Connections Vol.5 No.2 by City Tech

New York City College of Technology

Spring 2013 Vol. 5, No. 2

Relief Fund Aids Students Impacted by Hurricane Sandy National Science Foundation Grant Funds New ‘Fuse Lab’ Professor’s Book Pinpoints Where U.S. Banks Went Wrong 2013 Best of New York Award Dinner to Salute Women Achievers

Remembering Milton Bassin, 1923-2012 Dr. Pamela Brown Named Associate Provost

Dale Tarnowieski

Editor in Chief

City Tech Plays Important Role in Making of Olympian

Jewel Trowers Escobar Michele Forsten Jessica Malavez

Esdras Tulier, Esq. New Head of ISR

Contributing Editors

City Tech Team Takes Grand Prize in 2012 International Culinary Competition

Jamie Markowitz

Graphic Designer

RELIEF FUND AIDS STUDENTS IMPACTED BY HURRICANE SANDY As many City Tech students face extreme difficulty stemming from Hurricane Sandy and have scant resources to fall back on, the resources of the College community were mobilized to offer assistance. All contributions to the City Tech Foundation (CTF) received before December 31, 2012, were earmarked – unless otherwise designated – for a special CTF relief fund to assist students affected by the ravages of Sandy. These funds were in addition to a generous $100,000 grant from the

Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation received well before Sandy hit to assist students in various emergency situations. The Petrie Foundation recently awarded an additional $50,000 grant to aid students facing such emergencies. The number of City Tech students affected by Sandy was significantly greater than originally thought; more than 480 lived in areas where damages were severe to catastrophic and many others sustained very substantial losses. Monies from both the CTF relief fund and earlier Petrie

Foundation grant were used to help students confronted by homelessness, extensive fire or water damage, lack of food, transportation, clothing and other basic necessities, medical expenses (for students without health insurance), and loss of school books and other educational essentials. The College community pulled together to make sure that students who had already lost so much did not also lose a semester because they did not have the minimum resources to continue.

NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS DRAW INCREASE IN RETURNING CITY TECH STUDENTS City Tech’s student enrollment grew slightly last fall, exceeding 16,100 students due to an increase in the number of returning students and growing interest in the College’s baccalaureate programs. “City Tech continues to evolve new baccalaureate programs based on a concept that prioritizes our institutional strengths and economic relevance,” said City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler. During the last academic year City Tech obtained CUNY approval for four new baccalaureate programs – a BS in Mathematics Education, a BTech in Electrical Engineering Technology, a BTech in Construction Engineering Technology and a BS in Biomedical Informatics.

“Along with recently implemented baccalaureate programs in Radiologic Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology and Emerging Media Technologies, the expanding matrix of baccalaureate programs is providing our students with access to exceptional career opportunities,” Hotzler added. In support of curricular development and growing student enrollment, City Tech hired 28 new full-time tenure track faculty members, bringing its full-time faculty to 426, while eight new members were added to non-teaching professional staff. Preparations for construction of the College’s new Academic Complex moved steadily forward. The Klitgord Building, currently occupying the site, was vacated at the end

of December as preparations for demolition got underway. The new complex will provide 350,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities for the College’s science and clinical health programs as well as a new theater and wellness center. This represents the first time that laboratory facilities are being designed and built specifically to meet the needs of City Tech’s science and clinical health programs. Along with the start of construction of the new complex and completion of renovations to the College’s Voorhees Hall building, a major gifts campaign will be initiated soon. A number of business organizations have already expressed interest in being identified with the College’s new laboratory and clinical facilities. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT FUNDS NEW ‘FUSE LAB’

Remembering Milton Bassin, 1923-2012 The contributions of President Milton Bassin to what is today New York City College of Technology were considerable. He joined the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Technology in 1948, the second year that classes were offered at the College, at that time known by its original name, the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences. In 1953, he was elected vice president of the first faculty union and a year later became the first faculty member elected to serve on the Faculty Council. In 1966, he assumed the presidency of the College. City Tech looks with gratitude at the accomplishments of President Bassin. He was a champion of educationally and financially disadvantaged

students. He pioneered the creation of non-degree programs in the technologies and healthcare areas, anticipating the emerging workforce needs of the city. And he fostered the development of community service programs that provided important assistance to public agencies and antipoverty organizations. He steered the College through the turbulent period of the late 1960s, and left it a much stronger place than it was when he assumed the presidency.

CITY TECH FALL 2012 OPEN HOUSE DRAWS 1,000 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS City Tech’s Fall 2012 Open House for prospective students and their families was held on Sunday, October 28 in Downtown Brooklyn. An estimated 1,000 prospective beginning or transfer students attended despite the rapid approach of Hurricane Sandy. The open house featured campus tours and a chance to meet faculty, students and staff. Participants learned all about admissions, financial aid and the College’s full range of student support services. The college of technology of The City University of New York, City Tech is the largest such public

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college in the Northeast. Sixty-two degree and specialized certificate programs and an outstanding faculty prepare students for today and tomorrow’s careers in the technologies of architecture, advertising and communication design, business and marketing, computer-related fields, engineering, entertainment, graphic arts, healthcare, hospitality, human services, the law-related professions, and career and technology teacher education. At City Tech, students receive the best education available at any price and at an affordable tuition.

How do you hook students on technological careers while ensuring they have the fundamentals to succeed in rapidly changing industries? With this question in mind, City Tech set up a “Fuse Lab” for students earning associate degrees in architectural technology, construction management technology and civil engineering technology. The project, which is transforming the way these subjects are taught at City Tech, has been launched with the support of an $877,322 three-year grant from the National Science Foundation/Advanced Technological Education program (NSF/ATE). Instead of engaging in hypothetical scenarios, students learn new technologies through immediate application to projects they are developing in their content courses. Students from different disciplines come together using state-of-the-art computational tools to work on real-world problems. The Fuse Lab is supporting the development of new courses and tutorials in the key areas of building information modeling (BIM), sustainability or “green” technology, and digital fabrication. Projects and assignments will be continuously tweaked for workplace relevance in collaboration with project advisors and industry partners. Located near City Tech, City Poly High School is a partner in the Fuse Lab. There, the project’s emphasis is on enhancing summer programs for high school freshmen and mathematics programs by focusing on career awareness, real-world applications and foundational math preparation. The Fuse Lab project marks the second time since 2010 that City Tech has received a NFS/ATE grant. The first supports a Mechatronics Center that enables City Tech faculty members and students, as well as high school pupils, to participate in multidisciplinary engineering activities, such as robotics competitions.

PROFESSOR’S BOOK PINPOINTS WHERE U.S. BANKS WENT WRONG Observing the 2007-08 U.S. banking crisis and its devastating effects on the secondary mortgage market, Professor Anne Zissu has responded by addressing recent history and the current state of this critically important market in a timely update of her 2005 book, The Securitization Markets Handbook: Structures and Dynamics of Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities (John Wiley & Sons, 2012). An update reflecting the current market environment was necessary, “not because the market collapsed, but because it’s crucial to save,” says Zissu, a securitization expert who is chair of the Department of Business at City Tech. Zissu co-wrote the second edition as well as the first (published by Bloomberg Press) with Charles A. Stone, professor of finance and deputy chair of the master’s program in business economics at Brooklyn College.

