Program Coordinators
Ria Banerjee, Associate Professor of English
Molly Makris, Associate Professor of Urban Studies
Email: LiberalArts@guttman.cuny.edu
- CUNY Common Core – Pathways
- Pre-College Programs
- Guttman Bridge Program
- First-Year Experience
- Business Administration
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Urban Studies
- Science
Program of Study
An Associate degree in the Liberal Arts and Sciences is expressly designed to prepare our graduates for successful transfer, progress in higher education, and careers in a rapidly evolving, global workforce.
Using approaches from a range of social sciences and humanities, the LAS-SSHU track invites students to deepen their engagement with academics while fostering their development as active citizens in a diverse, democratic society. A selection of courses on specialized topics, where students interact closely with expert faculty, impart the conceptual tools and varied skills required for excellence in further education and their chosen professions.
Philosophy
The Liberal Arts and Sciences program is committed to developing self-reliant critical thinkers with the knowledge and skills in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences to meet the challenges of today’s society through the application of evidence-based approaches to complex social, cultural, and scientific issues.
To promote career readiness within the curriculum, the Program implements course design and experiences that promote and incorporate the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) Career Competencies:
- Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
- Oral/Written Communication
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Digital Technology
- Leadership
- Professionalism/Work Ethic
- Career Management
- Global/Intercultural Fluency
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the Liberal Arts and Sciences program, students will be able to:
- Distinguish the modes of inquiry used within liberal arts and social sciences disciplines (e.g., Anthropology, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Literature, History, Philosophy, Art, and Music);
- Explain how differences of race, class, gender and sexuality have contributed to the development of contemporary problems of social and economic inequality;
- Combine methodologies from multiple disciplines to investigate large-scale questions about human behavior and society;
- Apply ethical understandings to contemporary social issues; and
- Construct effective research questions and apply principles of analysis and synthesis in conducting research.
Liberal Arts and Sciences News
May 23, 2022
LIRT News Selects Guttman Professors’ Article as One of Top 20 for 2021
Library Instruction Roundtable has selected an article by Guttman Professors Meagan Lacy and Alexandra Hamlett as one of the Top 20 instruction articles published in 2021. The LIRT Top-20 Committee reviews the library instruction literature from the previous year and identifies the twenty best instruction articles of that year. Professors Lacy and Hamlett’s article, “Librarians, step out of the classroom!: How improved faculty-led IL instruction improves student learning,” was originally published in Reference Services Review.
Read PostMay 20, 2022
A Journey of Self-Advocacy
Miyoko Wong knows that to get what you want from life, you have to take chances. They did just that when they took a leap and moved from Honolulu to New York City nine months ago to attend Guttman. In addition to making the thousand-plus mile trip, Miyoko has also been on a journey of self-advocacy and discovery. After a tumultuous time back home, New York City and Guttman have been offering Miyoko opportunities to grow and thrive.
Read PostMay 20, 2022
Guttman Students Learn Fundamental Technological Skill
In Professor Juan Rodriguez’s Networking & Data Communications course (INFT 201-01), Guttman students learned a fundamental technological skill—how to make RJ45 cables. RJ45 cables are essential cables in networking; more specifically, as Joksan Erhlich Banegas Moran, a student in the class, describes, “RJ45 or twisted pair cables are cables with four wire pairs (eight wires) inside. With eight pins on the port used for networking (wired Ethernet connection).” Students in INFT 201 used patch cables and RJ45 connectors as well as a crimper tool for the assembly of the actual cables. Joksan notes that knowing how to create RJ45 cables “is a skill that everyone in IT should have.” Joksan is currently majoring in Information Technology at Guttman College, and, upon graduation, he is looking forward to transferring to a four-year college to pursue a career in computer science.
Read PostMay 4, 2022
Guttman Professor Named STEM Pedagogy Institute Fellow
The Teaching and Learning Center’s STEM Pedagogy Institute (SPI) has named Professor Jihyun Kim, Assistant Professor of Science at Guttman Community College, a fellow for summer 2022. SPI serves to engage with critical issues associated with STEM-related disciplines and fields. More specifically, SPI seeks to attract, support, and retain ethnic, racial, and gender minorities. Methodical and empathetic pedagogical approaches can help students from underrepresented groups develop deeper connections to STEM inquiry. In the process, students can envision diverse futures made possible by STEM learning.
