Program Coordinator
Karla Fuller, Associate Professor of Biology
Email: Karla.Fuller@guttman.cuny.edu
Phone: 646-313-8044
Location: Guttman North
Science
- CUNY Common Core – Pathways
- Pre-College Programs
- Guttman Bridge Program
- First-Year Experience
- Business Administration
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Urban Studies
- Science
- Health Information Technology
Program of Study
The Science Program at Guttman Community College fosters a dynamic environment where students, faculty and staff work collaboratively to expand students’ knowledge in the life and physical sciences. The Program emphasizes high-impact experiential learning by incorporating research and laboratory experiences across all course levels, from the introductory courses to the capstone. Science students have a variety of opportunities to apply hands-on laboratory skills in well-equipped labs, both in class and through extra-curricular research and outreach. Graduates of the Science program are fully prepared to smoothly transfer to a baccalaureate program, pursue their educational and professional futures in the sciences, and make important contributions to a more scientifically literate society.
Mission
In support of the mission of Guttman Community College, the Science program aims to:
- Create an environment that supports student success through instructor and advisor accessibility, small class sizes, well-supported lab facilities, creative and innovative pedagogy, and student academic support;
- Provide multi-modal education in a technologically modern, sustainable, student-centered environment;
- Create an atmosphere that cultivates student literacy and life-long interest in science through curricular and co-curricular activities, projects, and opportunities for student research;
- Provide a clear path to obtaining an Associate degree for students of widely diverse age, gender identity, background, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status;
- Cultivate students’ understanding and appreciation for evidence- and logic-based reasoning both as a tool for academic success and scientific inquiry and as a critical tool for responsible civic life;
- Teach leadership by example through active faculty participation in shared governance, community engagement, professional accountability, and sustainable operations; and
Support each faculty member’s maintenance of disciplinary expertise by engaging in professional development, collaborative opportunities, and by supporting the growth of our peers.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the Science program, students will be able to:
- Employ common laboratory procedures to study scientific phenomena;
- Analyze data collected to make conclusions about scientific phenomena;
- Employ college-level literacy practices in scientific disciplines, including using correct citation format;
- Retrieve relevant literature using appropriate scientific databases to analyze and understand scientific information;
- Engage in current scientific issues, demonstrate their knowledge and communicate with a range of audiences; and
- Develop skills to identify and analyze problems and apply scientific knowledge to solve them.
Liberal Arts and Sciences News
May 20, 2022
A Journey of Self-Advocacy
Miyoko Wong knows that to get what you want from life, you have to take chances. They did just that when they took a leap and moved from Honolulu to New York City nine months ago to attend Guttman. In addition to making the thousand-plus mile trip, Miyoko has also been on a journey of self-advocacy and discovery. After a tumultuous time back home, New York City and Guttman have been offering Miyoko opportunities to grow and thrive.
Read PostApril 11, 2022
Guttman Professors Publish Paper on Reducing Math Anxiety Through Psychological Intervention in the Classroom
Guttman Community College Assistant Professor Tashana S. Samuel’s article “‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” was published online in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice on March 28, 2022. Professor Samuel, along with her co-authors, Sebastien Buttet and Jared Warner, note that “math anxiety has become an alarming social justice concern, as it results in negative academic consequences, contributes to disinterest and lack of persistence in STEM programs for underrepresented students, and limits their opportunities in STEM careers.”
Read PostApril 4, 2022
Guttman Community College Partners with The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library to Celebrate National Poetry Month
Guttman Community College, in partnership with The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) of The New York Public Library, is celebrating National Poetry Month throughout the month of April with a series of events and workshops for the Guttman community and the general public. Over the course of the month, Guttman will host a panel discussion centered on how poetry influences our lives, a Photopoetry Workshop led by Professor Valdon Battice, a poetry writing workshop led by Professors Daniel Collins and Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, poetry readings by renowned poets Teka Lo and Raina León, and a live presentation of student writing which will showcase Guttman students sharing and celebrating their diverse and powerful voices through original poetry, prose and art. This exciting lineup of in-person events will be split between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on 5th Avenue and the Guttman Library on campus.
