Education, Training and Outreach

CIUS fosters academic programs to prepare students, from certificate programs to four-year degree programs, and works to develop professional development programs to help employers and unions train or retrain both management and labor. It also reaches out to the public and the broader academic community through conferences, workshops, and other events. Outreach to current and future infrastructure professionals, as well as to elected officials and the public, are core components of the CIUS mission.

The CUNY Building Performance Lab (2007)
The CUNY Building Performance Lab (BPL) is an emerging technical center that will provide applied engineering opportunities for work on “living lab” building systems. As an organizational structure the Building Performance Lab will coordinate with a range of training and research activities emerging across CUNY and with strategic partners. The goal is to create a major public platform for the continuation of market transformation in the commercial buildings sector, especially for long-term workforce development.

International Scholars Series on Infrastructure and the Environment (2007)
CIUS has launched a new annual lecture series featuring international leaders in the field of infrastructure and the environment. Our first speaker was Dr. Aharon Kellerman (University of Haifa), who spoke at John Jay College on April 27, 2007.

CUNY Sustainability Conference (2006)
CIUS served on the organizing committee for the first CUNY Sustainability Conference held in December, 2006. This event provided an opportunity for researchers and scholars from across CUNY to present and share their work on a broad range of topics related to energy and environmental sustainability science and public policy in a major forum.

Sustainable Building Initiative (2004-2006)
CIUS and the CUNY Graduate Center co-sponsored a daylong conference on “Fostering a Sustainable Construction Industry.” Out of this effort grew an initiative to pull together CUNY’s diverse resources to provide education and training to the region’s Sustainable Building Industry, and to serve as a catalyst for the adoption of greener design, construction, and management practices. CIUS funded the cost of student interns to support these efforts.

Course on Rail Access to Lower Manhattan (2004)

In Spring 2004, as a sequel to the course on the Lower Manhattan Transit Hub, Prof. Robert Paaswell taught an Advanced Transportation Planning course on the planning of a new Long Island Rail Road, AirTrain, or subway connection to Lower Manhattan.

CUNY Baccalaureate Degree in Community Development Technology (2003)
CIUS and the CUNY Baccalaureate Program have joined together to offer B.A. and B.S. degrees in Community Development and Technology. The aim of this degree program is to give future leaders a solid background in urban theory, programs, and policies, as well as in the new and emerging technologies that will support the growth and future of our cities. Students may select relevant courses throughout CUNY, work individually with faculty members, and participate in internships that focus on applying technology to community development. See the program brochure for more details. CIUS has provided seed money for efforts to establish partnerships with community organizations to expand the reach of this program.

Course on Lower Manhattan Transit Hub (2002)
CIUS created a course, with the School of Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture (SAUDLA), at City College/CUNY about a proposed lower Manhattan transit hub. During the summer of 2002 CIUS conducted an internship program with CUNY Honors College students related to the proposed Hub. This served as preliminary research for a studio class offered in Fall, 2002, under the auspices of SAUDLA on the same subject. The course was taught jointly by Professors C. Bee and L. Brown of the School of Architecture and Professor R. Paaswell of CIUS and Civil Engineering, at CCNY.

Community Planning Projects (2002-2003)

CIUS provided technical assistance to the City College Architecture Center on infrastructure aspects of several of its public outreach projects. One of these was a 'Concept Design' plan for East 138th Street in the Southern Bronx, in partnership with the Bronx 138th Street Merchants and Professionals Association, the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Department of Small Business Services and the New York Empowerment Zone. Others included planning efforts associated with New York State’s “Quality Communities” initiative, in Mt. Vernon, East New York, and Hempstead.

CUNY Aviation Institute at York College (2002)
Through a generous grant form Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, CIUS and York College developed the new CUNY Aviation Institute at York College. CIUS helped organize this new institute, design its curriculum, and identify and recruit faculty members.

CIUS / Newman Real Estate Institute Breakfast Program (2002-2004)
In conjunction with Baruch College's Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute, CIUS sponsored a high-profile series of panel discussions providing public policy and real estate industry perspectives on a broad array of infrastructure issues.

Post-Sept. 11th Initiatives (2001-2002)
While still in its infancy, CIUS served as a resource to the city’s infrastructure planning community in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. CIUS published newsletters detailing all of the various planning and visioning efforts that got underway in the weeks immediately following the attacks. It helped found the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York, one of the leading citizens groups to emerge after the tragedy. In April 2002, it co-hosted (with the City College Architecture Center) one of the Municipal Art Society’s “Imagine New York” neighborhood-based workshops designed to facilitate reflection on the future of the WTC site and the city at large.

The CUNY Urban Consortium (2001)
CIUS was one of the founding members of the CUNY Urban Consortium, which was organized by the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute of Baruch College. The consortium provides a focus for CUNY faculty research and planning addressing New York State and New York City urban planning and infrastructure iissues. For example, the Consortium organized a regional conference on NYC post 9/11, and CIUS developed a paper on transportation needs for that conference.