Media Watch (March 27-April 3, 2006)

"Media Watch" is a round-up of recent stories in the media about the University of Hartford, as well as significant stories about other local and peer institutions and news about trends and issues in higher education.

The death of jazz legend Jackie McLean, who had been an instructor and jazz studies director at The Hartt School for more than 30 years, was noted in numerous publications across the country and internationally. The articles included extensive mentions of the generations of jazz musicians that McLean had trained through his leadership of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at The Hartt School. University President Walter Harrison was also quoted in numerous stories about McLean’s stature at the University, in the city of Hartford, and around the world. (New York Times, April 1; Washington Post, April 2; Boston Globe, April 1; Chicago Tribune, April 1; Hartford Courant, April 1; The Guardian-London, April 3; The Daily Telegraph-London, April 3; Independent News and Media-South Africa, April 2; Agence France Presse, April 3; CBS News, April 1; ABC News, April 1; Associated Press, March 31)

The Integrated Science, Engineering & Technology (ISET) Complex building was the cover photo for the March issue of American School & University magazine. The magazine’s cover story, which looked at how building planners and universities strive to balance cost with innovation in their projects, featured two more photographs of the ISET building and quotes from an executive with Shawmut Design and Construction. University leaders wanted the ISET complex “to become an iconic presence that symbolized the university’s mission.” (American School & University, March ’06 issue)

William Major, an assistant professor of English at Hillyer College, had a commentary article on “The Conference Paper, Reconsidered,” published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. “We do have to take a serious look at how the proliferation of conferences can be squared with the diminution of certain professional and, perhaps more important, natural resources. In the age of fewer tenure-track positions, fewer places to publish, less and less respect outside of academe, each conference seems more and more benighted, insular, lacking in true engagement,” he wrote. (Chronicle of Higher Education, March 27)

A story on the college admissions process included comments about the rise in applications to the University of Hartford and the increasing selectivity of the University for the approximately 1,500 openings in its incoming freshman class. (Danbury News-Times, April 2)

Jonathan Easterbrook, organizer of the University’s Community Day program on April 8, was a guest on the Dan Lovallo Show on WDRC Radio on March 31. He talked about all of the activities available for those attending Community Day. (WDRC-AM, March 31)

The Connecticut Jewish Ledger previewed the April 6 “Mothers of Nations” celebration being presented by the Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford. The event will feature the premier of a choral and orchestral work written by local cantor Joseph Ness; readings by women of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths; and the opening of an exhibition of photographs of women of the three faiths by Hartford Art School students and faculty. (Connecticut Jewish Ledger, March 31)

John Carson, vice president for university relations, was quoted in theHartford Courant noting that the state Democratic Convention might be held at the University of Hartford instead of the Connecticut Convention Center because of labor issues. “Instead of holding their state convention at Hartford’s new jewel, Democrats are close to finalizing a deal to hold the May 20 event at the University of Hartford, where there will be neither a union dispute nor — because the school’s commencement is the next day and there’s little time for cleaning up — the party paraphernalia that give politics a bit more theater,” the story noted. (Hartford Courant, March 31)

In its “Education Briefs” column, the Hartford Courant noted that four Connecticut students have won the state MATHCOUNTS competition, held on March 11 at the University of Hartford, and are going on to compete at the national competition in Arlington, Va., in May. They were among 180 middle school students from 70 schools who competed in the tournament. (Hartford Courant, March 28)

Thomas Joyce, who spent seven years as a faculty member teaching sociology at the University, recently retired after 19 years as the town planner in Vernon. (Journal Inquirer, Manchester, April 1)

Paul A. Campbell, former director of actuarial studies at the University, died March 23 at the age of 66 in Fort Wayne, Ind.. He also worked as an international strategic management consultant for several multinational corporations, and taught at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. (Fort Wayne Register-Mail, March 29)

Warren Goldstein, chair of the history department in the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, in an opinion article in Newsday, notes that records in baseball have never been pure and that the current controversy concerning Barry Bonds and steroid use is just another example. "The truth is that there are no pure statistics; there can't be. None. They measure a sport designed by mortals, and for the last 130 years or so, to make money." (Newsday, April 2)

University President Walter Harrison was interviewed for a news article in the Hartford Courant and a story on Metro Radio Networks about the opening of the 2006 major league baseball season and the impact of the recently announced investigation of steroid use by baseball players. (Hartford Courant, March 31; Metro Radio Networks, March 31)

