Around the Campanile: Spring 2006

 

Students provide 6,000 hours of reading tutoring to New Bedford children

By: Will Dane

More than 120 UMass Dartmouth students from 70 communities will complete more than 6,000 hours of reading, tutoring, and related services to New Bedford children during this academic year. The university students deliver the services at Carney Academy, Hayden McFadden Elementary School, and the Boys and Girls Club as part of the America READS Program and other university-based service projects.

The America READS effort was launched during the Clinton Administration as a national strategy to address school drop-out rates. Studies have shown that students who are unable to read by the end of the third grade are more likely to leave school in later years.

"UMass Dartmouth students, staff, and faculty recognize the importance of literacy in strengthening the social fabric of our communities," said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack, who is co-chair of the Massachusetts Campus Compact, a coalition of Massachusetts colleges and universities devoted to enhancing education on their campuses through community service. "Here in New Bedford, we see our students rising to the challenge."

UMass Dartmouth Community Service Coordinator Deirdre Healey said, "America READS is really cool because the benefits to all the stakeholders are multi-dimensional. UMass Dartmouth students learn more about themselves, their career opportunities and their community. Elementary school children benefit from having a role model in their life, and the community benefits from a more engaged citizenry."

Bernadette Souza, assistant director of the Boys and Girls Club of New Bedford, said, "Our kids just love the UMass Dartmouth students from America READS. They are such a positive influence."

The New Bedford reading initiative is one of numerous UMass Dartmouth efforts to engage students, faculty, and staff in the life of the community. For instance, faculty have worked closely with teachers and principals in the Fall River schools to improve math teaching, and nursing students have been assisting the Dartmouth Council on Aging.

 

Trustees approve doctoral programs for nursing, Luso-Afro-Brazilian studies sought

Responding to two significant community needs, UMass Dartmouth plans to add doctoral programs in nursing and Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies. The Board of Trustees approved the plan at its March meeting, and Board of Higher Education approval will be sought in June.

"We have a critical nursing shortage in our region and across the Commonwealth that needs to be addressed, and we have a rich Portuguese-American culture that is part of our community fabric and needs to be preserved and studied," said Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack.

The Luso-AfroBrazilian Studies Ph.D. program represents the most recent action by UMass Dartmouth in establishing a leadership role in the field. The Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives has been organized; the university publishes a highly-regarded academic journal and book series on Portuguese culture; and Portuguese Professor Anna Klobucka is lead author of a ground-breaking textbook on European and Brazilian Portuguese.

The nursing doctoral program will prepare nurses to become faculty members, thus expanding the number of undergraduate nursing majors and addressing the chronic nursing shortage. There have been nearly 900 applicants for 115 freshman slots in the class entering this fall.

"The establishment of a Ph.D. nursing program will contribute significantly to the mission of the university by facilitating the recruitment of faculty who are productive scholars, skilled to obtain external funding and attract first-rate students," said Dean James Fain.

The shortage of registered nurses, he continued, is not due to a lack of qualified students, but rather to an "inadequate pool of people to teach them." The program aims to educate replacements for retiring professors, and expand overall the number of faculty.

Doctoral candidates will be matched with a faculty researcher and mentor. "At this level, it's more to do with training future faculty in engaging nursing science research and method skills with a focus on chronic illness such as diabetes, heart failure or gerontology," Fain said. The Ph.D. studies complement the master's degree offerings by preparing not only nurse practitioners, but also nurse scientists.

Courses will be offered one day per week; there will be three education classes and experiential activities integrated with the more traditional research methods courses. Students, either full or part-time, can complete the 54-credit degree program over a three to four-year period. An initial class of six students is anticipated. The college now has 630 students, with 87 pursuing master's degrees and 79 in the "RN to Be" program.

Regarding the Luso-Afro-Brazilian doctorate, Dean William Hogan noted that this would be the first discrete, campus-specific doctoral degree in the College of Arts and Sciences. It represents a logical extension of the master's program and the expansion of the Center for Portuguese Studies and the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives. "The castle is built and this doctoral degree is its flag flying at the top," said Hogan.

This fall, two faculty and an archivist will teach courses, manage the archives, give lectures, and undertake research.

Hogan explained that the Luso-AfroBrazilian name reflects the fact that the curriculum will encompass not only literature and language, but also the geography, politics, culture, and critical theory of Lusophone people worldwide. "We want to establish UMass Dartmouth as the pre-eminent intellectual center in the Portuguese-speaking world," Dr. Hogan said.

The Ph.D will require a minimum of 54 graduate course credits and 12 dissertation credits. An initial enrollment of five to ten students is expected, and studies would range from two to five years.

