Campus Currents December 2006

Volume 15, Number 4
The official news publication of Fairfield University

Index for December 5, 2006

Fairfield to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Judea Pearl finds hope in interfaith conversations
Day of Dialogue: Migration
Remembering the names of the fallen
News Breakers
Service Anniversaries
Faculty Research
New on the Faculty Bookshelf
Some turn to worms to help reduce waste on campus
Office of Service Learning offers new opportunities
Bridgeport students dive into trading in BEST class
DSB student wins trading contest
Searching for the religious history of children
Goal III committee  working strategically
Graduate Corner: Creating a welcoming atmosphere
The perceptions of Israel
New campus maps available
New faculty join campus
The Campus View
Fr. McGregor's film Posada premieres
Bellarmine Hall's courtyard gets a facelift
Sports
SPORT SHORTS
GSEAP students combine service learning and research
news Briefs
‘Tis the season for A Christmas Carol
NHSO performs holiday concert
Director's Cut offers nine student plays
Handcraft sale to help our partnership school in Nicaragua

Fairfield to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Meredith Guinness, Publications Writer

Fairfield University will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. next month with three days of events, including the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25, in the Quick Center for the Arts. This year's Convocation speaker is Dr. Diana L. Hayes, professor of systematic theology at Georgetown University.

A prolific writer, Dr. Hayes is the author of several books including, Were You There?: Stations of the Cross (Orbis Books, 1999), which won a second place award for spirituality from the Catholic Publishers Association. Dr. Hayes is currently at work on Forged in the Fiery Furnace: African American Spirituality (Orbis) and Black Catholics in the U.S. (USCCB/Paulist).

Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Dr. Hayes holds a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She also earned a J.D. from George Washington National Law Center, and a baccalaureate and a licentiate in sacred theology from Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. She was the first African-American woman to earn the pontifical doctorate in sacred theology at Louvain.

Dr. Hayes has lectured extensively in the United States, Africa, and Europe. In 1999, she held the Tuohy Chair in Interreligious Dialogue at John Carroll University and, in 2001 she received the U.S. Catholic Award for Furthering the Cause of Women in the Church. Mount St. Joseph College presented her with its Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal for outstanding woman theologian in 2003. Last year, she received the Alexandrine Medal from the College of St. Catherine. During her appearance at Fairfield University, President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., will present her with the John LaFarge, S.J., Award.

The three-day Martin Luther King Jr. celebration begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with an interfaith service in the Egan Chapel, followed by refreshments and a multicultural festival with entertainment at 7 p.m. in the Barone Campus Center. The Jan. 25 Convocation is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. in the Quick Center's Kelley Theatre, with a post-lecture reception with Dr. Hayes in the lobby from 5 to 5:45 p.m.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Awards Dinner follows Convocation at 6 p.m. and includes presentation of the awards, which are given each year to individuals who make Dr. King's teachings and ideals a part of their everyday lives. In addition, the University will recognize the winners of an annual essay contest for Bridgeport middle school students co-sponsored by the University and the Connecticut Post. The celebration concludes with a youth leadership workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26, in the BCC Oak Room. Approximately 100 Bridgeport middle and high school students will have a chance to attend information sessions and have lunch with Fairfield students during the annual event.

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Judea Pearl finds hope in interfaith conversations

By Alejandra Navarro, Editor

In a dungeon in Karachi, Pakistan, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was not so naïve to ignore the venom in his captor's face, his father Judea Pearl explained at the Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture on Nov. 13. Still, he repeated the words to the terrorists, "My name is Daniel Pearl. I am a Jewish American from Encino, California. My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish, and I am Jewish."

He was telling his captors, Judea Pearl said, "I respect Islam because I am Jewish. I expect you to respect me and my faith precisely because you are or claim to be good Muslims. So let's come to our senses."

In February 2002, his son was murdered in that dungeon. His father has since become an advocate of interfaith dialogue to encourage respect. His lecture, "Seeking Common Ground: Dialogue between Jews and Muslims," was part of University College's Open VISIONS Forum and sponsored by the Carl and Dorthy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.

Pearl and his wife Ruth promote cultural and religious respect through The Daniel Pearl Foundation and with their book, I am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.

"The loss of Daniel will forever tear at my heart," said the elder Pearl, who is a computer science professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The murder of his son did not advance terrorism, he said. "The goodness of his smile and the sound of his last words became iconic personal reminders to millions of people around the world that hate and terror aim not at a policy, not at a country, and not against the institution, but against the very fabric of civilization," Pearl said. "His last words, I am Jewish, ... have since come to symbolize the fight and the right of every individual to assert his faith, heritage, and identity."

Photo by B.K. Angeletti

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Most Rev. William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, speaks with students about migration.

Day of Dialogue: Migration

By Barbara Kiernan, Director of Publications

Nearly 50 members of the University community and the Diocese of Bridgeport gathered at Alumni House on Nov. 20 for the Second Annual Day of Dialogue, which focused on an issue of vital concern, both regionally and nationally - migration. Framing the day were opening talks by the Most Rev. William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, and the Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., director of the University's Center for Faith and Public Life.

University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., who hosted and attended the daylong event, noted in concluding remarks the importance of collaboration between the University (and any Catholic university) and the local Church. The mission of each, he said, has much to contribute through the unique yet complementary ways each serves the common good in the name of Christ.

The symposium, titled "Migration: The Historical, Economic, and Practical Impact Today," featured a panel of Fairfield faculty who spoke to the issue from the perspective of different academic disciplines, and a panel of experts from the Diocesan Catholic Charities office who brought an important "feet in the street" dimension to the conversation.

The day also included the debut of Posadas, a documentary film by the Rev. Mark McGregor, S.J., assistant professor of film in CAS.

Bishop Lori spoke of the Scriptural imperative to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25: 35-40). To that end, he has made intelligent, faith-based advocacy for immigrants, and care-filled attention to their physical, social, and spiritual needs, a number one pastoral priority in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Staff and services have been added and a daylong workshop on migration was held last month for all diocesan priests, led by Fr. Ryscavage.

In his presentation on campus, Fr. Ryscavage addressed the struggles that "academic and policy people" can have when religion overflows into social issues. He explained that faith-based advocacy is not merely a special interest lobby, but a response born of deeply held beliefs. He pointed out that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have even more in common than tracing their respective faiths back to Abraham. Each tradition has also followed Abraham in responding to God's call to leave home - be that the Exodus, the nomad experience, the Holy Family's flight to Egypt, Jesus as itinerant preacher, or the sending forth of the disciples. In most traditions, then, the metaphor for the spiritual life continues to be a "journey."

The Fairfield faculty panel included Dr. Cecelia Bucki, associate professor of history (CAS), Dr. Terry-Ann Jones, assistant professor of sociology (CAS), and Dr. Mark LeClair, associate professor of economics (CAS), and Dr. Wendy Kohli, associate professor of curriculum and instruction in GSEAP. Speaking for the Diocese were Al Barber, president of Catholic Charities; Bill Hoey, vice president of Catholic Charities with oversight of immigration services; Alex Arevallo, a case manager and himself an immigrant; Sr. Alejandra Keen, director of pastoral services; and Sr. Nancy Charlesworth, director of immigration.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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Remembering the names of the fallen

Kate Cota '07 listens to a reading of the names of the American men and women who have died in the war in Iraq. As of early November, there have been 2,834 U.S. casualties. Campus Ministry organized the Reading of the Names memorial on Nov. 15 at the Egan Chapel. The event was co-sponsored by Students for Life and Students for Social Justice.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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Dr. Patricia Calderwood, associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP), presented the paper "Could You Imagine If We Were All Hired to Work in the Same School?" at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 17.

