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
- Summer 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
November 24, 2021
Guttman’s Transformed FYE Curriculum Featured in Bringing Theory to Practice Newsletter
“Grounding a Community College Education in Social Justice and Civic Engagement,” an article written by Guttman’s Dr. Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, Area Coordinator, Writing Program; Dr. Daniel Collins, Program Coordinator, First-Year Experience; and Dr. Allyson Bregman, Director, First-Year Experience and Curriculum, was featured in the Fall 2021 edition of the Bringing Theory to Practice newsletter.
Read PostNovember 17, 2021
Guttman Community College Expands Scholarship Offerings
Guttman Community College is pleased to announce that it is expanding and deepening its scholarship offerings.
Read PostNovember 10, 2021
Associate Dean Represents Guttman at Chronicle of Higher Education Panel
Associate Dean Niesha Ziehmke was proud to represent Guttman Community College at a recent Chronicle of Higher Education panel, The Community Colleges Students Need Now, focused on how community colleges are remaking the paths to a postsecondary credential.
Read PostOctober 23, 2021
Dr. Kristina Baines Awarded Transformative Learning in the Humanities Fellowship
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Area Coordinator of Technology, Dr. Kristina Baines has been awarded the Transformative Learning in the Humanities Fellowship. This fellowship is a part of the significant three year CUNY-based project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Along with CUNY’s 2021-2022 THL Faculty Fellows, Dr. Baines aims to use this fellowship to continue to foster a collaborative pedagogical approach in fostering civic engagement with students, as well as the Guttman and CUNY community at large.
Read PostOctober 20, 2021
Guttman Students and Alumni Publish Anthology of Short Stories
Twenty-three Guttman students have published an anthology of original short stories, Trauma and Triumph: 23 Tales. These first-time authors offered a range of stories in multiple languages including code. Stories played with the narrative frame by positioning the narrator as both passive and active. Stories also included fairytales and diary entries formats. The range of topics is prolific in scope often swinging from periods of grave trauma to heights of great and wondrous triumph.
Read PostOctober 20, 2021
Guttman Alumni Hailey Ayala and Prof. Derek Tesser Named Winners at the 2021 CUNY Research Scholars Program Symposium
Guttman Alumna Hailey Ayala is one of a select few winners of the 2021 CUNY Research Scholars Program Symposium for her research presentation of “Quantifying tropical land cover change in the Chocó Hotspot of Biodiversity between 2006-2011 utilizing Palsar-1 satellite imagery”. Ayala worked with mentor and Professor Derek Tesser, who specializes in Environmental and Geological Sciences, to present her research at the Symposium.
Read PostOctober 20, 2021
Alia Tyner Mullings Talks About Black Motherhood
Dr. Alia R. Tyner-Mullings, author and Associate Professor of Sociology at Guttman Community College has been featured on Mama Glow, a website dedicated to the “support [of] women and families during the fertility period, during pregnancy, after birth and into new motherhood offering a full spectrum approach to holistic wellness.” Her chapter “The Single, Most Important Community: An Essay on Black Motherhood is in the recently published Tick Tock: Essays on Becoming a Parent After 40.
Read PostOctober 6, 2021
Guttman Awarded $2.9M Grant to Advance Latinx and Underrepresented Students by Strengthening Financial Literacy, Transfer Performance & Career Preparation.
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Niesha Ziehmke and Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs Dr. Nicola Blake have been awarded a U.S. Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Title V Grant for Project Adelante: Advancing Latinx and Underrepresented Students by Strengthening Financial Literacy, Transfer Performance & Career Preparation. The Project aims to offer Latino/a/x and underrepresented students a coordinated set of culturally responsive experiences designed to improve their financial literacy, preparation to transfer to a four-year institution, and preparation to enter a career, and in so doing boost their academic performance and degree completion, thereby advancing their economic security and mobility.
