April 2002

Volume 10, Number 8
The official news publication of Fairfield University

Index for April 2, 2002

Dolan Lecture to feature C. Michael Armstrong and Charlie Rose

The second annual Charles F. Dolan Lecture will take place on April 24 with "A Conversation with C. Michael Armstrong" at 8 p.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Charlie Rose, Emmy award-winning journalist, will moderate the conversation with Armstrong, the chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T. The lecture is sponsored by the Charles F. Dolan School of Business.

C. Michael Armstrong was elected to his current position at AT&T in 1997, following a six-year tenure as chairman and CEO of Hughes Electronics. Prior to Hughes, Armstrong spent more than three decades with IBM.

A graduate of Miami University in Ohio, he also completed the advanced management curriculum at Dartmouth Institute. He serves on numerous boards, committees, associations and commissions. An active supporter of higher education, serving as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University, chairman of the Board of Visitors of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and as a member of the advisory board of the Yale School of Management.

Charlie Rose is an acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist. He has hosted the popular PBS series "Charlie Rose" since 1991.

Rose is a graduate of Duke University and Duke University School of Law. He has received a News and Documentary Emmy award and a Cable ACE award, and he was the producer of a Peabody award-winning television program. Rose also is a correspondent for the CBS's, "60 Minutes II."

The Charles F. Dolan Lecture series, which features highly accomplished, visionary, and internationally recognized business leaders, was inaugurated in 2001 with former GE head Jack Welch.

A limited number of tickets are available and are free with a Fairfield University ID. There is a limit of one ticket per ID. For tickets, visit the Quick Center box office or call ext. 4010. DSB students should contact their professors regarding tickets; DSB faculty members should contact the dean's office for tickets.

Live from Fairfield University

WVOF opened the doors to its brand-new three-studio complex in the John A. Barone Campus Center in March. Visitors toured the glassed-in studios to take a look at the station's new capabilities.

In addition to live audio Internet broadcasts (which began in 2000), WVOF will also have the ability to transmit live visually, via a Web cam that will be posted in the main studio. Radio hosts will also be able to receive e-mailed music requests. The station has plans to incorporate live call-in talk shows into its schedule, and to feed programs and events from New York City clubs and theatres.

Pictured above with station manager Jeff Stone '03 at the microphone are (l-r) Cassey Timoney, student broadcast coordinator; Stan Hiriak '73, MA'75, one of the station's founding members who currently serves on the advisory board; Matt Dinnan, associate dean of students and station general manager; Thomas Osenkowsky, engineer; and Mark Weiss, engineer.

Photo by Nancy Habetz

Fr. Kelley asks Gov. Rowland to rethink aid cut proposal

By Douglas J. Whiting, Associate Vice President for Public Relations

University President Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., has asked Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland to reconsider a proposal that would cut state funding for an important student aid program.

The program, known as the Connecticut Independent College Student Grant Program (CICS), currently offers some 4,800 Connecticut students attending 18 private colleges and universities in the state an average $4,000 scholarship grant. The governor's proposal would cut up to $2.6 million from previously approved CICS funding to help the state meet a budget shortfall.

Students from Connecticut attending Fairfield University received approximately $1.8 million this year from CICS funding. That represents 244 Connecticut residents receiving CICS grants averaging $7,218 to attend Fairfield. One quarter of those receiving CICS grants are AHANA students.

In a letter to the governor, Fr. Kelley wrote, "I am deeply concerned about the potential impact of proposed plans on the students at Fairfield University, as well as on students at other institutions and on Connecticut families seeking a private higher education for their children in the State.

"As you must appreciate, independent colleges and universities are at the forefront of providing access to our less affluent citizens. With our high retention and graduation rates and personalized approach to students, Connecticut's independent colleges and universities provide the most appropriate educational setting for many students. Connecticut's independent sector awards 51 percent of all degrees in the State, including 61 percent of four-year degrees received by minority students. Connecticut residents make up 50 percent of enrolled students in the independent college sector."

Fr. Kelley pointed out that students receiving CICS funding borrow less than students who do not receive the grants, thereby graduating with less debt. He also cited statistics that show CICS funding is being provided to "high need" Connecticut students and families. That, he noted, allows institutions like Fairfield to increase its own assistance to Connecticut families with "medium need."

The governor's plan would deny CICS funding to institutions in the State with endowments exceeding $100 million. One state official has indicated that Fairfield, though its endowment exceeds that figure, would be exempt from the full cut because it has only recently surpassed the $100 million mark.

Nevertheless, Fr. Kelley wrote, "With respect to the $100 million endowment threshold set forth in the plan, such a sum hardly makes for a 'wealthy' institution. However, it is not a matter of the 'wealth' of the institutions, which it would seem arbitrary - or at best difficult - to define, but rather, the demonstrated financial aid needs of Connecticut families that should be of concern.

"The vast majority of private colleges and universities in the country have modest endowments similar to Fairfield's. These endowments are used to fund academic programs, financial aid, library and technology resources, and physical plant operations. They provide a measure of academic quality that tuition and grant revenue alone cannot support. Private colleges and universities do not have the benefit of taxpayer subsidy to support and reward the growth of their endowments such as the State's matching program for public institutions."

The exclusions proposed for independent institutions, he wrote, would mean that, in the private sector, efforts to grow endowments with private contributions would be punished.

The University President wrote that without CICS money, it would take approximately $40 million of new scholarship endowment funds for Fairfield to generate the equivalent of the $1.8 million Fairfield students received this year in CICS funds.

"The loss of CICS funds for many institutions would be almost impossible to absorb," Fr. Kelley wrote, "and the impact on Connecticut's neediest families would be dramatic. In a time of economic downturn, more students are eligible for need-based aid because of job loss, investment loss, or lowered income. Clearly, now is not the time to contemplate cutting important need-based programs such as CICS."

The Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC) is leading a statewide effort to fight the proposed cuts. In recent weeks, several major newspapers across the state, including the Hartford Courant and Connecticut Post, have editorialized against the plan.

The Courant wrote, "The aid constitutes the difference between opportunity and disappointment for young people. Most of the colleges affected may not be able to absorb this unplanned expense without cutbacks in programs or staff. The CICS grant is a small investment in diversity of education and the future of Connecticut scholars, most of whom are likely to pay it back with their talent."

According to the Post, "In these tough economic times, the state should be increasing aid to help state students whose families are equally hard hit, not reducing it. This is the first year the program has been fully funded. Let's not lose that edge. It's a solid investment in today's young scholars and in Connecticut's future. Lawmakers must reject any attempts to reduce funding for the CICS program."

Dispelling the Muslim myth

Gerhard Bowering, S.J., renowned expert on Islamic studies, presented this year's Bellarmine Lecture.

By Mila D'Antonio, Contributing Writer

After September 11, Muslim tolerance regressed, posing a greater challenge for the religion to assimilate into American society. During the annual Bellarmine Lecture held March 20 at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Gerhard Bowering, S.J., professor of Islamic studies at Yale University and author of several books about the same topic, tried to dispel recent myths associated with the religion by delivering a cultivated understanding of the Islamic faith.

"We have to respect and have tolerance for this way of life; they make up about 20 percent of the world's population...We cannot simply control the situation with military forces; we have to do it in a broader way - with common goals and a common ground," said Fr. Bowering.

During the lecture titled Islam's Great Awakening: Its Challenge for the West, Fr. Bowering lead the audience on an historical journey from the religion's conception by the prophet Mohammad in the 7th century, to its rapid expansion over an area that blankets dozens of countries in five blocks of the world, from Africa to South Asia. "It's a world that has always expanded in history and has hardly ever contracted. It has integrated other cultures and ethnic groups and has molded them together," Fr. Bowering said.

Since the 16th century when Imperialism resulted in Western control of many Islamic countries, movements of modernism, reformism, liberalism, secularism, and nationalism evolved in an effort to catch up with the West. By the end of the 20th century, fundamentalism led the way, and some internal strife by small groups arose along with the movement.

Although a small minority of Islam opposes the social order of the United States, people should not confuse terrorism with Islam, Fr. Bowering explained. The Muslim way of life includes almsgiving, long periods of fasting, pilgrimages and the belief that God is one. "Many Muslims cannot identify with bloody manifestations. Many find it difficult to stand up and speak out because of the pressure of society to conform to the Islamic way of life."

