Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss
English Department End of Term Brunch
A message from Enid and Elroy:
We’re delighted to announce the return of an English Department tradition: the End-of-Semester gathering on Wednesday, 14 June. We’ve arranged for a festive breakfast buffet, with vegetarian and gluten-free offerings, from 10:30 to 1:30 in C333. The cost is $20 for full-time faculty and $12 for part-time faculty. You can leave your payment in either of our mailboxes or with Christine Marchese in C309. Join us for a celebratory meal and the chance to spend some time together at the end of a long semester.
At the brunch, Annie would like to recognize departmental good news from this year, so please help jog her memory by reminding Annie via this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGu_xkB0NzogKXxc8714ydBSxrGOXbkdSfnoSfdRe8-1aoaA/viewform
KCC Commencement 21 June 2023
The Kingsborough Community College Commencement Committee is pleased to announce that the 58th Commencement Exercises will be held in person on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Please come; the ceremony is extremely meaningful to KCC students and their families. Academic regalia, although festive, is not required to participate. (There usually are some extra hoods and gowns on hand if you’d like to wear it.) Although the exact times for this year’s Commencement events have not been announced, if past years are any guide the faculty “Line of March” will form at 10:45 a.m. along the eastern seawall, immediately south of the small parking lot between the Arts and Sciences building and the Marine Academic Center. We will follow the graduates through the lobby of the Arts & Sciences building, exit the building and continue into the tent. The Commencement ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. A reception in honor of the graduates will take place in the U-Building Cafeteria immediately following the ceremonies. In the event of rain, we will assemble in the concourse (the corridor between the Library and the Clusters), beginning the processional at the Library ramp and the line continuing toward the Cafeteria. In case of severe weather, call (718) 368-6553 on the morning of June 21 for information.
Awards Night Ceremony 20 June 2023 at 6:30 PM in PAC
Kingsborough Community College will hold its Awards Night on Tuesday June 20, 2023 at 6:30pm in the PAC, followed by a reception. Dean Gordon Alley-Young will host the ceremony. Awards include the English Prize, the Creative Writing Award, and the David B. Silver Poetry Award, so the presence of English Department faculty is much appreciated to celebrate our students’ accomplishments.
KCC Lavender Commencement 13 June 2023, 3:00 PM in U219
A message from Jenn Oliveri:
Lavender Graduation is an annual graduation ceremony conducted at universities to honor LGBTQIA+ students and acknowledge their accomplishments and contributions. LGBTQIA+ is an acronym used to signify Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual people collectively. As part of KCC’s 2023 Commencement festivities, we will be hosting our 3rd annual Lavender Graduation Ceremony for our students who identify as LGBTQIA+, on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 at 3:00 pm in U219 (check-in is at 2:30 pm). If you would like to attend our Lavender Graduation Ceremony, please fill out this form: https://rebrand.ly/KCCLavenderGUEST You can find more information here: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/commencement/58commencement/lavendergraduation.html
Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association Working-Class Studies Call for Papers: Deadline 30 June 2023
A message from Greg Bruno:
The Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association will hold its annual conference in Philadelphia, PA on November 9 – 11, 2023. The Working-Class Studies Area welcomes papers/presentations that examine representations of the working-class or labor in all areas of culture, including but not limited to art, literature, film, and media. Research, critical, theoretical, or interdisciplinary approaches are equally encouraged. The Proposal Deadline is June 30, 2023. Faculty are encouraged to submit a 300 word abstract themselves or pass this Call for Papers on to their students; the Working-Class Culture area of MAPACA is open to undergraduates. Questions can be forwarded to area chair: Dr. Greg Bruno, Working Class Studies: Gregory.bruno@kbcc.cuny.edu. Or, you can submit a proposal here.
Invitation to Join the English Department on the CUNY Academic Commons
A message from Elizabeth Dill:
An invitation to join the Kingsborough English CUNY Academic Commons group should have arrived in the inbox of your KCC email account. Please accept this invitation so that you can continue to receive our excellent weekly department newsletter! Soon, the department newsletter will be sent as a blog post from this group rather than as a department email; eventually, you will stop getting department newsletters as separate emails (unless you subscribe to the Academic Commons group). So please join! If you don’t receive an invitation at all, please let Elizabeth know!
Elizabeth is currently trying to work with the helpdesk so that the blog posts are not quarantined by the Barracuda system. For the time being, you may need to check your Barracuda spam quarantine summaries to see if Academic Commons posts appear there, and manually “whitelist” them, but she hopes that the IT department will be able to resolve the issue for the whole group.
College Council Meeting Tuesday 6 June 2023, 3:00 in U219-220
The College Council will meet in-person on campus on Tuesday June 6, 2023 at 3:00 PM in room U219/220. At this meeting Council members will vote on one Curriculum item, discuss the next steps in Governance Plan review, and wrap up with the Council’s end-of-Academic-Year procedures. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend and observe the meeting.
The Meeting Agenda is posted on the Council webpage at: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/college_council/index1.html
Student Art Exhibition at Kingsborough Art Museum: Directions 2023
A message from Brian Hack:
The Kingsborough Art Museum invites you to the opening reception of Directions 2023: The Annual Student Art Exhibition on Wednesday, June 7, at 2 pm at the KAM. This much-anticipated annual show highlights and celebrates the work of our Art History, Fine Arts, and Graphic Design students, and is a testament to their talents and perseverance–and to the excellent instruction and guidance they receive from our excellent faculty. Media in the show includes Animation, Art History, Digital Art, Drawing, Foundation Arts (Design), Graphic Design, Illustration, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Typography, and, for the first time, UX Design.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Petition
A message from Brian Katz:
In an attempt to pass a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee on KCC’s college council, my colleagues and I on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee (DEI GRAC) drafted the following letter. If you share the sense of urgency in forming said committee, please add your name:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TUmDVRJ5l1vKGo6CDEgksMKgsBUhtwuaaMWO2W0CEj0/edit?usp=sharing
If you know of any other possibly interested individual who should be personally contacted, please share or let Brian know Brian.Katz27@kbcc.cuny.edu.
Faculty Mentor and Support Hours in E219
Hope Parisi is in E219 this semester, available for informal chats with new and experienced part-time faculty, and all faculty, on Wednesdays, from 1pm – 3pm, with more availability by phone or Zoom, along with Tuesdays as another on-campus day. Please come by this welcoming environment, on Wednesdays, if you’re on campus, or get in touch for a time convenient for you.
Composition Coordinators Spring 2023 Office Hours
Gregory Bruno:
Tuesdays in C309B: 12:30 pm – 1:15 pm
Wednesdays via Zoom: 10:30 am – 12 :30 pm
Thursdays in C309B: 12:30 – 1:45 pm
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6372657798?pwd=L28zMVBxenZzR05vbU1GRis5ajRUZz09)
Rachel Ihara:
Tuesdays and Thursdays in C309B: 9:00 am – 10:00 am.
Fridays via Zoom: 9:00 am – 11:00 am
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5834566892)
KCC Information Technology Services Office
You can call KCC’s ITS Help Desk at (718) 368-6679 or email helpdesk@kbcc.cuny.edu 9:00 – 5:00 on weekdays. For Blackboard support during hours when KCC’s Help Desk is not available, call 1-646-664-2024
A Note about the Newsletter
The next issue of the Newsletter will come out on Monday 12 June 2023. Please send newsletter items by Friday, 9 June 2023 to Jane Weiss at Jane.Weiss@kbcc.cuny.edu. Please keep items brief (preferably 100 or fewer words). Longer items will be abridged. Items about publications and achievements are very welcome.
