Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

P A C E U N I V E R S I T Y W W W. P A C E . E D U / D Y S O N 28 Grant Funding Dyson faculty from across campuses and disciplines at Pace are recipients of grants from a variety of sources that suppo impo ant research projects, a sampling of which follows. New York State government grants help to suppo : the Parenting, Prison and Pups program; the Pace University A Gallery; and the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). Foundations and other private organizations help to suppo : the Feminist Girls Project; Victim Assistance Provisions for a Treaty on Autonomous Weapons; Youth Disarmament Education through a Nuclear Disarmament Policy Practicum; Enrich your Math Skills with AMC 8; and Jumpsta at Pace University. Federal government grants help to suppo : Conducting Psychometric and Statistical Analyses for National Science Foundation (NSF) grant (subaward) and Ex Situ Propagation of Rafflesiaceae at USBG and In Situ Cultivation of Philippine Rafflesia. A city government grant (New York State) suppo s the Westchester County Hispanic Population Community Needs Assessment project, mentioned in the feature story on page 12 of this issue. Pace. She spent the last four years as an indispensable member of Pace's Center for Community Action and Research. As a Pace Votes leader and Andrew Goodman Foundation Ambassador, she has facilitated voter registration for 700+ students in New York State, designed, planned, and executed community service and bi-pa isan political engagement programming, and advocated for accessible voting policies, such as Election Day being deemed a holiday for the 2024 elections. She worked with Pace's Public Affairs team to establish an on-campus voting site for the 2024 presidential primary and general elections and managed the on-campus polling site during the presidential election. Commi ed to nuclear disarmament education and advocacy, Cintron-Soto also worked closely with Associate Professor Emily Welty, PhD, co-director of the International Disarmament Institute. Based on an essay she wrote about nuclear disarmament, she was selected to a end the 2023 ICAN Academy in Hiroshima, Japan, held by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate organization International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. She was selected as pa of the Youth for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), a youth-led movement working on nuclear abolition, and was named the student head of delegation for the UN 2025 TPNW Meeting of States pa ies. Charles H. Dyson Award Winner Cailyn Mickelsen '25, English Language and Literature, received the Charles H. Dyson Award, given to the graduating senior and Fellow who best embodies the ideals and values of the Dyson Society of Fellows. Commencement Valedictorian Speaker George e Cosentino '25, Biology, represents the academic excellence of the Class of 2025, having maintained a near- pe ect GPA while contributing extensively to research, athletics, and leadership on campus. A Bronx native and the daughter of a Pace alumna, Cosentino discovered her passion for neuroscience through both personal inspiration and academic inquiry. During her time at Pace, she served as captain of the women's volleyball team and president of the Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society. Her honors thesis investigated neuroinflammation and post- traumatic epilepsy using an adult zebrafish model, work she plans to continue in a PhD program in Cell Biology. In Memoriam SETTER STORIES SETTER STORIES News & Notes Professor Emeritus Edgar DuCasse, PhD Professor Emeritus Edgar Ducasse, PhD, passed away on May 17, 2024. He was a faculty member of the Mathematics depa ment and the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca, his daughter, Wendy, and his grandson, James. He joined Pace University in 1978 and retired a er 42 years of dedicated service on August 31, 2020. Professor Emeritus Reza Afshari, PhD Professor Emeritus Reza Afshari, PhD, passed away on May 23, 2025. He was a faculty member of the History depa ment and is survived by his wife, Heideh. Afshari emigrated to the United States from Iran in 1969 and was a permanent exile of Iran since 1980. He joined Pace University in 1984 as an adjunct professor and retired a er 30 years of dedicated service on August 31, 2014. $1,099,987

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