Academics Archives - ��ճԹ�

Announcing the 2026 Rosen Fellows

Susan Landers — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:25:20 +0000

��ճԹ� proudly announces the recipients of the 2026 Rosen Fellowship, an award that supports outstanding undergraduate students as they pursue ambitious, original projects across disciplines and around the globe.

The Rosen Fellowship reflects Florence Cohen Rosen’s remarkable generosity and vision: a proud ��ճԹ� alumna who chose to give back in a way that expands opportunity for future generations.

Since founding the fellowship in 2011, Rosen ’59 has created more than just financial support for students; she has opened doors to bold, unconventional experiences that they might never otherwise pursue. Her delight in nurturing potential and her enduring faith in ��ճԹ� students, whose work, she notes, renews her “faith…in the future of America,” shine through every fellowship awarded, embodying a legacy of curiosity, ambition, and imagination.

This year’s fellows represent a diverse range of academic interests—from archaeology and environmental science to music technology, public health, visual arts, and documentary filmmaking—demonstrating the creativity, curiosity, and impact-driven work that define the ��ճԹ� community.

2026 Rosen Fellows

Ellery Canesper will attend the HARP Archaeology Field School in Scotland.
Julia Lucinda Fernandez will participate in the Gabii Project, an archaeological excavation of the ancient city of Gabii near Rome focused on urban development and cultural interaction in early Italy.
Noah Hopkins will create to-scale Pokémon figures and photograph them in natural environments to share knowledge about ecology and conservation through a collaborative art project.
Leon Isaacs will take part in a weeklong tree-climbing expedition with Cornell University.
Raymond Thomas Jones will create a digital instrument and synthesizer sample catalog using sounds from natural environments and electrical signals of plants in Iceland.
Dima Muhieddine will study how diet, lifestyle, and access to preventive care shape oral health in Spain and Morocco through immersive observation.
Chavely Reynoso will produce a chronology of Dominican art history from Indigenous Taíno works through contemporary art, resulting in a digital and print publication and database.
Iggy Jerell Strickland will design and produce a drag costume, prosthetics, and character portfolio rooted in horror and performance.
Brent Thomas Whiteside will begin a feature-length documentary on blues musician Bobby Rush.

The 2026 Rosen Fellows exemplify ��ճԹ�’s commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary exploration, and socially engaged scholarship. Their work reflects the breadth of inquiry and creative practice fostered across the college. We congratulate this year’s Rosen Fellowship recipients and look forward to following their projects in the months ahead.

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Corey Robin Awarded Prestigious Berlin Prize Fellowship by the American Academy in Berlin

Richard Pietras — Wed, 13 May 2026 20:45:36 +0000

��ճԹ� proudly announces that Corey Robin, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at ��ճԹ� and the CUNY Graduate Center, has been awarded a 2026–27 by the American Academy in Berlin.

During his fellowship year, Robin will advance his new book project, King Capital, which reinterprets major economists as political theorists. The project argues that influential accounts of capitalism are, at their core, disguised visions of politics. Robin contends that modern economic theories often translate ancient ideals of aristocratic, dynastic, and imperial rule into contemporary economic language. His research examines the work of canonical thinkers, including Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, William Stanley Jevons, Alfred Marshall, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman, alongside lesser-known Marxist, socialist, feminist, and Global South economists.

As a Berlin Prize Fellow, Robin will join an international cohort of scholars and artists in residence at the American Academy in Berlin. Fellows receive dedicated time and resources to pursue major scholarly and creative projects while engaging with German academic and cultural institutions. Through lectures, readings, and public programs, fellows contribute to vibrant transatlantic dialogue and intellectual exchange.

Awarded annually, the Berlin Prize recognizes U.S.-based scholars, writers, composers, and artists who demonstrate exceptional achievement in their fields. Recipients represent disciplines spanning the humanities and social sciences, journalism, public policy, fiction, visual arts, and music composition.

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Reinventing What’s Next

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:23:22 +0000

Data analytics students

By fall 2023, about one-quarter of all students—and a significantly higher share of graduate students—were studying fully online. In response, colleges and universities are redesigning degree offerings with adult learners in mind, expanding fully online master’s programs, hybrid course models, accelerated and stackable credentials, and year‑round scheduling that better fits work and family responsibilities.

For ��ճԹ�’s graduate students, college is not a beginning, it’s a return.

Students arrive with résumés, responsibilities, and a clear-eyed sense of urgency. They want education that respects their time and opens the door to meaningful work. To meet those realities, we have created a variety of flexible pathways that help adult learners reinvent their careers without putting the rest of their lives on hold.

Across business, education, journalism, and urban sustainability, the college has rolled out and expanded programs that can often be completed in a year, taken online or in the evenings, and closely align with workforce demand. Together, they reflect a strategic shift rooted in ��ճԹ�’s long-standing mission of access and rigor, updated for a world of nonlinear careers.

Credentials Built for Working Lives

“We’re seeing students who already have careers, or who started one path and realized it wasn’t right,” says Professor Seungho Baek, who directs the M.S. in Finance program. “They don’t want to start from zero. They want something efficient, rigorous, and directly connected to opportunity.”

That thinking drives the M.S. in Finance, which can be completed in as little as one year and is offered both online and face‑to‑face. Students choose between specializations in quantitative finance and risk management or investment management and asset valuation. The program’s in‑person courses are held at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, a deliberate decision intended to bring working professionals and industry experts into the classroom.

“We wanted to make it easy for people who are already working in the financial sector to participate,” Baek says.

Professor Seungho Baek leads the new finance master’s programs at ��ճԹ�.

Industry professionals teach select courses, grounding theory in real‑world practice. Beginning next fall, eligible undergraduates will also be able to opt into a 4+1 pathway in finance, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years by taking graduate‑level coursework during their senior year.

The business school has applied the same model to accounting, launching a fully online M.S. in Accounting that can also be completed in a year, an especially appealing option for professionals seeking a credential with clear licensure and career outcomes.

Meeting a Citywide Need, One Teacher at a Time

In education, many graduate students are working professionals for whom flexibility can be the difference between persistence and attrition.

According to María R. Scharrón-del Río, dean of the School of Education, ��ճԹ�’s approach has been shaped by both student realities and the urgency of citywide need.

“New York City Public Schools is facing a massive staffing challenge,” she says, pointing to that will significantly reduce class sizes by 2028. “That means thousands of additional teachers will be needed, far more than the current pipeline can provide.”

