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#69 June 2008

LAGUARDIA

CELEBRATINGFACULTYAND STAFFACCOMPLISHMENTS

By Staff

At LaGuardia’s eighth annual President’sPublication reception, President Gail O.Mellow paid special tribute to fiveretired professors for their distinguishedservice to the College, and recognized68 current faculty members for theirscholarly and artistic achievements.

Before an audience of faculty, staffand students gathered at the May 21event, the president inducted the newProfessors Emeriti—Brian Gallagher,English; Adalgisa Johnston, EnglishLanguage Center; Eleanor Q. Tignor,English; Leonard A. Vogt, English; andClara C. Wu, Natural and AppliedSciences. Professors Gallagher andTignor received not only congratulationsfrom the president, but an optic crystalbook award as well.

“LaGuardia stands on your shoulders,”she said of the new inductees.“LaGuardia is where it is today becauseof all the work that you have done.”

In recognizing faculty members fortheir publications of books, articles, liter-ary works and contributions to the worldsof art, music, theater and dance, thepresident said, “We celebrate facultyand staff’s roles as public intellectuals.We celebrate the depth and range ofpublications, the ways in which facultyand staff participate in the world ofcreating knowledge, participate in theworld of applying knowledge andparticipate in the artistic world.”

Each honoree received a certificateand was asked to give a brief descrip-tion of his or her published piece or

> Joseph Taveras, Server Administrator,Information Technology

> Professor John Chaffee, Humanities

The 2008 nominees included:> Natalia Arguello, Adult and

Continuing Education (ACE)> Raymond Carozza, Administration> Ellynor Chretien, Enrollment

Management and StudentDevelopment (EMSD)

> Dragos Coca, EMSD> Linda Croson, Academic Affairs> Olga Calderon, Academic Affairs> Camilio Guio, Academic Affairs> Ba-Hesya Harris, ACE> Yasser Hassebo, Academic Affairs> Jacqueline Liriano, Academic Affairs> Juan Luna, EMSD> Luis Merchant, EMSD

President Mellow SalutesLaGuardia’s Unsung Heroesand Grant WritersBy Staff

The LaGuardia community commemorat-ed the outstanding service and contribu-tions of two special groups of facultyand staff at the Professional StaffMeeting, traditionally held at the end ofeach academic year. President Gail O.Mellow bestowed the College’s UnsungHero Award upon four faculty and staffmembers who “do extraordinary thingseveryday.” Nominated by their peers, thewinners were selected from among 20candidates.

The 2008 winners include:> Michael Johnson, Associate Director

of Instructional Services, InformationTechnology

> Hui Jung (Joanne) Chu, OfficeManager of the Pre-Hospital CareProgram, ACE

2008 Unsung Hero Awardees, left to right: Professor John Chaffee,Hui Jung (Joanne) Chu, President Gail O. Mellow, Theresia Litvay-Sardouaccepting for Michael Johnson, and Joseph Taveras.

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Unsung Hero/Grants...Continued from page one

2008 Unsung Hero nominees, cont.> Harriet Mesulam, EMSD> Nancy Santangelo, EMSD> Irene Sosa, EMSD> Christine Thorpe, EMSD

Grants Writers AwardsThis year, the College established two newawards to honor the most successful grantwriters: the LaGuardia Grants Honor Roll,made up of individuals who over the past10 years have brought in more than $1million through grants and contracts; andthe LaGuardia Grants Hall of Fame, whichrecognizes individuals who have brought inover $5 million over the last decade.

“To win one grant is a significant achieve-ment. But to harness one’s intelligence andcommitment not once, but many times – is aremarkable accomplishment that should becelebrated,” said Director of Grants Devel-opment Robert Khan. The Hall of Famehonorees received photographic portraitstaken by Lidiya Kan, a student in thephotography program.

Members of the Grant Writers Honor Roll include (l to r): back row: President Mellow;Sean Galvin, Academic Affairs; Loretta Capuano, Enrollment Management and StudentDevelopment; Sam Farrell, ACE; Benjamin Hunt, ACE; Robert Levine, External Affairs; JaniceKydd, ACE; front row: Steve Dauz, Academic Affairs; Ada Bedor, Academic Affairs; ClaudiaBaldonedo, ACE; Adjoa Gzifa, ACE; Joyce Zaritsky, Academic Affairs; not in attendance:Bret Eynon, Academic Affairs; Joyce Moy, Academic Affairs;

Inductees to the Hall of Fame are (l to r): Suma Kurien, ACE; Paul Arcario, Academic Affairs;Mae Dick, ACE; President Mellow; Jane Schulman, ACE; Sandra Watson, ACE.

Faculty PromotionsVice President Peter Katopes, in hisremarks, announced faculty promotions.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR> James Giordano - Department of

Accounting and Managerial Studies> Caroline Sheering-Deer - Department of

Education and Language Acquisition> Frank Wang - Department of

Mathematics> D. Priyantha Wijesinghe - Department of

Natural and Applied Sciences> Joanne Pierre-Louis - Department of Social

Science

PROFESSOR> Marie T. Sacino - Department of

Cooperative Education> Susan Young - Department of English> Carlos M. Hiraldo - Department of

English> Louis A. Lucca - Department of

Humanities> Jerry G. Ianni - Department of

Mathematics

Grant Writers Honor Roll

Grant Writers Hall of Fame

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LaGuardia Unveils its Veterans Resource CenterBy Staff

LaGuardia’s Veterans Program officiallylaunched its Veterans Resource Center,which will provide a host of services tosoldiers who are returning to New York Cityfrom tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This center will provide services toveterans in our community who desperatelyneed them,” President Gail O. Mellow saidto faculty and staff who attended the May14 inaugural ceremony.

