Pace University Athletics boasted a spring season filled with success. Throughout the four spring season programs—men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball, and softball—Pace celebrated several All-American honors, memorable moments, and postseason victories.

Women’s lacrosse earned their first-ever Northeast-10 Championship in program history, defeating Adelphi University, 16-14, at Northwell Stadium. Despite falling short in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament, the Setters put together an impressive season, finishing with a 21-1 overall record. The team was honored with four All-America selections, as Angelina Porcello and Alexandra Quinn earned IWLCA First Team All-America honors, while Delilah Doyle and Samantha Tanguay were selected to the IWLCA All-America Second Team. Regarding NE-10 major awards, Porcello earned Midfielder of the Year, Tanguay was selected as Goalkeeper of the Year, Quinn captured Defender of the Year, and Maddie Schubert took home Rookie of the Year while head coach Tricia Molfetta was honored as Coach of the Year. Porcello solidified herself as one of Pace's greatest athletes ever as she became the all-time points leader in Pace history with 284 points (206 goals, 78 assists).

Men’s lacrosse reached new heights on the field in 2024. The squad ended their season with a 13-4 overall record and earned their first NCAA Tournament win in program history against Mercyhurst University. Their NCAA Tournament run ended in the quarterfinals, but the Blue and Gold exceeded expectations in 2024. Their stellar season led to a handful of USILA All-American selections. Ryan Kemp was chosen for the first team, while Rafael Rodriguez, Jr. and Chris Caputo were named to the second team. The trio of Rowan Kelly, Maxwell Streety, and Daniel Zabbia were given honorable mentions. The season had a notable milestone for Head Coach Tom Mariano, as he earned his 100th career win.

Softball matched a program record for wins, finishing with an overall record of 33-16. In their outstanding season, the Setters earned an NCAA Tournament win over Bridgeport University that included a no-hit performance from Gisselle Garcia, her fifth of the year. After the season, Garcia was selected as the first-ever All-American in Pace softball history, earning NFCA Third Team honors and a D2CCA Second Team selection. Garcia put together one of the best pitching displays in Pace history, which included breaking the record for career strikeouts and earning NE-10 Pitcher of the Year. Garcia and Brianna Shea were chosen for the D2CCA All-East Region First Team, while Raelle Gorman earned a Second Team selection.

Baseball had an accomplished season in 2024, concluding with a 28-19 overall record. The Blue and Gold took home a win in the Northeast-10 tournament, defeating the College of Saint Rose 8-5. Although the team came up short of back-to-back Northeast-10 titles, they had many positive takeaways from their season. Dan Brown was selected as the Southwest Division Pitcher of the Year, along with an NCWBA All-East Region Second Team honor and his impressive year led to Brown signing with the Windy City Thunderbirds of the Frontier League. Freshman Dylan Koch earned the Southwest Division Rookie Hitter of the Year and an All-Rookie team selection. 13 total All-Conference selections were earned which marked the most from a spring team.

With the abundance of success in each program, it certainly was a spring season to remember at Pace.

In 2019, Pace University’s Office of Alumni Relations made a significant investment in its alumni community. By implementing our first comprehensive all-alumni survey, we sought to understand how we could enhance the alumni experience. Through email, mail, and social media, we asked you to “Join the Conversation” and share your insights. Your feedback was invaluable and led to the creation of the Alumni Association, which has provided new and exciting ways for alumni to engage with the University.

Since its inception, the Alumni Association has enabled Pace alumni to build community, support current students, and make impactful changes. Now, as we continue to strive for excellence, we want to hear from you again. Our work is far from complete, and we are inviting you to “Reflect, Respond, and Reconnect” to help shape the future of our alumni program.

We are excited to announce the launch of our follow-up survey on September 10, 2024. Please keep an eye on your emails and our social media channels for more details. In the meantime, ensure your contact information is up to date. Your participation is crucial in helping us build a stronger, more connected alumni community.

