Dr. Blackman Calls for a Bigger Vision for Queen’s College

The reconstruction of the west wing of Queen’s College has triggered a wider debate over the purpose and design of public educational buildings, with alumnus Dr. Terrence Richard Blackman questioning whether the new structure will do more than meet the school’s immediate functional needs.

In an essay published September 5 by the Guyana Business Journal, Blackman, a mathematician and professor at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, examines the replacement of the old west wing at the Thomas Lands school and argues that the project represents an opportunity to consider what schools should communicate to the generations of students who use them.

Blackman does not challenge the decision to demolish the old wing, which he says was structurally unsafe.