CITY TECH TEAM TAKES GRAND PRIZE IN 2012 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was on the minds of the City Tech team about to compete in an international culinary competition. So much so, that they reworked their entries to pay tribute to the resiliency of the city in the wake of the storm. Their creations garnered top honors in the Salon of Culinary Art competition, organized by the Société Culinaire Philanthropique, at the 2012 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show held at Javits Center,

November 11-13. For the seventh year out of the past ten, the City Tech team took the Grand Prize of the Salon, the Marc L. Sarrazin Trophy for the best overall entry at the show. Hospitality Management Professor Louise Hoffman competed in the Wedding Cake category and took a Gold Medal of the Salon, while alumnus and adjunct faculty member Anthony Smith ’96 took the Silver Medal of the French Government in pastry. He is pastry chef at the Cosmopolitan Club.

Zissu pinpoints where banks went wrong and why. “Prices, yields and volume tell the whole story,” she says. Zissu and Stone explain the complex story in a very practical manner. The book frankly discusses the mistakes made by regulators, investors, underwriters, financial engineers, bankers and borrowers involved in the failure, concluding that all were responsible for being irresponsible. “Excessive leverage, mispricing of risk, wishful thinking and lack of diversification are the elements of a perfect financial storm,” Zissu states. “All were in abundance leading into 2007. Also under the microscope were accounting and regulatory rule changes instituted since 2005, Federal Reserve reactions to the crisis, mortgage foreclosure and delinquency statistics.”

9/11 REMEMBRANCE FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY SERVICE In observance of the anniversary of 9/11, representatives of Student Life & Development and the Student Government Association at City Tech engaged in a dialogue with individual students about the importance of community service and how they are giving back or can give back to their communities. Last year, President Obama noted that projects to serve the community are “part of what the spirit of remembering 9/11 is all about – the country being unified and looking out for one another.” This year, City Tech students were asked what type of community service they do and were advised of options to do community service through the College – from joining the City Tech team for a breast cancer walk to participating in a clean-up of Prospect Park, among other projects. The sponsoring organizations gathered information on initiatives students are involved in outside of the College, and then determined which of those initiatives to support in the future. In addition, the initiative enabled students to register to vote. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

NOBEL LAUREATE ROALD HOFFMANN REFLECTS ON THE HOLOCAUST DURING NOVEMBER TALK AT CITY TECH Photo courtesy of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York

his mother, two aunts and an uncle to escape internment in early 1943, after which they were hidden by a Ukrainian couple in the attic and storeroom of a nearby schoolhouse where the husband taught. Hoffmann’s father had remained behind in the labor camp where he was killed by the Nazis in June 1943 for his involvement in a plot to arm camp prisoners. Most of the rest of the family, with the exception of one grandmother and a few other relatives, died in the Holocaust. Roald and other family members were first able to leave their hideout following the rousting of the Nazis by the Russian Army in June 1944. After war’s end and despite being Jewish, he attended a nearby Catholic school, where he sang in the choir, went to confession, and got his best grades in the study of the Catholic catechism. “We survived,” Hoffman told his City Tech audience, “by chance, by political awareness, and through the unimaginably courageous acts of good people. Millions around us were passive; hundreds of thousands collaborated with the Nazis, participating actively in atrocities. But thousands of Ukrainians helped Jews to survive. Among those whose actions redeem one’s faith in humanity was the good teacher Mikola Dyuk, who hid the five of us Deputy Consul General Mateusz Stasiek (left), Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, with Roald Hoffmann in that dark attic and little storeroom of his village schoolhouse for all those months.” Although his City Tech presentation was Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann reflected on the events that titled “Returning, Remembering, Forgiving,” Hoffmann repeatedly attended the 1939 invasion and five-year occupation of Poland by used the phrase “perhaps forgiving” throughout his talk. That usage the Nazis during World War II. Dr. Hoffmann’s talk at New York City was possibly explained when he asked, “Can one forgive what College of Technology/CUNY on November 8, 2012, was hosted by happened, the pain, the killing? Forgiveness comes from the soul, it the College’s Jewish Faculty & Staff Association (JFSA) and more is individual. I can only speak for myself. I can forgive. But only if I than a dozen community-based co-sponsors in observance of the remember, and, importantly, if I see that the people in whose midst 74th anniversary of Kristallnacht. the killing took place, remember. If they do not, if their children are Hoffmann, who is Jewish and whose birth name was Roald Safran not told what happened, and taught that it must not happen again, (Hoffmann is the surname adopted by his stepfather in the years to anyone, then my soul hardens.” after World War II), was born in 1937 in the small Polish town of Following relocation to the United States in 1949, Hoffmann went Złoczów. Today a part of an independent Ukraine, the town is now on to graduate from New York City’s Stuyvesant High School, where called Zolochiv. he won a Westinghouse science scholarship. He earned a bachelor Hoffmann’s father was a civil engineer familiar with the local of arts degree from Columbia University and later his master’s infrastructure, which made him of value to the Nazis. For a while and doctoral degrees from Harvard. He began teaching in the the family was allowed to remain in its own home, but was later Department of Chemistry at Cornell in 1965 and has remained there relocated to a labor camp, where many of the Nazi guards could be ever since, becoming Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters bribed. After being paid off, the guards allowed young Roald, age 5,

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PRESIDENT HOTZLER HONORED Emeritus. In 1981, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he shared with Kenichi Fukui, for their theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions. For the past 12 years, Hoffmann has hosted a monthly series called “Entertaining Science” at Manhattan’s Cornelia Street Café. It would be 62 years before Hoffmann would return to the small town and tiny schoolhouse where he was born and in which he spent those 15 months in confinement. The schoolhouse had been refurbished, and upon first entering a space that once contained the storeroom in which he was hidden during the worst of times, he was amused to see that it had become a chemistry classroom with Mendeleyev’s periodic table on the wall. City Tech Professor Richard Hanley, English, was in the audience on November 8 and was especially impressed by “the calm, dispassionate way in which Hoffmann told the story of his family’s plight in Poland before and during WW II – a tone that made the tale he told both more chilling and more emotionally moving.” Professor Darrow Wood was equally “fascinated by so many interconnecting stories and histories.” For Professor Jane Mushabac, English, who moderated a Q&A session following Hoffmann’s presentation, “His talk about returning to his village was evocative, poignant, clear and enlightening. Hoffmann’s humanity and brilliance are twin gifts and it was no surprise to learn that he has written five books of poetry and several plays.” And for Professor Mary Nilles, English, “Roald Hoffmann’s presentation was one of the most moving and impressive I have ever attended at the College. His message – to remember, to teach and hope to forgive – should be widely shared. The video of this presentation should be made available to everyone at City Tech.” The Hoffmann presentation was organized by Dr. James Goldman, City Tech’s now-retired acting dean of continuing education, who has served as curator of the JFSA Distinguished Speakers Series since 1988. In addition to Goldman, other speakers included City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler and writer, theater director, Hoffmann friend and co-owner of Manhattan’s famed Cornelia Street Café Robin Hirsch, author of Last Dance at the Hotel Kempinski, who introduced the guest speaker. Also participating in the program was Deputy Consul General Mateusz Stasiek, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, who presented a letter from Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka saluting Hoffmann for his “intellectual achievements in the field of chemistry, for passing the memories of the Holocaust to younger generations, and for thoughtful contributions towards fostering Polish-American scientific and student exchanges.” Hoffmann also was recipient of JFSA’s 2012 Distinguished Humanitarian Award.

City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler was honored by the Home Reporter and the Brooklyn Spectator. He is pictured here with Victoria Schneps, president and CEO of Schneps Communications

City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler was honored last fall at the 2012 Kings of Kings County Champions Breakfast and Networking Event that honors top Brooklyn men for their outstanding leadership and contributions to the community. Sponsored by The Home Reporter and The Brooklyn Spectator, the event recognized Brooklyn’s most influential movers and shakers whose major achievements and participation in the community help the city thrive. Other sponsor’s of the 2012 event included TD Bank, The City University of New York, Flushing Bank, National Grid, Delta Airlines, Citibank, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank and HealthPlus Amerigroup.