��ճԹ� has long partnered with the city through Teaching Fellows programs, but in recent years those pathways have expanded and evolved. New alternative‑certification initiatives, including , are designed to help paraprofessionals and substitute teachers—many already working in classrooms—become certified teachers of record while completing their degrees.

“These are adult learners who know exactly what they’re getting into,” says Roberto Martínez, who oversees the Teaching Fellows and Ed Prep programs. “They’re already in schools. They’re parents. They’re career‑changers looking for stability and meaning.”

A key factor in ��ճԹ�’s success, Scharrón-del Río notes, is modality. ��ճԹ� was the only CUNY campus to offer its Ed Prep programs fully online (with required in‑person fieldwork), a distinction that quickly translated into demand.

“By word of mouth and because of the quality of our programs,” she says, “we received more applications than all the other CUNY campuses combined.”

The School of Education has also launched a new online advanced certificate program in reading science, designed to be completed in a year. The program responds to growing demand for teachers trained in evidence‑based literacy instruction, particularly in early grades—another area of acute need.

Katie Pace Miles, director of the Reading Science program, which addresses the growing demand for teachers trained in evidence‑based literacy instruction.

The Fast Track to a Master’s

Beyond education and business, ��ճԹ� has expanded accelerated options in fields tied to civic life.

A 4+1 in journalism allows students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year, while a newly launched 4+1 partnership in city planning with Baruch College creates a streamlined pathway for ��ճԹ� urban sustainability majors to earn a master’s in city planning.

“A lot of our students are returning students,” says Professor Tammy Lewis, who heads the urban sustainability program. “They’re here because this work matters to them. The master’s degree opens up more opportunity.”

Tammy Lewis shown here with students participating in the Tow Mentorship Initiative.

While each program is distinct, the common thread is intentional design: online delivery where possible, evening schedules, accelerated timelines, and curricula shaped in conversation with employers and communities.

Taken together, these programs signal an evolution in how ��ճԹ� understands its role—not just as a place of first chances, but of second and third ones, too.

“People are reinventing themselves multiple times now,” Martínez says. “��ճԹ� has always made that possible. We’re just building clearer, more flexible routes to get there.”

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Directing With Consent

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:13:03 +0000

Jolie Tong

At the center of Jolie Tong’s current research lies the guiding question: How can directors build community and support the agency of collaborators so they may realize their highest artistic potential?

Influenced by scholar Amanda Rose Villarreal, the theater professor’s work explores the principles of consent‑based practice—an approach that weaves the concept of consent into every layer of artistic creation.

She explains that “the cornerstones of consent-based practice are recognizing and dismantling power dynamics, open communication, informed choice, and setting and respecting boundaries.” These principles offer a framework that challenges traditional hierarchical rehearsal norms and encourages shared ownership among collaborators.

Jolie Tong working with a student during rehearsals. Photo credit: Isidora Farias

Tong’s interest in this methodology emerged during her training in intimacy direction with Theatrical Intimacy Education, an organization that specializes in “researching, developing, and teaching best practices for staging and filming intimacy.”

The experience was a turning point.

“I realized that a lot of the core concepts and skills they were teaching could be applied not just to intimacy directing, but to directing theater in general,” Tong recalls. This realization marked the beginning of a broader shift in her artistic practice.

Students perform in Wolf Play.

That shift became especially meaningful earlier this year as she prepared to direct Wolf Play at ��ճԹ�. The production offered “the perfect opportunity to take what I was learning and apply it to the practice of directing.”

Written by South Korean playwright Hansol Jung, Wolf Play follows a Korean child adopted by a queer couple through an online “re-homing” forum from his adoptive parents. Through the process of adapting to his unfamiliar environment, the young boy unwittingly brings about issues of identity, societal expectations, and familial norms that both families must grapple with.

Drawn in by the play’s “scope of the imagination” when she first saw it at Soho Rep, Tong found a powerful alignment between the story’s exploration of self‑determination and her own interest in agency‑centered rehearsal practices.

In Tong’s rehearsal room, this alignment took on a new form. She describes the space as a laboratory in which “the students that I work with are active collaborators in the research. They engage with the skills and principles I am experimenting with, alongside me. I can’t do the work that I do without them.” This collaborative ethos shaped the entire creative process, inviting students not just to perform but to participate.

Student actor Josabeth Simisterra ’25 performing in Wolf Play.

One such collaborator was actor Josabeth Simisterra ’25, who portrayed Ash in the production and was among the first students to work with Tong as she introduced these practices. “Wolf Play was one of the most challenging and rewarding productions I’ve ever worked on,” Simisterra reflects.

Simisterra describes feeling, for the first time, a true freedom to explore her artistry—an experience she attributes directly to Tong’s consent‑based approach. “I loved the elimination of hierarchy. Every actor, stagehand, designer was on equal footing, and it created an environment that felt very communal. It wasn’t just Jolie’s show and we were helping; it was our show that we were building together.”

For Tong, this kind of transformation is exactly the point. By centering consent not as a limitation but as a catalyst, she aims to cultivate rehearsal rooms where collaboration feels both empowered and ethical. Ultimately, she hopes students who engage in this work will carry its principles with them—into future productions, artistic endeavors, and creative communities.

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What Water Remembers

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:12:33 +0000

This year’s capstone class on a field trip to Bushwick Inlet.

Water defines New York City, this place of “hurried and sparkling waters,” the city “nested in bays.” These words are Walt Whitman’s, from his poem “Mannahatta”—the original Lenape word for what we now call the island of Manhattan.

Knowing the landscape of Mannahatta, that is, New York City before European contact, is crucial to understanding present-day rivers, creeks, streams, bays, ponds, and inlets: Water carves its stubborn paths to (and from) the sea on its own terms, not ours.

This is one of the lessons graduate students learn in a new master’s capstone course developed and co-taught by Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Jennifer Cherrier.

Jennifer Cherrier

Instead of writing a thesis, students in the new, professional M.S. specialization in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences undertake a yearlong group capstone project. With Cherrier as lead instructor, they assist the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in developing a plan for watershed-scale storm resiliency. Informed by both historical and present-day data, they focus on the implementation of nature-based solutions. This year, they applied the planning process developed by last year’s inaugural capstone cohort to a specific place: the Bushwick Inlet Basin, along the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront.

Looking at that specific coastal location in the context of its larger watershed, and incorporating the use of nature-based solutions in their final site plan, these students are doing the kind of holistic work that is the future of resiliency planning in New York City—and an example of the kind of work ��ճԹ� helps to spearhead locally and regionally with the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB), where Cherrier is associate director for integrated water research.

