Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss
PSC-CUNY Signs
A message from Emily Schnee:
As many of you know, the PSC is currently in contract negotiations with CUNY! One super easy and simple way to raise awareness on campus and support us getting the best contract possible is to put a PSC contract poster on your office door. Emily has a variety of signs in my office and would be happy to slip one under your door if you shoot Emily an email at Emily.Schnee@kbcc.cuny.edu . If you’d like to choose your sign, just come by C117 and you can take your pick.
Faculty Mentor and Support Hours in E219
A message from Hope Parisi:
Hope Parisi will be 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 according to wish or need.
Please come by this welcoming environment, on Wednesdays, if you’re on campus.
Creative Writing Program Meeting Tuesday 3 October 2023 3:00 in C217 and on Zoom
A message from Eben Wood:
First, welcome back or to the fall semester. As many of you are aware, it’s a busy and exciting time for the Creative Writing Program, as the process of applying to become a concentration within Liberal Arts goes forward (more about that at the first meeting).
Our first meeting is now scheduled for Tuesday, 10/3 at 3PM in Room C-217. We’d love as many participating faculty as possible to attend in person, but understand that this isn’t possible for everyone. Brian is arranging the tech to have the meeting be a hybrid. The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87642623854?pwd=T1Q2cVVZb2xrRFk1bngxN2tYV2UxQT09
This will be an important meeting for a number of reasons. First, it will be our first opportunity in some time to gather–as much as possible–in person to catch up, share news about our work, and feel the energy of the program on campus. Second, we will outline and establish some benchmark dates for this academic year, including a possible fall reading or open mic event, the spring Creative Writing Fair, and other events. We welcome all contributions and suggestions for expanding outreach to the KCC community and students. We will also give some updates on the concentration.
All faculty who are interested in creative writing activities on campus are welcome and encouraged to attend, and if you know anyone teaching outside the department who might be interested, by all means share this email or the meeting time and location.
Brian and I look forward to seeing you on 10/3.
Wednesday October 4 2023 at 3:00: AI discussion
A Message from Steve Amarnick and Matthew Gartner:
We invite you to save the date of Wednesday, October 4 at 3:00 for a discussion of what we are seeing and what we are doing in our classrooms in relation to generative AI. Lots to say! To access the meeting, use this zoom link. Happy beginning of the semester, all. For more information contact Steven.Amarnick@kbcc.cuny.edu or Matthew.Gartner@kbcc.cuny.edu.
6 October 2023: 11am-12:30 pm: “Concerns Coming Up” Workshop
A message from Hope Parisi:
This semester is like the previous ones in posing a wide range of interesting questions and concerns. Making our courses more accessible is one theme we’re hearing about; ChatGPT and AI is another. We’re still acclimating to new CLOs, and the new units and pedagogies we’re creating in response. (Is the “essay” still happening, or not so much?) We’re thinking more about reflection and still negotiating online and face-to-face learning modes in our hybrid and face-to-face classes.
Let’s meet for a workshop, paid for part-timers and open to all: Friday, October 6, from 11am – 12:30pm via Zoom. Hope Parisi talk about ways she has been changing her writing instruction to accord with the new momentum and she’ll hear from you. Your “concerns coming up” will help set an agenda for further areas of focus for professional development this year, while supporting others during our session. Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89660682591?pwd=b2tOOFJUOTJNMWRxejhTc3ZsdElYQT09
Meeting ID: 896 6068 2591 Passcode: 870934
Save the Dates: English Department Meetings
A message from Annie Del Principe:
This is just a short note to request that you save Tuesday, October 17, 2023 3-4:30 (room TBA) and Tuesday, November 28, 2023 3-4:30 (room TBA) for English department faculty meetings this fall. I will also add these to our department calendar in Outlook and will send you invitations to save them as events in your own calendars.
Invitation to Join the English Department on the CUNY Academic Commons
A message from Elizabeth Dill:
Last semester, an invitation to join the Kingsborough English CUNY Academic Commons group should have arrived in the inbox of your KCC email account. If you haven’t already accepted this invitation, please do so! And if you can’t find it, please email Elizabeth Dill so she can get you signed up. Our excellent weekly department newsletter will be shifting over to the Commons format! 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 at Elizabeth.Dill@kbcc.cuny.edu
PSC-CUNY Grant Applications Are Open
PSC-CUNY Grants Proposal System is now open for Cycle 55 applications. The final, non-negotiable deadline to apply is Friday, December 15th, 2023 at 11:59pm. Please visit the PSC CUNY Webpage for important details about the process, or check your KCC email for detailed instructions.
PSC-CUNY Research Awards are designed to encourage the scholarly and creative pursuits of CUNY faculty, especially junior faculty. Funds for research and creative projects are available to all Permanent, Full-Time members of instructional staff, and untenured members of the faculty in particular (untenured associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer); and Full-Time staff in HEO series. For the purposes of the PSC-CUNY Awards, junior faculty comprise those at the rank of untenured associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, and lecturer.
Applicants are encouraged to attend one of these four PSC CUNY Cycle 55 seminar dates:
• Tuesday, October 17th 1PM EST
• Wednesday, October 25th 12PM EST
• Thursday, November 2nd 1PM EST
• Friday, November 10th 12PM EST
Sessions will be held via Microsoft Teams; instructions to log on are at the bottom of the email announcing the Grants Proposal System.
Please remember that the Grants Proposal System no longer allow attachments as Word Docs, only as PDFs. If you are unable to convert your project narrative to PDF, please send it as a Word document to Kathy Giaimo, who will then re-format it as a PDF and upload it to your application. Kathy will be happy to assist you with this or to answer any questions you may have. She is on campus every day except Mondays, when she works remotely. You can call her at 718-368-6858, or email her at Kathryn.giaimo@kbcc.cuny.edu.
As always, the Advancement office strongly advises applicants to not wait until the last minute to submit their application. The earlier you submit your proposal, the more time Kathy will have to review it and help you to address any issues with your submission. Again, the deadline for Cycle 55 applications is 11:59pm on Friday, December 15, 2023. Please click here to apply.
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 Wednesday 11 October 2023. Please send newsletter items by Friday, 6 October 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.
