Media Watch (Aug. 28 – Sept. 5, 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.

University President Walter Harrison’s remarks to first-year students at the annual Convocation ceremony were published in the Hartford Courant as a commentary article. Harrison contrasted a proposed theme of the “Survivor” television show, in which contestants would be grouped in teams based on their race and ethnicity, with the goals of institutions of higher education such as the University of Hartford, which encourages students to reject stereotypes and to get to know people of different cultures. (Hartford Courant, Aug. 30)

Warren Goldstein, chair of the history department in the College of Arts and Sciences, was cited in an opinion column in Tehran Times.com as one of the “increasing numbers of honorable Jews who are appalled at what is being done in the name of their religion.” The column references Goldstein’s opinion article in which he said “No religious or political tradition worthy of the name justifies burning children to death in the hopes of ‘taking out’ a rocket launcher.” (Tehran Times.com, Sept. 2)

Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics at the Barney School of Business and a state representative from Farmington, was quoted in a story about a major revitalization plan for a section of Unionville. The proposed redevelopment of a commercial site, new housing and a reclaiming of the area’s riverfront will have a positive impact on the neighborhood, said Giannaros, whose district includes the area. (Hartford Courant, Sept. 3)

Lauren Zaccaro, a recent graduate of the University’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, was a guest on “Good Morning Connecticut Weekend” on WTNH-TV Channel 8. Zaccaro discussed a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) while a junior at the University, and her efforts to battle the disease, including taking part in the MS Bike Tour, a 150-mile ride to raise funds for research in the fight against MS. Zaccaro, now a systems engineer with Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems, was also profiled in the Norwich Bulletin. (WTNH-TV Channel 8, Sept. 3; Norwich Bulletin, Aug. 31)

The legacy of Jackie McLean, jazz legend and founder of the McLean Institute of Jazz at The Hartt School, was highlighted on the “Fresh Air” program on National Public Radio (NPR) on Aug. 18. Theprogram focused on McLean’s musical style and noted the number of musicians that McLean had trained and sent out to become prominent performers in the jazz world. (NPR network, Aug. 18)

The Newtown Friends of Music announced the line-up for its 2006–07 concert series that will be opened by the Amelia Piano Trio. The trio consists of violinist Anthea Kreston, who is a faculty member at The Hartt School; cellist Jason Duckles; and pianist Rieko Aizawal. The trio was also recently featured on NPR’s “Performance Today.” (Newtown Bee, Aug. 31)

Anesti Nova, who has studied orchestration and computer notation at The Hartt School, will have his composition, “Valse Triste,” a musical reaction to emotional despair, in the Connecticut Historical Society Museum’s exhibition “September 11, 2001: Connecticut Responds and Reflects.” Born in Istanbul, Turkey, to Albanian immigrants, Nova came to Connecticut in 1974 with his wife and five-year-old son, James. He owned and ran a restaurant in South Windsor for 22 years. His son, James, is now assistant principal trombonist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. (Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Sept. 3)

Latisha Wood, who majored in illustration at the Hartford Art School, has become one of the top motorcycle customizing artists in the United States, and one of the few women doing this work. Wood, who currently lives in central Georgia and travels to bike shows around the country, has had her work featured on the Discovery Channel. ( Home Journal, Aug. 30)

University of Hartford President Walter Harrison and Director of Athletics Pat Meiser were featured on an ESPN U program that discussed ”Five reasons not to blame the NCAA for not paying college athletes.” ESPN U is a cable sports channel that specializes in covering college athletics. (ESPN U, Aug. 26 and 27)

Other News

Community colleges in Connecticut are seeing an influx of younger students With the days when most of the student body took a break from their full-time jobs to drive to Manchester Community College for a class or two disappearing, MCC is embarking on a new project: coming up with activities to engross the growing number of students who stay on campus in between classes. (Hartford Courant, Sept. 5)

Eastern Michigan University has called on faculty members to end their strike. The American Association of University Professors members at the school began picketing on Aug. 31 after they said contract talks broke down. The 668-member faculty union’s previous contract expired Aug. 21 Talks are continuing, but if the AAUP refuses to return to work by Sept. 6, the university will suspend further negotiations until the strike ends. (Detroit Free Press, Sept. 5)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has settled a lawsuit filed by the parents of Julie Carpenter, a sophomore who committed suicide in 2001. The family accused MIT of causing Julie’s death by mishandling her reports that a male student was stalking her. The lawsuit also said MIT knew she had become suicidal and did not respond adequately. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. (Boston Globe, Sept. 5)

Policies barring potentially suicidal students from campus dorms have popped up across the country in recent years as colleges have struggled to decide how to best curb an estimated 1,100 suicides a year. But some of those rules have come under attack. Hunter College announced it was abandoning its suicide policy as part of a legal settlement with a student who sued, claiming her 2004 ouster from the dorms violated federal law protecting disabled people from discrimination. (Associated Press, Sept. 5)

A new food court at the University of Connecticut, dubbed the Union Street Market, opened in the new $25.7 million addition in the student union, which also has a modern new ballroom with a 21-foot ceiling, nine meeting rooms and student cultural club offices. Later this fall, a convenience store and Anthony's Hair Salon will open in the loft upstairs from the food court, as well as two other retail stores, which have not yet been settled. (Hartford Courant, Aug. 31)

Harvard University begins a new effort to figure out how to improve teaching and make it a bigger factor in whether professors get tenure or raises. If successful, the initiative could counter Harvard’s image as a school that allows professors to neglect undergraduates in favor of the research that wins them grants, book prizes, and fame. (Boston Globe, Sept. 5)

In a national survey of 264,000 freshmen at 385 four-year schools, 18.7 percent of last year’s incoming class said that living near home was a “very important reason” in selecting a college. The Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, collected the data. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 5)

Under a program called Project Strikeback, the federal Department of Education shared personal information on hundreds of student loan applicants with the Federal Bureau of Investigation across a five-year period that began after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Under the program, the Education Department received names from the FBI and checked them against its student aid database, forwarding information to the FBI. Neither agency would say whether any investigations resulted, but the program has been closed. (New York Times, Sept. 1)

Helping college freshmen make it to sophomore year and beyond is becoming a growth industry in higher education. More and more high school graduates are going to college—a record 69 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and many need a helping hand. (The Virginian-Pilot, Aug. 30)

Tens of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students rushed to consolidate their federal student loans this spring and summer, trying to lock in lower interest payments before higher rates took effect on July 1. But frustrated students and executives at some of the companies that process the applications accuse big lenders like Wells Fargo, Wachovia and Sallie Mae of violating federal regulations and slowing the process, charging the higher rates in the meantime. (New York Times, Aug. 30)

Upcoming

Lou Manzione,dean of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), will have an opinion article published in the October issue of Connecticut Business Magazine. Manzione’s article is about Connecticut’s needs to address its energy issues and the role that the University’s new Clean Energy Institute could play in that effort.

Michael Robinson, assistant professor of history in Hillyer College, was interviewed for an upcoming article in the Maine Times-Record about his new book, The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture.