On Wednesday, May 16, the City University of New York Athletic Conference will celebrate the 2011-12 academic and athletic year with the 26th Annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at Queens College at 7pm.  For the first time since 1999, the College of Staten Island picked up a grand prize of the evening, as four-year national standout Vladislav Romanov of swimming will be bestowed the Four-Year College Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.  Presented by Pepsi and Dell, the night is a tribute to our outstanding student-athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters. The honorees represent the very best the City University of New York has to offer in quality scholarship, athleticism, and pride in our community at CUNY.

Joining Romanov for top honors are Kingsborough Community College’s Zenia George (Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field), Hunter College’s Mallory Grubler (Women‘s Volleyball), and Queensborough Community College’s Gteni Mbeou (Men’s Soccer).  They will be joined by the 29 honorable mention scholar-athletes whose efforts rank them among the uppermost achievers in our cohort of student-athletes, among them CSI’s Lauren Neglia (Women’s Soccer) and Olivia Tierno (Women’s Basketball).

The best backstroker in the history of the CUNY Athletic Conference, Romanov never lost a backstroke race against CUNY competition in four years. A business finance major, he also boasts a 3.67 grade point average, and is a two-time CUNYAC/Hospital For Special Surgery Scholar-Athlete of the Month.

Romanov came to New York for college four years ago, having grown up in Moscow, Russia. The College of Staten Island had a Russian born coach and two National caliber Russian swimmers in Pavel Buyanov and Nikolay Shevchenko, who graduated last year as All-Americans. It was a perfect fit.

“Pavel and Nikolay both influenced me in my sports career and helped me develop my personality,” said Romanov. “We are very good friends and coworkers, I actually used to room with Pavel and we lived together for about a year or so. Once Pavel got to know me we became friends and he was  my role model, given that I was 16 when I came to America and he was 24 (and already a National champion and a record holder), I always looked up to him. I got a lot out of our relationship with him. I think I got more from Pasha over the last 4 years than I did anyone else here.”

On the pool deck, Romanov has been named Most Valuable Performer at the CUNYAC Championships three times and has earned nine All-American and Honorable Mention All-American awards at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. In CUNYAC, his talent in the pool has been unmatched, winning an astounding 23 gold medals and setting and breaking the three individual backstroke event records each and every year.

“As an International Student, I can’t tell you the overwhelming lengths Vlad has had to go through to adjust to not only living in the United States and in the metropolitan area, but to study and navigate its educational system,” said David Pizzuto, CSI’s Associate Athletic Director, who first remembers Romanov as a shy, humble freshman in 2008. “Vlad is just special; he is one who serves as an example for others.”

He has made a good life for himself here in New York, living in Staten Island and life guarding at the CSI Sports and Recreation Center and when he isn’t studying or helping his peers.

Romanov leaned on his teammates at his first NCAA Championship event in 2009, finishing 14th in both the 100 Meter and 200 Meter Backstroke events. As a sophomore, he improved in his only event, earning his first All-American honor, placing eighth in the 200 Backstroke.

As a junior at the NCAA Championships, he had a defining moment in his four years at CSI. “Going into the championship I had quite some expectations being a finalist a year before and so I practiced extra hard and had lowered my time in qualifications to the NCAA. Unfortunately, just about a month before nationals I caught a virus and had to take antibiotics, which I never fully recovered from. When I went to the NCAA’s, I felt awful. On the second day, we swam the 400 Medley Relay for the first time at Nationals. Regardless of my sickness I knew I could not disappoint my teammates. That morning we made finished eighth and guaranteed a place in the final, and then we improved again that night, finishing sixth overall. That night it was about how everyone had faith in me and how it all worked out in the end.”

In his final season, the senior, Romanov, led an extremely talented group of two sophomores and two freshmen to NCAA’s. The Dolphins came home in 10th place overall at the conclusion, their highest team faring ever. Meanwhile, Romanov really saved the best for last, winning the first NCAA medal of his illustrious career, claiming silver in the 200-yard Backstroke in the his final race for CSI.