Let’s work together to continue making meaningful changes for all Pace alumni.

In a remarkable career that spans over four decades, Barbara Farrell, EdD, CPA, has been an indomitable force in the field of accounting education at Pace University. The Lubin School of Business professor was recently honored with the prestigious Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her unwavering commitment to teaching, service, scholarship, and her significant contributions to the Pace community.

Professor Farrell's journey with Pace began humbly in 1980, when she joined as an adjunct professor while concurrently working in public accounting and the private sector. Her expertise in auditing information systems quickly became an asset, and by 1983, she transitioned to a full-time faculty role. Over the years, she has taught a myriad of accounting courses, imparting knowledge that has shaped the careers of countless students.

The impact of Professor Farrell's dedication is evident in the success of her students. Many of them have risen to prominence in the business world and continue to give back to the university. The establishment of the EY Tutoring Lab, the EY Scholarship program, and the Deloitte Video Conference rooms in both New York City and Pleasantville are testaments to the enduring influence of her mentorship and teaching.

Beyond her teaching responsibilities, Professor Farrell has been a stalwart supporter of student organizations and university committees. Since 1983, she has served as the faculty advisor to the Robert S. Pace Accounting Society, nurturing the next generation of accounting professionals. Her leadership extends to numerous committees, including the Budget Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees, where she has played a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of the university.

Professor Farrell's academic credentials are as impressive as her professional achievements. She earned her BBA/MBA from Pace University in 1978, passed the CPA exam that same year, and joined Touche Ross, NYC, in June 1978. Her pursuit of knowledge led her to Columbia University, where she completed her EdD in 1993.

The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award is a fitting tribute to Professor Farrell's extraordinary career and her unwavering dedication to excellence in her discipline. Her legacy at Pace University is not just one of academic rigor and professional success but also of profound personal connections and lasting contributions to the university community. As we celebrate her achievements, we are reminded of the indelible mark she has left on Pace University and the generations of students who have benefited from her wisdom and guidance.

Pace University Athletics is thrilled to announce the 2024 class of the Pace Athletics Hall of Fame presented by Northwell, scheduled to be officially inducted on Sunday, October 27 as part of Homecoming Weekend.

This year’s Hall of Fame class, the 21st in program history, will include Jeane Drury '15 (Softball and Women’s Basketball), Al Elliott '02 (Men’s Basketball), Casey Gelderman '18 (Women’s Lacrosse), Brian Pirone '96 (Football), and Claudia Stabile (Head Softball Coach and Senior Woman Administrator).

"This is an exceptional group of inductees and I look forward to welcoming this class into our Athletics Hall of Fame this fall," said Pace Director of Athletics Mark Brown. "Through their contributions and achievements, each of these individuals has brought incredible pride to Pace University, our department, and their teams. This will be a very special weekend for all of us and I cannot wait to celebrate their careers."

"Through their contributions and achievements, each of these individuals has brought incredible pride to Pace University, our department, and their teams. This will be a very special weekend for all of us and I cannot wait to celebrate their careers."

Drury finished fifth all-time in softball program history in hits (189) and tied for second in home runs, leaving the park 22 times. In addition to those marks, she also finds herself in the top-10 all-time in multiple other statistics including, batting average (.365), doubles (33), RBI (104), stolen bases (33) and runs (114). On the basketball court she appeared in 52 career games, tallying 132 points, 99 rebounds and 46 assists.

Elliott, who was named Pace Male Athlete of the Year in 2002, has his name etched into the history of Pace University Men's Basketball. He is fifth all-time in career points with 1,775 while also ranking 11th in assists with 336, and hauled in 633 rebounds, which is good for 15th all time. He is also tenth in career steals with 166 while also being tied for tenth in career triples made with 163.