Joining the celebration was CouncilMember Hiram Monserrate who played aninstrumental role in securing $1 million fromthe New York City Council budget for theone-year pilot program that will establish aresource center in each of the boroughs.LaGuardia’s Veterans Program will becoordinating the project.

“It took three years for these one-stopcounseling centers to become a reality,”said Mr. Montserrate. “This is the first timethe city has ever put aside a considerableamount of money for our veterans. If theone-stop centers at LaGuardia and in theother four boroughs can provide basicservices, it will help restore the lives ofthousands of New Yorkers.”

The centers will provide a variety ofservices for the 13,000 troops who will bereturning to the city after their tours of duty inthe Middle East, as well as for their families.Information will be available on issues suchas housing, health care, employment,education, substance abuse, legal servicesand assistance with claims and benefits.LaGuardia also offers free classes for veter-ans interested in obtaining their high schoolequivalency diploma or preparing forcollege entrance.

“Without intensive case management andcomprehensive services that are accessibleand efficient,” said Samuel E. Farrell, direc-tor of the College’s Veterans Program, “thesereturning veterans will join past veterans inour jails and homeless shelters.”

Already, numerous studies have reportedthat veterans are returning from the two warswith serious health issues. A report by theRand Corporation found that 300,000, ornearly one in five, service members returningfrom Iraq and Afghanistan, have symptomsof post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or

major depression. About 19 percentreported having a traumatic brain injury.

“Once we develop a solid foundation,”said Mr. Farrell, “we would like to expandour services to treat PTSD and providehealthcare.”

Carmen Vega-Stevens, a case-worker,said that many of the vets who come to thecenter interested in enrolling in the GEDprogram or college prep classes are unclearabout their future plans. “They do not knowwhat they want to do with their lives. We

LaGuardia Honors Veterans witha Weeklong CelebrationBy C. Jason Smith, Veterans Faculty Advisor and Associate Professor, English

help give them direction.”Vice President Peter Katopes, who served

in the Army’s First Infantry Division during theVietnam War, explained that campuseswere hostile environments for vets when hereturned to college in the late 60s.

“I am so proud of CUNY and so proudof LaGuardia that we have committed our-selves to being a warm place, a welcomingplace, a friendly place for vets,” he said.“We will provide services and help them tosucceed in their academic endeavors.”

LaGuardia’s Week to Honor Veterans--organized by LaGuardia’s Veterans ServiceOffice--kicked off on May 12 with breakfastand a workshop for staff that work withveterans in a wide variety of programsacross the city.

New York City Council Member HiramMonserrate, who chairs the City CouncilVeterans Committee, LaGuardia PresidentGail O. Mellow and Vice President PeterKatopes, welcomed the staffers andcommended them on the important workthey do for veterans at LaGuardia, in theCity University of New York college system,and in New York City as a whole. Alsowelcoming the workshop participants wereSamuel E. Farrell, director, Center for Veter-ans, Youth and Adult Programs; JosephBello, assistant director, Veterans ServicesOffice; and myself.

Two days later, LaGuardia hosted Storiesof Service-Digital Stories. The event wasone part of a city-wide film festival featuringshort videos about the stories of local veter-ans. Produced by high school and collegestudents, and organized by the Stories ofService Project, the videos shown includedthe stories of men and women from Queenswho served in World War II. Following

Digital Stories, the LaGuardia Veterans Clubhosted a meeting for faculty, staff andstudent veterans with special guest speakerMr. John Rowan, national president of Viet-nam Veterans of America (VVA).

On Thursday, the College hosted a Veter-ans Resource Day where representativesfrom the U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs, N.Y.S. Division of Veterans Affairs,N.Y.S. Department of Labor, U.S. SmallBusiness Administration, Queens Vet Center,and others provided information on benefitsand services for veterans.

Concluding the week of activities was theFriday evening entertainment entitled “Saluteto Veterans,” held in the Little Theatre. Thenight’s entertainment featured Louis Reyes-Rivera & The Jazzoets, and the United WeSing Troupe of NYC, a group of formerUSO girls, who have performed over 600shows for active military and veteransacross the country.

For more information on past and futureevents about and for veterans, servicepersonnel, or dependents, please emailvets@lagcc.cuny.edu or by calling ext.5386 or 5992.

4 www.laguardia.edu

By Staff

Annie Zhu, a 13 year-old member of theLaGuardia Aquatics Club, has qualified tocompete in the USA Olympics’ 200-meterindividual medley, and the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke trials, making her one ofthe youngest female swimmers vying to repre-sent the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympicsin Beijing. In June she will travel to Omaha,Nebraska to face 50 of the nation’s eliteswimmers, the majority of whom are collegeage and have swam in international competi-tions. Despite her youth, the 5’7’’ Brooklynresident, who has been swimming competi-tively since joining the club at the age offour, is unfazed by the age and experienceof her competitors. “They are surprised that Iam really young but race at such a highlevel,” she explains. Her confidence is under-standable given her impressive record. By theage of 10 she held the national record forthe 100-yard and 100-meter breaststroke inher age group and the following year shecaptured three more—the 100-yard breast-stroke and the 200-yard and 200-meterbreaststroke. By age 12 her racing timesqualified her for the Olympic trials. Her skill

may have something to do with genetics: herparents are professional swimmers; her fatherswam in the China Nationals 35 years ago,and her mother teaches the sport. DragosCoca, the club’s director who has trainedAnnie since she joined the club, attributes hersuccess in the water to natural talent anddedication to a strict training regimen; Anniepractices five days a week for an hour and ahalf each day. He noted that many of hisstudents graduate and go on to swim for theircolleges. “But Annie is the first swimmer wehave swimming at this high level.”

13 Year-OldSwimmer from theLaGuardia AquaticsClub to Competein the U.S.A.Olympic Trials

L AG U A R D I A S P O R T S S T O R I E S

Wunderkind in the Water

I S P RODUCED BY THE DEPARTMENTO F MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS.QUESTIONS MAY BE DIRECTED TO RANDYFADER-SMITH AT x5985; EMAIL ARTICLES:RANDYFS@LAGCC.CUNY.EDU

Our next issue will be a special editiondevoted exclusively to the June 11 fund-raiserhonoring Dr. Joseph Shenker. After the summerhiatus, look for new submission guidelines forthe October issue, also sporting a new design!

5

aggressive, enthusiastic fighter who turnssomersaults in the ring after a win. “I love tofight,” he explains. “I don’t even feel thepain when I get hit because the adrenalinerush is so incredible. However, the next dayis another story.”

He has loved the sport, since he beganwatching professional boxing on television.He decided to take it up at the age of 15,when he was topping the scales at 270pounds and was looking for a way to shedthe weight. “I liked boxing and I had to loseweight,” says Adam, “so I decided tocombine the two.”

He joined a gym in Astoria that taughtboth boxing and martial arts. There helearned the fundamentals—how to properlythrow a left jab, right cross and left hook.“As soon as I began training, I knew Iwanted to become a professional.”

After training at the Astoria gym for sixmonths, he decided that he needed a gymthat catered exclusively to boxers so hejoined Gleason’s Gym, the legendaryboxing gym in Brooklyn. There, he says, heis receiving the best training.

Looking ahead, Adam plans on honinghis boxing skills and training for next year’s

Golden Gloves. “One more GoldenGloves tournament,” he says, “and thenI am 85 percent sure that I willannounce my decision to go pro.”

While he will be facing opponentsin the ring, he still plans to concen

trate on working toward his degrees.“I hope I can fight professionally for

about 15 years,” he says, “and when Iretire from the ring I would like to own and

operate a boxing gym.

LaGuardia Student Adds a Punchto His Career PlansBy Staff

Adam Kownacki, a LaGuardia businessadministration major, is following a conven-tional academic plan: graduate in 2010with an associate’s degree and then go onfor a bachelor’s degree. His career plan,however, is unconventional: become a pro-fessional heavyweight prizefighter.

The imposing 19 year-old amateur superheavyweight, who stands 6’3” and weighs245 pounds, is seriously preparing to stepinto the ring. Over the past three years, hehas fought in three local Golden Glovescompetitions, advancing to the finals in allthree fights. He won his first tournament atage 16. The following year he lost in aclose 3-2 split decision to an opponent whoeventually turned pro. And in the last finalhe lost in another 3-2 split decision. “It wasa very close fight,” Adam said of his lastGolden Gloves bout. “My opponent threwmore punches, but I caught a lot of them onmy hands. I believe my punches were moreeffective, but he was more active.”

Although he lost, he was bolstered byover 70 cheering fans, many from the Polishcommunity of Greenpoint,Brooklyn where he liveswith his parents. “I am afan-pleaser,” Adamsays with a broadsmile.

Over his shortcareer he hasgained the reputa-tion of being an

L AG U A R D I A S P O R T S S T O R I E S

President Celebrates...Continued from page one

artistic project.The faculty and staff members who were

honored were: Leslie Ann Aarons, Humani-ties; Paul Arcario, Academic Affairs; VanessaBing, Social Sciences; Mark Brooks, Humani-ties; Marcia Caton, Academic Affairs; JohnChaffee, Humanities; J. Elizabeth Clark,English; Max Cohen, NYDesigns; TimothyCoogan, Social Sciences; Mary Beth Early,

Occupational Therapy; Francine Egger-Sider,Library; Xiwu Feng, Communication Skills;Thomas Fink, English; Louise Fluk, Library;Ximena Gallardo, English; James Giordano,Accounting and Managerial Studies; EdwardGoodman, Accounting and ManagerialStudies; Yasser Y. Hassebo, Mathematics;Ana Maria Hernandez, Education andLanguage Acquisition; Unn Hidle, Nursing;Carlos M. Hiraldo, English; Janice Karlen,Accounting and Managerial Studies; MarisaKlages, English; Soloman Kone, SocialSciences; Daniel Lynch, English; George H.McCormack, Mathematics; Gail O. Mellow,President; Gerald H. Meyer, Computer Infor-mation Systems; Thomas Onorato, Naturaland Applied Sciences; Steven Ovadia,Library; Michelle Pacht, English; MauricePinzon, Adult Learning Center; MohammedZ. Rahman, Mathmatics; Gary Richmond,Humanities; Michael Rodriguez, Humanities;Alexandra Rojas, Library; Marie Sacino,Cooperative Education; Charity Scribner,English; Renan Sezer, Mathematics; DiannSlade, Nursing; C. Jason Smith, English;Caroline Sterling-Deer, Education and

