In the News

Baruch's MFE Team Takes First Place at Rotman International Trading Competition

Baruch College MFE students took first place in the annual Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC), held February 23 -25 in Toronto. Baruch's two teams placed in the top five overall standings, taking first and fourth places. They beat last year’s winner MIT and other top schools including Duke University, Boston University, and Columbia University. More info

State Legislators Support the Renovation of the Field Building at 17 Lexington Avenue

Baruch’s State Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan), State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-Brooklyn), and our legislative alumni—Assembly Members J. Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester)  BBA ‘78, Carl E. Heastie (D-Bronx) MBA ‘07, and Vanessa L. Gibson (D-Bronx)  MPA ‘09, all support the College’s request of $100 million in capital funds for the initial renovation of the Eris and Lawrence N. Field Building at 17 Lexington Avenue in the state fiscal year 2013 budget. To that end, the legislators have written letters of support to their respective leaders in the State Assembly and State Senate asking that the funds be included in next year’s budget, which is expected to be adopted in late March.

It is estimated that the renovation will create 950 jobs, aiding the city and state’s economy. The renovation will also increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs, retrofit all classrooms and telecommunications infrastructure, meet full compliance with the American with Disabilities Act, and reduce greenhouse gases in line with CUNY’s initiatives and the City’s 30/10 Challenge.

The project is of vital importance to the future of Baruch College and will result in a state-of-the-art facility once completed. Given that the building is the historic hub of Baruch's campus life and traces its roots to the Free Academy of 1847, 17 Lex's renovation is one of the College’s highest priorities in state legislative negotiations.

Announcements

Statistical Consulting Laboratory Spring Schedule Information

Baruch's Statistical Consulting Lab is open from Monday through Thursday in NVC 11-170. Two statistics faculty, Professors Hammou El Barmi and Shula Gross, and two statistics MS students, Mikhail Boguslavsky and G Song Yoo, are now available to offer statistical support for faculty and PhD students’ research. Mikhail and Gsong are expert Excel, SAS and STATA programmers. The lab schedule for the rest of the semester is as follows:

Professor El Barmi: Wednesday 2:30 – 4:00 pm or by appointment

Professor Shula Gross - Director: Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00 – 4:00 pm or by appointment

Mikhail Boguslavsky: Tuesdays 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, 1:00 - 4:00 pm; Thursdays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm; Wednesdays, 1:00 - 4:00 pm

G Song Yoo: Mondays 2:00 - 4:00 pm; Thursdays 1:00 - 4:00 pm

The lab offers help with standard statistical analyses using SAS, SPSS, and STATA and specialized packages found at the lab. Non-standard statistical consultations on model building and paper revision is also offered.

Events

March 13, 6:30 pm: Thinking About Redistricting: Putting Policy NOT Politics First

Newman Vertical Campus, Engelman Recital Hall, 55 Lexington Ave

This forum, co-sponsored by Common Cause/NY and New York Civic, will explore the following ideas and questions:
• The role of the Legislature and the Governor under our current redistricting scheme
• The current federal lawsuit: the advantages and the limitations of the court
• What a good constitutional amendment reforming our redistricting process should look like

Presenting will be:
Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY
Doug Muzzio, Professor at Baruch College's School of Public Affairs
Morgan Pehme, Executive Director at New York Civic  More info

March 20, 5:45 pm: A Reading and Conversation with Poet Laurie Sheck

Information & Technology Building, Rackow Conference Room (750), 151 E. 25th St.

A  reading and conversation with Laurie Sheck, the spring Harman Visiting Writer. Ms. Sheck is the author of five books of poems, including The Willow Grove, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Reception at 5 pm. Reading at 5:45 pm.

Co-Sponsored by Poets & Writers and The Jewish Studies Center at Baruch. More info

Sports

Ray Rankis Announces Coaching Retirement

Ray Rankis, who has been the men’s basketball coach at Baruch College for the past 29 years, announced his retirement from coaching this week.

Rankis will remain as the Director of Athletics overseeing the Baruch College Bearcats' 14 sport NCAA Division III and recreational programs.

