Media Watch: (April 3-10, 2006)

Members of the University's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter and University of Hartford Magnet School fourth-graders were featured in a report on NBC 30 for their efforts to raise funds for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. The SIFE members had spent this semester teaching the magnet school students about entrepreneurship, marketing and good citizenship through the Alex’s Lemonade Stand effort. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation raises funds for research and prevention of childhood cancer. (NBC 30, April 4 and 5)

The funeral of jazz legend Jackie McLean, who had been an instructor and jazz studies director at The Hartt School for more than 30 years, was covered in a front page story in the Hartford Courant. His passing was also the subject of an editorial and an editorial cartoon tribute in the Hartford Courant. In addition, a number of artists, including some of McLean’s protégés, have been holding musical tributes to the great alto sax player. (Hartford Courant, April 4, 8, and 10)

Wick Griswold, assistant professor of sociology in Hillyer College, and student Kelsey LaRochelle spoke about their Spring Break experiences in New Orleans on the "Morning Show with Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith" on WTIC-Radio. About 20 Hillyer College students, along with Griswold and Maria Johnson, an adjunct English instructor in Hillyer, used their spring break to assist with hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans. (WTIC-AM, April 5)

An editorial in the Hartford Courant noted that "Democrats in Connecticut are so under the thumb of organized labor that the state party has changed its plans and will hold its May 20 convention at the University of Hartford rather than at the Connecticut Convention Center so delegates can avoid crossing an expected picket line for a union that doesn’t represent any workers there." (Hartford Courant, April 10)

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who served as president of the University of Hartford from 1977 to 1988, announced that he will step down as president of The George Washington University in the summer of 2007, ending a nearly 20-year tenure in which he helped transform the school from a sleepy institution to one of national stature. Trachtenberg, an expansive man whose distinctive personal style drew fierce admirers and detractors, will become president emeritus and a professor in the School of Public Policy and Public Administration. (Washington Post, April 5)

Leslie Lindenauer, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, was interviewed about an initiative of the Hall of Fame to empower women to get more involved in the political process on the "Morning Show with Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith" on WTIC-Radio. (WTIC-AM, April 5)

The University’s Community Day celebration was previewed in the "Cal" section of the Hartford Courant, which highlighted the fact that local authors would be signing their works during sessions at the University Bookstore. (Hartford Courant, April 6)

The "Cal" section of the Hartford Courant also previewed two upcoming performances by the Miami String Quartet, the quartet-in-residence at The Hartt School. The Miami String Quartet performed at the University’s Lincoln Theater on April 6 and at the Westport Arts Center on April 7. (Hartford Courant, April 6)

Two University of Hartford a capella singing groups, Hawkapella and Men in Black, competed against two groups from the University of Connecticut in "A Cappella Slam 2006," which was presented by the Rockville Downtown Association. (Hartford Courant, April 7)

Al DiChiara, director of the criminal justice program in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed for a story about the impact of potential cuts in federal grants to local police departments. (NBC 30, April 7)

Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics in the Barney School of Business, was interviewed by NBC 30 for a story about the closing of numerous manufacturing plants, such as Winchester, and stores, such as Hitchcock Furniture. Giannaros talked about the impact on employment and what those closing say about the state of the economy in Connecticut. (NBC 30, April 1)

Jennifer Rizzotti, head coach of the University of Hartford’s women’s basketball team and a member of "Team Hartford" part of The Hartford’s "Playbook for Life" program with the NCAA, wrote an opinion article about the need to teach student-athletes the financial skills they will need to be a success in life. (Hartford Courant, April 4)

Allison Macca, who coached women’s basketball for one year as a graduate assistant at the University of Hartford, where she played basketball, has been named head coach of girls’ lacrosse at Wheeler High School in North Stonington. Girls’ lacrosse was recently elevated from a club sport to varsity level. (Westerly Sun, April 4)

Other News

Students from private colleges across the state, including the University of Hartford, participated in a rally at the state Capitol last week seeking greater public support for needy students. The rally, sponsored by the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, was intended to encourage legislators to increase support for a state scholarship program for students at private colleges. (Hartford Courant, April 5)

University of Connecticut President Philip E. Austin has publicly endorsed the college anti-sweatshop movement by pledging to work with other universities on a plan to deal only with college-apparel factories that support workers’ rights, pay employees a living wage and allow them to have unions. (Hartford Courant, April 5)

Duke University President Richard Brodhead sent an email to about 80,000 alumni and the parents of 6,200 students, saying the school is proceeding in an "honest and forthright way" with accusations that an exotic dancer was raped during a party by the lacrosse team. The team was suspended from play until the school learns more about what happened. The team’s co-captains have denied any sexual assault, and to-date, no one has been charged. (Associated Press, April 3)

The former Hastings Hotel and Conference Center, which has sat vacant for more than two years, will soon be home to 250 cooking students and roughly 100 employees as a long-awaited deal to bring the Connecticut Culinary Institute to Hartford closed on April 7. The $5 million renovation of the building on Sigourney Street in Asylum Hill begins this week, and the school will open for cooking students in August. (Hartford Courant, April 8)

A competitor’s design was chosen over architect’s Kenneth Pilon’s similar design for a new parking garage at Central Connecticut State University in 2001. But a federal lawsuit by Pilon is raising questions about how and why the competitor’s plan was selected only to be changed significantly—and about a social relationship between officials of the state agency that awarded the garage contract and executives of the Downes Construction Co. that teamed with HNTB Corp. architects to submit the winning proposal. (Hartford Courant, April 9)

To foster the life science industry in the state, "Principles of Quality Assurance in Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturing and Biotechnology," will be offered through the University of Connecticut’s professional science master’s program. The program is part of a joint effort among the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, Connecticut United for Research Excellence, CuraGen Corp., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Uconn. (Hartford Courant, April 6)

Twenty-one Ohio University graduates could have their master’s degrees revoked after a review committee found they plagiarized. The former students were mechanical-engineering majors from the College of Engineering during the past 20 years. The plagiarism was in their master’s theses. Although the committee did not find any professors at fault, the dean of the Engineering College said he does not feel the professors who approved the theses have been exonerated. (The Columbus Dispatch, April 3)

The 2006 job market is the strongest in five years for the nation’s 1.4 million new graduates, whatever their major, as seniors can choose among multiple offers from employers promising good pay and perks. Employers report that they’re planning to hire 14.5 percent more new college grads this year than they hired in 200, and at starting salary offers that are up 6.2 percent on average to $45,723 from a year ago, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reports. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 3)

Many of the best-known and most-selective universities announced record-low admission rates this year. Yale set an Ivy League record, accepting only 8.6 percent of its 21,099 applicants. Last year, the school accepted 9.7 percent of its 19,448 applicants. Other record lows were reported by Columbia University, 9.6 percent; Stanford University, 11 percent; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 percent; Brown University, 13.8 percent; Dartmouth College, 15.4 percent and the Univerbity of Pennsylvania, 17.7 percent. (Washington Post, April 7)

Not requiring the SAT is a new policy for Drew University, as well as several others, including College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Bennington College in Vermont will make scores optional for students who enter in fall 2007. The addition of these schools represents a growth spurt in the test-optional movement; now, 24 of the top 100 liberal arts colleges, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, are SAT- and ACT-optional. (USA Today, April 5)