April 21, 2025 | Annie Del Principe | Leave a comment 21 April 2025 News Editor Jane Weiss Spring 2025 Syllabi There are still a few syllabi pending submission. If you have not submitted yours yet, please send it to Madeline Trice at [email protected] as soon as possible. Poetry Reading: Kimiko Hahn and Nicole Cooley Tuesday 22 April 2025 3:00-4:30 in V219 Award-winning poets Kimiko Hahn and Nicole Cooley, colleagues from Queens College, will read their work on Tuesday 22 April 2025 from 3:00-4:30 in V219. There will be a book raffle of their new collections! This event is sponsored by the Creative Writing and Literary Studies programs, and the KCC Student Union and Intercultural Center. Please invite your students. Students in Distress: A Comp-focused Professional Development Workshop: 25 April 2025 10:00-11:30 AM A message from Hope Parisi: We are continuing our Comp-Focused Professional Development for Spring 2025- Friday, April 25 at 10am. Our students frequently bear a distress that keeps them from learning fully. What are the differences and connections among distress, crisis, and the typical KCC student? Where is the balance line between response to individual student stress and other students’ learning? This was a vibrant topic of our winter PD series, so let’s expand on it. Paid for part-timers and open to all. “Students in Distress” will take place Friday, April 25, 10am-11:30am, on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85319117236?pwd=zssRRuRlaxuzV3Fbe0JQb4bUaib3ax.1 Francisco Medina: Knowledge Co-Production in the Community College Classroom: 25 April 2025 1:00 – 2:30 PM The Kingsborough Center for Teaching & Learning invites all faculty and staff to join us for a spring teaching and learning workshop, “Knowledge Co-Production with Students in the Community College Classroom” featuring Dr. Francisco Medina. The workshop will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025 from 1pm – 2:30pm on Zoom. In this workshop and discussion, Dr. Medina explores the questions of how traditional pedagogical approaches might hinder learning in the community college classroom, and how might we reconceptualize the classroom as a site of knowledge co-production with students (rather than reproduction)? Traditional teaching methods often frame the community college classroom through a deficit lens, where the classroom is seen primarily as a site of knowledge reproduction. But how might we transform teaching and learning when we shift our pedagogy from knowledge reproduction to knowledge co-production with students? If you are interested in attending, please register through this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/yyOk-GMtSouzLZDtprscxg#/registration Ad-Hoc Committee on AI Meeting: 1 May 2025 3:00 in C330 A Message from Anthony Iantosca: The first meeting of the ad hoc AI committee will take place on May 1st at 3 PM in C330. We will discuss the goals of the group, its possible role and function in our department, and its potential for professional development through collective readings on emerging AI scholarship. We can also discuss other concerns and goals as they come up. I look forward to seeing you all there! For more information, contact Anthony at [email protected]. Steven Weidenborner Essay Prize A message from Anthony Iantosca: The Stephen Weidenborner Memorial Prize recognizes a CUNY student whose work exemplifies his interest in good writing and social justice. Stephen Weidenborner, former chair of the English Department, believed passionately in preparing students to think critically as responsible citizens of our society, and to think seriously about the burning issues of fairness and justice in America. Essays from any KCC English course are eligible! Award winners will receive $150. Winning essays are published on the English Department website. Entries must be typed essays of at least 1000 words that investigate a contemporary issue about social justice by referring to a series of related sources and texts. Email entries to Anthony Iantosca at [email protected]. KCC Commencement Wednesday 18 June 2025 10 AM at the Coney Island Amphitheatre John Keller is the English department’s official commencement liaison, and Kingsborough Community College is gearing up for an exciting 60th AnniversaryGraduation Ceremony to be held this year at the Coney Island Amphitheatre on June 18th @ 10 AM. In the next few weeks, John will send out an RSVP form that faculty will be required to fill out in order to enter the venue. A few other important details: The website is now open to order or rent regalia/gowns: facultydirect.herffjones.com. Orders are due by May 1st, and can be picked up on campus on June 3rd at no additional charge. The committee is looking for faculty volunteers for 1) student cap and gown and ticket distribution beginning June 3rd, and in the days following; 2) graduation day, to help with the check-in process and 3) to act as marshals (ushers) during the ceremony. If you’re interested in serving the college in this capacity, or if you have questions or comments, please reach out to John at [email protected]. A Note about the Newsletter A message from Jane Weiss, News editor: The next newsletter will come out on Monday 28 April 2025. Send items to be included by Friday 25 April 2025 to Jane Weiss at [email protected]. Please keep items brief (preferably 100 or fewer words). Longer items will be abridged. Many faculty members would like to learn more about colleagues’ areas of scholarship, so if you would like to share what you’re working on, the Newsletter will welcome descriptions of your research and recent or upcoming presentations, publications, performances, and creative achievements of all kinds.