Connie Sue Larcher presents her research at Symposium Day.
IN EVERY
ISSUE >
Beginning in the fall, USJ will be the first in the state to offer a master of science degree in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). As part of the Institute for Autism and Behavioral Studies, the co-educational graduate program prepares professionals skilled in the science and practice of ABA to serve individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) across the lifespan in a variety of clinical and educational settings.
Program director Deirdre Fitzgerald, Ph.D., associate professor of Behavioral Sciences and Psychology, said, “As the population of individuals with autism grows, so does the demand for professionals, particularly those trained in Applied Behavior Analysis. Increasingly diverse employment opportunities are available for graduates of our program.”
The program combines, builds, and expands on the core competencies of two current successful graduate certificates in ASD and ABA to develop a comprehensive curriculum. For more information, visit www.usj.edu/S12a.
The School of Health and Natural Sciences announced the start of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, a terminal degree that represents the highest level of academic preparation for nursing practice. Open to registered nurses who have already earned a master of science in Nursing, the two-year program offers an online curriculum to allow flexibility for working nurses.
“The DNP is the second doctoral level program now being offered at the University, following the Pharm.D. program,” said Provost Michelle M. Kalis, Ph.D. “It represents the continuous effort of this institution to meet the growing need for highly qualified health care professionals in the region.” The University is recruiting now for the program’s first class in January 2013. For more information, visit www.usj.edu/S12b.
USJ received good news from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) on its fifth-year report. Accreditation was reaffirmed through 2016 with six areas of emphasis for the 10-year visit. NEASC also approved the University’s doctorate in Nursing Practice, which will launch in January 2013.
Linda Greenhouse
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse delivered the 2012 McAuley lecture on March 1 when she spoke on the topic of “Empathy in Judging.” A former New York Times reporter who covered the Supreme Court, Greenhouse analyzed empathy as a learned behavior and a contested topic in the nomination hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Two visiting speakers enhanced the scholarship of students enrolled in an honors course on the Philosophy of Technology. Dr. Delia Dumitrica of the University of Calgary delivered the 2012 Munger Lecture on “Are You Your iPod? Questioning the Construction of Identity through Technology.” Dr. Michael Chorost, author of World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet spoke on the integration of technology and the human body.
Dr. Delia Dumitrica
Michael Chorost
The course, Are We Becoming Cyborgs? The Internet and the Mind, engaged students in the complicated and evolving role that technology plays in their lives. It was co-taught by Dr. Agnes Curry (Philosophy) and Dr. Mark Johnson (Biology).
The University hosted an iCitizenship Town Hall Meeting in February moderated by local news anchor Brad Drazen and broadcast live via the Internet. Focused on cyberbullying, the meeting engaged participants in an open discussion.
Dr. Marialice Curran, assistant professor of Education, reported, “We had more than 800 tweets during the event and viewers from around the world. It was an incredible opportunity to engage a live and virtual audience into this critical conversation on what it means to be an iCitizen in the 21st century.”
In April, Dr. Peter C. Phan of Georgetown University delivered the annual Buckley Lecture on “Emerging World Christianity.” A native of Vietnam, Phan is the Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University and a highly sought-after speaker in Catholic academic circles.
Teachers participate in a workshop on outdoor learning.
More than 200 early childhood educators came to campus on March 12 for the 10th annual Keefe-Bruyette Symposium on Early Learning in Math and Science. The day-long event featured Lori Paradis Brant from the Connecticut Forest & Park Association as keynote speaker who spoke on “Discovering the Outdoors.” Participants took part in a selection of 23 workshops led by their early educator peers.
The Keefe-Bruyette Symposium on Early Learning began in 2002 through the support of Gene H’04 and Kathleen Barry Bruyette ’49, H’04, the late Harry Keefe and his wife, Anita Keefe. “Over the past 10 years, the Symposium has had an enormous impact on the quality of early childhood education in our state,” said Diane Morton, director of The School for Young Children. “To date, we’ve had nearly 2,400 participants who took part in more than 160 workshops — all of which were designed with practicing teachers in mind. It is a wonderful climate of professional development and exchange.”
Ada Ustjanauskas speaks
to students in Global
Issues and Perspectives
for the 21st Century.
Women’s History Month was commemorated on campus with a variety of lectures, performances and events. On March 19, Ada Ustjanauskas visited Dr. Shyamala Raman’s Global Issues and Perspectives for the 21st Century course.
A native of Lithuania and a Holocaust survivor, Ustjanauskas speaks seven languages and has assisted immigrants on three continents. She related her personal experience to current global needs. “The one constant throughout history is that nations seek to acquire wealth through aggression,” she said. “The only remedy is to fight global poverty. People are people. They are entitled to the resources of their countries, to education, to a quality of life.”
The department of Social Work and Latino Community Practice celebrated the 10th annual Caritas Conference on May 19, with a focus on supporting youth service work, scholarship, activism, research, and leadership development.
President Pamela Trotman Reid remains a strong presence in the academic press. She recently published an extensive article (with Ellen Cole of Alaska Pacific University and Margaret L. Kern of the University of Pennsylvania) in the Psychology of Women Quarterly entitled, “Wives of College and University Presidents: Identity, Privacy and Relationships.” Examining a topic she knows personally and professionally, Dr. Reid and her co-authors analyzed the experiences, benefits, and challenges encountered by wives of college and university presidents. Read an abstract of the article at: www.usj.edu/S12c.
The March edition of Diverse Issues in Higher Education featured Reid’s editorial in its Last Word column. The piece, “Women’s Colleges, HBCUs Have Nurtured the Best and the Brightest,” chronicles how women’s and historically Black colleges promote equity and inspire leadership, although society lags in utilizing this outcome. “One of the biggest challenges facing our universities and our society,” she wrote, “is how can we best capitalize on the diverse strengths that are available to us.” Read the full article at www.usj.edu/S12d.