“I always thought I could use my brain to get what I want,” said Romanov, “So I take my dreams and set goals and I do what I have to do to achieve them.”

As for his future plans, his most recent NCAA performance has reignited his passion for competitive swimming, when he significantly lowered his personal best times throughout the season and again at Nationals. “I can choose to stick around the swimming world for some and relocate to either Florida or California to swim and go for the Olympic Games in 2016. That is one path I may choose.”

Romanov may also pursue a Master’s at Baruch with hopes of becoming an entrepreneur where he will create and run his own business, even if he has to get some field experience first. “I will be doing internships and maybe some part-time, business related work, if there will be an opportunity for it.”

Romanov is the first CSI student-athlete to be awarded a CUNYAC honor in this category since Fred Marinacchio (Men’s Basketball) took the top male honor in 1991.  In 1999, CSI’s Gabriella Nagy (Women’s Volleyball) took the top prize in the female category.

Alongside the scholar-athlete awards, CUNYAC will also celebrate the amazing achievements of their All-American student-athletes. All-Americans are given by each sport’s National committee, recognizing the elite athletes in the country. As of Monday, May 14, CUNYAC’s count for 2011-12 stands at 24 prior to the dinner, but the Spring tends to be the most ‘successful’ season in terms of All-Americans, and that number will grow in the coming weeks with the NCAA Track & Field Championships in two weeks. The Conference is aiming to exceed last year’s record number of 32 All-Americans.

Also presented as part of the ceremonies is the Commissioner’s Cup, which will be presented for the 15th consecutive time to the most successful Four-Year and Community College athletic programs for the 2011-2012 academic year and  finally, the “Friend of CUNY” special award will be given out to a very surprised attendee.- Story courtesy of the CUNY Athletic Conference

Irvin Ibarguen (center, bottom) credits the support of his family for making his academic dreams a reality. (Photo courtesy of the Ibarguen family.)

Irvin Ibarguen, College of Staten Island Valedictorian for 2012, is the first CSI undergraduate to be admitted into Harvard University’s prestigious PhD History program.

Irvin, a senior History major with The Verrazano School honors program, began his college career as a Marketing major. When asked why he made the switch from Marketing to History, Irvin answered, “People usually think of history as a set of names and dates, but, in reality, it’s a lively and, at times, acrimonious debate. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Although Irvin is aware of his achievements, he regards his admittance to Harvard’s PhD program as one stop in a long, academic ride, which so far has earned him several scholarships including an IME Research Fellowship: a full-tuition scholarship awarded to Mexican Americans, and the prestigious Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, which provides undergraduates with three consecutive summer internships.

As part of the Watson fellowship, Irvin has worked for the Institute of International Education; Crain’s New York Business, writing several articles for the seminal business newsletter; and will be traveling to Tunis, Tunisia to work for Amideast, a non-profit organization offering education activities in the Middle East, as a program assistant.  “Tunisia will be a radically different experience,” said Irvin. “I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Irvin maintained a 4.0 GPA and is quick to credit his CSI professors, namely, Drs. Calvin Holder and Richard Lufrano of the History department, for establishing “my love for reading and writing about History.”

On Irvin’s success at CSI, Dr. Lufrano noted: “In my 25 years of college teaching at different institutions, Irvin is among the top two undergraduates I have taught.”

Irvin especially credits his family with supporting him throughout his scholastic life.  His parents moved here in 1990 while his mother was still pregnant with him.

Growing up in a small apartment with ten inhabitants would seem like a drawback to many people but to Irvin it was more of a blessing. “I was never alone… They were the best support group,” he said of his parents who worked several jobs while raising him. “I was able to focus exclusively on my education.”

Irvin also credits his background for motivating him to pursue a History PhD. “The scorn directed at illegal aliens often found its way down to me,” said Irvin, who admits to having distanced himself from his heritage while growing up. It was not until Irvin enrolled in an advanced seminar, in which he completed a paper about Mexican immigrants in New York City that he was able to “embrace the beauty of [his] Mexican background.”