In its round-up on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, Sports Illustrated magazine advised its readers to “keep an eye on Hartford coach Jen Rizzotti. Just 31, she led the Hawks to a 27-4 record, including an upset of sixth-seeded Temple, the school’s first NCAA tournament win.” (Sports Illustrated, April 3)

In an editorial suggesting that fans should celebrate, instead of being disappointed with how the University of Connecticut’s basketball teams ended their seasons, the Hartford Courant noted that “Presumably, no one was disappointed when Jennifer Rizzotti’s University of Hartford Hawks lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Nor should they be. The Hawks made school history with their performance. They are just beginning to build expectations.” (Hartford Courant, March 30)

The Hartford Courant reported that at least four candidates have been interviewed for the position of Hartford Hawks men’s basketball head coach. “Someone with a solid coaching resume, Connecticut ties and a familiarity with the University of Hartford men's basketball program would be perfect. This is the man Hartford athletic director Pat Meiser-McNett and her committee are looking for in their search for a new coach,” noted the Courant. (Hartford Courant, March 31)

Other News

The University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education broke into the top 25 rankings of graduate schools of education nationwide in the U.S. News & World Report rankings this year. The Neag School was ranked 21st, up from 29th last year. The new ranking places the school behind only the University of Virginia as one of the top two public graduate schools in education along the East Coast. (Hartford Courant, March 31)

The University of Connecticut will be the new home base for “The Journal of Human Rights,” an international scholarly publication, now that political science Professor Richard Hiskes has been named its editor. Hiskes will replace Thomas Cushman, a professor of sociology at Wellesley College, where the journal was founded five years ago. (Hartford Courant, March 28)

Yale University was one of 13 college campuses hosting Hartford’s fifth-graders during the week of March 28 as part of Mayor Eddie Perez’s effort to encourage Hartford students to graduate from high school and then enroll in college. Classes from other schools went to Wesleyan University, Trinity College, the University of Connecticut’s Storrs and West Hartford campuses, the University of Hartford, Saint Joseph College, Southern, Eastern and Central Connecticut state universities, Capital and Manchester community colleges and Goodwin College. (Hartford Courant, March 31)

An employee of Wesleyan University’s Green Street Arts Center stole $30,000 from the nonprofit art school over a six-month period. The employee has since left the center. The university was barred by personnel regulations from releasing the former employee’s name and job title, and from saying whether the person was fired or asked to resign. (Hartford Courant, April 1)

Duke University’s highly ranked lacrosse team will not play again this season until school administrators learn more about allegations that several team members raped an exotic dancer at an off-campus party. President Richard Brodhead decided to suspend the team from play “until there is a clearer resolution of the legal situation involving team members.” (ABC News, March 29)

Harvard University says that students of families making less than $60,000 per year will not have to chip in tuition, a move that comes amid fierce competition for talented students of limited means. Just two years ago, Harvard promised it would provide enough financial aid for families making $40,000 or less so they did not have to pay any of their own money. The initiative touched off a battle between elite universities to woo a more economically diverse group of students. Princeton, Yale, the University of Virginia, University of Pennsylvania, and other schools responded to Harvard’s program by announcing their own expanded aid programs. (Boston Globe, March 31)

Government analysts say the price of textbooks has risen at twice the annual inflation rate since 1986. Legislators this year are considering a bill to require publishers to inform professors of all books available on a particular subject, how long they will remain on the market and the wholesale price they charge to bookstores. (Hartford Courant, March 29; New England Cable News, March 30)

Over the last few years, many American students have been cutting costs by buying textbooks published in the United States for half the price, or less, from booksellers in Europe. But recently, more of them have been buying American textbooks printed in India, as word has spread of the larger savings available, publishers and booksellers say. (New York Times, March 29)

Facebook, the web site where students around the world socialize and swap information, has put itself on the block. The owners of the privately held company have turned down a $750 million offer and hope to fetch as much as $2 billion in a sale, senior industry executives say. (Business Week Online, March 29)

Moving toward updating a law that affects millions of college students, the U.S. House is out to make higher education more affordable. But the Republican strategy, built around pressuring colleges to restrain their costs, has Democrats clamoring for more aid to families. The result is an election-year divide over the Higher Education Act, the law governing most federal college aid and grant programs. (Associated Press, March 30)

The number of college students seeking help for severe mental-health problems on campus is increasing, according to a University of Pittsburgh survey. The 2005 National Survey of Counseling Directors also found that 95 percent of directors said more students arrive on campus already taking psychiatric medication. “It seems that more people are being medicated for more reasons and earlier,” said Jaquie Resnick, director of counseling at the University of Florida in Gainesville. (Times-Leader, April 2)