President Mellow with the two ProfessorsEmeriti—Brian Gallagher andEleanor Q. Tignor

Continued on page 11

6 www.laguardia.edu

The LiveWire sat down with the Director ofLaGuradia’s Photography Department ScottSternbach who is the recipient of a 2008National Science Foundation (NSF) grant fromthe foundation’s Antarctic Artists and WritersProgram. The program provides funding forart, research, and educational initiatives thatexemplify the Antarctic heritage of humankindand help increase public understanding of theregion. The accomplished portrait photogra-pher will journey this fall to the remote PalmerResearch Station, located on the peninsulathat juts out near the southern tip of SouthAmerica, where he will photograph the “souls”of Antarctica: a group of 30 researchers,biologists, cooks, pilots and boat captainswho are working on a federal project to studythe effects of global warming on the region.

LLWW:: Over the past six years, you’ve carriedthis 12-pound field camera through thebackwoods of Delaware County to capturethe endangered culture and lifestyle of thesmall dairy farmer, you’ve documented theeerily desolate sites of pre-war industrialruins in and around New York City, andyou explored Jersey City’s poor neighbor-hood shops, churches and streets. Whatmotivates you?

SSSS:: Forging new ground in fragile, yet hos-tile, environments is what drives me on thisquest to photograph Antarctica. I have alsobeen inspired to take on the challenge ofphotographing the people of Antarcticawith a view camera by Frank Hurley, anAustralian photographer who accompaniedErnest Shackleton, an Antarctic explorer, onhis 1914 expedition to the region.

LLWW:: What is your primary goal for this project?

SSSS:: Ultimately, I’m hoping to create a typol-ogy of the people who work in Antarcticaby looking at their individual characteristics.The viewer can then begin to understandthe place, since people are a reflection ofwhat they do and where they exist.

LLWW:: How do you plan to use Antarctica’smagnificent and pristine landscape as abackdrop to document your subjects’ dailyadventures?

SSSS:: Even before stepping onto the polar ice, I can envision myself photographing aresearcher surrounded by scores of pen-guins, a diver emerging from the ice as it

freezes around him and a boat captain outon the deck of an icebreaker in the middleof the Antarctic Sea.

LLWW:: You’ll be viewing your subjects througha restored, vintage camera that produceslarge, richly detailed black and whiteimages. What makes photos produced withthis type of manual camera so special?

SSSS:: The 8”x10” camera can provide afresh exploration into subjects that allowsthe viewer to enter into the scene, or insome cases, the lives of those being pho-tographed. It tends to distill and reveal thepoetry of the place in a different way thanwhen viewed in color.

LLWW:: Why do you believe that no othercamera captures the essence of the subjectlike a large format camera?

SSSS:: Part of reason has to do with the slowand deliberate process of setting up andpositioning the camera and tripod; it givesme a chance to establish a relationship withthe subjects. During this period, I am talkingto them and by the time I am ready to takethe picture they have forgotten the cameraand they are somewhere else in their mind,so you get a very natural photo.

LLWW:: How will you showcase your workwhen you return?

SSSS:: I plan on increasing public understand-ing about the Antarctic in a number ofways. I will present my collection of life-size photographs at LaGuardia, as well asat high schools and colleges in the tri-statearea. I would also like to display the printsat a large format print exhibition, in a web-site gallery and as a published book.

LLWW:: What sort of impact do you hope yourphotographs will have on viewers?

SSSS:: The heroes of this effort to help savethe Earth need to be seen by students andthose who visit the galleries and museumsin New York and beyond. I hope this expe-rience will raise the level of awareness ofthis broad swath of our diverse populousand inspire people to become involved andactive in the global work to save not onlyAntarctica, but the world’s ecosystem as well.

Portrait Photographer ReceivesNSF Grant to Capture the Soulsof the Arctic

Boathouse.The College extends it’s gratitude to all

those groups and individuals who helpedmake LaGuardia’s 2nd Annual Earth DayCelebration even better than the first. Thesupport of the College Association andStudent Life was instrumental in making the

LaGuardia Celebrates Its Second Annual Earth Day

day memorable and exciting. Betweennow and LaGuardia’s 3rd Annual EarthDay Celebration, demonstrate your vener-ation and gratitude for the Earth’s innumer-able resources by endorsing eco-friendlybehavior and projects inside and outsidethe classroom.

By Judith O’Toole, Chemical Hygiene Office, Natural and Applied Sciences

LaGuardia Holds its First Honors ColloquiumBy Carmen Vivas, Honors Program student

LaGuardia recently celebrated its SecondAnnual Earth Day with a series of lecturesand exhibits focused on some of the 21st

century’s most pressing environmentalissues. The lively and successful event provided a refreshing opportunity for theLaGuardia community to give back to theEarth, and proved that a little stewardshipgoes a long way.

New York City Councilman PeterVallone, Jr. kicked off the May 8 eventwith a discussion about local environmen-tal issues and how to create a moresustainable future for Western Queens.Subsequent speakers included ProfessorPhilip Gimber of LaGuardia’s Natural andApplied Sciences Department, JamesHicks of the Mayor’s Office, HarrietShugarman of the Climate Project, LaurieReilly with the CUNY Sustainability Projectand Natalia Arguello of NYDesigns.

