http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/

Vol.

1

No.

11

December 21, 2006

Powell Center Receives $10 Million from New York Life Foundation
Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (ret.) and President Williams announced December 5 a $10 million gift from the New York Life Foundation to establish The New York Life Endowment for Emerging African-American Issues at the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies. The gift, the largest to date to the Powell Center as well as the largest corporate foundation gift ever received by CCNY, provides permanent funding for 21 scholarships. It will also support a number of programs at the Center, including a Leader-in-Residence program that will bring to campus proven leaders who focus on African-American issues. General Powell said the gift “puts City College squarely at the forefront of a national effort to build a new model for public policy education.” President Williams added that the Endowment begins to cement the future of the Colin Powell Center by providing a strong, permanent financial foundation that will significantly increase the Center’s ability to serve our student.” New York Life Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sy Sternberg, a CCNY alumnus, praised the Powell Center as a “great incubator for tomorrow’s leaders. We regard today’s endowment as a down payment on America’s future and an investment in the development of the next generation of community leaders.” More on this story.

Architecture Professor Lance Brown Wins Prestigious Topaz Medallion
Lance Jay Brown, a noted urban planner and ACSA Distinguished Professor in City College’s School of Architecture, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture (SAUDLA) is the 2007 recipient of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.  The prestigious award, given by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), will be presented to Professor Brown at the annual ACSA conference March 8 – 11 in Philadelphia. He will also be honored during a special award ceremony to take place at the annual AIA conference May 3 – 5 in San Antonio. The AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to architecture education for at least 10 years, whose teaching has influenced a broad range of students and who has helped shape the minds of those who will shape our environment. More on this story.

Ten Scholarships Awarded To Sophie Davis Students
Ten fourth-year students in the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at The City College of New York have won $20,000 Sophie and Leonard Davis Scholarships for their last two years at Sophie Davis and their two clinical years at cooperating medical schools. The recipients, announced by Dr. Stanford A. Roman, Jr., Dean of the Sophie Davis School, are: Samuel Anandan, Nubaha Chowdhury, Steven Kheyfets, Shin-Hua Liu, Arousiag Markarian, Ha Nguyen, Merajur Rahman, Shanekqua Richardson, Yi Cai Isaac Tong and Fang Zhou. The Sophie and Leonard Davis Scholarship selections are based on academic excellence, financial need and demonstration of the qualities of compassion, empathy and professionalism requisite for the “good physician,” who is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the field of medicine. More on this story.

Four International Studies Majors Win Six Scholarships for Study Abroad
Four undergraduates in City College’s international studies program have won six scholarships among them, including three Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships, for study abroad in the spring semester. The Gilman award recipients are: Emmanuella Anyanwu, a junior residing in Queens; Vasti Cedeño, a senior from Emerson, New Jersey, and James Robidoux, a senior living in Manhattan. Ms. Cedeño also received a scholarship from the School for International Training (SIT) and Mr. Robidoux received a Freeman Asia award. A fourth student, Kathleen Thomas, also a senior from Manhattan, received an SIT scholarship, as well. Ms. Anyanwu will spend the spring semester in Niger, Ms. Cedeño in Uganda, Mr. Robidoux in Japan and Ms. Thomas in India. The Gilman scholarships, named for the former Congressman from New York who helped establish the program, are offered through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The two awards to Mr. Robdioux are his second and third academic honors this year. He won the Special Prize for Essay in the American Identity literary contest last summer.

CCNY Chemistry Professor Takes Guest Assignment at Chinese University
CCNY Professor of Chemistry Teresa J. Bandosz has received a three-year guest professorship in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at China’s Dalian University of Technology. Professor Bandosz, who was on sabbatical during the fall semester, was awarded the position because of her “achievements and contributions in the field of carbon science.” “I consider this a great professional honor,” she said, noting that the school is ranked number three in the country. As a guest professor, she spends one month a year on the campus, which is located in Dalian, a city at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula in northeastern China, conducting research, exchanging ideas with peers, teaching and counseling students. Many of the areas Professor Bandosz’ research focuses on, including adsorbents and sludge conversion, will take on increased significant as China adopts stricter environmental regulations, she noted. This year, she went over during her sabbatical, and she plans to return during the summers of 2007 and 2008. “China is wonderful,” Professor Bandosz said. “The country is growing so fast that you get a feeling in the air that something positive is going on. This significantly helps in your attitude toward science and life in general.”

DOT Re-Designates University Transportation Research Center
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently renamed the CUNY University Transportation Research Center, based at CCNY, as its regional center serving Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The designation runs through 2009 and carries with it $6.25 million in USDOT funding. UTRC is a consortium of 12 institutions. It was one of the initial university transportation centers established in 1987 and received prior re-designations in 1994 and 1999. The Center’s mission is to resolve regional and national transportation problems and serve as a training ground for transportation professionals. It is active in research, education, and technology transfer projects in all academic disciplines relevant to transportation. “During the next three years, we will continue to expand the UTRC’s role as an influential national leader in transportation education, research and technology,” said Dr. Robert E. Paaswell, Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the center. Center activities include training undergraduates and graduates, encouraging underrepresented minorities and high school students to enter the transportation field and providing training and workforce development to professionals. Among the Center’s research focuses are congestion and the environment, safety and security, transportation funding, technology integration, system operations and workforce development.

