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Media Watch (March 17 – 24, 2008)
Posted 3/25/2008
"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.
As the NCAA basketball tournament was getting under way, attention was focused on student-athletes and how they were progressing towards earning their degrees. University of Hartford President Walter Harrison, chair of the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) Committee, was interviewed for a story on New England Cable News, and by Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith on WTIC-AM, about the NCAA’s efforts to reform the system and make sure that student-athletes are earning their diplomas.
(New England Cable News, March 20 and 21; WTIC-AM, March 24)
President Harrison was also quoted in an article that dealt with the financial benefits of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament as well as the amount of time student athletes spend on their respective sports and how this is affecting the choice of majors. In the article, a student athlete’s schedule was broken down showing that college football players spend an average of 44.8 hours a week practicing, playing or training. President Harrison said, “We’ve all heard examples of athletes taking majors with more electives or not studying things like chemistry because of how much time students must spend in the laboratory.”
(The New York Sun, March 19)
The Hartford women’s basketball team got plenty of coverage in local media for attending the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years. The team was seeded number 10 in the Oklahoma City Regional. Coach Jen Rizzotti said, “I’m actually pleasantly surprised by the 10th seed.” Board of Regents member Tom Reich was in attendance for the game in Baton Rouge even though he had just undergone cataract surgery. Reich was one of 25 fans who made the trip to see the Hawks upset Syracuse in the first round of the tournament. Reich praised Coach Rizzotti saying, “She’s everything we could possibly want and a lot more.”
(WTNH, March 17; Hartford Courant, March 17, 22 and 23)
The news that Lynn Pasquerella had been named as the new provost at the University of Hartford was the lead item in the Hartford Courant’s “Education Briefs” column. Pasquerella, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at the University of Rhode Island, was described by Hartford President Walter Harrison as “a dynamic and charismatic leader.” She will take over the position on May 30.
(Hartford Courant, March 18)
Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics in the Barney School of Business and deputy speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, was a panelist discussing the impact of the current “recessionary” economic conditions for the Connecticut Public Television program “On the Record” with Steve Kotchko. The discussion emphasized the current financial crisis, its causes, how the economic slowdown will affect Connecticut and the nation, and what the impact will be on the state budget, as well as the federal government’s economic stimulus package and other actions to improve the economy.
(CPTV, March 21, 23 and, 24)
Nanci Griffith’s performanceon March 22 in Lincoln Theater, as part of the MUSIC for a CHANGE benefit concert series, was reviewed by Donna Larcen of the Hartford Courant. Larcen said that Griffith “demonstrated her wealth of talent” in the performance, which had been previewed by the Courant and the Waterbury Republican-American.
(Republican-American, March 20, Hartford Courant, March 20 and 24)
Douglas McCrory, a Barney alumnus who is a Democratic state representative from Hartford and vice principal at Buckeley High School, was quoted in a New York Times article that outlined plans for an all-male public school in order to see a higher success rate for boys. “This is a public safety issue,” McCrory said. “You can’t continue to have so many young people on the street with no hope, no vision, no future.”
(New York Times, March 23)
Hartt School graduate Christine Dwyer was interviewed by the London (Ontario, Canada) Free Press about the upcoming performance of the touring show Rent. Dwyer, who plays Maureen (a bisexual performance artist), said that the rock musical has created a kinder climate for homosexuals and transvestites in the more than 10 years that it’s been around. She continued, “There’s a huge following. It’s an important show for young people to attach themselves to… and feel good about themselves.”
(London Free Press, March 20)
Hope Foye, who graduated from The Hartt School in 1944 and is an acclaimed singer and early civil rights activist, is being honored by Union Bank of California and the Central Area Association as part of Women’s History Month. She became internationally recognized as an opera star in countries such as Mexico, Switzerland, Israel, and Germany, but because she was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, never gained national exposure in the United States.
(Press Telegram- Long Beach, Calif., March 20)
The Hartford Courant’s “Cal” section previewed the Rogow Lecture that was to be given by Iranian writer Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Unfortunately, the lecture had to be cancelled when. Nafisi became ill and was unable to travel to Hartford.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
PGA Tour pro and former Hartford Hawk standout Jerry Kelly was profiled on PGATour.com. This profile gave career highlights and described Kelly’s support of the Naval and Special Warfare Foundation.
