Five faculty members from CSI are among 65 CUNY Graduate Center Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies (BRES) Fellows, more than any other CUNY school. The 45 faculty fellows and 20 CUNY Graduate Center doctoral student fellows from throughout The City University of New York will pursue research projects and create new curricula to enhance Black, race and ethnic studies throughout the University.

Those faculty selected from CSI include: Maria Bellamy, Associate Professor of English; Ismael Garcia-Colon, Professor of Anthropology; Ozlem Goner, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; Hosu Kim, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; Nerve Macaspac, Assistant Professor of Geography.

Regarding the selection of five faculty members from the College, Dr. Sarolta A. Takács, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of History at CSI, commented, “While we always knew that we have extraordinary faculty in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences here at the College of Staten Island, it is wonderful to see that they are recognized for their work, their vision, and dedication to our students and institution by the BRESI Council. I’m proud of my CSI colleagues that they will be part of making CUNY ‘a leader in the multidisciplinary scholarship of race and ethnic studies in the region and the country’.”

The fellows will be affiliated with the BRES Collaboration Hub, a CUNY-wide, multidisciplinary initiative based at The Graduate Center. BRES Doctoral Fellows will receive stipends of $4,000 for their dissertation research, and BRES Faculty Fellows will receive stipends of $2,000 to support research and curriculum development projects.

“We are excited that The Graduate Center will be the home for the BRES Collaboration Hub, which aims to catalyze innovative, collaborative research, and education in Black, race, and ethnic studies throughout CUNY,” said Robin L. Garrell, President of The Graduate Center, CUNY. “The BRES fellowship program is truly a University-wide effort, as reflected in the selection of faculty fellows from 16 CUNY campuses and doctoral fellows from 12 diverse academic programs spanning the humanities and social sciences. We are grateful for the generous support from the Mellon Foundation and CUNY for this historic, transformative initiative.”

Learn More About the BRES Collaboration Hub

The fellowships stem from the $3 million, Mellon Foundation-supported Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI) at CUNY, which seeks to reimagine and expand University programs in Black, race and ethnic studies.

“The Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative at CUNY has enabled the University to fortify its community of BRES scholars, practitioners, and advocates dedicated to deepening the University’s work in this important space,” said Rachel Stephenson, CUNY Chief Transformation Officer. “BRESI has supported curriculum revision and program/course creation, community building, and events, student research and internships, faculty research and publication, and more. We celebrate the members of our BRESI community and thank them for engaging in the transformative work that BRESI has enabled.”

The BRES Fellows will be an integral part of the BRES Collaboration Hub, an intellectual home for CUNY faculty and doctoral students interested in inter- and multidisciplinary education and research in Black, race and ethnic studies.

“We are thrilled to welcome this inaugural cohort of BRES Fellows to our collaborative, CUNY-wide effort to infuse new learning and scholarship in Black, race and ethnic studies into graduate and undergraduate education,” said Van C. Tran, a Professor of Sociology and International Migration Studies at The Graduate Center, CUNY. a member of the CUNY BRESI Council and co-chair with Professor Martin D. Ruck of the BRES Doctoral Program Steering Committee. “In selecting the BRES Fellows, we sought to mirror the unparalleled diversity of backgrounds and expertise of CUNY scholars.”

BRES Doctoral Fellows (20)

Diba Ahmadirouzbahani, PhD Candidate in Criminal Justice, CUNY Graduate Center

Lizette Aguilar, PhD Candidate in Urban Education, CUNY Graduate Center

Oscar Aponte, PhD Candidate in History, CUNY Graduate Center

Priscilla Bustamante, PhD Candidate in Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center

Erica Campbell, PhD Candidate in Urban Education, CUNY Graduate Center

Joseph Cacéres, PhD Candidate in English, CUNY Graduate Center

Richard Clark, PhD Candidate in Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center

Mia Curran, PhD Candidate in Art History, CUNY Graduate Center

Cristine Khan, PhD Candidate in Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center