Gelderman was instrumental in establishing an incredibly successful women's lacrosse team at Pace as a member of the first roster in program history in 2015. She became the first IWLCA All-American in program history, earning the honor as a junior. Gelderman finished her illustrious career as the program record holder with 218 career goals, a mark that still stands today, and 252 career points, which is currently second all-time.

Pirone is one of the most accomplished defensive players in Pace football history. He is the only three-year captain and was a two-time Pace Homecoming MVP. He is fourth in program history with 18.5 sacks and second all-time with 412 career tackles. Pirone holds the record for most tackles in a game (28) and most tackles in a 10-game season (142). During his career, he earned four ECAC All-Conference honors, and was also a four-time Don Hansen Gazette Division II Non-Scholarship honoree.

Drury's coach, Claudia Stabile, has been the only Pace softball coach during Pace's Division II era, and is the longest-tenured active head coach across all NCAA Divisions. Stabile has earned over 800 career victories in her 43 seasons at the helm of the program, with her 800th coming during the 2023 campaign in a 5-2 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas College. Stabile has had the Setters finish at .500 or above 25 times, including numerous trips to the Northeast 10 championships, and the NCAA East Regional.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be honored during halftime of the Pace Homecoming football game against American International College on Saturday, October 26. The induction ceremony and awards brunch will be held Sunday, October 27 in the Stephen J. Friedman Room of Wilcox Hall on the Pleasantville Campus, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Register for the Pace Athletics Hall of Fame and Awards Brunch presented by Northwell.

Pace University has long been a beacon of academic excellence and community spirit, largely due to the dedication and passion of its staff and faculty. Among these exceptional individuals, Barbara Egidi and Rosa Ament, PhD, stand out for their extraordinary commitment and service. Together, they have devoted a combined 105 years to the University, shaping the lives of countless students and colleagues.

Barbara Egidi: A Legacy of Dedication and Passion

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Barbara Egidi's journey at Pace University began 55 years ago. Over the decades, she has become an integral part of the institution, particularly within the MS in Publishing program. Reflecting on her remarkable tenure, Barbara shared, "Pace has given me years of beautiful memories, such as earning my BS in Office Information Technology and graduating at the same time as my daughter, who received her BS in Marketing. Working on the Pace Study Abroad Program and meeting my Italian husband in Rome while on a Pace trip are moments I cherish deeply. We’ve been married 53 years. I have fond memories of advising all the wonderful students for the past 40 years in the MS in Publishing program. Pace life has been good!"

Barbara's impact on the University community is echoed by many, including Sherman Raskin, professor emeritus. "I have known Barbara Egidi for more than 55 years and have fond recollections of when she first began working in the English department on the New York City campus," Raskin recalls. "Barbara is a hardworking professional who is committed to helping students succeed and to assisting faculty in fulfilling their responsibilities. As former chair of the English department and director of the Publishing program, I relied on Barbara to work closely with our students and faculty. Many faculty and students have fond memories of the assistance they received from Barbara, which made a difference in shaping their experience at Pace. To this day, Barbara is a dedicated professional committed to her job. Congratulations, Barbara, for 55 years of service to Pace University!"

Manuela Soares, PhD, clinical associate professor in the MS in Publishing program, also highlights Barbara's crucial role in the program's success. "Barbara Egidi was a founding member of the MS in Publishing program and has provided students with her expert and thoughtful guidance through the years. Her generous and caring advisement is a major reason why the program has been so successful. As we celebrate Barbara's 55th anniversary at Pace and look to the program's 40th anniversary next year, let's remember that people like Barbara are our most important asset. Congratulations, Barbara, and thank you for your service and dedication!"

Rosa Ament: A Pillar of Support and Leadership

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Rosa Ament, PhD, the director of the Counseling Center, has been a steadfast presence at Pace University for 50 years. Her contributions to the mental health and wellness of the University community are immeasurable. Reflecting on her career, Rosa expressed, "Over the course of the last 50 years and currently, I am fortunate to work with dedicated, collaborative, hard-working professionals who make work a joy and who make me look good. In addition, I have had multiple wonderful leaders who supervised and supported me to grow professionally and provided me and my staff a secure platform to serve the personal growth, wellness, and mental health of students and the Pace University community. WOW, 50 years—overall, it is a wonderful dream that feels like a blink of an eye."