 

University cannot rely on the status quo, cautions Chancellor MacCormack

Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack, speaking to the campus community in February, urged faculty, students, and staff to act with urgency, innovation, and collaboration on issues facing the region, the state, and the world.

"We know that in our fast-changing world, clinging to old ways is a strategy for stagnation, indeed failure," she said. "There is simply no time for complacency, no time for parochialism, no time for blind defense of the status quo. No resting on our laurels."

The speech, which came as the campus updates its 2000-2010 strategic plan, reflected on the university's growth in student population and research in the last six years. The chancellor urged the university's role be reconsidered in an era of accelerating globalization, increasing diversity, and rapidly advancing technology. "Ethnic and religious conflict, climate change, technological progress, and other world-flattening issues are forcing us to rethink what we do within the confines of Ring Road," she said.

Citing the university's responsibility to inspire lifelong learning, encourage civic engagement, and ignite the innovation economy, MacCormack called on the campus community to "become more accessible, more innovative, more collaborative, and more willing to examine ourselves on all fundamental issues that define quality.

"We must be more nimble in everything we do if we are to continue serving our students, the Commonwealth, our nation and our global community."

The full text of the chancellor's speech and a report on progress of the 2000-2010 strategic plan can be found at www.umassd.edu/chancellor

 

Corsairs hockey team does university proud

The university's ice hockey squad had another outstanding season this winter: a 25-3-1 record, a trip to the quarter-finals, post-season honors for four members, and co-coach of the year title for John Rolli. The hard-playing Corsairs beat perennial rival Wentworth to again advance to the NCAA quarter-final playoff game in March against Middlebury College, which triumphed (as it had in ‘06) over UMass Dartmouth, 3-2.

"Two power play goals were the difference this year, and they were the difference last year," said Coach Rolli. "We knew we couldn't afford to take any stick penalties, and they got a power play and took advantage of it. They use all of the ice and make you loosen up, and they're a very good team."

The Corsairs spent most of the season nationally ranked, and went into tournament play ranked eighth in the U.S. College Hockey Online Division III standings.

Four players received post-season honors from the Eastern College Athletic Conference Northeast. Sophomore Jeff Green, Medway, was Goaltender of the Year. He led the conference in goals-against average with a 1.86 mark, was first in save percentage at .924, and led in winning percentage at .911. He and junior forward Jeff Grant, Burlington, were named to the All-Conference first team. Forward Kyle McCullough, Danvers, and defenseman Paul Carr, Springfield, received second team All-Conference honors.

 

Building devoted to innovative research opens on campus

The university in April opened a new 22,000 square foot research building that will focus on science critical to the development of the innovation economy in the region and state. The facility will be the home of the National Botulinum Research Center and other laboratories focusing on biotechnology-related science.

The building, the first on campus devoted entirely to research, strengthens an "Innovation Triangle" in southeastern Massachusetts that includes the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford and the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center in Fall River.

"Today, we celebrate more than the opening of a building,'' Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. "This is the latest stage in a rapid evolution of our university and our region."

"This new research building is the latest state-of-the-art facility opening on a University of Massachusetts campus, one that will enable our faculty and students to make further advances in the important area of biotechnology,'' added UMass President Jack M. Wilson.

"Today's opening ceremony for a new research building on the UMass Dartmouth campus is great news for faculty and students here, as well as for everyone concerned about efforts to develop methods of treating and possibly curing the effects of botulism, a deadly bioterrorism threat,'' UMass Chairman Stephen P. Tocco said.

Professor Bal Ram Singh, one of the nation's leading experts on botulism, leads the National Botulinum Center at UMass Dartmouth, and has been working on similar projects at the university for the last 17 years.

 

Senator Kerry is speaker at university commencement

U.S. Senator John F. Kerry will deliver the main address and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry will receive an honorary degree at UMass Dartmouth's 107th commencement on May 27.

The pair co-authored the recently published book, This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future.

Honorary degrees will also be presented to: Edmund Barry Gaither, director and curator of Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists; Robert P. Lawrence, pastor of First Congregational Church of Fall River; and Julie Moir Messervy, garden designer and author.

Kerry has been the Massachusetts junior senator since 1984. A former lieutenant governor and decorated Vietnam War veteran, he was the 2004 Democratic Party nominee for the presidency. He is a member of several key Senate committees. Teresa Heinz Kerry is a well-known philanthropist who has been active in environmental causes.

 

Motivational speaker and awards mark the 5th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was never "a talk show host. He didn't know basketball. He wasn't a rapper. He had a Ph.D. before he was 25." That was Salome Thomas-EL's recollection of the slain civil rights leader at UMass Dartmouth's fifth Drum Major Awards ceremony this past February. The ceremony annually pays tribute to Dr. King and honors persons whose actions and deeds keep his message alive.

