Quick Search
More In the News
- Jackson in Hartford Courant, Media Coverage of New Pharmacy Degree Partnership, and More
9/10/2013 - Roth in Hartford Business Journal, Move-In Coverage on WFSB-TV, Russell in Burlington Free Press, and More
9/4/2013 - Freund Live on FOX News, Discussing Major Find in Jerusalem from 3,000 Years Ago
8/1/2013 - Coverage of Barney Dean Announcement, Freund in NY Post, Coach Rizzotti in Hartford Business Journal, and More
7/23/2013
Media Watch (Feb. 5–12, 2007)
Posted 2/13/2007
"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 had an opinion article about the founding of the University and its growth published in the “Commentary” section of the Hartford Courant. The article was in conjunction with the celebration of the University’s 50th anniversary. Harrison wrote “A private university with a public purpose has much to celebrate on its 50th birthday: the vision of its founders, the support and encouragement of its local supporters and donors, the commitment of its staff and faculty, and the success of its alumni. But most of all, it celebrates the energy and vitality of its student body—from preschool to graduate school, from all races and backgrounds, and from every corner of the globe.” Read President Harrison’s op-ed article. (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 11)
President Harrison was a guest on “The Morning Show with Ray & Diane” on WTIC-AM on Feb. 8 to discuss the University’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations. President Harrison talked about the University’s history, as well as the upcoming Founders’ Day celebration on Feb. 21 and his talk at the MetroHartford Alliance’s Rising Star Breakfast on Feb. 13. (WTIC-AM, Feb. 8)
Students from the University High School of Science and Engineering, who were invited guests at Gov. Jodi Rell’s budget address, were recognized by the governor and given a standing ovation by the members of the Connecticut General Assembly. The address was carried live on Connecticut Network as well as WFSB-TV Channel 3 and NBC 30. University President Walter Harrison also attended the address as a guest of Gov. Rell, and sat next to the University High School students. (NBC 30; Feb. 7; WFSB Eyewitness News, Feb. 7; CT-N, Feb. 7)
A break in a water line that runs through the middle of the University of Hartford campus was covered by televisions stations, WFSB and Fox 61, and reported on by WTIC-AM radio. The cause of the break was attributed to the consecutive days of below-freezing weather. Repairs were made quickly, as just four academic buildings—the Harry Jack Gray Center, Taub Hall, Fuller Music Center, and Abrahms Hall—were without water for only two-and-a-half hours. (WFSB Eyewitness News, Feb. 8; Fox 61, Feb. 8; WTIC-AM, Feb. 8)
The West End String Quartet, a fresh, young group based out of Boston and Hartford, were highlighted in the Lewiston Sun-Journal newspaper prior to its performance at the University of Maine at Farmington. The Quartet features three graduates of The Hartt School: Jessica Meyer, violin; Russell Wilson, viola; and Carlynn Savot, cello, along with Mt. Blue graduate Sarah Washburn on violin. The Quartet was scheduled to perform works by Debussy, Piazzolla, Stravinsky, Webern, Charles Ives, and Mozart. ( Lewiston Sun Journal, Feb. 7)
Jocelyn O’Toole, a Hartt School alum and a Fairfield, Conn., native, will be opening for Paige Price at the Fairfield Theatre Company. O’Toole, who now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., is pursuing her master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. For her opening performance, as a mezzo-soprano, O’Toole plans to do a cabaret act, featuring works by classical opera composers including Kurt Weill and William Bolcom. (Fairfield Citizen-News, Feb. 8)
Guitarist Bobby Broom, former instructor at Jackie McLean’s African American Music Studies Department in The Hartt School, has a new CD, “Song and Dance,” that will be released on March 20 by Origin Records. The Broom Trio features a mix of soul, groove, and urban improvisation. Broom points out that part of the role of jazz musicians is “taking popular music and interpreting it. Each generation claims its own standards.” (Jazz Press Service, Feb.8)
K.C. Jones, radio analyst for the University of Hartford’s men’s basketball team and a special assistant to the athletics director, was quoted in a story about the Boston Celtics’ losing streak. “It’s disappointing,” Jones, a former Celtic star, said. “They’re not playing well, which is obvious…It’s got to be defense or something. They’ve got to break out of that slump.” Also mentioned in the article was the significance of Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts becoming the first African- American head coach to win a Super Bowl title. Jones recalled that in the 1975 NBA finals, he coached the Washington Bullets against the Golden State coach Al Attles. Jones said, “We played one another, and won the game, but nothing was mentioned about (race),” he said. “We weren’t even thinking about it.” (Albany Times Union, Feb. 6)
Diana Delva of Stamford, a freshman on the Hartford Hawks women’s basketball team, became just the second woman in America East women’s basketball history to be named Player and Rookie of the Week in the same week. Delva led the Hawks to a pair of wins over the league’s second- and third-ranked teams in the preseason coaches’ poll, as she notched back-to-back career-highs in each of last week’s games. She netted a career-high 14 points, while grabbing seven rebounds at Boston University. She followed that by scoring 24 points in a win over Stony Brook. She also grabbed 13 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. Maine’s Cindy Blodgett was the only other player in league history to sweep the player and rookie of the week awards in the same week. (The Boston Herald, Feb. 5)
