Media Watch (Nov. 13 – 21, 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.

David Isgur, the University’s director of media relations, was a guest on the “Morning Show with Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith” on WTIC-AM, talking about the “Day in the Life” photography project, which kicked off the celebration of the University’s 50th anniversary. The project was also highlighted on a WFSB-TV Channel 3 newscast and in a photograph in the “Connecticut” section of the Hartford Courant. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 15; WTIC-AM, Nov. 14; WFSB-TV Channel 3, Nov. 14)

The power outage that affected sections of North Hartford, Bloomfield and the University of Hartford was the subject of significant media coverage. University students and University spokesman David Isgur were interviewed about the impact of the 12-hour loss of electricity (from the early morning hours to early afternoon on Nov. 20). (NBC 30, Nov. 20; WFSB-TV Channel 3, Nov. 20; WTNH-TV Channel 8; WTIC-AM, Nov. 20; Hartford Courant, Nov. 21)

A story on the issues involved in explaining to children what it means when a grandparent or other loved one is afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease included a mention of a book by Linda Scacco, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Hartford. Always My Grandpa: A Story for Children About Alzheimer's Disease, (Magination Press) describes what it’s like to be close to a grandparent diagnosed with Alzheimer's and how the disease affects children and families. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 16)

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, gave the Ellsworth Lecture at the University on Nov. 15. He was interviewed on the “Morning Show with Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith” on WTIC-AM on Nov. 14. The lecture was filmed for broadcast on CT-Network (cable channel 20 on most systems). (WTIC-AM, Nov. 14; CT-N, Nov. 18)

The front page of the “Connecticut” section of the Hartford Courant featured a photograph from a science fair sponsored by Educational Main Street. Hartford public school fourth-graders were judging the science projects of College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions students. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 16)

Darryl McMiller, assistant professor of political science at Hillyer College, was a guest on the NBC 30 program “Black Perspective.” He discussed the successes and impact of the growing number of African-Americans who ran for high political offices in the recent mid-term elections. (NBC 30, Nov. 12)

The Waterbury Republican-American published an op-ed article by John Mehm, associate director of the University’s Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology, on the lasting impact of William Styron’s 1990 book, Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, in which the late author detailed his first encounter with severe depression. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 1985, died recently on Martha’s Vineyard at the age of 81. In his essay, Mehm noted, “Darkness Visible still influences our understanding of depression and its effects on an estimated 19 million adults in the United States each year. William Styron’s eloquence in describing this devastating disorder provides a familiar voice for those struggling with depression and hope for those contemplating whether and how to continue the struggle.” (Waterbury Republican-American, Nov. 8)

In its “Cal” section, the Hartford Courant previewed a concert on Nov. 16 by the Miami String Quartet, the quartet-in-residence at The Hartt School. The preview noted that The Wind’s Trace Rests on Waves and Leaves, a composition by Robert Carl (a professor of composition and music history at The Hartt School), would be performed by the Miami String Quartet and bassist Robert Black (an associate professor in double bass at The Hartt School). The concert featured music inspired by maritime New England and Canada seascapes, including Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet in F Minor.” (Hartford Courant, Nov. 16)

A story about Trinity College’s effort to restore two 9,000-pound cannons that were built in 1859 and used on the Civil War battleship the USS Hartford noted that the University of Hartford has had the ship’s anchor since 1958. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 15)

Seth McClellan, a graduate of the classical theater training program at the University of Hartford, was profiled in the Chicago Daily Southtown after he and a partner won first prize in the Education Channel’s 2006 Independents’ Film Festival in Tampa, Fla., for a documentary film that they made. McClellan said he was trying to make sense out of a family tragedy when he created his award-winning documentary, Fading. Parts of the filming were agonizing becauseit involves personal disaster in our family,” he said. (Chicago Daily Southtown, Nov. 19)

Luso-Americano, the nation’s largest Portuguese-American newspaper, featured a story about Reinalso Amaral winning a 2006 Alumni Anchor Award from the University of Hartford. Amaral, who earned his MBA degree from the Barney School of Business in 2003, was honored for his community service and humanitarianism. (Luso-Americano, Oct. 28)

The Hartford Courant “Sports” section noted that the University’s men’s rugby season ended with a 27-19 loss to Hamilton College in Batavia, N.Y. The weekend matches included the top four Division III rugby teams from New England and New York. Hartford, unbeaten in the regular season, entered as the No. 2 team in the Northeast Rugby Union's third division. Two players on the rugby team were profiled in the Walpole Times, based in Walpole, Mass. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 14; Walpole Times, Nov. 16)

The University of Hartford received a fair amount of media coverage when the University of Connecticut vs. Texas women’s soccer game in the NCAA tournament, scheduled to be played in Storrs, was moved to the University of Hartford’s Al-Marzook Field, which has an artificial surface. The game, which was won by Texas, could not be played at Storrs because of the soggy condition of the field there. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 13)

Other News

Racial tensions simmered at Trinity College as students, professors and college officials denounced a fraternity party at which some white students wore costumes considered racially offensive. Officials are investigating the Halloween party, which occurred the same weekend that a black student found a racial slur scrawled on a message board outside her room at the Hartford campus. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 14)

