Patt Interviewed on Santa Fe Public Radio, Goldstein in the Huffington Post, Schmaltz Honored by Cromwell, and More

Avinoam Patt, Feltman Professor of Modern Jewish History and assistant director of the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University, was interviewed on the Santa Fe (N.M.) Public Radio show “Santa Fe Radio Café” on Thursday, Dec. 23. Patt was interviewed about his research on the lives of Holocaust survivors and how they began to rebuild their lives after that devastation. To listen to the interview, click here, scroll down to the Thursday, Dec. 23, playlist, and click on the fourth audio mp3 file.

President Obama called for a moment of silence on Monday, Jan. 10, at 11 a.m. to honor the victims of the shootings in Tucson, Ariz. However, Warren Goldstein, chair of the history department in the College of Arts and Science, was moved to write an article for the Huffington Post. “Silence is the last thing we need right now. We need speech: forceful, civil, principled, intelligent speech about the intensifying connection between mainstream violent speech and the so-called "fringe" violent action it encourages.” To read his full column, click here.

Bilal Sekou, associate professor of political science in Hillyer College, was quoted in stories on the CT News Junkie and CT Mirror web sites after he took part in a panel discussion on Friday, Jan. 7, at the State Capitol to identify weaknesses in the state’s election system and to propose potential remedies. One such remedy would be to amend state law to allow for early voting. “We see in other states where this is being done that the election process is greatly improved and that people actually vote early and they do it in large numbers,” said Sekou. To read the CT News Junkie story, click here and to read the CT Mirror story, click here

The New York Times, in its Friday, Jan. 7 issue, reviewed a current exhibition at the New Britain Museum of American Art, titled “WomenArtists@NewBritainMuseum,” which is curated by Sherry Buckberrough and Nancy Noble, associate professor and chair and visiting assistant professor, respectively, in the art history department of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences. The show is a collection of the about 80 pieces by women artists, and the review notes that “Arranged chronologically, their work would tell a simple story of ever-increasing opportunity and scope. But in grouping them by subject, the guest curators, Nancy Noble and Sherry Buckberrough, suggest a far more complicated narrative.” To read the full review, click here.

The Cromwell Knights of Columbus has named John Schmaltz, director of public safety at the University, as Man of the Year 2011, according to a story in the Jan. 10 issue of the Hartford Courant. He has had a long involvement with Cromwell youth programs as a coach for soccer, football, basketball, softball and baseball. He also coached girls' travel basketball teams, as well as Jaycees and American Legion baseball. He has also served on the executive board for Cromwell Youth Football, and currently serves as chair of the park improvement committee and as a member of the Cromwell Park and Recreation Commission. To read the full article about his honor, click here.