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Ern Knox ‘75 came to ¹û½´ÊÓƵ first as a commuter student from Roosevelt, and later as a resident student, to study psychology. He found a strong community in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first Black fraternity on Long Island, as a member of its second pledge class. SharRon McCoy-Knox, an aspiring nurse, commuted from Freeport. SharRon was actively involved in student life and had a role in establishing the first Black sorority at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

An insufficient number of faculty was the top reason that more than 80,000 qualified applicants to U.S. undergraduate and graduate nursing programs were turned away in 2019, according to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) report. This lack of nurse educators, in turn, is leading to a nationwide shortage of nurses that has potentially dire consequences for healthcare—particularly in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

In 2012, ¹û½´ÊÓƵ launched the 10 Under 10 Young Alumni Recognition Program to honor alumni who have achieved exceptional career and professional accomplishments, even before celebrating their 10-year ¹û½´ÊÓƵ reunion.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ has been nominated in nine categories in the annual Bethpage Best of Long Island competition organized by Schneps Media. Online voting continues through December 15 and winners will be announced early in 2022. Individuals may vote once a day.

For more than 50 years, the Center for African, Black and Caribbean Studies (CABCS) has been a supportive space for students and faculty of color.

Recent national rankings show that ¹û½´ÊÓƵ continues to hold top spots in several categories, with U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, and College Factual including ¹û½´ÊÓƵ in their annual guides, with special emphasis on nursing, business, social mobility and best value.

For her senior thesis, physics major Gabriella (Gabi) Vidad '21 used remote sensing and widely available resources such as Google Earth to chart the severity of coral reef changes in the Philippines.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ​​​​ University's Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program/Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP/STEP) has been awarded the 2021 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

Rising junior Danelya Zholdasbekova's path to ¹û½´ÊÓƵ was unexpected. While searching the internet for top New York business schools, the Kazakhstan native said she was attracted by descriptions of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ's “close-knit, diverse community, its Honors College, scholarship opportunities, and beautiful campus and location."

¹û½´ÊÓƵ has been awarded the 2021 Digital Inclusion Grant from internet and software services provider Kajeet. The grant comes with the provision of free internet connectivity hardware and managed service on Kajeet's platform, Sentinel.

Six students from the College of Nursing and Public Health have been named Rising Stars of Research and Scholarship by the international nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ has been recognized for its exceptional student support initiatives, programs and post-graduate success by GradReports, Colleges of Distinction and the Fiske Guide to Colleges in their latest iterations.

For 16 years, ¹û½´ÊÓƵ’s English department has celebrated outstanding undergraduate and graduate student writers with the Donald Everett Axinn Awards in Creative Writing. Started in 2005 by Professor Judith Baumel (also founding director of the Creative Writing program), former ¹û½´ÊÓƵ President Robert Scott, PhD, and generous donor Donald Axinn, DHL ’03 (Hon.), the awards recognize…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded ¹û½´ÊÓƵ a grant for an international research collaboration with the University of Warsaw. It will fund continuation of the U.S.-Polish International Research Experiences for Students (IRES), focused on solar energy research.

Eugene Neely, former dean of libraries and a full-time professor in University Archives and Special Collections, passed away earlier this year.

Since joining ¹û½´ÊÓƵ in September 2017, James (Jim) Perrino, ¹û½´ÊÓƵ executive vice president of finance and operations, has achieved an enviable track record of success.

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) has awarded ¹û½´ÊÓƵ a $9 million Teaching Fellows Program grant. The six-year grant, $1.5 million each year, will prepare an estimated 900 teaching fellows for New York City public schools at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ—about 150 per year.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ's highly ranked nursing program has a long and rich history of producing students who excel in all sectors of the healthcare system throughout the world. A testament to the program is the recent naming of Joseph Amnawah, a doctoral candidate, as a 2021–2023 national Jonas Scholar.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ Professor Kirkland Vaughans, PhD ’85, who has had a decades-long career as a clinical psychologist treating Black youth, is this year’s recipient of the Diversity Award for Psychology in Division 39.

Jessica Karim, a social work major at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, has been named the 2021 BSW Student of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers-New York State Chapter.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ has been ranked No. 24 on the list of best addiction counseling programs in the United States for its MA in Mental Health Counseling and MA in General Psychology, both with a substance abuse counseling concentrations.

On May 6, Long Island Business News will honor Graziela Fusaro, the director of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ's Innovation Center, with a 2021 Executive Circle Award. The award recognizes senior-level executives who have demonstrated remarkable vision and leadership.

Social justice and student leadership are strong ideals at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, producing four Newman Civic Fellows in as many years. Our 2021 advocate for a better world is Newman Fellow Miguel Velasquez.

Every year, ¹û½´ÊÓƵ honors four exceptional employees with a President’s Award for Excellence and one employee with the President’s Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. According to President Christine M. Riordan, the honorees “have won the admiration of their peers and colleagues by providing an extraordinary level of service to the University, and working to advance our shared…