Campus Currents - November/December 2007
Volume 16, Number 4
The official news publication of Fairfield University
Landscape plan gets another review
University unveils heat and power plant
Campus Currents to undergo update, redesign
Campus Newsbreakers
Service Anniversaries
Student diversity grants
Arts & community engagement committee named
Kurt Schlicting installed as Corrigan chair
CN&S Tech Talk
Nicholas Kristof
Paula Cooey: Seeing Jesus in others
Advisory Boards: Advice, Access, Resources
New Faculty at Fairfield
Commuting made easier
DSB again one of Princeton's best
Fairfield's strategic vision, in plain terms
Welcome to Advancement
New undergraduate admission publications
Upward Bound funding restored
Dr. Jamie Phelps: Divisions within the Church
Sheri Liao receives honorary degree
Communion breakfast for business professionals
David McCullough: The importance of history
Alumnus is new Web Communications Director
Dr. Steven Bachelor: Mexico in the American Century
Athletic Hall of Fame induction
Stag Sports
Rev. Charles Allen performs with GBSO
Charitable Sharing Campaign
Fairfield hosts Student Affairs Officers
All aboard: John Lennon bus
Landscape plan gets another review
By Nina M. Riccio, Assistant Director of Academic Marketing and Communications
Representatives from the landscape firm of Ayers Saint Gross were on campus in October to give faculty and staff a final chance to review their evolving landscape master plan. Taking the concerns of members of the University community into account, the firm is scheduled to submit its final plan by the end of the year.
The firm's overall concept is to work toward a more pedestrian-friendly campus. Its recommendations include moving some of the roadways that intersect the center of the campus to its outskirts, creating more pedestrian pathways, and encouraging the use of smaller, electric-powered campus vehicles. A nature trail/ jogging path would wind its way around the perimeter of the campus.
The most notable change to the existing roadway structure, said Adam Gross of Ayers Saint Gross, would be to shorten Loyola Drive and remove the loop at its end. The firm also suggested making some of the parking lots in the center of campus smaller. "These are steps to reestablishing the area to be more pedestrian-friendly," he said. He also noted that these steps would not be done immediately, but would be contingent upon further studies concerning the parking situation on campus. Bike paths and a bike-sharing program were briefly discussed as positive alternatives to the use of cars.
Most of the approximately 100 people attending expressed concern that parking, already tight in many areas, would become an even greater issue with the removal of existing spaces especially during events at the Quick Center. Senior Vice President Billy Weitzer addressed the concerns by assuring those present that no parking spaces would be eliminated without a plan that provides adequate alternatives.
Representatives from the firm later met with the grounds crew to go over their suggestions for using native trees and plants on campus. An evening presentation was held for neighbors. "Most reacted positively to our goal of making the campus more attractive while offering input on areas of special interest to them," said Martha Milcarek, assistant vice president for brand management and public relations.
Ayers Saint Gross will submit a report that will include a phase-in approach to the projects recommended, as well as suggestions for using consistent lights, ballards, and trash cans, and an extensive plant list.
Photo by Jean Santropatre
University unveils heat and power plant
Congressman Christopher Shays, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, and President von Arx, S.J., help unveil the University's new enviro-friendly Combined Heat and Power Plant.
By Meg McCaffrey, Assistant Director of Media Relations
U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Congressman Christopher Shays (R) took part in an Oct. 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiling the University's new enviro-friendly Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP).
The CHP was designed to generate almost the entire electrical load of the campus, which will greatly reduce the strain on the region's power grid. The plant is expected to reduce the University's overall carbon footprint by more than 10,000 metric tons per year. The project also positions the University to be better able to face rising power costs. "As a Jesuit institution, we're charged to be good stewards of the Earth and we take that mission seriously," said President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J. "The Fairfield community has made a concerted push toward all things green.... This Combined Heat and Power Plant is one of very few on U.S. college campuses."
The CHP will produce as much as 85 percent of the University's heating and cooling requirements. Electricity is produced via a turbine, built by Solar, a subsidiary of Caterpillar. It is fueled by clean-burning natural gas.
The $9.5 million project was done in collaboration with United Technologies Carrier. Last year, Fairfield received a $2.3 million grant for the CHP project from the state of Connecticut. The purposes of the state grant program are to make Connecticut more energy-independent, and to reduce the impact of federally mandated congestion charges on Connecticut ratepayers. The size of the grant is directly related to how much power generation is produced.
Congressman Shays applauded Fairfield for working with the state to be part of the solution. "What we are seeing is a University respond to a very real energy need and financial need.... Using clean natural gas is a huge contribution."
Secretary Bodman said the CHP was a "shining example" of a green project. "I commend Fairfield University for its foresight and the way it thinks about energy and energy consumption," he said.
The CHP is designed to capture wasted heat and recycle it while lowering emissions of sulfur dioxide (a leading contributor to acid rain), carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. The byproduct is called rejected heat, which will be captured to heat and cool structures on campus.
Through the Central Utility Facility, the University has been producing its heat and cooling since 1960, but has relied on outside sources for electricity. The University added a 3,000 square-foot addition to the existing CUF earlier this year in time for this energy upgrade.
Photo by Jean Santropatre
Campus Currents to undergo update, redesign
New look in February 2008!
In the spring of 2007, a comprehensive online survey of the campus community was conducted to assess the format, editorial content, design, and effectiveness of Campus Currents. There were 203 respondents to the survey, and they provided the editorial board of Campus Currents with useful suggestions on content, design, and style options.
A committee of faculty and staff will work together from November through January to publish an updated version of Campus Currents in early February. Thus, the publication will not be issued in December. To make suggestions regarding Campus Currents, feel free to send us an e-mail at campuscurr@mail.fairfield.edu.
All university faculty and staff are welcome to submit their news clips or mention of publicity they received through print or electronic media in the past month. Please send by the 20th of the month for inclusion in the next issue, via e-mail to: campuscurr@mail.fairfield.edu
Dr. Barbara Amodio, adjunct professor, University College, was invited by the Muhviddin Ibn 'Arabi Society to present her paper titled, "Unveiling the Heart Locus and Expanding the Gemstone in the Ocean of Consciousness: Unifying Islamic and Indian Tradition Perspectives on the Inner Way" at the 20th Annual USA Symposium held at the University of California, Berkeley, Oct. 27-28. The paper will be published in the Society's international journal that emanates from Oxford University. Dr. Amodio will also participate in a seminar that will be podcast on the Berkeley website.
Dr. Patricia Calderwood, director of elementary education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP), has co-written an article, "Balancing Acts: Negotiating Presence and Authority in Shared Reflection," which appeared in Studying Teacher Education: A Journal of Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices. Her article, "A Case Study of Faculty Community Under Construction," appeared in Essays in Education (21, 120-138). The winter 2007-08 edition of Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives in Learning includes "Dangerous Pedagogy," which she co-wrote.
Five faculty members from GSEAP gave presentations at the American Educational Studies Association (AESA) annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio, in October. Dr. Patricia Calderwood, director of elementary education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, presented a paper, "Critical Literacy as Reflective Practice in Elementary Teacher Education." Dr. Susan Franzosa, dean, chaired a panel session, "Uncanny Exposures: A Study of the Archival Turn in Educational Scholarship." Jennifer Goldberg, assistant professor in Curriculum and Instruction, presented the paper "The Power of Play: Possibilities and Practice Within Science Education." Dr. Wendy Kohli, professor in Curriculum and Instruction, moderated a general session honoring Prof. Maxine Greene and Emily Smith, assistant professor in Curriculum and Instruction, presented the paper "Integrating Theory and Practice in an English Methods Course: Developing a Teaching Stance."
