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Media Watch (April 11-18, 2005)
Posted 4/19/2005
"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 Hartford Courant profiled some of the young people in the Farmington Valley Transition Academy, a unique collaboration between Farmington and Simsbury schools and the university. The six-year-old academy provides life skills training, education and social activities for mentally challenged young people between the ages of 17 and 21. (Hartford Courant April 18)
Donn Weinholtz, professor of educational leadership and former dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, wrote an article applauding Connecticut’s efforts to take legal action against the unfunded mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. “No Child Left Behind offers us an Orwellian package of idealistic rhetoric cloaking a destructive scheme, hot-wired to an incredibly short timetable,” Weinholtz wrote. (Hartford Courant, April 15)
Katherine McGuire, a freshman at the university from New Hyde Park, N.Y., wrote a “Letter to the Editor” in the Hartford Courant, about the possibility that the next pope might be a person of color. “If we have a black pope, people’s views on life and how they treat others will change. A person will be able to be seen for who they are instead of what they look like or where they came from,” she wrote. (Hartford Courant, April 16)
The “Education Briefs” column in the Hartford Courant noted that the prestigious Kresge Foundation was making a $700,000 challenge grant to the university’s Home Field Advantage construction project. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which calls for the construction of a baseball field and a new softball field, as well as a revamped soccer and lacrosse field (Al-Marzook Field), will be held on Wednesday, April 20. (Hartford Courant, April 12)
The Hartford Business Journal did a story on the establishment of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the Barney School of Business. David Desplaces, director of the institute and assistant professor of entrepreneurial studies at Barney, said, “We want to encourage interaction between academic capital, students and entrepreneurs, and engage people in networking and dialogue.” (Hartford Business Journal, April 18)
Warren Goldstein, chair of the history department in the College of Arts and Sciences, had an opinion article published in the Hartford Courant that compared the current era in America to “The Gilded Age” of the late 1800s, “an era boasting astonishing, historically unprecedented wealth alongside the ugliest poverty and abuse of power,” he noted. In a “Letter to the Editor” the following day, a writer contended that Goldstein ignored the fact that a number of wealthy people make generous contributions to philanthropic foundations and causes. (Hartford Courant, April 12; Hartford Courant, April 13)
Eric Rautio, 25, currently in his second year of the master’s in fine arts in painting at the Hartford Art School, was featured in a Hartford Advocate article about his invention of ART Painter. ART Painter is a robot, perhaps the first artificial being imbued with a creative impulse. ART stands for Adaptive Resonance Theory, the synthetic neural system that the machine runs on. (Hartford Advocate, April 15)
James Fairfield-Sonn, interim dean at the Barney School of Business, was quoted in a Hartford Courant article about United Technologies Corp.’s succession plan for when current Chairman George David decides to retire. He noted that “large, very well run corporations like UTC have a slate of candidates, both inside and outside the organization, whose careers they have been following very carefully and whose management styles they are examining very closely.” (Hartford Courant, April 13)
Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics at the Barney School of Business and a state legislator from Farmington, was quoted in a story about a proposed bill that would require the release of confidential information from corporate tax returns to determine the success or failure of the state’s business tax credits. In addition, he was featured in a segment on the NBC news show, “Dateline,” that looked at the case of a man who was penalized for “blowing the whistle” on a convicted pedophile who was working in a local school. Giannaros was interviewed for the segment, which featured footage of a gathering at his home to raise funds to support the whistleblower. (Hartford Courant, April 13; NBC’s “Dateline,” April 3)
The Hartford Advocate published a brief preview article of The Hartt School’s “Hartt Celebrates” fundraising gala at The Bushnell. (Hartford Advocate, April 15)
In its “Cal” section, the Hartford Courant published a brief preview of the dedication of the new Sukman Foyer at The Hartt School’s Millard Auditorium. (Hartford Courant, April 14)
Two University of Connecticut student leaders recently cited the Hawk’s Nest, a student-run venue at the University of Hartford, as the model of what an on-campus venue should be. The University of Hartford pays a staff of seven students to organize music entertainment for the student body. Danielle Herbette, the marketing and public relations chairperson for the Hawk’s Nest, said the University of Hartford allocates about $40,000 per year to run the venue. In any given semester, the Hawk’s Nest puts on upwards of 20 shows. Nearly all bands that play there are low budget, up-and-coming artists. (The Daily Campus, University of Connecticut, April 12)
In its “Love Story” feature, Newsday profiled Michael Grossman and the former Denise Rubinstein, who was a 19-year-old freshman business major at the University of Hartford when the two met in the summer of 1987. They became engaged in November 1988 and married on May 26, 1991, after she finished college. (Newsday, April 17)
Former University of Hartford basketball star Vin Baker is trying to sell his estate in rural Durham for $6 million. The Georgian manor-style house, with 9,300 square feet, was purchased by Baker in 2001 for $2.6 million. Baker is also selling the 60 acres of woodland he has acquired, which border the property. (Hartford Courant, April 12)
Other News