Read PostMarch 22, 2022
Alexandra Hamlett, Information Literacy Librarian and Assistant Professor, Library Science and Information Literacy
As an information literacy librarian, Alexandra Hamlett helps students learn essential research skills, skills that include finding, evaluating, and using multiple information types in order for students to be able to access credible information for their academic and personal information needs. In 2015, she was thrilled to join Guttman College, where an innovative and creative pedagogy is embraced. Guttman’s founders outlined a non-traditional community college and developed a curriculum tied to student success. “I have been privileged to develop an information literacy program where I collaborate closely with faculty to embed information literacy skills across the First-Year Experience and the Programs of Study,” says Professor Hamlett.
Read PostMarch 17, 2022
Tau Battice on “Who’s Your Daddy?”
Tau Battice is a photographer and lecturer at Guttman Community College, where he teaches English, among other subjects. His exhibition, “Who’s Your Daddy?” is a series of visual conversations between Black fathers and their sons. Below is a conversation between Guttman College and Professor Battice about “Who’s Your Daddy?”
Read PostMarch 2, 2022
Dr. Elizabeth Wentworth, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
“I truly believe everyone learns differently and expresses their knowledge in different ways. I love seeing a student solve a problem a new way or apply to knowledge to something new. My goal is to foster intellectual curiosity rather than memorization and to build relationships where students feel safe making mistakes and trying new things.”
Dr. Elizabeth Wentworth’s doctoral dissertation investigated the integration of music instruction in the high school mathematics classroom. Since beginning at Guttman in 2016, her focus has been primarily on teaching. “Now that I am in my third year as an assistant professor I am starting to plan for more research,” says Dr. Wentworth. “I intend to continue looking at interdisciplinary work’s impact on student success and motivation.” Prior to teaching at Guttman, Dr. Wentworth taught three years of high school mathematics and coached the high school mathematics team, as well as the Academic Decathlon team. Dr. Wentworth has an undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester with majors in mathematics, music, and English, and a minor in history. Dr. Wentworth’s master’s and doctorate are from Teachers College Columbia University where she specialized in mathematics education.
Read PostJanuary 10, 2022
Guttman Students Present at Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) Fall 2021 Student Conference
Guttman Community College students participated in the international Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) Fall 2021 Student Conference held on December 1st and 4th 2021. GSACS is a collaborative multi-campus program that foregrounds United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and career readiness competencies in class-to-class virtual exchanges between students from five colleges at the City University of New York (CUNY): Borough of Manhattan Community College, Guttman Community College, Hostos Community College, LaGuardia Community College (lead), and Queens College of the City University of New York, and at four universities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Abdelmalek Essaâdi University (Morocco), The American University in Cairo, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Palestine Ahliya University.
Read PostJanuary 7, 2022
Dr. Daniel Collins, Professor of English
“I had been teaching for twenty-plus years before I came to Guttman, and this framework completely transformed my work, which is really energizing. And Guttman is still quite new! I wanted to be a part of building something, to be there at the beginning, and to help nurture an institution grounded in creative ways to teach and to learn.”
Dr. Daniel Collins earned his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition; he has a Master’s Degree in Public Health. His current focus is composition theory and pedagogy, with a particular emphasis on linguistic justice and Abolitionist teaching. “I am also interested in the relationship between writing and well-being,” says Dr. Collins. “This relationship highlights the meaning-making possibilities of language and writing.”
Read PostOctober 20, 2021
Guttman Students and Alumni Publish Anthology of Short Stories
Twenty-three Guttman students have published an anthology of original short stories, Trauma and Triumph: 23 Tales. These first-time authors offered a range of stories in multiple languages including code. Stories played with the narrative frame by positioning the narrator as both passive and active. Stories also included fairytales and diary entries formats. The range of topics is prolific in scope often swinging from periods of grave trauma to heights of great and wondrous triumph.