Dr. Ralph M. Coury, professor of history in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), has published a book review of Larbi Sadiki's The Search for Arab Democracy in the Muslim World, April 2006. Dr. Coury also gave a lecture, "Western Imperialism from Churchill to Bush," at a meeting of the Emeritus Assembly of the American Association of University Professors of Connecticut at Fairfield University's Alumni House on Sept. 19. Dr. Coury's 1998 book, The Making of an Egyptian Arab Nationalist, has been recently published in an Arabic translation by Dar al-Mada (Horizons Press) of Damascus, Syria.

Dr. Edward Deak, professor of economics in CAS, released his Connecticut projection for the New England Economic Project, which projects slow job recovery in 2006 and 2007. The Connecticut Post published an article on the projection on Nov. 15.

In a Nov. 17 Connecticut Post article on the fight to prevent underage drinking, Jeanne Di Muzio, director of wellness and prevention, said some students come to college with drinking habits. "Binge drinking is the norm in high school," Di Muzio said. "We want them to know it's not accepted at Fairfield (University)."

Susan Fitzgerald, associate dean of University College (UC) and director of international programs and services, received the Outstanding Leadership Award at the recent New England NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference in Newport, R.I. She also chaired a conference session titled, "Integration of the Study Abroad Experience Back at the Home Institution and Beyond." Dr. Iris Bork-Goldfield, associate director of international studies in CAS, also participated.

An Oct. 12 article in the Fairfield Minuteman announced Fairfield's appointment of Stephanie Frost as the new vice president for University Advancement.

Dr. Donald E. Gibson, associate professor of management in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business (DSB), published "Emotional Episodes at Work: An Experiential Exercise in Feeling and Expressing Emotions" in the Journal of Management Education, vol. 30(3), 2006. This exercise won the Best Experiential Exercise award from the Eastern Academy of Management. Dr. Gibson has been chosen to be program chair of the International Association for Conflict Management meeting in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2007. University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., has appointed Dr. Gibson to chair the General Faculty for the 2006-2007 academic year.

Dr. Paula Gill-Lopez, associate professor of psychology and special education in GSEAP, presented at the 12th annual Conversations in School Psychology at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business on Nov. 17. This is an annual event for students, alumni, field supervisors, and faculty associated with the School Psychology program. The purpose of the event is three-fold: to build peer support across years in the program; to give attendees an opportunity to network; and to present a current topic of interest to the field.

Robert Hardy, curriculum coordinator for the interior design program at UC, was quoted in an article in the September Fairfield County Business Times about the College's interior design program. "I believe there are a lot of people out there who are interested in that type of program, and there isn't anyone in our area offering something like this one," he said.

Dr. Ingeborg Haug, associate professor of Marriage and Family Therapy Education in GSEAP, attended the annual conference of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy in Austin, Texas, Oct 18-22. Dr. Haug served as moderator of the International Family Therapy Open Forum and serves as a member of the elections council.

The November 2006 issue of College & Research Libraries, the premier scholarly research journal for the academic library profession, includes an article co-authored by Ramona Islam, senior reference librarian and instruction coordinator.

Dr. Wendy Kohli, associate professor and chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Department in GSEAP, was invited to give a talk on Oct. 23 at the New York University Steinhardt School of Education's Commission on Gender, Race, and Social Justice. Dr. Kohli delivered "What Does Feminism Have to Contribute to Research in a 'Post-Feminist' Era?" Dr. Kohli also presented the paper, "The Feminist Educational Researcher: Challenges and Possibilities for Transforming Inquiry," at the New England Philosophy of Education Society (NEPES) annual conference on Oct. 21 in Framingham, Mass.

In a Stratford Star article on Nov. 2, Dr. Philip Lane, associate professor of economics in CAS, commented about the costs and benefits of voting.

In a New York Times article on Oct. 22, Dr. John Orman, professor of politics in CAS, discussed voters in the Congressional race between Chris Shays and Diane Farrell. "I've talked to people who have voted for Chris Shays all their lives and they are thinking of voting for Diane Farrell to send a message," Dr. Orman said. He commented on the political fundraising frenzy in a Connecticut Post article on Oct. 22. He was quoted again in The New York Times on Oct. 26 in an article on the tough election season and the unusually harsh attacks coming from Shays about his opponent. In an Oct. 28 article in the Post, he commented on the national spotlight on the Connecticut political races. On Nov. 3, in a Greenwich Time article, he discussed the way automated political telephone calls can backfire. On Nov. 5, Dr. Orman talked about the cost of running a campaign. "Even though reformers spent the last decade trying to take big money out of politics, it just hasn't worked," he said. "It just takes an obscene amount of money to run for federal office." On Nov. 12, Dr. Orman discussed U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's win as an Independent in a Danbury News-Times article. On Nov. 13, Carol Costello interviewed him from the Media Center for CNN's Situation Room via the satellite uplink. He talked about Lieberman's political strength and his status with the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a Stamford Advocate article on Nov. 2, Dr. Richard Regan, assistant professor of English in CAS, praised the selection of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird by the cities of Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Shelton, who have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts' "the Big Read" program to sponsor events to immerse the communities in the novel throughout April.

Dr. Aaron Perkus, associate dean in University College, was quoted in the Redding Pilot on Oct. 26 on the visit by Joel Barlow High School seniors to Fairfield University for a program on world poverty. Also included in the article were keynote speaker Dr. Lisa Newton, professor of philosophy in CAS, and fellow participants Dr. Janie Leatherman, professor of politics and director of the International Studies program in CAS, Dr. Mark LeClair, professor of economics in CAS, Dr. Terry-Ann Jones, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology in CAS, and Dr. Winson Tellis, the Stephen and Camille Schramm Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management in DSB.

Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld, associate professor of history in CAS, published the article "Munich Redux," in the Forward newspaper. The article discusses the unveiling of the new main synagogue in Munich - the city where the Nazi party was first established. The October 2006 issue of American Historical Review published a positive review by Helmut Walser Smith of Vanderbilt University of Dr. Rosenfeld's book, The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism. Smith calls Dr. Rosenfeld "a scrupulous historian," who "starts with the assumption that counter-factual history tells us a great deal about memory, and ends with an insight that Nazism and the Holocaust have in the half-century after their occurrence become normalized to a problematic degree."

Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., professor of sociology and director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, was quoted in the October issue of the Fairfield County Catholic on his invitation to become a member of the official delegation of the Holy See to the 61st session of the U.N. General Assembly. Fr. Ryscavage also delivered the Bricker Annual Memorial Public Lecture at Tulane University in New Orleans on Nov. 9. The lecture was sponsored by the chair of Judeo-Christian Studies at Tulane. Fr. Ryscavage spoke about globalization and migration as part of a book series on the "Future of Christianity."

Dr. David Sapp, professor of English in CAS, commented on bloggers in the Oct. 8 edition of the Connecticut Post. "Many of the most popular bloggers collect data that they can use as evidence to support their points," he said. "In this way, bloggers become watchdogs, so that no one or nothing can hide."

In a Nov. 7 Stamford Advocate article on ethics reform, Dr. David Schmidt, professor of business ethics in DSB, said it is part of a larger nationwide trend, most notably in corporate America. "As a response to recent scandals, directors and senior executives are aggressively implementing new programs to raise the consciousness of the importance of ethics and to make sure business decisions are transparent and accountable," Dr. Schmidt said.

Dr. Norman Solomon, dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, was quoted in a Greenwich Time editorial on Oct. 15 on the School being named one of The Princeton Review's Best Business Schools. "We are proud that working professionals see the merits and relevance of our fine programs. We are pleased that the hard work of our faculty and staff continues to be acknowledged. Our professors and alumni are indeed, as the guide points out, valuable resources for students seeking internships or careers."

Debra Strauss, assistant professor of business law in DSB, has published the article, "The International Regulation of GMOs: Importing Caution into the U.S. Food Supply," in the Food and Drug Law Journal, June 2006. In August, she presented the paper, "Defying Nature: The Ethical Implications of Genetically Modified Plants," at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Dr. John Thiel, professor of religious studies in CAS, has been appointed to the Board of Editorial Consultants for the prestigious journal Theological Studies.