Muslims, he said, typically are rooted in poverty and illiteracy, stemming from the unequal distribution of wealth in their homelands. Fr. Bowering urges Western nations to obtain an understanding of Islam and work with Muslims to help correct common problems of hunger, social injustice, and lack of medical care - a call that he said will pose a challenge for the West. "Here we stand, facing an Islam much more serious than a year ago," he said. "We're dealing with a culture that challenges us, but we also have the potential for a much more peaceful future if we make a concerted effort."

Photo by Susan Warner

Susan Birge, Ph.D., director of counseling services, and Richard Radocchia, counselor, spoke at the Annual Conference of the New England Counseling Centers Directors on March 25 in Cape Cod regarding Fairfield University's hostage situation.

Cecelia Bucki, Ph.D., associate professor of history, offered insight into women, the labor force, and World War II in a talk on March 10 at the Fairfield Historical Society on Rosie the Riveter Comes to Bridgeport. Bucki, the author of the newly published book, Bridgeport's Socialist New Deal, 1915-36, was also honored by the Bridgeport Public Library on February 23, with a reception and book signing.

Four poems by Javier Campos, Ph.D., associate professor of modern languages and literatures, have been included with illustrations in the official national curriculum text book for high school seniors in Chile. The poems are included in the chapter, "Spanish and Latin American Literature" under the sub-section "Love and Eroticism in Literature and Art." The Ministry of Education has made this text book mandatory for Spanish education in all Chilean high schools.

Kevin Cassidy, Ph.D., professor of politics, was elected to the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee. He was the only victor among those challenging the regular party slate in the 130th District.

"Theoretical, Political, and Pedagogical Challenges in the Feminist Classroom: Our Struggles to Walk the Walk," an essay by Robbin Crabtree, Ph.D., chair and associate professor of communication, and David Sapp, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, has been selected to receive the Cecilia Conchar Farr Best Feminist Essay Award. They presented the essay at the 2001 Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association (RMMLA) Conference.

With the economy continuing to be a front-page story, several newspapers sought out the opinion of Edward Deak, Ph.D., professor of economics. In a New Haven Register article, he warned that while the recession is over, the economy will not be producing new jobs in Connecticut in the near future. Other papers quoting Deak included the Hartford Courant, Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate, Torrington Register Citizen, and Fairfield County Business Journal.

Deak was also the principal speaker at the 2002 Economic Forecast Breakfast on February 12, held by the Trumbull Chamber of Commerce and the Connecticut Better Business Bureau.

Philip Eliasoph, Ph.D., professor of visual and performing arts, was one of four panelists who discussed Paul Cadmus and his exhibition at Silvermine Galleries in New Canaan on March 24. Eliasoph is a biographer of the late artist.

In November, Joan Fleitas, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, was plenary speaker at the Kids 2001 conference in Akron, Ohio. She presented Beyond the Clinical Record: The Power of Presence in Caring for Children and Their Parents.

Harold Forsythe, Ph.D., director of Black Studies, served on a panel of academics and advocates assembled by James Santos, director of pupil services for Bridgeport Schools, to examine achievement gaps between white and minority students. The Connecticut Post and Bridgeport News reported that Forsythe encouraged Bridgeport educators to form alliances with local colleges. He said addressing the gap will determine the future of American democracy.

A Connecticut Post article about the Wellness Center at Bassick High School, managed by the Fairfield University School of Nursing, featured Lydia Greiner, coordinator of the program, Susan Dunigan, R.N., and Kim Fahey.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal & Sun interviewed Donald Greenberg, Ph.D., associate professor of politics, for an article on the use of the Internet by politicians. While the Internet is an inexpensive way to do grass-roots campaigning, he said the medium is largely unregulated, leaving it "subject to political use and abuse."

Sheila Grossman, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, participated as a test item writer for the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) board examination at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc., from March 9 through 13 in Chicago, Ill. Test item writers, who are selected and recommended by the state boards of nursing, create examination questions.

In February, Elise Harrison, counselor in Counseling Services, received her Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation is titled "Distance Learning: Faculty and Student Interactions in 18 to 24 year old University Students."

Katherine Kidd, Ph.D., director of International Studies, discussed the "Middle East Peace Process" on February 20, in the Westport Library, for a "Great Decisions" meeting of the Westport/ Norwalk branch of the American Association of University Women and the Westport Y's Women. The group also hosted David McFadden, Ph.D., professor of history, and Visiting Russian Scholar Marianna Mourvieva on February 12, for a discussion of "Russia Reexamined - New Politics and the Economy."

Gregory Koutmos, Ph.D., professor of finance, co-edited International Securities, volumes 1 & 2, with G. Philippatos. This collection of articles, which was released in December, is part of International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics, edited by Richard Roll and published by Edgar Elgar Publishing, Inc. He recently co-authored the article "Estimating Systematic Risk Using Time Varying Distributions" with J. Knif, which appeared in European Financial Management, 2002, Vol. 8, No. 1.

In October, Koutmos presented Modeling the Dynamics of Mean-Reversion in Interest Rates at the annual Financial Management Association (FMA) in Toronto.

The Greenwich Time and the Stamford Advocate, in articles on the Stamford-Norwalk area's being one of the most expensive places to live in the country, quoted Philip Lane, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, who said corporate headquarters drive up housing costs. He also said that the high cost of land drives up items such as grocery products.

Eve Andrée Laramée, director of the studio art program, recently presented a variety of lectures. She presented her paper Doubles, Alter-egos, Doppelgangers, Shadows, Clones, and other Surrogate Selves at the College Arts Association Conference in Philadelphia in conjunction with a panel discussion, "Free Radicals in the Classroom: Maverick Artists, Visionary Educators."

At Brown University, she presented Fluid Geographies: Exploring the Terrain Between Art and Cartography. Laramee also presented Installation Art: From Spectacle to Process at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Two papers by Mark LeClair, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, have been accepted for publication.

"Fighting the Tide: Alternative Trade Organizations in the Era of Global Free Trade" was accepted by World Development, and will appear in the June 2002 issue.

"Export Composition and Employment in the U.S." was accepted for publication by Economic Systems Research, the journal of the International Input-Output Society, and will appear in the June 2002 issue.

Doris Lippman, Ph.D., professor of nursing, in an interview with the New Haven Register, said the sixth-month anniversary of the September 11 attack can "trigger people back to the moment it happened." Those who have not have an opportunity to receive treatment or some kind of intervention, may become "more symptomatic, more likely to feel anxious," she noted.

Paula Gill Lopez, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and special education, was quoted in an article on bullying that was carried in the New Haven Register, the Middletown Herald Press and the New Britain Herald Press. She said the most effective method of confronting the problem is a "whole-school approach." She also said parents should "create the atmosphere that bullying is wrong, and where kids care about each other."

In an article on "Romance at Work is Tricky," the Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald in Pennsylvania quoted Lisa Mainiero, Ph.D., professor of management, who said she found "people involved in office romance were more interested in their work, more motivated," and more productive because they didn't want to be criticized for letting romance negatively affect their work.

James Mullen, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, presented Evolution of Irish American Literature Over the Last 100 Years at a communion breakfast for the Stamford Chapter of the Hibernian Society in Stamford. About 170 people attended the March 3 event.

In January, he presented Joyce vs. Yeats: Literary Conflict During the Irish Renaissance to the Fairfield Kiwanis Club.

Jim Thompson of WGHC Radio in Greenwich conducted an in-depth interview on the Middle East with Marcie Patton, Ph.D., chair of the politics department. In addition, Patton is participating in a pilot project of the Southern Connecticut Library Council that is holding book discussions on the Middle East at libraries in New Haven and Hartford Counties. Patton has prepared study guides for two of the books being used.

John Orman, Ph.D., professor of politics, was quoted in an Associated Press story, carried throughout Connecticut, that reported on Bridgeport's Mayor Joseph Ganim's state of the city address. Orman said it was "standard operating procedure for politicians" to not discuss anything negative, but rather to focus on their accomplishments.

