Media Watch (Oct. 2 – 9, 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.

Provost Donna Randall wrote an opinion column on the phenomenon of “helicopter parents” for the “Commentary” section of the Hartford Courant. “How am I handling this conflict between being a provost and parent? With great restraint, I am not hovering (yet),” notes Randall who saw her daughter begin college this fall. “I am trying to control my desire to do so to allow my daughter to navigate her own way through college. I have not called the provost of the university where my daughter attends (yet). I am trying to offer advice and gentle guidance from afar,” she wrote. Read Randall's column. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 8)

The lead item in the Hartford Courant’s “Java” column on Oct. 6 was a review of Hartford Hawks women’s basketball coach Jen Rizzotti’s celebrity performance in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a musical about a small-town spelling bee, being presented at the Bushnell. “Jen Rizzotti was a basketball player to be reckoned with, and as a college coach, she has more than proved her worth. Now she can add ‘speller extraordinaire’ to her list of accomplishments, as well as perhaps a career on Broadway now that she’s had her moment on the big Bushnell stage,” noted the item. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 6)

The lead item in the Hartford Courant’s weekly “Education Briefs” column was about a course on obesity taught at the University last spring by Jacob Harney, associate professor and chair of the biology department in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Marissa Cloutier, an instructor of biology in Hillyer College, that was selected for publication as a model by Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities, a project funded by the National Science Foundation to engage student interest in the field through the study of public issues. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 3)

Justin Potter, who was a 2005 graduate of Newtown High and a sophomore at the University of Hartford, died shortly before 2 a.m. on Oct. 7 from injuries sustained in a car accident. Justin, who would have turned 20 next month, was following in his parents’ footsteps. John Potter is retired from IBM and his mom still works there. Justin was studying interactive information technology at the University and enjoyed designing websites. (Danbury News-Times, Oct. 8)

Kate Darcy Hohenthal, a doctoral student in educational leadership at the University of Hartford, wrote a letter to the editor in response to an announcement that music programs would be eliminated at Hartford’s Bulkeley High School. “As a society, we really need to think about education as being beyond the three R's and address the educational interests of the whole child,” wrote Hohenthal. Read Hohenthal’s letter to the editor. (Hartford Courant, Sept. 28)

The Hartford Courant’s positive review of a performance by Lucy Kaplansky at the University on Oct. 6 also highlighted the University’s MUSIC for a CHANGE benefit concert series. “Her knack for arranging functional marriages of elegant sounds and earthy thinking has made Lucy Kaplansky one of contemporary folk music’s most consistently enticing artists. Friday night at Wilde Auditorium, the New York City-based former clinical psychologist put on a solo show as notably personal as it was full of relaxed sonic appeals.” (Hartford Courant, Oct. 8)

A highlighted item in the Hartford Courant’s “Cal” section noted that Gregory Spatz, a novelist, short-story writer, and accomplished bluegrass fiddler, will open this fall’s Cardin Reading Series at the University of Hartford. He will read from his work on Oct. 10, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., in Auerbach Auditorium. Spatz, who grew up in Canton and first studied violin at The Hartt School, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and now lives in Spokane, Wash. He is the author of the novels Fiddler’s Dream and No One But Us and the short-story collection Wonderful Tricks. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 5)

The old Northwest School on Albany Avenue in Hartford, which is to become an African American cultural center named for former University of Hartford Professor John E. Rogers, earned a place on the state’s register of historic places during the meeting of the state Historic Preservation Council on Oct. 4. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 5)

Bernard Z. Friedlander, emeritus research professor of human development at the University of Hartford, wrote an article arguing against passage of a gay marriage ban amendment, which is on the Nov. 7 ballot in Wisconsin. “The people in favor of this amendment don’t seem to understand what they're doing. They don’t comprehend that what they want will bounce back at some of them and wound them and their own families – in their wallets, in their legal rights, and in their confidence in the basic sanity of their state,” he wrote. (The Capital Times, Madison, Wis., Oct. 4)

The Hartford Courant profiled Shelley Teed-Wargo, alumna of The Hartt School and a strong advocate for the disabled, who recently passed away at the age of 55. She taught music privately and in Windsor public schools for years. In 1987, Teed-Wargo organized the Connecticut United Disability Action Group and became its executive director. It emphasized grass-roots organizing for people across the disability spectrum. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 1)

