Leader: Nathalia Holtzman, PhD
Description: The goal of Project 2 is to make improvements to the current DEIJA climate on Queens College’s campus through data-informed practices. Queens College partnered with the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS) to deploy a campus climate survey in 2023. This survey of staff, students, and faculty at Queens College asked about the level of support for diversity and equity on campus, as well as personal experiences with discrimination and harassment. The Office of the Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success will oversee the deployment of the HEDS survey on our campus and report out with results once made available. Participants of the survey will have the chance to enter into a raffle for one of five, $100 Amazon gift cards.
Dr. Holtzman is an Associate Professor in Biology and is serving as the Interim Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success at Queens College. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto before moving on to her PhD at the University of Oregon. Since 2005, Dr. Holtzman has been a faculty member at Queens College, studying heart development and aquatic toxicology. As Associate Provost, Dr. Holtzman oversees many student success initiatives. This includes the Learning Commons, the Writing Center, the Office of Experiential Education, and the Center of Career and Engagement and Internships. Additional programs include the Office of Honors and Scholarship, the First Year Experience, and the Accelerate, Complete, and Engage QC program.
Additionally, Dr. Holtzman also oversees numerous grants including Howard Huges Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence Award (IE3) focused on DEI in the classroom, an NSF funded grant for design thinking and makerspace development, an NSF grant supporting computer science transfer students, a DOE grant focused on supporting STEM transfer students from LaGuardia Community College, in addition to several other CUNY funded projects.
Her work and advocacy continue to focus on the success of students and what Queens College can do in support of their learning and growth.