Here are the Grad Center Stories YOU Were Most Interested in This Year

As 2022 draws to a close, we look back at all the accomplishments, awards, celebrations, and inspiring stories at the Graduate Center in the last year. Here are some of the most-read stories, as determined by traffic to our new website. Read all the way to the end to see the most-read story! 

10. Professor Mandë Holford (GC/Hunter, Biochemistry, Biology, and Chemistry) made CUNY history when she became the first CUNY professor named an Allen Distinguished Investigator, an honor that comes with $1.5 million to study immunity and its evolution.

9. Four CUNY professors won Crossing Latinadades Collaborative grants for Latino humanities research, including three faculty members at the Graduate Center. 

8. Alumnus Eric Bayruns García (Ph.D. ’19, Philosophy) explained his work on the philosophy of race and his move to a second tenure-track job and prestigious Harvard faculty fellowship. 

7. Alumna Cristina E. Pardo Porto (Ph.D. ’22, Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures), who started a tenure-track position at Syracuse University just weeks after defending her dissertation, shared specific advice about her job search, from the number of applications sent to a beneficial fellowship.

6. Distinguished Professor Emerita Tania León (GC/Brooklyn, Music) made CUNY history when she was named a 2022 Kennedy Center honoree, along with artists including George Clooney and U2. 

5. Alumnus Dennis Liotta (Ph.D. ’74, Chemistry), who created a drug that is used by more than 90% of people with HIV, returned to the Graduate Center to discuss his work and share his advice for today’s doctoral students. 

4. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, our faculty gave their expert opinions on historical parallels, the refugee situation, the role of the U.N., and more.

3. Distinguished Professor Nancy Foner (GC/Hunter, Sociology) related the key findings from her latest book, One Quarter of the Nation: Immigration and the Transformation of America, which examines the ways that immigrants have transformed U.S. culture and society.

2. Alumna Agustina Checa (Ph.D. ’22, Music: Ethnomusicology) explained how she finished her dissertation in record time and landed a tenure-track job at Lehman College. 

1. Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $2 million to CARA, a program that gives support to high school students to enroll in college and to thrive when they’re here.