At Harvard, Irvin hopes to continue to write about illegal immigration in a way that can contribute to ongoing debates.  In this regard, his background puts him in a unique position. “I am here because of the sacrifices of ‘illegal immigrants’ and I am deeply respectful of their plight, but I also grew up detached from them, so I can analyze their history with an interesting mix of passion and objectivity.”

Irvin eventually hopes to publish his dissertation, and establish himself in a tenure-track professor position where he can produce quality scholarship and influence students’ lives for the better.

For now though, he is “simply grateful to the CSI community for its constant support, especially Dr. Lufrano, Dr. Holder, [The Verrazano School's] Katie Geschwendt, and [the Career and Scholarship Center's] Dr. Geoffrey Hempill.”

The College of Staten Island will hold its 36th Annual Commencement on May 31.

The College of Staten Island will recognize the Class of 2012’s 2,411 degree candidates on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 10:00am on the College’s Great Lawn.

View detailed information for graduates.

Commencement will begin with welcoming remarks from College President Dr. Tomás D. Morales, as well as greetings from CUNY Trustee Kay Pesile ’73; CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations Jay Hershenson, on behalf of CUNY Chancellor Dr. Matthew Goldstein; and Dr. Neo Antoniades, on behalf of CSI faculty.

The Valedictorian, Irvin Ibarguen, graduating with a BA in History, is CSI’s first undergraduate to be admitted into Harvard University’s prestigious PhD History program. A Verrazano School student with a 4.0 grade point average, Ibarguen’s scholarship to Harvard follows his IME Research Fellowship and the prestigious Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship while at CSI.

President Morales will also recognize the recent recipients of the President’s Medals: Denis Hughes (Hon. ’11), President of the New York State AFL-CIO. Mary O’Donnell, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing, and Mrs. Rose Volpe, community activist, founder of the Friends of CSI, and widow of Dr. Edmond L. Volpe, the first President of the College of Staten Island, were presented with the President’s Medal by Dr. Tomas Morales at CSI’s third annual Celestial Ball in December 2011.

The ceremony will then focus on the 2012 graduates with greetings from Dr. Arthur Merola ’84, ’85, President of the CSI Alumni Association. Alumni from class years ending in 2s and 7s will be marching to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation.

This year’s class of degree candidates will then be presented by Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. William Fritz to Dr. Morales, who will confer their degrees.

Immediately following the Commencement ceremony, Departmental Exercises will be held at various locations on campus.

With the help of the Center for Student Accessibility and the Office of Technology Systems, this was the first time the event was student led, with CSI seniors Erica Zito and Lisa LaManna hosting.

“We’ve got the best students in the world,” said CSI President Tomás D. Morales as he referred to the efforts put forth by some of CSI’s best and brightest. He also called the event a chance to “reflect on, honor, and celebrate the Willowbrook decree.”

Other speakers at the event included Henry Kennedy Esq., who presented a legal and historical perspective on the Willowbrook Consent Decree; Professor Edward F. Meehan, who discussed the challenges that diversity creates for society from a psychological framework and why and how inclusion and compassion enter the curriculum; and Dr. Michael Kress, who fielded questions from the audience.

The Willowbrook Consent Decree, published on April 30, 1975, was the first step of many that led to major reform in the treatment of people with disabilities. President Morales reiterated the importance of the CSI community to celebrate the decree by saying, “We sit on ground zero of the disabilities civil rights movement.”

David Goode, Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, was thrilled to see CSI students take over the reins of such a special event. “Having students speaking at this lecture has and will change this event for the good,” he said.  He also pointed out the many other students who participated including James Marlow, who built a very detailed storyboard about Willowbrook and the several students (some of whom are students with disabilities) who recently built “Little Fe,” a six-cluster super computer capable of running several programs at once.

The highlight of the event was the 30-minute multimedia presentation, introduced and produced by Zito and LaManna entitled “Inclusion: Far-Reaching Benefits for Social Growth.” The video included many CUNY students and honored their accomplishments with an eye toward the future of increasing the graduation rate of students with disabilities. “We wanted to show that this event was about inclusion—inclusion of people with disabilities into mainstream society,” said Zito, who had been working on the presentation for several months. The purpose of having students headline the event was to show that people (such as Zito and LaManna) did not have to “live and remember Willowbrook in order to care about people with disabilities. It is already included within the cultural web in which we’ve grown up.”