Rankis is the longest tenured coach with the most wins in CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) history, and is second to Basketball Hall of Famer and CCNY legend Nat Holman (37 years) in terms of coaching basketball at a City University of New York (CUNY) school. Full story

Baruch Performing Arts Center Events

Tonight, March 8, 7 pm: Journeys Through Nepal and India: Yuyutsu Sharma, Robert Scotto and Lu Wu

Engelman Recital Hall, Newman Vertical Campus, 55 Lexington Avenue

Author Robert Scotto will read from his just-published pillow book, Journey Thru Nepal and India, on his travels in India and Nepal with photographer Lu Wu. Yuyutsu Sharma will read from his new book, Milarepa’s Bones, and from poetry/picture book, Nepal Trilogy. Lu Wu will project a selection of her photographs from the journey during the reading and Yuyutsu will discuss the relationship between poetry and photography and his decade long work on the Nepal Trilogy with German photographer Andreas Stimm. More info

Tonight, March 8, 7 pm: Brian Brushwood: Bizarre Magic

Nagelberg Theatre, Newman Vertical Campus, 55 Lexington Avenue

As seen on dozens of TV programs, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Brian Brushwood brings his bizarre style of magic to BPAC. In just one show Brian eats fire, breaks a 30-pound concrete brick on his head, performs his signature “human crazy straw” “Mr. Happypants” and “knife roulette” routines ...all while keeping the audience laughing. Escapes, dangerous stunts, comedy and magic combine in the most unique, original, outrageous show you’ve ever seen. More info

March 14, 6 pm: The Aaron Silberman Concert Series: Clarinetist Charles Neidich and Piano Accompanist

Engelman Recital Hall, Newman Vertical Campus, 55 Lexington Avenue

Charles Neidich has been described as one of the most mesmerizing musicians performing before the public today. He regularly appears as soloist and as collaborator in chamber music programs with leading ensembles including the Saint Louis Symphony, Minneapolis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, I Musici di Montreal, and the Juilliard, Guarneri, Brentano, American, Mendelssohn, Carmina, Colorado, and Cavani String Quartets. More info

Offerings

March 16 - 30: CUNY Professional Development Courses

Below is a listing of the remaining courses offered for March 2012 from the Office of Professional Development and Learning Management (CUNY University Training). To register for one or more courses, please complete the application located here and fax the completed application to Andrew Smilowitz in the Office of Human Resources at 646-660-6614 or e-mail your application to HR.Learning@baruch.cuny.edu no later than seven days before the class date. Most courses are free or have a reasonable fee that will be charged to the College, not to individual department budgets.

For further information on professional development programs from CUNY University Training, please visit the CUNY training web site: www.cuny.edu/training.

For questions regarding registering for any of the courses, please contact Andrew Smilowitz at Andrew.Smilowitz@baruch.cuny.edu or 646-660-6592 or Leah Schanke at Leah.Schanke@baruch.cuny.edu or 646-660-6618.

Friday, March 16, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Excel Level 1 (WTT141)
Location: Baruch College
Prerequisite: Working Knowledge of Word Level 1
Learn to create, edit and format Excel worksheets. An introduction to formulas, functions and the chart wizard also will be presented.

Tuesday, March 20, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
The Situational Leadership II Workshop (C9129)
Location: Central Office at 57th Street
For Directors, Managers, and Supervisors
Situational Leadership II is a comprehensive and practical method of effectively managing and developing people, time, and resources by diagnosing needs and responding with the appropriate leadership style.

Tuesday, March 27, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Maximizing Your Role On Your Team (C9111)
Location: Central Office at 57th Street
For Professional Staff
Participants will experience the benefits of teamwork as a method for improving performance and productivity, while analyzing their role on a team using a team-style inventory.

Friday, March 30, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Excel Level 2 (WTT241)
Location: Baruch College
Prerequisite: Excel Level 1 course or placement via on-line assessment
Learn to rotate chart text, plot data, work with objects, and sort and protect data. Create headers and footers, sparklines, and work with formulas and functions (such as “If” functions).