Media Watch (May 8-15, 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 Special Olympics Connecticut Eastern Regional Games, hosted by the University of Hartford and Weaver High School, were covered by NBC 30 on its May 13 evening newscasts and were the subject of a photograph on the front page of the “Connecticut” section of the Hartford Courant. The event was previewed on WTIC-AM and in “News Briefs” columns in the Hartford Courant. (WTIC-AM, May 12; NBC 30, May 13; Hartford Courant, May 11 and 14)

The appointment of Peter Diffley as the University’s new dean of graduate studies was highlighted in the “Career Ladder” column in the “Business” section of the Hartford Courant. (Hartford Courant, May 15)

Prudential Retirement’s $90,000 donation to the University’s Educational Main Street (EMS) program was highlighted in the Hartford Courant’s “Education Briefs” column. The donation will help fund student bookstores within 11 Hartford-area elementary schools supported by the EMS program, as well as tutoring and other literacy-related programs. Special attention will be given to the John C. Clark and Martin Luther King Jr. elementary schools. The EMS program serves more than 5,600 youth in Hartford public schools. (Hartford Courant, May 9)

The lead in the Hartford Courant’s story about the Connecticut Youth Forum program and its “Senior Send Off” event noted that Bulkeley High School senior Jasmine Levy of Hartford had been accepted at the University of Hartford this fall. At the “Senior Send Off” event, about 150 Hartford-area high school students gathered at New Britain High School to discuss post-graduation plans and offer advice to underclassmen. ( May 10)

Paul Hagner, a former professor of political science at the University of Hartford and now associate director of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association with the mission to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, recently addressed a group of University of Richmond faculty members. The key message of his talk was that a technology gap exists between many college professors and a new generation of tech-savvy students who have never known life without the Internet. If that gap persists or continues to widen, Hagner said, it could have serious implications for classroom teaching and the nation’s system of higher education. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 10)

Kevin Kloski, who is scheduled to complete his MBA at the University of Hartford this summer, has won a scholarship to attend the Asia Institute for Political Economy. Kloski will be one of eight Americans attending, along with 42 students from Asia. Kloski works as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch in Hartford and has served for six years as an infantry soldier in the Connecticut Army National Guard. (Hartford Courant, May 12)

Danielle Hood, a sophomore forward who was the leading scorer for the Hartford Hawks women’s basketball team (averaging nearly 14 points a game), has been invited to try out for the 2006 USA Under-20 National Team. (NBC 30, May 7; WTNH-TV, May 9)

Hartford Hawks women’s head basketball coach Jennifer Rizzotti was the featured speaker at the 23rd Annual Connecticut High School Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet. (Norwich Bulletin, May 14)

Other News

Commencements were held at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Albertus Magnus College in New London, and Sacred Heart University in Fairfield on May 14. Ceremonies were also held for Quinnipiac University master’s degree students and graduates of the Quinnipiac University School of Law. (Hartford Courant, May 15)

Inspectors checking new buildings at the University of Connecticut have raised questions about the fire safety of water heaters in a student housing complex and discovered that carbon monoxide fumes plagued a second dormitory until last summer. The fire and building inspectors uncovered the problems, among numerous others, while carrying out the governor’s orders to check buildings constructed through the $2.3 billion Uconn 2000 program. (Hartford Courant, May 14)

The MassMutual Foundation is donating $500,000 to the Uconn Foundation to send 60 high school seniors from Hartford to the University of Connecticut over the next four years. The MassMutual Foundation will provide financial aid, a laptop and other support services for 15 seniors a year from Hartford public schools. (Hartford Courant, May 10)

President George W. Bush, on his 10th visit to the state since Hurricane Katrina hit in August, told 1,460 graduates of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College that their perseverance was an inspiration. Almost a third of the school’s 10,500 students dropped out, school officials said, and the homes of about 200 staff and faculty members were destroyed. But the college reopened 17 days after Katrina made landfall. (Los Angeles Times, May 12)

The Bush administration named Larry R. Faulkner, a former president of the University of Texas at Austin, chairman of the National Math Panel, which President Bush created by executive order in April. (New York Times, May 15)

A small but noticeable decline in scores on the newly expanded SAT exam has some wondering whether fatigue is affecting students’ performance, an issue that could prompt the College Board to adjust the test. Some guidance counselors have called on the College Board, which owns the exam, to let students take separate sections on separate days. (Associated Press, May 15)

Yale professor Jaroslav Pelikan, 82, one of the world’s foremost scholars on the history of Christianity, has died of lung cancer. Pelikan wrote more than 30 books, using sources in nine languages and dealing with literary, musical, and doctrinal aspects of religion. (Hartford Courant, May 15)

Some of the country’s top business schools are discovering a new niche: stay-at-home moms. Seeking to tap a pool of professionals who are of increasing interest to employers, Harvard, Dartmouth, and other universities with graduate business programs are launching executive-education courses geared toward women who have put their careers on hold to raise families and are ready to return to the professional world. (Wall Street Journal, May 12)

The incoming president of Connecticut College has resigned from the board of directors of a gold mining corporation that has been accused of polluting in Indonesia and Peru. Leo Higdon, Jr., who is scheduled to take over the leadership of school in July, had been a director of the Newmont Mining Corp. of Denver since 1995. (Hartford Courant, May 10)

A journalist has uncovered evidence that members of Yale’s secretive Skull and Bones society may have robbed Geronimo’s grave during World War I and brought the Apache warrior’s skull and other remains back to New Haven. Both Bush presidents belong to the elite Skull and Bones society as did their father and grandfather, Prescott Bush, who, by one account, participated in the alleged raid on Geronimo’s grave. (Hartford Courant, May 9)

Four fraternity members at the University of Vermont, charged with making pledges wear cowboy clothes and suffer homophobic insults, have been ordered to pay $1,000 fines under Vermont’s anti-hazing law. UVM police issued tickets to Scott Curley II, 18, of Bridgewater, Mass.; Eric Freedman, 20, of West Simsbury, Conn.; Bill Holohan IV, 20, of Branford, Conn., and Geoffrey Robinson, 20, of Middletown Springs. (Hartford Courant, May 9)

Dario Euraque, an associate professor of history and international studies at Trinity College, was appointed director of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He will serve there for two to three years, starting on July 1. He will direct a team to protect Honduras’s cultural heritage. (Hartford Courant, May 9)