Several papers by Gita Rajan, Ph.D., associate professor of English, have been accepted for publication. "Deploying Mystical Realism: Chitra Divakaruni's Mistress of Spices" was published in the March 2002 issue of Meridians. "Pliant & Compliant: Colonial Indian Art and Postcolonial Indian Cinema" appeared in the March 2002 of Woman: A Cultural Review. "Body Count, Body Talk, and Other Multicultural Issues" will be published in the 2002 issue of Concerns, and "'Diaphaneite' to Gaston de Latour: Pater's Arc of Anxiety" will be published by Auto/Biography Studies this summer.

In March, Katherine Schwab, Ph.D., associate professor of art history, presented The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cast Collection at Fairfield: Its Present Use and Future Directions, at a symposium called "A Postmodern Look at Classical Casts: Curators, Educators and Arts." The symposium, which was organized by Prof. Harriet Senie, director of the museum studies program, CCNY, and sponsored by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), was linked to the opening exhibition, "Re-Cast: Postmodern Classical," which was open through March 25 in the Olympic Tower Public Atrium in New York City.

The Connecticut Post interviewed Antonio Simoes, Ph.D., professor of TESOL, Foreign Language and Bilingual/Multicultural Education, for an article on foreign language tapes for children. While he said acquiring a new language is best done before the age of five or as an adult, he explained that not all children will learn just because they are taught, because not every child has strong language skills.

André Willis, instructor of religious studies, spoke at Teikyo Post University's third annual Black History and Multicultural Luncheon on February 22.

Book reception honors faculty authors

The College of Arts and Sciences honored five recently published faculty authors at a book party and reception held March 20.

Pictured above are (l-r) Maureen Ford, applied ethics research assistant and co-editor of Lisa Newton's, Taking Sides; Lisa H. Newton, Ph.D., professor of philosophy (Watershed 3: Ten Cases in Environmental Ethics; Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Business Ethics and Society; and Ethics and Sustainability: Sustainable Development and the Moral Life); Catherine Dillingham, adjunct professor of applied ethics and co-author of Taking Sides; Cecelia Bucki, Ph.D., associate professor of history (Bridgeport's Socialist New Deal, 1915-36); Patricia Behre-Miskimin, Ph.D., associate professor of history (One King, One Law, Three Faiths: Religion and the Rise of Absolutism in Seventeenth Century Metz); R. James Long, Ph.D., chair of philosophy (The Life and Works of Richard Fishacre OP: Prolegomena to the Edition of his Commentary on the "Sentences"); and J. Hayes Hurley, Ph.D., adjunct professor of philosophy (Those Brownsville Blues).

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Service Anniversaries

April 2002

5 years
Stephen Switter

Condolences
Richard Choyce, the father of Sue Peterson, assistant to the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, died on March 7.
John R. Connelly, the father of Mark J. Connelly, S.J., of the Fairfield Jesuit Community, died on March 17.

New Employees
Richard McCarty - Major gifts officer, Advancement
Lisa Monteiro - Academic counselor, Talent Search

Fairfield Awards Dinner to feature Avon CEO

By Nancy Habetz, Director of Media Relations

Andrea Jung, the CEO who successfully transformed Avon Products, Inc., by defining its vision as the company for women, will receive the Fairfield University Distinguished Leadership Award and give the keynote address at the Fairfield Awards Dinner on April 3. Held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City, the dinner benefits Fairfield's Multicultural Scholarship Fund.

Also honored at the dinner will be Thomas J. Regan, S.J., associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of philosophy; and two alumni, the Honorable William J. Lavery, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court for the State of Connecticut, and Laura Incerto, former president of the Alumni Association.

Since taking over Avon in November 1999, Andrea Jung has given Avon products a more sophisticated look. New blockbuster products have been launched with amazing speed, including a new line called "Wellness," which brought items such as aromatic therapy oils and vitamins to market.

In a bold move she introduced Avon products to retail stores where sales are expected to reach $300 million in five years. She revitalized the Avon Lady concept, developing a leadership program that rewards representatives for recruiting other Avon Ladies.

Avon is now the world's leading direct seller of beauty and related products with $5.7 billion in annual revenues. In the little over two years that Jung has been CEO, annual sales have climbed from 1.5 percent to 6 percent and Avon's stock rose over 70 percent.

Fluent in Chinese (Mandarin), she is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.

Thomas J. Regan, S.J., associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of philosophy,will receive the Distinguished Faculty Award. An inspiring teacher who challenges his students to expand their horizons, Fr. Regan had just finished his doctorate and moved into a full-time teaching position in 1984 when students of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society, selected him Teacher of the Year.

The key to his effectiveness as a teacher is that he truly loves to be in a classroom with young people, and his enthusiasm for his subject is contagious. A double major in history and philosophy at Boston College, he says, "I still love history, but what could be more fascinating than philosophy?"

Ultimately students come to college, "not to get a degree, but to get a life," he has said, and life is what students discuss in Fr. Regan's class. "The kinds of questions we're asking help students develop their critical thinking and self identity."

Currently he is finishing a two-year appointment as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. This fall he will return to teaching and become co-director of Fairfield's new Ignatian Residential College.

In addition to his degree from Boston College, Fr. Regan earned a master's degree and doctorate in philosophy from Fordham University, a master of divinity, with distinction from Weston School of Theology, and a post graduate diploma from Heythrop College at the University of London, in pastoral theology.

The Honorable William J. Lavery '59, chief judge of the appellate court for the State of Connecticut, is being honored with the Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Throughout his 21-year tenure on the bench, Judge Lavery has earned the respect and admiration of Connecticut's legal community for his scholarship, fairness, and independence. Attorneys who have worked with him or appeared in his court, describe him as being an independent thinker who is committed to Connecticut's residents, "particularly the disadvantaged and the disabled," while maintaining a "dominant concern with procedural fairness balanced by a deference to the fact-finders in a case."

Judge Lavery served from 1991 to 2000 on the Judicial Evaluation Advisory Panel and from 2000-2001 on the Chief Justice's Committee to Revise Grievance Rules.

A graduate of Fordham Law School, he served in the United States Army Reserve, where he was assigned to two tours of active duty from through 1962.

While in private practice, Judge Lavery was elected to the Bridgeport Board of Alderman (1963-1967) and the Connecticut House of Representatives (1967-1971). Throughout the 1970s, he served as counsel for the Bridgeport Housing Authority, the Majority Party in the Connecticut House of Representatives, and the Town of Newtown. He was vice-chairman of the Connecticut Commission on Hospitals and Healthcare and a member of the State's Council on Environmental Quality.

He is a director of the Pope John Paul II Center for Health Care in Danbury and the Aids Project Greater Danbury, and is a trustee of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library in Newtown.

Laura Incerto '81 will receive the Alumni Service Award. A past president of the Fairfield University Alumni Association, where she has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1984, Incerto has served on the Fairfield University Trustees Advisory Council since 1998, and is a long-time member of the University's President's Circle.

Elected president of the Alumni Association in 1998, Incerto helped bring to completion the building project for the new Alumni House, located at the entrance to the University. In addition, she initiated a revision of the bylaws for the Alumni Association.

As a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Incerto served on several committees, including the Alumnae Forum, Undergraduate and Graduate Relations, the Fairfield Awards Dinner, Sons and Daughters Scholarship, and Golf. As vice president, she helped plan events for the celebrations of the University's 50th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of co-education.

She serves as Development Committee Co-chair for the All Saints Catholic Regional Grammar School in Norwalk and is a member of the Legal Advisory Board for Norwalk Community Technical College.

Dow Chemical recruited her for its management training program in Atlanta, Georgia, She has since worked as a trade show marketing manager with Reed in Stamford, Conn., and an account executive with International Paper Company. Earlier this year she joined Bridgeport Metal Goods in Stratford as a sales manager.

Regan/Incerto photos by Jean Santopatre

Primavera and Quell receive national recognition

Judy Primavera, Ph.D. (pictured left, center), professor of psychology, received an SBC National Telecommunications Partnership award in recognition for her program that helps bridge the "digital divide" for underserved communities. Her Computer Technology Training Project at ABCD Head Start in Bridgeport was awarded an honorable mention in a ceremony held at Trinity College on March 19.