How the Water Used to Flow

But let’s go back to the beginning.

McCarren Park was a salt marsh. Nearby, North 14^th and 15^th streets between Nassau and Wythe—where you can now buy a motorcycle or go to a climbing gym—was open water on the marsh’s edge. Where bowlers now spill out of lanes on North 12^th Street, between Wythe and Berry, intertidal mudflats would have been submerged at high tide.

“We need to understand how the water used to flow,” says Cherrier.

Using historical data from renowned ecologist Eric Sanderson’s and his book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, students learned how “water tends to follow its original pathways,” says Fiona Crisp, a master’s student in earth and environmental sciences who is in this year’s capstone class. This knowledge, she says, “allows us to work with nature to develop more creative and resilient stormwater management strategies.”

Combine that historical data with current information—the class employs state-of-the-art software like Scalgo, which “uses satellite data to show where water is going to flow,” says current master’s and capstone student Kevin Garcia—and a more complete picture about flood-prone areas begins to emerge.

Thinking Bigger

Crucially, the class has been studying urban climate resiliency at what is called the watershed scale: In the case of the Bushwick Inlet Basin project, that means looking at a—manageable—sub-watershed of the larger Newtown Creek watershed in which the basin is located.

Watershed-scale research, says Cherrier, involves tracking the water along a flow path: either starting from a rain event at the highest elevation and continuing on through the landscape all the way down to the lower-elevation coastline (as in Hurricane Ida) or vice versa—when a storm surge pushes water inland from the coast (as in Superstorm Sandy).

“Taking a watershed view of the area has changed how I think about local issues by emphasizing the fact that everything is connected,” says Crisp. “Localized flooding isn’t isolated. It is shaped by the surrounding environment and watershed as a whole.” As a result, “solutions cannot be piecemeal.”

Cherrier describes the complexity of these solutions, which must address how “to keep people safe, to keep the water clean, to enhance ecological restoration…and also to provide waterfront access—and to do this all within the lens of keeping in mind what the communities need, because the solutions are really specific” to particular places.

Thus, environmental science links with the social sciences and more, requiring the study of demographics, transportation infrastructure, parks, zoning, regulatory frameworks, etc. All this, says Garcia, is part of watershed-scale planning in the capstone class: “There are so many components that we take into account.”

Developing the Process

Last year’s class “came up with a process” for this kind of research and analysis, says Cherrier. This year’s students applied that process to the Bushwick Inlet Basin.

Co-taught by Cherrier and Simon Kates, senior project manager for planning and climate adaptation at Copenhagen-based architecture and engineering firm Ramboll (which has offices in midtown Manhattan), the course requires the group to work together as a team—which they will need to do as professionals—and it helps students develop real-world connections. The DEP is the client for the finished work.

Collaborating with the DEP is a key part of the class.

Cherrier, who was a ��ճԹ� lead on the NYC Stormwater Resiliency Study, which served to inform the NYC Stormwater Resiliency Plan and whose research group has developed eco-WEIR technology to capture and treat polluted stormwater, feels strongly about ensuring that academic research—including rigorous student research—gets out into the world where it can be useful. This is one of the many ways in which the class aligns with the priorities of the SRIJB, which offers students internship and research opportunities and maintains long-running and crucial collaborations with city and state agencies, industry partners, and nonprofits—for projects like , which has achieved an international reach.

Looking to expand these already strong connections, Cherrier came up with a “pitch” to city government: “We train your future workforce,” it began. Then: These students do research—via theses, dissertations, and capstone projects—so “what if we designed these projects in collaboration with you to ensure they align with your research needs; or in the case of the capstone, with you as a client where we could continue to build on this work so that it could be iterative year after year?”

Real-World Impact

Capstone students Grace Damiano, Kevin Garcia, and Fiona Crisp

The class is structured like a professional project: Students generate a scope of work based on the needs of the client, then develop and follow a schedule to produce deliverables.

This is hugely important training for ��ճԹ� students, says Cherrier, noting that “the city and Ramboll have been super impressed with our students and really love the fact that they’re so multidisciplinary.” Furthermore, the class “outputs are actually being used by the DEP,” she says, making the project a “win-win for students…and also for the DEP.”

And students are thrilled with the experience.

“Not only did we learn academic concepts, but we also applied them,” says Crisp. “Working directly with professionals made the experience more tangible and showed how our work can have a real-world impact.”

Grace Damiano, who is an earth and environmental sciences Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center and an SRIJB fellow, participated in the inaugural capstone class in 2024–25. That class began by gathering information: conducting a literature review to compile research on watershed-scale planning. Next, Damiano recalled her group producing and sending to the DEP two “massive slide decks”—one of these outlined a process for watershed-scale planning in New York City and the other applied that process to the Gowanus Canal watershed (to demonstrate how such an application might work). Damiano appreciated the variety of professionals the class had contact with, both at the DEP and beyond.

Among the professional opportunities this year was participation in a coupled two-day walking tour and workshop event on March 26–27 in honor of World Water Day, hosted by the SRIJB in collaboration with the DEP and co-facilitated with Ramboll. The event, organized by Cherrier with the support of SRIJB Executive Director Brett Branco, aimed to promote dialogue on urban watershed management with leads from several city agencies and—in a crossover with the class—focused on a watershed-scale plan for the Bushwick Inlet Basin, with the ultimate goal of getting critical input to help advance urban watershed planning and action in New York City.

Prepared by their research, the capstone class was able to fully engage in conversations with representatives of government agencies, industry partners, and nonprofits who are at the forefront of tackling these water-management issues. From a professional standpoint, that kind of contact “is very, very nice for any student who’s in a master’s program,” Damiano says, “especially someone who’s finishing up their capstone. It’s an important networking opportunity.”

It was also an opportunity to be a part of the solution.

Issues surrounding storm resiliency and flood-risk management present complex problems—ones ��ճԹ� students, both now and in their future careers, will be tasked with solving. Thanks to this kind of training, in which future scientists and civic leaders learn to think big to generate local solutions, they are prepared for the challenge.

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Mapping ��ճԹ�’s Trees

Susan Landers — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:12:05 +0000

Michael Menser (second from left) with students from his environmental ethics class.

On a spring morning in 2025, students in ��ճԹ�’s Urban Sustainability Capstone course fanned out across campus with measuring tapes, field guides, and tablets in hand. Their assignment posed a deceptively simple question: How healthy are the trees on ��ճԹ�’s campus?