Mariesa Cruz-Tillery, associate director of the Counseling Center, commends Rosa's extraordinary dedication and expertise. "Dr. Ament is a counseling psychologist with over 50 years of direct counseling service experience within college and university settings, helping people from multicultural backgrounds cope with stress caused by major life transitions. During her tenure as director of the Counseling Center, she has been called upon to work with both academic and administrative departments to facilitate the development of numerous protocols and intervention programs that foster mental health on campus, assist students in their transition to academic life, and minimize risk associated with alcohol and other drug abuse. She is an outstanding administrator recognized by students, faculty, staff, and administrators for her leadership and management skills. Congratulations and thank you for your service and dedication!"

A Legacy to Remember

As we celebrate these incredible milestones, we acknowledge the profound impact Barbara Egidi and Rosa Ament have had on Pace University. Their dedication, passion, and commitment have shaped the experiences of countless students and colleagues, leaving a legacy that will be cherished for generations to come. Their stories are a testament to the enduring spirit of service and the remarkable bonds formed within the Pace Community.

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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is pleased to announce the creation of the Vanessa Merton Immigration Justice Fellowship, a key component of the school’s Immigration Justice Clinic focused on ensuring the legal system’s just treatment of immigrants in the Hudson Valley and local New York Metropolitan region. Barbara Sarmiento, a 2024 graduate of Haub Law, has been selected to serve as the program’s inaugural fellow beginning this fall.

Through the generosity of her family, the Immigration Justice Fellowship was established in honor of Professor Vanessa Merton, founder and recently retired director of the Immigration Justice Clinic, who has been a renowned visionary, providing leadership and advocacy in support of the clinic’s important mission for nearly two decades. The Fellow will serve as a liaison between the clinic, immigration organizations, and the migrant community, helping to connect those in need with free legal services, resources or referrals.

"We are deeply grateful for the inauguration of this new fellowship that will enable the Immigration Justice Clinic to expand its reach, particularly to those community members and families who are barred from most immigration relief,” said Stephanie Tombrello, Vanessa's sister. “Vanessa is known for her tenacity and dedication to accompanying and advocating for her clients, always exhausting every option. Now, the next generation of new students will carry on this commitment and thrive with the support and guidance of the inaugural fellow, Barbara Sarmiento, a recent Haub Law graduate who herself has witnessed Vanessa's passion and compassion over the past half decade."

A former paralegal, Barbara Sarmiento first joined Haub Law in 2018 as the Immigration Justice Clinic Administrator and an Assistant Clinic Administrator for John Jay Legal Services, the not-for-profit legal services firm that houses and runs the clinic and externship programs at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. Working closely under the auspices of Professor Merton, she was responsible for leading orientation and training for legal interns, supporting interns with their case management, and often worked directly with clients as a Spanish translator. “Professor Merton has had a profound effect on my life,” said Barbara. “I have always been impressed by her extraordinary intellect, knowledge of the law and passion as an advocate for immigrant rights. She has been an inspiration to so many students, like myself, demonstrating the hard work needed to represent clients well and further their interests.”

Realizing the vast need for immigration lawyers, it was this experience at the clinic and with faculty such as Professor Merton, that inspired Barbara’s interest in a law degree “to be able to do more to help clients.” As a part-time Flex JD student, Barbara has pursued her law degree at Haub Law for the past 4 years, all while juggling roles at the clinic and internships at organizations such as the Empire Justice Center. She is currently preparing to take the Bar Exam and looks forward to joining the clinic in her new capacity as Immigration Justice Fellow this fall.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to continue Vanessa’s extraordinary and vital work in immigration justice, through the creation of this fellowship which will enable us to expand our legal services to underserved immigrant communities, and support the hard work of our students and supervising faculty,” said Haub Law Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “Barbara is a most deserving fellow; as both a law student and a member of the clinic staff, she has demonstrated the type of dedication and personal commitment that has typified Vanessa’s tenure at Haub Law.”