Suzanne Chamlin, assistant professor in the Department of Visual & Performing Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), has two group exhibitions of her work. "Painters' Projects" was shown at The Seton Art Gallery at the University of New Haven until Oct.17. "The Impermanent Collection V" will be shown at The Temporary Museum in Brooklyn, N.Y., until Nov. 11. Professor Chamlin held an author's talk there on Nov. 4.
Elia Chepaitis, associate professor emeritus, has published a chapter, "Managing Knowledge in a Low Trust Information Environment: Culture, Risk, and Strategy in Post-Soviet Russia," in Managing Global Information Technology: Strategies and Challenges, published by Ivy League Publishing in May 2007. She also presented "Information Systems and the Common Good" at the International Conference on Business in Honolulu in the summer of 2006.
Dr. Ralph M. Coury, professor of history in CAS, was recently the subject of an article by the Lebanese philosopher Dr. Jamil al-Qassim, published in the August issue of the Lebanese Arabic cultural and political monthly al-Ashtarut (Astarte). The article focused on Dr. Coury's experience as a professor of Middle Eastern history at American universities, his scholarly contributions to the study of pan-Arab nationalism and Orientalism, and his views on Middle Eastern politics in the post-9/11 period. Dr. Coury also delivered a paper, "A Syllabus of Errors: Benedict the XVI at Regensburg," at the annual Global Studies Conference held at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, on October 4-6. Dr. Coury argued that the Pope's provocative remarks about Islam at Regensburg in 2006 were the result of several beliefs, including the long-lived but false idea that the peoples of the world can be divided into self-contained and undifferentiated civilizations and that Western civilization is inherently superior to all others.
In October, Yvel Crevecoeur, visiting instructor of special education in GSEAP, completed Fast Track Program Evaluation - A Pilot with coauthor P.A. Streifer. The program evaluation will be presented at the 2007-08 NEAG School of Education Colloquia on Assessment at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.
Dr. Jessica Davis, assistant professor of chemistry, mentored a summer research program with Erin Culbert, biology '08, and Christopher Pace, chemistry '08. Dr. Davis received funding from CBIA/Pfizer for a 2007 ten-week summer research fellowship. Dr. Davis and Chris presented their research, "Design, Synthesis and Activity of Small Molecule Inhibitors of the TNF·/TNFR interaction," at the August American Chemical Society's 234th National Meeting & Exposition in Boston, Mass.
Drs. Richard DeWitt and R. James Long, both professors of philosophy in CAS, have published the paper "Richard Rufus's Reformulations of Anselm's Proslogion Argument" in the International Philosophical Quarterly (Sept. 2007). This is the first joint study published by two members of the philosophy department.
Karen Donoghue, associate director of Residence Life, was presented with the Richard F. Stevens Outstanding New Professional Award for the state of Connecticut at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region I Conference in Burlington, Vt. The award is granted to professionals who have served four years or less in a full-time position in higher education and have made significant contributions to both the institution and the profession. Christine Papazicos, president of IRHA, stated in her nomination letter, "Karen's positive attitude makes us feel so much more confident in ourselves and in fulfilling our responsibilities. Knowing that she is concerned about us makes us feel like we have such meaning and purpose here."
Dr. Elizabeth Dreyer, professor of religious studies in CAS, was interviewed in the October issue of The American Catholic. When asked what she found most troubling in the Church today, she answered, "Lack of accountability is a huge problem ... all institutions need checks and balances to keep them honest. I don't think anyone, especially the Church, should be above the law. Organizations like Voice of the Faithful and Call to Action are doing good work."
Dr. Susan Franzosa, dean of GSEAP, served as the moderator for "John Dewey's Democratic Imperatives and the Future of Higher Education" at the first general session of the New England Philosophy of Education Society's annual conference at Framingham State University on Oct. 14. Dr. Franzosa also chaired a session entitled "Accountability, the University, and Dewey's Democratic Imperatives in the 21st Century."
Dr. Sheila Grossman, professor of nursing, published the following: a chapter, "Leadership," in Critical Components of Professional Nursing Practice, 4th ed., by R. Nunnery, 2007; "Immune Disorders and Immunologic Medications" in Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 4th ed., by L. Sylvestri, editor, 2007; and "Leadership and Followership" in Nursing Leadership and Management: Theories, Processes, and Practice, by R. Jones, editor, 2007. She presented, along with Dr. Jean Lange, Dr. Joyce Shea, and Dr. Meredith Wallace of SON, a talk, "End-of-Life Care Graduate Core Curriculum: Implications for Increasing NP Student Knowledge and Awareness of Providing Palliative Care," at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty Conference in Denver, Colo. She also presented "Teaching Palliative Care in Critical Care" at the American Association of Critical Care Nursing in Philadelphia, Penn., and participated in the Geriatric Nursing Education Consortium with Dr. Lange in Atlanta, Ga.
Dr. Amanda Harper-Leatherman, assistant professor of chemistry in CAS, mentored two 2007 summer undergraduate research projects. She received funding from CBIA/Pfizer to support Christopher Koenigsmann '08, on "Aerogel-Based Electrodes for Biofuel Cell Technology." Andrew Piper's '08 research, "Electrochemical Characterization of Self-Organized Gold Nanoparticle~Cytochrome c Superstructures," was presented at the August American Chemical Society's 234th National Meeting & Exposition in Boston, Mass.
Dr. Ingeborg Haug, associate professor and clinical director of the Marriage and Family Department in GSEAP, was elected chair of the Elections Council of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Dr. Haug attended the AAMFT Annual Conference on "healing fractured relationships" in Long Beach, Calif., and chaired the International Family Therapy Open Forum. Dr Haug also moderated a session on "ethical issues" at the annual conference of the American Family Therapy Academy in Vancouver, Canada, in October.
Dr. Virginia Kelly, chair of Counselor Education in GSEAP, led an Oct. 1 workshop for school counselors from the New Haven Board of Education at the Alumni House. About 30 counselors joined Dr. Kelly for the daylong event, in which she helped them find ways to better define their role to school administrators, teachers, and parents and, in turn, to better serve students' needs. "In a test-oriented culture, school counselors have to be able to quantify their effect on academic performance, career goals, and personal skills in the students they counsel," she said. "Our impact is a little bit indirect."
Dr. Wendy Kohli, professor of Curriculum and Instruction in GSEAP, was appointed to the advisory board of the National Women's Studies Association Journal for 2007-2010.
Dr. Matt Kubasik, associate professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry in CAS, received funding from CBIA/Pfizer for a 10-week summer research fellowship to support Melissa Guildford '08. The two presented the results of their research "Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Experiments for the Determination of Helical Peptide Structure" at the American Chemical Society's 234th National Meeting & Exposition, in Boston, Mass., in August. Dr. Kubasik and Eric Falcone '08 presented results of their summer research "Characterization of Peptide Electrostatics Using UV-Vis Spectroscopy" at the same conference. Their research was funded by a grant from Research Corporation.
Dr. L. Kraig Steffen, associate professor of chemistry in CAS, received a 2007 CBIA/Pfizer fellowship to support the 10-week summer research of Andrea Della Pelle '08. They presented their research, "Synthesis of Substituted Aryl-amines for Electrocatalysis," at the August American Chemical Society's 234th National Meeting & Exposition in Boston, Mass.
Dr. Elizabeth Langran, assistant professor in GSEAP, presented, with her educational technology students, a digital storytelling session at the Connecticut Education Media Association/Connecticut Educators Computer Association Joint Conference in Hartford, Conn., on October 23.