Five faculty members in the School of Nursing co-authored, "Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Geriatric Nurse Education Program," which appeared in the September/October 2006 issue of The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. They include associate professors Dr. Meredith Wallace, Dr. Philip Greiner, and Dr. Jean Lange, and professors Dr. Sheila Grossman and Dr. Doris Troth Lippman.

Dr. Yohuru Williams, associate professor of history and co-director of the Black Studies program in CAS, had his article "A Red, Black, and Green Liberation Jumpsuit: Roy Wilkins, the Black Panthers and the Conundrum of Black Power" published as a chapter in The Black Power Movement (Routledge, 2006). Dr. Williams also delivered the keynote address, "One Person, One Dream, One World: Reflections on the People to People Programs, Education and World Peace," at a conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, sponsored by the People to People Ambassadors Program. He was also on a plenary panel on the assassination of Malcolm X at the recent Association for the Study of African American Life and History Conference in Atlanta. The title of his paper was "Only When Lions Have Historians: Malcolm X, Manning Marble, and the Transformative Power of African-American History."

Dr. Edna Wilson, dean of University College, presented "Continuing Education Leaders: Making a Difference in the U.S. and Canada - A Comparative Look at Leadership and Authority" at the Association for Continuing Higher Education's (ACHE) annual meeting in Los Angeles in October 2006. The collaborative research project compared U.S. and Canadian institutions.

Dr. Kathleen Wheeler, professor in SON, co-authored, "An Adult with Childhood Medical Trauma Treated with Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and EMDR: A Case Study" in the Journal Perspectives of Psychiatric Care.

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December Service Anniversaries
10 years
Marianne Gumpper

January Service Anniversaries
5 years
Laura Martin
Cornelius O'Halloran
Alexander Sency
Charlene Wallace
Deborah Whalley

10 years
Sharon Daly
Lori Fahy
John Jones

Condolences

Dr. William F. Murphy, the first dean of Fairfield University's School of Continuing Education, now known as University College, died in an automobile accident on Nov. 8. He was 65.
     Dr. Murphy, or  "Bill" as he was known to his friends and colleagues, came to Fairfield in 1977 as director of the Center for Lifetime Learning, overseeing the programs for adult students and transforming the center into a flourishing School of Continuing Education. He was well liked across campus and known as a student-centered leader. "He was a devoted advocate for the School and for the students," recalled Dr. Tracey Robert, assistant professor of counselor education in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, who previously worked with Dr. Murphy in Continuing Education. "He understood our students, who were often balancing work and family, and he understood their needs. He was also a very supportive administrator and we all really enjoyed working with him."
     Dr. Murphy left Fairfield in 1988 to become dean of Continuing Education at the University of New Hampshire and retired as Dean Emeritus from that position in 2004. He graduated from Syracuse University and earned his doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Murphy is survived by his wife, Linda, their three children, Maureen, Michael, and Robert, and three young grandchildren.
     The family has requested that memorial gifts be made to the Dean William F. Murphy scholarship fund at Fairfield University to assist University College students.

New Employees

Valerie Barnard - Accounting Assistant III, Bursar
Stephen Evans - Media Technology Specialist, Media Center
Alissa Gallagher - Secretary II, Residence Life
Angela Markoja - Public Safety Officer
Catherine O'Donnell - Operations Assistant I, Advancement Research
Cindy Russo - Program Assistant I, Corporate Relations, Advancement
Kenisha Smith - Operations Assistant II, Talent Search
Mary Wolpiuk - Secretary III, Major Gifts, Advancement
Joseph Boerst - Audio Technician, Quick Center

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Faculty Research

The School of Nursing

Thanking our partners in the nursing community

By Alejandra Navarro, Editor

Dr. Suzanne Campell, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, considers nursing faculty to be pretty polite people, but recently she examined how her profession says thank you to the working nurse practitioners who volunteer their time to mentor graduate nursing students.

These professionals, or preceptors, take nursing students under their wing and train them in advanced skills, such as ordering and interpreting tests, in a clinical setting. Dr. Campbell teamed up with Dr. Joellen Hawkins of Boston College to learn how nursing programs are rewarding and nurturing these volunteers. Their findings will appear in the article, "Preceptor Rewards: How to say thank you for mentoring the next generation of nurse practitioners," in the upcoming issue of Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. The duo surveyed 26 faculty members in graduate nursing programs at 26 public and private universities across the country.

Dr. Campbell found that the ways in which these volunteers were rewarded, or thanked for their time, varied by university and even by program. Some preceptors received free tuition for classes or continuing education or vouchers to museums or university events, while others received small gifts, often paid for by the faculty coordinator. Faculty members nurture these preceptors by acknowledging them in publications, nominating them for awards, or providing letters of reference.

"The bottom line is that we don't do enough," said Dr. Campbell. "We need to do more with faculty and administrators to attract and retain these preceptors."

As enrollments increase, it's become more difficult to meet the need. Each graduate student must complete several hundred clinical hours and may require several preceptors with varying expertise. At Fairfield, family nurse practitioner students must complete 546 clinical hours, while psychiatric nurse practitioner students must complete 588 clinical hours.

In addition, the nursing profession is now requiring more advanced education. Graduate nursing programs have already grown over the past few years, and the need for these mentors will only increase, she said, noting that many colleges are approaching the same pool of nurses.

Some nursing professionals find it difficult to mentor students and complete their own responsibilities. "They don't realize that once students are up and running, together, they can often do double the work," said Dr. Campbell.

Nursing schools could help, she said, by ensuring that students are prepared to enter the clinical setting, making it easier on the preceptors. At Fairfield, the new Learning Resource Center, which includes two updated classrooms and simulation laboratories, is giving graduate students opportunities to role-play scenarios and experiences that mirror what happens in clinical settings.

To address the preceptor shortage, faculty in the School of Nursing recently partnered with Sacred Heart University and two community health centers to more effectively coordinate precepting opportunities, as well as to provide the health centers with an applicant pool of graduates well-prepared to address the health needs of their underserved population. A grant funded by the Health Services Research Administration supported this project and provided reimbursement to the clinical partners.

"If we don't do something about this now," Dr. Campbell explained, "we're not going to be able to educate the next generation of nurse practitioners."

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New on the Faculty Bookshelf

The intellectual fighter

In TUNNEY: Boxing's Brainiest Champ and His Upset of the Great Jack Dempsey, Jack Cavanaugh, adjunct professor of journalism in the College of Arts & Sciences, captures the complex and vivid life of a prizefighter whose successes were not confined to the boxing ring. Cavanaugh has crafted such a compelling story, Random House, the book's publisher, has nominated it for a Pulitzer Prize in biography.

At the heart of the book is Tunney's triumph over the great Jack Dempsey in 1926. But despite his near perfect 77-1 record (a loss he would later avenge), few people remembered his name or the mark he left on the athletics and popular culture of the 1920s. "He walked away from the boxing ring when he was in his prime and retired undefeated, unmarked, and unscarred," said Cavanaugh, who had a chance encounter with the legend on a MetroNorth train 35 years ago.

Through Tunney's life, Cavanaugh takes the reader from the tough Greenwich Village neighborhood where a young scrawny Tunney fought to defend his appetite for learning, to Rome, where he married Polly Lauder, an heiress once considered out of his league, to Stamford, Conn., where Tunney lived for 50 years until his death in 1978.

"He had an absolute zest for learning, which earned him ridicule from sports writers of the day," explained Cavanaugh. "He took this ridicule and abuse and came right back at them. He refused to let them get the best of him; he was his own man."

His intelligence served him well. While heavyweight champion, he once lectured on Shakespeare at Yale University. After his retirement, Tunney became a highly successful businessman, serving as the chief executive officer of two companies.