Student Composer Shogo Samata Wins ASCAP/CCNY Award
CCNY music major Shogo Samata received The ASCAP Foundation Louis Dreyfus Warner/Chappell City College Scholarship Honoring George and Ira Gershwin at the Foundation’s 11^th Annual Awards Dinner December 6 at Lincoln Center. Mr. Samata, a senior born in Japan who dreams of becoming a film composer, won for a piano dance piece entitled “Germination” that he wrote for the Japanese actor and performer Takumi Bando. “This is the first award that I’ve ever received as a musician and it’s a great honor,” said Mr. Samata, who lives in Harlem. His composition teacher, Professor Jonathan Pieslak, said Mr. Samata demonstrates great potential as a composer. “He’s a very hardworking and motivated student and I have no doubt that he’ll be successful in his aspirations as a film composer.” The ASCAP Foundation Louis Dreyfus Warner/Chappell City College Scholarship Honoring George and Ira Gershwin is presented annually to a composition student for a score written for dance, film/video or theater. Eligible students must be enrolled in CCNY’s B.A. or B.F.A. program programs. The award is funded by The ASCAP Foundation and CCNY. Mr. Samata’s music, which blends aspects of Western classical music with Japanese spirituality, can be heard at www.myspace.com/shogosamata.

Beavers Make Triumphant Return to Refurbished Holman Gym
The refurbished Nat Holman Gymnasium reopened December 11 with President Gregory Williams and other CCNY officials and fans in attendance to watch Coach Andy Stampfel’s men’s varsity basketball team defeat Centenary College 83-74. This was CCNY’s first home game since last February; the Beavers played their first seven matches this season on the road. The gym had closed at the end of the spring semester primarily for repairs to the multi-purpose synthetic floor. A reconfiguration gives the playing surface capacity for five basketball courts, up from three, and seven volleyball courts, up from four, according to CCNY Athletic Director Jacqualyn Meadow. In addition, CCNY’s “Benny the Beaver” mascot was inscribed on center court and the College logo was imprinted on the bleachers and across the sidelines. “It means a great deal to City College students having such a great facility. CCNY has a proud scholar-athlete tradition and this gym should serve as an invaluable resource in the continuation of our success,” said President Williams, whose office funded the work. The new gym will host its first major tournament next February when the City University of New York Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball championships come to CCNY.

Former History Chair Frank Grande Dies
Associate Professor of History Frank Grande, who taught at City College for more than four decades, died November 25 in New York. He was interred in Bethpage. “Frank was a devoted servant of The College for more than 40 years. He served more than once as Chair of History, and many times as its detail-managing Deputy Chair. He will be much missed by the entire College community,” President Williams said in announcing Professor Grande’s passing. Professor Grande was a CCNY alumnus who graduated in 1956 with a B.A. in Literature. He went on to earn an M.A. from Columbia University and D.Phil. from Oxford University. During his long tenure in the History Department, Professor Grande taught the history of science and ancient history. Since 1976, he directed Griffon House Publications, a small, independent publishing house based in Wilmington, Del. that produces books in literature, history and international studies and a scholarly journal. Professor Grande also was active in the American Political Science Association at whose annual meetings he presented papers and chaired a number of panels.

Promethean Literary Journal Seeks Material for Spring Issue
Want to be published? Promethean, City College’s official literary journal, is accepting submissions from faculty and alumni, as well as students, for its Spring 2007 edition. The deadline is February 1. For 50 years, Promethean has given young and beginning writers a chance to be published alongside established writers. Such notable authors as Elaine Equi, Ernesto Quinonez and Raymond Patterson have appeared in its pages. Poetry, fiction, non-fiction and graphic art for publication are eligible for consideration. How to submit: Contributors can submit up to one piece of prose, two pieces of graphic art, or up to five poems at a time. They should send submissions via email as file attachments to promethean@ccny.cuny.edu, with the word “submission” and the genre (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, or graphic art) both typed in the subject line. Literary pieces can not exceed 5,000 words. Graphic art submissions must be high-resolution file attachments no larger than 5 MB, unzipped/unstuffed. Send separate emails if submitting for multiple genres. Contributors must include their name and contact information as well as class standing or faculty position. Call (212) 650-5382 for further information and queries.

Buy From Amazon.com And Support CCNY!
Did you know you can support City College’s libraries when you shop Amazon.com and its partners? When you link to the Amazon website from the CCNY Libraries homepage ( http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/) and you make an online purchase, the library will receive 5 percent of the purchase price for each item. “It costs you nothing and benefits the library tremendously,” says Pamela Gillespie, Assistant Dean and Chief Librarian. Each quarter, the library receives a modest sum from Amazon. “We get it as a gift certificate that we use to buy books,” she adds, urging member of the College community to support the libraries by making all their purchases from Amazon and its related partners, such as Babies ‘R’ Us, through the CCNY Libraries website.

From the President

No matter how often we go through it, the end of every semester always feels just a little bit frantic - but that makes the holiday that much sweeter.

Please accept the very best wishes of Sara and myself and every member of CCNY's administration for a happy holiday, and a new year of peace and good will.

Gregory H. Williams

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