Social Justice Week at Pace University is designed to offer an ongoing memorial for DJ Henry and further commit Pace to social justice and anti-racism. All students, staff, and faculty are invited to apply to this year's Social Justice Week planning committee. Applications are due by Friday, March 11.
Pace’s third annual Social Justice Week is scheduled for October 24-28 and we need your help to plan and promote this week-long event! All members of the Pace Community—students, staff, and faculty—are invited to apply to be part of this year’s planning committee. Applications are due by Friday, March 11.
Social Justice Week at Pace University is designed to offer an ongoing memorial for DJ Henry and further commit Pace to social justice and anti-racism. A community-driven effort, the week aims to offer original programming that adheres to values of equity and justice and engages the campus community in learning activities and dialogue centered on the issues of social justice. Social Justice Week seeks to create spaces to challenge white supremacy among other forms of oppression and to create a starting point from which meaningful dialogue and action can be created for the entire Pace Community.
The Social Justice Week planning committee comprises four subcommittees each charged with a different mission. Students are welcome to apply to serve as a co-chair of a subcommittee. Please review the subcommittee descriptions below:
If you are not able to join the committee but are interested in hosting an event during the week, please look out for our call for program submissions in late summer/early fall.
In the meantime, learn more about DJ’s story by watching this video produced by the DJ Henry Dream Fund or by scrolling through this comic by @thefakepan on Instagram.
Applications are due by Friday, March 11. Please email socialjusticeweek@pace.edu with any questions.
Finance Professor PV Viswanath knows that understanding finance goes beyond just dollars and cents—financial markets have a real-world impact on the disadvantaged among us. Read how he’s teaching a new generation of finance professionals to tackle wealth and income inequalities.
Sports Marking major Eli Simmons Jr. ‘21 is making a name for himself through his clothing brand SVNCLO, a brand for everyone who knows that seven days is all you need to make a dream come true.
School of Education student Guadalupe Ceja ’23 hasn’t officially started teaching yet, but her own experiences in the classroom and her recent New York State scholarship win are putting her at the head of the class.
The new semester started a few weeks ago, but Monday was the first day we returned to in-person instruction. Our campuses are busy again, our residence halls are full, and our lecture halls, seminar rooms, labs, studios, and libraries are back in action.
We’re back.
The new semester started a few weeks ago, but Monday was the first day we returned to in-person instruction. Our campuses are busy again, our residence halls are full, and our lecture halls, seminar rooms, labs, studios, and libraries are back in action.
It’s great to see the Pace campuses returning to life.
We kept our first two weeks of instruction this semester virtual, so we could de-densify our campuses through the Omicron surge and also ensure everyone was able to stay engaged with their classes, even if quarantine or isolation was required. I’m pleased to report that our reopening has gone smoothly and safely, with just a handful of students needing to isolate after positive tests.
Even better, the encouraging trends at Pace University are reflected in our broader community: The country at large and especially our local areas have seen a rapid decrease in test positivity since just a few weeks ago. In New York City, the average rate is roughly a third of what it was two weeks ago, and less than 15 percent of where it stood another two weeks before that. In Westchester, it’s less than half of two weeks ago, and under a fifth of two weeks before that.
We’re keeping a close eye on numbers at Pace, and we anticipate that we’ll be able to reduce our COVID Alert Level soon. (We’re still waiting for results from this week’s tests.) I’m hopeful that sometime over the coming weeks we’ll be able to get back to green—but even now we’re starting to get back to the kind of connection and interaction we so prize about our campus experience.
We’ll have more news on that very soon, so be sure to keep checking your Pace email.
For now, welcome back to in-person Pace, and welcome back to a resurgent New York City and Westchester County. I’m excited to be able to see all of you soon; I’m excited to cheer on Setter athletes and applaud our long-awaited Actors Studio Drama School rep season; and I’m excited to get back to enjoying everything our campuses, our city, and our region have to offer.
From having an entire season cancelled to vying for the NE-10 Conference title, Pace Women’s Basketball has been making the most of their return to action. Coach Carrie Seymour and team co-captain Lauren Schetter discuss this year’s success amidst unorthodox circumstances, and reflect on Coach Seymour’s major milestone of 500 career wins at Pace.
Finance Professor PV Viswanath knows that understanding finance goes beyond just dollars and cents—financial markets have a real-world impact on the disadvantaged among us. Read how he’s teaching a new generation of finance professionals to tackle wealth and income inequalities.
Esports has arrived at Pace as our 15th varsity sport. Get your introduction to this booming industry, our new Esports director, and the students who have been passionately dedicated to the program since its days as a student club.