The answer, it turns out, is more than an inventory of trunks and canopies. What emerged was a living portrait of the campus itself—its past, present, and future, captured through student research that bridges environmental science, campus history, and public service in the heart of New York City.

Partnering with the NYC Parks Foundation, Capstone students designed and carried out a comprehensive tree-mapping initiative, inventorying and digitally documenting the campus’s diverse urban forest. Along the way, they gained hands-on experience identifying tree species, assessing tree health, and using geographic information systems (GIS) to collect and manage ecological data—practical skills aligned with careers in urban planning, sustainability, and environmental science.

But the project’s significance extends far beyond the classroom.

Contributing to a Greener City

The tree-mapping initiative connects ��ճԹ� to , a citywide effort to expand New York City’s tree canopy from roughly 20% to 30%, with particular focus on neighborhoods that have historically lacked green infrastructure.
While the city regularly surveys trees on municipal property, CUNY campuses are not considered city-owned and are therefore excluded from official canopy inventories.

��ճԹ�’s size, location, and ecological diversity created a rare opportunity to help fill that gap.

“With this project, students are generating data that didn’t exist before,” said Michael Menser, associate professor of philosophy and one of the faculty leaders of the initiative. “They’re contributing real information that can influence how we think about urban forests—both on campus and beyond.”

Rooted in Campus History

As students moved across the campus and quiet garden paths, their research also took them decades, sometimes nearly a century, into the past.

The land on which ��ճԹ� sits was founded as an arboretum, with its original landscape intentionally designed to integrate nature into academic life. In the 1930s, a greenhouse located behind Ingersoll Hall near Campus Road served as a botanical hub for students and faculty until it was later demolished during campus expansion.

As part of the Capstone, students conducted archival research into this landscape’s history, uncovering original arboretum-era tree lists alongside inventories and maps created over the past 30 years. The material revealed how the campus grounds have evolved in step with the surrounding Flatbush neighborhood.

“The trees tell a story,” Menser said. “They reflect planning decisions, social changes, and what a public urban campus has valued over time.”

228 Trees—and Counting

To date, students have identified, assessed, and mapped 228 trees across the campus. The inventory ranges from stately Siberian elms on the Quad, to cherry trees lining the back of the library, to a rare dawn redwood growing beside the koi pond.

Each tree was documented with species data, precise location, and health indicators, creating a foundation for long-term campus planning and care.

Informing the East Quad Renovation

The timing of the project is especially significant as ��ճԹ� moves forward with a major renovation of the historic East Quad, one of the most iconic and heavily used spaces on campus.

The renovation aims to create a safer, healthier, and more sustainable landscape while preserving the Quad’s historic character. Plans include replacing aging or hazardous trees with disease-resistant plantings, repairing underground infrastructure, improving stormwater management, and modernizing lighting and electrical systems.

Student-collected data provides valuable context for this effort—connecting archival history, present-day conditions, and long-term environmental goals. Together, the renovation and the tree inventory reflect a shared commitment to stewardship and resilience.

Sustainability Across Disciplines

The tree-mapping project mirrors the college’s broader strength in interdisciplinary sustainability education. Across campus, students and faculty are engaged in hands-on initiatives linking environmental science, public health, infrastructure, and social impact.

“��ճԹ� is uniquely poised to lead in this space,” Menser noted. “We bring together health, soil science, urban ecology, social research, and community engagement in one place. Students don’t have to imagine what sustainable cities look like—they’re studying them and helping to build them here.”

Looking Ahead

The Urban Sustainability Capstone has positioned ��ճԹ� as the first CUNY campus to create a comprehensive, GIS-based tree inventory, contributing valuable data to New York City’s evolving urban forest planning efforts.

Faculty are now working to connect additional courses to the initiative through the Campus as a Living Lab program, ensuring that the data continues to grow and inform future instruction, research, and campus decision-making.

At a time of climate change and environmental inequity, ��ճԹ�’s trees—anchored in history, studied through student research, and renewed through strategic investment—stand as living proof of how urban public institutions can lead by example, one branch at a time.

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��ճԹ� Hosts Second Annual Perinatal Mental Health Summit in Brownsville

Richard Pietras — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:13:37 +0000

On April 24, ��ճԹ� President Michelle J. Anderson joined professors Jacqueline Shannon and Haroula Ntalla to bring together clinicians, researchers, advocates, community leaders, and students at ��ճԹ� for the 2026 Perinatal Mental Health Summit, a daylong convening focused on strengthening maternal and reproductive mental health care for parents, infants, and families.

(Left to right) Tykeen Robinson, New York City Department of Health; Paige Bellenbaum, Paige Bellenbaum Consulting; Alison Baker, Seleni Institute; Dr. Moshe Moeller, HERO Dads/ Montefiore Einstein Hospital; and ��ճԹ� professors and leads for the college’s perinatal health courses Haroula Ntalla and Jacquelie Shannon at the 2026 ��ճԹ� Perinatal Mental Health Summit April 24. Shannon and Ntalla also led the efforts at the college to organize this and last year’s inaugural summit.

Titled “Relational Beginnings: Advancing Perinatal Mental Health for Parents, Infants, and Families,” the second annual summit was held in partnership with United for Brownsville and the New York City Health Department at the Greg Jackson Center, for Brownsville. It focused on perinatal grief and the postpartum experience, and both maternal and paternal mental health, with particular attention to the importance of father support. The summit also highlighted dyadic and reflective group interventions grounded in relational and attachment-based approaches, along with culturally responsive, trauma-informed care for Latina mothers and families in underserved communities.

The Summit brought together a distinguished lineup of perinatal experts, highlighted by keynote speaker Solimar Santiago-Warner (DSW, LCSW, PMH-C) an accomplished clinician-scholar, educator, and leader in perinatal mental health with nearly two decades of experience across pediatric, neonatal, and perinatal hospital systems.

The event underscored ��ճԹ�’s commitment to addressing the national perinatal mental health crisis through its dynamic course offerings, community partnerships, and workforce development, all of which has garnered the support from ��ճԹ� Borough President Antonio Reynoso and most recently, Congressional funding championed by Senator Chuck Schumer.

“Perinatal mental health is foundational to the well-being of families,” ��ճԹ� President Michelle J. Anderson said. “I am grateful to Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Senator Chuck Schumer for strongly supporting the College in establishing the Advanced Certificate Program in Perinatal Mental Health.”