Dr. Marti LoMonaco, professor of theatre in CAS, has been elected a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, based in New York City. The League, which was founded in 1986, has more than 300 members who represent a diverse group of theatre professionals from both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Current League President Lynne Rogers nominated LoMonaco for her leadership of the Theatre Library Association, her scholarship as a theatre historian, and her work as a professional director.
Dr. Eric Mielants, assistant professor of sociology in CAS, published The Origins of Capitalism and the Rise of the West through Temple University Press.
Dr. John R. Miecznikowski, assistant professor of chemistry in CAS, delivered a talk, "Utilizing a Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow as the Central Instructor for Inorganic Chemistry at Boston University," in the Division of Chemical Education at the American Chemical Society's 234th National Meeting on August 20, 2007, in Boston, Mass.
Dr. Bogusia Molina, associate professor of counselor education in GSEAP, presented "Time to Care" during "No Child Left Behind and Managed Care - A Multicultural Relational Learning, Teaching, and Supervising Model for Social Justice and Service Learning" at the National Conference of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision on Oct. 11 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She coordinated, with the assistance of program coordinator Nicole Nelson, "Student Success Skills," a conference on campus that drew 72 participants from school systems across the region.
Mark Reed, vice president for administrative services and student affairs, was appointed to the Town of Fairfield's Ethics Commission by the Board of Selectmen. The appointment was approved by the Representative Town Meeting. The term is for two years.
Katherine Schwab, associate professor of art history in CAS, was interviewed on June 15, 2007, for the one-hour culture program on Hellenic Public Radio (91.5 FM in New York City) on the Parthenon restoration project. She gave the guest lecture "Renewed Glory: The Restoration of the Parthenon," sponsored by the Nisyrian Society of New York City, at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria, New York City, on June 16, 2007.
A book chapter, "Les fantoches, la veulerie de la cité," authored by Dr. Marie-Agnès Sourieau, professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in CAS, was recently published in Haïti et littérature. Jacques Roumain au pluriel (New Hemisphere Books, 2007).
Dr. Winston Tellis, the Stephen and Camille Schramm Professor of Business in the Dolan School of Business, addressed the first-year students, and later the faculty, at The Arthur Kania School of Management at University of Scranton on Sept. 26-27. The topic he presented to the freshmen was "Human Dignity and Sustainable Development," and he spoke to the faculty on developing a seamless continuum of teaching, research, and service with one's personal life; publications emerge from this research activity equally. Dr. Tellis also presented a paper coauthored with Fr. Mark McGregor, S.J., entitled "Using Media and Information Systems to Explain the Effects of Globalization and Migration" at the International Association of Computer and Information Systems on October 4, 2007, in Vancouver, Canada. In November, he was the lunch speaker at the 14th International Vincentian Business Ethics Conference, sponsored by DePaul University in Chicago, Ill.
Dr. David Zera, associate professor of psychology and special education, and Yvel Crevecoeur, visiting instructor of special education, both in GSEAP, had their article "Insights From the Field: Descriptive Reports and Interviews of Spanish/Portuguese - English Educator's Developing Special Education Knowledge," accepted for presentation at the 38th annual meeting of the National Association for Bilingual Education in Tampa, Fla.
Dr. Qin Zhang, assistant professor of communication in CAS, published the article "Family Communication Patterns and Conflict Styles in Chinese Parent-Child Relationships" in Communication Quarterly. Her paper "Teacher Misbehaviors as Learning Demotivators in College Classrooms: A Cross-Cultural Investigation in China, Germany, Japan, and the United States" was published in Communication Education. Dr. Zhang also collaborated with a group of scholars and had two additional papers published. The paper "A Further Test of Immediacy-Learning Models: A Cross-Cultural Investigation" appeared in Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, and the paper "Teacher Immediacy Scales: Testing for Validity Across Cultures" was published in Communication Education.
Students from Dr. Philip Eliasoph's "Revolution and Authority in Art 1770-1970" spent a beautiful autumn day in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The course is part of the Honors Program. Center: Dr. Eliasoph.
November Service Anniversaries
25 years
John Falzone
10 years
Diane Mastrone
Barbara Wanamaker
December Service Anniversaries
20 years
David Currier
Maria Regan
15 years
Debra Prior
10 years
Marie-Noel Appel
5 years
Martin Dunleavy
Donald Elwell
Martha Milcarek
January 2008 Service Anniversaries
35 years
Raymond Velazquez
20 years
Rose Rodrigues
Sharon Sparkman
15 years
Carolyn Rusiackas
Laura Strang
10 years
Francis Hannafey, S.J.
Matthew Sather
5 years
Joan Finlay
Births
Dr. Eric Mielants - son, Alexander M., born on August 30.
Dr. Elizabeth Pretrino - son, David Pascal, born on September 5.
Dr. Camelia Micu - daughter, Laura Emma, born on September 10.
Dr. Raquel Ukeles - daughter, Rebecca U., born on September 15.
James & Lynne Chesbro - son, James Douglas, born on September 22.
Timothy Fuller - son, Gabriel Elijah, born on September 26.
Condolences
Mr. Raymond W. Payne, father-in-law of John Paladino, assistant director of recreation.
Bertha Raskis Nolan, mother of Dianne Nolan, former women's basketball coach, died Oct. 10.
John G. Swanhaus, Jr.'67, University trustee from 1992 to 1998, died Oct.12.
Dr. Salvatore A. Carrano, professor of chemistry from 1956 until his retirement in 1980, and a member of the Fairfield University Retiree's Association, died Oct. 12.
Maureen McAvoy '10, math major and member of the Ignation Residential College, following an extended illness. A native of Brewster, N.Y., she died on Oct. 15.
By Deirdre Bennett, Communication Coordinator, Student Affairs
Fairfield University's Student Diversity Program has two goals: to create a community that is respectful, multicultural, multiethnic, and religiously inclusive, and to stress responsibility to develop personal awareness and promote diversity. To help make these goals a reality, the Student Diversity Grant/Brinkman Diversity Grant Program invites undergraduate and graduate student-led teams to submit a project proposal. Those selected receive up to $1,500 for program and project expenses and also receive a $500 cash prize. Awards can be used to expand or modify an existing program, or to create an entirely new one.
"From all the proposals that were submitted, the committee selected three winners it felt best embodied the program," said Jimmarck Cuenta '08, FUSA secretary of academics, who sat on the Grant Selection Committee as student representative. The winners were announced in a ceremony on October 9.
Project Peg is a student organization devoted to exploring issues of gender diversity through creative art and theatrical performance. The group will build on the themes of self-confidence, beauty, and personal identity, and will focus on Fairfield University's definition of feminism. Katie Carroll '09 explains, "We want to define the question, ‘What is feminism?' by finding answers through male and female student works in the form of poetry, art, photography, theatre, journaling, and discussions with faculty." The proposal was submitted by Carroll, Anne Krane '09, Elizabeth Mercadante '09, and Sarah Zybert '09, with faculty advisor Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka.
"Accented Perceptions: Fairfield University as a Space of (Dis)Integration for Foreign Students and Faculty," is an exploration of opportunities and challenges faced by foreign students. The project's goal is to contribute data that help the University assess the extent to which non-U.S. citizens who study or work at this institution feel welcomed into its community. Team members are Katerine Boutros '08 and Amenda Legros '08, with faculty advisor Dr. Gisela Gil-Equi.