Madeline Lafuse, PhD Candidate in History, CUNY Graduate Center

Kristen Miller, PhD Candidate in Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center

Pedro Monque, PhD Candidate in Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center

Sergio Palencia, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, CUNY Graduate Center

Carmin Quijano Seda, PhD Candidate in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures, CUNY Graduate Center

Horacio Ramos, PhD Candidate in Art History, CUNY Graduate Center

José Acosta Seda, PhD Candidate in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures, CUNY Graduate Center

Nicholas Whittaker, PhD Candidate in Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center

Britton Williams, PhD Candidate in Social Welfare, CUNY Graduate Center

Hilary Wilson, PhD Candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUNY Graduate Center

Tiffany Younger, PhD Candidate in Social Welfare, CUNY Graduate Center

BRES Research Faculty Fellows (17)

Sofya Aptekar, Associate Professor of Urban Studies, School of Labor and Urban Studies

Laura Barberan Reinares, Professor of English, Bronx Community College

Maria Bellamy, Associate Professor of English, College of Staten Island

Bryan Betancur, Assistant Professor, World Languages and Culture, Bronx Community College

Justin Brown, Professor of Health Sciences, LaGuardia Community College

Dale Byam, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Performance Studies, Brooklyn College

Zadia Feliciano, Professor of Economics, Queens College

Norma Fuentes-Mayorga, Associate Professor of Sociology, The City College of New York

Jonathan Gray, Associate Professor of English, John Jay College

Eugena Griffin, Associate Professor of Psychology, Hostos Community College

Ozlem Goner, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Staten Island

Alexandra Moffet-Bateau, Assistant Professor of Political Science, John Jay College

Andrea Morrell, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Guttman Community College

Linda Ridley, Lecturer of Business, Hostos Community College

James Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, School of Labor and Urban Studies

Justin Williams, Associate Professor of History, The City College of New York

Diana Yung-Yi Pan, Associate Professor of Sociology, Brooklyn College

BRES Curriculum Development Faculty Fellows (28)

Tameka Battle, Professor of Health Sciences and Education, LaGuardia Community College

Margaret Chin, Professor of Sociology, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center

Sarah Chinn, Professor of English, Hunter College

Melissa Dennihy, Associate Professor of English, Queensborough Community College

Mery Diaz, Associate Professor of Social Work, New York City College of Technology

Renata Ferdinand, Professor of African American Studies, New York City College of Technology

Ismael Garcia-Colon, Professor of Anthropology, College of Staten Island and CUNY Graduate Center

Monique A. Guishard, Associate Professor of Psychology, Bronx Community College

D’Weston Haywood, Associate Professor of History, Hunter College

Donna Hill, Assistant Professor of English, Medgar Evers College

Susan Jacobwitz, Professor of English, Queensborough Community College

Hosu Kim, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Staten Island

Nicole Kras, Associate Professor of Human Services, Guttman Community College

Emmanuel A. Velayos Larrabure, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Hostos Community College

Lázaro Lima, Professor of Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Hunter College

Michael Liu, Lecturer of Ethnic and Racial Studies, Borough of Manhattan Community College

Nerve Macaspac, Assistant Professor of Geography, College of Staten Island

Michael McGee, Associate Professor of Health Education, Borough of Manhattan Community College

Kathlene McDonald, Professor of English, The City College of New York

Cristina Migliaccio, Assistant Professor of English, Medgar Evers College

Richard E. Ocejo, Professor of Sociology, John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center

Vanessa Perez Rosario, Professor of English, Queens College and Professor of Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures at the CUNY Graduate Center

Susanna Rosenbaum, Associate Professor of Anthropology, The City College of New York

Anya Spector, Associate Professor of Human Services, Guttman Community College

Meghmala Tarafdar, Assistant Professor of English and Interim Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Queensborough Community College

John Torpey, Presidential Professor of Sociology and History, CUNY Graduate Center

Victor M. Torres-Velez, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Hostos Community College

John Yi, Lecturer of English, Queensborough Community College

By the CUNY Office of Communications and Marketing and Terry Mares