If you wish to contribute to the Immigration Justice Fellowship and help further the important work of Haub Law’s Immigration Justice Clinic, please make a gift online “in honor of Vanessa Merton.”

Peggy Sue Got Married. Romancing the Stone. Friends. The Kominsky Method. Serial Mom. 

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Kathleen Turner’s illustrious career, which includes dozens of notable roles across various genres and two Golden Globe Awards (plus nominations for an Oscar, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards) has made her a household name across generations.

Now, she can add one more item to her CV—Professor at Sands College of Performing Arts.

Having recently joined the faculty at Pace University’s Sands College of Performing Arts, Turner is channeling her decades of high-level performing arts experience into educating the next generation of performers. In a candid discussion, she reflects on her decision to join Pace, emphasizing her belief in the importance of higher education within the performing arts.

What excites you about teaching?

A lot of it is passing it on. I’ve done a lot of work—a good body of work. It’s more than that; it’s about the ethics of it. What do we owe each other? What is the responsibility toward the audience? If you have this kind of ability, this gift of communication, then you really have to be aware of the responsibilities inherent in that, and choose them. Choose what kind of material you represent and do so with great care—this is probably more important than anything.

In your opinion, what makes a great teacher?

I suppose you’d have to start with passion for the subject of what they’re teaching. A real love of it. A real belief in it. Why else do it?

What are some qualities that you see in Pace students today that excites you?

I like the curiosity. I like the fact that they are willing and wanting to learn, to explore, in terms of material and process. The technique of it. I’m not dealing with performers who are already stuck in their ways which would be useless to me. I don’t subscribe to any one method or discipline; I would think that excluding things would be rather short-sighted. I’m pleased with the open-mindedness of the students.

On a technical level, what course(s) will you be teaching?

Pace has allowed me to pretty much design the course, which we’re calling: Stage to Screen. I’m trying to show and teach the choices and the difference in choices that you make for one medium as opposed to another. And also to teach them how to read a film script, how to visualize it.

It’s rather complicated at times, but I've got all seniors in the course, which I like–by the time they come into my class they have a certain level of experience and knowledge to begin with, so we can just take off.

In the course, do you spend any time on the business side of the industry?

Yea. Absolutely. This week, I brought in some very highly qualified agents to talk about their job, what the actor can ask of them, what they will be asked of, it was quite fascinating, the discussion and the questions that the students asked and did not really know before.

This is a business. This ain’t no hobby, honey.

Having now been around the University, what do you think has changed since you were studying to be a performer? What has remained the same?

We had no camera training at all 45 years ago. Nobody had the equipment. At that time, cameras were 500 pounds each. No school had that kind of capacity to handle that kind of thing. Technology has enabled us to do amazing things that were quite impossible in the past.

But I think the core thing that has not changed is doing it. Just doing it as much as possible. I tell students not necessarily to go to a conservatory or school which only emphasizes the craft–the broader the education, in many ways, the more beneficial for the actor. We need to know just about everything. I think again, why close yourself off? Go to a school where you get to work, to get on camera.

These schools that say you’re not allowed to perform for the first two years or whatever, to me are two years of wasted time. Don’t talk about it, do it!

What do you hope students will take away from spending time with you in the classroom?

I want the students who worked and learned with me to go out and to be able to do professional work. To be able to fulfill the actor’s role. Everybody has a learning curve, of course. And experience is always a teacher. But that being said, I don’t want any of my students to go out and let a production down.

If you were starting out today, what advice would you give to your younger self?