"Am I Racist? Exploring Unconscious Biases and Stereotypes among Fairfield University Students," will explore attitudes toward racism among students and will encourage them to reflect on prejudices of which they may not even be aware. The group aims to conduct an educational activity with students that will stimulate self-reflection and an increased understanding of the challenges and obstacles that so many minorities face. Team members include Rachael V. Harriman '08 and Stephanie E. Chavarro '08 with faculty advisors Dr. Elizabeth Gardner and Larri Mazon.
Teams will be meeting with the Student Diversity Grant advisory committee on a monthly basis with project completion and submission by March 26. Projects will be showcased during March Diversity Week.
Arts & community engagement committee named
By Martha Milcarek, Assistant Vice President for Brand Management and Public Relations
In an effort to realize greater value for the University's major lectures, arts and cultural activities, Father Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., has established the Committee on Arts, Culture and Community Engagement.
"The Committee's charge is to coordinate all important lectures, concerts, gallery installations, symposia, festivals, recitals, etc. in a coherent fashion so that the University may realize the full value of these events for our students, faculty, staff, and our external audiences," Fr. von Arx wrote in a letter to members of the new committee.
Specifically, the committee's role is to develop procedures and guidelines that will accomplish the following:
- Coordination among the Academic division, which presents most of the events, Marketing and Communications which promotes the activities, and Advancement, which leverages the events for alumni and donor relations to benefit Fairfield.
- Coordination and internal alignment within the various presenters for better cooperation and focus.
- Recommendations and a charge for an external Advisory Board for the Arts and Community Engagement that will support the contribution the University makes to the region.
- Collaboration among presenters for the production of cultural festivals, thus bringing together the arts and intellectual life of the community.
Father von Arx said that because of the importance of the tasks, he has asked three vice presidents to participate. Committee co-chairs are Dr. Orin Grossman, vice president for academic affairs, and Rama Sudhakar, vice president for marketing and communications. Other members are Stephanie Frost, vice president for Advancement; Rev. Charles Allen, executive assistant to the president; Michael Boyd, associate vice president for individual giving; Dr. Philip Eliasoph, professor of art history; Dr. Jesús Escobar, associate professor of art history; Martha Milcarek, assistant vice president for brand management and public relations; Diana Mille, director, Thomas Walsh Gallery; Cathy O'Donnell, director of academic and admission marketing; Rev. Richard Ryscavage, director, Center for Faith and Public Life; Deborah Sommers, director of programming, Quick Center for the Arts; Dr. Ellen Umansky, professor of religious studies; Dr. Edna Wilson, dean of University College; and Tom Zingarelli, director, Quick Center for the Arts.The committee will begin its work this month.
Kurt Schlicting installed as Corrigan chair
Fr. von Arx and Gerald Corrigan '63 (center) congratulate Dr. Kurt Schlichting.
By Meredith Guinness, Assistant Director of Academic Marketing and Communications
Friends, students, faculty, and alumni were on hand Oct. 4 as the University installed Dr. Kurt Schlichting, professor of sociology and anthropology in CAS, as the first holder of the E. Gerald Corrigan '63 Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Dr. Corrigan, managing director of Goldman Sachs and a University trustee, said he felt a certain kinship with Dr. Schlichting, who was a member of the class of 1970. They've both shown a deep commitment to academics and civic issues, he said. "The roots of that are in the Jesuit values and Jesuit spirit that both of us first encountered on this campus," he said. "This is where we learned how to think and there is no greater gift that can be forthcoming."
They also both chose to head for New York City for graduate work, with Dr. Schlichting going to New York University, while Dr. Corrigan "stayed with the Jesuits" at Fordham. "I will leave it to others to judge the relative merits of each," Dr. Corrigan said, to laughter from the crowd of about 100 gathered in the Barone Campus Center for the ceremony.
Dr. Schlichting noted similarities between his life and work and Dr. Corrigan's in his address, "Parallel Histories: Fairfield's Early Years, Change & Growth, A Lasting Commitment." He recalled the campus in their day - from straight-back chairs and blackboards to the hours he and the other "day hops" from Bridgeport spent sitting in their cars waiting for their next classes in the dirt parking lot behind Alumni Hall.
The Jesuits had a strong vision, but it required enormous energy, courage, and plenty of help from the surrounding Catholic community, he said. Once, while going through his grandparents' keepsakes, he found a paper brick marked with the number 11,806. It was part of an early Fairfield Prep fundraiser that asked local parishioners to buy a $1 "brick" to help build Xavier Hall. "Many of my classmates were the first in their families to go to college," Dr. Schlichting said. "What Fairfield has always offered is opportunity."
The new Corrigan Chair also comes with expanded opportunities for Dr. Schlichting and students, as the $5 million gift from Dr. Corrigan also made possible the E. Gerald Corrigan Endowed Scholarship Fund. Dr Schlichting plans to use the funds to continue to involve students in his research. As director of the Fairfield County Research Center, which he founded in 1987, he has completed social and political surveys with several area organizations - from the New Canaan-based advocacy group Voices of September 11th to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Mentoring a new batch of "Corrigan research assistants" will be an "an enduring gift" for students interested in sociology and anthropology, Dr Schlichting said.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
CN&S Tech Talk:
Data security is always priority # 1
By Jeff Potocki, Software Support Specialist and Training Coordinator for Computing & Network Services
Computing and Network Services (C&NS) takes many approaches to ensure that the University's sensitive data is secure. In view of recent security breaches elsewhere, C&NS will be offering additional security measures to users that handle and protect sensitive University data.
In early September, the state of Connecticut was notified of a data security breach in which personal information from Connecticut state residents was compromised when a worker from a technology consulting company downloaded the information to a backup tape. The tape was later stolen out of the employee's car.
However, there is still no indication that the information has been used for fraud or identity theft. Why is this? When backing up information for archive and protection purposes, IT network administrators use different methods to protect stored data. One such method is encryption.
Encryption is the process of converting data into secure code. To read or "decrypt" the data, a user or computer must have a security key or password. There are many different types of encryption; the type chosen will depend on where the data is and how it is transmitted to other users or computers. In the case mentioned above, IT network administrators encrypted the data when it transferred the information to the back up tape so that the data would be inaccessible if stolen.
But there are times when your data is not backed up to a network storage device, and you are at risk for having your laptop, desktop, USB memory key, or external removable disk stolen. In that case, how do you encrypt data on your personal computer?
One way is to use software that creates a folder that will encrypt any files you put into it. You then create a key or password for others to access the data. On the Mac, encryption software is already installed with the operating system. You can use the "Encrypted Disk Image" option from the Disk Utility program in the Utilities folder on your hard drive. C&NS is currently evaluating the Windows encryption program built into Windows XP. An added feature of these programs is that they allow you to encrypt data and send it via e-mail to a USB memory key, or an external removable disk.
For questions about computer security or encryption, please contact C&NS at ext. 4069 or send an e-mail to cns@mail.fairfield.edu. Also, please check the University's daily e-mail for upcoming computer training classes.
Good luck and safe computing!
New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof delivered the Jacoby-Lunin lecture on Oct. 24, displaying all of the passion and commitment about the genocide in Darfur that won him a Pulitzer. "On an issue like Darfur, you might think leadership would come from Washington," he said, "but the national leadership has been from campuses. The pattern with issues of genocide is for the party in power to think 'it's not really our fight.' It was true in 1915 in Armenia. It was true for the Holocaust. It was true in Rwanda in 1994." To his credit, he added, President Bush has delivered a great deal of humanitarian aid, but all world leaders are guilty of not working hard enough to stem the violence in the area.