Read PostOctober 20, 2021
Guttman Alumni Hailey Ayala and Prof. Derek Tesser Named Winners at the 2021 CUNY Research Scholars Program Symposium
Guttman Alumna Hailey Ayala is one of a select few winners of the 2021 CUNY Research Scholars Program Symposium for her research presentation of “Quantifying tropical land cover change in the Chocó Hotspot of Biodiversity between 2006-2011 utilizing Palsar-1 satellite imagery”. Ayala worked with mentor and Professor Derek Tesser, who specializes in Environmental and Geological Sciences, to present her research at the Symposium.
Read PostJuly 27, 2021
From Gambia to Guttman with Gumption
Bashir Juwara exudes positivity. Digital and in-person encounters with the 2021-2022 Guttman Community College Student Government Association (SGA) President leave a person at ease – he radiates calm and confidence. In his four years in America, Mr. Juwara has manifested his gumption to succeed by seeking out and embracing the opportunities he’s encountered on his journey. He has big plans for the future, and wants to spread motivation and make a positive change at Guttman and beyond.
Read PostMay 5, 2021
Dr. Alia Tyner Co-Authors Article Examining Project-Based Assessment in NYC Public Schools
The article “Reframing School Culture Through Project-Based Assessment Tasks: Cultivating Transformative Agency and Humanizing Practices in NYC Public Schools,” co-authored by Guttman Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Alia Tyner-Mullings with Drs. Maria Hantzopoulos and Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen, has been published in the Teachers College Record. Building on the argument that high-stakes testing policies are ineffective and “have exacerbated inequities in schooling across racial, economic, geographic, and linguistic lines,” the researchers focus on the transition to Project Based Assessment Tasks (PBAT) at ten New York City public high schools that are part of the New York Performance Standards Consortium. The authors, who “specifically consider[] the role that PBATs might play in shaping school culture,” have found them “a useful tool to engage students and teachers more actively as participatory actors in the school environment, particularly when overall school structures collectively support its integration.”
Read PostApril 19, 2021
Faculty Feature: Dr. Karla Fuller, Associate Professor of Biology and Program Coordinator of Science
“More than anything, I want our students to know that they can succeed in science and math. They don’t have to pursue it, but I don’t want them to think that it’s not for them for any particular reason, except [if they don’t choose it.] If they want to, they can be good at it, or they can be interested in it… I just want them to feel like they belong. That it’s for them, if they want it.”
Dr. Karla Fuller, Associate Professor of Biology and Program Coordinator of Science, bears the unique distinction of being the very first faculty hired at Guttman, prior to the convocation of its inaugural first-year class in 2012 and the naming of the College. Seeing it as the urban likeness of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), she determined to fulfill her “mission in life” – giving students of color sustained opportunities to “have that moment like, ‘Oh, maybe I could study science’,” the realization critical to “increasing the overall percentage of underrepresented people in America who are scientists, the number of Black and Latino scientists in the field, and this means pursuing graduate studies or professional school after a Bachelor’s degree.” To this ambitious end, Dr. Fuller has spearheaded the establishment of Guttman’s Associate of Science (A.S.) degree Program of Study, forthcoming in Fall 2021.
Read PostApril 8, 2021
Guttman’s Dr. Kristina Baines Organizes and Co-Hosts Anthropology Webinar Addressing Contemporary Issues
With Co-Founder and Co-Director of Cool Anthropology Victoria Costa, Guttman Faculty Dr. Kristina Baines organized and co-hosted the interactive virtual event Anthropology and the Public: Pressing Questions, Responsibilities and Opportunities, which aired live on YouTube on March 1, 2021. The webinar brought together a wide network of anthropologists, social scientists, educators, students, and practitioners of various fields to exchange and elaborate critical, multidisciplinary ideas that contribute to the public good. Featuring panelists and breakout sessions to address an array of contemporary social and environmental issues, the gathering included discussions concerning public health, medical anthropology, climate change and environmental justice, race and racism, media, journalism, technology, and art. The workshop included student facilitators from 5 continents, over 300 registrants, 150 active participants, including Guttman alumna, former Peer Mentor, and College Assistant Hannia Delgado and former Guttman staff member Baird Campbell. The event was funded through a grant by the Wenner Gren Foundation and co-sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences Anthropology Division and Berghan Books.