Other News
A writer is apologizing for an opinion piece on the virtues of rape that sparked protests at Central Connecticut State University after it appeared in the student newspaper there. Editors at the paper said the article was meant to be satire. John Petroski has circulated an apology to fellow students, saying he is “sorry … very truly sorry.” The Feb. 7 article in The Recorder was headlined “Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It.” About 100 students rallied in protest at the school and called for the resignations of Petroski and the newspaper’s editor, Mark Rowan. (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 11)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, in her first budget address since being elected, proposed pumping nearly $3.4 billion into state school funding over five years, including millions more for towns and cities and additional aid for everything from preschool classes to college scholarships. In what she called “the most important increase in education funding in a generation,” Rell’s plan called for an additional $25 million, a 77 percent increase, in scholarship aid to Connecticut students attending public and private colleges. The increase from the current $32 million would provide scholarships for an additional 13,000 students, according to the governor’s office. (Hartford Courant, Feb. 8; Hartford Courant, Feb. 7)
Drew Gilpin Faust, head of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, a prominent historian but someone who has never run a major institution, was announced as the new president of Harvard University. She is the university’s first female president, named two years after former president Lawrence H. Summers speculated that women had less aptitude for science than men. Faust is now one of four women currently heading an Ivy League university. (New York Times, Feb. 11)
College presidents have gotten older and have been in their positions longer than at any time in the past 20 years, indicating an upcoming wave of turnover at the top. "The data … suggests that we will likely see a major turnover in the leadership of American colleges and universities in the next five to 10 years," said James Renick, senior vice president of the American Council on Education. ACE surveyed the nation's 3,396 presidents last year for the report being issued today. "This is a challenge. But it also represents an opportunity to promote greater diversity in our leadership," Renick said. (USA Today, Feb. 12)
Capital Community College in Hartford has won an award from the National Council of Instructional Administrators for a student advising program. The award recognizes ways that two-year colleges have improved the quality of education they provide. Mary Jean Thornton, an assistant professor of management and the academic advising project leader, submitted the winning entry, which details a new student advising program that the college launched with a grant from St. Paul Travelers. (Hartford Courant, Feb. 6)
President George Bush unveiled a broad overhaul of student aid programs in his fiscal 2008 budget, following on similar efforts already under way by congressional Democrats amid growing voter anxiety about soaring college costs. The White House said it wants to trim “excessive or unnecessary subsidies” paid to student lenders, reduce loan guarantees and cut how much money guaranty agencies are allowed to keep when collecting on defaulted loans. It also wants to eliminate the Perkins loan program and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Savings from these changes would be channeled into boosting the widely used Pell grant program by about $20 billion. (CNN.com, Feb. 8)
Ohio State University, the nation’s largest university, has switched its dining hall fryers to canola oil instead of vegetable oil or shortening, a move that is expected to cost the school an additional $16,000 a year. Canola oil does not contain artery-clogging trans fat, which studies have shown raises bad cholesterol and lowers the good kind. “Financially, it worked, and we just decided it was the right thing to do,” said Jill Irvin, associate director of operations for campus-dining services. The university previously spent about $30,000 a year on fryer oil. (Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 9)
An MIT professor has begun a hunger strike outside the university leaders’ offices, saying the school has denied him tenure due to racism. For nearly two years, James L. Sherley, a stem cell scientist, has asked senior administration to overturn his department head’s decision not to put his name forward for tenure. The provost said the decision would stand. Sherley, who is African-American, said he will stand outside the offices each day from 9 a.m. to noon until they grant him tenure, censure the provost, and initiate a process for addressing racism at the school. (Boston Globe, Feb. 7)
Upcoming
Jilda Aliotta, chair of the politics and government department in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed by David Lightman, the Hartford Courant’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief, in connection with a series of stories he is doing about the debate in Congress over U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Iran.
University President Walter Harrison had an opinion article about the founding of the University and its growth published in the “Commentary” section of the Hartford Courant. The article was in conjunction with the celebration of the University’s 50th anniversary. Harrison wrote “A private university with a public purpose has much to celebrate on its 50th birthday: the vision of its founders, the support and encouragement of its local supporters and donors, the commitment of its staff and faculty, and the success of its alumni. But most of all, it celebrates the energy and vitality of its student body—from preschool to graduate school, from all races and backgrounds, and from every corner of the globe.” Read President Harrison’s op-ed article. (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 11)
President Harrison was a guest on “The Morning Show with Ray & Diane” on WTIC-AM on Feb. 8 to discuss the University’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations. President Harrison talked about the University’s history, as well as the upcoming Founders’ Day celebration on Feb. 21 and his talk at the MetroHartford Alliance’s Rising Star Breakfast on Feb. 13. (WTIC-AM, Feb. 8)
Students from the University High School of Science and Engineering, who were invited guests at Gov. Jodi Rell’s budget address, were recognized by the governor and given a standing ovation by the members of the Connecticut General Assembly. The address was carried live on Connecticut Network as well as WFSB-TV Channel 3 and NBC 30. University President Walter Harrison also attended the address as a guest of Gov. Rell, and sat next to the University High School students. (NBC 30; Feb. 7; WFSB Eyewitness News, Feb. 7; CT-N, Feb. 7)
A break in a water line that runs through the middle of the University of Hartford campus was covered by televisions stations, WFSB and Fox 61, and reported on by WTIC-AM radio. The cause of the break was attributed to the consecutive days of below-freezing weather. Repairs were made quickly, as just four academic buildings—the Harry Jack Gray Center, Taub Hall, Fuller Music Center, and Abrahms Hall—were without water for only two-and-a-half hours. (WFSB Eyewitness News, Feb. 8; Fox 61, Feb. 8; WTIC-AM, Feb. 8)
The West End String Quartet, a fresh, young group based out of Boston and Hartford, were highlighted in the Lewiston Sun-Journal newspaper prior to its performance at the University of Maine at Farmington. The Quartet features three graduates of The Hartt School: Jessica Meyer, violin; Russell Wilson, viola; and Carlynn Savot, cello, along with Mt. Blue graduate Sarah Washburn on violin. The Quartet was scheduled to perform works by Debussy, Piazzolla, Stravinsky, Webern, Charles Ives, and Mozart. ( Lewiston Sun Journal, Feb. 7)
Jocelyn O’Toole, a Hartt School alum and a Fairfield, Conn., native, will be opening for Paige Price at the Fairfield Theatre Company. O’Toole, who now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., is pursuing her master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. For her opening performance, as a mezzo-soprano, O’Toole plans to do a cabaret act, featuring works by classical opera composers including Kurt Weill and William Bolcom. (Fairfield Citizen-News, Feb. 8)
Guitarist Bobby Broom, former instructor at Jackie McLean’s African American Music Studies Department in The Hartt School, has a new CD, “Song and Dance,” that will be released on March 20 by Origin Records. The Broom Trio features a mix of soul, groove, and urban improvisation. Broom points out that part of the role of jazz musicians is “taking popular music and interpreting it. Each generation claims its own standards.” (Jazz Press Service, Feb.8)
K.C. Jones, radio analyst for the University of Hartford’s men’s basketball team and a special assistant to the athletics director, was quoted in a story about the Boston Celtics’ losing streak. “It’s disappointing,” Jones, a former Celtic star, said. “They’re not playing well, which is obvious…It’s got to be defense or something. They’ve got to break out of that slump.” Also mentioned in the article was the significance of Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts becoming the first African- American head coach to win a Super Bowl title. Jones recalled that in the 1975 NBA finals, he coached the Washington Bullets against the Golden State coach Al Attles. Jones said, “We played one another, and won the game, but nothing was mentioned about (race),” he said. “We weren’t even thinking about it.” (Albany Times Union, Feb. 6)
Diana Delva of Stamford, a freshman on the Hartford Hawks women’s basketball team, became just the second woman in America East women’s basketball history to be named Player and Rookie of the Week in the same week. Delva led the Hawks to a pair of wins over the league’s second- and third-ranked teams in the preseason coaches’ poll, as she notched back-to-back career-highs in each of last week’s games. She netted a career-high 14 points, while grabbing seven rebounds at Boston University. She followed that by scoring 24 points in a win over Stony Brook. She also grabbed 13 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. Maine’s Cindy Blodgett was the only other player in league history to sweep the player and rookie of the week awards in the same week. (The Boston Herald, Feb. 5)