Held on the heels of Black Maternal Health Week, this event drew over 200 community members, clinicians, educators, students and others, and featured more than a dozen interdisciplinary health and mental health experts and served as a crucial platform to address one of the most urgent health care challenges facing ��ճԹ� and the nation today.

(Left to right) Paola Amaya-Rodriguez, LCSW, PMH-C, of Chances for Children, and Silvia Juarez-Marazzo, LCSW-R, NCPsyA, also of Chances for Children and an adjunct instructor at ��ճԹ�, co-presented on a panel focused on supporting Latina mothers.

“We designed this Summit to meet professionals where they are by partnering with the United for Brownsville and New York City Health Department in Brownsville to create space not only to learn, but to connect alongside interdisciplinary colleagues within our communities in meaningful ways,” Shannon said. “By integrating clinical expertise in early relational development, with a deep understanding of the social factors and inequities often shaping families’ lives, we’re advancing equitable perinatal care for all families by preparing students and practitioners to respond in ways that can truly transform outcomes for parents and their children.”

The Summit featured a distinguished lineup of perinatal experts, including keynote speaker Solimar Santiago-Warner, DSW, LCSW, PMH-C, a clinician-scholar, educator, and leader in perinatal mental health who brought nearly two decades of experience across pediatric, neonatal, and perinatal hospital systems. At the summit, she spoke about integrating trauma-informed and culturally responsive frameworks into perinatal and reproductive mental health care, emphasizing how systems could better support families suffering from pregnancy and infant loss. Throughout her talk, she highlighted the need to bridge research, clinical practice, and lived experience to transform care systems in ways that honored both evidence and the realities of families.

The Panel on “Latina Mothers and Perinatal Mental Health: Barriers, Culture, and Pathways to Care” included (left to right) moderator Silvia Juarez-Marazzo (LCSW-R, NCPsyA, from Chances for Children, and ��ճԹ� adjunct Instructor); Laudy Burgos (LCSW-R, PMH-C, Associate Director, OB/GYN and NICU, Mount Sinai Hospital, who is taking perinatal mental health courses at ��ճԹ�); Mahbuba Choudhury (LMSW, OB/GYN, Mount Sinai Hospital; and Carmen Muñoz-Medrano, Hispanic Federation, also studying perinatal mental health at ��ճԹ�).

“As clinical faculty at ��ճԹ�, we are deeply connected to one of the most diverse campuses and communities in the country,” Ntalla said. “Our perinatal mental health initiative, which includes this summit and our accompanying coursework, allows us to partner closely with local health and mental health providers and families to address challenges and drive meaningful, education-based change to what is a national crisis.”

Georgina Gooden is a parent leader, early intervention advocate, and community strategist based in Brownsville, ��ճԹ�. She also consults through Grassroots Perspectives LLC, providing community-based insights on programs impacting families, and works with United for Brownsville as an early intervention advocate, supporting families and elevating their voices in policy and decision-making spaces. strengthen family-centered systems. She has completed two perinatal mental health courses at ��ճԹ� and is enrolled in two more. Gooden has also helped coordinate two ��ճԹ� Perinatal Mental Health Summits.

Georgina Gooden

“Both the summit and the perinatal mental health courses at ��ճԹ� are strengthening how I support families, giving me the language, tools, and clinical insight to pair with lived experience, so I can advocate more effectively and help shape systems that truly meet families where they are,” Gooden said.

The summit was preceded by a Presidential Lecture Series event on April 23 at ��ճԹ� Borough Hall with President Anderson and nationally recognized leader Liz Dozier who engaged in a timely discussion on the Black maternal health crisis in the United States. The event was also attended by Borough President Reynoso. Read more about that event here.

(Left to right) Liz Dozier engaged in a timely discussion on the Black maternal health crisis with President Michelle J. Anderson as part of ��ճԹ�’s Presidential Lecture Series on April 23. The event was also attended by Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who has lent his support of the college’s perinatal mental health curriculum and programming.