Read PostApril 8, 2021
Guttman Chemistry Faculty Dr. Jihyun Kim Publishes Important Findings on Biofuels Under Pressure
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jihyun Kim has co-authored “Brown grease pyrolysis under pressure: Extending the range of reaction conditions and hydrocarbon product distributions,” an article published in the April 2021 issue of Fuel, a top-tier peer-reviewed journal featuring primary research in the science and technology of fuel and energy. Written with Dr. Lawrence Pratt of Medgar Evers College, CUNY, Dr. Hoy Yin Lo, President and CEO of Synovel Laboratory, LLC, and Dr. Dequan Xiao of University of New Haven, the paper documents the use of a pressure reactor to explore the effects of higher temperatures and pressure on brown grease and to transform waste into fuel. Significantly, the research “resulted in shorter reaction times, reduced formation of undesirable ketone byproducts, and a higher percentage of the most valuable light hydrocarbon products.” This project builds on Dr. Kim’s longstanding focus on the potential beneficial uses of biofuels – brown grease, for one – and the development of eco-friendly chemical processes to reduce or eliminate toxic chemical waste.
Read PostApril 8, 2021
Guttman Faculty Drs. Makris and Gatta Publish Op-Eds on “Equitable and Just” Recovery for US Cities and Towns
Following the publication of their book, Gentrification Down The Shore, Guttman Urban Studies faculty Dr. Molly Vollman Makris and Dr. Mary Gatta released op-eds in The Progressive and ArcaMax, Politics section, on February 12, 2021. Based on research the co-authors conducted on Asbury Park, New Jersey, both articles respond to the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan for economic recovery during the ongoing pandemic. In “Rescue Our Cities and Towns” and “Commentary: Rescue our cities and towns,” the co-authors emphasize “long-term progressive planning… that means a continued focus on economic security for working families, fully funded public education, universal health care, and environmental and racial justice measures.” By calling for an “equitable and just” policy direction, Drs. Makris and Gatta assert that cities and towns throughout the United States “will need sustained support from the federal government to survive and thrive in a COVID-19 world.”
Read PostMarch 22, 2021
Dr. Kristina Baines and Guttman Students Participate in Pandemic Journaling Project and Featured in The New York Times
In the Introduction to Urban Community Health courses she taught during the Spring II and Fall I 2020 semesters, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Dr. Kristina Baines’ students interacted with the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP) – a public research initiative developed at the University of Connecticut, which invites participants to respond to weekly prompts about their experiences living through the pandemic. Students could either create journal entries (written, audio or visual methods) or reflect on the journal entries that others posted on the public section of the site. The aim of Dr. Baines’ assignment is to involve students in documenting the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of everyday people rather than official narratives. In their responses, students were able to consider their contributions to this alternative history on personal and scholarly levels. Overall, Dr. Baines’ students have welcomed this space to share their thoughts and feelings about the impact of the pandemic on their lives.
Read PostMarch 22, 2021
Arts in New York City Faculty Lyricist for Shows Produced by the Lowbrow Opera Collective, Winner of NAMT’s 15-Minute Musical Challenge, and Recipient of Spark Grant
Perpetual Sunshine and the Ghost Girls, a musical featuring the work of Adjunct Instructor Prof. Sara Cooper, an accomplished playwright and lyricist who teaches the Arts in New York City course in Guttman’s Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, was one of five selected for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 15-minute Musical Challenge. Produced in part by the Beck Center and the Baldwin Wallace University Program, the first fifteen minutes of the performance premiered virtually on February 12, 2021, and ran through February 28. Prof. Cooper wrote the lyrics to music by Lynne Shankel. According to Broadway World News Desk, “the show is based on the true story of the women who fought United States Radium Corporation in the 1920s for knowingly poisoning them and subsequently changed United States labor laws forever.”