Read PostSeptember 10, 2021
Guttman Faculty Partner with Bergen County Schools to Offer CRP Training and Expertise
Continuing a long-standing partnership, Bergen County Technical Schools in New Jersey joined forces with Guttman Community College faculty in an effort to create a more equitable and inclusive high school experience for students. Guttman’s experts have offered insight and training in areas of race literacy, gender equity, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) to the New Jersey schools. The partnership will aid the district’s secondary programs serving over 2,500 students in five high schools across the county, each offering a wide array of career majors in addition to rigorous academics.
Read PostJuly 27, 2021
From Gambia to Guttman with Gumption
Bashir Juwara exudes positivity. Digital and in-person encounters with the 2021-2022 Guttman Community College Student Government Association (SGA) President leave a person at ease – he radiates calm and confidence. In his four years in America, Mr. Juwara has manifested his gumption to succeed by seeking out and embracing the opportunities he’s encountered on his journey. He has big plans for the future, and wants to spread motivation and make a positive change at Guttman and beyond.
Read PostJuly 19, 2021
Two Valedictorians for the Guttman Community College Class of 2021
For the first time in the College’s history, two outstanding students have been selected as Valedictorians of the Guttman Community College Class of 2021. Oluwadamilola Moses and Rena Safy have been exemplary scholars and leaders, and achieved perfect cumulative GPAs during their years at Guttman. Ms. Moses and Ms. Safy were honored for their achievements during the June 17th, 2021 virtual Salute to Graduates ceremony. The dual Valedictorians both majored in business administration.
Read PostJuly 14, 2021
Dean Nicole Blake Publishes Op-Ed Calling for Support for Community Colleges
In an opinion piece published on Citylimits.org, Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs Dr. Nicola Blake advocates for support for community colleges – institutions of higher education that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic. Dean Blake cites the unprecedented experiences of Guttman’s students and faculty during the past year to call on city, state, and private sector funders to invest in community colleges. “One thing that is quite clear is that this past year has amplified the need to better serve students at the community college level–students who are the economic engine of New York,” she writes.
Read PostJuly 8, 2021
Dr. Grace Pai, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
“I love and live off of the ‘aha’ moments students have in class when they suddenly understand or build a new understanding of a concept. That has always been what excites me about teaching, whether it’s in a math class or a seminar course.”
In addition to the value she places on new ideas that come into being for individual students, Dr. Grace Pai sees “a career in education as a means of alleviating poverty and bringing about social mobility and equality.“ She does not mince words about “a lack of equity that too often leads to social stratification” and the scope of this crisis: “I’ve always found it astonishing that in a ‘developed’ knowledge economy like the United States’ that stresses the importance of obtaining a college degree, we still have about 15% of students who don’t even graduate from high school.” Experienced as a counselor and math teacher in NYC public schools and holding a Ph.D. in international education and development with a specialization in applied statistics for program and impact evaluation, Dr. Pai is a powerful emerging voice in the critical areas of global learning, culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as they relate to race in America. During just the last turbulent year, beset by the global pandemic, the Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies has presented or spoken at over a dozen events on CRP, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), and racial justice.
Read PostJuly 8, 2021
Annual Faculty Showcase Highlights Teaching Accomplishments of Guttman Faculty
At the 2020 Annual Faculty Teaching and Research Showcase, held virtually in February 2021, dedicated Guttman faculty members briefly presented on aspects of their work in the remote classroom during the preceding year. Coordinated by Drs. Laura Clarke and Jihyun Kim, the event highlighted the intentional nature of teaching at Guttman, from the micro of daily class activities to the macro of course design. The speakers represented a range of disciplines, course subjects, and College programs.
Read PostJuly 6, 2021
Dr. Eva Fernández Appointed as Interim Provost of Stella and Charles Guttman Community College
On July 6, 2021, President Larry Johnson announced the appointment of Dr. Eva Fernández as the Interim Provost of Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. Dr. Fernández comes to the College after serving as Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success at Queens College since 2019. She is humbled and excited to be appointed as Guttman’s Interim Provost: “Guttman is an impressive institution on so many levels: talented faculty committed to student success, an innovative multidisciplinary curriculum that draws from the vibrancy of the NYC context, and students as diverse as they are ready to engage with higher education.”
