Month: October 2024

The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences is proud to share exciting news about several alumni and instructors from the MA in Corporate Communication program. Lemuel Brewster (left), an adjunct instructor and Baruch alum, was selected as a finalist for the “Distinguished Communicator of Color” Award by the Diversity Action Alliance.

Jocelyn Jackson (MA ’13) has been promoted to Vice President of Creative Strategy at WE Communications, a remarkable achievement in her career. Additionally, Chioma Okpara (MA ’19) has also advanced professionally, earning a promotion to Senior Program Manager at The New York Times. These successes reflect the strength and impact of our Corporate Communication program as it prepares graduates for top leadership roles in the field.

Els de Graauw, Professor of Political Science at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-author Shannon Gleeson, have just released their new book, Advancing Immigrant Rights in Houston with Temple University Press.

The book explores how the diverse city of Houston navigates the challenges of advancing immigrant rights within the context of a politically mixed, organizationally underserved, and largely anti-immigrant state. Focusing on issues such as local law enforcement’s interactions with federal immigration officials, local public-private partnerships around federal immigration benefits, the development of a city immigrant affairs office, and collaborations to combat wage theft, the book offers new insights into the complex dynamics shaping immigrant rights policies today.

This work will be of particular interest to scholars and practitioners in the fields of immigration, urban politics, and civil society.

Order the book now!

The latest Urban Affairs Review podcast also features the book. Listen to it here.

Mary McGlynn, Professor and Chair of the English Department, together with a board including Associate Professor of English Matthew Eatough, organized the 2024 ACIS Mid Atlantic & New England Regional Conference held at Baruch on October 4th and 5th, 2024. The conference focused on the theme of risk in contemporary Irish culture, exploring topics such as environmental hazards, economic precarity, and access to reproductive healthcare. This interdisciplinary event brought together scholars from literary studies, geography, history, and the social sciences to discuss how risk has shaped Irish culture, both historically and in modernity.

On September 26, The Weissman School of Arts and Sciences launched its new Strategic Plan for 2024-2029, setting the stage for a future guided by its four core values: collaboration, inclusion, care, and exploration. The launch event was designed as an interactive workshop, engaging faculty, staff, and administrators in strategic discussions that offered tangible and practicable steps toward Weissman’s mission to empower students and faculty for long-term success.

After opening remarks by Provost Essig and Dean Jessica Lang, members of the Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Ken Guest, Elizabeth Edenberg, Jamel Hudson, Leslie Hunt, Hagop Sarkissian, Charles Scherbaum, Cheryl Smith, and Pablo Soberón Bravo, lent their voices in sharing the overarching objectives of the plan.

The centerpiece of the event was the strategic planning activity, where each table was assigned a specific priority area. Working together, participants collectively brainstormed ideas to move closer to achieving the outlined goals. Each group then shared their ideas with the larger assembly, further emphasizing the importance of cooperative effort to the creation and execution of the Strategic Plan.

Visit Our New Strategic Plan Website

Professor Tim Aubry of the English Department at Baruch College will once again run his “Essentials of Publishing” course this Spring, offering 12 selected students a unique opportunity to engage with the contemporary publishing industry. This time, thanks to the support of a private donor, each student will receive a $2,000 fellowship to support their work.

This competitive program, originally launched in 2022 with support from a Mellon Foundation BRESI grant, features a weekly seminar focused on the intersection of publishing and literary culture, alongside a 10-hour-per-week internship with major and independent publishers, including commitments from FSG and Verso.

“I would say it’s a win-win for Baruch and the publishing houses that work with us.” Aubry said. “We open up new career pathways for our students, and the publishing houses benefit from their unique and diverse perspectives.”

The course aligns with Weissman’s ambition to bridge the gap between academic study and career opportunities by leveraging Baruch’s proximity to the U.S. publishing hub, connecting students with industry professionals, and showcasing how the critical thinking skills developed in the study of English Literature can be applied in successful careers.