What I remember has remained true is to have true confidence in yourself. Don’t walk into an audition, don’t walk into a job, wondering if you can do it. You can do it.

The only responsibility is to be sure that you did the very, very best job that you could do that day. You may wake up in the middle of the night and say “Oh hell, I should’ve made that choice.” That’s okay. At the time, in the place, you made the best choice you could. That’s what you owe. Nothing more.

As the Spring 2024 semester came to an end, Seidenberg’s students and their families, faculty, and staff came together on our NYC and Pleasantville campuses to honor the Class of 2024 award winners at the annual Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems Awards Ceremonies.

View the event photos (Dropbox)

Below is a list of all the Class of 2024 Seidenberg award winners. The whole Seidenberg team congratulates you on these major achievements!

Doctoral Awards (Pleasantville)

• Outstanding Student of the Year: Paxton J. Louis

Graduate Awards (Pleasantville)

• Outstanding Student of the Year: Thomas W. Cookson
• Computer Science Departmental Award: Yuxiang Liu
• Cybersecurity Scholar Award: Justin Brandon, John Michael Mueller
• Information Systems Departmental Award: Sejal Arora

Graduate Awards (NYC)

• Outstanding Student of the Year: Darsh Hiteshkumar Joshi
• Computer Science Departmental Award: Ram Prakash Babu, Shiva Sourav Kasula, Jiatao Kuang, Rahul Anand Nayanegali, Fnu Pariva, Vinay Pusuluri, Prathima Seethalam Radhakrishna, Somil Haresh Saparia, Bansariben Sureshbhai Sorathiya, Swetha Voora
• Cybersecurity Scholar Award: Jash Mayur Ghelani, Amrutha Ginkala, Poojan Sunilkumar Shah
• Data Science Scholar Award: Piyush Gupta, Aishwarya Hiremath, Tirthkumar Mukeshkumar Patel
• Information Systems Departmental Award: Saloni P Bhaiya, Yash A Jivani, Yuraja Sohel Kadari, Guna Sai Koniki, Pratik Shashikant Mane, Alekhya Mudunuri, Dipen M Patel, Linhui Shi
• Telecommunications Award: Nambinachiar Devendran Konar
• Human Centered Design Award: Priyanka P Kadam, Liza Karimova, Susanna P Lammervo, Saumya Roy
• Francis Marchese Software Development and Engineering Award: Egemen Durmus

Undergraduate Awards (Pleasantville)

• Scholastic Achievement Award: Erin Sorbella
• Computer Science Departmental Award: Kenji Okura
• Information Technology Departmental Award: Alexandra Breygina

Undergraduate Awards (NYC)

• Scholastic Achievement Award: Joseph Paradiso
• Computer Science Departmental Award: Christian Concepcion
• Information Technology Departmental Award: Samantha Henry

School Awards (Pleasantville)

• Jean Coppola Award for Excellence in Service-Learning Research: Tyler Ian Besnoff, Andrew James Kirk
• Susan M. Merritt Computing Award for Academic Excellence: Zia E Joseph, Stephanie Ann Sicilian
• Seidenberg Civic Engagement Award: Simone Genesis Gonzalez, Daniel James White
• Alumni Achievement Award: Alexander J Hughes
• Seidenberg Scholars: Simone Genesis Gonzalez, Alexander J Hughes, Matthew Brandon Pollard
• Blue CoLab Innovation Award: Leanna L. Machado, Kenji Okura
• Career Services Award: Tyler Ian Besnoff

School Awards (NYC)

• Jean Coppola Award for Excellence in Service-Learning Research: Sankalp Raut, Kylie A LoPiccolo
• Susan M. Merritt Computing Award for Academic Excellence: Nadia Xu, Lauren DeMaio
• Seidenberg Civic Engagement Award: Oleksandr Sverenyak, Nishant Doshi
• Alumni Achievement Award: Austin Powlette, Evan R Altman
• Seidenberg Scholars: William Milun, Audrey Staub, Oleksandr Sverenyak
• Career Services Award: Daniel Pena, Smith Dsouza