Presidents of some of the nation’s largest public universities are closing the salary gap with their rivals at private institutions, with the number of top executives earning more than $500,000 nearly doubling, according to an annual survey of compensation by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The survey showed the upward spiral of compensation occurring in public institutions as well as private ones, with 42 presidents of public colleges earning $500,000 or more compared with the 23 reported in last year’s survey. The Hartford Courant published a chart in its “Connecticut” section that highlighted the salaries and benefits paid to the presidents of institutions of higher education in the state. (Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 17; New York Times, Nov. 20; Hartford Courant, Nov. 21)

University of Connecticut officials agreed to charge students about 6 percent more in tuition and other costs in each of the next two years - and left open the possibility of raising those prices even higher. The average cost of attending Uconn has grown more slowly over the past decade than at other public colleges across the nation. But Uconn's prices, like those at most colleges, have continued to outpace the rate of inflation in recent years. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 15)

A surge of full-time enrollment among recent high school graduates, including more minority students, has kept enrollment growing for eight consecutive years in Connecticut’s community college system. In the past five years, enrollment of Hispanic females has risen more than 20 percent. The system issued a report showing its 12 two-year campuses enrolled a record 46,489 full-time and part-time students this fall. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 21)

College tour guides have a big responsibility to sell, and they know it. According to experts in the field, the college visit is the single most important factor in a student’s decision about whether to apply to a school, and often it is the guide who seals it one way or another. As a result, many colleges have invested in visitors centers and have turned volunteer tour guide positions into paid ones that require training programs, interviews to assess personality and their love of the school, written tests and audition tours. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 21)

Thirty two men and women from across the United States have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2007. The students will enter Oxford University in England next October. The scholars were selected from 896 applicants endorsed by 340 colleges and universities, and will join scholars selected from 13 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 85 are selected each year. The scholarships provide two or three years of study, with the total value averaging about $45,000 per year. (Associated Press, Nov. 20)

With the cost of higher education soaring every year, students are forced to take out substantial federal student loans, but many are unprepared when it comes time to pay back that debt. Defaulting on federal school loans, however, can have serious ramifications, including wrecking credit histories. That's why lenders provide options that can lower monthly payments to a more manageable level. These include consolidating debt, paying only interest and deferring payments entirely for as long as three years. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 19)

Emory University is receiving $262 million from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, one of the largest financial gifts in the history of higher education. Most of the money, $240 million, is intended to replace two medical buildings and modernize other outpatient services. The rest will be spent on renovating another building and advancing the university's strategic plan. Robert Woodruff, who led the Coca-Cola Company, was a longtime benefactor. (Associated Press, Nov. 17)

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises is helping launch The Scholar Ship, an ocean vessel that will ferry 600 college students on a 16-week academic voyage to ports like Lisbon, Portugal; Papeete, Tahiti; Sydney, Australia; and Shanghai, China. Royal Caribbean has joined with six universities and will provide operational support and funding for the international studies program. The only U.S. college to join the venture is the University of California at Berkeley. (Miami Herald, Nov. 16)

The University of Virginia will team with Google in a project aimed at making many of the school’s library books more accessible to the public. The University of Virginia is Google’s ninth partner in the Google Books Library Project. Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, the University of Michigan and other leading research libraries also are part of the plan. Hundreds of thousands of selected books from the university’s library will be digitized and made searchable by Google. (Richmond Times Dispatch, Nov. 16)

Nearly seven years after a dormitory fire killed three students at Seton Hall University, former roommates Joseph T. LePore and Sean Ryan, both 26, pleaded guilty to arson, admitting for the first time that they set a banner ablaze in a prank that tragically got out of hand. They struck a deal with prosecutors as they were about to go on trial on murder charges. They will each get no more than five years in prison, compared with 30 years or more if they had been convicted of murder. (Associated Press, Nov. 16)

Though Asian-Americans constitute only about 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, they typically account from 10 to 30 percent of students at many of the nation’s elite colleges. But Asian-Americans say their enrollment should be much higher. Federal civil-rights officials are investigating charges by a top Chinese-American student that he was rejected by Princeton University last spring because of his race and national origin. (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 14)

The number of new foreign students coming to the United States grew this school year, after several years of weakness that followed the terrorist attacks of 2001, according to an Institute of International Education survey. The institute also found that the number of American students studying abroad hit a record 205,983 in 2004-5, an 8 percent increase over the previous year and more than double the number in the 1994-95 school year. (New York Times, Nov. 14)

Roughly one in six students, or 3.2 million people, who are enrolled in higher education-took at least one online course last fall, a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off. A new report by The Sloan Consortium, a group of colleges pursuing online programs, estimates that 850,000 more students took online courses in the fall of 2005 than the year before, an increase of nearly 40 percent. (MSNBC, Nov. 14)

North Dakota District Judge Lawrence Jahnke told attorneys representing the University of North Dakota (UND) and the NCAA that the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo may stay until a court rules otherwise. The NCAA has declared UND’s use of the Sioux name and a logo depicting a Sioux warrior as “hostile and abusive” to American Indians, and threatened to deny the school the right to host postseason games or participate in postseason road contests if the name and logo aren’t changed. (Scripps News Service, Nov. 14)

Upcoming

David Desplaces, assistant professor and director of the Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies at the Barney School of Business, was interviewed for WTIC-AM's "Face Connecticut" program with Sam Gingerella, about the work that the University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter has done with small business owners in Simsbury, Avon, Vernon, and Hartford. The program will be broadcast over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend