Media Watch (Oct. 17-24, 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.

Former Hartford Hawks baseball star Jeff Bagwell and his Houston Astros are making their first-ever appearance in the World Series, and that has generated dozens of stories about Bagwell’s long career. Bagwell played in the first two World Series games in Chicago as the Astros' designated hitter, and he had a hit and scored a run in game two. Now in his 15th season in Major League Baseball, Bagwell has amassed numbers that many believe will land him in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, including 449 home runs, 1,529 runs batted in, and a career .297 batting average. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 22, Oct. 23; New York Daily News, Oct. 23; Boston Globe, Oct. 23; Washington Post, Oct. 22)

Nicholas Galluccio, a University of Hartford alumnus and regent who has pledged $250,000 for a scholarship fund for humanities students, was honored with an “Accolades Individual Giving Award” by the Hartford Business Journal in its annual “Business Person of the Year” issue. University President Walter Harrison and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Joseph Voelker are both quoted in the article describing Galluccio and the importance of his gift. (Hartford Business Journal, Oct. 24)

Roger Desmond, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted extensively in Hartford Courant Reader Representative Karen Hunter’s column about the redesign of the Courant’s “Northeast” magazine. Desmond outlined changes he didn’t like as well as those he did. “I do applaud the search for a new format. I guess what I want is something in between the intense localism of the Boston Globe magazine and the time-eating vastness of the [N.Y.] Times magazine,” he said. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 23)

Hartford Fire Chief Charles Teale Sr. praised four firefighters from his department for their efforts in rescuing two University of Hartford students and others from the powerful flood waters of the Hog River in the early morning hours on Saturday, Oct. 15. The four officers will receive an official commendation from the city at a ceremony at Hartford City Hall on Oct. 24. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 18)

A front-page story in the Hartford Courant reported on the results of The College Board’s annual survey of tuition and fees charged by institutions of higher education and included a quote from Amanda Charlemagne, a 19-year-old University of Hartford sophomore, about the financial impact on her and her parents. Colleges in New England had the highest prices in the nation, with total costs, including room and board, averaging $14,358 a year at public four-year colleges and $36,382 at private four-year colleges, the report said. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 19)

A preview of the MUSIC for a CHANGE benefit concert by legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was the lead item in the “Jazz Notes” column of the “Cal” section of the Hartford Courant. The concert, being held on Oct. 25 in Lincoln Theater, was also previewed in the Hartford Advocate. WWUH-FM radio’s interview with Metheny aired on Oct. 21 and will be rebroadcast on Oct. 25. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 20; Hartford Advocate, Oct. 20; WWUH Radio, Oct. 21 and 25)

An article about the awarding of a nearly $49,000 grant to the university’s MUSIC for a CHANGE benefit concert series by the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation was featured in the most recent issue of the Business Times. (Business Times, Oct. ’05 issue)

The Hartford Courant previewed a symposium on “Poetry, Philosophy & the Fascination of Form” that was being hosted by the university at its Asylum Avenue campus. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 20)

University of Hartford student Christine Kornacki of Simsbury, and fellow student Aaron Joshua, took second prize in the second annual Chalkwalk competition in Collinsville. The two illustration majors drew their version of famed illustrator Norman Rockwell’s self-portrait. “What we’re trying to do is create a piece that everyone can recognize and that appeals to the eye. What helps is bold colors and a happy upbeat theme,” Kornacki said of the work. (Simsbury Post, Oct. 20)

Amanda Boehmer, a Hartt School alum, was recently named the new executive director of the Plymouth (Mass.) Philharmonic Orchestra and was profiled in the Boston Globe. She praised a program at The Hartt School that allowed her to earn a bachelor’s of arts degree in performing arts management with a minor in business, while also obtaining a bachelor’s of music degree in clarinet performance. '”I always had this entrepreneurial spirit,” she said, noting that The Hartt School program “combined everything. It was perfect.” (Boston Globe, Oct. 20)