The project teaches preschool children and their families how to use computers to improve school readiness skills, especially emergent literacy. Primavera initiated the Fairfield University-ABCD (Action for Bridgeport Community Development) partnership in 1993. The agency's computers and software are made possible through the combined resources of the University and ABCD, SNET, and funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Community Technology Centers program.

In addition to the Trinity event, Primavera attended a national awards ceremony in Washington D.C. earlier in the month where the Fairfield University-ABCD Technology Project was one of 18 programs recognized nationally.

Standing with Primavera are some of her students and co-workers from Fairfield University and ABCD. Back row (l-r): Tim DiGiacomo '02; Tammy Mardirossian; Charles Allen, S.J., executive assistant to the University President; Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Stacy Ruebenacker. Front row (l-r): Patty Li '02; Dorothy Spears; Thelma Peeples; Primavera; Tomalyn Williams; and Peter Weiderlight.

Photo by Nancy Habetz

Theresa Tavella Quell, MSN, RN, assistant dean of the School of Nursing and Fairfield alumna from the Class of 1979, has been honored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) as a Fellow for the 2002 Leadership for Academic Nursing Program. She is one of 60 individuals nationwide selected to participate in this program.

Supported by the Helene Fuld Health Trust, the program develops and enhances leadership skills in new and emerging administrators in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs.

The year-long program will provide Quell and the other participants with a focused assessment, two leadership conferences, and the opportunity to work with a professional nursing mentor.

Quell is looking forward to this opportunity. "The profession is currently experiencing a nationwide shortage of nurses and nursing faculty. Strong academic leadership will be critical in the next few years to address this issue. The School of Nursing already has a cadre of individuals with outstanding leadership abilities, and this experience and mentorship will provide me with a set of skills that will increase the strength of the School."

In addition to her leadership position at the School of Nursing, Quell has been a member of the Norwalk Board of Education for the past ten years, serving as chairperson and vice chairperson. She earned her MSN in nursing education from Western Connecticut State University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Administration program at the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation focuses on the role of the academic dean.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

A Passover Seder experience
The University community celebrated a Passover Seder in the McEleney Room on March 21. Led by Ellen Umansky, Ph.D., professor of religious studies and director of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, the event included the story of the Exodus and the sharing of traditional Passover foods. Passover began on Wednesday evening, March 27.

The Seder plate (pictured above, right) holds the foods that signify the struggle of the Israelites' journey to freedom: maror (bitter herbs or horseradish), parsley, hard-boiled eggs, shank bone, and charoset. Matzah is eaten together with these foods.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Pilgrimage to Haiti
In February, Paul E. Carrier, S.J., University chaplain, and Doug Perlitz '92 gave The Most Reverend William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, a personal tour of Project Pierre Toussaint, the home and school for homeless boys Perlitz founded in Cap Haitien, Haiti. The Bishop's day-trip to the home was part of his pilgrimage to Haiti. Pictured above (l-r) are Errod, a student and resident of the Pierre Toussaint Village, Doug Perlitz, Bishop Lori, and Fr. Carrier.

Easter reflections: Celebrate with laughter

By Paul E. Carrier, S.J., University Chaplain

In his play, Lazarus Laughed, Eugene O'Neill recounts the story of Jesus' friend who was brought back to life. To everyone he meets, Lazarus exclaims,

"Laugh with me!
Death is dead.
Fear is no more.
There is only life.
There is only laughter!"

O'Neill tells us, "Lazarus begins to laugh, softly at first, then full throated, a laugh so full of a complete acceptance of life, a profound assertion of joy in living, so devoid of fear that it is infectious with love."

Like Lazarus, we too are twice born, eternal life is ours now; forever is today!

Jesus too must have laughed, with a joy as expressed in the sculpture of the Risen Christ in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola. In the sculpture, Jesus looks upward to the source of ultimate life and love, celebrating that eternal life is here and now.

With the Easter event, God not only has the last word, but the last laugh. All the evil in the world, all the hatred, and all the shabbiness cannot withstand the powerful surge of God's love. As we continue to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection let's imagine:

What if God danced instead of walked?

What if angels told jokes and St. Peter laughed a lot?

What if it's really true that God loves me?

What else can Easter mean? What can all that running from tomb to city, with breakfast by the sea mean, except that God is irrepressible joy and that life with God is a celebration. Isn't that what the Upper Room must have been like, filled with people who knew fear, who knew pain and suffering, but with the Risen Jesus were bursting with new life and confidence?

What better way to celebrate the Resurrection than to laugh through our tears. This is not a time for lectures, arguments, or proofs. Remember Lazarus, look to Jesus, and remember those special people who radiate Easter life in our own lives. Each of us could make a list of parents, family, and friends whose faith and laughter point us to the eternal life deep within that is ours now, today.

Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the former Superior General of the Jesuits, was such a person for me. He was a man who, as a Christian and a Jesuit, radiated life in his suffering and sickness. When I pronounced my final vows in 1983, I wrote to him to ask for his blessing. For all of my Jesuit life he had been General. Now he was suffering the effects of a debilitating stroke. A letter came back that read, "Although Fr. Arrupe cannot speak or hear well, he can still feel. He was touched by your letter."

Of death Fr. Arrupe had written in his reflections, "Death is to throw yourself into the arms of the Lord. I hope it will be a consummatum est, all is finished, the final Amen of my life and the first Alleluia of my eternity."

As we remember all of the Easter people in our lives, we can hear them say in chorus,

"Laugh with me!
Death is dead.
Fear is no more.
There is only life.
There is only laughter!"

Forum addresses issues of race and education

By Jennifer K. Covino, Contributing Writer

Fairfield University and other colleges with largely homogenous faculties and student bodies must do more than modify curricula and sponsor activities that address issues of homophobia, sexism, and racism. Instead, they must become agents for social change who recognize the privileges afforded them, confront their fears about other racial and socioeconomic groups, and produce meaningful collaborations with the urban communities that often lie just beyond their campus borders.

That was the message delivered on March 23 during an all-day forum at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business titled Race & Education: Conversation, Collaboration, and Action. The forum, sponsored by the Diocese of Bridgeport's Office of Social Concerns and a number of on-campus departments, was attended by about 100 teachers, administrators, parents, and students from the University and Bridgeport public schools.

Morning panels focused on the ways in which issues of race affect Fairfield University, while in the afternoon, the discussion turned to how the University can continue to share resources and build upon lasting relationships with the Bridgeport public schools. Breakout sessions provided opportunities for brainstorming and networking between the two educational bodies.

First to speak was Alice McIntyre, Ph.D., professor in the Graduate School of Education. McIntyre said she engages her students in challenging and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about "whiteness" and "skin color privilege." Some students, she said, respond that color and race "don't matter." Their responses are a dead giveaway, she said, that these students don't see the privileges that come with being part of a majority racial group, or the disadvantages that hamper those of other colors.

McIntyre also related a long-term project in which 13 of her graduate education students worked with a sixth-grade class in Bridgeport. The students became intimately familiar with the challenges facing urban youth and overcame their fears of working in a city they associated with violence and crime, she said.

Fairfield University's current partnerships in Bridgeport, while not directly referenced at the forum, include (among others): a Family Literacy Project run by psychology professor Judy Primavera, Ph.D., that, in partnership with the urban Head Start Program, engages more than 250 University students with preschoolers and their parents to foster literacy and technology skills; the School of Nursing's Health Promotion Center, through which undergraduate and graduate nursing students provide clinical screenings and workshops for underserved populations; and the School of Engineering's Earn and Learn program, which helps Bridgeport students pursue engineering studies at Fairfield University while working in a related job. Winston Tellis, Ph.D., takes Fairfield undergraduates from the Dolan School of Business to Bassick High School each semester for informal get-togethers with students interested in going to college.

Also benefiting Bridgeport school children are scores of undergraduates who tutor in after-school programs weekly at the McGivney Center, the Burroughs Community Center, and the Boys' and Girls' Club through Campus Ministry. In addition, the federally funded TRIO programs on campus (Project Excel, Upward Bound, and Academic Talent Search) work primarily with middle- and high school students from Bridgeport and other urban school districts. These and other community partnerships afford Fairfield University students the means to challenge whatever personal stereotypes they may have about other racial or socioeconomic groups, through direct interaction.