Thomas-EL, this year's keynote speaker for the event, is widely recognized for motivating hundreds of Philadelphia students to stay in school and pursue a college education. While overseeing a number of urban schools, Thomas-EL used the game of chess to inspire young people, and his Vaux Middle School students have been eight-time national chess champions. His best-selling autobiography, I Choose to Stay, is being developed into a film by the Walt Disney Company.

Decrying the type of individuals too many young people try to emulate, Thomas-EL told his audience, "Young people should pause and think about their role models today.

"If we are to break the cycle of poverty, we have to teach young people that the most important job they will have when they become adults is being somebody's mother or father."

The Drum Major awards this year went to UMass Dartmouth English Prof. Robert Waxler, and Dorothy Lopes, a retired elementary school teacher. Both were cited for years of work that reflect King's legacy.

Professor Waxler co-founded the widely-recognized "Changing Lives through Literature" alternative sentencing program, which substitutes the classroom for a prison cell. Lopes spent 17 years as a teacher at New Bedford's Carney Academy, helped establish the city's first charter school, and has been involved in numerous civic and charitable initiatives.

"So much of what Dr. King fought for still requires our active engagement: economic justice, peace, true brotherhood. That is why we celebrate those people who today continue to be drum majors for justice," said Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack.

 

Charlton College dean named to national business school accrediting group

Dr. Eileen Peacock, dean of the Charlton College of Business, has been elected to the board of directors of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International. She joins 27 other board members, representing academe and business, from around the world.

Dr. Peacock will be the sole dean from business schools in the Northeast (New England and New York) on the board; given the number of prestigious business schools within the region, her election is particularly notable. Her three-year term begins this July.

The association is considered to be the premier accrediting agency for international education programs of all levels in business and accounting. The group's accreditation signals the highest standard of achievement by a business school. Of its 1,081 member institutions in 71 countries, 540 have achieved accreditation, including UMass Dartmouth.

 

Professor Sharon Sousa receives university's Public Service Award

College of Nursing Professor Sharon Sousa has been honored for her multifaceted work on mental health issues with the University of Massachusetts 2006 President's Public Service Award.

Dr. Sousa, one of six recipients of the award, has taught at UMass Dartmouth since 1999. A licensed psychologist and nurse clinical specialist, she specializes in family therapy, substance abuse, mental illnesses, and genetics, with research interests in psychotropic medications, and genetics in psychotic illnesses. Most recently, she has been working on the human genome project, exploring schizophrenia and bipolar disorder among persons of Azorean heritage.

Sousa teamed with Counseling Center Director Christine Frizzell to organize a UMass Dartmouth chapter of Compeer International, which works to educate persons about mental illness, and improve the quality of life for those with such an illness. Its mentor program brings together a trained, sensitive volunteer and an individual with a mental illness in a one-on-one relationship.

 

Swami Yogatmananda installed as Hindu chaplain for university

Swami Yogatmananda was installed as the Hindu chaplain for UMass Dartmouth at a February ceremony, enabling Hindu students to now receive spiritual support and counseling on campus.

Swami Yogatmananda is the minister at the Providence Vedanta Society, holds a master's degree in mathematics, and has been ordained as a Swami under the Ramakrishna Mission order.

 

Professor hartigan to teach in Manila as a Fulbright scholar

Music Professor royal hartigan has been named a J. William Fulbright Scholar, awarded through the U.S. State Department and the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars. In addition to teaching at the University of the Philippines in Manila, hartigan will be researching the traditions of dance and music in villages throughout the country.

 

Blogs, podcasts, and wikis... Center for Marketing Research surveys use of new media

The survey of 121 of Inc. 500 companies undertaken by UMass Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research found "that corporate familiarity and usage of social media is racing far ahead of what many have predicted," said Center Director Nora Barnes.

The country's fastest-growing firms are making significant use of social network sites—blogs, podcasts, and other social media tools, the survey found. Two out of three of the Inc. 500 companies cited social media as playing a "very important" or "somewhat important" role in their business and marketing strategies. The Inc. 500 is the list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, as defined by the magazine Inc.

The social medium most familiar to the Inc. 500 is social networking (MySpace, Facebook, etc.), followed by message/bulletin boards, blogging, online video, podcasting, and wikis (websites that allow users to change content, i.e., Wikipedia).

More in this issue:
The complex world of Dan Braha
Two police chiefs build community connections
Technology strengthens teacher-student links

Back to top
Magazine Homepage