In his talk, "Darfur - Making a Difference," Kristof outlined the complex political situation in the Sudan, while focusing primarily on individual cases of suffering: a young man whose brother pulled him from a pile of bodies and carried him for 45 days to a refugee camp; a woman who was gang-raped but managed to save her sister; a man who was beheaded in front of his daughters after advocating for them to a military officer. "One Connecticut citizen has demonstrated the power of an individual to bring about change," said Kristof, noting that it is Mia Farrow who has been vocal about branding the Chinese Olympics "the genocide Olympics," if China, Sudan's major trading partner, doesn't step up pressure on the Sudanese government.
The annual Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture is presented under the auspices of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies with Open VISIONS Forum of University College.
Paula Cooey: Seeing Jesus in others
By Meredith Guinness, Assistant Director of Academic Marketing and Communications
Dr. Paula Cooey began the 14th annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J. Lecture on Church, Religion and Society on Oct. 30 with the story of the French village of La Chambon-sur-Lignon. In the early 1940s, with France under Nazi occupation, a Protestant minister, the Rev. Andre Trocme, and his congregation risked their lives to hide Jews. They obtained forged IDs and ration cards, and even helped spirit them away to Switzerland, eventually saving an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people.
When asked later why they broke laws and risked their lives for people who were, in many cases, strangers, they answered simply. "They said it was the natural thing to do," said Dr. Cooey, the Margaret Weyerhaeuser Harmon Professor of Religion at Macalester College in Minnesota. "In short, these were just ordinary people who thought they were doing what ordinary Christians should do."
Dr. Cooey, author of Willing the Good: Jesus, Dissent and Desire, said it's not enough to see ourselves as Christ-like in helping those in need. "It isn't about us, but about us seeing Jesus in the other," she told the more than 100 gathered in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room.
Dr. Cooey's talk, entitled "Christian Ethics: Desiring Deeply Enough and Dissenting Clearly Enough in Response to the Horror of Our Times" was sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies. The Christopher F. Mooney, S.J. lecture is an annual event honoring Fr. Mooney, a former Fairfield University academic vice president, who died in 1993.
Advisory Boards: Advice, Access, Resources
By Virginia Weir, Assistant Director, Advancement Communications
Through a vibrant partnership with faculty and deans, the University's four school-based advisory boards of committed alumni, parents, and friends are charged with providing outside perspectives on the work of their School or College and supporting its fundraising initiatives. Serving as Fairfield's institutional ambassadors, these advisory boards generously offer their expertise and resources, taking the pulse of the industries they represent so they can advise the deans.
The four boards, which serve the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), School of Nursing (SON), School of Engineering (SOE), and Dolan School of Business (DSB), currently comprise between 14 to 25 invited members who serve three-year terms and meet two to four times per year. An appointed chairperson works closely with the School's dean and an advancement liaison who helps to link the work of the advisory board to the larger community. For the SON and CAS, an appointed faculty member also serves on the advisory board, communicating progress to the broader faculty.
"Board members learn all about the individual schools: they meet the students, participate in lectures by experts in the field, and attend classes or visit community partner sites. They become ambassadors for their school and open doors to a broader community," says Noël Appel, director of foundation relations and advancement liaison for the SON and CAS advisory boards. Rob Cottle, director of corporate relations, is the advancement liaison for the DSB and SOE advisory boards.
College of Arts and Sciences
Development is a central component of each advisory board. Over the past two years, the CAS Board of Advisors, under the leadership of Jorge Figueredo '82, has worked on three department-based projects in Biology, Religious Studies, and Visual and Performing Arts. Preliminary work to acquire seed funding for the proposed Bellarmine Museum was also begun. The department projects are fully funded and were launched in September.
School of Nursing
Partnering with the Center for Academic Excellence, the SON Advisory Board has focused its attention on the renovation and upgrade of all teaching classrooms and laboratory spaces. These changes, which feature simulation learning tools and advanced technology, are complemented by a four-year faculty and curriculum development program that will transform the entire undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Under the expert leadership of Board Chair Nancy Lynch P'95, nearly all of the funds have been raised, spaces renovated, and the program component is well under way.
School of Engineering
With a focus on "real-world learning for real-world engineering work environments," the SOE Advisory Board, under the chairmanship of Tony Vallillo '72 (President & CEO, United Illuminating), is composed of engineers and executives from local industries who help students with career advice, mentoring, internships, and even employment. One important SOE Advisory Board project is to secure funds to implement the video teleconference link between SOE and seven local community colleges to enable community college graduates to complete their degrees.
Charles F. Dolan School of Business
Identifying and analyzing broad issues - such as management trends, or local, regional, and global business issues - is the work of the DSB Advisory Council, chaired by John O'Neill '71, P'08 (America's Director, Ernst & Young-Private Equity). Faculty recruitment and retention is also a priority.
"Council members have developed internships for students, spoken at School events, mentored students, and provided resources to initiatives such as the BEST Classroom and the Faculty Research Support Fund. This fall the Council met its fundraising goal and decided to increase it by 33 percent - which will make a big difference to our research capacities," notes Dr. Norm Solomon, dean of DSB.
William Vasquez-Mazariegos
Dr. William Vasquez-Mazariegos joins the Department of Economics as an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. He received his B.S. in business administration and his M.S. in administration and analysis of reliability from University Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He also has an M.A. in economic theory and an M.A. in applied statistics, both from the University of New Mexico, where he also earned his Ph.D. in the philosophy of economics. His research interests are centered on development economics and the provision of public services such as education, healthcare, water, and sanitation in Latin American countries.
How did you become interested in your field?
Growing up in Guatemala, I was surrounded by the hardships and tragedies that poverty engenders. The images of that poverty are with me to this day, and the need to overcome the determinants of that poverty constantly inspired me to move forward in my education. I intend to become a teacher and researcher able to produce work that affects positive social change.
Do you have a favorite moment in teaching?
I enjoy when my students ask questions about the material covered in class and how to use economic models to solve real problems. I evaluate the effectiveness of my lecture based on the questions my students ask in and out of class.
How do you stay healthy?
Laughing with my family and friends.
What sports, if any, do you play?
I like chess and checkers.
What was the proudest moment in your life?
September 27, 2007, my daughter's birthday.
What book tops your list of must-reads?
The Bible.
What is your most daring moment in life?
When I came to the United States to study in the doctorate program, I only had an acceptance letter and no financial aid. Yet, I took some savings and came with my family because I wanted so badly to be a doctor in economics.
Jiwei Xiao
Dr. Jiwei Xiao joins the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and the Asian Studies program in the College of Arts & Sciences. She previously taught at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and Rutgers University in New Jersey. She earned a B.A. in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature from Rutgers University. Dr. Xiao's research interests are in modern and contemporary Chinese literature, film studies, women's fiction, and East-West cultural relationships.
How did you become interested in your field?
I always loved to read literary works and watch movies of all kinds. A modern Chinese literature seminar class that I took in Princeton got me seriously interested in pursuing a career in the field of modern Chinese literature.
Do you have a favorite moment in teaching?
There are so many moments. It is hard to pick a particular one. But seeing students' improved performance and the smile on their faces might count.
What sports, if any, do you play?
Badminton and ping-pong. I am not good but at least know how to play them.
What was the proudest moment in your life?
There is no single proudest moment. But there are many proud moments. For instance, I did extremely well on the national entrance examination back in China in 1988 and was admitted to the graduate school in Rutgers University with full scholarship package. I was also very proud when my son hit a homerun for his T-ball team.
The book(s) that top your list of must-reads?
Marcel Proust's Swann's Way, and Eileen Chang's short stories.
If you could be anywhere in the world, where would you be and why?
Paris or Kyoto because I enjoy languages and culture and I have never been to either place.
For some of us, commuting to work may just get a little easier.