Janet Helms, Ph.D., an education professor at Boston College, spoke on racial identity, outlining six schemas that affect how people interact with those of another race. Those who think "race doesn't matter" have often had little experience with people of color, she said. "I sometimes call these people the 'happy racists,' because in this country, the only way you can be happy with the racial dynamics is to deny them," Helms said.

At the other end of the spectrum is a schema Helms calls "autonomy." People at this stage recognize that being white has both positive and negative implications, are willing to give up white privileges, and may become involved in changing societal structures, she said. In the classroom, a teacher who has a more sophisticated understanding of racial identity treads a thin line, she said. The teacher must help students grow, without pushing them away with ideas that are too uncomfortable.

Mary Brabeck, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education at Boston College, shared how her institution partnered with the YMCA to secure grant money for an "extended services" school in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston. During any given week, there are 85 Boston College students serving at the school, she said.

According to Brabeck, Catholic, Jesuit institutions have a special obligation to counter the perception that universities are "detached, aloof, and inattentive," producing efforts that have little relevance to the communities that surround them. "The real concerns of the poor must find their way into our research," she said.

Some of the most compelling testimony came from a panel of young people who shared how issues of race have shaped their experiences at Fairfield. Junior Jennifer Ramos, a Latina, said she is bothered by classmates who assume that her race, and not her hard work, is responsible for the scholarships and other opportunities that have come her way. Ramos said she graduated fifth in a class of 450 from a high school with a racial mix much like Fairfield's. "As a student of color, I feel like people are constantly watching us, expecting us not to succeed," she said.

On-campus sponsors of the "Race & Education" forum were: the Humanities Institute of the College of Arts and Sciences; the departments of history, philosophy and modern languages and literatures; the black studies, legal studies, and women's studies programs; and the Center for Multicultural Relations.

Photo by Susan Warner

 

School of Engineering

William Dornfeld, Ph.D.: Renaissance engineer

By Carolyn Malkin, Contributing Writer

What do a Chinook helicopter, a private yacht, and a refrigerator have in common? They all vibrate when they run, and analyzing those mechanical vibrations is what kept William Dornfeld busy for the first 19 years of his career. Now an adjunct professor of mechanical engineering at Fairfield University and a project manager at ASML in Ridgefield, Dornfeld looks back fondly on the early days.

"I started out listening to refrigerators," he laughs. To earn his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dornfeld spent the summer of 1973 at a Whirlpool appliance factory in Evansville, Indiana. For his dissertation project, he built a machine that could detect unusual vibrations in the cooling components of refrigerators as they traveled along the assembly line. His device, "an acoustic microphone lens that looked like a venetian blind," separated the good refrigerators from bad ones with damaged or missing parts.

Later, as a research specialist for AMF, Inc. in Stamford, he worked on testing and analyzing vibrations in a wide variety of products from skis to private yachts. "With the skis, we were concerned about safety - focusing on the critical point when the bindings should release," says Dornfeld. "With the yachts, we were worried about reducing vibrations for passengers and making sure their Wedgwood china wouldn't shake out of the cabinets."

Tall and thin with a salt-and-pepper goatee and calm green eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses, he has a dry sense of humor that defies the stereotypical image of an engineer. "I'll admit I was a science geek," says Dornfeld, who grew up in the small town of Horicon, Wisconsin, "but I think most engineers have to be good communicators. You can't just sit at your computer. To do the job right, you have to make the rounds, ask questions, and collaborate with your colleagues."

He emphasizes this collaborative process in his Machine Design I course, which he has been teaching for the past four years at night. Not only do his students learn the basics of bearings, bolts, and gears, but they practice what Dornfeld calls reverse engineering: taking things apart to figure out why they were built that way. Students in his advanced course, Machine Design II, form teams to work on a challenging project - for example, designing a portable lift for changing a car's muffler in a parking lot while the owner is at work. "The end result is not that important," says Dornfeld. "What really matters is that they are learning the process: how to brainstorm, choose the best solutions, and work together."

He knows he must be doing something right, because his former students keep appearing as new employees at ASML (formerly Silicon Valley Group), where Dornfeld has worked since 1996. The company makes equipment for manufacturing high-speed computer chips like the Intel Pentium processor. Computer chips are complex integrated circuits, built up in layers on top of a silicon wafer, like miniature cakes on a tray. The circuit patterns are "burned" into the computer chips by means of a laser. The shorter the wavelength of the light source used to place the lines on a chip, the faster the chip and the more transistors it can accommodate, increasing the number of tasks it can perform.

Chips are currently being made with deep ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 193 nanometers. In the future, chip manufacturers hope to use extreme ultraviolet light, or soft x-rays, which have a wavelength of only 13 nanometers. "Every new generation of machine is making the circuitry lines smaller and overlaying them better," explains Dornfeld. "The challenges are getting the new light sources and making the lenses." Working in the lithography division, he leads a research effort to develop a device to expose the wafers more uniformly during the manufacturing process.

From refrigerators to high-speed computer chips, Dornfeld has proven himself to be a true Renaissance engineer. In his spare time, he fixes cars and tinkers with woodworking and home-repair projects.

In fact, his mechanical handiness can be somewhat of a social burden. "When we're visiting friends and they say something's broken, my wife always volunteers my services," says Dornfeld. "She'll say, 'Oh, Bill can fix that.' " Photo by Jean Santopatre

IRC courses reflect a tapestry of academic disciplines

By Barbara Kiernan, Director of University Publications

With the fall course lineup in place for the Ignatian Residential College (IRC), more than 125 freshmen began registering last week for the classes that will anchor their experience in the learning/living program slated to begin next semester. As structured, the IRC will give students selected for the program the chance to study, live, seek, search, and explore life's deeper questions in the context of community - a community based in Loyola Hall.

IRC's academic component includes students' taking two core courses in common each semester, courses purposefully adapted by the professor to integrate meaning-of-life questions into the fabric of the syllabus. For the fall, students have twelve courses (a total of 15 sections) from which to choose, including selections from the departments of philosophy, religious studies, politics, nursing, psychology, communication, and business, as well as the program in peace and justice studies. Spring semester will also include options in the sciences, history, and visual and performing arts.

"In shaping the course selections, we wanted to give students maximum flexibility in terms of their schedules and had to consider what they had already studied freshman year," says David McFadden, Ph.D., professor of history. With assistant professor of accounting Roselie McDevitt, Sc.D., and assistant professor of biology Glenn Sauer, Ph.D., McFadden is coordinating this important academic effort.

Philosophy and religious studies courses will be a constant thread uniting what the coordinators envision as an ever-expanding tapestry of academic disciplines. Each semester, students will take at least one religious studies or philosophy course, plus one from another area.

"In some disciplines, making a 'fit' with the meaning-of-life undercurrent of IRC presents a challenge, because the connections are not immediately obvious," McFadden acknowledges. What the invitation does offer, however, is a chance for faculty in all disciplines to reflect on what gives meaning to their lives and how that relates (or not) to what they do. Thus, the Lilly Endowment grant that launched the IRC will also fund summer seminars for interested faculty, similar to those that had a major influence in re-shaping courses for the diversity requirement, international studies, technology, Irish studies, and more.

Among those who have thought through the challenge is Sauer, who will teach God and Modern Biology in spring 2003. "I've always been interested in the dialogue between science and religion, but never got to explore it until I came to Fairfield two years ago," he explains. For many scientists, delving more deeply into scientific inquiry and thought results in a significant challenge to traditional beliefs. Some reject their learned beliefs; others deal with inconsistencies by compartmentalizing science and religion. Sauer's approach attempts to integrate the two through the course he has developed with funding from the Templeton Foundation. "In science, courses are content-heavy," he says, "and have to be dedicated to the subject. But it's important that students understand the places where science and religion intersect and the issues that intersection can raise. In this course, I try to show that there are many instances where scientific discoveries can have a meaningful application to religious thought."