2026 Perinatal Mental Health Summit Lineup:

Greetings: President Michelle J. Anderson and ��ճԹ� perinatal health curriculum leaders Jacqueline Shannon and Haroula Ntalla, Early Childhood Education/Art Education Department, ��ճԹ�.
Opening Remarks: Mimi (Paulomi) Bhatt, PhD, MPH, CNM, FACNM, Assistant Professor at Rory Meyers College of Nursing at New York University.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Solimar Santiago-Warner, DSW, LCSW, PMH-C, Solmaterna Therapy & Consulting: “Perinatal Grief and the Postpartum Body.” Solimar Santiago-Warner explores perinatal loss through an embodied, trauma-informed, and interdisciplinary lens, centering the postpartum body as a site of grief, memory, and resilience. Drawing from clinical practice, phenomenology, affect theory, and perinatal palliative care, the presentation examines how grief is experienced physiologically and relationally following stillbirth, late miscarriage, or early infant loss. Designed for a multidisciplinary and community-based audience, the talk offers practical tools, language, and interventions that professionals can immediately apply within their respective roles. Participants will gain approaches to support bereaved parents with greater dignity, compassion, and relational awareness across healthcare, mental health, and community settings.
Panel 1: Fathers Matter: Perinatal Mental Health, Partnership, and Early Relationships
Panelists: Paige Bellenbaum, LCSW, PMH-C. Paige Bellenbaum Consulting; Alison C. Baker, LCSW, PMH-C, Clinical Director, Seleni Institute; Moeshe Moeller, Ph.D., Director, HERO Dads, Montefiore Einstein Hospital. Moderator: Tykeen Robinson, MSW, Mental Health Program Manager, Bureau of Maternal, Infant, and Reproductive Health, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Overview: Fathers/Non-Birthing Parents and Perinatal Mental Health. While much of the perinatal mental health conversation centers around mothers and birthing people, up to one in 10 fathers and partners experience significant mental health challenges during the perinatal period—often in silence. Shame, stigma, and a lack of culturally responsive care prevent many from seeking support, leaving mental health conditions untreated. Limited support and access to appropriate care can impact not only the father’s/non-birthing parent’s well-being but also the child’s development and the stability of the family system. One of the strongest predictors of paternal depression or anxiety is the mental health status of the mother/birthing parent. As such, an inclusive, family-centered approach to perinatal mental health is critical. This talk will explore the often-overlooked experiences of fathers and partners during the perinatal period. Participants will learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in fathers/non-birthing parents, explore the barriers they face in accessing care, and review practical, evidence-based strategies for engagement and intervention.
The Transition to Parenthood: Supporting Both Parents. Perinatal mental health conversations often center on the birthing parent, but the transition to parenthood is a profound shift for both individuals in a relationship. This discussion will explore the emotional and relational changes that occur as couples move from partners to co-parents, including shifts in identity, roles, and expectations. Particular attention will be given to the often-overlooked experiences of non-birthing parents, who may face their own psychological challenges while feeling pressure to prioritize supporting their partner. Research shows that men whose partners experience postpartum depression are at significantly higher risk of developing depression themselves, yet they are far less likely to seek support.
The Silent Partner: Fathers, Postpartum Stress, and the Couple Relationship. This presentation explores the often-overlooked experiences of fathers during the postpartum period. Drawing on clinical work with couples and the HERO Dads program, it highlights the emotional, relational, financial, and mental health challenges many fathers face while supporting partners with postpartum mood disorders and adjusting to the transition to parenthood. It will also address paternal postpartum depression and the importance of including fathers in perinatal mental health support.
Presentation: A Relationship Held From the Beginning: Lessons from Dyadic Psychotherapy and Reflective Groups in Infant Mental Health Practice. Presenters: Silvia Juarez-Marazzo, LCSW-R, NCPsyA, Chances for Children, Adjunct Instructor, Early Childhood/Art Education Department, ��ճԹ�; Paola Amaya-Rodriguez, LCSW, PMH-C, Chances for Children.
Overview: This presentation explores the power of early relationships through the lens of dyadic psychotherapy and reflective group practice in infant mental health. We will examine how perinatal and early relational experiences shape both maternal mental health and the developing parent–infant relationship, influencing the trajectory of early relational health and overall well-being for years to come. The session highlights how perinatal and infant mental health interventions intersect and are essential, particularly for families from marginalized communities who face systemic inequities, racial health disparities, and the impact of intergenerational and collective trauma. As profound shifts in social policies impact the social environment of families, this presentation underscores the effectiveness of dyadic approaches as a catalyst for repairing trust in relationships and fostering hope. It further emphasizes the urgent need to prioritize relational, culturally responsive supports for mothers and their babies.
Panel 2: Latina Mothers and Perinatal Mental Health: Barriers, Culture, and Pathways to Care. Panelists: Laudy Burgos, LCSW-R, PMH-C, Associate Director, OB/GYN and NICU, Mount Sinai Hospital, also studying perinatal mental health at ��ճԹ�; Kimberly Polanco, MSW, PMH-C, Birth and Abortion Doula and Childbirth Educator, OB/GYN, Mount Sinai Hospital, also studying perinatal mental health at ��ճԹ� with Mahbuba Choudhury, LMSW, OB/GYN, Mount Sinai Hospital; and Carmen Muñoz-Medrano, Health Program Coordinator, Hispanic Federation. Moderator: Silvia Juarez-Marazzo, LCSW-R, NCPsyA.
Overview: Beyond Silence: Understanding and Responding to PMADs in Latina Mothers. Latina mothers experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) at rates equal to or higher than non-Latina White women, yet these conditions are often under-recognized and under-treated. Symptoms may be expressed through physical complaints rather than emotional language, leading to missed diagnoses. Many Latina mothers face compounding stressors, including immigration-related fears, language barriers, economic hardship, and experiences of racism within healthcare systems. Cultural values such as familismo, marianismo, and respeto, along with stigma surrounding mental health, can influence whether help is sought. Structural barriers—including limited insurance coverage, lack of bilingual providers, and logistical challenges—further restrict access to care. Despite these obstacles, Latina mothers demonstrate strong resilience through family networks, spirituality, and community support. Addressing PMADs effectively requires culturally responsive, trauma-informed care that integrates mental health into perinatal services and centers the strengths and lived experiences of Latina mothers.
Barriers, Stigma, and Strength: The Lived Reality of Latina Mothers’ Mental Health. Structural barriers such as limited access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care, lack of insurance coverage, immigration-related stress, and fear of engaging with formal systems can prevent many Latina mothers from receiving timely mental health support. Language barriers and the limited availability of Spanish-speaking providers can further complicate communication, increasing the risk of underdiagnosis or misinterpretation of symptoms. In addition, many Latina mothers face heightened economic stress, unstable housing, and demanding work conditions during pregnancy and the postpartum period, all of which can increase vulnerability to perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Cultural expectations and stigma surrounding mental health also shape how Latina mothers experience and express emotional distress. Many feel pressure to embody ideals of strength, sacrifice, and self-reliance, which may discourage them from seeking help or openly discussing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or trauma. Family dynamics, migration-related separation from support networks, and experiences of discrimination within healthcare settings can further contribute to feelings of isolation. Addressing these issues requires culturally responsive care that centers language access, community trust, family engagement, and providers who understand the cultural context of Latina motherhood while recognizing the resilience and strengths present within these communities.
From Barriers to Community Care: Culturally Grounded Support for Latina Mothers. Latina mothers face significant structural and cultural barriers that impact their mental health during the perinatal period. Postpartum depression and anxiety are often under-identified and untreated due to language barriers, stigma, socio-environmental stressors, and limited access to culturally responsive care. Many mothers prioritize family needs over their own well-being, delaying help-seeking, while unfamiliarity with the healthcare system and broader sociopolitical concerns further limit access to care. Culturally grounded, community-based approaches are essential in addressing these disparities. Programs like the Por Nosotras Maternal Mental Health Workshops, developed through the Hispanic Federation, create trusted spaces for open dialogue, peer support, and psychoeducation. By combining emotional support with practical resources, these initiatives reduce isolation and empower mothers. Expanding such programs and strengthening partnerships between healthcare providers and community organizations is critical to improving outcomes and ensuring equitable, culturally responsive care.
Closing Remarks: Ashanda Saint Jean, MD, FACOG; Associate Professor, Department of OB/GYN, New York Medical College.

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��ճԹ� Secures Multiple Grants Through CUNY AI Initiative

Richard Pietras — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:49:37 +0000

��ճԹ� is advancing its leadership in artificial intelligence education with a series of newly funded initiatives supported by the City University of New York (CUNY).

Spanning disciplines from business and computer science to the arts and education, the projects reflect a campus-wide commitment to preparing students for a rapidly evolving, AI-driven world. Funded initiatives extend across the Koppelman School of Business as well as programs in English, film, art, mathematics, education, academic affairs, and Student Affairs.

Integrating AI Into Business Education

Several faculty from the Koppelman School of Business are launching an interdisciplinary capstone course titled “The Integrated Edge: AI, Decision-Making, and Business Strategy.” The course will pilot in summer 2026.

