist Nduduzo Makhathini. In other news, a scaled-down version of the house is representing Queens in the second annual Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off on display at the Museum of the City of New York until January 15, 2024. Keep up with LAHM happenings by reading its latest newsletter.

Lighting Up the Night

The sun is setting earlier, but not to worry: The Queens County Farm Museum has opened its fourth annual winter lantern festival. In operation Fridays through Sundays to January 7, 2024—and daily from December 22 to January 1—Illuminate the Farm - Queens County Farm Museum adorns the farm grounds with lights and handcrafted Chinese lanterns. Visitors can enjoy interactive tunnels, swings, seesaws, a bounce house, and sugar paintings. Tickets start at $17.99 for children ages 4 to 12 and $21.99 for adults. (Advance purchase is recommended.) Babies and toddlers are admitted for free.

Desiree Byrd (Psychology) has received three NIH grants totaling about $800 thousand. She has been appointed to the American Psychological Association APA Presidential Task Force on Neuropsychological Test Norming in Diverse Populations . . . . Sally Izquierdo (Psychology) received $20,000 CUNY grant for Project REACH to work with QC students with autism . . . . Yunping Jiang, Kris Klosin, Russell Miller, and Scott Wilson (Math) have each been awarded Simons Foundation Grants of $42,000 . . . . Kris Klosin (Math) is the co-author of “R=T theorems for weight one modular forms,” published in Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in August 2023 . . . . William Rothstein (ACSM) received a Special Recognition Award in the ASCAP Foundation’s Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards for 2023 for his recent book, The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813–1859 . . . .Dragomir Saric (Math) is the co-author of “Ergodicity of the geodesic flow on symmetric surfaces,” published in Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in May 2023 . . . . Anna Skarpelis was invited to join the editorial board of Sociological Theory.