From having an entire season cancelled to vying for the NE-10 Conference title, Pace Women’s Basketball has been making the most of their return to action. Coach Carrie Seymour and team co-captain Lauren Schetter discuss this year’s success amidst unorthodox circumstances, and reflect on Coach Seymour’s major milestone of 500 career wins at Pace.
It’s been a bizarre past two seasons for Pace Women’s Basketball. After being sidelined the entire 2020–2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Setters returned this year to circumstances remarkably different from that of the 2019–2020 season.
Yet, the team has continued to find a way—exceeding expectations considerably, en route to a 17-5 record, hovering at the very top of the NE-10 Conference, even making an appearance in the national rankings.
Even more impressively, they’ve done it with a squad that looks remarkably different than two years ago. Pace Head Coach Carrie Seymour, now in her 30th year as head coach, has been particularly pleased with this year’s core group of veterans—Lauren Schetter '21, '24, Lauren Hackett '22, Naya Rivera '21, and Kelsey Quain '22, the only four returning players, who Seymour believes have set the bar for success.
“Our big question mark was: How were we going to look this year with just four players that have played at Pace? I think Lauren (Schetter), Lauren Hackett, Naya Rivera, and Kelsey Quain have done a really good job setting the tone for how hard you’ve gotta play in games, how difficult the conference is, just helping the new kids by example,” says Seymour.
“From having the whole year off, we were really eager to come back as upperclassmen to meet these new kids and finally get them on court and work with them,” added Schetter. “It was hard in the beginning—pre-season was different, last year was different, we had sophomores and freshman coming in, we really had to communicate how hard it is to actually win games.”
As Seymour and Schetter both note, the team has figured out how to turn the unusual circumstance of last year and this season into fuel for success. They started the year by making a major statement—winning 11 out of their first 12 games—and have managed to continue the momentum as they move toward the later stretches of the season.
“Everybody really just wanted to get back onto the court,” says Seymour. “Last year we were limited, and we had some bad luck with quarantines when we were allowed to start doing workouts again, so we had very minimal amount of time in the gym with more than one or two people at a time. I think everyone is playing just a little bit harder.”
Like all sports during the pandemic, safety precautions have meant that the majority games have taken place with limited spectators, and some with no spectators at all. Seymour and Schetter note that while the atmosphere has been more squeaky sneakers than screaming fans, being able to wear the Setter Blue and Gold in a competitive atmosphere has been more than enough.
“We’re just excited to even be playing against another team,” explains Schetter. “We had been playing against teammates and two or three other players for a whole year.”
“It’s nice when the crowds are back, the cheerleaders are back, the dance team, there’s a little more buzz in the gym—it’s kind of weird when you have the public address announcer talking to no one,” says Seymour. “It’s nicer to have people in the building, hopefully we can keep building on attendance.”
“Everybody really just wanted to get back onto the court,” says Seymour.
Yet, there has arguably still been a buzz in the gym this season—particularly on January 22, when Pace defeated Saint Michael’s College 69-65, thanks in large part to Schetter’s career-high 31-point performance. The win was Pace’s 12th of the season, but more notably, it was Coach Seymour’s 500th career win, becoming only the 21st coach in Division II history to reach 500 wins with the same school.
Seymour, as a great coach often does, credited the accomplishment to those around her.
“It’s not about Carrie Seymour getting 500 wins, it’s about Pace University Women’s Basketball getting 500 wins since I’ve been here,” says Seymour.
But Schetter, who graduated in the fall with a degree in human resource management and is currently pursuing an MS in Human Resources at Pace, understands that she has been working with a truly special coach—one who has influenced her well beyond the confines of the court.
“She has a huge role in everything we do every single day—keeping us motivated on the court, keeping us determined to come in every single day. She’s taught me so much not only on the court, but things I’ll take on for the rest of my life, and I’m sure that all the players who have played for her before can say the same thing,” added Schetter.
As the team heads into the home stretch, the coming weeks can prove to be truly exciting. The Setters are in position to potentially win the NE-10 Conference and make a deep playoff run. Yet, like any well-disciplined team, they know that they can't look too far ahead.
“The big thing for us is one game at a time,” said Seymour. “We could have end goals of what we’d like to accomplish this season, but we have to stay very, very narrowly focused on our next game. If you can do that, wins will fall into place.”
Don’t miss the action for the remainder of the season! Follow @PaceWBB on twitter, and if you can’t make it to Goldstein, stream the upcoming games on the Pace Sports Network.
