Connecting with Queensborough Community College

Imagine attending a college situated on a 37-acre campus that was once home to a golf course. While walking to class in the springtime, you’re surrounded by rolling green lawns, fragrant fruit trees, and splashes of yellow forsythia. Does this description make you think of a location somewhere in New York City? If not, think again.

Welcome to Queensborough Community College, nestled in the heart of Bayside, Queens, home to a student body reflecting the diversity of the neighboring community, with equal populations of African Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Latinos. Approximately half of the students who attend QCC were born outside of the United States and among those students, 47% speak a language other than English at home.

Queensborough Community College Art Gallery

Marcos and I visited Queensborough two weeks ago to promote the benefits of our institutional partnership, and to help faculty find interesting ways to connect with our permanent collections and special exhibitions. Kitty Bateman, Director of the QCC Literacy Program, organized the event. Although it was finals week, and one of the busiest times of the academic year, twenty faculty members made their way to the QCC Art Gallery, housed in the Pro Center of the original golf course, to meet with us.

Powering up for our PowerPoint presentation…

The mile-long meeting table in the Art Gallery provided plenty of space for faculty members representing a wide range of academic specializations, including Physics, Nursing, Fine Art, Speech and Theater, Basic Skills,and Adult Literacy. During our discussions, the educators were eager to learn about the benefits of our institutional partnership and ways they can embed the museum’s collections into course curricula.

Following our visit, three QCC faculty members attended the Google Art Project Seminar held at the museum on May 23rd. To learn how we prototyped this exciting new technology, check out Marcos Stafne’s May 28th blog post.

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