Faculty Stories

August 29, 2023

Norma Mayorga Fuentes, director of the Latin American and Latino Studies program, spoke to us about her experience at the Colin Powell School and what makes it special.  Please share something about your personal and professional background, and what brought you to CCNY and the Colin Powell School. I am an immigration scholar, a qualitative sociologist/ethnographer by training and a philosopher by default. When I was invited to give a job talk at City College, late spring of 2014, coincidentally scheduled within the newly renovated premises of the Dominican Studies… Read More »


July 17, 2023

  A Coup and its Impact: Professor Omnia Khalil’s Journey from Architect to Scholar   Please share something about your personal and professional background, and what brought you to CCNY and the Colin Powell School. I was an architect, who was highly interested in community action planning to upgrade the urbanely deteriorated neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt. I then studied anthropology to fulfill a professional engagement with communities by learning to be an ethnographer and an engaged scholar, which was a journey I spent with my professors at American University in… Read More »


May 16, 2023

  Dean Rich in conversation with President Boudreau on the 10 Year Anniversary of the Colin Powell School  Dean Rich This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Colin Powell School, and I want to invite you to take a step back and reflect on the founding of the School. Take us back if you will: Colin Powell graduated in 1958; what got him reengaged at the College?  President Boudreau I had been the director of the Colin Powell Center for only a few months and was told that the way to change the profile of the Colin Powell Center was to bring Secretary of State… Read More »


March 14, 2023

  The core of what makes us human: Psychology Professor Laura Brandt’s commitment to researching substance use disorders Please share something about your personal and professional background, and what brought you to CCNY and the Colin Powell School. I am from Germany and lived in Austria for about 13 years before coming to New York, and my journey here was and is a winding road with many bumps and curves. While I knew that I wanted to become a researcher relatively early on during my graduate studies and my interest in addiction developed soon after, I would have… Read More »


January 24, 2023

  Visiting Fulbright Scholar Margo Groenewoud brings new Caribbean insights to CUNY DSI Originally from the Netherlands, Margo Groenewoud has lived in the Dutch Caribbean for more than 15 years. There she obtained her PhD, developed herself as a teacher, and discovered the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence program, which ultimately brought her to CCNY. In this position, Groenewoud focuses on research, guest lecturing and digital humanities, bringing her expertise on the Dutch Caribbean in the context of trans-Caribbean history and Caribbean Studies. Groenewoud aims to raise… Read More »


December 12, 2022

  New Economics Chair Prabal De: Using Interdisciplinary Research to Address Social Problems in the Global South and the U.S. As a high school student in Kolkata, India, Professor Prabal De took interest in the writings of the renowned Indian economist Amartya Sen. After completing his undergraduate studies in economics, he came to the U.S. and completed a Ph.D. in economics at NYU. Having grown up amidst the immense cultural diversity of India, he now considers himself an adopted New Yorker. As an economist, he has pursued a level of interdisciplinary research uncommon to the… Read More »


December 12, 2022

  Professor Dirk Moses Explores How Countries Reckon with Legacies of Genocide In this interview, Dirk Moses, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor of International Relations, reflects on his upbringing in Australia, his studies in both Australia and the United States, and his current work as a member of the Colin Powell School community. He recalls being politicized after seeing the Australian government oppress indigenous people, crush labor movements, and promote extractivist environmental policies. This drove him to study politics, history, and law and eventually to become… Read More »


April 11, 2022

  From Guyana to NYC to Tennessee: Lorianne Mitchell’s Journey to Becoming a College Professor Whether she was helping friends resolve conflicts, being absorbed in reading her mother’s Psychology textbook, or people-watching in downtown Manhattan, Lorianne Mitchell knew from a young age that human relations fascinated her. This motivated her to join the Psychology Department at CCNY. As an immigrant from Guyana with two siblings also in college, Mitchell worked hard and took the most credits she could each semester. After graduating from CCNY, Mitchell earned her PhD in… Read More »


November 15, 2021

  How Remote Teaching Spurred Adaptation and Innovation: Reflections from Professor Mehdi Samimi   Professor Mehdi Samimi joined the Colin Powell School’s Economics and Business Department in the middle of the pandemic when all classes were being conducted online. Here, Samimi shares his reflections on his first full year of remote teaching:   Teaching online was initially challenging for me for several reasons such as not knowing the audience, lack of online teaching experience, lack of direct immediate feedback from the audience, and technological difficulties. On the other… Read More »


November 15, 2021

  Spielman Research Lab, Legacy of Harold M. Spielman (Class of ‘50), Facilitates Award-Winning Research on Social Inequality  By Adriana Espinosa, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Spielman Research Lab   The Spielman Social Sciences Research Lab was established by a generous donation by Mr. Harold Spielman in 2013. The mission of the Spielman Lab, as envisioned by Mr. Spielman, is to support Social Science researchers at the Colin Powell School as well as recruit and train the next generation of Social Science researchers. Located on the 7th floor of the… Read More »


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Last Updated: 02/01/2020 00:41