Business faculty faced a similar challenge, not because business and faith have no connection, but because the business core curriculum coupled with the required liberal arts core leaves little room for free electives. A team-taught course, Special Topics in Business Ethics, does meet the IRC requirement of a deliberate focus on meaning and values. "One problem we ran into," says McDevitt, "is that most of the interested faculty teach only upper-level courses. Those can't be taken sophomore year." The new Special Topics course, approved for a year by Dolan School of Business Dean Norm Solomon, Ph.D., gives some of these faculty members a way to participate. Others have decided, for the short term, to serve as mentors, in the hope that eventually the Ignatian Residential College will expand to include upper-level studies.

Says McFadden, "What we're doing on the faculty side is broader than Fairfield's Jesuit or Catholic mission. It's about faculty who are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Marxist, Buddhist, Muslim, and agnostic, willing to examine what's personally meaningful and pondering its influence on what they do. This is vocation in its broadest sense. Courses can be shaped without being confessional, which link a given discipline to meaning-of-life questions. Our hope is that more and more disciplines will be represented in IRC course options as time goes on."

That hope recently took an interesting twist when Patricia Calderwood, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, expressed interest in doing a scholarly research project on the Ignatian Residential College. Author of Learning Community: Finding Common Ground in Difference, Calderwood has done extensive study on what makes a community - the process, the problems, and hallmarks indicating that the words and the reality match. "I'm very interested in exploring questions of perception such as, 'What does community mean,' 'what's it going to look like?' and 'what do communities do?' " she explains. "My focus has been on cultural assumptions and practices as they relate to the notion of community, so I have a framework for looking at both the concept and the reality. I'm hoping to become involved in a meaningful way in the Ignatian Residential College because I'm wholeheartedly in favor of the project."

Meanwhile, the IRC's faculty coordinators have successfully jumped their first two hurdles, one anticipated, one not. The former involved approving a list of courses for fall 2002 (see sidebar). The latter loomed large when organizers realized that a number of 100- and 200-level IRC courses had prerequisites. Only about half the students had taken the religious studies and philosophy requirement during freshman year, and three-quarters had not taken the basic history course. That dilemma will work itself out through creative scheduling, allowing those who need core prerequisites to take them first semester along with IRC courses, saving the upper-level IRC course for spring term.

"In light of the opportunity the Ignatian Residential College affords," says McFadden, "we may need to take a closer look at how best to advise freshmen on the distribution of their core."

Barbara Guenette: Dance is her passion

By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor

Barbara Guenette, operations assistant in the Office of Alumni Relations, credits her once-a-week tap dancing class with keeping her fit from head to toe. "I get a great cardiovascular workout," she says. "Dancing also exercises my brain, since I have to remember all of the dance steps and the different combinations." From rehearsing routines complete with maxie fords and pull-backs to toe-stands, this dancing dynamo is no stranger to the stage. In fact, she's been dancing all her life.

As a girl, Guenette studied ballet with Irene Corner, and had additional training at Carnegie Hall under Vitale Fokine, son of the famous Russian dancer and choreographer, Michel Fokine.

During her teen years, her toe talent led to an audition for Radio City's ballet troupe. "We had to do ballet exercises and routines on the spot," she says. "It was so exciting to be there, even backstage. I didn't realize how big the theater was until I was actually there!" She ended up making the final list - which was four pages long - but not the final cut. "Unfortunately, my height - or lack of it - was a factor," she explains.

Throughout her childhood, Guenette's family played a special role in her dancing future - especially her mother, who would sit in on every class and rehearsal. "My mother would come with me and write down all of the steps we were rehearsing, as well as the notes from the pianist's accompaniment," Guenette explains. "Then, since she played the piano, she would play the same accompaniment during the days I didn't have class and make me practice at home."

When ballet classes had her travelling to New York City on a regular basis, she debated moving in with her aunt who lived on Long Island. "My family lived in Stratford, so the trips to New York took time and money." In the end, she decided against it, but still kept on dancing.

when guenette herself became a mother, she continued her dancing, enrolling in the classes her daughters took. and today, they are still moving together - only now, for guenette, it's tap dancing that has won her over. once a week for the past three years, she and her daughters have taken an advanced adult tap class together at dancework studio in monroe (two of her granddaughters are in a children's class). most of the other dancers guenette studies with are in their 20s and 30s. and guess what - guenette isn't the one struggling to keep up. in fact, she has danced front and center in the studio's last two sold-out shows. "i love the shows; they are always the most fun days of the year," she says. last year's performance combined tap with irish step dancing, creating a "lord of the dance"-type number. Two years ago, the group tapped to swing music. Complete with sequined costumes, the dancers' smiles are as sparkly as their dresses.

And that's especially true for Guenette, who wouldn't dream of hanging up her tap shoes anytime soon.

Photos by Jean Santopatre

Coffee talk
Students, faculty, and visitors practiced their German at March 14's "Kaffeeklatsch" in the Barone Campus Center. Organized by the German Club, Iris Bork-Goldfield, Ph.D., and Eileen Wilkinson, Ph.D., instructors of German in the department of modern languages and literatures, the monthly coffee hour includes conversation, perusing of German periodicals, and sampling delicious homemade German sweets (such as Gugelhupf and Butterkuchen).

German speakers of all levels are welcome to stop in and practice their conversational skills. For more information, contact Iris Bork-Goldfield at ibgoldfield@mail.fairfield.edu. Pictured above are (l-r) Gabi McGuckian; Nicole McGuckian '04; Alyssa DeSiena '04; Karin Fischer, German exchange student; and Bork-Goldfield.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Irish Scholarship recipient reaches out to children of Haiti

By Amy Torchen '03, Public Relations Intern

When 22-year-old Denise Kelly of Limerick, Ireland, was chosen as the recipient of this year's Father John M. Conlisk Scholarship, she didn't expect her studies at Fairfield University to take her to Haiti. A graduate student studying for her master's degree in international business, however, she heard of Campus Ministry's Global Outreach program to Cap Haitian, Haiti, and wanted to learn more.

The program is in keeping with the Jesuit ideal of a commitment to serving the poor. Kelly, who has done volunteer work in Ireland, immediately jumped at the chance to volunteer during the semester break in January. Her destination was Project Pierre Toussaint, a haven for homeless boys started and directed by Doug Perlitz '92. The project provides a school and meals for the boys. In recent years, cottages have been added that house eight boys each, along with a houseparent.

"Before I went to Haiti, people asked me what difference would it make to go there. What I learned from my trip is that everything makes a difference and that everyone can make a difference. This trip just put everything into perspective for me," Kelly says.

In Haiti, the Fairfield group witnessed children who wore the same tattered clothing every day. But what amazed the students most was how happy the children were. The children had nothing, but they gave so much. "I got back ten times what I gave," Kelly says.

Spending time with children who have so little was an illuminating experience for the Fairfield group. They found that the Haitian children wore bright smiles on their faces, and love radiated from within their hearts for those who share time and energy in helping them to help themselves. It was obvious that these people deeply care for and respect one another. Each day Kelly and her fellow students were warmly welcomed with hugs and kisses from children who had so much love to share. "It is a beautiful thing," she notes, "to watch small children with empty hands reaching out and yet giving so much."

Paul Carrier, S.J., University chaplain and one of the leaders on the trip, says, "Denise was not only a wonderful presence for the Fairfield group but for the children as well, because she has such a loving and kind presence about her."

Kelly has continued her volunteer activities by tutoring Bridgeport high school students in Bridgeport with their English language skills and other schoolwork. Kelly says, "I have built relationships with the students through mentoring and being their friend. It is a very rewarding experience."

Since 1991, The Irish Scholarship Committee's Father John M. Conlisk Scholarship Fund has provided 18 Irish-born students the opportunity to live and study at a local university for one year. It is dedicated to the purpose of perpetuating the Irish culture and strengthening educational and cultural relationships.

Obesity, weight, and our health

Hark back to your younger years when the health literature was just beginning to talk about normal weight. The norms at that time were based on life insurance data that indicated the normal range of weight for your height. There was also the educational program referred to as "pinch an inch," which touted an easy way to determine if you were beyond the normal weight range by pinching the skin and related tissue at your waist. If you could pinch at least one inch of tissue, you were overweight.