A journalist for more than four decades, Cavanaugh has covered hundreds of sports assignments for The New York Times and written for Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, Tennis and Golf magazines, and other national publications.

The Pulitzer Prize finalists will be selected in January and the winners announced in the spring. "I was stunned and I was flattered," Cavanaugh said of the nomination. "It's kind of a long shot, but who knows? Even if you don't win it, it's an honor just to be nominated."

When corporations have Permission to Steal

Dr. Lisa Newton, professor of philosophy and director of the Applied Ethics program in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, has written a new book, Permission to Steal: Revealing the Roots of Corporate Scandal, published by Blackwell in November.

"It is the story of the scandals that brought down Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, and all of the other scandals to which we were subjected at the end of the 20th century, along with an explanation of how such things happened," Dr. Newton said. Delving into each scandal, Dr. Newton offers a fresh perspective on what went wrong and what needs to be done to prevent corporate corruption from reoccurring.

Identifying the root of the problem, Dr. Newton said, "It all started with Gyges' Ring." The mythical ring mentioned in Plato's Republic was known to make the wearer of it invisible. "Plato was convinced that if people had the power to be invisible they would do all sorts of terrible things. Sure enough, they did." In her book, she writes that we do not have Gyges' Ring in the real world, "but rings that do nothing more than make us invisible - offshore special purpose entities, Swiss banks, gated communities, and the general anonymity of the city - are everywhere we look, there for the purchasing. We need the accountability that comes with transparency, visibility, and access to information, to keep our corporations honest."

Uncovering the legacy of the Black Panthers

Thirty-five years after its founding, Dr. Yohuru Williams, associate professor of history and co-director of Black Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Dr. Jama Lazerow, a history professor at Wheelock College, have co-edited a collection of essays seeking to uncover the true legacy of the Black Panther Party.

In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement (Duke University Press, November 2006), which was published with support from Duke University and Fairfield's College of Arts & Sciences, includes essays by 11 professionals and scholars from a variety of disciplines, including law, politics, history, sociology, and literature. Each teases out the Panthers' significance and the group's contribution to the movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This anthology offers a nuanced analysis on this group of distinct revolutionaries.

"They regrettably remain one of the most maligned groups in American history and a lot of that misunderstanding emanates from their reputation as a reverse Ku Klux Klan," explained Dr. Williams, who also authored Black Politics/White Power: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Black Panthers in New Haven. "In fact, they were one of the great social movements of the 20th century."

While FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover helped to shape the violent portrait of the party by calling the Panthers "the single greatest threat to the nation's internal security," Dr. Williams noted that party members were involved in wide variety of community initiatives and social programs that greatly benefited poor and working class people, regardless of race. The Black Panthers' breakfast for school children program, for instance, later became the federal Head Start program.

"At the local level," Dr. Williams said, "they did some really outstanding things that unfortunately remain outside of the scope of the public perception of the group."

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Some turn to worms to help reduce waste on campus

By Meredith Guinness, Publications Writer

Charlene Wallace, secretary for the religious studies and philosophy departments, recently added a new title after her name - worm wrangler.

For the last month, she's been the keeper of one of the University's most innovative environmental initiatives: a desktop worm composting kit that may someday have a huge impact on Fairfield's ongoing efforts to reduce the waste stream on campus.

"It's an 'ick' factor for some people, but they don't bother me at all," says Wallace, pulling back shredded newspaper in the three-tier kit to reveal the tiny red wrigglers feasting on coffee grounds, banana peels, and eggshells below. "They're cool."

The Worm Factory, purchased through California's Happy D Ranch (www.happydranch.com), includes a stand and collection tray topped by a "working tray" that holds about two pounds of live worms and their coconut fiber bedding. Each day they dine on food scraps donated by third-floor Donnarumma staff and faculty, who also donated about $150 to buy the kit and its glossy denizens. Every two months or so, the worms will consume their scraps - about a handful or two a week - and all the newspapers. Then they'll naturally move on up to a new tier filled with food and newspapers, leaving behind their "castings," a rich compost ready for the garden.

But their product isn't the point, says Dr. Dina Franceschi, associate professor of economics in the College of Arts & Sciences. "The idea is waste reduction," she says. Dr. Franceschi, who donates a banana peel to the effort every day, sees it as a pilot for a much bigger program that could significantly reduce waste in the dining hall and snack bars in Barone Campus Center. It's also part of a larger "green" movement on campus that includes an awareness campaign, a strengthened recycling program, and more Earth Day activities, curricular offerings, and research initiatives. In the coming months, the new Environmental Steering Committee hopes to have voluntary recycling coordinators named for all campus buildings.

In November, coordinators for Canisius, Donnarumma, Bannow, the School of Nursing, and the DiMenna-Nyselius Library started boosting awareness to increase existing recycling efforts.

And guess who volunteered in Donnarumma? "Yes, I'm also the recycling coordinator," says Wallace, spritzing water on her worm tray.

Wallace is committed to green living. She believes the worm bin system is a powerful visual symbol of what can be done to improve the world, one small gesture at a time. "It gets people thinking about what we waste, how much we waste," she says. "I really think this is something bold."

Another frequent contributor, Dr. Joy Gordon, professor of philosophy in CAS, agrees. "I think it's important that Fairfield becomes an exemplar, to the extent that we can, in demonstrating good environmental practices."

Just then, Dr. R. James Long, professor of philosophy in CAS, stopped by with a napkin full of coffee grounds to add to the bucket of scraps. "Starbucks," Long says. "We've got classy worms."

Aside from keeping the trays moist and feeding the worms each week, Wallace says the program has been no bother. There's no odor and, for all the work they're doing, the worms make no noise.

"My cat takes more care than this," she says. "Litter box or worm bin? It's no contest."

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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Office of Service Learning offers new opportunities

By Meredith Guinness, Publications Writer

For some, the term 'service learning' conjures up images of students ladling soup in a homeless shelter or hammering nails into a new house in Kentucky. Dr. Robbin Crabtree, director of the University's new Office of Service Learning (OSL), hopes it will soon mean that - and a whole lot more.

In the coming years, the OSL will support ongoing and new programs that link coursework with community-based service in an academically rigorous, intentional, and meaningful partnership that benefits all involved. Though the Office is the first effort to institutionalize the concept, service learning is nothing new to Fairfield, Dr. Crabtree says. Several professors have successful ongoing projects, including Dr. Judy Primavera, whose psychology students work with the Adrienne Kirby Family Literacy Project, and Dr. Philip Greiner, director of the Health Promotion Center in Bridgeport. Dr. Crabtree hopes the OSL will encourage wider practice of and bring new resources to support this pedagogy, including faculty development programs, course design support, and community partnership building.

"Service learning pedagogy entails a new relationship between the faculty and the community and the students," says Dr. Crabtree, professor of communication in the College of Arts & Sciences. "It's labor intensive. But if we're going to produce students for the 21st century, we need the community to be co-educators. It's not only about enhancing student learning and collaborating on problem-solving in the community, both proven outcomes of sound service learning experiences. It's also seeing the University as an active citizen that is engaged and contributing beyond the campus."

Dr. Crabtree and those who work in the Office envision service learning courses developing in relation to several models at Fairfield. Some students might work directly with service populations, such as schoolchildren or hospital patients, while others might serve as office support, getting an idea of what it takes to operate a non-profit agency. Others might work to influence policy, conduct research to address a social dilemma, or travel abroad for international immersion initiatives.

"There are many approaches to service learning," says Dr. Crabtree, "It all depends on the discipline, the course learning objectives, and the desire of professors to include community-based learning experiences."

Dr. Crabtree and Melissa Quan, assistant director of the Center for Faith and Public Life and coordinator of the service learning program, are working with Wylie Smith Blake, the new community outreach coordinator in Campus Ministry, to find ways to be sure that traditional community service programs and service-learning courses coordinate activities and partnerships whenever possible. The Center's two graduate assistants, Rich Prenetta and Ed Feldheim, are also working on service learning program development along with an advisory committee from across campus.