The Great Resignation. Remote Work. COVID-19 and the future of work. You’ve heard it all, but what does it mean? Talent Management expert Ibraiz Tarique, PhD, breaks down the ever-evolving relationship between employers and the people who truly make workplaces tick.
In an award-winning research paper, Dyson Assistant Professor Melvin Williams examines how LaVar Ball was successfully able to build a media agenda while simultaneously countering stereotypes faced by Black athletes and fathers.
College of Health Professions Associate Professor and occupational therapist John Damiao is leveraging technology to make substantial improvements to the lives of wheelchair users through research, aiming to increase comfort and reduce injuries.
After spending fifteen years as an auto mechanic, College of Health Professions Associate Professor John Damiao shifted gears to become an occupational therapist. While the intersection between the worlds of auto garages and occupational therapy may not necessarily be thought of as a traditionally interdisciplinary realm, the combination of these two experiences have informed how Damiao approaches his work—and in particular, his recent innovative research.
Damiao has spent the past several years figuring out ways to provide added comfort and reduce pain for wheelchair users through what is called custom-contour seating. In effect, Damiao is hoping to help promote a paradigm shift in how wheelchair seats are constructed, to better assist the user.
“Custom contoured seating refers to wheelchair seating systems to fit people with severe deformities—whether its postural or a skeletal deformity, and they can’t sit in a typical linear wheelchair seating system because it would cause discomfort, or eventually cause pressure ulcers because of the mismatching of their shape to what is a typical wheelchair seat shape.” explains Damiao.
Wheelchairs are often constructed through the development of a customized cushion—many of which must be formed to meet the specific shape of the wheelchair user, using what is called the molding bag method. Through this process, a wheelchair user is sat in a molding bag, and the imprint of their shape in the molding is used to make the seat. Damiao’s research involves developing a novel way to capture a person’s shape, in order to make a more accurate custom seat that better represents their shape, as compared to the molding bag method.
“Traditionally, the wheelchair user is sat in a molding bag that makes an imprint of their shape on a very soft molding bag,” said Damiao. “The bag is hardened, and that bag shape is scanned, sent off to a company and they make a cushion from that imprint.”
While this method is considered standard across the industry, Damiao notes that it has a major shortcoming: the mold is taken while the person is sitting in a loaded fashion. Meaning, that the shape being captured is inherently compromised, which could increase pressure on certain tendons or muscles. By scanning a patient directly instead of having them sit in a molding bag, this problem could be solved.
“The problem is the person is still sitting in a loaded fashion and their body contours are being distorted from sitting in a loaded fashion,” he says. “The innovation in my research is scanning the person directly, or in an unloaded position, which should make for a more accurate custom contoured seat.”
This adjustment can potentially have major positive effects on both an individual and collective level. For one, it would provide increased comfort and reduce the threat of pressure injury for the user. And on a larger level, this innovation can help lower the staggering cost of pressure injuries.
“If you or I sit on a hard chair for several hours, we get uncomfortable, shift our weight… somebody who is in a wheelchair may not have the luxury to do their own weight shifting. They’re prone to getting skin breakdowns, commonly known as bed sores or pressure ulcers. These pressure ulcers and injuries kill 60,000 people per year to this day. It’s still a problem—it’s a $10,000,000,000 per year industry problem.”
These pressure ulcers and injuries kill 60,000 people per year to this day. It’s still a problem—it’s a $10,000,000,000 per year industry problem.”
In addition to his work on custom contour seating, Damiao recently published impactful work involving pressure cushions—cushions specifically designed to reduce sores. Damiao did a systematic review of what’s currently on the market, going a step further than traditional measures to determine which pressure cushions are actually effective.
“Most of this research happens in a lab,” says Damiao. “I can test the different types of cushions and try to see which ones seem to be the best at relieving pressure using fancy technology, such as pressure mapping systems, but they’re really just proxy measures, fake measures of actual pressure relief. You’re not going to know whether that cushion is actually good at relieving pressure until you give it to a bunch of people and hope they don’t get pressure ulcers. I looked at pressure relieving injuries using proxy measures, as well as taking into consideration that those are just proxy measures—what are the cushions that actually relieve pressures with real patients?”
As a 21st century occupational therapist, Damiao understands that, while academic research is vital and will continue to be vital, it is just as important to be able to leverage technological advances to implement changes rapidly. He hopes that increased interdisciplinary collaboration—for instance, better collaboration between those developing healthcare technologies and researchers—can help take the theoretical into the practical much faster, and thus positively impact lives.