Read PostMarch 16, 2021
Drs. Fuller, Kim, and Sole Present “Storytelling in STEM: How Narratives and Data Analysis Teach Real World Skills”
Guttman faculty Drs. Karla Fuller, Ji Kim, and Marla A. Sole presented the pedagogical practices they have implemented in their STEM courses at the Mid-Atlantic SENCER Center for Innovation Conference, an initiative of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE) held virtually in January 2021. The presenters discussed how rigorous scientific methods were combined with readily understood contexts. In their courses, students gained real world data analysis skills by working on problems authentically connected to their lives: examining if home remedies have microbial properties; studying how cooking waste could be transformed into fuel; tracking the changes in teenagers’ habits during the pandemic. By incorporating students’ own narratives in teaching STEM concepts and skills, Drs. Fuller, Kim, and Sole have created opportunities for underrepresented students to succeed in mathematics and science courses and to share their experiences and developing knowledge with their families and communities. The presentation highlighted important benefits for students, including increased and deeper understanding of research methodology, building self-confidence in mathematics and science, and learning to communicate with a diverse audience. Furthermore, these innovative teaching practices have significant potential to expand equity and access in STEM courses.
Read PostMarch 16, 2021
Guttman Faculty Publish on Use of Culturally Responsive Curricula to Improve Engagement and Learning in Microbiology Lab Course
The article “A Culturally Responsive Curricular Revision to Improve Engagement and Learning in an Undergraduate Microbiology Lab Course,” by Guttman faculty Dr. Karla S. Fuller and Prof. Camila Rivera Torres, was published in Frontiers in Microbiology in January 2021. The article details the implementation of a “culturally responsive approach in an undergraduate microbiology lab [to] increase engagement and learning gains.” In a scaffolded assignment, “students interviewed family members to learn about ‘home remedies,’ and then devised experiments to test” the effects of those remedies on the “growth of bacteria commonly implicated in gastrointestinal distress or sore throat. As a final assessment, students generated project posters which they presented at a class symposium.” The work of Dr. Fuller and Prof. Torres exemplifies the commitment of Guttman faculty to culturally responsive pedagogy and experiential learning, aimed at “increased retention and degree attainment for students at our Hispanic-serving institution.” To further its impact on higher education, this open access publication is available to readers and educators around the world.
Read PostMarch 12, 2021
Guttman Political Science Faculty Featured Guest on Dr. Johanna Fernandez’s A New Day
On the historic date of January 6, 2021, Instructor of Political Science Prof. Douglas Medina was the invited guest on A New Day, a radio broadcast hosted on WBAI 99.5FM by Dr. Johanna Fernandez, author of The Young Lords: A Radical History and Associate Professor of History at Baruch College, CUNY. In the midst of the worst stage of the COVID-19 pandemic to date, the scholars discussed the US response to the coronavirus; the socioeconomic effects on workers and communities of color; the latest in workers’ rights movements; and most prominently, that morning’s dramatic results of the Georgia run-off election and the certification of the 2020 presidential election by Congress.
Read PostMarch 8, 2021
2020 CUNY Community College Research Grant Awarded to Dr. Ria Banerjee
Guttman faculty member Dr. Ria Banerjee has been selected for the maximum funding of the CUNY Community College Research Grant (CCRG) Mentored Undergraduate Research program to continue a creative storytelling archival project that began in AY 2019‐2020. The CCRG Mentored Undergraduate Research program is designed to support faculty basic research endeavors and to increase the number of associate degree students engaged in faculty mentored research projects. Dr. Banerjee’s work with Guttman students to document and explore their interactions with the legacy of colonialism captures faculty commitment to the student-centered pedagogy and opportunities for guided research strongly supported the College.
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