Beginning Nov. 1, employees commuting by train will have the option of riding the Prep bus to and from the train station in the mornings. The bus will meet the 7:50, 8:05, and 8:35 morning trains. In the afternoon, commuters can take the regular University bus, which leaves every 45 minutes.
Bus pick-up and drop-off is in front of the Barone Campus Center.
DSB again one of Princeton's best
Best 290 Business Schools - 2008 edition (Random House/Princeton Review) hit bookstores earlier this month and includes the opinions of students at what the Princeton Review has found to be the best Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited Master of Business Administration programs in the world. This is the third year in a row the Dolan School has been listed.
Students, who said the coursework was both current and interesting, credited the Dolan School with having an array of academic selling points, including "very accessible and helpful faculty" and "a fine finance program." Students observed how "Jesuit tenets" guide instruction, and they noted "professors' enthusiasm contributes a lot to the learning experience." They also were in agreement that classmates comprise a "good peer network." Students emphasized that the School has classrooms equipped with all the up-to-date teaching technologies, and evening and weekend courses are convenient for the many working professionals enrolled in part-time programs. Fairfield's proximity to the headquarters of nearly 50 Fortune 500 companies was also mentioned as an asset.
The mysteries of the University's core curriculum were revealed at an event held on Halloween in the Oak Room. Here, Dr. Mark LeClair, professor of economics, explains the economics core, as history major Kelly O'Melia '10 picks candy out of the cauldron.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
Fairfield's strategic vision, in plain terms"
Fairfield is sharing its Strategic Vision with alumni, parents, friends, and donors in a concise, user-friendly booklet that was mailed at the end of October as part of the Annual Fund appeal.
In a cover letter accompanying the booklet, University President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., explains, "Each goal focuses on discerning and cultivating integration - between fields of study, between learning and daily life, between the life of a student and the life of a citizen. Woven throughout the plan... is a concern for our mission and identity as a Jesuit and Catholic university, and diversity in the fullest sense of the word. We must be a community that welcomes and respects the broadest possible range of human experience...."
The booklet, called "Inspired Lives," will also be available to all University staff.
We missed a new Advancement employee in our October issue! Kaitlyn Gumpper (B.A., Yale University) is the new Institutional Giving Coordinator, assisting Foundation and Corporate Relations in all activities, including grant writing and preparation, outreach activities, and event planning. "As a native Fairfielder, I am happy to be joining the University as a staff member, and look forward to helping it grow." (Kaitlyn is the daughter of Marianne Gumpper, director of Graduate Admissions.)
Campus view
Ben Ostovarpour of Campus Operations gussies up the fence at the Jesuit Residence.
Photo by Jean Santropatre
New undergraduate admission publications
A new series of five admission publications tells the Fairfield story through compelling experiences of faculty,
students, administrators, and alumni.
By Cathy O'Donnell, Director of Marketing for Academics and Admissions
Every four to five years, Fairfield University redesigns its admission publications used for the recruitment of prospective students. In doing so, we find compelling ways to tell the Fairfield story. Working with Generation, a New York City-based communications firm, and a committee from the marketing and communications division and enrollment management, the undergraduate admission team now has a new series of five publications.
"Our goals in designing the new publications for prospective students were twofold: to illustrate themes or the major points of distinction in a Fairfield education and to extend our communication plan and contact with the prospective student over a longer period of time during the recruiting process," says Karen Pellegrino, director of undergraduate admission. "Our direction for the admission publications also benefited from utilizing research from the Lipman Hearne project as well as testing prototypes in focus groups with high school students."
The publication themes were identified through extensive interviews and focus groups with Fairfield faculty and students and are ones that are critical in the decision making of prospective students. Each of these publications will be mailed to prospective students, at designated intervals, based on the student's entry into the recruiting and admission cycle.
The individual pieces are all linked by a common format. In the first four pieces, members of the Fairfield community - students, faculty, administrators, and alumni - tell the Fairfield story in authentic and compelling ways. "We are grateful to the many people who contributed to this effort, gave their time and shared their poignant reflections, which greatly contributed to the substance of these publications," says Pellegrino.
- Inspired Life is the introductory piece and provides an overview of the "Fairfield experience" from the perspective of students and faculty.
- Good Work focuses on student outcomes after graduation from Fairfield.
- All Together Now highlights campus life and diversity.
- Reach Out illustrates how the Jesuit tradition permeates all facets of campus life.
The fifth and final piece in the series, The Big Picture, is akin to a traditional college view book and provides detailed information about Fairfield's admission process, academic programs, internships, student life and activities, study abroad opportunities, career services, and campus facilities.
"As the title of our first piece illustrates, our hope is that prospective students finish these pieces with an understanding that a Fairfield education leads to a life that is both inspired and inspiring," says Pellegrino. "We are quite pleased with the quality and content of these publications that reflects the dynamic Fairfield story." If you would like a copy of the complete set of admission publications, please contact the Undergraduate Admission Office.
Photo by Jean Santropatre
The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 has been signed into law, providing $57 million to fund Upward Bound applicants that scored above a 70 in the most recent grant competition. This translates into four years of funding to serve approximately 12,000 students in 187 Upward Bound programs across the country. The legislation also ushers in sweeping changes to the student loan industry and increases the maximum Pell Grant to $5,400 over the next five years.
Dr. Jamie Phelps: Divisions within the Church
Dr. Jamie Phelps, O.P., of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, delivered the seventh annual Anne Drummey O'Callaghan Lecture on Women in the Church on Oct. 3 at the Quick Center.
"Our sense of community is fragmenting today," she said, lamenting that there is "less emphasis on the common good" and more self-absorption than should be in a church that prides itself on communion. For too long, she said, Black people have been viewed as "the threatening other" in both society and the Church. Instead, she maintains, the Church should work to transform the structures in our society that marginalize and dehumanize. There are approximately 270 million Catholics of African descent within the Church, she said, and it's imperative that all Catholics look past the idea that "difference" means "separation." "Diversity is not accidental, but enriching."
Photo by Bob Winkler
Sheri Liao receives honorary degree
Paul Huston '82, chairman of the University's Board of Trustees, left, and Fr. von Arx, right, confer an honorary degree
on Chinese environmentalist Sheri Liao.
By Meredith Guinness, Assistant Director of Academic Marketing and Communications
Chinese environmentalist Sheri Liao lived out a longstanding dream on Oct. 10 when she received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University.
Early in her career, she came to the University of North Carolina as a visiting scholar hoping to attain her doctoral degree. But, after meeting members of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) here, she gave up her green card and headed back to Beijing, intent on making an environmental difference in a country plagued by pollution. In fact, 16 of the world's 20 worst cities for air pollution are in China.
"I thought maybe the world doesn't need another Ph.D., but China really needs an NGO," she told hundreds gathered in the Quick Center's Kelley Theatre. "But I was always a good student and today I carry out my dream - without studying five years!"
Liao's visit was sponsored by the Humanities Institute, Environmental Studies, Asian Studies, and International Studies. Dr. Danke Li, assistant professor of history and a personal friend of Liao's, and Dr. Dina Franceschi, associate professor of economics, first petitioned for Liao's honorary degree.
Liao, winner of the prestigious 2000 Sophie Prize for her tireless efforts toward global sustainability, has been making a difference on China's burgeoning environmental scene since 1996, when she founded Global Village of Beijing, one of only two environmental NGOs in China. During her speech "This Endangered Planet: A Chinese View," she outlined ways her group tries to boost public awareness and action through grassroots actions that focus on individuals and the Chinese idea of harmony between humankind and nature.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
Communion breakfast for business professionals
Joseph Berardino '72, chairman and CEO of Profectus BioSciences, a biotechnology company actively seeking to eradicate the AIDS virus, delivered the keynote address at the annual communion breakfast held Oct. 28 in the Egan Chapel and the Oak Room. Bishop William E. Lori celebrated a Mass for business professionals and leaders, recognizing their significant contributions in implementing Catholic social doctrine.