In a major feature about professional athletes and their record of charitable giving, the Boston Globe noted that “former Celtics forward Vin Baker led all athletes in the area who have formed charitable foundations in recent years by donating nearly $1.6 million of his money from 2000 to 2003 to his Stand Tall fund. The foundation benefits Baker’s alma mater, the University of Hartford, and other Connecticut programs.” (Boston Globe, Oct. 23)

Other News

Yale University anthropology professor David Graeber, one of the brightest minds in his field and an anarchist whose counterculture writings are nearly as popular as his academic work, was asked not to return to Yale next year. This move touched off a letter-writing campaign from professors worldwide, some of whom suggested that the Ivy League school is letting politics influence its hiring policies. (Associated Press, Oct. 24; Hartford Courant, Oct. 24)

Patricia Anziano of Niantic, wife of a former Madison police chief who pleaded no contest to charges he embezzled $450,000 from his parents, has filed a lawsuit over her firing from Three Rivers Community College, charging her former employer with discrimination and seeking her job back. Anziano, who had been a full tenured professor, was fired June 6 from her job as coordinator of the school’s criminal justice program. She was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with her husband’s case. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 22)

On Oct. 21, state and local officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $149.5 million Connecticut Center for Science and Exploration in Hartford. The board of trustees also added several new members, including Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway personal transportation device and founder of the FIRST Robotics competition for high school students. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 22)

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $2.1 million job training grant to bolster nursing and allied health programs at Connecticut's two-year community colleges. The three-year grant covers all 12 community college campuses in the state and affects about 6,000 students in programs such as nursing, radiological technology, respiratory therapy, medical assisting, and physical therapy assisting. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 22)

The new $94.6 million home of the 220,000-square-foot University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy was dedicated on Oct. 20. The school houses 86 laboratories, a model pharmacy, and an underground animal research lab. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 21)

The University of Connecticut has hired Jim Bradley, a construction management consultant with experience in turning around troubled billion-dollar public projects, to head up the department that runs the problem-plagued UConn 2000 building program. Bradley, who was instrumental in putting the $1 billion Hartford public schools program back on track, will serve for one year as head of the university's architecture and engineering services department at a salary of $225,000. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 20)

After nearly a decade as head of Fairfield College Preparatory School, the Rev. Michael G. Boughton S.J. will resign at the end of the school year. Since the school is part of the Fairfield University Corp., it is up to the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, president of Fairfield University, to name a search committee to recommend a qualified Jesuit to take Boughton’s place. (Connecticut Post, Oct. 18)

Trinity College has established the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture to increase understanding of secular values. The institute is funded by a $2.8 million five-year grant from the Posen Foundation of Lucerne, Switzerland. Along with the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life, it will operate under the administrative umbrella of the Trinity Program on Public Values. (Connecticut Jewish Ledger, Oct. 20)

Harvard University has chosen Mohamed El-Erian, a leading investor in emerging market bonds and recent candidate to run the International Monetary Fund, to become the new manager of its $25.9 billion endowment, according to industry and university executives. El-Erian, a managing director of Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, Calif., will succeed Jack Meyer as president of Harvard Management Co. (Boston Globe, Oct. 17)

More than 100 University of Rhode Island students gathered in front of President Robert Carothers’ office to protest the school’s new disciplinary rules. Designed to reduce drunken driving and other alcohol-related problems, the rules let the university punish students accused of breaking the law off-campus. They also give residence hall directors more power to search dorm rooms. (Associated Press, Oct. 18)

Tuition growth moderated at the nation’s public colleges this fall after two years of large increases, but costs continued to outpace inflation and force students to rely increasingly on loans, a new national report says. The College Board reported that tuition and fees at the nation’s public four-year colleges rose 7.1 percent this year, averaging $5,491 nationwide. That compares with average increases of 13 percent in 2003 and 10 percent last year. Tuition and fees at four-year private colleges rose 5.9 percent to an average of $21,235, similar to the increase a year ago. (Hartford Courant, Oct. 19)