Following the speeches, the studentwinners of the College’s Green Solutionscontest were recognized. Daniel Pleacoff,Greem Lee and Evan F. Vega received alaptop, an iPod nano, and a $200 Visagift card, respectively. After colletctingtheir prizes, the winners each shared theirviews on what students can do to save theenvironment. The contest was sponsoredby the College’s Sustainability Council.

Throughout the day, various Collegegroups and local organizations dissemi-nated information, showcased projectsand presented an array of multimediadisplays. Among the LaGuardia groupspromoting their socially conscious andenvironmentally-themed projects, were theEnvironmental Club and SustainabilityCouncil, the Evolution Cluster, The Savethe Earth! Film and Discussion Series, theLibrary 200 class, the PhotographyDepartment, the Law Society Club, theAlternative Health & Wellness Program,the Engineering Program, and the DieteticsProgram.

Local organizations that participatedincluded the Tzu Chi Foundation, an inter-national group dedicated to charity, medicine, education, and culture, theFarm Sanctuary and the Long Island City

Honor students Theordore Quintana and Geizel Amad describe a project they did in ProfessorPrabha Betne’s Honors Elementary Statistics I class.

Last month, LaGuardia launched it’s newlycreated Honors Colloquium, designed tonurture an intellectual community among students and to provide a better under-standing of what an honors class entails.

At the May 8 event, students gave first-hand accounts of the honors courses theyhad taken. Some spoke about the chal-lenges and rewards derived from the height-ened learning experience of an honorsclass, and some gave a breakdown of thesubject matter they covered in class.Students also read excerpts from works theyhad created during the course of the

semester, while others provided theirpersonal answer to a philosophical questionfrom class.

The Honors Colloquium gave everyone aglimpse of the wide variety of studentswho take LaGuardia’s honors courses.Although they possess different personalitiesand views, all the students share a commongoal: to excel academically and in the realworld.

I was delighted to attend the first of manyHonors Colloquia, and look forward tohearing the diverse accounts from studentsin LaGuardia’s Honors Program in the future.

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Accepting the NYCETCOpportunity Award forEncouraging CareerAdvancement are, left, Sandra Watson, ACE Deanof Workforce Development;Ann Feibel, chair ofLaGuardia’s Natural andApplied Sciences Department;Margaret Cohen of Health and HospitalsCorporation; Suma Kurien, ACE dfirector of Center forImmigrant Education andTraining; and ACE VicePresident Jane Schulman.

By Liesl Fores, Director ofCommunications, Division of Adult andContinuing Education

LaGuardia recently clinched another awardfor innovation in its allied health traininginitiatives. The New York City Employment &Training Coalition (NYCETC) grantedLaGuardia its inaugural Opportunity Awardfor Encouraging Career Advancement,citing the college’s programs that provide“credit and noncredit educational curriculato help participants grow in skills andincome in the burgeoning healthcare field.”

Among the programs discussed in theaward application was the GED Bridge toHealthcare Program, which assists individu-als who are working or interested in work-ing in the healthcare field but who do nothave a high school diploma, attain theirGED. Also mentioned was the Bridge toAllied Health Program, for students whoalready have their high school diploma orGED and would like to enter a degreeprogram in the allied health professions butneed to develop or strengthen theiracademic skills first.

Two programs for non-native Englishspeakers--Bridge to U.S. Healthcare Careersand English for Healthcare Workers--both

LaGuardia’s Allied Health Training InitiativeReceives Award

focus on helping immigrant workers developthe English language skills they need toenter or advance in the healthcare field.

Career transition courses and programsfor certified nurse aides and licensed practical nurses create pathways for incum-bent workers to advance in their careers byearning a degree in nursing.

Non-credit and credit certificate programsnoted in the submission were trainingprograms for home health aide, certifiednurse assistant, clinical office assistant,basic emergency medical technician, anddisability studies.

Interconnected with all these programs aresupport services, such as tutoring, academicadvisement, counseling and job placement.This integrated system provides a careerladder with multiple points of entry toaccommodate individuals’ varying needsbased on education and work experience,as well as many points of exit into intermedi-ate credentials and certifications.

“Among the elements that havecontributed to our success is a coordinatedapproach to program development that hasbrought together the college’s credit andnon-credit programs to do joint planningand articulate linkages between the differentprograms,” said Suma Kurien, ACE senior

administrator of Workforce Developmentwho worked on the application submissionprocess. “In doing this, the college has builton the expertise of specific programs inworking with and addressing the needs ofspecific populations.”

Another important feature of LaGuardia’sallied health initiatives is its partnershipswith industry organizations. Many of thetraining and transition programs were initi-ated in collaboration with a healthcareorganization. One example is the Wyck-off/1199 Nurse Technician to LicensedPractical Nurse Program, which involvessponsorship by Wyckoff Hospital in Brook-lyn and members of the Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU) Local 1199 forqualifying employees to complete a rigorous48-credit program, granting them a Practi-cal Nurse certificate, and upon passing thenational licensure exam, making them LPNs.