Latin Honors (Pleasantville)

• Summa Cum Laude: Alexandra Breygina, Kenji Okura, Erin Sorbella
• Magna Cum Laude: Tyler Ian Besnoff, Altar Demaj, Alexander J Hughes, Zia E Joseph, Sean Tavares Kahn, Lucas Lecler Maturana, James Michael Maxwell, Domenico Monteleone, Christopher Peter Stissi, Jack R Sullivan, Daniel James White
• Cum Laude: Cristian E Bolanos, Jared Fligor, Ardin Kraja, Jake William-Emmett Sharkey, Zheng Zhou
• With Distinction: Jasmin R Juliano, Andrew James Kirk, George Moses

Latin Honors (NYC)

• Summa Cum Laude: Nicholas R Bono, Christian Concepcion, Samantha Henry, Joseph Paradiso, Oleksandr Sverenyak
• Magna Cum Laude: Shiyang Cai, Lauren V DeMaio, Hyemin Jeon, Kylie A LoPiccolo, Alexander Martinez, Daniel Pena, Austin Powlette, Thomas Shen
• Cum Laude: Kiersten S Bernius, Alexander J Klisouriotis, William I Milun, Brandon P Negron, Andrew Ngo, Joanne Pistulli, Anthony J Testani
• With Distinction: Nora A Broyles

Seidenberg Associate Professor and recipient of numerous grants for his research of technologies in the medical field, Dr. Zhan Zhang, has just received a new grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The new grant is a three-year project with $420,000 in funding, and will focus on developing AI-empowered decision support systems for emergency care services. This grant can support up to four undergraduate students doing research every year.

Dr. Zhang’s newest accomplishment continues his previous successes in research and grant acquisitions in the field of healthcare technology. His work primarily focuses on developing innovative solutions for emergency care personnel, including wearable devices for paramedics and collection of real-time patient data, UX design, and human-computer interactions. Dr. Zhang has previously been awarded multiple grants by the National Science Foundation (NSF), including a prestigious $500,000 award to develop touchless smart glasses for emergency care professionals. He also made history at Pace University with a previous NIH-funded project (research of care coordination and communication between medical teams using smart glasses and advanced interaction mechanisms like augmented reality), by becoming the first professor at Pace to receive grants from both the NSF and NIH.

When talking about his newest NIH grant, Dr. Zhang said that it is “a continuation of my prior work on digitizing EMS work through novel technology. The ultimate goal is to support informed decision-making and reduce medical errors in pre-hospital care.” The aim of the project is to design and develop an evidence-based cognitive aid that can effectively support prehospital providers in treating pediatric patients while considering their dynamic workflow.

The interdisciplinary team will consist of experts in pediatric emergency care, human-computer interaction, natural language processing (NLP), and artificial intelligence (AI). They will focus on three main goals: to characterize medical errors in prehospital pediatric care through a “human-in-the-loop” computational approach, to design and develop user-friendly cognitive aids for prehospital providers, and to implement and evaluate the proposed technology solution in simulated environments. The students who will be recruited to conduct research on the project will also come from various backgrounds to foster collaboration and a diverse learning environment. They will be trained and mentored to develop both technical (e.g., medical informatics, NLP, user-centered design) and non-technical (e.g., communication, teamwork, and critical thinking) skills.

A Pomeranian dog and an octopus, respectively, bark at the edge of or tread water in giant holes in the earth and ice. They seem curious, distressed, or simply oblivious. Next, ruptures on the earth, signals of climate change and collapse, appear as sinkholes, the result of melting permafrost releasing volumes of trapped gas in an explosive crater-forming event.

A glimpse at the Manhattan Bridge, accompanied by loud traffic, provides an actual sense of location.