The University of Connecticut's $1 billion construction program is drawing more scrutiny following a report that contractors increased their donations to the university’s foundation after winning building contracts. Builders who were awarded millions of dollars worth of contracts either began donating or substantially increased their donations to the University of Connecticut Foundation shortly after getting the work (Hartford Courant, April 17; Associated Press, April 17; Newsday, April 17)
The University of Connecticut plans this fall to offer an online, 20-month master’s degree program in homeland security through its Homeland Security Education Center. The program is tailored for federal employees, security workers and police, public health professionals, emergency managers, military officers and corporate leaders. (The Day, New London, April 14)
Inge Reichenbach, who has served as Cornell’s vice president for alumni affairs and development since 1995, will start work as Yale’s new vice president for development in June. Yale is preparing to launch a capital campaign next year that could net as much as $1 billion. Reichenbach also served as director of development at Wesleyan University from 1984 to 1986. (Associated Press, April 14; Newsday, April 14)
The State Ethics Commission has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether University of Connecticut athletic director Jeff Hathaway broke ethics laws by trading tickets to UConn sporting events for the personal use of cars from a dealership that does business with his department (Hartford Courant, April 15)
Hundreds of graduate students at Yale and Columbia kicked off a five-day teaching strike that organizers hope will force Ivy League administrators to recognize them as a union. The National Labor Relations Board ruled last year that they are students, not workers, and cannot form unions. To win union recognition, universities would have to voluntarily grant it—something they have refused to do. (Associated Press, April 18;Newsday, April 18)
State Republican Chairman William Hamzy wants Democratic Lt. Gov. Kevin Sullivan to give up his outside job and make the position of lieutenant governor full-time. Sullivan is a vice president at Trinity College in Hartford, overseeing community and institutional initiatives. (NBC 30, April 11)
Yale University has agreed to increase the voluntary payments it makes to New Haven in lieu of taxes, boosting payments by 80 percent. Yale and city officials said the annual payments, which will be $4.2 million starting this year, are the largest made by a college to any city in the United States. (Associated Press; Newsday, April 13)
At parties and in alcohol-related research studies, U.S. college students often underestimate the amount of alcohol they drink, researchers report. The study of 133 undergraduate students found they tended to overestimate volumes, over-pour drinks and under-report their levels of alcohol consumption. The study also found that providing the students with educational feedback and instruction on the actual volume of a standard drink helps them better gauge how much they actually consume. (HealthDay News, April 15)
The Hartford Courant profiled some of the young people in the Farmington Valley Transition Academy, a unique collaboration between Farmington and Simsbury schools and the university. The six-year-old academy provides life skills training, education and social activities for mentally challenged young people between the ages of 17 and 21. (Hartford Courant April 18)
Donn Weinholtz, professor of educational leadership and former dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, wrote an article applauding Connecticut’s efforts to take legal action against the unfunded mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. “No Child Left Behind offers us an Orwellian package of idealistic rhetoric cloaking a destructive scheme, hot-wired to an incredibly short timetable,” Weinholtz wrote. (Hartford Courant, April 15)
Katherine McGuire, a freshman at the university from New Hyde Park, N.Y., wrote a “Letter to the Editor” in the Hartford Courant, about the possibility that the next pope might be a person of color. “If we have a black pope, people’s views on life and how they treat others will change. A person will be able to be seen for who they are instead of what they look like or where they came from,” she wrote. (Hartford Courant, April 16)
The “Education Briefs” column in the Hartford Courant noted that the prestigious Kresge Foundation was making a $700,000 challenge grant to the university’s Home Field Advantage construction project. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which calls for the construction of a baseball field and a new softball field, as well as a revamped soccer and lacrosse field (Al-Marzook Field), will be held on Wednesday, April 20. (Hartford Courant, April 12)
The Hartford Business Journal did a story on the establishment of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the Barney School of Business. David Desplaces, director of the institute and assistant professor of entrepreneurial studies at Barney, said, “We want to encourage interaction between academic capital, students and entrepreneurs, and engage people in networking and dialogue.” (Hartford Business Journal, April 18)
Warren Goldstein, chair of the history department in the College of Arts and Sciences, had an opinion article published in the Hartford Courant that compared the current era in America to “The Gilded Age” of the late 1800s, “an era boasting astonishing, historically unprecedented wealth alongside the ugliest poverty and abuse of power,” he noted. In a “Letter to the Editor” the following day, a writer contended that Goldstein ignored the fact that a number of wealthy people make generous contributions to philanthropic foundations and causes. (Hartford Courant, April 12; Hartford Courant, April 13)
Eric Rautio, 25, currently in his second year of the master’s in fine arts in painting at the Hartford Art School, was featured in a Hartford Advocate article about his invention of ART Painter. ART Painter is a robot, perhaps the first artificial being imbued with a creative impulse. ART stands for Adaptive Resonance Theory, the synthetic neural system that the machine runs on. (Hartford Advocate, April 15)