Another example is the Licensed PracticalNurse to Registered Nurse TransitionProgram, sponsored by the city’s Health andHospital Corporation (HHC), which allowsqualifying LPNs to take a transition courseworth 12 credits that can be transferred intoa college nursing program, reducing thenumber of credits needed to obtain an

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Continued on the next page

By Liesl Fores, Director ofCommunications, Division of Adult andContinuing Education

Leaders in hospitals and healthcare organi-zations throughout New York City cametogether at LaGuardia Community Collegethis spring for the third time in a four-yearspan for a roundtable discussion on importantissues in their industry.

Facilitated by the Division of Adult andContinuing Education’s (ACE) Center forCorporate Education and joined bycolleagues from across the college, the groupcontinued its conversation from past industryforums in 2004 and 2005 on topics such asthe nursing shortage and the need to providenew and diversified services in an effort tofind effective and creative solutions to someof these challenges.

While many of the challenges mentioned inthe first two meetings are still areas ofconcern for the healthcare industry, there wasdiscussion about the progress that’s beenmade so far.

Michele Stewart, director of ACE’s CareerLadders in Allied Health, and Ann Feibel,chair of the Natural and Applied ScienceDepartment, presented joint college initiativesregarding the nursing shortage that were initi-ated as a result of feedback from past forums,which have been successful. The Wyck-off/1199 Nurse Assistant to Licensed Practi-cal Nurse Program graduated 23 studentswho were sponsored by Wyckoff Hospital inBrooklyn and members of the Service Employ-ees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199.The group completed a rigorous 48-creditprogram, granting them a Practical Nursecertificate. They, along with their collegecounterparts, were then eligible to take theNational Council Licensure Examination forPractical Nursing (NCLEX-PN) and, if theypassed, would go on to become LPNs.

Other new developments included thecreation of the Licensed Practical Nurse toRegistered Nurse Transition Program, spon-sored by the city’s Health and HospitalsCorporation (HHC); a new pharmacy techni-cian program currently under way at thecollege; and a radiology technician programplanned for the fall.

Tim Rucinski, director of the Center for

Corporate Education, said that representa-tives from the healthcare field have beenextremely generous with their time andenergy since the original forums were held.“The healthcare professionals with whomwe’ve worked over the past several yearshave been extremely helpful in enablingLaGuardia to identify not only the issuesfacing the industry, but potential solutions aswell.”

Issues cited at the roundtable included theneed to internationalize the workforce byhiring bilingual nurses and hospital workers;the need for improvement in computer andliteracy skills; the need for training at thesupervisory level; and soft skills training,such as good customer service skills. Strate-gic next steps include building awareness ofall types of occupational healthcare oppor-tunities, and increasing the availability oftechnically skilled allied healthcare workersin the labor pool.

The forum was also an opportunity forcollaboration and networking betweenvaried areas. Virginia Peters, an employ-ment specialist at LaGuardia’s Workforce1Career Center, pointed out that it is impor-tant for her staff to know what hospital andhealthcare administrators are looking for inemployees so that they can refer customersappropriately. Suma Kurien, director ofACE’s Center for Immigrant Education andTraining, was also on hand to talk abouthow her hospitality training program, inwhich entry-level workers in hotels work oncontextualized English languages skills,computer skills and soft skills to help themadvance in their career to managementpositions, could be adapted for hospitaland healthcare workers.

Healthcare administrators stayed on wellafter the forum officially ended, discussingideas and possibly forging new partnershipswith colleagues and members of theCollege. Other areas that were noted aspossible opportunities for collaborationwere training in medical insurance, technol-ogy and accounting, as well as internships.ACE Vice President Jane Schulmancommented to attendees, “We want to part-ner with you. We are out in the communityand in your institutions. We can bring yourconcerns back to our programs.”

ACE Holds Healthcare Roundtable

associate registered nursing degree atLaGuardia and other participatingschools.

Both of these programs are free toparticipants, as sponsors cover the costs.Release time from work is also afforded.Many other partnerships in the way ofclinical internships and an advisoryboard to the college made up of health-care administrators make allied healthprograms current and vital.

These programs have impressiveoutcomes. There have been 100 percentpass rates in the Certified Nurse Aide,Clinical Office Technician, Home HealthAide, Phlebotomy and EMT Certificationprograms. During the first year of thehealthcare contextualized GED program,71 percent of the seventh grade readersreferred to take the GED exam havepassed it, compared to the 56 percent inregular GED programs. Sixty-eight percentof the original cohort of certified nurseaides in the Transition to Licensed PracticalNurse Program have received an LPNassociate degree. Of the 120 licensedpractical nurses who entered the LPN toRN Transition Course in 2006, over halfhave already started their associatedegree courses. Of the 20 LPNs whoentered the Nursing Program in January2007, 13 completed their associatedegrees in one year to become registerednurses. One hundred percent of the homehealth aides and 90 percent of the gradu-ates of the EMT Certificate Program areplaced in jobs.

ACE Dean of Workforce DevelopmentSandra Watson, who collaborated withDr. Kurien on the application, noted, “Thework we have been able to accomplish in the Allied Health Career Pathwaysprograms is a direct result of the wonderfulpartnerships we have developed withHealth and Hospitals Corporation;medical facilities throughout the city; and city, state and federal funding agencies.” �

9

Health Training Initiative...Continued from previous page

By Chukie Wangdu, Assistant Director,Student Information Center

LaGuardia hosted its annual Asian HeritageDay on May 14 in celebration of the diver-sity and successes of the Asian cultures thatmake up its student population.

