News & Events
'City Tech Writer' Debuted in May
President Russell K. Hotzler at reception
City Tech Writer, a new journal under the direction of English Professor and Editor-in-Chief Jane Mushabac, made its debut in May. The publication provides a forum for the best student writing produced in courses throughout the College.
City Tech President Russell K. Hotzler, who sees the development of students' communication skills as a vital measure of a good education, hosted a reception on May 4th for the published students, their professors and administrators, at which students read excerpts from their pieces.
"These student writers are focused and clear, sharp-witted and smart, and it is a pleasure to showcase their work," says Mushabac. "City Tech Writer is also an impressive introduction to the variety of disciplines offered at the College and suggests the ways our faculty emphasize critical thinking, intellectual exploration and clear expression."
In her Introduction to Volume 1, Provost Bonne August salutes City Tech Writer as "a most welcome addition to the College." She notes, "Unlike a more traditional 'literary' magazine that focuses on poetry and fiction, City Tech Writer is somewhat unusual in its focus on the writing -- and the thinking -- that students are doing as part of their course of study. Writing may be a solitary act or it may be collaborative, but all good writing is done with an audience in mind -- the conscious reader who follows the line of thought, sometimes contesting its logic, sometimes nodding in agreement. City Tech Writer makes that audience real. In so doing, it both celebrates and stimulates good writing."
Professor Jane Mushabac at reception
The inaugural issue presents the work of more than 40 students, including two collaborative pieces, and addresses subjects from architecture and sociology to mechanical engineering technology and mathematics. In a letter to Mushabac, City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein commended the new publication on the "caliber of the students' work" and "the high level of teaching and learning at City Tech" to which the publication speaks.
"City Tech writers take us to the glass pavilion at the Brooklyn Museum, a village in Nigeria, a warehouse in Japan, a tractor and combine exhibition in Poland, a restaurant in Union Square, a crack-house in Bed-Stuy," Mushabac writes in the Preface. "The papers discuss campus speech codes, nurses' renewal of licenses, the scientific method in the 13th and 19th centuries, and the problem of space, time and motion. City Tech students study olive oil in chemistry, the golden mean in philosophy and breaking the hold of addiction in human services.
"It was a remarkable challenge selecting 34 pieces from over five times that number of submissions, but all the writing made for tremendously satisfying reading," she added. "My hope is that the College -- students, faculty, staff, everyone -- will read City Tech Writer and, as readers, become a part of the dialogue that writing at its best initiates and embodies."
Mushabac believes that the chance to be published provides a powerful incentive for students to write well. "They learn that a writing assignment is not just a demanding task, but also an opportunity to develop a point of view and express it clearly and effectively to others."
Mushabac adds that "at the reception, it was clear that students found the experience of being published immensely satisfying. As faculty have long known about their own work, what better reward can there be for excellent writing?"
Provost Bonne August at reception
Support and assistance for development of the journal were provided by President Hotzler, Provost August, Dean of Instruction Sonja Jackson, Coordinated Undergraduate Education Director Joseph Rosen, Assistant to the President for Institutional Advancement Stephen Soiffer, Department of English Chair Brian Keener, Department of Advertising Design & Graphic Arts Chair Joel Mason and Graphic Arts Program Director Lloyd Carr, English Professors George Guida, Ellen Goldsmith, Richard Patterson and Nina Bannett, Philosophy Professor Walter Brand, Mathematics Professor Jonathan Natov, Communication Design Professors Mary Ann Biehl and Nasser McMayo, and other faculty and staff members in the English and ADGA departments, including Lily Lam, Elayne Rinn, Steve Caputo, George Pompilio and Peter Pompilio.
Also critical to production of the first issue were ADGA students who submitted designs for the cover, and the graphic arts students who formatted and printed the cover. The cover design selected for publication was by ADGA student Yifang Gonzalez.
Readers can visit City Tech Writer at www.citytech.cuny.edu./files/academics/CTW.pdf.
Faculty are encouraged to submit outstanding student writing from their courses for Volume 2. Submissions should be sent to Prof. Mushabac in Namm Hall 512 before the end of the fall 2006 semester.
Photos by Alberto Vargas.
06/29/06