The packed auditorium was filled with CSI students, faculty, and staff, all sharing a space that was once associated with terrible neglect and exclusion.

As Professor Goode put it, the Willowbrook Decree is about “common people who banded together to defeat evil.”  At CSI, that is a battle everyone is willing to fight.

Willowbrook State School

The College of Staten Island collects items that document the history of the Willowbrook State School, which occupied from 1948 to 1987 the campus now owned by CSI. The Archives & Special Collections do not hold any administrative or medical records from the Willowbrook State School, but rather archival materials of historical significance. Researchers have access to a wealth of printed material concerning the operation of the Willowbrook State School, including: Giraldo Rivera’s book and television report on Willowbrook, oral histories, dissertations, reports, and other published material. For further information, please see the Guide to Willowbrook State School Resources at the CSI Library, located under Research Assistance.   Read more from the CSI Archives and Special Collections>

Michael Morreale directs a student big band performance at the 11th Annual Undergraduate Conference on Research, Scholarship, and Performance.

Student/faculty collaboration was the focal point of the 11th Annual Undergraduate Conference on Research, Scholarship, and Performance, which was held recently in the Center for the Arts at the College of Staten Island. The Conference gives the College’s students the opportunity to present their work, which was guided by CSI’s world-class faculty, in the form of research posters and papers, performance pieces, and works of visual art.

View the CSI Today Photo Gallery.

This year’s Conference was the largest ever, with 121 research abstracts on display, as well as 96 performers and 68 art students, who demonstrated their finely honed skills. Abstracts from the winner of the statewide CSTEP competition and students who presented their research at the International Taurine Conference in Morocco were also included.

Click here to view the embedded video.

CSI Undergraduate Research Awards supported 16 of the research projects at the Conference. The event was sponsored by the CSI Division of Academic Affairs, with funding from the CSI Foundation, CSI Student Government, the CSI Office of Alumni Relations.

CSI’s English Language Institute recently held its Spring Culture Day, which is a celebration of diversity.

CSI’s English Language Institute (ELI) held its Spring Culture Day in the Campus Center Green Dolphin Lounge. The event is a celebration of the diverse heritages of the students participating in the Institute’s intensive English program.

Over the years, CSI has hosted thousands of students from all walks of life seeking degrees in hundreds of different majors. One often overlooked yet quite significant function of the College is to serve as an ambassador to people from around the world. CSI’s ELI welcomes students from around the world to learn English within a U.S. cultural context.  The CSI campus, its faculty, facilities, and even students are all part of the English language learning process with the purpose of training the ELI students in not only English usage but also in what it means to  live in a U.S. city as vast and diverse as New York.

The English Language Institute’s Culture Day is an event steeped in cultural enrichment. Diversity is celebrated as students from around the globe provide a meaningful learning experience as they share their native customs, traditions, and more. Culture Day is an excellent forum for cross-cultural exchange between ELI students and CSI students. The event allows ELI students to showcase their English-speaking skills to each other and the ELI faculty and staff.

In this and many other ways, the CSI campus community is enriched by the inclusion of these bright, young individuals.  “ELI students enrich all of our lives,” said Joanne Riggio, the ELI Academic Coordinator. “Their contributions to the campus community are innumerable.”

“I have so much more confidence now,” said Lisbeth Chionchio, ELI student and emcee of Culture Day event. “These teachers are so great; I can speak so much more fluently than I could before I attended the ELI.” Chionchio began attending the ELI in 2010 when she was in Staten Island visiting a friend. She says that her fondest memory of the ELI is of meeting her American husband while studying here. Chionchio, who graduated May 4, says she is “sad to leave ELI  but excited about what the future will hold.”

