Manashi Chatterjee

Manashi was one of my favorite people at Hunter. I can still hear her laugh. She was so brilliant, so positive, and so joyful! Her focus was always on her students and their experience. I will miss her so very much. - Gina Riley, Special Education

I loved seeing Manashi at ACERT events. She was warm and welcoming, and even though we teach completely different subjects, we always had so much to discuss. Manashi really cared about her students and their success. She made active learning happening in her large chemistry classes, that’s really impressive. We all learned a lot from Manashi. I'll miss her very much. - Julie Van Peteghem, Romance Languages

I’m still in shock that Manashi is not here with us anymore. I have so many memories of spending lunchtime seminars with her, seeing her smile and energy light up a room, and listening to her insights on teaching and life. I still feel that she is here with us, and in many ways, I know that she will always be a part of the Hunter, ACERT, and HCAP community. One of the many things that we learned from Manashi was that even in large, lecture classes, instructors can make personal connections with students and create activities that engage and inspire them. Manashi was a truly great instructor, colleague, and friend. We are all so much better for having known her and are so heart-broken to have lost her. - Paul McPherron, English

I will miss Manashi for her sunshine. During our time at Hunter, I would see her at ACERT and related events. Although our time together was limited, Manashi felt like an old friend. She always had a smile and a warm greeting.

I think that Manashi had one of the hardest jobs in the world: I don't know almost *anything* about Chemistry and the thought of teaching 100s of students at a time (and doing it well!) makes me want to turn and run. But Manashi did, in fact, do it well. And throughout her time at Hunter, she continued to innovate, while generously sharing her best practices with others.

I write this post on my own behalf, but also represent my colleagues who work with me in the library. Collectively, we were sad to learn of Manashi's passing and pay tribute to her upbeat energy and general loveliness.

- Stephanie Margolin, Hunter College Libraries

Whenever I got to work with Manashi, I knew my day would be better. Her joyful passion about teaching, her humor, and her warmth were contagious. I learned so much from her, not just about teaching but also basic life skills about how to hold up under difficult circumstances. I can't believe her light is no longer part of our world, and I'm so deeply grateful I had the chance to be her colleague and friend.

- Meredith Reitman, former Director of Assessment

Manashi was a good friend of mine while I worked at ACERT. She attended almost every single Lunchtime Seminar, and had more institutional knowledge about Hunter College and its students than almost anyone I knew. My favorite memory of Manashi was when we worked together on an ACERT video series in which we highlighted a novel pedagogical practice she uses in her classrooms. When we started recording, Manashi was a little hesitant about being featured, but once she began her lesson (to an auditorium of hundreds of students), she really came alive. She had an incredible presence and was able to manage a number of teaching assistants, control an interactive lecture, and provide direct feedback to attendees all at the same time. It was really something to witness. Manashi was truly invested in her work and helping her students succeed.

- Matt McCaleb, former Administrative Specialist ACERT