Quan says her previous experience working in Campus Ministry raised her awareness of the many programs and opportunities for service in Bridgeport, the state's largest city. "And I know from working with Campus Ministry the resources they have to offer," she says.

"We're working across divisions, especially developing some common reflection opportunities, so you get students in every area thinking, asking things like 'What does this mean about the kind of engineer I want to be, the kind of entrepreneur, the kind of writer?'" says Dr. Crabtree. "It can make them look at their chosen field from a different angle."

The new Office, which opened this summer, is part of the Center for Faith and Public Life, and Dr. Crabtree sees her work as a natural complement to that of Center Director, the Rev. Rick Ryscavage, S.J.

"While the Center creates a kind of a think tank for research, policy initiatives, and public dialogue, we're the pedagogical, on-the-ground component," she says. "We share the same goals of producing more engaged students and helping Fairfield University become a more engaged institution."

Ultimately, Dr. Crabtree and Quan hope every student will have the opportunity and desire to participate in a service learning course in the core or their major by graduation.

"Education should change you, your worldview, your self-perception," Dr. Crabtree says. "This sort of experience can be transformational."

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Bridgeport students dive into trading in BEST class

Dr. Michael T. Tucker, professor of finance in DSB, left, and Fairfield University alumnus Jerry McNamara '83, teach Bridgeport high school students about stock market trading.

By Meg McCaffrey, Assistant Director of Media Relations

Thirty-seven students from high schools in Bridgeport "glimpsed" Wall Street thanks to the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. The students, mostly seniors taking investment and finance classes, were invited by Dolan School faculty to learn lessons in the dynamics of trading and the volatility of the stock market in Dolan's Business Education Simulation & Trading (BEST) classroom.

 "This is a dynamic environment that gives the students a real-world experience," said Dr. Susan Spivack, who teaches business at Bassick High School. "It also introduces the world of finance and investments to them, something they may not have considered pursuing."

The scene in the classroom was lively. Students sat glued to computers, taking in Reuters News Service stories, making graphs, and studying charts to pick stocks. Divided into teams, the students bought stocks and watched the big board. Dr. Michael Tucker, professor of finance in DSB, advised the students to consider real world events when making trades.

Chantel Bholanath, a senior at Central High School, eyed her stock picks: The Gap, Nike, Dell, and Disney. "This is giving me an adrenaline rush," she said, watching her stocks rise. "It looks complicated but I think I can get used to it."

Dr. Norm Solomon, dean of the Dolan School, said that he considers Dolan faculty and students, let alone the BEST classroom, great resources. "I'm pleased that we can be of service to the Bridgeport public schools, and help introduce the school system's students to experiential learning and excite the students about investing. This classroom has cutting edge technology that helps prepare our students for a variety of careers in business. We are glad to share a glimpse of the modern digital trading floor with students from the community."

Christina Xayarath, who attends Bassick High School, was happy to be immersed in finance. "It is a totally new environment for me, both inside this room and just looking outside. It makes me feel ambitious."

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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DSB student wins trading contest

Alexander Dean '05, a graduate finance student in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, won the Texas A&M Inter-University Forex Trading Competition, making the most money in mock foreign exchange trading.

Ninety students from 14 universities took part in making mock trades of international currencies, hosted by Texas A&M's Mays Business School's Reliant Energy Securities and Commodities Trading Center. Both undergraduate and graduate students used Global Forex Trading (GFT) software that streams live price data for 60 foreign exchanges.

Dean won $1,328 in prize money, access for six months to a $10,000 Global Forex Trading account, and kudos for his 74.9 percent rate of return on his trades of the English pound. His closest competitors had 51 percent and 39.9 percent rates of return. In the team catagory, the Dolan School team, supervised by Dr. Michael T. Tucker, professor of finance, came in fourth.

Dean, who earned a B.S. in finance, believes he won the competition because of lessons learned at the Dolan School and his ability to ignore his self-doubts. "Like my father says, 'You've got to go big or go home.' You can't be afraid."

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Searching for the religious history of children

By Meredith Guinness, Publications Writer

In Nebraska, one little boy believed that if his teeth touched the consecrated host during communion, it would bleed the blood of Christ. Another thought of heaven as a time machine that could transport him back to the Old West. A young girl in New Orleans lay awake each night, worrying about the babies in Limbo.

"All those babies just floating around between Heaven and... wherever they were," she said. "Just floating around with no place to go!"

These are just a few of the hundreds of vivid memories Dr. Robert Orsi, professor of American religious history at Harvard Dinivity School, has documented in his intriguing research into the childhood spiritual lives of now-grown Catholics. On Nov. 15, he shared his fieldwork in "The Dangerous Imaginations of Mid-20th Century Catholic Children," the 13th annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J., Lecture in Theology, Religion, and Society. The lecture is delivered in memory of Fr. Mooney, a former academic vice president and professor of religious studies, who served at Fairfield from 1980 until his death in 1993. It was sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies.

Combining traditional archival research with real life reflections is a hallmark of Dr. Orsi's acclaimed work. He used this technique in his most recent book, Between Heaven and Earth: the Religious Worlds People Make and the Scholars Who Study Them, and incorporates his interviews into his courses.

Having crisscrossed the country to talk to Catholics who grew up between the 1920s and the 1960s, Dr. Orsi believes a common American Catholic identity was formed during those years. Immigrants coming from various ethnic traditions found themselves together, bound by their common religious identity. At the same time, their children were developing a "sacred imagination," based in large part on strictly enforced church rules and the often graphic stories they were told in parochial schools and at home, he says.

Busy memorizing the Baltimore Catechism and bombarded with religious periodicals and violent stories from The Lives of Saints, these youngsters were trained to be obedient. "What was said was said," one Nebraska woman told Orsi. "We were taught never to question our faith."

But how does a seven-year-old grasp such complex concepts as transubstantiation or resurrection? "So much of what they were presented was completely incomprehensible to them," Dr. Orsi said. "They were taught to believe that the supernatural could burst into the natural at any moment. You could touch God, but you shouldn't."

In the end, many of Dr. Orsi's interview subjects hit adolescence and began to see their faith in more adult terms, putting aside the excesses of their youth. But tapping into their memories is like finding the fault lines in the culture and he hopes his next book will help document this pivotal, pre-Vatican II time in American Catholic history.

"Children are difficult to find in history. It's even more difficult to do religious history of children," Dr. Orsi said of his work. "But if we can chart the fissures, the fault lines, and listen to how Catholic children lived in the world in their own way, we can come close to their inner worlds."

Photo by Peter Sarawit

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Goal III committee working strategically

By Barbara Kiernan, Director of Publications

Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president, has appointed Judy Dobai, associate vice president for enrollment management, to chair the committee charged with implementing Goal III of the University's strategic plan. This goal deals with integrating Jesuit values in graduate, professional, and continuing studies programs, as well as customer service, and program growth that is consistent with the University's mission. The 22-member committee, comprising deans, faculty, and administrators, will be working simultaneously on the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) self-study document, which is being prepared in relation to the strategic plan's stated goals.

"The ongoing efforts of the Goal III committee will provide a blueprint for institutional growth and strategic development for many years to come," noted Dr. Grossman in his charge to the committee. "The goal is intended to cover all graduate and part-time programs, including degree completion, certificates, and non-credit offerings." In each area, he asked that four questions be answered: 1) where are we; 2) where are we going; 3) how do we get there; and 4) how will we know we got there?

To date, the Goal III committee has met four times as a whole. The committee then divided itself into four subgroups: 1) Cura personalis (care of the individual through customer service); 2) infusion of Jesuit values into specific program areas, 3) new program development consistent with mission, and 4) growth of programs. During October, the subgroups met frequently and rejoined as a full committee in November to assess their progress.