City Tech Hosts Two CUNY Citizenship Now! Events New York City College of Technology hosted two CUNY Citizenship Now! events during summer 2012. The first assisted participants in determining their eligibility for citizenship, while the second involved the project’s first computer-based format that used a new online tool, “Citizenship Works,” to assist New Yorkers in applying for citizenship. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

CONTINUING EDUCATION ACCESS FOR WOMEN Sponsors 2012 AABE Summer Energy Academy for Middle School Students

Project Director Nona Smith and middle school students

In August 2012, City Tech’s ACCESS FOR WOMEN program and the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) hosted “A Celebration of Achievements” applauding middle school students for their academic and technical work in AABE’s 2012 Summer Energy Academy. The students were the stars of the evening, demonstrating their project displays on potential and kinetic energy and making Power Point presentations on solar, wind and electrical energy, energy conservation,

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green technologies and related topics. An audience of parents and family members were enthralled by their children’s proficiency and poise. AABE members, college faculty, staff and friends were delighted to see how well the students explained their work and responded to questions from the audience. The celebration was the culmination of a five-week program conducted by ACCESS FOR WOMEN that included engaging students in classroom sessions, hands-on projects and trips

to advance their knowledge, skills and exposure in areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The students were organized into three teams. The teams developed design projects titled “The Energy Powered Farm!”, “Industrial Action” (a re-design of an industrial area with emphasis on green technologies), and “Conserving Energy in Our Residential Area” (a project emphasizing renewable energy and the values of LED lighting, solar panels and re-cycling old building materials). “Trips to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and New York Hall of Science contributed significantly to the students’ knowledge and application of science and technology in their designs,” said ACCESS FOR WOMEN Project Director Nona Smith. “This exposure better prepared them to explain scientific and technological interactions of things we use in our homes, schools and workplaces.” The purpose of the Summer Energy Academy is to assist in meeting the global energy challenge. Preventing the impending energy crisis requires that students be exposed to the concepts of energy and STEM disciplines at an early age, laying the

CONTINUING EDUCATION

foundation for future scientist and engineers to develop the needed technology to reduce and change how the world consumes energy. AABE’s Summer Energy Academy serves middle school students recruited through outreach activities guided by the above purpose and the organization’s goal to encourage students to explore the possibility of entering a future energyrelated career. The 2012 Program at City Tech expanded the College’s ACCESS FOR WOMEN program’s six-year collaboration with AABE, and continued its ongoing partnerships with Con Edison and National Grid, which have focused on the need to increase the representation of women in non-traditional technical education and careers. Over the years, support from all three partners has contributed to the capacity of ACCESS to provide courses in mathematics, technical education programs and employment readiness for participants’ entry and success in nontraditional technical careers, especially in engineering technologies and the building trades.

Photo: Al Vargas

City Tech’s President Hotzler Signs Agreement with Dominican Republic Youth Minister Minaya

President Hotzler (left) and Minister Minaya after signing agreement

An agreement signed by New York City College of Technology President Russell K. Hotzler and the Dominican Republic’s Minister for Youth Jorge Minaya will bring college-age students from that Caribbean country to City Tech’s Brooklyn campus to study the theory and practice of sustainable energy. An initial group of 30 young Dominicans will come to Brooklyn to learn about wind and solar energy, “smart roofs” and the promising Green Economy produced by the new technologies of sustainable energy. In their 10-day stay, the students will supplement classroom learning with tours of some of the most advanced installations of sustainable energy in New York City. Minister Minaya, a civil engineer by training, spoke of the important role of technological education in the development of his country. He said, “It is vital to the Dominican Republic to invest in education and its promise of personal

and social advancement. We are delighted to become part of the City Tech family.” Of the agreement, President Hotzler said, “City Tech is pleased to be partnering with the Ministry for Youth of the Dominican Republic to provide instruction on state-of-the-practice green technology to visiting Dominican students. This project also serves to further the strong relationship between The City University of New York and the Dominican Republic.” The City Tech sustainable energy program will be run through the College’s Division of Continuing Education, and will take advantage of the considerable expertise the division has developed in green technologies. Carol Sonnenblick, dean of the division, remarked, “We are delighted to be customizing and delivering a unique course that explores the theory and applications of emerging sustainable energy practices.” http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

STUDENT ACHIEVERS MAKING THEIR MARK ON CAMPUS AND OFF CITY TECH STUDENT PRESENTS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECT AT ABRCMS CONFERENCE City Tech student and editorin-chief of New Tech Times Steven Lora presented his research project at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in San Jose, CA, in November 2012. The largest forum of its kind, ABRCMS enables undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students from all 50 states to present their biomedical research, provided their abstracts are accepted and approved by judges. While other CUNY students from City College, Brooklyn and Hunter presented at the conference, Lora, who is also a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, was the only student representing City Tech. Entitled “A Simulation Model for the Spread of Swine Flu Pandemic,” Lora’s project was part of the College’s Emerging Scholars Program. It was a collaborative interdisciplinary project, combining microbiology, epidemiology and infectious diseases with mathematics. His

mentors were Assistant Professors Liana Tsenova, Department of Biological Sciences, and Boyan Kostadinov, Department of Mathematics, who also served as a judge at ABRCMS. The two mentored four students from the Emerging Scholars Program. First, students did research on Swine Flu, how it is spread, symptoms and epidemiology, and then developed the mathematical model. A poster depicting Lora’s research was featured at City Tech’s 10th Annual Poster Session on November 15. The project abstract points out that the world has seen two pandemics over the last 10 years and chances are that it may face even more in the near future. Realistic mathematical models, simulating the spread of contagion can be used to great benefit by state and federal government agencies as well as health organizations around the world to better prepare for and quickly contain the spread of pandemics.

CITY TECH TEAM PLACES SECOND IN ETA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS COMPETITION The ETA (Electronics Technicians Association) Student Chapter at City Tech recently placed second in the association’s annual awards presentation. Under the guidance of Electrical/ Telecommunication Engineering Technology faculty member Hamid Marandi, chapter students are involved in several campus workshops, orientations and make presentations to general audiences on the benefits of ETA membership and certification. As the largest ETA Student Chapter, with 83 active members, it encourages all of its members to seek ETA certification.

CITY TECH MAKERS PRESENTED ROBOTIC PROJECTS IN 2012 NEW YORK CITY MAKER FAIRE

City Tech Makers, students from the School of Technology & Design working in the Mechatronics Technology Center (MTC), presented their robotic projects in last year’s New York City Maker Faire, a two-day, family-

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friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness held in the New York Hall of Science on September 29 and 30, 2012. Students’ robotic projects such as Candy Crane, NXT Segway, SniffBot, Devastator,

Turtle Shell, and many others attracted huge number of attendees young and old. Because of the students’ excellent work and engagement, City Tech received the 2012 New Maker Faire Educator’s Choice Award.

MORE STUDENT ACHIEVERS WINNING DESIGNS IN ‘COMMUNICATING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM’ POSTER COMPETITION Pictured here are three poster designs by City Tech students Crystal Huang, Yat Lo and Andres Tavera that raise in the viewer the conscious need for students and faculty to “listen, speak clearly and project.” The posters are part of a 2012 College-wide campaign to promote better communication skills. All three students, two of whom have since graduated, were enrolled in Advertising Design & Graphic Arts Professor Nasser McMayo’s Design Team class.