Read PostApril 20, 2022
Guttman Professor Named CITA 2022 Summer Institute Experiential Learning Fellow
The CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy (CITA) has accepted Professor Jihyun Kim, Assistant Professor of Science at Guttman Community College, as an Experiential Learning Fellow for summer 2022. CITA Institutes focus on extended, in-depth examinations of special topics in teaching and pedagogy. The Experiential Learning CITA Institute will be facilitated by Dr. Jennifer Maloy, Queensborough Community College, and Dr. Claudette Davis, LaGuardia Community College.
Read PostApril 15, 2022
“Lucky” 13 and Counting: Guttman Alumnus Earns Multiple Scholarships
Javier Sarmiento, Jr. is a self-described “proud” Guttman graduate of the Class of 2019. He is an award-winning journalist, writer, social justice advocate, basketball enthusiast, and an honors student of digital media on his way to graduate from Buena Vista University in May. He is also a recipient of a record thirteen scholarships (and counting) he has earned over the last year. In this case, “lucky” thirteen is just a phrase – Javier earned the awards through hard work and determination.
Read PostApril 11, 2022
Guttman Professors Publish Paper on Reducing Math Anxiety Through Psychological Intervention in the Classroom
Guttman Community College Assistant Professor Tashana S. Samuel’s article “‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” was published online in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice on March 28, 2022. Professor Samuel, along with her co-authors, Sebastien Buttet and Jared Warner, note that “math anxiety has become an alarming social justice concern, as it results in negative academic consequences, contributes to disinterest and lack of persistence in STEM programs for underrepresented students, and limits their opportunities in STEM careers.”
Read PostApril 4, 2022
Guttman Community College Partners with The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library to Celebrate National Poetry Month
Guttman Community College, in partnership with The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) of The New York Public Library, is celebrating National Poetry Month throughout the month of April with a series of events and workshops for the Guttman community and the general public. Over the course of the month, Guttman will host a panel discussion centered on how poetry influences our lives, a Photopoetry Workshop led by Professor Valdon Battice, a poetry writing workshop led by Professors Daniel Collins and Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, poetry readings by renowned poets Teka Lo and Raina León, and a live presentation of student writing which will showcase Guttman students sharing and celebrating their diverse and powerful voices through original poetry, prose and art. This exciting lineup of in-person events will be split between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on 5th Avenue and the Guttman Library on campus.
Read PostMarch 22, 2022
Alexandra Hamlett, Information Literacy Librarian and Assistant Professor, Library Science and Information Literacy
As an information literacy librarian, Alexandra Hamlett helps students learn essential research skills, skills that include finding, evaluating, and using multiple information types in order for students to be able to access credible information for their academic and personal information needs. In 2015, she was thrilled to join Guttman College, where an innovative and creative pedagogy is embraced. Guttman’s founders outlined a non-traditional community college and developed a curriculum tied to student success. “I have been privileged to develop an information literacy program where I collaborate closely with faculty to embed information literacy skills across the First-Year Experience and the Programs of Study,” says Professor Hamlett.
Read PostMarch 21, 2022
Two Guttman Students Selected as Semifinalists for the Prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship
Guttman Community College students Bashir Juwara and Camila Rodriguez have been selected as semi-finalists for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, making history as the first Guttman students to receive the honor in the College’s ten-year history. Mr. Juwara and Ms. Rodriguez join a distinguished group of 440 semifinalists from community colleges around the country and are two of 22 CUNY students competing for the prize. The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship offers coverage for students’ educational expenses for the two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree at a transfer institution. Winners will be announced in May. The two Guttman scholars’ journeys leading up to the decision and graduation at the end of the semester are marked with resilience and perseverance.
Read PostMarch 17, 2022
Tau Battice on “Who’s Your Daddy?”
Tau Battice is a photographer and lecturer at Guttman Community College, where he teaches English, among other subjects. His exhibition, “Who’s Your Daddy?” is a series of visual conversations between Black fathers and their sons. Below is a conversation between Guttman College and Professor Battice about “Who’s Your Daddy?”
Read PostMarch 2, 2022
Dr. Elizabeth Wentworth, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
“I truly believe everyone learns differently and expresses their knowledge in different ways. I love seeing a student solve a problem a new way or apply to knowledge to something new. My goal is to foster intellectual curiosity rather than memorization and to build relationships where students feel safe making mistakes and trying new things.”
