Sekou on Fox News, Freund in West Hartford News, Harrison in Numerous Publications, and More

Bilal Dabir Sekou, associate professor of political science in the University’s Hillyer College, was quoted in a FoxNews.com story, posted on Thursday, Aug. 5, about the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Chris Dodd. Commenting on state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s candidacy, Sekou said, “I think for Connecticut he’s been kind of the Senator in waiting.” Read the full story here.

University President Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance, was quoted in numerous media outlets around the country following a press conference to announce the creation of a new database, first-ever Head Coach APR Portfolio, that includes single-year academic-progress rates—the NCAA's metric for gauging how well a team does in the classroom—for head coaches in six Division I sports. (The database will be expanded to include the rates for head coaches in all NCAA sports at the conclusion of the 2010-11 academic year.) Harrison was quoted in stories in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed.com, the Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as numerous local/regional media outlets (such as the Hartford Courant) that were reporting on their area schools and coaches and their academic success.

Richard Freund, professor of history and director of the Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, was reunited with the bone marrow donor who saved his life at a Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation fundraising event held by the Men’s Club of Beth El Temple. Holding that event to educate people about the need to become part of the donor registry led to the Men’s Club receiving a Silver Torch Award from the national Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs,, according to a story in the Aug. 5 issue of the West Hartford News. Read the full story by clicking here.

Don Ellis, professor of communication in the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, had a letter to the editor published in the Wednesday, Aug. 4 issue of the Hartford Courant. Ellis was writing in support of opinions expressed by Christopher Anderson, an assistant professor in the politics and government department, in his Aug. 1 op-ed article on the fight to preserve free speech rights in Kuwait. “I am proud that the University of Hartford was able to play some small role in the political development of these two brave men,” Ellis wrote, referring to his former student Khaled Alfadala and Mohammad al-Jassim. To read his letter, click here.