Other News
A writer is apologizing for an opinion piece on the virtues of rape that sparked protests at Central Connecticut State University after it appeared in the student newspaper there. Editors at the paper said the article was meant to be satire. John Petroski has circulated an apology to fellow students, saying he is “sorry … very truly sorry.” The Feb. 7 article in The Recorder was headlined “Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It.” About 100 students rallied in protest at the school and called for the resignations of Petroski and the newspaper’s editor, Mark Rowan. (The Hartford Courant, Feb. 11)
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, in her first budget address since being elected, proposed pumping nearly $3.4 billion into state school funding over five years, including millions more for towns and cities and additional aid for everything from preschool classes to college scholarships. In what she called “the most important increase in education funding in a generation,” Rell’s plan called for an additional $25 million, a 77 percent increase, in scholarship aid to Connecticut students attending public and private colleges. The increase from the current $32 million would provide scholarships for an additional 13,000 students, according to the governor’s office. (Hartford Courant, Feb. 8; Hartford Courant, Feb. 7)
Drew Gilpin Faust, head of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, a prominent historian but someone who has never run a major institution, was announced as the new president of Harvard University. She is the university’s first female president, named two years after former president Lawrence H. Summers speculated that women had less aptitude for science than men. Faust is now one of four women currently heading an Ivy League university. (New York Times, Feb. 11)
College presidents have gotten older and have been in their positions longer than at any time in the past 20 years, indicating an upcoming wave of turnover at the top. "The data … suggests that we will likely see a major turnover in the leadership of American colleges and universities in the next five to 10 years," said James Renick, senior vice president of the American Council on Education. ACE surveyed the nation's 3,396 presidents last year for the report being issued today. "This is a challenge. But it also represents an opportunity to promote greater diversity in our leadership," Renick said. (USA Today, Feb. 12)
Capital Community College in Hartford has won an award from the National Council of Instructional Administrators for a student advising program. The award recognizes ways that two-year colleges have improved the quality of education they provide. Mary Jean Thornton, an assistant professor of management and the academic advising project leader, submitted the winning entry, which details a new student advising program that the college launched with a grant from St. Paul Travelers. (Hartford Courant, Feb. 6)
President George Bush unveiled a broad overhaul of student aid programs in his fiscal 2008 budget, following on similar efforts already under way by congressional Democrats amid growing voter anxiety about soaring college costs. The White House said it wants to trim “excessive or unnecessary subsidies” paid to student lenders, reduce loan guarantees and cut how much money guaranty agencies are allowed to keep when collecting on defaulted loans. It also wants to eliminate the Perkins loan program and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Savings from these changes would be channeled into boosting the widely used Pell grant program by about $20 billion. (CNN.com, Feb. 8)
Ohio State University, the nation’s largest university, has switched its dining hall fryers to canola oil instead of vegetable oil or shortening, a move that is expected to cost the school an additional $16,000 a year. Canola oil does not contain artery-clogging trans fat, which studies have shown raises bad cholesterol and lowers the good kind. “Financially, it worked, and we just decided it was the right thing to do,” said Jill Irvin, associate director of operations for campus-dining services. The university previously spent about $30,000 a year on fryer oil. (Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 9)
An MIT professor has begun a hunger strike outside the university leaders’ offices, saying the school has denied him tenure due to racism. For nearly two years, James L. Sherley, a stem cell scientist, has asked senior administration to overturn his department head’s decision not to put his name forward for tenure. The provost said the decision would stand. Sherley, who is African-American, said he will stand outside the offices each day from 9 a.m. to noon until they grant him tenure, censure the provost, and initiate a process for addressing racism at the school. (Boston Globe, Feb. 7)
Upcoming
Jilda Aliotta, chair of the politics and government department in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed by David Lightman, the Hartford Courant’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief, in connection with a series of stories he is doing about the debate in Congress over U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Iran.