Dr. Elizabeth Wentworth’s doctoral dissertation investigated the integration of music instruction in the high school mathematics classroom. Since beginning at Guttman in 2016, her focus has been primarily on teaching. “Now that I am in my third year as an assistant professor I am starting to plan for more research,” says Dr. Wentworth. “I intend to continue looking at interdisciplinary work’s impact on student success and motivation.” Prior to teaching at Guttman, Dr. Wentworth taught three years of high school mathematics and coached the high school mathematics team, as well as the Academic Decathlon team. Dr. Wentworth has an undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester with majors in mathematics, music, and English, and a minor in history. Dr. Wentworth’s master’s and doctorate are from Teachers College Columbia University where she specialized in mathematics education.
Read PostMarch 1, 2022
Dr. Ayisha Sookdeo, Assistant Professor, Biology
“I think it is important for students to understand that their ability to stick with tasks, goals, and passions is crucial for success. Perseverance demands effort and practice, which is the truest way to unlock our highest potential.”
Dr. Ayisha Sookdeo joined Guttman College in 2019. She came to Guttman because she was excited to get the opportunity to teach students in a college that truly emphasizes the importance of dedicated and compassionate instruction.
Read PostFebruary 15, 2022
Seeing Times Square with New Eyes: Guttman Students Engage Virtually with Award-Winning Journalist from Pulitzer Center
Guttman students in Professor Ria Banerjee’s Fall 2021 Introduction to Media Studies course began a virtual visit from award-winning Colombian photographer Joana Toro reflecting on whether they have seen the costumed performers dressed as superheroes or cartoon characters in Times Square. Have they ever wondered what stories are hidden behind the masks of these performers? Ms. Toro, who dressed as Hello Kitty while attending Hunter College as a newly arrived immigrant to the US in 2012, provided students with insight into these human experiences. Students learned about the economic battles faced by these artists, most of them undocumented immigrants, who carry out this work to earn a living. The lives of these costumed performers came to light in 2020 through the Pulitzer-funded project Where is Mickey Mouse? developed by Toro, together with writer Emily Stewart. “I think immigrants and immigration have been more natural in the way we talk about it, [but] it is something that has to be less stigmatized,” Toro told Prof. Banerjee’s students.
Read PostFebruary 3, 2022
karen g. williams, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
“As an anthropologist, one of my aims is to challenge students to understand what it means to think anthropologically about a particular social problem; that is, how might one learn to critically examine so-called ‘natural’ states of being through a cultural lens? And how are micro processes of the everyday reflective of macro processes? Yeah, I secretly want them all to become anthropologists, but I understand that we need more than anthropologists for the world to work.”
Read PostJanuary 24, 2022
Guttman Community College Partners with Google and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) for Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program
Guttman Community College has been selected as one of four CUNY community colleges to participate in the Grow with Google Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Career Readiness Program to help Latinx students prepare for the workforce through digital skills and career workshops.
Read PostJanuary 23, 2022
Doctor Saidiya V. Hartman Visits with FYE Faculty
Doctor Saidiya V. Hartman, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and author of several publications, including the award-winning Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval (2020), will visit Guttman’s First-Year Experience (FYE) faculty and staff on Thursday, January 27th, to discuss the significance of Humanities research, writing, and teaching within American studies and beyond. Specific attention will be paid to identity and representation and linguistic and social justice as they relate to the FYE, including two new American Studies courses and a Composition sequence that focuses on these themes.
Read PostJanuary 21, 2022
Dr. Jinzhong Niu, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Professor Jinzhong Niu
Read PostJanuary 20, 2022
Dr. Nicole Kras, Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Human Services
“Guttman is a community of exceptional scholars that care deeply about teaching and learning and are at the forefront of rethinking the community college experience.”
Dr. Nicole Kras’ academic background is rooted in psychology and education. She earned a Ph.D. in Adult Learning and Development from Lesley University, as well as a Master of Science in Education and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study as a Classroom Teacher Specialist from Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Kras has also received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with a concentration in child development and mental health, and a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from Albertus Magnus College. She serves as an accreditation self-study reader for the Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHSE) and is currently leading the self-study accreditation process for Guttman’s Human Services Program. She is actively involved on the Board of the New England Organization for Human Services, serving in many elected positions, including the former president of the organization.
Read PostJanuary 11, 2022
Dr. Molly Makris Co-Publishes Paper on Education during the Pandemic
Guttman’s own Dr. Molly Makris, along with Dr. Elise Castillo and Dr. Mira Debs have published Integration Versus Meritocracy? Competing Educational Goals During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This paper comes to fruition because of the Spencer Grant which supports research in an effort to improve education.
Read Post