The course addresses a long-standing challenge in business education: the “silo effect,” in which accounting, finance, economics, and management are often taught separately. The Integrated Edge instead requires students to apply all four disciplines simultaneously to analyze complex business problems—mirroring how decisions are made in real organizations.

Students will gain hands-on experience with professional AI platforms used in industry, including tools for forecasting, auditing, and financial analysis. The course also emphasizes a “human-in-the-loop” approach, teaching students to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs, identify potential biases or errors, and apply professional judgment.

Structured in four modules—economic forecasting, led by Professor Merih Uctum; AI-assisted auditing, led by Professor Frimette Kass-Shraibman; corporate finance, led by Professor Sunil Mohanty; and strategic integration, led by PI and Professor Carol Connell—the course culminates in a capstone project in which students analyze a real company using both traditional business frameworks and AI-supported insights.

By combining interdisciplinary thinking with responsible AI use, The Integrated Edge aims to equip students with the analytical, technological, and ethical skills needed for tomorrow’s business leadership.

Koppelman School of Business Interim Dean Myles Bassell is leading nearly 400 students from the Koppelman School of Business in “IBM’s AI Experiential Learning Lab,” a hands-on, 10-week program designed to immerse students in real-world artificial intelligence applications. Through the program, students work in multidisciplinary teams to design and develop AI-driven solutions using IBM’s enterprise technologies, including watsonx. Supported by IBM experts and industry mentors, students move from concept to prototype while tackling authentic business challenges.

Throughout the lab, participants build practical skills in generative and agentic AI, as well as responsible AI design, while producing portfolio-ready projects that enhance their career readiness. By the program’s conclusion, students will have completed AI solutions they can present to employers and will earn IBM-recognized digital credentials to showcase on LinkedIn and resumes. The initiative reflects Koppelman’s commitment to experiential learning, industry collaboration, and preparing students to lead in an AI-driven economy.

Bassell is also spearheading the broader “AI Literacy in Business Education: From Classrooms to Careers” initiative, which is being implemented in phases beginning in Fall 2025 and continuing through Spring 2026, with expansion planned for Summer 2026 and beyond. In Fall 2025 alone, Koppelman students completed approximately 700 IBM AI-related certificates, followed by more than 1,000 additional certifications in Spring 2026. These credentials were integrated directly into coursework through collaboration between Bassell and business school faculty.

Students earn certifications through IBM SkillsBuild in areas such as AI Literacy, Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals, Generative AI, Agentic AI applications, Enterprise Design Thinking, and Cybersecurity Fundamentals, among others. Each certification includes a verifiable digital badge, allowing students to clearly demonstrate their AI competencies to prospective employers.

Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship Associate Professor Ngoc (Cindy) Pham is leading the “The semester-long weekly boot camp is designed to build applied and ethical AI fluency while preparing students for the evolving workforce.

The initiative combines hands-on workshops, industry perspectives, cross-institution collaboration, and digital badge recognition to help students develop both technical confidence and critical thinking skills.

Program highlights include weekly AI boot camps at ��ճԹ�, guest speakers and industry experts from IBM and other national AI practitioners, and a joint CUNY–NYU Tandon session hosted at NYU that helped launch a long-term collaboration. Students also take on leadership roles as moderators and event facilitators. Designed for scalability, the model aims to expand across CUNY while maintaining a strong focus on equity, access, and workforce readiness.

Matt Lentz, vice president at Monks and founder of the Enterprise Consulting Practice, speaks at an AI bootcamp hosted by NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering on March 12. The event was a part of the CUNY AI literacy and professional readiness series led by ��ճԹ� Associate Professor Ngoc (Cindy) Pham and focused on AI in enterprise consulting. (Top photo) In February, guest lecturer Conor Grennan—CEO of AI Mindset and New York Times bestselling author—headlined a lecture titled, “Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work” that drew 118 participants.

Expanding AI to Student Support: Addressing Food Insecurity

��ճԹ�’s AI initiatives also extend beyond the classroom, applying emerging technologies to one of the most pressing challenges facing students: food insecurity.

Led by Associate Professor of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship Laura Rifkin and building on the human-centered work of the campus food pantry staff—including Assistant Director of Student Support Services Nicole Cohen and Student Affairs—this effort will explore how AI can expand access to nutritious food in ways that are both practical and dignified. One approach under consideration is a smart vending system that would serve as an extension of the pantry, offering discreet, flexible access outside of traditional hours. By reducing barriers such as stigma, scheduling conflicts, and transportation challenges, the system could significantly broaden its reach while generating anonymized, real-time data on usage patterns and unmet need.

The initiative also examines how agentic AI can support pantry operations behind the scenes—analyzing trends, anticipating demand, optimizing inventory, and improving coordination of donations and purchasing. Guided by principles of transparency, human oversight, and bias mitigation, the work builds on the college’s strong track record of student-centered support while introducing scalable, data-informed solutions.

The effort comes at a critical moment. Food pantry use has grown fourfold in recent years, reflecting both rising need and the extraordinary commitment of staff working with limited resources. Across CUNY, approximately 110,000 students—about 40% of the system—experience food insecurity, yet only a small percentage access available support, often due to stigma or administrative barriers. By integrating AI thoughtfully into these services, the college aims to close that gap by strengthening student well-being to support academic success.

AI-Supported Professional Preparation for Early Childhood Teachers Working With Dual Language Learners

In the School of Education, Associate Professor Lulu Song is addressing a critical need in early childhood teacher preparation. Her project integrates AI into coursework to support future educators working with dual language learners, a population that represents nearly half of young children in New York State. Through structured assignments, students will use AI tools for research and problem-solving while learning to critically evaluate outputs for accuracy, bias, and credibility.

Additional projects include AI-supported learning studios in mathematics, interdisciplinary minors linking computer science with writing and finance, and research on ethical design and decision-making. Collectively, these initiatives highlight ��ճԹ�’s holistic approach to AI—one that blends innovation with responsibility, and technical skills with human insight.

Understanding AI: A Foundational Series for Faculty

Led by Karen Stern-Gabbay, professor of history and director of the Roberta S. Matthews Center for Teaching and Learning, and James T. Eaton, associate dean in the Provost’s Office, this workshop series will bring expert speakers to campus to guide faculty through key topics such as technological disruption, ethics, and curriculum design.

Open to both full- and part-time instructors, the program is designed to build confidence and shared understanding around AI in the classroom.