(PGATour.com, March 18)
Other News
Schools that make it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament see an average 3 percent boost in applications the following year. The champion is likely to see a 7 to 8 percent increase, but just making the 65-team field will net schools an average 1 percent bump, according to a study to be published this year in the Southern Economic Journal. Similarly, applications go up 7 to 8 percent at schools that win the national football championship, and schools that finish in the top 20 have a 2.5 percent gain.
(Associated Press, March 24)
A recent study found that 33 schools graduated at least 70 percent of their white men’s basketball players; only 19 graduated that many black players. At least 50 percent of white players earned degrees at 45 schools, but black athletes had that much success at only 36 schools. But the study found that the achievement gap was shrinking. At 34 percent of NCAA tournament-bound teams there was a 30-point or greater difference in graduation success between black and white players, down from 49 percent last year. Black players continued to succeed in higher rates than black non-athletes.
(Philadelphia Inquirer, March 21)
Minority residents make up 21.4 percent of Connecticut's population and 22.5 percent of the enrollment in the state's higher education system. But the majority of black and Hispanic students are enrolled at community and technical colleges, while the proportion of black and Hispanic students at the University of Connecticut lags, according to a wide-ranging report on Connecticut higher education released on March 19. Black students, for example, represented 5.7 percent of the student body at UConn last fall, 8 percent at the four Connecticut State University System campuses, and 15.6 percent of students at the state’s community and technical colleges. Hispanic students, meanwhile, represented 5.5 percent of UConn students, 5.8 percent of Connecticut State University System students, and 13.9 percent of community and technical college students.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
The website JuicyCampus.com, which has forums devoted to several dozen colleges, including Yale University, has stirred intense debate at Yale and on campuses nationwide. On March 20, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal joined the fray, launching an investigation into JuicyCampus. The website lets people post comments anonymously and doesn’t track their identities. And aside from specific violations, like a post containing someone’s contact information, a copyright violation, or “very rare other circumstances,” JuicyCampus does not remove postings—however scathing or insulting they might be.
(NBC 30, March 20; Hartford Courant, March 22)
Congressman. Paul Kanjorski, (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets, and 31 other lawmakers asked Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to inject cash into the student loan market by using a special lending operation. “In these difficult economic times, we believe that the Federal Reserve System should work … to restore a smooth functioning of this market sector and to avoid negative economic outcomes,” they told Bernanke in a letter. If students “are unable to secure loans in the fall, we would not only severely impair their long-term earnings capacity, but we would also impair our nation’s economic prospects.”
(Associated Press, March 21)
Jonathan XIII, a snow-white Siberian husky puppy who is the University of Connecticut’s new mascot, is being trained by a group of students in a co-ed community service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. The students take turns walking Jonathan to get him socialized and comfortable around lots of people, said Mark Renick, a professional dog trainer from Watertown who is guiding the students.
(Hartford Courant, March 23)
Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Manchester Community College and Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson will receive state funds to replace equipment when the State Bond Commission meets March 28, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. The state’s 12 community colleges will share in $9 million for equipment, including computers, science lab, audio-visual and office equipment, musical instruments, and maintenance equipment. Asnuntuck will receive $172,946; Manchester will receive $659,714 and Quinebaug Valley will receive $192,830. Governor Rell also said the State Bond Commission is expected to approve $8 million to help pay for repairs to the facade of the University of Connecticut School of Law library. The university began to fix the persistent water leaks and cracked exterior walls on the $24 million building last year. The university is using $11 million in UConn 2000 money to help pay for the work, although the library was a state Department of Public Works project.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
Upcoming
Rick Zeiser, dean of admission, was interviewed by NBC 30 for a story on how colleges and universities are preparing for the upcoming decline, demographically, in the number of college-age students.
John Feierabend, director of the Hartt Music Education Division, will be interviewed for the nationally syndicated The Parents Journal radio program. The program airs locally on WTIC-AM on Sunday mornings. The broadcast date for Feierabend’s interview has not been scheduled.