Goal III NEASC/Implementation committee
Rev. Walter Conlan, S.J., rector, and director of integrated Ignatian learning, UC
Judy Dobai, associate vice president for enrollment management (chair)
Dr. Susan Franzosa, dean, GSEAP
Dr. Donald Gibson, associate professor of management, DSB
Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president
Marianne Gumpper, director of graduate admission
Dr. Evangelos Hadjimichael, dean, SOE
Barbara Kiernan, director of University publications
Susan LaFrance, director of government grants
Dr. Jean Lange, associate professor of nursing
Mary Nelson, graduate student, GSEAP
Dr. Jeanne Novotny, dean, SON
Cathy O'Donnell, director of marketing, academic programs
Sue Peterson, assistant to the dean, CAS; director of CAS graduate program development
Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., director, Center for Faith and Public Life
Dr. Jerry Sergent, associate professor of engineering
Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, dean, CAS
Dr. Norm Solomon, dean, DSB
Michael Tortora, executive assistant and business manager, student affairs
Dr. Billy Weitzer, senior vice president (ad hoc)
Dr. Edna Wilson, dean, UC
Dr. David Zera, associate professor of special education, GSEAP

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Graduate Corner: Creating a welcoming atmosphere

By Nina Riccio, Publications Writer

The University's strategic plan clearly states the imperative to involve our graduate and continuing studies students more fully in the life of the University community. "The philosophy of Task Force III is to engage these students to the degree they want to be engaged through many opportunities throughout the campus," says Cathy O'Donnell, director of marketing. "We have been working on doing a better job of communicating what's available on campus, and we've taken many initiatives to look at how we can serve them better."

The Office of Marketing conducted an adult satisfaction survey four years ago in which several areas of enhancement were discussed. The top three problems: parking was extremely difficult for graduate students arriving for class in the evening; there were very limited options for those coming from work to grab something to eat once they got to campus; and graduate students felt that events on campus were not necessarily available to them.

Some solutions were relatively simple, others more complex. The start time of evening classes was adjusted by 15 minutes to facilitate parking for students arriving after employees left at 4:30 p.m. Food kiosk hours were extended, and the Office began looking for ways to involve adult students; a special graduate student reception was held to introduce them to Fr. von Arx during his inaugural, for example. The Back to Campus Day event held in Kelley Center was designed with grad students in mind. "It has all the enrollment services in one place to accommodate their busy schedules," explains O'Donnell.

In October, Duane Melzer, coordinator for off-campus students, put together a reception specifically for graduate students. "It was a casual, meet-and-greet reception, but I did speak to them about the University's attempt to foster a graduate student identity, and told them that this would be the first of many events," he says. After the reception, the students attended the San Ignacio opera, held in the Egan chapel, together.

By themselves, none of these actions is particularly noteworthy. But taken together, "we are ensuring that our graduate students know that their voices are heard and that the community wants to be a welcoming place for them," says O'Donnell.

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The perceptions of Israel

Dr. David Elcott (above) delivered the talk, "Blurred Vision: How Jews and Christians See Israel," on Nov. 28 at the Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Lecture in Judaic Studies. The lecture, which focused on the different religious, symbolic, and political perceptions that Jews and Christians have of Israel and the importance of Israel to each, was presented by the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Elcott, who has traveled the world to help invigorate Jewish life and to promote Christian and Muslim understanding of Judaism, is the executive director of the Israel Policy Forum.

Photo by Peter Sarawit

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New campus maps available

The new Campus Guide, a handy reference featuring a map, self-guided tours, and descriptions of campus buildings and services, is now available. The updated version includes the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Center and reflects the many office moves that took place this fall. Copies are 25 cents each and may be ordered by calling Printing and Graphics Services at ext. 2432.

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New faculty join campus

By Meredith Guinness, Publications Writer, and Jaclyn Macchi '07, Intern

Fairfield welcomes several new faculty members this year. Campus Currents will continue to introduce them in the next couple of issues.

Angela Harkins
Dr. Angela Kim Harkins joins the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) as an assistant professor of religious studies. This semester, she is teaching "Introduction to Religion" and "Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament."

Dr. Harkins, who was an assistant professor of theology at Duquesne University, holds a B.A. in theology, honors program, from Loyola University of Chicago, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in theology from the University of Notre Dame. Her graduate studies focused on the Second Temple period and the writings of classical Judaism and the early church. She was a Fulbright scholar in 1997-1998 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she conducted research on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Her primary research centers on a collection of hymns from the Dead Sea Scrolls known as the Thanksgiving Hymns. 

She has published articles in the refereed journals, Dead Sea Discoveries, Theological Studies, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, and Textus, and is also working on a monograph, Signs of Editorial Strategies in the Hodayot, for publication with Brill Academic Press. Dr. Harkins recently received a $20,000 fellowship from the Catholic Biblical Association for her new research project on the images of the body in the Hodayot, which she will undertake in spring 2007.

Jerelyn Johnson
Dr. Jerelyn Johnson joins the CAS Department of Modern Languages and Literatures as an assistant professor of Spanish. This semester Dr. Johnson is teaching "Spanish Civilization and Culture;" "Analysis and Interpretation of Hispanic Literature;" and "Intermediate Spanish." In the spring, she will teach "Love and Deception in 19th-Century Spanish Literature" and "20th-Century Spanish Literature," as well as "Intermediate Spanish." Her current research interests include the role of cultural production in the excavation and recuperation of historical memory in contemporary Spain.

Dr. Johnson received a B.A. in Spanish and international relations from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1993, an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College in 1996, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Brown University in 2003. Before arriving at Fairfield, Dr. Johnson was an assistant professor at the College of Staten Island (CUNY) in the Department of Modern Languages.

In 2005, Dr. Johnson received a grant from the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, which allowed her to conduct research in Spain for the project "Graves and Roses: Excavation of Memory in Spain." Dr. Johnson's research has been published in the journals Romance Notes and Bulletin of the Comediantes; Teatro histórico: Textos y Representaciones; and Grolier Encyclopedia of Modern Drama. In April 2005, she presented at the Northeast Modern Language Association Convention and the Kentucky Foreign Language Conference.

Alison E. Kris
Dr. Alison E. Kris joins the School of Nursing as an assistant professor. She is teaching "Concepts of Pathophysiology and Pharmacology" as well as the clinical component of "Patterns of Illness II" this semester.

Dr. Kris received a B.A. in the biological basis of behavior and a B.S. in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at San Francisco in 2002. She completed the John A. Hartford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at UCSF in 2004. She was also a Leadership Institute Participant in Washington, D.C. She received the national Research Service Award, funded by the National Institutes of Health, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society 2001 Research Award. She has most recently worked at Yale University as a clinical instructor and at Fairfield University as an adjunct professor.

Dr. Kris will undoubtedly be an asset to the School due to her extensive research experience. In 2005, Dr. Kris was an associate research scientist and project director of a controlled trial of nursing intervention to improve care for women with ovarian cancer at Yale. She has had work presented at The Gerontological Society of America in Washington, D.C., and at the 15th Annual Evidence Based Research Conference, Sigma Theta Tau International, in Dublin, Ireland. She has also published in several journals, including The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Geriatric Nursing, and The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Elizabeth R. Langran
Dr. Elizabeth R. Langran joins the Graduate School of Education & Allied Professions as an assistant professor and director of the Educational Technology program. This fall, she is teaching "Introduction to Educational Technology" and "Research in Educational Technology I," in addition to overseeing student research and internships.

Dr. Langran has a B.A., cum laude, from Villanova University, an M.A. in teaching from Trinity College, and a Ph.D. in instructional technology from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. She taught at the Curry School from 2003 to 2005, and received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching award in 2005.

Dr. Langran was a university teacher of English as a foreign language for the U.S. Peace Corps in Morocco from 1996 to 1998. She began her teaching career at a Jesuit high school in Washington, D.C., as part of a volunteer teaching corps. She has also served as a teacher and the technology coordinator for The American School in Switzerland, in addition to teaching at several K-12 schools.