SMPTE Highlights City Tech Student Chapter on Website

On its website, the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers highlighted the work of City Tech SMPTE Student Chapter members in the production of the College’s high-tech “Gravesend Inn.” The haunted hotel Halloween spooktacular is produced by Theatreworks, City Tech’s resident theatrical troupe, with design, construction, and operating support provided by students and faculty of the College’s nationally unique Entertainment Technology program. City Tech SMPTE Chapter participates in the Halloween attraction.

Student Awarded Thomas W. Smith Fellowship City Tech-based CUNY BA student Raju Maharjan is recipient of a coveted Thomas W. Smith Fellowship awarded twice a year to students demonstrating academic excellence and innovative interests and plans. Maharjan and friends Amit Lama (a City Tech grad) and Milan Shrestha (a Queens College grad) were awarded a “Promise Prize” through the “Code for Change” competition for their concept for a web platform that would enable students to buy, sell or swap used textbooks. A meeting was held in December 2012 with a Code for Change Venture Capitalist team to present their concept in an effort to secure funding to turn the concept into a real application.

NEW YORK CITY ‘COLLARD’ OF TECHNOLOGY? Collard greens are just one of the vegetables grown by City Tech students in a plot at the DeKalb Market in Downtown Brooklyn. These students, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Mark Hellermann (hospitality management), grow several kinds of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. The harvest is used in dishes prepared by hospitality students for the College’s Janet Lefler Dining Room guests. Pictured here, from left to right, are Professor Hellermann,

nursing student Shellita Orie, CUNY-TV’s Barry Mitchell, who is producing a segment on this City Tech initiative for the program “Study with the Best,” and hospitality management alumna Joslyn Taylor ’12, who tended the garden during summer 2012. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

FACULTY & STAFF DR. PAMELA BROWN NAMED ASSOCIATE PROVOST

Dr. Pamela Brown

FACULTY & CLT PROMOTIONS

for new initiatives, will serve the College well as we move forward. She brings energy, creativity, and a spirit of collaboration to her work. I welcome her in this new role.” Dr. Brown, who has the distinction of being the first woman to earn a PhD in chemical engineering from NYU-Polytechnic University, has a track record of creating initiatives to improve the retention and recruitment of students interested in careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. As dean, she helped obtain and oversee five grants from the National Science Foundation totaling $3.3 million to further this goal. During academic year 2011-12, Dr. Brown was tapped by the National Science Foundation to serve as a program director in its Division of Undergraduate Education. Her responsibilities there included oversight of the proposal review process, funding recommendations and outreach to the larger scientific community.

Dr. Pamela Brown, a chemical engineer who served for seven years as City Tech’s dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, was promoted to associate provost in September 2012. She reports to City Tech Provost Bonne August and is a member of SHE BRINGS ENERGY, President Russell K. Hotzler’s cabinet. CREATIVITY, AND A In her new position as associate SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION provost, Dr. Brown will support TO HER WORK accreditation and program review, articulation agreements, undergraduate education and faculty “I hope to support development of new professional development. academic programs and courses which meet “I am pleased to have a professional of workforce needs and intellectually enrich our Pam’s caliber as associate provost,” said Dr. students,” Dr. Brown says. “I also plan to help August, in announcing the appointment. “Her expand opportunities for undergraduate research demonstrated achievements as dean in the areas of curriculum development, accreditation, and other initiatives for student support. Lastly, professional development to support faculty assessment, and professional development, as well as her success in obtaining federal funding teaching and scholarship is a priority.”

NEW DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

”

Congratulations to newly appointed department chairs, Professors Laina Karthikeyan (Biological Sciences), Thomas Wilkin (Career & Technology Teacher Education), Carmel Dato (Nursing), and Evans Lespinasse (Radiologic Technology & Medical Imaging).

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Earlier last year, the following members of the faculty and staff were recommended to the CUNY Board of Trustees for promotion, effective August 27, 2012. Promotion to Professor Department

Kyle Cuordileone George Guida

Social Science English

Promotion to Associate Professor

Department

Illya Azaroff Architectural Technology Oleg Berman Physics Holly Carley Mathematics Shyleja (Ann) Delilkan Humanities Ellen Falvey English Laura Ghezzi Mathematics Matthew Gold English Caroline Hellman English Reneta Lansiquot English Giovanni Ossola Physics Benjamin Shepard Human Services Gerarda Shields Construction Management & Civil Engineering Technology Maura Smale Library Shauna Vey Humanities Promotion to Senior CLT

Department

Felix Baez Architectural Technology Dominic Martinez Mechanical Engineering Technology

FACULTY & STAFF

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR MARIE TINSLEY RETIRES Marie Tinsley, who retired in December 2012, had more than 38 years of human resources and labor relations experience, 32 with New York City College of Technology, where she began working in 1980 as a work study student and then as administrative assistant to the registrar. At the time of her retirement, she served both as executive assistant to the vice president for administration and finance and as director of human resources. A magna cum laude graduate of both City Tech and Baruch College and an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, Tinsley served on many committees at the College and with CUNY’s University Office of Human Resources Management.

Her first managerial position at City Tech came in 1984 when she was named coordinator of the College’s Work Experience Program, one she developed into a model adopted by the City of New York’s Department of Social Services and the Human Resources Administration. Her work contributed to the development of a requiredviewing video for all incoming New York City public assistance recipients and was featured in a second video widely viewed throughout Canada and Great Britain. Tinsley later served as City Tech’s benefits officer, then as deputy director of personnel, then as director of human resources, and most recently as executive assistant to the vice president for administration and finance. Her services to College and the larger community included efforts to enhance breast cancer awareness, to promote

blood drives and health and wellness fairs; supervisory training of Verizon employees and Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center managers; motivational speaking in local high school Career Day events and on stressrelated issues stemming from the Persian Gulf Crisis; initiation of City Tech multicultural heritage observances; development of a host of highly focused employee and retiree seminars, workshops and panel discussions; initiation and publication of a Human Resources newsletter and employee handbook; expansion of the President’s Service Awards program; and efforts in obtaining external financial support for a variety of College programs. The hallmark of Tinsley’s long and distinguished career was her reputation for diligence, competency and fairness in her many roles at the College. She served City Tech admirably and earned the enduring respect of its students, faculty and staff. A well-attended retirement party for her was held in December.

LIBRARY PROFESSOR ORGANIZES INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE CONFERENCE FROM FINLAND City Tech Ursula C. Schwerin Library Associate Professor Tess Tobin, who is actively involved in International Librarianship and an advocate for equity of access to information and library services for all members of the global community, was elected chair of Library Services to Multicultural Populations, a section of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), in fall 2011. Her recent work involved organizing and moderating a satellite pre-conference, “Transcending Boundaries to Increase Cultural Understanding Between Countries,” held August 7-9, 2012, in Lappeenranta, Finland. The satellite pre-conference featured presentations on different projects with a multicultural library perspective, activities between libraries from different parts of the world, indigenous matters as a means

to cooperate with other peoples of the globe, and recruitment of multicultural staff in libraries and elsewhere as a means of reducing obstacles and increasing cooperation in local communities. “Raising awareness on the need for, development and continued expansion of multilingual and multicultural information and library services is at the heart of my work,” says Professor Tobin. “Next summer, IFLA will

be holding its annual meeting in Singapore and the section I chair will be organizing a post-conference meeting in Australia in conjunction with the IFLA Special Interest Group on Indigenous Matters.”