The festivities began with a dramaticperformance by Samurai Sword Soul, aJapanese troupe known for its martial artsskills. The crowd watched in awe as theathletic performers jumped over each other,swinging their swords in mock battle.

Joyce Moy, chair of the Asian HeritageCommittee, welcomed the audience andasked them to join her in a moment ofsilence for peace around the world and toremember the victims of the Myanmarcyclone and the China earthquake. Presi-dent Gail O. Mellow and Mr. Peter Koo,treasurer of the LaGuardia Foundation,greeted the crowd and spoke about theimportance of education in the developmentof future world leaders.

Lilik Gondopriano, senior laboratory tech-nician in the Education and LanguageAcquisition Department, and her studentand staff volunteers served food to the Asiancuisine connoisseurs. While munching onsushi, noodles, fried rice and pickledvegetables, the crowd stomped their feet tothe beat of the music by MKM Collective,the multi-cultural jazz quartet, whosemembers are Matthew Snow (Student Life),Keiji Yoshino (LaGuardia student), MikiHirose and Youichi Sata. The following actwas Farzaba Mompi's who performed folkdances from Bangladesh, her native country.

Tenzin Kunzel and Pasang Dolma, award-winning stars in the Tibetan diaspora worldcommunity, sang songs of peace andhumanity. Ms. Dolma, who is popularlyknown as the Tibetan Lata Mangeshkar,after the legendary Indian singer of Hindimovie songs, received a special requestfrom Indian and Nepalese students to sing aHindi movie song.

Master Sitan Chen, the recipient of 32gold medals in national and internationalTai Chi competitions, demonstrated theancient Chinese art of Tai Chi. After hispresentation, Master Chen called audiencemembers up to the stage to learn some ofthe practice’s beautiful moves.

The festivities ended with gift bags distrib-uted by Amalgamated Bank and a rafflesponsored by Tabit for World Travelers, aManhattan-based travel agency specializingin travel to Asia. First prize was a Continen-tal Airways round trip ticket to anywhere inthe mainland U.S. or Puerto Rico, whileother prizes included Tabit for World Travel-ers tee-shirts and tickets to a New York Metsbaseball game.

Panel Experts UrgeStudents to Be InvolvedCitizens

By Kyoko Toyama, AssistantProfessor/Counselor, College DiscoveryProgram, Academic Affairs

As part of the College’s Asian Heritagecelebration, LaGuardia held a panel dis-cussion on May 7 that featured community,business and student leaders who spokeabout the importance of acknowledgingone’s roots while working and living asAmericans in the mainstream culture.

One of the panelists, Kwang Kim, presi-dent of the Korean Community Services ofMetropolitan New York, spoke about theimportance of community involvement. Hesaid that regardless of immigration status,everyone should find a way to contributeto American society.

New York City Council Member JohnLiu encouraged Asians to increase theirvoting leverage by participating in thepresidential election in November. PatriceTanaka, co-chair and chief creative offi-cer of CRT/Tanaka, a public relationsfirm, assured female students that theycould become leaders in the corporateworld without losing their femininity.

Kiman Thai, a LaGuardia student who isthe executive board chairperson of theStudent Advisory Counsel and last year’srecipient of the Salzburg Study AbroadSeminar, spoke about his experiencemoving from a more mainstream Asiancommunity in California where he spentearly years, to a rough South Bronx neigh-borhood where he was often the onlyAsian.

Participants came away from the panelwith new perspectives on how to harmo-niously blend their ethnic heritage withtheir American identities.

10 www.laguardia.edu

COLLEGE FOR CHILDREN SUPER SATURDAYCollege for Children is holding its second annual Super Saturday for kids and families on June21 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the E-building Atrium. Arrive early and enter the raffle fora chance to win free College for Children courses, games and prizes. Participate in fun-filledactivities, including:

LaGuardia Hosted its Asian Heritage Day

Farzana Mompi performed a

Bangladeshi folk dance at the

Asian Heritage celebration

� Painting and drawing � Yo-yo tricks�Create cardboard bridges and buildings � Keyboard and guitar lessons

� Ballroom and Latin dance lessons �Hip-hop and Irish dance performances � Tee-shirt design and face-painting � Theater-in-a-day and much more!

Students whoparticipated inthe JapaneseClub Fair, backrow, left,Mariano LGarcia, JuanVasquez,RaymondMartinez, KiaraStewart, PaulSolomon andKyoko Toyama,the faculty advi-sor. In front,from left, ShieriYamafuji, RieHirai and RisaItabashi

11

By Kyoko M. Toyama, Assistant Professor,College Discovery Program Counselor,Academic Affairs & Faculty Mentor ofJapanese Club

The Japanese Club has gone multicultural.With the help of new interest in Japanese

cultures, such as J-pop, Anime and Otaku,many non-Japanese students have beenflooding the club membership. What younow see in the weekly club meeting, is agroup of students of all colors and variouscultures sitting around talking in English andswitching to Japanese from time to time.

The leadership positions in the club havealso shifted to a more multicultural composi-tion. A couple of years ago, we had ourfirst African American president of the clubwith a Peruvian American student as a vicepresident. Currently, the president is MarioGarcia, a Puerto Rican-American who prac-tices Jujitsu and Kendo, two types of Japan-ese martial arts. To an acculturated Japanesewoman like myself, it’s refreshing to seesomeone of a different ethnicity like Mariointerested in my culture. I was humbled andreminded of my traditional cultural practiceby Mario, who bows to me when he seesme at the College – a gesture of respect toan older person.