Dr. Langran presented her research at the Barcelona V Conference on Educational Multimedia in July. She has also presented at the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education National Conference every year since 2003. Her work has been published in Learning and Leading with Technology and in Teaching with Digital Images: Acquire-analyze-create-communicate. In October, she attended the first United Nations Global Youth Leadership Summit to work on a digital storytelling initiative called "The Tapestry Project."

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The Campus View

Before the winter frost arrives, the Rev. Jim Mayzik, S.J., assistant professor in the New Media, Film, Television, and Radio Department in the College of Arts & Sciences, plants tulip and crocus bulbs in his garden in front of Xavier Hall, home to the Media Center. Like many faculty and staff, he often goes the extra mile to make Fairfield a pleasant and peaceful place to work and learn.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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Fr. McGregor's film Posada premieres

By Nancy Habetz, Director of Media Relations

Posada, a documentary about the plight of detained, unaccompanied migrant children and families, premiered at Fairfield University on Nov. 20. Directed by the Rev. Mark McGregor, S.J., assistant professor of film in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences, the film follows three teenage boys - Densi, Johny, and Wilber - who left their homes in Central America and crossed the border from Mexico into the United States. The film tells of their detention by immigration officials and their struggle that helped pave the way for others needing assistance.

Fr. McGregor says the purpose of the documentary is "to put a human face on immigrants, particularly children, so people will have compassion towards them, regardless of their status."

Since 2000, between 80,000 and 110,000 children have been arrested and turned away by the U.S. Border Patrol each year. Most children seek to be reunited with their families or to escape threatening hardships in their home countries. The number of children annually detained by the United States has risen from a few thousand in the 1990s to more than 7,700 in 2005. Overall, Fr. McGregor wants the film to be a story of hope. "A border cannot contain and prison walls can't detain hope," he says.

The film uses the holiday tradition of Las Posadas as a backdrop to the immigrants' search for a home and acceptance. Las Posadas, originated in colonial Mexico and celebrated in the United States, are processions that reenact Joseph and Mary's search for shelter. Beginning on Dec. 16, community processions weave through local streets, with participants singing and stopping at houses along the way.

Last December, Fr. McGregor brought 10 students from Fairfield's film program to the Dolores Mission Parish in East Los Angeles, a Jesuit parish, and to the U.S. border with Tijuana to help with the production. In addition to the Fairfield Media Center, Loyola Productions in Los Angeles contributed to the film's production.

Fr. McGregor hopes his film will promote the solidarity called for by the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States in "A Journey of Hope," the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform. He also hopes that it helps advocacy efforts on behalf of children, specifically the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act, which is a bill before Congress.

The screening was sponsored by the Humanities Institute of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Graduate School of Education & Allied Professions, the Office of Mission and Identity, the Office of Multicultural Relations, the Latin America and Caribbean Studies Program, the New Media, Film, Television, and Radio Program, and the Fairfield Jesuit Community.

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Bellarmine Hall's courtyard gets a facelift

By mid-December, the Bellarmine courtyard will be transformed from an asphalt parking lot to a courtyard more reminiscent of the way it looked when the building was constructed in 1921. "This redesign is an attempt to make the entrance to Bellarmine more aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to the building's history," says Sara Murray, design assistant in Campus Planning & Design. The new look (pictured at left), conceived by Mike Cusato, director of Campus Planning & Design, will include a turn-around circle in the center of two main axes, leading both to the main door and to the side doors of the building. One of these side doors could eventually become the main entryway for the museum on the lower level that is currently in the planning stages. "The color of the brick pavers has purposely been kept neutral so the beauty of the Bellarmine façade will stand out," explains Murray. Grass and plantings will surround the turn-around so there will be very limited parking. The parking lots leading up to Bellarmine will be used for staff and visitor parking. The front door of Bellarmine should be accessible throughout the four-to-six week construction period.

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Sports

Men's Soccer captures MAAC crown; falls after win in NCAA Tournament

By Kelly McCarthy, Assistant Director of Sports Information

It was a dream season for the Fairfield men's soccer team. The Stags recorded a winning season, were ranked nationally for much of the season, captured a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season Championship followed by a MAAC Tournament Championship on their home field, and won an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. To cap the season, Fairfield upset UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first Fairfield sport to advance to the second round of the national tournament.

Fairfield faced Saint Peter's in the MAAC tournament final, edging the Peahens, 1-0. Throughout the deadlocked first half, each team scored a goal only to have it taken off the board due to offside calls. Fairfield would be the only team to have a goal stick in the 69th minute when senior Alex Cunliffe found classmate Mike Troy who sent a shot off of the Saint Peter's goalkeeper and into the corner of the net for the game winner. Cunliffe and Troy, along with juniors Sam Bailey and Tom Skara, earned a spot on the MAAC All-Tournament team. Cunliffe also earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

The Stags did not have to travel far to make their return to the NCAA Tournament. Fairfield drew perennial postseason veteran UConn, on Nov. 11, on the Huskies' home field. With a planned and focused attack, Fairfield was able to upend the Huskies, 2-1, to advance to the second round. The Stags never trailed in the game thanks in large part to the defensive unit that seemed to frustrate the Huskies. Offensively, freshman Christian Uy notched the first goal of the game to the back corner of the goal, just 16 minutes into the game. UConn would tie the score just minutes into the second half and the two teams would remain knotted at 1-1 for much of the period. With precious minutes ticking off the clocking, senior Jimmy Gaughan found an opening in the 82nd minute and was able to tuck the ball under a diving Huskies' goalkeeper for the game winner.

Fairfield's euphoric run ended on Nov. 15 in Maryland, as the Stags fell to No. 20 Towson, by a 2-0 margin. The Tigers had received a first-round bye and were riding an impressive 13-game winning streak. More impressive is that Towson had allowed just 11 goals in 18 games and was nearly flawless on the Stags turf. Fairfield had many scoring chances, but could not overtake the Tigers. The Stags finished the season with a 15-6-1 overall record.

"It has been a thoroughly enjoyable season for our group," said Head Coach Carl Rees. "To represent fellows like this (Mike Troy and Alex Cunliffe), has been a privilege. It is time to reflect on our season as a whole, which has been a fantastic experience."

Fairfield will defend its MAAC Championship next season with nearly its entire team intact, including Tom Skara, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.

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Sport Shorts

By Jack Jones, Director of Sports Information

MAAC Basketball Championships arrive in March

The 2007 Bank of America MAAC Basketball Championships are coming to the Arena at Harbor Yard, March 1-5, as Fairfield hosts both the men's and women's tournaments. Tickets for the championships are currently on sale for an exciting 20-team, 18-game event, which will crown the league champions and determine who goes to the NCAA Tournament.

All-session tickets are available at the Arena at Harbor Yard, all Ticketmaster locations, charge-by-phone at (203) 368-1000, and on Ticketmaster.com. The all-session pass reserves the best available seat location for all nine sessions of the championship event at a discounted price. Tickets for adults are $100, and student tickets are $50.

The women's championship begins on Thurs., March 1, with two first-round games at noon and 2 p.m. The women's quarterfinal games are on Fri., March 2, at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. Semifinal games for the women's programs are slated for Sat., March 3, at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., while the championship game will be played on Sun., March 4, at 2 p.m.

The men's championship tips off on Fri., March 2, with two first-round games at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Quarterfinal games will be played on Sat., March 3, at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. The men's semifinal games will be at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sun., March 4, and the championship game will be on Mon., March 5, at 9 p.m.

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GSEAP students combine service learning and research

By Alejandra Navarro, Editor

The Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP) recently held an informative event that combined community service and graduate student learning. The school offered two evenings of parenting workshops and invited those in attendance to participate in University-sponsored research.