As the NCAA basketball tournament was getting under way, attention was focused on student-athletes and how they were progressing towards earning their degrees. University of Hartford President Walter Harrison, chair of the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) Committee, was interviewed for a story on New England Cable News, and by Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith on WTIC-AM, about the NCAA’s efforts to reform the system and make sure that student-athletes are earning their diplomas.
(New England Cable News, March 20 and 21; WTIC-AM, March 24)
President Harrison was also quoted in an article that dealt with the financial benefits of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament as well as the amount of time student athletes spend on their respective sports and how this is affecting the choice of majors. In the article, a student athlete’s schedule was broken down showing that college football players spend an average of 44.8 hours a week practicing, playing or training. President Harrison said, “We’ve all heard examples of athletes taking majors with more electives or not studying things like chemistry because of how much time students must spend in the laboratory.”
(The New York Sun, March 19)
The Hartford women’s basketball team got plenty of coverage in local media for attending the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years. The team was seeded number 10 in the Oklahoma City Regional. Coach Jen Rizzotti said, “I’m actually pleasantly surprised by the 10th seed.” Board of Regents member Tom Reich was in attendance for the game in Baton Rouge even though he had just undergone cataract surgery. Reich was one of 25 fans who made the trip to see the Hawks upset Syracuse in the first round of the tournament. Reich praised Coach Rizzotti saying, “She’s everything we could possibly want and a lot more.”
(WTNH, March 17; Hartford Courant, March 17, 22 and 23)
The news that Lynn Pasquerella had been named as the new provost at the University of Hartford was the lead item in the Hartford Courant’s “Education Briefs” column. Pasquerella, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at the University of Rhode Island, was described by Hartford President Walter Harrison as “a dynamic and charismatic leader.” She will take over the position on May 30.
(Hartford Courant, March 18)
Demetrios Giannaros, professor of economics in the Barney School of Business and deputy speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, was a panelist discussing the impact of the current “recessionary” economic conditions for the Connecticut Public Television program “On the Record” with Steve Kotchko. The discussion emphasized the current financial crisis, its causes, how the economic slowdown will affect Connecticut and the nation, and what the impact will be on the state budget, as well as the federal government’s economic stimulus package and other actions to improve the economy.
(CPTV, March 21, 23 and, 24)
Nanci Griffith’s performanceon March 22 in Lincoln Theater, as part of the MUSIC for a CHANGE benefit concert series, was reviewed by Donna Larcen of the Hartford Courant. Larcen said that Griffith “demonstrated her wealth of talent” in the performance, which had been previewed by the Courant and the Waterbury Republican-American.
(Republican-American, March 20, Hartford Courant, March 20 and 24)
Douglas McCrory, a Barney alumnus who is a Democratic state representative from Hartford and vice principal at Buckeley High School, was quoted in a New York Times article that outlined plans for an all-male public school in order to see a higher success rate for boys. “This is a public safety issue,” McCrory said. “You can’t continue to have so many young people on the street with no hope, no vision, no future.”
(New York Times, March 23)
Hartt School graduate Christine Dwyer was interviewed by the London (Ontario, Canada) Free Press about the upcoming performance of the touring show Rent. Dwyer, who plays Maureen (a bisexual performance artist), said that the rock musical has created a kinder climate for homosexuals and transvestites in the more than 10 years that it’s been around. She continued, “There’s a huge following. It’s an important show for young people to attach themselves to… and feel good about themselves.”
(London Free Press, March 20)
Hope Foye, who graduated from The Hartt School in 1944 and is an acclaimed singer and early civil rights activist, is being honored by Union Bank of California and the Central Area Association as part of Women’s History Month. She became internationally recognized as an opera star in countries such as Mexico, Switzerland, Israel, and Germany, but because she was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, never gained national exposure in the United States.
(Press Telegram- Long Beach, Calif., March 20)
The Hartford Courant’s “Cal” section previewed the Rogow Lecture that was to be given by Iranian writer Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Unfortunately, the lecture had to be cancelled when. Nafisi became ill and was unable to travel to Hartford.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
PGA Tour pro and former Hartford Hawk standout Jerry Kelly was profiled on PGATour.com. This profile gave career highlights and described Kelly’s support of the Naval and Special Warfare Foundation.