Faking It: A Global Workshop Series

AI’s cultural and creative implications are also a focus. Distinguished Professor of Film Alexandra Juhasz, in collaboration with filmmaker Nishant Shah, is leading “Faking It,” a global workshop series examining questions of authenticity, knowledge, and human connection in an AI-mediated world. With sessions planned in New York and Hong Kong, the project will explore how emerging technologies reshape storytelling, perception, and social relationships.

You can see all the projects listed here.

Myles Bassell (Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship) – AI Literacy in Business Education: Scaling a Proven Model at the Koppelman School of Business.
April Bedford (Academic Affairs) – Faculty AI Bootcamp: Developing Critical AI Literacy, Course Policies, and Pedagogical Innovation.
Hui Chen (Computer and Information Science) – Human-in-the-Loop Just-in-Time AI Auto-Tutoring: A Pilot for CUNY Pathways Courses.
Carol Connell (Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship) – AI, Decision-Making, and Business Strategy Integrated Capstone.
James Eaton (Academic Affairs) – Understanding AI: A Foundational Series for Faculty.
Alexandra Juhasz (Film) – Faking It: AI Education and Literacy.
Devorah Kletenik – (Computer and Information Science) Designing With Ethics: Exploring AI-Enhanced Dark Patterns.
Swan Kim (English) – Critical AI Literacy for the Public Good: A CUNY-Scalable Ethical Foundations Module Reaching All Incoming Students.
Sandra Kingan (Mathematics) – AI-Supported Math Foundations Studio.
Anjali Krishnan (Psychology) – Promoting Responsible AI Use in Skill-Based and Writing-Intensive Courses.
Jennifer McCoy; Jonathan Zalben (Art, Conservatory of Music) – AI Initiative in the Arts.
Martha Nadell and Hui Chen (English, Computer and Information Science) – Writing For the Future: An Integrated English/Computer and Information Sciences Minor.
Hyuna Park and Katherine Chuang (Finance, Computer and Information Science) – Using AI Tools to Create Synergy Between Finance and Computer Science Education.
Ngoc (Cindy) Pham (Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship) – CUNY AI Literacy and Professional Readiness Micro-Credential Series With Global Expert Partners.
Laura Rifkin (Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship) – Addressing Food Insecurities.
Lulu Song (Early Childhood Education/Art Education) – AI-Supported Professional Preparation for Early Childhood Teachers Working With Dual Language Learners.

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A Nobel Laureate Comes to ��ճԹ�

Susan Landers — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:17:30 +0000

What if the ideas that seem “useless” today are the ones that will change the world tomorrow?

That’s the bold premise behind this year’s H. Martin Friedman Lecture at ��ճԹ�, featuring Martin Chalfie, University Professor at Columbia University and recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

On April 28, Chalfie will deliver his talk, “The Continuing Need for Useless Knowledge: Finding the Unexpected to Enable Future Scientific Revolutions.” His message is simple but compelling: Curiosity isn’t a distraction from progress—it’s the engine that drives it.

April 28, 2026

12:15 P.M. — 2:00 P.M.

148 Ingersoll hall extension

Hosted by the ��ճԹ� Chemistry Society and co-hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chalfie’s lecture draws inspiration from a 1939 essay by Abraham Flexner, founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study, who argued that society’s obsession with “usefulness” often blinds us to the discoveries that reshape our understanding of the world. Flexner believed that true breakthroughs happen when thinkers are free to explore without a roadmap. Chalfie brings that idea into the 21st century, showing how curiosity‑driven research continues to spark scientific revolutions.

Chalfie speaks from experience. He shared the Nobel Prize for pioneering the use of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)—a tool that transformed biology by allowing scientists to watch living cells in action. Yet his path to scientific acclaim was anything but straightforward.

Born in Chicago, Chalfie entered Harvard with an interest in science but graduated unsure of his abilities and uncertain about his future. He spent two years working a patchwork of jobs—janitor, clothing salesman, high‑school teacher—before a chance opportunity in a research lab changed everything. One experiment worked. One idea led to a publication. And that moment of discovery gave him the confidence to pursue graduate school and, eventually, a career that would reshape modern biology.

From his postdoctoral work with Sydney Brenner in Cambridge to his decades of research at Columbia, Chalfie has helped illuminate how organisms sense touch, how neurons develop, and how cells maintain their identity. His contributions span genetics, neurobiology, and molecular biology, and his leadership roles include service in the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Society for Cell Biology.

��ճԹ� the H. Martin Friedman Lecture

The H. Martin Friedman Lecture is an annual lecture series hosted by ��ճԹ�, typically organized by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It brings distinguished scientists and scholars to campus to present a public lecture on a topic in science, particularly in chemistry, biochemistry, and related fields. The event is part of a long-running lecture series named after H. Martin Friedman, who supported the college and this lecture series. In some years, the lecture has been given by eminent researchers and has helped introduce students (including high school students and undergraduates) to careers and advances in the sciences.

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Annual Samuel J. Konefsky Memorial Lecture Features Lee Gelernt

Susan Landers — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:02:24 +0000

��ճԹ� invites students, staff, faculty, and community members to this year’s Samuel J. Konefsky Memorial Lecture, featuring Lee Gelernt, one of the nation’s most prominent public interest lawyers and a leading figure in contemporary immigration litigation.

The event will be held on March 3 at 12:30 p.m. in the Woody Tanger Auditorium, ��ճԹ� Library.

Gelernt serves as a senior attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and has argued many of the country’s most consequential cases, including before the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts of appeals. His work has also brought him before both the House and Senate as an expert witness, and he teaches at Columbia Law School.

His litigation has shaped national conversations on immigration policy. Among his notable cases is the challenge to the Trump Administration’s family‑separation policy, a case that drew international attention and was featured in the documentary. The Fight and a New York Times Magazine cover story. He currently serves as lead counsel in litigation concerning the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, which has raised significant questions about due process and the treatment of Venezuelan migrants.

Gelernt’s contributions have earned him numerous awards and recognition as one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States. His commentary and expertise appear frequently in major media outlets, documentaries, books, and podcasts. This event offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from a central figure in the legal battles shaping U.S. immigration policy.

The Konefsky Lecture is an annual event that honors Samuel J. Konefsky, a ��ճԹ� alumnus who was a professor of constitutional law at the college from the 1940s to 1970. At the event, a scholarship generously donated by the Konefsky family is presented to a ��ճԹ� pre-law student.

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