“That’s an area that needs to be improved, said Damiao. “Us being able to collaborate more interdisciplinarily so that we can create technologies we can’t think of in a silo, but also to make sure that patients benefit more quickly from these innovations.”
It’s no secret that wellness—physical, mental, spiritual—is a key component to success. At Pace, we’re taking a holistic approach to supporting wellness for all members of our community through the creation of a new role, the Chief Wellness Officer.
At the intersection of Pace’s strategic priorities and opportunities for outstanding academic growth comes the drive to move Pace forward. We're meeting the challenges facing higher education and putting our unique positioning and competitive advantages to work, strengthening our reputation as we move into the future.
Pace is excited to announce that Marcus Tye, PhD, has taken the helm as the dean for the College of Health Professions.
Julia Sroczyk always dreamed of traveling to New York City. Through the Kosciuszko Foundation and the English Language Institute at Pace University, she was able to see her dream come true.
Written from the perspective of Julia Sroczyk, a student at Pace's English Language Institute.
My name is Julia, I’m 21 years old, and I’m from a small locality in Poland called Rakszawa which is located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship. I am an aspiring journalist living in Lublin, Poland, where I'm studying journalism and social communications at Catholic University of Lublin. I love photography, sports, travel, and colorful socks. Last year, I chased my dreams and took part in a language course organized by the English Language Institute at Pace University.
My English language learning began in Mierzwa’s Primary School at the age of seven. Every year in primary school, we were visited by graduates who spoke about their journeys to New York City, and ever since, I’ve wanted to be one of them. The possibility of this journey became my dream, and I knew that it would be an opportunity to not only practice my English skills, but to also have a huge and unforgettable life adventure.
Fortunately, my school collaborated with The Kosciuszko Foundation—the only school in Poland that did—which was why I was able to apply for the scholarship that gave me the opportunity to take language lessons at Pace.
I was prepared to arrive in the US during the 2020 holidays but had to hold off due to the pandemic. I felt so bad that I was unable to start my American journey. When the trip became possible again in February 2021, I knew there was risk involved, but I was certain this trip would make my dreams come true. So, I decided to take the trip. I know now that I made the right choice, and I would do it again.
Now that I am home, I constantly reflect on my time in New York City and appreciate all the positives that came from my time with the English Language Institute at Pace University.
There were a lot of adjustments to make in New York City. My final exams at Pace looked different than they did in Poland. Rather than written and oral exams, I had projects to prepare and presentations to give. I was not accustomed this style of learning, but I was very satisfied with the final outcome. I was also challenged to practice my English every day as I interacted with native speakers—an opportunity I did not always have in Poland. When I finished the course, I was pleased with my grades and felt more outgoing than I was before I arrived in New York City.
Now that I am home, I constantly reflect on my time in New York City and appreciate all the positives that came from my time with the English Language Institute at Pace.
I wish everybody who has opportunity to study in NYC could take the chance. It was such a great childhood dream which I achieved. I hope there’s more people like me. Look for the positives in life and take advantage of every opportunity to learn and explore the world. Don’t be afraid to take a risk because the world belongs to the brave!
Learn more about the programs offered by Pace’s English Language Institute (ELI) and meet more students like Julia by following ELI on Instagram.
Finance Professor PV Viswanath knows that understanding finance goes beyond just dollars and cents—financial markets have a real-world impact on the disadvantaged among us. Read how he’s teaching a new generation of finance professionals to tackle wealth and income inequalities.
On Wednesday, February 9, Pace’s Chief Wellness Officer, in collaboration with the College of Health Professions is hosting a special event to address mental health and resilience in the student population at Pace.
College of Health Professions Associate Professor and occupational therapist John Damiao is leveraging technology to make substantial improvements to the lives of wheelchair users through research, aiming to increase comfort and reduce injuries.
Dr. Andrew Coggins Clinical Professor at the Lubin School of Business at Pace University- Expert Advice - Depending on travel patterns, if one spends a lot of nights in hotels and is very brand loyal, the card makes sense.
Dr. Andrew Coggins Clinical Professor at the Lubin School of Business at Pace University-It depends on one's travel patterns. If you travel with many different airlines, the travel card makes more sense. If you travel almost exclusively with one or two airlines, the airline card makes more sense, especially if lounge access is included.
Dyson Professor Darrin Porcher appointed to a New York City Council redistricting commission, according to the Gotham Gazette.
Lubin Professor Andrew Coggins helps travelers pick the best credit cards offering hotel rewards points with WalletHub.