(PGATour.com, March 18)
Other News
Schools that make it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament see an average 3 percent boost in applications the following year. The champion is likely to see a 7 to 8 percent increase, but just making the 65-team field will net schools an average 1 percent bump, according to a study to be published this year in the Southern Economic Journal. Similarly, applications go up 7 to 8 percent at schools that win the national football championship, and schools that finish in the top 20 have a 2.5 percent gain.
(Associated Press, March 24)
A recent study found that 33 schools graduated at least 70 percent of their white men’s basketball players; only 19 graduated that many black players. At least 50 percent of white players earned degrees at 45 schools, but black athletes had that much success at only 36 schools. But the study found that the achievement gap was shrinking. At 34 percent of NCAA tournament-bound teams there was a 30-point or greater difference in graduation success between black and white players, down from 49 percent last year. Black players continued to succeed in higher rates than black non-athletes.
(Philadelphia Inquirer, March 21)
Minority residents make up 21.4 percent of Connecticut's population and 22.5 percent of the enrollment in the state's higher education system. But the majority of black and Hispanic students are enrolled at community and technical colleges, while the proportion of black and Hispanic students at the University of Connecticut lags, according to a wide-ranging report on Connecticut higher education released on March 19. Black students, for example, represented 5.7 percent of the student body at UConn last fall, 8 percent at the four Connecticut State University System campuses, and 15.6 percent of students at the state’s community and technical colleges. Hispanic students, meanwhile, represented 5.5 percent of UConn students, 5.8 percent of Connecticut State University System students, and 13.9 percent of community and technical college students.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
The website JuicyCampus.com, which has forums devoted to several dozen colleges, including Yale University, has stirred intense debate at Yale and on campuses nationwide. On March 20, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal joined the fray, launching an investigation into JuicyCampus. The website lets people post comments anonymously and doesn’t track their identities. And aside from specific violations, like a post containing someone’s contact information, a copyright violation, or “very rare other circumstances,” JuicyCampus does not remove postings—however scathing or insulting they might be.
(NBC 30, March 20; Hartford Courant, March 22)
Congressman. Paul Kanjorski, (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets, and 31 other lawmakers asked Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to inject cash into the student loan market by using a special lending operation. “In these difficult economic times, we believe that the Federal Reserve System should work … to restore a smooth functioning of this market sector and to avoid negative economic outcomes,” they told Bernanke in a letter. If students “are unable to secure loans in the fall, we would not only severely impair their long-term earnings capacity, but we would also impair our nation’s economic prospects.”
(Associated Press, March 21)
Jonathan XIII, a snow-white Siberian husky puppy who is the University of Connecticut’s new mascot, is being trained by a group of students in a co-ed community service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. The students take turns walking Jonathan to get him socialized and comfortable around lots of people, said Mark Renick, a professional dog trainer from Watertown who is guiding the students.
(Hartford Courant, March 23)
Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Manchester Community College and Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson will receive state funds to replace equipment when the State Bond Commission meets March 28, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. The state’s 12 community colleges will share in $9 million for equipment, including computers, science lab, audio-visual and office equipment, musical instruments, and maintenance equipment. Asnuntuck will receive $172,946; Manchester will receive $659,714 and Quinebaug Valley will receive $192,830. Governor Rell also said the State Bond Commission is expected to approve $8 million to help pay for repairs to the facade of the University of Connecticut School of Law library. The university began to fix the persistent water leaks and cracked exterior walls on the $24 million building last year. The university is using $11 million in UConn 2000 money to help pay for the work, although the library was a state Department of Public Works project.
(Hartford Courant, March 20)
Upcoming
Rick Zeiser, dean of admission, was interviewed by NBC 30 for a story on how colleges and universities are preparing for the upcoming decline, demographically, in the number of college-age students.
John Feierabend, director of the Hartt Music Education Division, will be interviewed for the nationally syndicated The Parents Journal radio program. The program airs locally on WTIC-AM on Sunday mornings. The broadcast date for Feierabend’s interview has not been scheduled.