These early attempts to educate people about weight gain were offset by the series of social and lifestyle changes as well as the flood of seemingly conflicting information about food. For children, playing outdoors has been replaced by more formalized sports, TV, and video/computer games. Parents drive them to activities rather than having them walk or ride bicycles. While these changes are justified, given where we live and the changes that have taken place in our society, they contribute to children's being less physically active than those of the previous generation. As a recent article in the American Journal of Public Health emphasized, portion sizes in most restaurants have increased by 150% to 200% since the 1960s. A typical meal at a popular fast food restaurant used to consist of a single hamburger, small fries, and a small soda. Today the typical meal is a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a large soda, with pressure through special deals to supersize the fries and drink or to add additional items such as bacon. These changes lead to a dramatic increase in the fat and calorie content of the meal. And today, we tend to eat out more often. When we do eat at home, it is seldom as a family group over a balanced meal. These changes in our social patterns contribute to further risk of weight gain and fat deposits.

All of these changes are background to a report released two weeks ago. This report is important because, for the first time, obesity (and overweight) surpassed smoking as the number one risk factor for heart disease. This means that obesity has had a sharp increase in the United States in the past ten years. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimates that about 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Obesity and overweight substantially increase the risk of death from high blood pressure; high blood lipid levels; adult onset diabetes; heart disease; stroke; gallbladder disease; osteoarthritis; sleep apnea and respiratory problems; and endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. More importantly, obesity and overweight limit physical functioning, contribute to the onset of other health problems, and contribute to fewer productive years of life.

In order to assess your obesity risk, you first need to calculate your body mass index (BMI). There is a handy table at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.htm for your use. You then need to measure your waist circumference and compare it to the table at: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/bmi_dis.htm. The third step is to determine if you have other lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and/or high blood sugar. People who are obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) or those who are overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) and have two or more risk factors, need to lose weight. Even a small weight loss (just 10 percent of your current weight) will help to lower your risk of developing diseases associated with obesity. People who are overweight, do not have a high waist measurement, and have fewer than two risk factors need to prevent further weight gain rather than lose weight. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute web site on obesity provides ideas and suggestions for weight loss, food preparation, dining out, and physical activity. Go to the following URL for this information: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/index.htm.

So eat healthy foods, exercise, and shed those pounds this spring!

Philip A. Greiner, DNSc, RN

Associate Professor of Nursing; Director, Undergraduate program; Director, Health Promotion Center; and Health Partners Fellow, International Center for Health Leadership Development

Sports

Bamann brothers - together again on the lacrosse field

By Pat Nugent, Assistant Director of Sports Information & Assistant Hockey Coach

At first glance you might not notice they're twins, although it is certainly obvious that they are brothers. From the first time you hear Troy chime into one of brother Garrett's sentences, you know they are bonded as only twins can be.

"They're very close," says Ted Spencer, head men's lacrosse coach. "They really are good friends, good teammates, and are very supportive of each other."

Last season, however, the two were not as close. Each was leading the attack for a different squad. The Bamann Brothers, who have played together for as long as they can remember, were at opposite ends of town - Troy at Fairfield University and Garrett at Sacred Heart University. "I thought I wanted to be a little bit separate from Troy and do my own thing," says Garrett. "But then I changed my mind and decided to come here."

So Garrett transferred to Fairfield and the two were reunited for their sophomore year. "It was an adjustment at first, but now it's kind of nice," says Troy about his brother's arrival. "I had my time, too, and needed to get away a little bit. But this is good for him and it's good for me, so I think it's working out great."

The two hail from Victor, New York, and are products of the Pittsford High School lacrosse program, where they led their team to a Monroe County Championship in 1999. After posting stellar numbers in high school, the two were selected to compete on the Western New York Empire State team, then went on for a post-graduate year at Maine's Bridgeton Academy.

They credit their time at Bridgeton for landing them here at Fairfield. The two also considered the University of Massachusetts, the Army and Naval Academies, and Ohio State - but, according to Troy, he chose Fairfield because "it's a great school and has a good lacrosse program where I thought I could play right off the bat. I didn't want to go somewhere I'd have to sit on the bench."

With his first full season under his belt, Troy certainly doesn't have to worry about spending too much time on the bench this spring. In his freshman campaign, he led the Stags in scoring with 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points. He also ranked 19th in the country for assists per game (1.73), and third among NCAA Division I rookies for points per game (3.27), eighth for goals per game (1.53), and third for assists per game. For his efforts, he was named the Rookie of the Year for both the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) and the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL), and was selected a pre-season All-American honorable mention for 2002.

"Troy has had a lot of success here and is a critical part of our offense," says Spencer. "He is a premier player who's got a lot of confidence right now."

Last season at Sacred Heart, Garrett was a solid contributor to the Pioneer offense, posting 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points. Together, the brothers ranked eighth (1.53) and ninth (1.13) in the country among NCAA Division I rookies for goals per game. "Troy has the advantage of having been here for a year, going through our strength program, and knowing our systems," says Spencer. "But Garrett has the potential to be very, very good. He's more of an off-the-ball player right now, but definitely has the ability to step in and contribute to the team."

The Stags can certainly use the duo, as Coach Spencer has yet again assembled one of the most challenging schedules in school history. Already this season, Fairfield has faced two teams ranked among the top 20 in the country, Penn State (#16) and Brown (#15), and will see four more in North Carolina (#10), Hofstra (#11), Ohio State (#17) and Notre Dame (#18) before the season ends. As of March 15, half of this season's slate, including two of Fairfield's league rivals (Ohio State and Notre Dame), was ranked in the top 20 nationally.

"Our goal is to win the Great Western Lacrosse League, go to the NCAAs, and have a good year," says Troy. "I also want to try and beat some of the non-conference teams."

Last season, their first in the five-team Great Western Lacrosse League, Fairfield finished an impressive second at 3-2, posting wins over Air Force, Butler, and Denver. With any luck, the Bamann brothers' chemistry will lead to increased offense and translate into Fairfield's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Kid's Time by the Sea
On March 21, Fairfield University cheerleaders took time out from their routines to teach a few moves to the children at Kid's Time by the Sea. Kid's Time is a before- and after-school childcare program at Roger Sherman School in Fairfield. Mary-Margaret Weber, president of the Fairfield University Alumni Association, helps coordinate the program. Her daughter, Meaghan (pictured center) got a lift from her friends (l-r) Chandler Sullivan, Rosie Beneati, and Mark Malstranzi '03 (back). With the kids are cheerleaders (l-r) Andrea Lamont '04, Cristie Vasso '04, and Lauren Ferrante '02.

Photos by Jean Santopatre

Varsity Field named to honor Stephen M. Lessing '76

On February 12, the Town Planning and Zoning Commission granted a special permit for the University to proceed with planned improvements to Varsity Field.

As part of those plans, the University will rename the field to honor Stephen M. Lessing, a 1976 Fairfield University graduate, trustee, Lehman Brothers director, and million dollar donor to Our Promise: The Campaign for Fairfield University.

Vice President for Advancement George E. Diffley says Lessing's gift to the University will support improvements to the field that will bear his name. He expresses his gratitude "for Steve's generosity and for his commitment to ensuring that Fairfield continues to provide its students with the best facilities we can."

Following months of negotiations, the University and neighbors from the College Park Association on the northwest border of the University agreed with the University's plans for improvements to the field.

Construction activity, which began on February 13, will include relocating the field some 100 feet south and west of its present location and creating a natural grass field for varsity soccer and lacrosse, says Ric Taylor, associate vice president for campus planning and operations. Drainage and irrigation systems will be installed to support the sod field.

The field's west side will feature six hundred bleacher seats, Taylor says, with fiberglass-covered team benches, and a scoreboard constructed on the site. Lights currently at University Field will be relocated to the Lessing Field location, and a spectator comfort station will be constructed near the field.

In addition, the field will be surrounded by a four-foot black vinyl fence with a hedge planted on the perimeter. A stone dust track will be installed outside of the hedge.

The Lessing Field improvements are, in part, necessitated by a Bridgeport Superior Court judge's ruling some 18 months ago that precluded Fairfield University from using University Field after daylight hours, and severely limited the use of that field for athletic activities. Last year, neighbors in College Park voiced concerns about the proposed improvements to Lessing Field. Those neighbors and the University reached consensus in the fall on conditions regarding use of the lights and sound systems at the field.