Dr. Reid also wrote a chapter in the book Messages for Educational Leadership entitled “What Do We Expect From Girls? Confronting the Performance Gaps in Math and Science.” The book (edited by Diana Slaughter-Defoe) chronicles the Constance E. Clayton Lectures from 1998–2007, which reflect developments in urban education. The book is available at amazon.com.
Be sure to read President Reid’s Blog in the Huffington Post: www.usj.edu/S12e.
Congratulations to the following faculty members who were promoted:
Kathleen Barrett, Ed.D. promoted to associate professor of Counselor Education with tenure in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Kevin J. Callahan, Ph.D. promoted to professor of History in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Diana P. Valencia, Ph.D. promoted to professor of Spanish in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“These accomplishments reflect the strength of the faculty and its commitment to teaching, scholarship and service,” said Provost Michelle Kalis, Ph.D.
From left to right are Alyssa Chmura ’12, Ashley Briglia ’12, Melissa Lauretti ’12,
and Michelle DiPinto ’12.
For the second consecutive year, USJ celebrated its love of literature with a week-long Read-A-Thon, organized by Dr. Horacio Sierra, assistant professor of English. Each day at noon, members of the community gathered in Lynch Hall lobby to share selections of their favorite literary works. Here, members of the Edgar Allen Poe Association read from The Fall of the House of Usher.
Dr. Terry Bosworth
The University mourned the passing of Terry Bosworth, Ph.D., associate professor of Nursing, and a member of the USJ community for 22 years. Dr. Bosworth died on March 2, 2012 and was remembered in an on-campus Mass the following week.
Friends recalled her dedication to students and the nursing profession. Dr. Marylouise Welch, professor emerita of Nursing, said, “Terry was a reflective, intuitive teacher who spent time understanding the approach that each student needed. She was a champion for nursing at the University and in the larger professional community.”
“Terry was a devoted educator who had the best interests of her students at heart,” said friend and colleague Gail Bernaiche ’89, M’09, bursar at USJ. “There were times when she would pop into our office and check the vital signs of a co-worker, establishing her, in my opinion, as the Florence Nightingale of campus.”
Dr. Bosworth served six years as chair of the Nursing department and was awarded the 2011 Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing. She was pivotal in developing the University’s Guyana Immersion Program.
A vision of peace on the grounds of the Sisters of
Mercy home in Georgetown.
In March, Dr. Cheryl Barnard, vice president of student affairs/dean, accompanied Dr. Marylouise Welch, professor emerita of Nursing, and Sister Beth Fischer ’76, director of community and civic engagement, on a trip to Guyana, site of the University’s Guyana Immersion Program. While there, Welch taught a course at the Georgetown hospital and Fischer and Barnard led a leadership development workshop for nurses at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.
An avid photographer, Barnard chronicled the trip with a series of photos. For more images of the beauty of Guyana, visit www.usj.edu/S12f.
Students “Take a Stand Against Racism” as part of an event organized by the YWCA .
See more of Nicole Battistone’s photos of life as a Saint Joe’s student at
www.usj.edu/S12g.
The University was honored at the annual Hands on Hartford Volunteer Appreciation event in April, where it won the organization’s School Award. In particular, Nursing students who volunteer at The Wellness Center on Church Street were commended for their work with MANNA Community Meals.
Holly Dzen ’13, Michelle Merrill ’13, Assistant Professor of Nursing Janet Knecht, and Director of Community and Civic Engagement Sister Beth Fischer ’76 attended the ceremony. “Our students have provided services at MANNA since October 2005 and are transformed by both the experience and the people,” said Fischer. “Some, like Holly and Michelle, volunteer during the summer and school vacations to ensure that the services are consistently available.”
Students presented their original research in the form of papers, posters, performances and more at Symposium Day on April 18. At right, Kimberly Buoanaiuto ’13 explains her study on levels of oxytocin in hospital vs. home births to Amber Jordan-Stewart ’15.
The Queenes Companye continued its tradition of student directed one-act plays for its spring production. Masters and Novices II : Plays Old and New as Directed by Students featured an ensemble of students and alumnae/i who acted in and directed the mid-April production. One script, World War Won, was written by student Alyssa McKeever ’12.
The Dance Ensemble presented its annual spring show, Keep Calm and Dance On, on April 28. Eleven original dance pieces were choreographed and performed by students under the leadership of USJ Dance Instructor Susan Murphy. Above, dancers perform “Burnt to this Moment,” choreographed by Zoe Allard ’14.
To see more Dance Ensemble photos, visit www.usj.edu/S12h.
In May, the Connecticut Dance Alliance (CDA ) announced The Carol Autorino Center as the recipient of its 2012 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Dance. The award will be presented to Dr. Robert Smith, director, at a fall ceremony.
The CDA announcement noted, “The Center’s commitment to sustaining a high profile for dance in its programming and to the power of the arts to educate and transform are inspiring." Each year, The Center hosts the 5x5 Dance Festival and the summer Arts Integration and Multiple Intelligences program with the National Dance Institute.
Thomas Nast (1840–1902). "That Tidal Wave—We Are on the Home
Stretch," from Harper’s Weekly, October 26, 1872. Wood engraving.
Gift of Judith and Norman Zlotsky, 2006.
The Art Gallery will present The Noise of Democracy: Thomas Nast and the Elections of 1872 & 1876 from September 21–December 2, 2012, with an opening reception on September 20. The exhibition examines Thomas Nast’s political cartoons during the elections of 1872 and 1876, as well as the controversial topics of the day, including monetary policy, immigration, separation of church and state, and the electoral college.