The Boston Globe, in its “Golf Notes” column, noted the University of Hartford men’s golf team finished tied for second with the hosts from the University of Rhode Island in the annual Adams Cup of Newport. South Florida won the team event. (Boston Globe, Oct. 5)

Aaron Cook, former star shooting guard on the Hartford Hawks men’s basketball team, is in training camps with the Vermont Frost Heaves of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Cook was twice named to the America East all-conference team and is the school’s all-time leader in three-pointers made. (The Free Press, Burlington, Vt., Oct. 3)

Former NBA All-Star and Hartford Hawk stand-out Vin Baker recently signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, after playing eight games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Baker, who turns 35 next month, agreed to a non-guaranteed contract the day before the start of training camp. “I still think there’s a lot in the tank to offer,” Baker said. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 3)

Other News

Uconn football coach Randy Edsall dismissed five players from the program today for a violation of team rules. Sources said that the violation was for bringing beer back to a Florida hotel on Friday, the night before the Huskies lost 38-16 to South Florida. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 9)

Four suites in a University of Connecticut dormitory were flooded when a maintenance worker tried to replace the head on a fire sprinkler and accidentally set it off. The sprinklers sprayed about a quarter-inch of water on the floors of the dorm rooms at the Hilltop Suites. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 5)

Yale University is seeking to raise $3 billion in the next five years to expand its facilities, create scholarships and endowed professorships, and renovate its science and research labs. The university also said that its “Yale Tomorrow” campaign would create professorships in international studies in the arts, sciences, and the law school. (Bloomberg, Oct. 4)

Yale University received a $50 million gift that will be used to strengthen its collaborations with China. Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, through his family foundation, and The Starr Foundation are each donating $25 million to Yale to create the Maurice R. Greenberg Yale-China Initiative. (Associated Press, Oct. 3)

Harvard University may soon require all undergraduates to study religion, ethics and U.S. history in the biggest overhaul of its curriculum in three decades. A 39-page proposal describing the changes was circulated to faculty members, and next month they will discuss the plan. Efforts to revamp Harvard’s curriculum, which has been criticized for concentrating too narrowly on academic topics instead of real-life issues, have been in the works for three years. (Reuters, Oct. 6)

Stanford University announced a $20 million program to encourage graduates to become teachers by paying off their student loans. Graduates of the Stanford Teacher Education Program, a year-long master’s program for K-12 teachers at the university’s School of Education, will have half of their student loans forgiven after they teach for two years; the remainder will be forgiven after they complete four years of teaching. (Associated Press, Oct. 6)

Three dozen universities and colleges across New England have launched a website in a collaborative effort to recruit employees. The New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium’s site—www.newenglandherc.org —contains more than 3,000 openings for faculty, administrators, researchers and technicians. The free site also includes information about relocation services, schools, child care, local government, and transportation. (Associated Press, Oct. 5)

Roger D. Kornberg, 59, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, whose father won a Nobel Prize a half-century ago, was awarded the prize in chemistry for his studies of how cells take information from genes to produce proteins. The work is important because learning more about the process is key to using stem cells to treat disease. (Associated Press, Oct. 4)

With colleges and universities aggressively competing for the best students, a growing number of institutions are actively courting home-schooled students. After years of skepticism, even mistrust, many college officials now realize it's in their best interest to seek out home-schoolers who often come to college equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in higher education. (CNN, Oct. 4)

Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is questioning whether the National Collegiate Athletic Association, with its multimillion-dollar television contracts and million-dollar coaches, deserves its tax-exempt status. Thomas asked the NCAA to justify its tax-exempt status in a letter sent to NCAA President Myles Brand. He asked for a reply by the end of October. (Associated Press, Oct. 4)

Federal auditors are expanding their investigation of whether lenders are improperly calculating interest rates on student loans or taking advantage of a legal loophole in the federal college loan program. The Education Department’s inspector general said that Nelnet Inc., a student lender based in Lincoln, Neb., should repay $278 million in improperly calculated loan payments. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is also being investigated. (Bloomberg, Oct. 3)

Despite rising concern about college students’ debt loads, the nation’s largest four-year colleges are disclosing students’ contact information to credit card-issuing banks and earning up to millions each in annual fees by giving the banks the right to market on campus. (USA Today, Oct. 2)