Robert Wright, vice chairman of the board and executive officer of GE, shared his insights about the current challenges people face in business.
The event was co-sponsored by Fairfield University's Center for Faith and Public Life and the Fairfield County Chapter of Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP), a lay-led
Vatican organization founded by Pope John Paul II for education and evangelization of Catholic social doctrine through business, professional, and academic leaders.
David McCullough: The importance of history
Author and historian David McCullough charmed an Open VISIONS Forum audience on Oct. 18 with his wit and wry observations on education and politics. Noting that he received an excellent education at Yale, he extolled the merits of a core curriculum. "Yale no longer requires undergraduates to take a history course. Harvard doesn't require history. Middlebury doesn't require history. Neither does Duke." He paused. "Fairfield does," he said, to cheers from the crowd. It concerns him, he said, that "we are raising a generation of people who, by and large, are historically illiterate, and that is putting our country and our culture at risk." The founders of our country all had a profound sense of history, he added, even those who were not formally educated. "They read classical history and the Bible. They drew on these sources for their sense of honor."
McCullough spoke of getting to know his subjects - John Adams, Harry Truman, and Theodore Roosevelt, among others - through their letters. "When a public figure no longer keeps a diary or writes his own speeches, it's not just that we don't get the real thing from that person, but that person is not working out his own thoughts and ideas."
McCullough's talk was sponsored by Open VISIONS Forum in collaboration with the Fairfield Museum and History Center. He has won two Pulitzers and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he continues to write all his manuscripts on a 1940 Standard Royal typewriter.
Alumnus is new Web Communications Director
Scott Barnett, an alumnus of Fairfield's Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, has been named to the newly created position of Director of Web Communications in the new Division of Marketing and Communications.
Barnett, a resident of Milford, will report directly to Vice President Rama Sudhakar, and will direct staff of the Web Communications Office. He has over 15 years' experience in media and information systems, coming to Fairfield from Ryan iDirect where he was an Interactive Producer and Project Manager for the development of robust consumer product websites. Barnett is the former associate director of academic computing at Sarah Lawrence College and was assistant professor and e-Media program director for the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University.
Barnett received his B.S. in television production from Syracuse University, an M.A. in educational technology and instruction development from Fairfield, and an M.S. in computer information systems from Quinnipiac.
Commenting on Barnett's appointment, Sudhakar said, "Scott is a welcome addition to the new division and comes with a wealth of talent, academic credentials, and experience. I am confident he is the ideal person to lead our efforts to achieve our strategic and creative goals of web and interactive media communications."
Photo by Jean Santopatre
The College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Steven Bachelor: Mexico in the American Century
Grasping at a chance for its own "American dream," Mexico embraced Americanization after the consolidation of the nationalist 1910 revolution, says Steven Bachelor, Ph.D., assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences. "American capitalism was pitched as a way to modernize Mexico, and both working people and the elite supported it. For Americans, this fit nicely with the idea of the ‘American century,' harnessing economic strength to battle communism and promote both stability and U.S. hemispheric power. For Mexicans, this meant a chance to partake in the same economic prosperity, employment security, and democracy as U.S. workers enjoyed."
Dr. Bachelor's research uses the case of the U.S. auto industry in Mexico to tell the larger story between U.S. capitalism and Mexico. "Mexican workers assumed they'd have real unions as workers did in the U.S., not meaningless unions with bosses appointed by management, as they had previously." The reality, he says, is that neither the Mexican government nor American industrialists were willing to let Mexican workers have "real democratic unions with teeth," and when workers began mobilizing they were quickly crushed and labeled "communists." "The Mexican government needed pliant workers because that kept the authoritarian government strong, and U.S. industrialists needed to keep workers desperate enough to create the kind of profits they wanted." Dr. Bachelor alleges that the Mexican government and U.S. industrialists colluded to crush the burgeoning union movement, and in so doing struck a blow to democracy in that country. "What my work shows is how embracing the American ideal of capitalism had consequences that the Mexican government and U.S. employers didn't intend. They never intended to give working people the same dream that was promised in the U.S. Many Mexican workers ultimately viewed this as another instance of American imperialism."
Dr. Bachelor, whose courses focus on the history of Mexico and colonial and modern Latin America, is finishing his manuscript, Miracle to Maquila: Mexico in the American Century. (Maquilas are factories, generally along the U.S./Mexican border, that produce goods largely for the U.S. market.) The manuscript covers a large span of the last century, from the Mexican Revolution through today. It's difficult to understand the story of labor, democratization, and industry in Mexico, he says, without situating American capitalism in the context of the Mexican revolution, when the railroads, the oil industry, and utilities were nationalized.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
Athletic Hall of Fame induction
Corrine Carlson '01, Steve Dogmanits '01, Trish Elser '92, Spencer Steele '00, and Isabella Kotowski '02
By Kelly McCarthy, Assistant Director of Sports Information
Homecoming is a time for former student-athletes to return to the playing fields they knew so well. Alumni reunite and share the memories of games played, goals achieved, and experiences shared. They also have the opportunity to watch today's student-athletes compete and carry on the legacy they left behind.
The legacy of five former student-athletes - Corrine Carlson '01, Steve Dogmanits '01, Trish Elser '92, Spencer Steele '00, and Isabella Kotowski '02 - was forever enshrined as they became the Fairfield University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2007 on Oct. 13 at the Barone Campus Center. All five made outstanding contributions to their respective sports and exemplified the ideal of being both student and athlete at the University.
Corrine Carlson spent 1997-2000 in Alumni Hall earning a nearly permanent place in the volleyball record books. Currently, she stands third in block assists (266), total blocks (327), and matches played (137); fourth in hitting percentage (.327), aces (155), and digs (1397); and fifth in kills (1193). Carlson was best known for her back row play and her selflessness as a player. She helped the Stags to four straight MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. As a junior, she was named the MAAC Player of the Year and the MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player. She was also named the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 1997.
Steve Dogmanits was a threat on the gridiron for the Stags, leaving as the career leader in interceptions with 21. As a senior, Dogmanits earned a spot on the Associated Press Division I-AA All-America First Team after leading the nation in interceptions with 11 in 10 games. The team captain was one pick shy of breaking the national record of 12 set by Princeton's Dean Cain in 1987. The defensive back averaged more than four tackles per game for his career and tallied 38 pass deflections, including 13 his sophomore season. Dogmanits, who returned to the Fairfield sidelines as an assistant coach in 2002, accrued numerous accolades, including the 2000 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, the USA Today Northeast Defensive Player of the Year, and the Fairfield Male Athlete of the Year awards along All-MAAC and All-ECAC First Team honors.
There were few people tougher on the basketball court than Trish Elser. She had a knack for blocking shots, finishing her career with 231 swats and a tally of 1,356 career points. As a junior, she blocked 75 shots, the third-highest single-season total at Fairfield. She also helped the Stags to a MAAC Championship crown and their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. During her final campaign, she led the team in scoring with 17.9 points per game and in rebounding at 8.7 caroms per contest. She was named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team and picked up All-MAAC First Team and All-Met honors.