Read PostJuly 1, 2021
Dr. Larry Johnson, Jr. Takes Office as Guttman Community College’s Second President
On Thursday, July 1, 2021, Dr. Larry D. Johnson, Jr. assumes the presidency of Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. He was selected on February 1, 2021, by the CUNY Board of Trustees after a national search was conducted. President Johnson comes to CUNY after serving as the president of Phoenix College, a community college in Maricopa County, Arizona. He succeeds Dr. Doris Cintrón, who served as the College’s interim president from August 1, 2020-June 30, 2021.
Read PostJune 29, 2021
Dr. Angela Banner Joseph Publishes New Book
Author and Guttman Professor Dr. Angela Banner Joseph has recently published Autentica! Afro-Latinx Women in the African Diaspora presenting the stories of Afro-Latinx women. “I am excited to honor these 24 fearless, trailblazers, women who have individually or collectively owned their African identities in the Americas.” In an era where representation matters, Afro-Latinx Women’s narratives in literature have been extremely far and few between. Dr. Joseph writes about women who struggle with self, identity, vulnerability and bravery in the face of racism. By telling these stories, Dr. Joseph gives a space for Afro Latinx Women in the African diaspora to share their lives and authentically be themselves.
Read PostMay 27, 2021
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad Leads Workshop on Historically Responsive and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy during Guttman’s Assessment Days
As the featured guest during Guttman’s Fall II Assessment Days, author of Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy and faculty at Georgia State University Dr. Gholdy Muhammad led an interactive workshop virtually for our instructional staff. Having presented the HILL Pedagogy – Histories, Identities, Literacies, Liberation – to the entire Guttman community in a previous virtual event, Dr. Muhammad’s session delved deeper into her framework’s overarching goals of Academic Success, Cultural Competence, and Sociopolitical Consciousness, which encompass the skill-building that students obtain and practice in class; their personal and social identities and backgrounds, in conversation with those of others; and the knowledge they gain from lived experiences outside of the classroom. In the workshop, Guttman faculty participated in revising an existing or new assignment according to the more granular criteria Dr. Mohammad has elaborated: advancing Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy. The activity was designed for faculty to intentionally reflect on their higher-stakes written course assignments and directly incorporate effective, equitable, and affirming premises. This effort demonstrates and furthers the work of First-Year Experience (FYE) and English faculty to “decolonize” the curriculum, under the leadership of Assistant Professor of English and Area Coordinator for Writing Dr. Meghan Gilbert-Hickey and FYE Program Coordinator and Professor of English Dr. Dan Collins. The College’s institutional investment in student-centered, culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, and best practices focused on equity is well-documented within the digital Center for Practice, Technology, and Innovation (CPTI).
Read PostMay 20, 2021
Dr. Meghan Gilbert-Hickey Co-Edits Race In Young Adult Speculative Fiction
Dr. Meghan Gilbert-Hickey has recently been published as a contributor and co-editor of the book Race In Young Adult Speculative Fiction by University Press of Mississippi. Along with Miranda A. Green-Barteet, Dr. Hickey present an anthology of essays that examine the unfolding genre of speculative fiction and of systemic racism and discrimination that have been embedded yet overlooked within these narratives. This anthology features the contributions of Malin Alkestrand, Joshua Yu Burnett, Sean P. Connors, Jill Coste, Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, Miranda A. Green-Barteet, Sierra Hale, Kathryn Strong Hansen, Elizabeth Ho, Esther L. Jones, Sarah Olutola, Alex Polish, Zara Rix, Susan Tan, and Roberta Seelinger Trites.