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FACULTY & STAFF CITY TECH’S KARA PASNER NAMED ONE OF OPTICAL INDUSTRY’S ‘MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN’

Kara Pasner, OD, MS, assistant professor of vision care technology at City Tech, has been named one of the U.S. optical industry’s “Most Influential Women.” Dr. Pasner was one of 11 women from around the country honored in the Mentor Category this year by Vision Monday, the optical industry’s leading news magazine. “This report is one of the most widelyread and anticipated in Vision Monday, a special feature developed to recognize the diverse contributions of professional women

throughout the $32 billion optical/ eyewear industry and vision care field,” said Marge Axelrad, senior vice president/ editorial director of the Jobson Optical Group, publisher of Vision Monday. Dr. Pasner was chosen for “serving as a role model for aspiring opticians either to further their education and become optometrists, or to become more well-versed opticians by their understanding of the material she teaches them,” Axelrad added. A full-time member of the City Tech faculty for five of her 20-year career in the optical field, Dr. Pasner, helps guide students into the industry. She enjoys the teaching process. “My students are always curious,” she says. “Teaching is very different than practicing. You’re helping students learn, taking in their questions and re-evaluating what you know.”

Esdras Tulier, Esq. Named Executive Director of Instructional Staff Relations Esdras Tulier, Esq. was named City Tech’s new executive director of instructional staff relations and labor designee in fall 2012. He comes to the College with a wealth of experience, having served as special counsel with CUNY’s Lehman College and assistant counsel with The University’s Office of Labor Relations. Prior to his CUNY service, Tulier served as assistant district attorney in Queens County and as director of the QueensVictim Services Agency.

CITY TECH PRODUCED DOCUMENTARY FEATURED AT ACCA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Paul Schwartz, LCSW, MA, of New York City College of Technology’s Counseling Services Center, and wife, Joni Schwartz, EdD, an assistant professor at LaGuardia Community College, presented a documentary they produced, A New Normal: Young Men of Color, Trauma, and Engagement in Learning, at the American College Counselors Association (ACCA) National Conference held in Orlando,

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Florida in October 2012. The documentary was extremely well-received, earned the highest ratings, and, according to many ACCA participants, should have been a Keynote presentation. Following the premier screening of the documentary at City Tech in February 2012, it was screened for various audiences in various venues, including the New York City Department of Probation Leadership Team,

CUNY Black Male Initiative Coordinators Meeting, Medgar Evers College and LaGuardia Community College. At each of these events, young men featured in the documentary helped lead a followup discussion with the audiences. The documentary was shown for a second time at City Tech in November 2012 and also was featured on CUNY TV’s “Study With the Best.”

Bookshelf PROFESSOR MCDONALD AUTHORS FIFTH BOOK ON PHILOSOPHY “My book proposes a pluralistic universe, in which the mind and mental images cannot be reduced to matter in the form of the brain,” says Associate Professor of Philosophy Hugh McDonald. Author of Speculative Evaluations: Essays on a Pluralistic Universe (Rodopi/ Amsterdam, 2012). McDonald responds critically to a current trend in philosophy that identifies the

mind with the brain and therefore considers the mind and mental images as material. McDonald presents a view of a pluralistic universe, in which more than one kind of mental event (thoughts, desires, feelings, images etc.) succeed each other in a stream of consciousness. Imagination is another kind of mental event that is different altogether from matter.

“We create art, technology, crafts, etc. that we first imagined. We then transform the world in accordance with our images. Through technological and other types of creativity, we transform ‘reality’ based on our creative ideas,” he explains. McDonald has taught full-time at City Tech since 2003 and was named the College’s 2009 Scholar on Campus.

PROFESSOR HUFFMAN CO-EDITS BOOK OF ESSAYS BY LINGUIST WILLIAM DIVER A collection of essays by William Diver (1921-1995) – professor of linguistics at Columbia from 1955 until his retirement in 1989 and the intellectual founder of the Columbia School of Linguistics – has been co-edited, annotated and presented by City Tech’s Alan Huffman and City College’s Joseph Davis. In Language: Communication and

Human Behavior. The Linguistic Essays of William Diver (Brill, 2012), Huffman, professor of English at City Tech and of linguistics at the CUNY Graduate Center, and Davis, associate professor of linguistics in the School of Education at City College, have collected Diver’s work from 1969 to 1995, most of which had not been previously published. The editors

reviewed, updated and edited all 18 papers in the volume and prepared an introduction to each paper that summarizes its main ideas and describes the paper’s history. Huffman wrote the general introduction to the volume, explaining the nature and significance of Diver’s work and situating it in the context of modern linguistics.

CITY TECH PROFESSORS’ ‘CATSKILLS’ HANDBOOK MAKES COLLEGE COMPOSITION TEST EASIER CLIMB City Tech Department of English faculty members Rob Ostrom and Caroline Hellman have written a handbook that prepares CUNY students for the writing test they must pass to begin college composition and, in the process, readies them for college writing expectations. CATskills: Mastering the

We’re on...

CATW and College Writing (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2012) provides insight into navigating the CUNY Assessment Test in Writing (CATW) exam, whether a student is taking the test at the end of high school or at the end of a developmental writing course, according to the authors. The 62-page handbook

includes an explanation of the test directions and scoring process, a breakdown of the components of successful student essays and sample practice exam passages. It teaches successful approaches to all components of essay writing – from outline to paragraph construction and development to the use of evidence.

and

Visit the official City Tech Alumni Association Facebook page at www.facebook.com/citytechalumni, its LinkedIn Company Page at City Tech Alumni, and Twitter at City Tech Alumni. These are places to stay connected with the College, alumni, faculty, staff and friends. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

Who’s News? Department of English faculty members Juanita But, Mark Noonan and Sean Scanlon recently published the third edition of The Place Where We Dwell: Reading and Writing About New York City (Kendall Hunt, 2012), a book that encourages readers to explore New York City in all of its complexity.

Hotel” attraction that has been thrilling children and adults alike since 2001, and his recently released major update to a previous book now re-titled Show Networks and Control Systems. “Castles Made of Sand: Coney Island, 2012” is the title of one of Advertising Design & Graphic Arts Assistant Professor Robin Michals’ photos featured in the exhibition “Brooklyn’s Waterfronts: Past, Present, Future,” which ran during September 2012 in Kingsborough Community College’s Art Gallery. Michals is a photographer and digital media artist whose work focuses on the interrelationships between advanced technology and domestic, everyday life.

Hospitality Management Assistant Professor Mark Hellermann organized a roundtable discussion, “Growing Sustainability: Breaking Down Institutional Barriers to Gardening and Composting in the City University System,” at the summer 2012 conference of the Association for the Study of Food and Society held in June in New York City. The conference offered an opportunity for scholars, students, activists, farmers, practitioners and concerned citizens to explore innovative solutions and alternative models for creative, culturally viable and environmentally sound integration of urban and rural food systems.

In June 2012, Hospitality Management Assistant Professor Patrick O’Halloran presented a paper, “The Role of e-Learning in Education Should Mirror Industry Standards,” at the 5th Annual International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace (ICELW) at Columbia University. Later that month, Professor O’Halloran was co-presenter of a paper, “The Foundations of Effective Educational Policy,” with Elan Schy, PS/MS 280, and Tanya Freedman, PS 178 M, at City College’s Educational Conference.