Taylor says construction on Varsity Field is expected to be substantially completed before Commencement in May and will be entirely finished this summer.

news Briefs

Legal Studies conference to discuss alternatives

The Fairfield University Legal Studies program will host a one-day "think tank" about alternatives for prosecution and incarceration on April 6, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conference, Restorative Justice, Mediation, and Innovations in Criminal Justice: A Community Conversation, will take place in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business.

Judges, attorneys, and administrators from every sector of the criminal justice system in Connecticut, along with community organizations, will present and discuss the issues. All participants will be invited to use this "community conversation" as an opportunity to exchange ideas and generate new ones.

The conference is supported by a grant from the Humanities Institute of Fairfield University's College of Arts and Sciences. Reservations are recommended.

For more information, call Joy Gordon, Ph.D., director of the Legal Studies program, at ext. 2852.

Rock-n-Jock to benefit Make-A Wish of Conn.

Fairfield University students, faculty, staff, and alumni will take a turn at bat on Friday, April 19, for the second annual two-day "Rock-N-Jock" softball fundraiser to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Last year, "Rock-N-Jock" raised $6,000 for Make-A-Wish. This year's goal is $10,000.

Events include an overnight Bowl-A-Thon on April 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. On April 19, a Band Jam and Phone-A-Thon will take place in the Barone Campus Center from 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

The main event begins at 4 p.m. with a Home Run Derby. Contestants will get 10 at-bats, with the top two hitters to compete in the "finals," which will take place at the end of the fourth inning. The softball game begins at 5 p.m. with a reception afterward at the Levee.

This year's "Best Seat in the House" raffle is a queen-size sleeper sofa donated by Bob's Discount Furniture. Tickets are available in the Barone Campus Center Main Office.

Fairfield team wins Great Shehan Spelling B-E-E

In February, seniors Kevin Horne and Aimee Wagner, along with Andrew Garavel '80, S.J., proved their outstanding spelling skills by winning the Eighth Annual Great Shehan Spelling Bee, sponsored by People's Bank, to benefit the Cardinal Shehan Center, a non-profit organization located in Bridgeport. Cathleen Borgman, director of corporate relations, served as both organizer of and official "cheerleader" for the Fairfield University team.

The Cardinal Shehan Center, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, provides a variety of after-school and Saturday programs for children from moderate and low-income families. The Bee helps raise funds for the Center's After-School Program.

University receives gift from Fairfield Kiwanis Club for ArtsBound Schooldays Series
The Fairfield Kiwanis Club contributed $12,000 to the 2001-2002 ArtsBound Schooldays Series through which the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts makes performances available to area children by awarding "scholarships" to some 200 students per show to attend. The scholarships typically consist of free or reduced-rate tickets and, depending on the needs of the school, assistance in providing transportation. In the past three years, more than 9,500 students from schools in Fairfield and Bridgeport have been able to participate in ArtsBound Schooldays events, through the generosity of the Fairfield Kiwanis Club.

Pictured above (l-r) are George Russell, George Rentz, Nick Shope, Jean McGuire, and Glenn Barnhard of the Kiwanis Club, with Deborah Sommers, director of programming for the Quick Center, Edna Farace Wilson, Ph.D., dean of the School of Continuing Education, and students from Assumption School's Pre-K program.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

"French Showcase" concludes this month

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts' "French Showcase: Evolving Arts" concludes this month. The festival, which began in February, celebrates the numerous contributions the French have made to the world in the areas of arts and letters.

For tickets and more information about these events, call the box office at ext. 4010.

Music

Performing on April 6 at 8 p.m. are Paula Robison, dubbed "The First Lady of the Flute," and award-winning pianist Jeremy Denk, a 1998 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 1997 winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Robison and Denk share an artistic collaboration that combines the magical sounds of the flute with the many colorations and enormous palette of the piano. The duo will perform Poulenc's "Sonata for Flute and Piano," Debussy's "Syrinx for Solo Flute," two Preludes for Solo Piano, four Melodies for Flute and Piano, Godard's "Suite de Trois Morceaux for Flute and Piano," and Faure's "Sonata in A Major" (adapted by Robison from the Sonata for Violin and Piano). A pre-concert "Art to Heart" discussion with Laura Nash, Ph.D., director of Fairfield University's classical music program, takes place at 7 p.m.

The retro-cabaret quintet, Paris Combo, arrives on April 25 at 8 p.m., to celebrate the rich diversity of the music of contemporary Paris. Fronted by chanteuse, songwriter, and accordion player, Belle du Berry, Paris Combo has perfected a jazzy and intriguing twist on the chanson tradition. Therefore, Berry has inevitably been compared to Edith Piaf. However, trumpet player David Lewis traces the group's sound to the influence of the flamenco, blues, and cabaret tradition that flourished in Paris before World War II.

Dance

On April 9 at 7:30 p.m., the internationally acclaimed ballet company, Lyon Opera Ballet, under the direction Yorgos Loukos, performs new versions of the great classical ballets. The company has commissioned works by a wide range of international choreographers, and the Quick Center's All-Ravel repertory program will showcase his "Bolero," choreographed by Australian Meryl Tankard, which premiered on Dec. 26, 1998, and his "Gaspard," choreographed by Finland's Tero Saarinen, which premiered on Feb. 12, 1999, at the Lyon Opera House.

Theatrical Reading

A reading of Jean Giraudoux's "Ondine," directed by Mark Basile, takes place on April 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Lecture

John Rassias, Ph.D., executive director of the Rassias Foundation at Dartmouth College, explores the battle between two ideologies for dominance of mind and art, on April 11 at 7 p.m., when he presents Meat and Mysticism from Naturalism to Symbolism: French Theatre in Shock.

Trip

The Quick Center for the Arts has also planned a trip to the Hill-Stead Museum and Connecticut Culinary Institute in Farmington, Conn., on April 24. Participants will depart the Quick Center at 9:30 a.m. and return at approximately 4:30 p.m. The day includes a visit to the Culinary Institute, a buffet lunch featuring a special French menu, time at the nearby Hill-Stead Museum to view art that includes an extensive collection of French Impressionists' works, and a stop at the beautiful sunken garden on the Hill-Stead property.

"People from Foreign Lands" photographs on view at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery

From Thailand's hill villages to Ecuador's marketplaces, Fairfield photographer Claudia Schechter travels the globe, capturing with her lens the commonalities that exist among all of us. "People from Foreign Lands," a collection of Schechter's photographs, will be on display at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery through May 5.

With camera in tow wherever she goes, Schechter sets her subjects at ease, catching curious youngsters and shy adults as they interact with the camera and with one another in their villages, homes, schools, and marketplaces. For more information, call the gallery at ext. 2969.

Linda Wertheimer concludes OVF spring series
Linda Wertheimer, senior national correspondent for National Public Radio and former host of "All Things Considered," spoke at the Open VISIONS Forum on March 24.

With Wertheimer is (left) WSHU Public Radio's Tom Kuzer, program director and "Morning Edition" local host, and Philip Eliasoph, Ph.D., director of OVF and professor of visual and performing arts.

Photo by Craig Skinner

Mixed-media installations by artist Judith Page on display at Lukacs Gallery

The striking mixed-media installations of artist Judith Page will be on display at the Lukacs Gallery through April 18 in an exhibition titled "Flesh and Blood."

The exhibition opens with a group of small, painted portraits that Page created by altering photographs of her subjects. Other works on display were influenced by Page's upbringing in Lexington, Kentucky, and the Southern Gothic literary tradition represented by writers such as Flannery O'Connor. Page's mixed-media installations - drawing, painting, sculpture, and collage - have been exhibited widely in galleries across the United States.

For gallery hours, call ext. 2476.

Campus Currents is the official news publication of the Fairfield University community. It is published on the first Tuesday of every month. The editorial office is located in the Public Relations Dept., Bellarmine Hall 220. Telephone 254-4000, ext. 2556; fax: 254-4167. E-mail: campuscurr@mail.fairfield.edu.

Editor
Jill Kasiewicz Caseria

Editorial Board
Douglas J. Whiting
Associate V.P. for Public Relations

Barbara Kiernan
Director of University Publications

Jean Santopatre
University Photojournalist

Linda Gustavson
Publications Assistant