Queens College President Frank Wu will deliver his first virtual State of the College address on Wednesday, March 10, announcing plans for the creation of a new business and arts school, building on current faculty expertise and new collaborations with community and corporate partners.
The new Queens College School of Arts will offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, music, drama, theatre, and dance. The school will partner with key Queens College CUNY faculty and institutions such as the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Louis Armstrong House and Museum, and the CUNY Dance Initiative. Community partners will include Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for the Arts and Learning, Queens Botanical Garden, Queens Museum, and Rubin Museum of Art.
Similarly, the new Queens College School of Business will enhance the advantages of studying in the world’s pertinent financial, business, and arts capital. Undergraduate and graduate students will select from several paths to degrees in finance, business, business administration, international business, accounting, economics, quantitative economics, actuarial studies, risk management, and business and the liberal arts. New degrees in taxation and in business and policy analysis will be introduced in 2022.
The new School of Business will emphasize critical and technological skills at the forefront of evolving business and management practices.
Together with Queens College Provost Elizabeth Hendrey, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities William McClure and Interim Dean of the School of Social Sciences Ekaterina Pechenkina are working with Queens College faculty from across many disciplines on the curricular offerings.
During his address, Wu will highlight the experience of a year shaped by COVID-19 — including adjustments by faculty and students to distance learning, the lessons of his own first year in office as president, and plans for the college going forward. Wu will pay tribute to those who have worked on campus over the past year to keep its facilities, services and core operation running. Through their efforts, Queens College has been able to persevere despite this past challenging year.
“At this time, it is crucial that we acknowledge the staff members among us who have worked to keep our beautiful campus open,” Wu said, adding that the campus community owes them a debt of gratitude. “Though 99 percent of our courses are online, there is still a physical campus that must be maintained and kept ready for use according to safety protocols. It is through the dedication of members of our staff that this has been made possible.”
A major part of Wu’s vision is “coming together,” he said.
A broadly based and highly inclusive strategic planning process is underway involving faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of the Queens College Foundation. Wu’s address will touch on how the new schools tie the college even more closely to both the needs of its diverse student body and the learning and career potential offered by working with community partners. In addition, the work of reflecting on the pandemic and moving forward has just begun.
The State of the College address will be livestreamed at 11 a.m. to the campus community and public on YouTube.
