Media Watch (Nov. 14 - 21, 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.

Richard Lazzerini, associate director of the International Center, was quoted in a Hartford Courant article about the decline in international student enrollment at colleges and universities in Connecticut. International enrollment at the University of Hartford has slipped 14 percent since the fall of 2003, with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern countries accounting for much of the decrease, according to the Courant. “I think some of it is due to tighter restrictions on visas, and some of it is parents afraid to let their children come here” because of perceptions that the United States is not welcoming, Lazzerini said. “There’s also been an expansion of capacity in their own countries, while other countries – Australia and Great Britain – are recruiting heavily from the region.” (Hartford Courant, Nov. 21)

The shooting/carjacking attack on Jewel Cooper, a 1996 alumna of the university and a member of the 1992 women’s soccer team that advanced to NCAA soccer’s Final Four, generated significant media coverage. A story by Hartford Courant columnist Stan Simpson noted that the incident puts a negative stain on a neighborhood where lots of positive things are happening, including the plans for the University of Hartford Performing Arts Center. (Fox 61, Nov. 18; Hartford Courant, Nov. 19; Hartford Courant, Nov. 19)

The “Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio: Community Architecture” exhibition in the Joseloff Gallery, which ran from Sept. 29 through Nov. 6, was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Arts & Academe” section. For two weeks, about 20 art and architecture students from Auburn University's Rural Studio and the University of Hartford built the installations for the exhibit. Andrew Freear, co-director of the Rural Studio, said he hopes that the exhibit “changes students’ expectations of what architecture can be.” (Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 25)

Coverage of a program on the role of Jewish studies on college campuses in America featured quotes from University President Walter Harrison, President Emeritus Humphrey Tonkin, past president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, University Regent Arnold C. Greenberg, and Richard Freund, director of the university’s Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies. The Greenberg Center sponsored the program in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the center’s founding. (Connecticut Jewish Ledger, Nov. 18)

The Hartford Courant featured a story on a church’s efforts to pay for Hartt School student Michelle Schultz’s airfare for her trip home to New Orleans for Christmas. Schultz’s family’s home was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and her family had been stranded briefly in Hartford — the hurricane hit as the family dropped Michelle off for her freshman year at Hartt. An aspiring opera singer, Michelle will be singing Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 18)

Woody Doane, professor of sociology in Hillyer College, and Ruel Morgan, a sophomore student in Hillyer, were guests on the “Wolf Pack Confidential” radio show on ESPN Radio (1410 AM) on Nov. 15. Doane and Morgan were interviewed by host Bob Crawford regarding a visit by Doane’s “Sports and Society” Honors Class in Hillyer to a Wolf Pack practice on Nov. 8 and a Wolf Pack game on Nov. 9. During the visit to the Wolf Pack practice, Doane’s class had a 45 minute discussion with former National Hockey League star and current Wolf Pack coach and general manager Jim Schoenfeld. (ESPN Radio, Nov. 15)

Otto Wahl, director of the Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology, spoke about how the media and society have created an image that all people with mental illness are violent and dangerous. He was speaking at the annual meeting of Sound Community Services Inc., a mental health organization based in New London. (The Day, New London, Nov. 15)

For the fourth year in a row, public and private colleges in Connecticut enrolled a record number of students, but a report issued on Nov. 16 by the state Department of Higher Education warned that the campus population boom will peak in 2008. The report tallied headcounts at 47 public and private college campuses, and the University of Hartford ranked sixth in the state with 7,260 students. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 17)

Elizabeth Ivey, president of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and provost emerita of the University of Hartford, was quoted extensively in an article in The Scientist, a leading Internet news magazine for life scientists. The article looked at the impact of the comments made by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers on the issue of discrimination against women in academic sciences. (The Scientist, November ’05 issue)

Warren Hansen, an instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ criminal justice program, was interviewed for a story on NBC 30 about how police investigators from different jurisdictions share information, so that a suspect in one case can be tied into other unsolved cases. (NBC 30, Nov. 16)

Regina Miller, department chair and professor of early childhood education in the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, was featured in a segment on “Positively Connecticut,” hosted by Diane Smith, on Connecticut Public Television. Miller was interviewed for a story on the value of teaching sign language to toddlers, as some early learning centers are doing. (CPTV, Nov. 14, 18, 19, and 20)

