Colleges Set Out Welcome
Mats For First “CUNY Week” Outreach
 |
| CCNY grad Zyphus Lebrun returns
as host and segment producer for his second “Study With
the Best” season. He is joined by Valerie Vazquez, who
was student body president at Queens College before she graduated
last June. |
Feast on a gourmet meal, meet U.S. Poet
Laureate Billy Collins, attend a celebration of Afro-Puerto Rican
culture, watch cutting-edge films, and learn more about opportunities
in higher education.
This is but a sampling from a smorgasbord of events displaying
the rich educational resources of the City University during CUNY
Week. The first such festival of outreach activities and free
cultural events, CUNY Week begins on Sunday, October 6
and runs through October 12.
Each CUNY campus, including the Graduate Center, and the CUNY
Law School is holding an open house, laying out a feast of academic
riches for anyone curious, but especially New Yorkers mulling
the thought of pursuing a college degree or returning for advanced
academic work. “When you visit the ‘open houses,’
you will meet financial aid experts and counselors, as well as
faculty and students eager to help you think about the best college
program for you,” promised Chancellor Matthew Goldstein.
(For the complete schedule of events, please visit www.cuny.edu/cunyweek
or call 1-800-CUNY-YES.)
A 15-hour CUNY-TV marathon on Sunday Oct. 6 from 8 a.m. to 11
p.m. on Channel 75 kicks off the week. The programming will feature
highlights from last year’s premiere season of “Study
With the Best,” a lively TV magazine highlighting the work
of notable CUNY students and faculty and hundreds of degree programs.
The premiere of the second “Study With the Best” season
will also air on Oct. 6.
York College Professor of English Linda M. Grasso, author of the
new and critically acclaimed book, The Artistry of Anger: Black
and White Women’s Literature in America 1820-1860, will also
be interviewed on the season-opener. Among the newest segments
is one called “Never Too Early, Never Too Late,” featuring
a doctoral student at the Graduate Center and her young son, who
is getting his own education at the Early Childhood Center there;
also featured is an 83-year-old who graduated in June from Kingsborough
Community College (see the story on page 4 for more on them).
Distinguished alumni appear during the day-long marathon, which
is also to be carried on Channel 25. They will include: stage,
film and television actor Jimmy Smits (Brooklyn College) and CCNY
graduate Robert Catell, Chairman and CEO of Keyspan and President
of the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce. Other
distinguished alumni speaking about how a CUNY education affected
their lives will be Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Brooklyn
Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Bronx Borough President
Adolfo Carrion.
In the Marathon’s thirteenth hour, rising stars may be discovered
when CUNY- TV’s City Cinematheque features screenings of
four films produced and directed by City College students. “On
My Own,” directed by Sean Keaton, tells the story of an 11-year-
old whose father has died of AIDS and whose mother is infected
and in the hospital, while an uncaring aunt leaves him to his
own devices. “And Thereafter,” directed by Hosup Lee,
is the story of the afterlife of a Korean war bride who came to
the U.S. full of hope for a peaceful future.
Concerts and lectures by faculty, art exhibits, sports events,
workshops, information sessions, campus tours, and many other
CUNY Week events are planned. Prospective students will also find
information about financial aid, the new Honors College, careers,
English as a Second Language, weekend college, affordable tuition,
and more than 1,200 programs leading to associate’s, bachelor’s,
and graduate degrees.
Showcasing popular academic areas at the College of Staten Island
will be two presentations for high school students “Biotechnology
and DNA Cloning,” presented by Professor Leonard Ciaccio
on Oct. 8, and “Science at the End of the World: Mathematical
Ecology in Antarctica,” given by CSI scientists Bala Sundaram
and Richard Veit
Among free special events are the staged reading of a new musical
play, Einstein’s Dreams, at the Graduate Center on Oct. 7,
at 7 p.m.; a gourmet cooking demonstration and dinner presented
by the New York City College of Technology’s Hospitality
Program at 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 7; the Billy Collins reading at 4
p.m. on Oct. 8 at Lehman College; and two Queens College art exhibits:
“Highlights of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum from the Renaissance
to Modern Times” and “19th and 20th-Century Art of Spain
and Latin America” in Rosenthal Library.
Hunter College’s dance event, the “Sharing the Legacy”
series, offers a panel discussion on choreographer Erick Hawkins
on Oct 11. at 5 p.m., with a performance following at 8:30. A
piano recital by professor of music Gary Hammond will be presented
in the Hunter North Building at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7. Lehman College
will exhibit “Missing,” an installation by Barbara Siegel
in the Lehman Art Gallery all week, and will offer health tests
during Health Awareness Week. Hostos Community College’s
“Bomplenazo 2002: A Celebration of Afro-Puerto Rican Culture”
is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 9 through Oct. 15.
