Media Watch (Jan. 21 – 28, 2008)

"Media Watch" is a roundup 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.

Dan Davis, professor of architecture at the University’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, had an opinion piece published in the “Commentary” section of the Hartford Courant. The article highlighted the work of two of Davis’s Master of Architecture students, Michael Varisio and Gilbert Ramirez, who sought to find ways to connect Hartford’s downtown business district with Albany Avenue and to overcome the dividing force of Interstate 84. Read Davis’s article in the Courant.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 27)

Lee Peters, vice president for student affairs, was a guest on the “Bax & O’Brien” morning show on WAQY Radio (102.1 FM) in Springfield, Mass. Peters discussed the issues involved in the recording industry’s efforts to go after people, particularly college students, who illegally download copyrighted material.
(WAQY-FM, Jan. 24)

Susan Coleman, professor of finance at the Barney School of Business and an educational advisor to the Playbook for Life Program, was quoted in two articles that discussed the importance of young people saving for the future as well as making saving a habit. Coleman explained that it is important for young people to have a good credit record. “Employers now routinely do credit checking on potential employees,” she said and added that, in order to save successfully, saving needs to become a habit. “You want savings to be one of your values. You want it to be something you do on an ongoing basis,” she said.
(The Beaumont Enterprise, Jan. 27; St. Louis Post- Dispatch, Jan. 27)

Eric Chen, adjunct faculty member at the Barney School of Business, was a guest on the “Dan Lovallo Show” on WDRC Radio. He discussed the recent decision by the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates and the impact of that decision on the stock market.
(WDRC-AM, Jan. 22)

The news that the University of Hartford was awarded a$1.3 million grant by the Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education, funded by the World Bank, to train faculty members from the University of Herat in Afghanistan was the lead item in the Hartford Courant’s “Education Briefs” column. It was also reported on by NBC 30 in its “Covering Connecticut” segment.
Hartford Courant, Jan. 22; NBC 30, Jan. 22)

The University’s ceremony to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., particularly the musical performances by the University of Hartford Magnet School and a Hartt School jazz ensemble, was covered by Fox 61. In addition, the ceremony was highlighted on Channel 3 TV’s website.
(Fox 61, Jan. 21; WFSB.com, Jan. 21)

In a cover story about Hartford’s most eligible singles, three of the 14 people highlighted are graduates of the University of Hartford and a fourth is working on a master’s degree in communication here. Interim Provost Joseph Voelker also highlighted this fact in his Spring Semester Kick-Off remarks.
(Hartford Magazine, February ’08 issue)

The University of Hartford hosted the 59th annual Connecticut Model United Nations, in which more than 500 Connecticut high school students represent the interests of 70 counties in simulated foreign policy discussions.
(NBC 30, Jan. 25)

Emily Jane Taubl, a freshman at The Hartt School, was mentioned in a music review of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. A cellist, Taubl was the winner of The Hartt School’s 8th annual van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence this past November. The review said that Taubl “is an outstanding cellist with a bright future.”
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 27)

Hartt School alumnus Jim McNeish was profiled by The Day of New London newspaper. The article described his life as a guitarist, as well as his teaching and studying the playing of the guitar. For McNeish, studying the guitar is a lifelong pursuit that gives infinite rewards. “I’ll probably spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to play the guitar,” he said.
(The Day, Jan. 25)

Former Hartford Hawks basketball player and current coach of the East Catholic High School basketball team Luke Reilly was featured in the Hartford Courant for teaching his players not just basketball but also family values and life lessons. “The games and the X’s and O’s are great and you love the competition, but the bottom line is trying to create relationships and memories that last. The winning is the glue that makes that message stick, so that helps.” Reilly said.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 27)

Other News

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked 10 Connecticut schools, including Yale, the University of Connecticut and the University of Hartford, to turn over records tied to their study-abroad programs to find out if the schools or administrators received subsidized trips, cash bonuses or other incentives to choose one study abroad provider over another. The concern is that colleges may be contracting with outside study-abroad companies, which provide housing and classroom instruction overseas, for business reasons, not because the companies give the best value to students.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 27; Newsday, Jan. 28; Boston Globe, Jan. 28)

Jack Miller, who has been president of Central Connecticut State University for nearly three years and who has been beset by controversy, including facing a faculty-wide vote on his leadership two months ago, was profiled in the Hartford Courant. “Miller said he’s done a good job of getting things done at CCSU. Since 2005, the endowment has risen 41 percent to over $26 million. New majors such as engineering and nursing have been established. The six-year graduation rate is up to 44 percent, an increase from 40 percent before Miller’s arrival but far from the 50 percent he says it needs to be, according to the Courant. (Hartford Courant, Jan. 27)

The number of colleges and universities boasting endowments of $1 billion or more climbed by 14 last year to a record 76, nearly doubling the number of such schools five years ago. College endowments averaged a 17.2 percent rate of return last year over the previous year, and the billion-dollar-plus schools posted the best returns of all, says a report released today by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a non-profit group, and TIAA-CREF, an asset management firm.
(USA Today, Jan. 25)

Capital Community College Friday got a long-awaited go-ahead to expand, and $5.5 million to do so — a welcome development for a school that's taken to holding classes in conference rooms in its crowded downtown building. The funds, which the State Bond Commission approved on Jan. 25, will allow the college to expand into two floors of a building adjacent to its Main Street headquarters in the old G. Fox department store in Hartford.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 26)

Around the nation, blogs are becoming part of university presidents’ outreach arsenal, much to the delight of students, alumni and parents. As many as 30 or more college presidents in North America have jumped into the blogosphere in the past two or three years. The trend heated up this year. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, and Michael Hogan, the University of Connecticut’s new president, both started blogs last fall.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 28; Hartford Business Journal, Jan. 21)

Some elements of the five-year plan for the academic direction of the University of Connecticut were recently presented by Provost Peter J. Nicholls to UConn’s board of trustees. The plan will concentrate on environmental areas. It would also strengthen work on health and human behavior, such as research on stem cells and regenerative biology. It would be forward-looking and concerned with education and the work force through urban school initiatives and the university's Center for Entrepreneurship. The plan will also include tougher SAT requirements for incoming students.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 23)

The University of Connecticut plans to offer a doctoral program in nursing practice beginning in the fall if it receives state approval. The program is designed for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, midwives, nurse anesthetists, and administrators who are seeking an alternative to doctoral programs focused on research.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 22)

The National Institutes of Health has ordered the University of Connecticut Health Center to return some of the grant money given for brain experiments on monkeys, because of violations of animal welfare regulations. The federal agency asked UConn this week to return $65,005 of the grant because of violations in the primate lab, where researchers drilled holes into monkeys' skulls and implanted steel coils into their brains to record eye movements for a neuroscience experiment. The university, which voluntarily stopped the research in August 2006, may appeal the decision.
(Hartford Courant, Jan. 25)

Millions of college students around the country attend class from living-room sofas, kitchen tables, home offices and even park benches -- part of an ever-escalating trend of attending school online. The trend is being set largely by community colleges, with their propensity for nontraditional students who need an easier, more flexible way to earn degrees. The number of students taking online classes in Washington has jumped 75 percent in just four years.
(Seattle Post Intelligencer, Jan. 23)