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Media Watch (June 6-13, 2005)
Posted 6/14/2005
"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 conclusion of the Say Yes To Education (SYTE) program was celebrated on June 10 with a ceremony honoring the dozens of members of a fifth-grade class at Annie Fisher Elementary School who earned college degrees, and the SYTE staff, who have been based at the University of Hartford. An article about the program, which during its 15 years helped fulfill the promise of a free college education for those students if they graduated from high school, ran on the front page of the Hartford Courant. Financier George Weiss, who made that promise in 1990 to a group of 76 youngsters while they were on a visit to the university, was also interviewed by Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith on the WTIC-AM morning show. (Hartford Courant, June 11; WTIC-AM NewsTalk 1080, June 10)
A story on the upcoming reaffirmation votes by the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA) and the Hartford City Council on the University of Hartford Performing Arts Center project noted that the university and city are seeking additional funds for the project, because the overall cost of the project has increased since it was announced four years ago. (Hartford Courant, June 13)
Jilda Aliotta, chair of the university’s department of politics and government, was quoted in a Hartford Courant article about Senator Chris Dodd’s very public opposition to John Bolton’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “Sen. Dodd is a very strong supporter of the U.N., and he’s genuinely concerned about the impact of someone like Bolton,” said Aliotta. (Hartford Courant, June 7)
Several community newspapers announced that University of Hartford President Walter Harrison will host a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, June 14, to update the community about the university’s four major construction projects. Harrison will discuss the university’s new Integrated Science, Engineering and Technology complex, the Home Field Advantage athletics campaign, plans for the University High School of Science and Engineering, and the timetable for the Performing Arts Center Project. (Hartford News, June 8; West Indian American, June 2; Hartford Inquirer, June 8; West Hartford News, June 9; Hartford Public Access, June 3)
A letter to the editor by Lancelot Gordon, Jr., interim executive director of the Hartford Housing Authority, responded to a suggestion by Hartford Courant columnist Tom Condon that advocated building a University of Hartford “college town” where Westbrook Village, home to 280 families, now stands. Gordon notes that a committee, comprising representatives of the Westbrook Village families as well as neighbors such as the university, has been meeting and working on a development proposal that will meet the needs of the residents, the neighborhood and the city. (Hartford Courant, June 11)
The Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies’ annual lecture on Jewish humor, this year being delivered by author Lawrence Epstein, was highlighted in the Hartford Courant’s “Cal” section. Epstein, the author of “The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America,” will speak at the June 15 event about the impact Jewish comedians have had on American humor and culture. (Hartford Courant, June 9 )
Students from the University of Hartford Magnet School were filmed while getting a lesson about construction safety. The students wore hard hats and got a hands-on look at a bulldozer and other equipment. The footage was broadcast on WFSB-TV Channel 3’s 5 p.m. newscast on June 8. (WFSB-TV Channel 3, June 8)
Marlo Marrero Fernandez, a graduate of the Hartford Art School who is currently enrolled in The Entrepreneurial Center’s Comprehensive Small Business Training program, appeared in an article in the Bristol Press. Marrero was named a 2005 Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, N.Y. She is a photography teacher at Miss Porter’s School and operates her own business as a photography artist. (Bristol Press, June 2)
Fourteen senior art students at Nonnewaug High School have hit the jackpot. The 13 girls and one boy have accepted a combined $510,000 in scholarships to attend college art programs around the country. The Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford was the most popular choice. Seven students applied, and five will attend. (Republican-American, Waterbury, June 11)
Loriana De Crescenzo, executive director of Opera Providence and a 1984 graduate of The Hartt School, was profiled in an article in the Pawtucket Times about efforts to create grassroots support for opera in Rhode Island. (Pawtucket Times, June 6)
The hiring of internationally renowned soccer coach Don Gaspar, a standout soccer goalkeeper on the Hartford Hawks’ men’s soccer team from 1974 to 1977, as head coach of the Hawks’ men’s soccer team was announced by Director of Athletics Pat Meiser-McKnett at a press conference on June 13. (Hartford Courant, June 13)
Scott Roy, a standout pitcher for the Hartford Hawks’ men’s baseball team, was promoted by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. The 22-year-old was in extended spring training after spending the 2004 season in Pulaski and Auburn. In 23 games with the Blue Jays and Doubledays, he went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA with six saves. In 33.0 innings pitched, he allowed 27 hits with 30 strikeouts and seven walks. (Our Sports Central.com, June 10)
Other News
The state is expected to reaccredit the University of Bridgeport Wednesday, but it wants more proof the university is rebounding from its financial crisis without the aid of the Professors World Peace Academy, a group funded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church. The five-year state endorsement follows a 10-year re-accreditation from the New England Associations of Schools and Colleges. (Connecticut Post, June 11)