The 2001 season was magical for the field hockey team, and Isabella "Iza" Kotowski had much to do with that. During her senior campaign, the forward helped the Stags to their first-ever Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. The three-time all-league selection led the team in scoring with 13 goals, which also set the Fairfield standard, and six assists for 32 points. She also earned a spot in the prestigious North-South All-Star Game as a senior, and earned all-region honors twice from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). When Kotowski stepped off the field for the final time, she left as the career leader in points (108) and goals (42) and remains that way today.
For four years, Spencer Steele was the face of Fairfield men's lacrosse and remains one of the top players in program history. He is the all-time leading goal scorer with 147 strikes in 60 career games. He also ranks third in points (210) and assists (63). With his contributions, Steele helped Fairfield to a MAAC Championship as a freshman and to a ECAC title as a junior. He was named the MAAC Player of the Year in 1999 as well as the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 1997. While his statistics and accolades are all important, Steele's biggest contribution was his passion for the program. A team captain his junior and senior seasons, Steele led by example both on and off the field.
The five alumni join 133 other former student-athletes and athletic contributors who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1982.
Photo by Susan Warner
By Kelly McCarthy, Assistant Director of Sports Information
The MAAC Volleyball Championship is Coming!
Fairfield will host the 2007 MAAC Volleyball Championship from Nov. 18-19 at Alumni Hall. The semifinals will be held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on November 18, while the championship final will be held on Monday, November 19 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The top four teams in the conference, including Fairfield, will participate in the event.
Basketball Doubleheader against Sacred Heart
The men's and women's basketball teams will open their 2007-08 seasons at home on Nov. 18 against cross-town foe Sacred Heart. The doubleheader will be played at the Arena at Harbor Yard as the women take to the court at 4:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are still available for this contest as well as the other home events. Faculty and staff season ticket packages also are available.
Video Features Enhance Athletic Website
The Fairfield Athletics website, www.fairfieldstags.com, has added a new aspect to the site: video features. These feature stories give fans an inside look at the Stags and will be posted throughout the year. Be sure to check back to the website often for the latest stories about your favorite Fairfield student-athletes!
NCAA Women's Basketball Tickets On Sale
On March 23 and 25, eight teams will converge on the Arena at Harbor Yard for the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball first and second rounds, hosted by Fairfield University. Tickets are currently on sale to the public; All-session tickets are $55. For more information or for tickets, call the Arena at Harbor Yard Box Office at (203) 345-4904.
Go Stags!
Rev. Charles Allen performs with GBSO
His Boston accent notwithstanding, everyone's favorite master of ceremonies, the Rev. Charles Allen, S.J., will narrate two Russian tales during The Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra's (GBSO) evening of Russian music on Nov. 10. Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf tells the tale of a youngster who attempts to catch a wolf despite warnings from his grandfather. Stravinsky's "Petrushka" is based on the sad puppet of numerous folk tales whose affection is spurned by a beautiful - but heartless - ballerina. The Symphony's talented and ever-popular Gustav Meier will be conducting.
"Unable to sing, dance, or play a musical instrument, I am deeply honored to be on the same stage as Gustav Meier and the members of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony," says Fr. Allen, executive assistant to the president, who is also a member of the GBSO Board and has served as master of ceremony at the Symphony's annual outdoor summer Pops concert at the University.
The concert is a family event and will take place at Bridgeport's Klein Memorial Auditorium at 8 p.m.; there is a pre-concert program with a gifted student ensemble in the lobby of the Klein beginning at 7 p.m. For tickets, call the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Box Office at (203) 576-0263 or visit online at www.bridgeportsymphony.org. Mention you're a University employee and enjoy a 10 percent discount.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
Fairfield University's annual Charitable Sharing Campaign to support the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, Community Health Charities of New England, and other charitable organizations raised more than $30,000 during the campaign period from Sept. 27 through Oct. 16. Chairing this year's campaign was Art Payne, director of printing and graphic services, and Judy Dobai, associate academic vice president for enrollment management.
This year, 244 University and Fairfield Prep faculty and staff made contributions with the assistance of 27 building captains. This was the first time that employees could make pledges online, which helped streamline the processing of contributions. "We want to thank the employees who gave generously to the campaign as well as many people across the campus who step up each year to assist as building captains with the campaign," said Dobai. "This is truly a community effort."
As incentives for pledges, eligible employees' names were entered into a drawing for prizes. The winners were:
Name |
Prize |
Linda LaVine |
Gift Certficate to Ralph and Rich's Restaurant |
Jean Siconolfi |
Event Certificate, Quick Center for the Arts |
Marianne Gumpper |
Event Certificate, Quick Center for the Arts |
Susan Haggstrom |
Gift Certificate to Osianna Restaurant |
Campaign Building Captains - Thank you for your time and help
Catherine Alberti |
Bannow Science Center |
Jeanne Marie Booth |
Kelley Center |
Kathy Borrelli |
School of Nursing |
Janice Buswell |
Barone Campus Center |
Janet Canepa |
Alumni House |
Annette Castelot |
McAuliffe Hall |
Sheila Dunn |
Dolan Commons |
John Falzone |
Maintenance Complex |
Jodie Fitzpatrick |
Loyola Hall |
Joan Huvane |
Donnarumma Hall |
Jonathan Hodge |
DiMenna-Nyselius Library |
Pam Kelly |
Canisius Hall |
Colleen Keltos |
Xavier Hall |
Clare Kirk |
Dolan Commons |
Helen Kropitis |
Barone Campus Center |
Diane Lawler |
Bellarmine Hall |
Janice Majsa |
St. Ignatius House |
Leslie Brazier |
Xavier Hall |
Deborah Matthews |
Dolan House |
Laura Mitchell |
Dolan Commons |
Claire Pagnani |
Quick Center for the Arts |
Deborah Picarazzi |
Egan Chapel |
Evelyn Pond |
Walsh Athletic Center |
Christina Puttock |
Dolan School of Business |
Brigida Salvioli |
Donnarumma Hall |
Gina Switter |
Recreation Complex |
Bernadette Voytek |
McAuliffe Hall |
Fairfield hosts Student Affairs Officers
By Deirdre Bennett, Student Affairs Communication Coordinator
Fairfield University hosted the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities (AJCU) annual Chief Student Affairs Officers' meeting from Oct. 24-26. The AJCU is a national voluntary organization whose mission is to serve its member institutions, the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities plus two theological centers in the United States. The Student Affairs Officers group is one of 24 affinity groups within the AJCU that meet regularly to share information and best practices.
"This was a great opportunity to bring a large group to see the campus," said Mark Reed, vice president for administrative and student affairs. "The meeting also gave the student affairs officers a chance to interact and discuss important topics that resonate across campuses of all sizes."
The integration of life and learning is a common initiative among the universities and therefore an integral part of the meeting's agenda. Men's Basketball Coach Ed Cooley spoke about the challenge of incorporating mission into athletics, and University President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., presented the integration of life and learning in the context of Jesuit higher education, and outlined Fairfield's strategicplan.
"This means different things to different campuses, but we are definitely among the leaders in this area," concluded Reed.
The John Lennon tour bus was on campus on Oct. 4, with passersby welcome to enter and tour the remarkable recording studio inside. Students were also invited to sit down and play, and some were all too happy to make use of the equipment. The purpose of this studio-on-wheels: "It's purely educational," said one of the three guides who lives on the bus. Next stop on their magical mystery tour: Manhattan.
Photo by Jean Santopatre
Campus Currents is the official news publication of the Fairfield University community. It is published monthly. The editorial office is located in Bellarmine Hall, Room 202. Telephone: 254-4000, ext. 3392. Fax: 254-4167. E-mail: campuscurr@mail.fairfield.edu.
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Nina Riccio
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Martha Milcarek
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Annie Forstrum
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