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It is DUMBO (an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), Brooklyn, across the river from Pace University's New York City campus, and, as part of an outdoor group exhibition in March and April 2024 entitled The DUMBO Projection Project, Volume 3, Professor of Art Jillian McDonald's work, Animals on the Verge, was being projected onto the neighborhood's iconic infrastructure.

McDonald's installment is unique in that it juxtaposes Google's ready-made 3D animals, considered as the "perfect quarantine activity," with both drawings of holes on paper and the use of Augmented Reality (AR). (In fact, McDonald’s hole drawings of animal burrows and entrances to tunnels were inspired by the COVID pandemic, when she often imagined escape routes). 

On how this project came together, she said, "I had one of my hole drawings on a table, and while positioning a bear [with the use of AR], had an aha moment: the situation seemed real, as if the bear was sitting on the edge of a deep hole. I always love making videos that slip in and out of fictional film space, when something is convincing one minute and then the illusion slips."

Experiential learning meets the arts

On this, she collaborated with Ben Pfeifer '26, Film and Screen Studies, supported by the Amelia A. Gould Undergraduate Research Assistantship offered by the Provost Office Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) Summer Undergraduate Research. It represents an exciting opportunity at Pace that funds projects in the creative arts, pairing faculty who are working professionals in their fields with an undergraduate student.

Through her video animation and video courses, McDonald discovered Pfeifer to be a great match for a creative collaboration. He was driven and serious, enjoyed working on his projects, was communicative, and had a sense of humor, something McDonald appreciates in the making of film and art. They worked mostly independently, as video editing is mainly a solitary activity, occasionally meeting in her studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where her fragile drawings were located, and otherwise in the Art Department or on Zoom. 

Animals on the Verge, although already shot and edited in 2022, with a past exhibition at Undercurrent Gallery, required the addition of more animal scenes and the creation of a condensed version of the video for the DUMBO project, and that's where Ben stepped in. He filmed the new animal scenes, interspersed them in the original video, and edited a ten-minute version.

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Of his experiences, Pfeifer said, "Professor McDonald's mentorship was truly valuable. She provided very insightful instructions while also allowing me to explore and discover things on my own. Seeing the project projected on the Manhattan Bridge was surreal and a true expression of hard work paying off."

McDonald and Pfeifer also worked on other projects supported by the Amelia A. Gould Assistantship. In Sweet Spot and Soft Spot, a pair of videos featuring McDonald's hand caressing numerous mosses and mushrooms in various landscapes across Scotland, Ontario, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and New York, Pfeifer worked on color correction, sound matching, and adding new scenes while McDonald shot them.

Pfeifer also completed a re-edit of a video McDonald made in the forest as part of a residency at Stony Brook University that she repurposed for a music video of the song, “In the Woods,” by the folk Americana, Winnipeg-based band, Leaf Rapids. In addition, they are working together on Chandeliers!, a project McDonald started years ago but that Pfeifer helped bring to fruition, which features scenes of crashing chandeliers from horror films mixed with tourist videos of calving glaciers from YouTube. Finally, he made a ten-minute version of her newest work, Tunnel and Radio Skies, funded by The Canada Council for the Arts and Pace.

This plethora of projects is welcomed by Pfeifer, who chose Pace as a perfect place to explore countless possibilities, a place where a person with many interests would not be confined to any one box. He said, "I have a real interest in visual pleasure and experience, and I hope to continue working on projects that are meaningful to myself and the audience. I hope to never stop creating."

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On the importance of funding artists

Art is where McDonald's energy naturally goes, and so, she is appreciative of support she has received throughout the years during her prolific career, whether in the form of grant funding, such as the Amelia A. Gould Assistantship, or residencies, both crucial resources for an artist who self-describes as someone who doesn't necessarily make art she can sell, therefore operating differently in the art world.

Creation is key. "Everything has potential to be made into art, and making it is a way to communicate and make sense or senselessness of the world."