Bills’ Gift in Hartford Courant, Freund on WTIC Radio, Coach Blood in Baseball America, and More

A $2.3 million gift to the University from the estate of the late Marion Bills was the lead story in the “CT Now” section of the Hartford Courant on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Funds from the gift will be used to provide financial assistance to needy students, noted the story, which included quotes from Vice President of Institutional Advancement Christine Pina and University President Walter Harrison.

Theresa Vara-Dannen, a teacher at the University High School of Science and Engineering, was highlighted in a Monday, Jan. 7, Hartford Courant article in conjunction with being named the 2012 Connecticut History Teacher of the Year. One of the major factors in this honor was the work she has had her students do to research the lives of prominent African-Americans in this region, and so far, 30 of her students have had their research work published in the African-American National Biography, which is edited by Dr. Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University and published by Oxford University Press. Read the story here.

Richard Freund, professor and director of the Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, was a guest on WTIC Radio’s “Face Connecticut” on Sunday, Jan. 6, and on Sunday, Dec. 23. On the Jan. 6 show, Freund discussed the new National Geographic documentary, “Lost Faces of the Bible,” which the Greenberg Center will host a premiere showing of on Sunday, Feb. 3, and on the Dec. 23 show, Freund discussed the Greenberg Center’s archaeological excavations this winter at the Israeli cities of Nazareth, Jerusalem, Akko, and Yavne. Those archeological exploits were also featured in an article in Saturday, Dec. 29, issue of the Leader-Telegram newspaper of Eau Claire, Wisc. Freund was also featured in the most recent issue of BUND, a Chinese language magazine, in conjunction with his lecture at Shanghai Normal University in October 2012 and his team’s archaeological efforts in Spain on the City of Atlantis. Click here to see that story.

Norm Young, associate vice president of facilities, planning and management, was quoted in a Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 article on CT Mirror.org about the University’s grant application for funding from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s pilot “microgrid” project. The University’s proposal is to connect the Village Apartments, Regents Park, and Park River residence halls, as well as the Konover Campus Center, to the University’s back-up generator system, so that the entire campus could continue to have electrical power in the event of an outage, said Young. Click here to read the story.

Hartford Hawks men’s baseball coach Justin Blood, who is 33 years old, was recently cited by Baseball America publication as one of the “Top 10 College Head Coaches Under 40.” Click here to read the article, which was published on Thursday, Jan. 3.

Hartt School alumna Tess Collins, 25, was the subject of a feature story on WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, Jan. 2. In the interview, Collins, who is the niece of former U.S, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, cited Hartt School faculty member and world renowned jazz bassist Nat Reeves, as a major influence. Click here to watch the story.

Hartt alumna Marin Ireland, has been named to the cast of “The Big Knife,” a revival of the Clifford Odets' drama of Hollywood secrets, that will open on Broadway in March, according to a Wednesday, Jan. 8, article on Playbill.com. Click here to read the story.