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President Staiano-Coico to Confer Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, Upon Him Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature, will deliver The City College of New York’s President’s Lecture 5:30 p.m. Thursday, November 18, in the Great Hall of Shepard Hall on the CCNY campus at 160 Convent Avenue, Manhattan. Prior to his address, CCNY President Lisa Staiano-Coico will bestow upon him the honorary degree Doctor of Letters. Mr. Vargas Llosa’s topic will be “Return of the Monsters.” His lecture comes two weeks after the launch of his latest novel, “El sueño del celta” (“The Celtic's

Four scientists will participate in a panel discussion on projects under way in the Dominican Republic and their impact on the country’s economic development. The event, presented by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI) takes place 4 p.m. Saturday, November 6, Room 1/203, North Academic Center, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, Manhattan. The four panelists and their topics are: • Dr. Jorge E. González, NOAA-CREST Professor, Grove School of Engineering, The City College of New York, “Expansion of Lake Enriquillo: Observations and Environmental Causes.” • Dr. Yolanda

Honored for ‘Five Decades of Extending Fundamental Health Services’ and Leading Through Example Dr. H. Jack Geiger, a founding faculty member of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at The City College of New York, who has focused his career on health, poverty and human rights, has been awarded the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism. He was honored at a dinner during The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) Conference, held October 16 in Baltimore, M.D. A co-founder and past president of Physicians for Human Rights and Physicians for Social Responsibility, Dr. Geiger is

The City College of New York Division of Science announces 18 events for the month of November featuring scientists from prominent universities and research institutes from across the United States and Germany. All are free and open to the public and held in the Marshak Science Building, unless otherwise noted. Listings of event times, speakers, topics and room numbers follow. November 1 , 12 noon: Salzberg Chemistry Seminar Series, Dr. Michael Mirkin, professor of chemistry, Queens College, “Charge-transfer processes at electrochemical nanointerfaces,” Room 1027. November 1 , 12:15 p.m

In a collaborative effort, The City College of New York’s advertising/public relations program (AD/PR) in the media and communication arts department and the art department’s electronic design and multimedia program (EDM) swept the New York City Police Foundation’s 2010 advertising competition. They took the top three prizes in the print category, besting teams from Pratt Institute and Parsons The New School for Design. “We’re extremely proud of this achievement, especially since it offered a unique opportunity for our two programs to collaborate in a cross-disciplinary way,” said Professor

Recent work by Dr. David Lohman , assistant professor of biology at The City College of New York, suggests the Philippines, considered by biologists to be a “biodiversity hotspot,” could have more unique species of birds than previously thought. If that proves to be the case, it could have important ramifications for conservation practices there. Many of the animal species found in the Philippines are endemic to this nation, which is made up of more than 7,100 islands. For example, 64 percent of its land mammal species and 77 percent of its amphibians are not found anywhere else. However, only

Replacing the asphalt pavement in parking lots with permeable grass-pavers that can withstand car traffic and sustain biomass would not only improve their aesthetics but help fight global warming. That idea was one of the elements of a winning proposal submitted by a team of landscape architects from the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York in the Long Island Index’ “Build a Better Burb” competition. The team, consisting of Denise Hoffman Brandt, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, and Alexa Helsell and Bronwyn Gropp, May 2010 graduates of

Alumni Association Presents Townsend Harris Medals to Seven Prominent Graduates Veteran actors Marian Seldes and Eli Wallach will receive the 63rd John H. Finley Award for exemplary service to the city from The Alumni Association of The City College of New York at its 130th Annual Dinner, Thursday, October 28 at the New York Hilton. The Finley award, named for CCNY’s third President, is presented annually to deserving New Yorkers. Ms. Seldes is a Tony Award-winning actress elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Her illustrious stage, film and television career has spanned six decades

Dr. Marie Nazon, an instructor and counselor in the SEEK Department at The City College of New York, has been awarded a 2010-2011 Fulbright research grant to the African Regional Research Program. She is spending the year in Dakar, Senegal, to conduct a research study titled, “Women Helping Women: Understanding the role of empowerment in Women Self-Help Groups in Senegal.” Professor Nazon is a social worker by profession and one of 13 people to receive the research grant in sub-Saharan Africa for the 2010-2011 academic years. SEEK is a state-funded educational opportunity program that provides

Second Consecutive 20 Percent-Plus Yearly Gain Puts College Over Strategic Goal Two Years Early For the second consecutive year, funded research programs at The City College of New York experienced gains in excess of 20 percent. Awards for the 2009 – 2010 academic year totaled $69.1 million, a 24.3 percent gain from the prior year, according to the College’s Office of Research Administration. With its new level of funding, City College has exceeded, two years early, a target of $65 million set for 2012 in its most recent strategic plan. The 24.3 percent growth rate for the year also bested the