Read PostMay 20, 2021
Guttman, BMCC, and SLU Leadership Awarded BT2P’s The Way Forward Grant for CUNY Curricular Excavation Project
As part of its The Way Forward initiative, Bringing Theory to Practice (BT2P) has awarded one of only 15 “Multi-Institutional Grants (MIGs) that bring the core values and best practices of undergraduate education to bear on the need for change” to the CUNY Curricular Excavation Project. This collaboration between CUNY’s Guttman Community College, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), and the School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) “will employ Culturally Responsive Pedagogy during a summer faculty professional development institute for all three campuses as a way to improve the success of community college students as they move through transfer toward a baccalaureate degree.” Guttman’s Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs Dr. Nicola Blake and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Niesha Ziehmke are Co-Principal Investigators of the Project with Dr. Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers, Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at SLU. “BT2P launched The Way Forward initiative in fall 2020 as a response to the current intersecting crises facing American society and higher education – systemic racism, the pandemic, and economic inequality.” As Guttman, BMCC, and SLU are all members of the forthcoming Urban Academy transfer partnership, addressing equity through the Project will have lasting and critical impact on the educational and career trajectories of students historically underserved and underrepresented within higher education.
Read PostMay 19, 2021
Guttman Statistics Faculty and Students Present Paper at National Numeracy Network 2020-2021 Annual Meeting
Guttman Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Marla A. Sole and her students Tamika Daley and Mendel Batashvili presented the paper “Never miss a teachable moment: How to cultivate statistical literacy and time-management traits that foster success” at the National Numeracy Network 2020-2021 Annual Meeting, held virtually February 26-28, 2021. According to the abstract, the presentation was on “a class project designed to investigate media claims that teens have changed their sleeping habits in response to the pandemic.” Guttman students Tamika Daley and Mendel Batashvili spoke about the research they and their peers conducted to collect “robust evidence to support or refute… the validity of claims made,” as well as what they learned from the project, both mathematically and personally. These gains, made through students “engaging… in meaningful, authentic investigations,” model how rigorous empirical methods can create a deeper grasp of statistics.
Read PostMay 12, 2021
Human Services Program Coordinator Named Transformative Learning in the Humanities Faculty Fellow 2021-2022 and Organizes Workshop on Nature-Based Learning
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services Dr. Nicole Kras has been awarded the Transformative Learning in the Humanities Fellowship, part of an important three-year CUNY-based initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. With her cohort of 2021-2022 THL Faculty Fellows, Dr. Kras will share and develop active, creative, and participatory practices as well as “pedagogical research and methods designed for the rich diversity of CUNY students,” ensuring their success in and beyond the classroom. While prioritizing the importance of teaching, the grant supports CUNY faculty in the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences who are committed to equity and social and racial justice. Guttman Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Kristina Baines and Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Grace Pai were also named THL Faculty Fellows for this, the fellowship’s culminating cycle.
Read PostMay 5, 2021
Dr. Alia Tyner Co-Authors Article Examining Project-Based Assessment in NYC Public Schools
The article “Reframing School Culture Through Project-Based Assessment Tasks: Cultivating Transformative Agency and Humanizing Practices in NYC Public Schools,” co-authored by Guttman Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Alia Tyner-Mullings with Drs. Maria Hantzopoulos and Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen, has been published in the Teachers College Record. Building on the argument that high-stakes testing policies are ineffective and “have exacerbated inequities in schooling across racial, economic, geographic, and linguistic lines,” the researchers focus on the transition to Project Based Assessment Tasks (PBAT) at ten New York City public high schools that are part of the New York Performance Standards Consortium. The authors, who “specifically consider[] the role that PBATs might play in shaping school culture,” have found them “a useful tool to engage students and teachers more actively as participatory actors in the school environment, particularly when overall school structures collectively support its integration.”
Read PostMay 3, 2021
Guttman Celebrates National Poetry Month with Event Series Featuring Prize-Winning and Renowned Poets
Coordinated by a committee comprising Writing faculty, Library staff, and representatives of the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Engagement, Guttman celebrated National Poetry Month throughout the month of April with a series of inspiring events, both synchronous and asynchronous. Virtual events held in real time included readings and conversations featuring the following published poets and educators:
Read Post