James Fairfield-Sonn, interim dean at the Barney School of Business, was quoted in a Hartford Courant article about United Technologies Corp.’s succession plan for when current Chairman George David decides to retire. He noted that “large, very well run corporations like UTC have a slate of candidates, both inside and outside the organization, whose careers they have been following very carefully and whose management styles they are examining very closely.” (Hartford Courant, April 13)
Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics at the Barney School of Business and a state legislator from Farmington, was quoted in a story about a proposed bill that would require the release of confidential information from corporate tax returns to determine the success or failure of the state’s business tax credits. In addition, he was featured in a segment on the NBC news show, “Dateline,” that looked at the case of a man who was penalized for “blowing the whistle” on a convicted pedophile who was working in a local school. Giannaros was interviewed for the segment, which featured footage of a gathering at his home to raise funds to support the whistleblower. (Hartford Courant, April 13; NBC’s “Dateline,” April 3)
The Hartford Advocate published a brief preview article of The Hartt School’s “Hartt Celebrates” fundraising gala at The Bushnell. (Hartford Advocate, April 15)
In its “Cal” section, the Hartford Courant published a brief preview of the dedication of the new Sukman Foyer at The Hartt School’s Millard Auditorium. (Hartford Courant, April 14)
Two University of Connecticut student leaders recently cited the Hawk’s Nest, a student-run venue at the University of Hartford, as the model of what an on-campus venue should be. The University of Hartford pays a staff of seven students to organize music entertainment for the student body. Danielle Herbette, the marketing and public relations chairperson for the Hawk’s Nest, said the University of Hartford allocates about $40,000 per year to run the venue. In any given semester, the Hawk’s Nest puts on upwards of 20 shows. Nearly all bands that play there are low budget, up-and-coming artists. (The Daily Campus, University of Connecticut, April 12)
In its “Love Story” feature, Newsday profiled Michael Grossman and the former Denise Rubinstein, who was a 19-year-old freshman business major at the University of Hartford when the two met in the summer of 1987. They became engaged in November 1988 and married on May 26, 1991, after she finished college. (Newsday, April 17)
Former University of Hartford basketball star Vin Baker is trying to sell his estate in rural Durham for $6 million. The Georgian manor-style house, with 9,300 square feet, was purchased by Baker in 2001 for $2.6 million. Baker is also selling the 60 acres of woodland he has acquired, which border the property. (Hartford Courant, April 12)
Other News
The University of Connecticut's $1 billion construction program is drawing more scrutiny following a report that contractors increased their donations to the university’s foundation after winning building contracts. Builders who were awarded millions of dollars worth of contracts either began donating or substantially increased their donations to the University of Connecticut Foundation shortly after getting the work (Hartford Courant, April 17; Associated Press, April 17; Newsday, April 17)
The University of Connecticut plans this fall to offer an online, 20-month master’s degree program in homeland security through its Homeland Security Education Center. The program is tailored for federal employees, security workers and police, public health professionals, emergency managers, military officers and corporate leaders. (The Day, New London, April 14)
Inge Reichenbach, who has served as Cornell’s vice president for alumni affairs and development since 1995, will start work as Yale’s new vice president for development in June. Yale is preparing to launch a capital campaign next year that could net as much as $1 billion. Reichenbach also served as director of development at Wesleyan University from 1984 to 1986. (Associated Press, April 14; Newsday, April 14)
The State Ethics Commission has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether University of Connecticut athletic director Jeff Hathaway broke ethics laws by trading tickets to UConn sporting events for the personal use of cars from a dealership that does business with his department (Hartford Courant, April 15)
Hundreds of graduate students at Yale and Columbia kicked off a five-day teaching strike that organizers hope will force Ivy League administrators to recognize them as a union. The National Labor Relations Board ruled last year that they are students, not workers, and cannot form unions. To win union recognition, universities would have to voluntarily grant it—something they have refused to do. (Associated Press, April 18;Newsday, April 18)
State Republican Chairman William Hamzy wants Democratic Lt. Gov. Kevin Sullivan to give up his outside job and make the position of lieutenant governor full-time. Sullivan is a vice president at Trinity College in Hartford, overseeing community and institutional initiatives. (NBC 30, April 11)
Yale University has agreed to increase the voluntary payments it makes to New Haven in lieu of taxes, boosting payments by 80 percent. Yale and city officials said the annual payments, which will be $4.2 million starting this year, are the largest made by a college to any city in the United States. (Associated Press; Newsday, April 13)
At parties and in alcohol-related research studies, U.S. college students often underestimate the amount of alcohol they drink, researchers report. The study of 133 undergraduate students found they tended to overestimate volumes, over-pour drinks and under-report their levels of alcohol consumption. The study also found that providing the students with educational feedback and instruction on the actual volume of a standard drink helps them better gauge how much they actually consume. (HealthDay News, April 15)