The Culture Day event is the perfect culmination of all of the hard work that the ELI students, faculty, and staff put in throughout the semester. The interactive nature of the program is obvious during the presentations as students consistently offer support to each other, as well as share a few laughs. There was an extra bit of laughter as Soyean Park, one of the ELI students attempted to teach the attendees how to play “Yutnori,” the traditional Korean board game. Park even tested the audience with questions about the rules of the game after her presentation and handed out prizes to the winners.

During the presentations, the confidence of the students was impressive, especially since many of them had only joined the program a few months earlier.  By the time the presentations had ended, the audience had learned about Korean Wave music or K-Pop, Beijing architecture, and even food from Syria.

“We get a real sense of joy seeing our students succeed,” said Diane Viggiano, and ELI teacher. The ELI’s focus on lending support, developing one-on-one communications skills, and including conversational partners helps make CSI the go-to destination for learning English. It also does not hurt that CSI is located so close to such an international and vibrant city–an added advantage for ELI students who enjoy these opportunities through excursions throughout the semester. In addition, for many ELI students, the goal is entry to CSI.

President Morales present1 a signed commemorative softball to Councilman Oddo. Athletic Director Vernon Mummert is in the background.

Council Member James S. Oddo joined College of Staten Island President Dr. Tomas D. Morales on the field of the CSI Softball Complex last week to inaugurate the state-of-the-art field lighting that was recently installed so that players and fans can now enjoy night games on the campus.

The sky was overcast during the CUNYAC/Applebee’s Athletic Conference, with the score was tied in the last inning of the second game of the Conference. The clouds began to part, revealing a brilliant “Dolphin blue” sky as CSI’s star batter Kaitlyn Flynn, who was walked three times prior in the Conference, took to bat and bulleted a line-drive into center field to score Kristi Dillon with the game-winning RBI.

Councilman Oddo speaks with Kaitlyn Flynn and the CSI Dolphins after the exciting conclusion of game two in the Conference.

Before the third game of the day, with emotions running high, Councilman Oddo took to the mound to throw the first pitch “under the lights” to President Morales.  Dr. Morales then presented Oddo with a commemorative ball signed by the CSI Dolphins Women’s Softball team in recognition of the Councilman’s continued dedication, service, and assistance to the College with the installation of the new lights.  The game ball hit by Flynn was also presented to the Councilman.

“Councilman Oddo is a longtime friend of the college and a major proponent of Staten Island,” commented President Morales.  ”We are fortunate to be the beneficiary of his advocacy and thank him for his pivotal role in bringing lighting to the CSI Softball Complex.  This state-of-the-art system will provide extended field times for our award-winning Dolphins and offer greater options to our many community groups that enjoy the diverse resources of CSI.”

Councilman Oddo and President Morales were joined on the field for the ceremony by Zak Ivkovic, CUNYAC Executive Director; Ira Persky, CSI Vice President for Finance and Administration; A. Ramona Brown, CSI Vice President for Student Affairs; and Vernon Mummert, CSI Athletic Director.

View the CSI Today Photo Gallery.

Besides seeing what a day with Mom or Dad is like, the kids also had the chance to explore the College through a number of exciting events.

The day began with a Welcome Reception in the Campus Center Green Dolphin Lounge, followed by hands-on biology and geology displays, hosted by Lecturer Alan Benimoff, Professor Lisa Manne, and Senior CLT Lisa Ghigliotti. After exercising their minds, the children received a physical workout at a basketball camp with Sports and Recreation Center staff in Building 1R.

Following a mid-day refueling with pizza and a sundae bar, and a photo with CSI President Dr. Tomás D. Morales, the kids embarked on an action-packed afternoon, which included a tour of campus radio station WSIA and an interactive music lesson from Professor Bill Bauer.

Later in the afternoon, the attendees received their own CSI student IDs, visited the CSI Astrophysical Observatory with Dr. Irving Robbins, and wrapped up the day in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre for a session entitled “Green Eggs and Lorax” with Professor George Sanchez.

Originally established as “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,” this annual event allows parents to bring their daughters, and sons, to work to experience, first-hand, what they do, so their children can learn about their parents’ professions.

This year’s Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at CSI was sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Academic Affairs, and was coordinated by the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Committee.