In the News

CUNY SPS Psychology Professor Dr. Lauren Mahoney offers her expertise in this Real Simple article about how the brain processes sound. Dr. Mahoney talks about how startling sounds or irregular noises are disruptive to concentration because of the way our brain works. “Irregular or unpredictable noise, such as sudden yelling or intermittent disruptions, is more likely to activate your stress response,” she advised. She also suggested solutions such as noise-canceling headphones, white-noise machines, or listening to music as methods to mitigate the stress.

CUNY SPS Academic Director of Data Science, Generative AI, and Information Science, Arthur O'Connor, is quoted in this CIO article about the difficulties of utilizing AI in data systems that have not been established or updated for AI compatibility. As Dr. O'Connor explains, “While data users want completely accurate, clean, and well-managed data, the individual data owners typically don’t have the budget, financial incentive, or organizational authority to ensure a high level of quality and transparency.”

Dr. Suri Duitch, who worked alongside Founding Dean John Mogulescu to launch CUNY SPS, was formally installed as the eighth president of Kingsborough Community College on May 7 in a ceremony held on the school’s waterfront campus. As reported in this BKReader article, Dr. Duitch, a two-time CUNY graduate, also worked with Dean Emeritus Mogulescu in creating the CUNY Service Corps.

The City University of New York proudly presented its second annual “50 Under 50” alumni list earlier this year. CUNY SPS three-time alum Leonard Blades (MS in Disability Services in Higher Education '20, Advanced Certificate in Disability Studies '22, and MA in Disability Studies '25) was named to the prestigious list. As part of the CUNY SPS blog's “50 under 50” series, Blades talks about his great love of CUNY and how the University has impacted his life.

CUNY SPS alum Luis Gutierrez (MS Disability Services in Higher Education '24) shares his fascinating journey through higher education in this blog post CUNYVerse. Gutierrez earned four degrees within the University system and now works at Guttman Community College as assistant director of AccessABILITY services.