HIGHER ED TODAY
In times of crisis, institutions like
CUNY that are integral to the life of New
York and its future have an especially
important role to play.
CUNY’s responsibility in these extraordinary
times is both to protect
the safety of our community members
and to ensure that all of our students,
regardless of their circumstances, are
able to continue their education. But we
are also called to step up, to put the country’s
premier urban public university at
the service of the state and city we call
home.
I have been moved by the resilience,
fortitude and innovation that have been
on display across the university in the
face of this unprecedented health emergency.
CUNY’s 275,000 students and
nearly 50,000 faculty and staff have been
at their best.
In a five-day recess, CUNY accomplished
the Herculean task of transitioning
to distance learning most classes
across 25 campuses and five boroughs.
By the time classes resumed, on March
19, up to 95 percent of CUNY’s 50,000
course sections had moved to distance
learning instruction, and 95 percent of
its nearly 50,000 faculty and staff to working
remotely. Today, those numbers are
closer to 100 percent. My most sincere
thanks to all the faculty and staff who
keep the University going while facing
disruption, fatigue and anxiety in their
personal lives.
Our efforts are also aimed at doing
our part to aid the widespread campaign
to slow the coronavirus spread and help
those in need.
Just as we made our services available
following Superstorm Sandy and
the 9-11 attacks, CUNY facilities including
cafeterias, gyms and some dorms
COURIER LIFE,22 MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2020
are available to the State and City to
increase health care capacity, when
and where needed, in the fight against
COVID-19.
Essential campus services like food
pantries remain open in our campuses
to serve our most in need students. Child
care centers are operating with low demand
but they remain open so they can
be fully activated as part of Governor
Cuomo’s efforts to support the needs of
families of medical first responders.
Responding to the need for personal
protective equipment for frontline workers
and other essential employees, several
of our colleges have combined to
donate N-95 masks, nitrile gloves, shoe
covers, disposable lab coats and bottles
of 70% isopropyl alcohol.
Working with Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center, we have helped
establish a testing site on universityowned
property on Manhattan’s Upper
East Side. The Graduate School of Public
Health and Health Policy is releasing
a weekly survey that provide a datadriven
picture of the pandemic’s effects.
Queensborough Community College is
in discussions to manufacture, through
3D-printing, much-needed equipment
for hospitals through its Advanced Manufacturing
Lab.
As we move forward with the critical
effort to preserve the health and wellbeing
of our city, I am grateful to the professionals
and unsung heroes who have
marshaled their services to ensure that
CUNY remains a stabilizing, reassuring
force.
Our response to this global pandemic
is yet another way that CUNY is going to
bat for all New Yorkers. It is yet another
reminder of why I couldn’t be prouder to
be CUNY’s chancellor.
CHECK IT OUT
Brooklyn Public Library moves
community programs online
Librarians have started broadcasting children’s story time on social media. Screenshot
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
They’re going virtual!
Brooklyn Public Library has
moved several of its community services
to the web since it closed all
branches on March 16 to curtail the
spread of the novel coronavirus.
Staff at the borough book lender
have worked tirelessly during the
last couple of days to continue offering
their many free programs to
Brooklynites via their computers,
such as story time for kids, creative
writing contests, gaming sessions,
and career services, according to a
spokeswoman.
“An amazing team came together
to make this all work to make this
happen under the circumstances
that we have,” said Fritzi Bodenheimer.
Librarians have started recording
children’s story time with their
phones from their living room
couch and broadcasting it live on
the library’s Facebook page.
“All the story times are being
done on the fl y,” Bodenheimer said.
“It’s been heartwarming.”
The workers hosted a digital
game of Dungeons and Dragons
Wednesday and are planning a Friday
afternoon Mario Kart tournament
for Kings County button
mashers with Nintendo Switch
gaming consoles.
They have replaced their usual
face-to-face career guidance and
resume help with an email service,
which should come in especially
handy during a time when many
people are looking for a new job due
to businesses closing down.
If you’re looking to dive into a
treasure trove of historical Brooklyn
newspapers dating back as far
as 1835, book bigwigs have made
their virtual newsstand available
outside the library for the fi rst
time.
The organization will also host
regular creative writing workshops
for teens through social media,
posting short writing prompts
on their Instagram page.
The library will also continue
to offer their previously-available
online services, including e-books,
language learning programs, practice
for standardized school exams,
and librarian book recommendations,
offering Kings Countians
a heap of educational resources
while remaining indoors, according
to Bodenheimer.
Brooklyn Public Library is offering many
of its community services online while its
branches are closed. Photo by Kevin Duggan