Nicholas Bloom, Ph.D., associate professor of social sciences, and Matthias Altwicker, M.U.P., associate professor of architecture, were two of three co-authors of "Yes, There is Room to Build More Housing in New York City," an op-ed in Crain's New York Business, September 2017, challenging the city to offer middle-income families the same developmental opportunities as public-housing residents.

Hui-Yin Hsu, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education, and Shiang-Kwei Wang, Ph.D., professor of education and associate dean, organized a conference entitled "New Thinking and New Technology in the Changing Era," for the Chinese American Academic & Professional Society (CAAPS). The event was held on August 19, 2017 in Flushing, New York and was attended by approximately 500 people. Hsu, is president of CAAPS, while Wang is vice president of academic affairs.

Kevin LaGrandeur, Ph.D., professor of English, was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant to participate in a workshop offering guidance and strategies for addressing how scholars and nonfiction authors write for broader audiences while maintaining intellectual rigor. LaGrandeur also gave a compelling presentation at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy's Science, Technology, and Public Policy Lecture arguing the strong possibility that many of today's jobs will soon be completed more inexpensively by artificial intelligence.

Jim Martinez, Ph.D., assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies, published a new book, The Search for Method in STEAM Education. It "explores various approaches to building a positive interdisciplinary STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning environment, as described by educators across the K-20 educational ladder." In August 2017, Psychology Today published a review, praising Martinez as "a pioneer in bringing playful and performatory learning to higher education and to service learning."

Lynn Rogoff, M.F.A., adjunct associate professor of English, and CEO of Amerikids USA, was featured in an interview, "VR Adventure Games for Young Adults," on July 27, 2017, the final day of "Virtual Reality Games & Entertainment Extravaganza," a free "multi-day online event of speaker presentations, 1-on-1 interviews, panel discussions and online exhibitors." The event was hosted by Crowdcast, a new Internet site for creating webinars and live video experiences to connect, teach, and sell online. In August, Rogoff participated in "Creating VR to Impact The Planet with a Purpose Drive Generation," a virtual reality and higher education event at Cool Blue Media.

Susana Case, Ph.D., professor of behavioral sciences, had a new book of poetry, Drugstore Blue, published by Five Oaks Press in July 2017. It is an "edgy yet compassionate and sometimes racy" woman-coming-of-age odyssey where blue eye-makeup takes center stage.

John Hanc, associate professor of communication arts, wrote a cover story, "From LI to France: a Soldier's Illustrated Letters of WWI," for the features section of Newsday on July 29, 2017. It tells about the illustrated letters of Salvador Cilia, a young (and talented) World War I soldier from New York's Lower East Side who did his basic training on Long Island before being deployed to France.

Walter's Way, co-written by John Hanc, M.A., associate professor of communication arts, was one of four books that received top honors in the Literary Classics International Book Awards, announced July 1, 2017. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Walter's Way won the Lumen Award for Literary Excellence, which honors "extraordinary youth nonfiction literature annually." Additionally, the book won the gold medal in the Nonfiction category of the overall Awards competition.

Hui-Yin Hsu, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education, and Shiang-Kwei Wang, Ph.D., associate dean, published a peer-reviewed research paper entitled, "New Literacy Implementation: The Impact of Professional Development on Middle School Student Science Learning," in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology in June 2017.

Hui-Yin Hsu, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education, served on the New York State Department of Education edTPA Standard Setting Committee, in Albany, New York on June 17, 2017.