The Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts offers a wide variety of continuing education courses and programs in the arts, writing, humanities, publishing, and translation including:
Career advancement and personal enrichment courses
For more information, visit our website or contact: sps.pala.ce@nyu.edu
BIOS
Jenny McPhee is the Academic Director of the Center for Publishing and Applied Liberal Arts Continuing Education Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor teaching in the MS in Translation & Interpreting. She is the author of the novels The Center of Things, No Ordinary Matter, and A Man of No Moon, and she co-authored Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits. Her translations from the Italian include books by the authors Natalia Ginzburg, Primo Levi, Giacomo Leopardi, Curzio Malaparte, Anna Maria Ortese, Paolo Maurensig, and Pope John Paul II. She has taught literary translation at Princeton University and she co-founded the Bronx Academy of Letters, an NYC public high school and middle school. She is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.
Afua Preston is the Associate Director for Administration. Afua has a love for romance languages and holds a B.A. in Italian Language and Culture from SUNY Purchase. She has been an NYU Administrator for over 28 years and 15 of those years were in the department of Languages and Translation and Interpreting at SPS. She was also given the NYU SPS Distinguished Administrator award in 2008.
Miguel Ortiz-Crane is responsible for programming in Writing, Media, and Communications. Before joining our team in 2018, he held roles in other NYUSPS departments including Information Technology, Institutional Research & Analytics, and the Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies. He is a graduate of the inaugural 2017-2018 NYU Management Fellows Program. Prior to NYU, Miguel spent nearly 20 years in magazine publishing logistics and operations. Miguel has a B.A. in Social Sciences and an M.S. in Global Affairs from NYU SPS.
As Associate Director of Programs, Alicia Kubes is responsible for the administration of PALA’s art, design, and humanities programming as well as special events. Alicia previously worked at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she managed the Moving Image Archiving & Preservation M.A. program from the time it was launched in 2003. She was a recipient of the NYU Distinguished Administrator Award in 2013 and is the founding president of New York University Toastmasters. She has a B.A. in Art History from Boston University, an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from NYU Steinhardt, a Certificate from the Administrators Cultural Training Institute at NYU, and a Certificate in Arts Administration from NYU SPS.
Celeste Williams, a Higher Education Professional with a background in university administration and student support services, began her career at New York University as an administrative aide, dedicating 8 years to the role. Later, she spent nearly 14 years at Rutgers University, advancing to roles such as Assistant to the Chief of Staff and Vice Chancellors at the Chancellor’s office, and serving as Administrative/Student Coordinator in the Office of Student Academic Success. Celeste holds degrees in Fashion Design and Liberal Studies, and she earned a Master’s in Education from Rutgers University. Deeply committed to service, she volunteers as an academic coach for a non-profit, providing tutoring and college preparation for students from under-resourced communities. Beyond her professional endeavors, Celeste enjoys spending quality time with her family, cherishes the arts for inspiration, and explores culinary experiences as an avid foodie, experimenting with cooking and trying new recipes.
Ken French is the Program Administrator for PALA and has been working at NYUSPS since 2006. He is a published poet and writer. Ken lives in the NYU freshman dorm, Lipton Hall, with his husband, Faculty in Residence and Professor John Moran, where they implement activities for the students. They share the apartment with their furry children, two corgis, Ann-Margret and Cecil.
Anne Maguire is an Administrative Aide for PALA programs in the Arts and Humanities. She joined the team in 2015 from the Calvin Klein print archive and had a previous career as a moving image librarian, starting at the Prelinger Archives, and as an archival film researcher at Getty Images. Maguire has worked independently with experimental filmmakers including Barbara Hammer in History Lessons and The Female Closet. She is lifelong political activist and has published essays, and wrote the book, Rock the Sham!
Recipient of NYU Give-a-Violet Award 2021- 2022 and NYU SPS Excellence Award 2022
Jervon Mercier is an Administrative Aide at PALA. Jervon has worked with the Languages, Translation, and Interpreting division of CALA for over 10 years. He works with Language Proficiency Exams and the Certificate in Professional Copyediting, Proofreading, and Fact-Checking. Prior to his current position, he worked with SPS’s Arts and Humanities department and with the English Language Institute. Jervon holds a B.S. from NYU SPS.