The vice president of the club is RisaItabashi, a Japanese native who initiatedthe idea of pen pals between LaGuardia

students and the students at the high schoolshe attended in Japan. As a daughter of anEnglish teacher in Gunma, on the outskirts ofTokyo, she developed a love of learningearly on. While Mario practices traditionalJapanese martial arts, Risa is interested inWestern theater and music, as well as vari-ous Japanese art forms. She is a member ofthe Samurai Sword Soul, a well-known localperforming group, and has also appearedas a member of the cast at LaGuardia’srecent production of “Cabaret.” These twoleaders respect each other’s culture andlearn from each other.

As a result of this trend, the EnglishLanguage Acquisition Department beganoffering three levels of Japanese courses in2006, which have been able to run with asubstantial number of students in each section.

A small group of students taking elemen-tary Japanese joined the club on a day tripto Washington, DC for the annual CherryBlossom Festival this past April. Initially theywere a bit hesitant, but gradually theybecame more comfortable and began prac-ticing Japanese with me on the bus.

As a faculty mentor of the Japanese Clubfor many years, I have struggled to findways to welcome more non-Japanesestudents to the club. But on the DC trip, Icould not stop smiling as I looked at thestudents who came from all walks of life tocelebrate Japanese culture.

Building a True Multicultural Leadership: The Case of the Japanese Club

Language Acquisition; Rosemary Talmadge,President’s Office; Melinda Thomsen, Centerfor Immigrant Education and Training; IonaThomas-Connor, Nursing; Ting Man Tsao,English; Leonard Vogt, English; Frank Wang,Mathematics; James Wilson, English; AngelaWu, Accounting and Managerial Studies;and Kenneth J. Yin, Education and LanguageAcquisition.

"WE CELEBRATE THE WAYS INWHICH FACULTY AND STAFF PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD OF CREATING KNOWLEDGE, PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD OFAPPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ARTISTICWORLD," SAID PRESIDENT GAIL O. MELLOW.

Also recognized were the editors of InTransit: The LaGuardia Journal on Teach-ing and Learning — Gail Green-Anderson,English; Michele Piso, Center for Teachingand Learning; and Bret Eynon, AcademicAffairs—and those who contributed articlesfor the Fall 2007 issue. They were: BarbaraComins, Timothy C. Coogan, Monica Court-ney, Philip Gimber, Marcia Glick, LaurieGluck, Erika Heppner, Matthew S. Joffe,Suma Kurien, Gary Richmond, MaxRodriguez, Felicia Rose, Dawn Amsbery,Marie C. Spina, Christina Stern, DavidStyler.

President Mellow also presented a medalto Andrea Torres, a Phi Theta Kappa honorstudent, who was selected as a member ofUSA Today’s All-New York Academic Team.After the president placed the medal aroundher neck, Andrea expressed her apprecia-tion to the faculty and staff.

“Without the role that faculty and staff hasplayed in my academic experience, there isno way I could have achieved any of this,” shesaid. “One day I want to be a professor andput one of these on one of my students.” �

President Celebrates...Continued from page 5

City Council HearingsBraving the inclement weather, a student/administration contingent attendedthe May 16th City Council hearing on the mayor’s proposed budget cuts toCUNY community colleges.

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Last year we asked departments to submit their book orders for the upcom-ing semester a full week prior to finals.The initiative was intended to providemore used books for our students, aswell as pay students higher prices fortheir used books. Thanks to your cooper-ation, the campus bookstore sold over$612,000 in used books. As a result,the bookstore received the Barnes andNoble College Book Sellers OutstandingUsed Text Sales Achievement Award.The bookstore was able to provide moreused books for sale than ever before,increasing our used book sales by54.7% over the prior year. In the end,students saved over $ 204,000 by purchasing used books.

We thank you again for your help, andwant to thank you in advance for yourfuture cooperation. Your assistance isvital in helping us meet these goals.

Sincerely,Marc Adelson, Store Manager

Barnes and Noble’s continued sponsorship of LaGuardia students was on display recently asRay McGale, Regional Manager for Barnes and Noble Campus Bookstores (far left), presentedPresident Gail O. Mellow (far right) with a $5,000 gift to fund the College’s Barnes andNoble scholars. The company has donated over $40,000 to LaGuardia students since 2004,supporting the educational aspirations of 28 Barnes and Noble scholars. “Our donation seeksto ease students’ burden by providing scholarships for tuition, books, transportation and otherneeds,” said Mr. McGale. Students shown above: Jodi Hernandez, Monica Llandelar, JuanVazquez, and Tashdid Hasan.

In the spirit of discovering green solutions,our Building Operations Department recent-ly installed solar faucets in a number ofrestrooms. These sleek fixtures are designedto utilize any available light, including arti-ficial light, to deliver water, essentiallytransforming light into power. Aside fromdrawing on renewable energy, solarfaucets conserve water by reducing waterflow from an industry average of 2.5 gpmto 0.5 gpm. The solar faucets can befound in restrooms E-142 and E-143 and4th and 5th floor restrooms in the E-building. The solar faucets exemplifyLaGuardia’s commitment to furthering green solutions.

LaGuardiaGoes Green,One Drop at a Time

Barnes and Noble Presents $5000 Scholarship Gift