Professor John Huntington, Entertainment Technology, was a guest on WBAI’s hacker radio show in October 2012, where he discussed City Tech’s unique entertainment technology program, its theme-park-quality “Gravesend Inn: A Haunted

Department of Humanities Adjunct Professor Michael Cedric Smith, who teaches guitar and musicianship, performed and discussed concert pieces by Matteo Carcassi, Schubert/Mertz, and Sor and Chopin/Bobrowitz at a Department of Humanitiessponsored “Work in the Works” presentation in the Atrium Faculty & Staff Lounge in early September 2012. The guitar enjoyed great popularity in the early 19th century. A furniture farms installation, “Seeding the City,” by Advertising Design & Graphic Arts Associate Professor Jenna Spevack was featured in December 2012 at the Pulse Miami arts fair in Miami, Florida. Automotive Technology Professor Emeritus Harold Wolchok, the College’s 1985 Scholar on Campus, recently celebrated a 25-year run as host of ABC Radio’s “AutoLab.” Creator of the live show, Wolchok “entertains and informs listeners with a group of fun, funny and intelligent automotive experts,” according to an August 1, 2012, Daily News feature article. The show, which is simulcast all over the world, approaches the nuts and bolts of the automotive industry with lots of laughing, exchanging of relevant information and offering tips to consumers.

In a talk titled “Engineering Art” at Cooper Union in December 2012, Entertainment Technology Professor Adrianne Wortzel discussed cross-disciplinary work resulting from collaborations with engineers at Cooper Union, scientists at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Zurich, as well as a recent outreach towards collaboration with scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory initiated by Scientists/Artists Research Collaborations (“SARC”). Hosted by The Cooper Union student chapters of IEEE and ACM, in cooperation with its school of Architecture, her talk also addressed best practices for creative outcomes in collaborations.

In Memoriam Willaim J. Continelli Advertising Design & Graphic Arts Alan Kay English Louis A. Radioli Civil Engineering Technology Lucille Taylor Advertising Design & Graphic Arts

DENTAL HYGIENE CLINIC

EYEGLASSES CLINIC

LOW-COST DENTAL HYGIENE SERVICES

REDUCED-COST SERVICES

Pearl Building, 2nd Floor 259 Adams Street (south of Tillary), Downtown Brooklyn By appointment only Alumni/college community/general public Clinic schedule and other information/appointment at 718.260.5074

Pearl Building, 3rd Floor 259 Adams Street (south of Tillary), Downtown Brooklyn By appointment only Alumni/college community/ general public Clinic schedule and other information/appointment at 718.260.5298

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FOUNDATION CORNER 2013 BEST OF NEW YORK AWARD DINNER TO SALUTE OUTSTANDING WOMEN New York City College of Technology (City Tech) will honor several outstanding women at the 2013 Best of New York Award Dinner in May in the Hilton New York’s Trianon Ballroom, Avenue of the Americans at 53rd Street in Manhattan. The evening will begin with a Guest of Honor Reception at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards presentation at 7:15 p.m. This year’s honorees include philanthropist and community activist Grace Lyu-Volckhausen, a founding Board Member of the Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA), president of the Tiger Baron Foundation, supporter of numerous Asian American non-profits as well as projects in the arts, education and the environment in the tri-state area and abroad. She serves as a commissioner on the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and was chairwoman of the Asian American Advisory Committee for Governor Mario Cuomo and an advisor to Mayor Edward Koch.

Also to be honored is Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal employees; and early childhood educators. She Grace Lyu-Volckhausen Randi Weingarten was elected in July 2008, following 11 years of service help fund foundation-sponsored scholarships as an AFT vice president. Other honorees and and other student financial assistance and Honorary Dinner Chairs will be announced professional development programs. City Tech following confirmation. graduate Michael Lomonaco ’84, celebrity Established in 1983, the Best of New York chef and managing partner, Porter House Award Dinner is hosted by the City Tech New York at Time Warner Center, again will Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation serve as Master of Ceremonies. For tickets and chartered in 1981 to raise funds for the additional information, call 718.260.5025. College. Proceeds from the annual dinner

PLANNED GIVING

Contact the City Tech Foundation at foundation@citytech.cuny.edu for a free booklet on How to Make a Will That Works. Complete information on remembering City Tech in your will is available at http://www.citytech.cuny. edu/aboutus/foundation/giving.shtml. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

FOUNDATION CORNER

CTF HOSTS 2012-2014 JFEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM RECEPTION

City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler (far right) and other College administrators, department chairs and faculty mentors from Dental Hygiene, Nursing and Radiologic Technology & Medical Imaging

A reception for City Tech’s 2012-2014 Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW) Scholarship Program recipients was held in October at the College. Participants included twenty JFEW Scholarship recipients, JFEW Executive Director Elizabeth Leiman Kraiem and board member Marcy Russo. Also present were City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler and other College administrators, department chairs and faculty mentors from Dental Hygiene, Nursing and Radiologic Technology & Medical Imaging. Following introductory remarks by JFEW Scholarship Program Coordinator Luc Josaphat, President Hotzler expressed gratitude to JFEW for its support of City Tech students and the importance of programs that not only give students the financial assistance they need to complete their education but also the opportunity to intern in their fields prior

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to graduation. JFEW’s Kraiem delivered a presentation that focused on JFEW’s history of training women from post World War II to present day. Two of the 2011-2013 JFEW Scholarship recipients and volunteer student mentors to the new cohort, Louise Brown and Dina Levkova, provided testimonials on how the scholarships had contributed to their pursuit of higher education and nursing careers. Ms. Brown’s remarks focused on the paid internship experience of the program. “What makes this scholarship so special, unique, and an experience like no other, is the eight-week summer internship,” said Brown, “that gave me the opportunity to work at the Brooklyn Hospital Center.” During that time, she was paired with a nurse for individualized attention. “I received hands-on training on the medical surgical floor, including client admission, administration of medications, wound

assessment, ostomy care, suctioning, drawing blood, starting IVs, patient teaching and discharge instructions, to name a few,” she added. “There is no experience that compares to this other than being an actual nurse.” Dina Levkova, a nursing major, also remarked on the importance that the program played. She was grateful to have participated in the workshops and other aspects of the program. “Before the internship, I attended a workshop that gave me insightful advice about how I could turn the experience into a full time job,” she noted. “I feel ready to embark on my nursing career.” All current JFEW Scholarship recipients are pursuing degrees in healthcare, including Dental Hygiene, Nursing and Radiologic Technology & Medical Imaging, and are scheduled to graduate with associate degrees in 2014.

FOUNDATION CORNER

GRADS REACH OUT TO OTHER ALUM

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT

FOUNDATION GRANTS The City Tech Foundation is pleased to have provided grants during fall 2012 to the following: ADVERTISING DESIGN & GRAPHIC ARTS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BROOKLYN WATERFRONT RESEARCH CENTER

Michael Romano

The City Tech arm of the 2012-2013 CUNY Campaign for Charitable Giving featured direct appeals to other department graduates from alumni Norman Russell ’76, restorative dentistry, and Michael Romano ’75, hospitality management, to support the effort to raise scholarship funds for current students pursuing careers in those fields. Similar campaigns will be run in future years.