Frederic P. Werner, an integral force behind the scenes of some of Hartford’s leading cultural institutions, including serving as president of the Mortensen Library board, passed away on Nov. 15 following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. “He understood that the library is the intellectual heart of campus, and he was deeply involved in keeping the library vital,” President Walter Harrison said. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 16)

A life-size LEGO sculpture of Harry Potter was unveiled at the University of Hartford Magnet School one week before the premiere of the newest movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. University Regents Susan McCray and Peter Eio arranged for the long-term loan of the sculpture, which will reside in the magnet school library. (NBC 30, Nov. 9; WTNH-TV Channel 8, Nov. 9)

Iraqi artist Mohammed Al Sadoun, who earned his master’s degree in art education from the Hartford Art School in 1986, was profiled in the Saudi Arabian newspaper Dar Al-Hayat. “Al Sadoun has been engaging viewers with multifaceted explorations of Middle Eastern history and sociopolitical issues for 30 years,” noted the newspaper. (Dar Al-Hayat – Saudi Arabia, Nov. 16)

Keith Brown, a university alumnus and host of the “Gay Spirit” radio show on WWUH-FM radio, was profiled in the Hartford Advocate. The weekly, half-hour show recently marked its 25th year on WWUH. (Hartford Advocate, Nov. 17)

Other News

The parents of Terence Leary, a 19-year-old Wesleyan University student who died two years ago, have filed a lawsuit claiming Wesleyan officials failed to properly respond to Leary’s “depressed and distressed condition.” (Middletown Press, Nov. 21)

The scandal at American University that cost President Benjamin Ladner his job last month came as Congress and the IRS were watching for possible abuses of compensation and spending within the nonprofit world. At George Washington University, President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg said GWU has added a special audit on top of a regularly scheduled annual review and is considering bringing in more outside compensation experts. (Washington Post, Nov. 21)

As thousands gathered for the Yale–Harvard football game, the word in the parking lots and fields outside the Yale Bowl in New Haven was that new rules meant to snuff tailgate parties after halftime would never be enforced. The new restrictions were aimed primarily at undergraduates, many of whom gather at the Yale fields to party all day with no intention of watching the game. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 20)

Constantine Macricostas, founder and chairman of Photronics Inc. in Brookfield, pledged $1.1 million to Western Connecticut State University for the creation of an academic chair in Hellenic and Modern Greek Studies, a scholarship award program, a lecture series and a business award through a set of endowments established with the university. The State of Connecticut, through its matching grant program, will contribute $800,000 to the endowments. (The Hellenic News of America, Nov. 19)

George Weiss, founder of Say Yes to Education and a University of Pennsylvania trustee, presented Penn President Amy Gutmann with a $14 million check at a reception of 600 Penn scholarship donors and recipients. The check was tucked in an envelope on which Weiss had scrawled a smiley face and the inscription: “Have a nice day, Amy.” The gift, which will be used primarily to fund undergraduate financial aid, brings Weiss’s total contributions to his alma mater to $58 million. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 18)

The University of Connecticut board of trustees has endorsed a plan to build the Storrs Center downtown project across from the campus on Route 195. The board voted to endorse the plan for the Storrs Center project, a $165 million retail, residential and restaurant project that will be across the street from the university’s school of fine arts building. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 17)

A plan to spend $657,000 to replace a 2,000-foot section of pipe that supplies water from the Willimantic River to the University of Connecticut campus has won the approval of UConn’s board of trustees. The new transmission pipeline will replace deteriorating pipe and allow the university to draw more water from the river and reduce reliance on its other water source, the Fenton River, a section of which ran dry in September. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 17)

Several UConn faculty members and students have criticized a plan to move the schools of family studies and allied health into other schools at the university, saying they object to the unilateral decision-making process and were concerned about preserving the unique nature of their programs. Most of the comments offered at a UConn board of trustees meeting were from family studies students and professors who said they were upset they were not consulted about the changes. (Hartford Courant, Nov. 16)

City police and campus security are trying to allay the fears of University of Bridgeport students after an off-campus shooting of a classmate. The victim was shot in the stomach and found about 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, near the back of the student center, where there was a party. The university held a meeting with students as some are questioning if it is just an isolated incident or a sign of a growing problem. (Connecticut Post, Nov. 15; WTNH-TV Channel 8, Nov. 15)