Some of the shortcomings that the University of Connecticut is fixing in its $1 billion UConn 2000 program were identified in audits as early as 1999, but UConn officials failed to disclose the findings to the school’s trustees or to the legislature. The trustees were given only the mostly favorable first section of a 1999 audit and never got three subsequent audits that found flaws in UConn 2000. The legislature never got any part of any of the four audits. (Hartford Courant, June 8)
Richard R. Wittink, 59, a Yale University professor of management and marketing and national leader in marketing, was found dead Tuesday morning in the deep end of his swimming pool by a maintenance man who had come to clean. He is believed to have died of a diabetic seizure. (Hartford Courant, June 8)
University of Connecticut MBA students who were asked to evaluate state police headquarters challenged some of the most basic ways the administration operates. In a 30-page report, they urged the department “to transform itself from a ‘paramilitary’ operation to become a more efficient business.” (Hartford Courant, June 7)
Cornell University President Jeffrey Lehman announced that he will step down at the end of the month, citing differences in strategic vision with the Ivy League college’s board of trustees. Lehman, a Cornell alumnus who also is a law professor at the school, made his announcement at the end of his annual “state of the university” address to alumni attending Reunion Weekend. Lehman became Cornell’s 11th president in October 2003. (Newsday, June 11)
The number of people who take online courses is growing. The Online Connecticut State University System, which describes itself as a “virtual classroom” and service center, offers online courses through Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University. Now, 1,500 students will take online courses this summer, which have grown to 91 offerings. (The Herald, New Britain, June 12)
Across the nation this year, applications for the US Naval Academy plummeted 20 percent, and the number for the US Air Force Academy fell 23 percent. The decrease occurred as many colleges and universities experienced a record number of applications. Harvard received nearly 23,000 applications, a 15 percent jump from 2004; Cornell’s applicant pool was up 17 percent, and Princeton’s soared 21 percent. (Boston Globe, June 13)
Two-thirds, or 67 percent, of first-year college students consider it “essential” or “very important” that their colleges help develop their personal values, according to a new University of California survey of more than 112,000 students on 236 diverse campuses. Another 48 percent consider it “essential” or “very important” for a college to encourage their personal expression of spirituality. (Boston Globe, June 12)
The conclusion of the Say Yes To Education (SYTE) program was celebrated on June 10 with a ceremony honoring the dozens of members of a fifth-grade class at Annie Fisher Elementary School who earned college degrees, and the SYTE staff, who have been based at the University of Hartford. An article about the program, which during its 15 years helped fulfill the promise of a free college education for those students if they graduated from high school, ran on the front page of the Hartford Courant. Financier George Weiss, who made that promise in 1990 to a group of 76 youngsters while they were on a visit to the university, was also interviewed by Ray Dunaway and Diane Smith on the WTIC-AM morning show. (Hartford Courant, June 11; WTIC-AM NewsTalk 1080, June 10)
A story on the upcoming reaffirmation votes by the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA) and the Hartford City Council on the University of Hartford Performing Arts Center project noted that the university and city are seeking additional funds for the project, because the overall cost of the project has increased since it was announced four years ago. (Hartford Courant, June 13)
Jilda Aliotta, chair of the university’s department of politics and government, was quoted in a Hartford Courant article about Senator Chris Dodd’s very public opposition to John Bolton’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “Sen. Dodd is a very strong supporter of the U.N., and he’s genuinely concerned about the impact of someone like Bolton,” said Aliotta. (Hartford Courant, June 7)
Several community newspapers announced that University of Hartford President Walter Harrison will host a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, June 14, to update the community about the university’s four major construction projects. Harrison will discuss the university’s new Integrated Science, Engineering and Technology complex, the Home Field Advantage athletics campaign, plans for the University High School of Science and Engineering, and the timetable for the Performing Arts Center Project. (Hartford News, June 8; West Indian American, June 2; Hartford Inquirer, June 8; West Hartford News, June 9; Hartford Public Access, June 3)
A letter to the editor by Lancelot Gordon, Jr., interim executive director of the Hartford Housing Authority, responded to a suggestion by Hartford Courant columnist Tom Condon that advocated building a University of Hartford “college town” where Westbrook Village, home to 280 families, now stands. Gordon notes that a committee, comprising representatives of the Westbrook Village families as well as neighbors such as the university, has been meeting and working on a development proposal that will meet the needs of the residents, the neighborhood and the city. (Hartford Courant, June 11)
The Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies’ annual lecture on Jewish humor, this year being delivered by author Lawrence Epstein, was highlighted in the Hartford Courant’s “Cal” section. Epstein, the author of “The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America,” will speak at the June 15 event about the impact Jewish comedians have had on American humor and culture. (Hartford Courant, June 9 )
Students from the University of Hartford Magnet School were filmed while getting a lesson about construction safety. The students wore hard hats and got a hands-on look at a bulldozer and other equipment. The footage was broadcast on WFSB-TV Channel 3’s 5 p.m. newscast on June 8. (WFSB-TV Channel 3, June 8)
Marlo Marrero Fernandez, a graduate of the Hartford Art School who is currently enrolled in The Entrepreneurial Center’s Comprehensive Small Business Training program, appeared in an article in the Bristol Press. Marrero was named a 2005 Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, N.Y. She is a photography teacher at Miss Porter’s School and operates her own business as a photography artist. (Bristol Press, June 2)
Fourteen senior art students at Nonnewaug High School have hit the jackpot. The 13 girls and one boy have accepted a combined $510,000 in scholarships to attend college art programs around the country. The Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford was the most popular choice. Seven students applied, and five will attend. (Republican-American, Waterbury, June 11)
Loriana De Crescenzo, executive director of Opera Providence and a 1984 graduate of The Hartt School, was profiled in an article in the Pawtucket Times about efforts to create grassroots support for opera in Rhode Island. (Pawtucket Times, June 6)
The hiring of internationally renowned soccer coach Don Gaspar, a standout soccer goalkeeper on the Hartford Hawks’ men’s soccer team from 1974 to 1977, as head coach of the Hawks’ men’s soccer team was announced by Director of Athletics Pat Meiser-McKnett at a press conference on June 13. (Hartford Courant, June 13)
Scott Roy, a standout pitcher for the Hartford Hawks’ men’s baseball team, was promoted by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. The 22-year-old was in extended spring training after spending the 2004 season in Pulaski and Auburn. In 23 games with the Blue Jays and Doubledays, he went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA with six saves. In 33.0 innings pitched, he allowed 27 hits with 30 strikeouts and seven walks. (Our Sports Central.com, June 10)
Other News
The state is expected to reaccredit the University of Bridgeport Wednesday, but it wants more proof the university is rebounding from its financial crisis without the aid of the Professors World Peace Academy, a group funded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church. The five-year state endorsement follows a 10-year re-accreditation from the New England Associations of Schools and Colleges. (Connecticut Post, June 11)
Some of the shortcomings that the University of Connecticut is fixing in its $1 billion UConn 2000 program were identified in audits as early as 1999, but UConn officials failed to disclose the findings to the school’s trustees or to the legislature. The trustees were given only the mostly favorable first section of a 1999 audit and never got three subsequent audits that found flaws in UConn 2000. The legislature never got any part of any of the four audits. (Hartford Courant, June 8)
Richard R. Wittink, 59, a Yale University professor of management and marketing and national leader in marketing, was found dead Tuesday morning in the deep end of his swimming pool by a maintenance man who had come to clean. He is believed to have died of a diabetic seizure. (Hartford Courant, June 8)
University of Connecticut MBA students who were asked to evaluate state police headquarters challenged some of the most basic ways the administration operates. In a 30-page report, they urged the department “to transform itself from a ‘paramilitary’ operation to become a more efficient business.” (Hartford Courant, June 7)
Cornell University President Jeffrey Lehman announced that he will step down at the end of the month, citing differences in strategic vision with the Ivy League college’s board of trustees. Lehman, a Cornell alumnus who also is a law professor at the school, made his announcement at the end of his annual “state of the university” address to alumni attending Reunion Weekend. Lehman became Cornell’s 11th president in October 2003. (Newsday, June 11)
The number of people who take online courses is growing. The Online Connecticut State University System, which describes itself as a “virtual classroom” and service center, offers online courses through Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University. Now, 1,500 students will take online courses this summer, which have grown to 91 offerings. (The Herald, New Britain, June 12)
Across the nation this year, applications for the US Naval Academy plummeted 20 percent, and the number for the US Air Force Academy fell 23 percent. The decrease occurred as many colleges and universities experienced a record number of applications. Harvard received nearly 23,000 applications, a 15 percent jump from 2004; Cornell’s applicant pool was up 17 percent, and Princeton’s soared 21 percent. (Boston Globe, June 13)
Two-thirds, or 67 percent, of first-year college students consider it “essential” or “very important” that their colleges help develop their personal values, according to a new University of California survey of more than 112,000 students on 236 diverse campuses. Another 48 percent consider it “essential” or “very important” for a college to encourage their personal expression of spirituality. (Boston Globe, June 12)