To view the 2011-2012 City Tech Foundation Annual Report, go to https:// www.citytech.cuny.edu/files/aboutus/ foundation/annualreport11-12.pdf

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY ENGLISH

YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK

FACULTY POSTER SESSION FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT LAW & PARALEGAL STUDIES PHYSICS RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY & MEDICAL IMAGING RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY

Gifts to New York City College of Technology through the City Tech Foundation fund a variety of initiatives, including student research, scholarships, professional development, work/study

abroad, student internship, emergency loans, emergency food programs, and assistance to students adversely impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Officers Elected at City Tech Alumni Association’s 2012 Annual Meeting in October David F. Barthold, who earned an AAS in restorative dentistry at City Tech in 2006 and currently serves as the Department of Restorative Dentistry’s chief CLT, was elected the new president of the College’s Alumni Association at its annual meeting on October 17, 2012. He replaces Yvonne Riley-Tepie ‘92, who stepped down after heading the association for several terms. A member of the association’s board of directors, Barthold served on its Website Development Committee. Barthold is a working artist, 1981 studio art program graduate of Oberlin College, and ran a small ceramic design and manufacturing business in Brooklyn for 15 years. He participated in a borough-wide “Go Brooklyn” studio tour in September 2012 and a Gowanus Open Studio event a month later, and has served for three years as executive

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vice president of the American Scandinavian Society. City Tech Alumni Association board member, telecommunications technology program graduate and former valedictorian Sonya Warren ’96, who most recently served as an office assistant with FEGS and prior to that as a computer graphics/data entry professional with Ocular Media Corp as well as a police communications technician with the NYPD, was elected vice president. Hospitality management program graduate Debra Alago ’95, executive chef and director of food services with Professional Children’s School in Manhattan who has mentored individuals of all ages who aspire to be part of the food service/hospitality industry, was elected board secretary. Reelected to the position of association treasurer was Gerald E. Singh, a 1985

graduate of the College’s accounting program who went on to earn an MBA and to become a Certified Public Accountant. Singh is currently an assistant professor with the College’s Department of Business, supervises the City Tech Tax Clinic and serves as faculty advisor to the Accounting Society. The Annual Meeting featured “State of the College” remarks by City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler, a special tribute to outgoing association president Yvonne Riley-Tepie, and presentation of the Ruth Eldridge Scholarship Award to 2012 Law & Paralegal Studies graduate and former Student Government Association President Terel Watson. The event was chaired by Director of Alumni Relations Jessica Malavez and catered by restaurateur and professional caterer Irene Henderson.

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Networking Event The City Tech Alumni Association hosted its first women’s event, Today’s Woman: Your Life, Career & Outfit, in September 2012 at the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan. More than 60 alumna and other participants attended the event, which was catered by Debra Alago, executive chef/director of food services at the Professional Children’s School, a 1995 graduate of City Tech’s hospitality management program, and newly elected board secretary. The program for the event included a panel of three life and career coaches who addressed some of the more pressing questions confronting today’s working woman. Panelists were Randi Cole, CLC, a life coach for personal transformation who specializes in health counseling and transitions; Colette D. Ellis, founder and head coach of InStep Consulting, LLC and author and motivational speaker who empowers women to get “instep” with their health so they can focus on their most important priorities; and Shari L. Sambursky, CCMC, a job search and certified career management coach whose expertise is in job search strategy, interview techniques, resume submission and strategically navigating the hiring process. The panel presentations were followed by a fashion show depicting the “do’s” and “don’ts” of today’s female workplace attire. Guests networked while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, and received gift bags filled with office essentials for today’s busy career woman. The event concluded with a free raffle of coaching sessions and eBooks that were generously donated by the panelists. In addition to the guest presenters, other volunteers included fashion show models, a photographer, DJ, and a panel moderator, all current City Tech students. Visit the Alumni Association’s Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/citytechalumni for more photos.

From left, guest presenters Randi Cole, Colette Ellis and Shari L. Sambursky with City Tech Director of Alumni Relations Jessica Malavez.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Restorative Dentistry Grads Return to Campus for 2nd Annual No Grind Occlusion Course In June 2012, Rich Pavlak, CDT, MDT, FNGS, presented the 2nd Annual No Grind Occlusion course at City Tech. The event went exceptionally well and Department of Restorative Dentistry alumni participants worked with Pavlak to complete two posterior restorations made of Zirconia substructure overlaid with Vita VM9 porcelain utilizing the No Grind Occlusion technique. Richard Pavlak who developed No Grind Occlusion has been a dental technician almost all of his life. In 1977, he established Porcelain-Plus Dental Systems, Inc. His educational background is extensive, having trained with some of the most famous clinicians in the world as well as having taught dental technology since 1981. Presently, Rich is president of MDT Seminars, Inc., which has provided advanced training for many dental technicians across the USA.

In addition to Pavlak, presenters included John Anserine, CDT, MDT, a well-known area dental technician and successful lab owner, and Kenyon Jack, CDT, MDT, a graduate of City Techâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restorative dentistry

program and an up-and-coming national speaker. The event was organized by Professor Renate Bundy, CDT, MDT, and the City Tech Office of Alumni Relations.

Alum Opens Center Bar at Time Warner Center Hospitality management program graduate Michael Lomonaco â&#x20AC;&#x2122;84, celebrity chef and managing partner, Porter House New York at Time Warner Center, opened nearby Center Bar in December 2012. Located in the 4th floor lobby at 10 Columbus Circle, the new eatery offers a place for those who want less than a full steak-focused menu or who may even be waiting for a table at Porter House. The wine list offers 100 choices selected by Brad Nugent and there are cocktails by James Moreland, plus a menu featuring small plates (charcuterie, oysters, stuffed piquillo peppers) and a few entrees, including giant prawns and slow-cooked halibut.

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ALUMNI NEWS

You could say that City Tech played an important role in 17-year-old Olympic medalist Lia Neal’s life. Lia is the high school student from Fort Greene, Brooklyn, who won a bronze medal this past July in the 2012 Olympics 4x100-meter freestyle relay. She has City Tech to thank for being the place where her parents first met. Rome and Siu Neal were students (he in marketing, she in accounting) at City Tech back in the early 1970s. “We met in the cafeteria,” Rome recalls. “She was sitting with a friend. I walked in with a friend who introduced the two of us.” They had something very basic in common – both of their families had moved to the New York City area in search of a better life. Rome’s family came from Sumter, SC, to escape racial oppression. Siu and her family emigrated here from Hong Kong to join her grandfather. Not long after they met, the Neals married. They celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary in August 2012 at a party attended by all four of their children – Rome Kyn, 37, Smile, 36, Treasure, 32, and Lia, 17. Siu earned an associate degree in accounting at City Tech and went on to hold jobs as a bookkeeper at several companies. Rome graduated with an associate degree in marketing and continued at Baruch College for his bachelor’s degree in business administration. City Tech holds a special place in his heart. “Not only did I meet my wife at the College, but it opened up several opportunities for me,” he relates. Rome was interested in fashion design and a display of his clothing was held in Klitgord Center Auditorium, with students and staff wearing his creations. A Daily News reporter came and published a story about him and his fashions, giving the fledgling designer some positive publicity. After

he graduated, Rome started a clothing business, applying what he learned in his marketing classes to his career. While still a student, Rome received a scholarship to go to Africa. “Going there opened up a whole new world for me,” he says. “I had been interested in African religions and my trip inspired me to write a play, God Made Man in His Own Image, which was produced Off-OffBroadway.” Rome went on to become an actor, director, theatre and jazz music producer, and jazz vocalist. For the past ten years, he has produced Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz, a monthly jazz jam and open mic, at the Nuyorican Poets Café in the East Village. It brings City Tech alumni Rome and Siu Neal (top) with their four children, including Olympic medalist Lia (bottom, center) together seasoned and up-and-coming performers. competitions around the country. Rome To say that the Neals are proud of their understands what it was like to pursue daughter is an understatement. “Lia is a passion – he didn’t start his career as just the second African-American female a jazzman until 2000. He and Siu both swimmer to make it to the Olympics,” project the attitude that all things are Rome proudly says. The Neals were possible if you go after them. “We wish committed to helping Lia realize her Lia continued success in the Olympics in dream to be an Olympian – Siu getting up years to come,” Rome says. “My hope is at 5 a.m. to drive their daughter to and that she wins gold medals in individual from practices and school, and both using events in the 2016 Olympics.” vacation time to take her to meets and http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

Photo: Gabriella Bass

City Tech Plays Important Role in the Making of an Olympian

ALUMNI NEWS

City Tech Grad Publishes Book on Haitian Revolution and Country’s Future

Rubens Francois Titus (Rubens Francois while attending City Tech), a 1997 graduate of the College’s BTech program in telecommunications technology, recently published a book, Roadmap to Haiti’s Next Revolution: A Plan for Diaspora Haitians to Contribute to a Peaceful Turnaround (universe,

2012), which attempts to understand the real underpinnings of the Haitian revolution for the dignity of man at the beginning of the 19th century and proposes labels for a number of the most well-known events in Haiti’s history. Haiti was the first slaveryemancipated black nation on Earth and the book attempts to refute some of the most widely accepted contemporary misconceptions about the Haiti of today. There are a number of hard lessons to be learned from studying Haiti’s history, and the author puts forward a series of empirical proposals that can serve for future political forum debates among concerned Diaspora Haitians – debates that ought to lead to the adoption of a Diaspora Plan for Haiti. Greatly interested in both economics and history, Rubens Francois Titus also earned a master’s degree in telecommunications management from Stevens Institute and currently works for Verizon Communications Network Operations.

