THE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING

Queens College is one of the Senior Colleges in The City University of New York (CUNY).  Established in 1937 to offer a strong liberal arts education to working-class people in the Borough of Queens, the College has grown into a campus of 16,604 including 12,012 undergraduates and 4,592 graduate students. Of the undergraduate students, sixty-two percent attend full-time and thirty-eight percent attend part-time. The students come from 120 different countries and speak 66 different native languages. While known as a Liberal Arts College, Queens College is a comprehensive multi-mission college with professional degrees on both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

The mission of Queens College is to prepare students to become leading citizens of an increasingly global society.  Within a structured curriculum and in an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect, the College fosters an environment in which students learn the underlying principles of the humanities, the arts, and the mathematical, natural, and social sciences. 

For its faculty, the College seeks productive scholars, scientists, and artists deeply committed to teaching.  As a public institution, Queens College provides affordable access to higher education and embraces its special obligation to serve the larger community.

As one of the most culturally diverse campuses in the country, Queens College faces special challenges and opportunities. By balancing tradition and innovation in the service of this diversity, it represents the future of the nation.

            The Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences encompasses eight departments: Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computer Science; Family, Nutrition & Exercise Sciences; Mathematics, Physics, Psychology and the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.  These departments and school encompass approximately 150 full time faculty and 2,300 declared majors, in addition to thousands of non-major enrollments. The Division is home to the Honors Program in Mathematical and Natural Sciences (HMNS). Additional existing programs and initiatives relevant to the proposal are described in context below.

The Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences is actively developing new, interdisciplinary programs to fulfill student and employer needs. Within the past 5 years, the Departments of Biology and Psychology have recruited five faculty members whose primary research interests are in neurobiology.  Along with existing faculty members with interests in the nervous system, there are now 12 laboratories at Queens College conducting research in the neurosciences. Within the last year, two new programs have been initiated: an undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, and a Masters Program in Bioinformatics.  Launching the Program in Neuroscience is timely and fills a much-needed void; it is the only such program offered by a public institution within the Greater Metropolitan New York area.  It offers a structured, interdisciplinary opportunity for undergraduate students interested in neurobiology.  Furthermore, since a research thesis is required for completion of this Program, it will provide sound preparation for its graduates to embark on a career in the field.  The thesis research requirement blends in well with programs outlined in this proposal.

The Masters Program in Bioinformatics was initiated also in response to a need for such expertise within the New York Metropolitan area.  Queens College has performed a survey of employers in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries in this area, which indicates that this is a timely program.  This Program is slated to begin in the fall, 2004 semester, and the College is looking forward to establishing an undergraduate major in this area as well.