"We wanted to share our expertise and knowledge with the community, and at the same time provide service learning and research experience for our students," said Dr. Christine Siegel, assistant professor of school psychology. Dr. Siegel presented the workshop "School-Based Accommodations for Adolescents with ADHD: Middle School to College." Other presenters included Sandy Stock, Fairfield Prep librarian, whose topic was "What is My Teenager Doing on the Computer?" and Jennifer Piqueira, assistant director of financial aid at Fairfield University, who presented "Navigating the Maze of College Financing: Tips for Parents."

This program on adolescents is one of a number of projects that illustrates GSEAP's commitment to community outreach. The response to the free presentations was positive. The workshops held on Nov. 8 and 15 were attended by about 120 parents, most of whom participated in the research. Maggie Harrison, a Fairfield resident who attended the workshop on college financing, said she was pleased to see the University offer the free program. "If someone had called me on the phone and asked me to do a survey, I probably would have said no. But I don't mind helping the students here."

Under the direction of Dr. Siegel, a research team of graduate students in the Psychology, Special Education, and Educational Technology Department that included Cindy Keefe, Patti Nietsch, Krista Horn, and Terry D'Elisa, organized the program. Additional students from Dr. Siegel's classes helped collect and score the questionnaire data.

Keefe is using the data for a master's thesis investigating the range of experiences of parents whose teenagers are - and are not - diagnosed with ADHD. For graduate students Stock, in educational technology, and Piqueira, in applied psychology, the event was an opportunity hone their presentation skills. Dr. Siegel and her students will present the preliminary results at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists in New York City in March.

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news Briefs

World AIDS Week commemorated

Students taking the course "AIDS in the United States" and members of Face AIDS, a national student effort to raise money to prevent AIDS in Africa, sponsored several events to commemorate World AIDS Week from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.

The week kicked off with a "wear red" campaign and a screening of And the Band Played On. On Wednesday, students screened the film A Closer Walk. Thursday's events featured a dinner at Ignatian Residential College and a student play reading. Friday brought an AIDS health fair in the campus center.

Students also sold Thanksgiving pies to benefit AIDS Project New Haven and held food drives to support the Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project. Throughout the week the students also sold beaded pins to raise money for Face AIDS.

Society of Women Engineers honored

Fairfield's Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Collegiate Section won the Outstanding New Collegiate Section award at the national organization's conference in Kansas City, Mo., in October. Fairfield's year-old section's activities met the organization's strategic priorities: education/outreach, inclusiveness/diversity, knowledge source, and leadership/professional development. In April, members plan to attend the SWE regional conference in Boston, where SWE National President Jude Garzolini will recognize their achievements.

The student club is led by president Alex Del Solar '09, vice president Melissa Ternier '08, Treasurer Jessica Kurose '07, and co-secretaries Jenna Turocy '08 and Tia Ferrarotti '08. Dr. Jerry Sergent, professor of electrical engineering in the School of Engineering, is the faculty advisor.

Campus members join peaceful protest

Members of the campus community attended a vigil and nonviolent protest at the gates of Fort Benning in Georgia on Nov. 19 to call for the closing of the School of the Americas and an end to U.S. militarism in Latin America.

Attending the vigil with 15 students were Dr. Betsy Gardner, professor of psychology, and the Rev. Mark Scalese, S.J., assistant professor in New Media, Film, Television, and Radio, (both in CAS), and from Campus Ministry, Conor O'Kane and Wylie Smith-Blake, associate director and campus minister, respectively.

Accounting students win competition

In October, a team of accounting students in the Dolan School of Business took first place in the 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers xACT Case Competition. The team, which included Christine Persampieri '08, Daniel Ross '08, Shelby Mayor '09, Robert Morton '08, and Kaitlin Wilusz '09, won a $1,000 prize and has a chance to be selected to participate in the national competition.

The xACT (short for extreme accounting) competition is designed to give students real-world experience in accounting and auditing.

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'Tis the season for A Christmas Carol

Theatreworks USA is back for a special children's production of A Christmas Carol as part of the "Young Audience Sunday Series," on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 1 and 3 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

With witty dialogue and fresh new songs, Theatreworks USA's version of A Christmas Carol captures both the humorous and touching moments of the classic story. The production, running approximately one hour, conveys to children from all grades Dickens' original message that the holiday season should be a "kind, forgiving, charitable time."

For ticket information, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.

Photo by Jean-Marie Guyaux

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NHSO performs holiday concert

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra celebrates the yuletide season with its "Holiday Pops" concert, conducted by Gerald Steichen and featuring guest artists, soprano Amanda Borst and baritone Brian Mulligan, at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Friday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Voce, one of Connecticut's premiere new vocal ensembles, makes its debut with NHSO.

The "Holiday Pops" promises a rich tapestry of new, traditional and rarely heard sacred and festive music. The program includes the world premiere of Lisa DeSpain's "An American Nativity" with full vocal participation; "Christmas Festival" by Leroy Anderson; Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Christmas Carols" sung by Brian Mulligan and Voce; "Carol of the Bells" by Leontovich; "Still, Still, Still" sung by Voce; "Aria in Classic Style," a harp solo written by composer and harpist Marcel Grandjany; and the serene hymn, "O Holy Night" sung by Amanda Borst and chorus. Rounding out the program are traditional carols and a Christmas memories sing-along.

For ticket information, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.

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Director's Cut offers nine student plays

Theatre Fairfield presents "Directors' Cut," a delightful evening of nine short plays that premieres the directing talents of nine student directors. Performances will be at the PepsiCo Theatre on Thursday and Saturday, Dec. 7 and 9, at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.

The novice directors - Tess Brown, Kelly Henn, Tim King, Liz Krane, Katie McLaughlin, Jared Mezzocchi, Jonathan Perez, Jodie Pfau, and Wendy Scola - are in their junior and senior years as theatre majors or minors. All are currently members of Dr. Martha LoMonaco's class, "Art of Directing," and are Theatre Fairfield veterans.

The "Directors' Cut" plays will appear in a new anthology, 35 in 10: Thirty-Five Ten-Minute Plays, compiled and edited by noted local playwright Kent R. Brown.

For ticket information, call the Box Office at ext. 4010.

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Handcraft sale to help our partnership school in Nicaragua

Christmas is fast approaching, but you can get a few presents - gifts with international appeal - right here on campus. Nicaraguan handmade crafts, including wood vases, jewelry, and handbags, are being sold at the bookstore in December.

The money raised will go back to Nicaragua to help fund small businesses through microlending, said Dr. Edna Wilson, dean of University College, pictured above with Darling Garcia, a student at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Nicaragua studying at Fairfield for the fall semester. Dr. Wilson is also co-chair of the steering committee on the partnership Fairfield has with UCA, a fellow Jesuit university. Since 2004, Fairfield has participated with UCA in collaborative projects, including educational seminars, research projects, and service learning trips. UCA has a microfinance center, Nitlapan, which helps people in poor regions start or continue small businesses. "The funds raised will help the microfinance center provide local artisans and business people with small loans so that they can become self-sufficient economically," said Dr. Wilson. One such loan, for instance, paid for a manual pottery wheel for a woman living in a rural region.

The crafts come from the state of Masaya, which is known for its artists and handmade crafts, said Garcia. Her presence is part of a student exchange between the two universities. "These handmade crafts are like those that people in Nicaragua place in their homes," Garcia explained. "Every handmade craft has a cultural meaning."

Photo by Jean Santopatre

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Campus Currents is the official news publication of the Fairfield University community. It is published monthly. The editorial office is located in Dolan West. Telephone: 254-4000, ext. 3392. Fax: 254-5554. E-mail: anavarro@mail.fairfield.edu.

Editor
Alejandra Navarro
Publications Writer and Editor

Editorial Board
Martha Milcarek
Assistant Vice President for Public Relations
Barbara Kiernan
Director of University Publications
Jean Santopatre
University Photojournalist

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