Defensive Driving Courses for Alumni, Students and Faculty

On Saturday, January 12, 2013, the Alumni Association sponsored an on-campus Liberty Mutual-hosted six-hour driving course approved by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for up to 40 City Tech graduates, students and faculty with a valid New York drivers license. Participants were eligible for a 10 percent savings off any liability and collision insurance for three years following the date they complete the course. Participants were also able to lower their auto insurance premium and have up to four points removed from their driving record.

ALUM WINS MAKER FAIRE EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD Entertainment Technology program graduate Miguel Valderrama ’12 won a Maker Faire Editor’s Choice Award in late September 2012 for his culmination project, a light

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installation that will light up elements (columns, beams, connectors) in the structure of the Williamsburg Bridge, following certain sequence patterns.

ALUMNI NEWS

Architectural Technology Grad Designs Telecom Conduit Runs for Innovative New Manhattan Multi-purpose Building

City Tech architectural technology graduate Omar Alequin ’09 went on to earn a master’s degree in construction management from NYU-Poly in 2012 and is currently working as a project coordinator with Eze Castle Integration, the market leader in IT services, technology and consulting for hedge funds and alternative investment firms. His responsibilities have included planning, execution and finalization of projects through strategic planning and needs assessment, design development,

bid support and construction administration on multiple projects. Recently, he worked with his former managing director, Demetrios Gianniris (also a CUNY graduate), on designing the conduit runs from the base building telecom closet to the roof of the new and innovative 12-story multi-purpose building currently under construction at 51 Astor Place in Manhattan. This will enable the lighting of the building by telecom carriers. “Omar was instrumental in the Photo: Alyssa Baksh success of what has been Eze Castle’s most challenging design endeavor to date,” says Gianniris. “He was able to navigate through the complexities of designing a fully redundant telecommunications infrastructure around a maze of difficulty with ease.” Developer Edward J. Minskoff assembled a team of prominent international design professionals to create this building and strive towards LEED Platinum status. Visit the 51 Astor Place website at http:// www.51astorplace.com/home.html.

Auto, Home and Renters Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers an auto, home and renters insurance program for City Tech alumni. So far this year, 57 alumni saved an average of $343.90 on auto insurance!* Call 1.800.524.9400 or click for more information. Please refer to group #111826. *Average figure based on a February 2011 sample of auto policyholder savings when comparing their former premium with those of Liberty Mutual’s auto and home insurance program. Individual premiums and savings will vary.

Pet Insurance A recent survey predicts that pet parents will spend $12.2 billion on veterinary care in the coming year. Woof! That’s a lot of scratch. When your four-legged pal is sick or injured, the last thing you want to do is worry about the financial strain. Instead, you can be prepared with pet insurance coverage, available at discounted rates through the Alumni Insurance Program. In addition to accidents and illnesses, Petplan offers full coverage for hereditary, congenital and chronic conditions. For more information on other insurance products available through the City Tech Alumni Association, visit www. meyerandassoc.com/ma/citytech. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

ALUMNI NEWS

City Tech Graduate Gil Nakash Wins First Prize in College Bowl

Gil Nakash, a graduate of City Tech’s Vision Care Technology program, walked away with the $500 first prize in the National Federation of Opticianry (NFOS) Schools College Bowl. This was the second year in a row that a student from City Tech won the award. In addition, it was the fourth time in six years that City Tech won the top prize, beating out students from colleges in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, New York,

Tennessee, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Washington State, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina. The competition was held at the ABO-NCLE Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sponsored by Essilor of America, the event is modeled on the television show “Jeopardy” and features questions in anatomy and physiology, ophthalmic dispensing, ophthalmic fabrication, contact lenses and optics.

The Alumni Association Wants You!

The City Tech Alumni Association is currently seeking graduates to serve as Class Agents and as members of the association’s Board of Directors. Board membership offers rewarding opportunities to shape the direction of the Alumni Association by promoting and strengthening relationships with City Tech alum. Please e-mail a letter detailing the reasons you are interested in joining along with your résumé to alumni@citytech.cuny.edu. Thank you for your interest.

GRADUATION CELEBRATION SLATED FOR MAY 24 A festive and fun-filled “Red Carpet Graduation Celebration Dinner Dance” for graduating students and other guests will be held on Friday, May 24, 2013, at Brooklyn Borough Hall. More details to follow.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Class Act! Kubee Kassaye ‘07

City Tech Alumna Wins 2012 Culinary Legacy Award

Kubee Kassaye’s journey from a small farming village in Ethiopia to working as a chef in a five-star hotel in Manhattan was filled with challenges. But through it all, her passion for cooking, combined with two life-changing events, enabled her to successfully navigate the obstacles in grand style. And now Kassaye, chef tournant at the Peninsula Hotel and a 2007 magna cum laude graduate of City Tech’s Hospitality Management program, is one step closer to her dream of owning her own restaurant. She is one of six women to receive the coveted 2012 Legacy Award for culinary achievement

offered by the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI). LDEI is an invitational organization of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality whose mission is education, advocacy and philanthropy. As a Legacy Award winner, Kassaye spent a week in September working side-by-side with and under the direction of Dame Margaret Chisholm, executive chef, Culinary Capers, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Chisholm received the 2011 Chef of the Year Award from the International Caterers Association and is the co-author of The Girls Who Dish!: Seconds Anyone? “I was so excited about this opportunity to learn new culinary and managerial skills, especially when it came to overseeing a big

kitchen, from Chef Chisholm,” says Kassaye. “This experience helped me become a better chef and a better team player.” In nominating Kassaye for the Legacy Award, City Tech Professor Karen Goodlad said, “Kubee’s motivation has led her to great opportunities. I have the utmost confidence that she will continue to excel both as a chef and as a leader.” Professor Lynda Dias echoed similar sentiments in describing Kassaye as someone who is “highly motivated and embraces learning with the same passion she exhibits in her culinary career.” While at City Tech, Kassaye participated in several extracurricular activities, volunteering for Spoons Across America, which develops and supports food- and nutrition-based programs for children; performing the duties of volunteer chef for the Anna Nurse Culinary Series, which brings industry professionals together with students to share their expertise and experiences; assisting in several events at the James Beard House; and serving as president of the Cook’s in the Market Club. Kassaye’s ultimate goal is to open her own restaurant serving Ethiopian/ Italian cuisine. “Ethiopian food consists of spicy meat dishes and vegetables. Italian encompasses different types of pasta,” she explains. “I believe they would make an amazing combination.”

In Memoriam Raquel Ringhoff-Whitley ’94 Dental Hygiene http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

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