This Friday, we will celebrate the accomplishments of our students at our December commencement ceremonies, with a special nod to the six graduate students who will receive their doctorates in nursing education.
They were enrolled in the program’s 14-strong first cohort when it was launched in 2012 as a joint initiative with Western Connecticut State University. The second cohort of 18 students will be completing its second year of study next spring.
These students come with varied professional backgrounds and have previously demonstrated clinical expertise in nursing practice. For example, Linda Roney, who was the first to complete her doctoral requirements, has served as the Pediatric Trauma Program Coordinator at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital from 2009-2014. She currently serves as a full-time faculty member in the School of Nursing at Fairfield University while maintaining her practice as a clinical nurse at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital Bridgeport campus.
Another of Friday’s awardees, Philip Martinez, has practiced as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner since graduating from the Yale School of Nursing in 2006. He currently holds clinical appointments at Middlesex Hospital as an advanced practice nurse in the department of pulmonary and critical care medicine and serves as a clinical preceptor at Yale-New Haven Hospital in the trauma unit. Philip also serves as the Specialty Coordinator for the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing (GEPN) Program at the Yale School of Nursing.
Clearly this program, which was designed to meet an identified area of workforce demand, is attracting a strong pool of candidates. It is indicative of the kinds of niche programs that we can successfully develop and offer, particularly as we now have permission to offer professional doctorates in related fields such as social work and public health, where advanced training is increasingly sought after.
AMBASSADORS OF SONG
Thanks to the vision and spirit of Walter Stutzman and generous support from the Stutzman Foundation, our University Choir, led by Director Terese Gemme, soon will be departing for Greece.
The choir has previously traveled to Ireland, England, and Spain, working with internationally-known guest conductors such as Simon Carrington and Craig Hella Johnson. This year’s 53-strong choir will be made up of current students, SCSU alumni, and longtime community members, and will once again be working with Simon Carrington. Also traveling with the group from Dec. 27 through Jan. 4 will be students from the Honors College class “The History of Athens.”
By arrangement with host company KIconcerts, our choir will be performing in several venues around Athens, including, by special invitation from the city, a Gala New Year’s concert at Syntagma Square. On Jan. 2, the choir will perform as part of a special holiday program at the Piraeus Municipal Hall, a classic architectural gem.
In addition to a busy rehearsal and concert schedule in Athens, the choir will travel to the islands of Hydra and Aegina, Delphi, and Corinth. This exciting trip will once again enhance the students’ musical education and global awareness, while providing them with a life-changing experience.
Terese comments that: “Being able to perform great music with new friends from around the world in historic venues is awe-inspiring, and these trips, with their combination of musical inspiration, cultural exploration, personal discovery, and community-building experiences have been life-changing events for everyone. As an educator and as a musician, I can’t think of any more worthwhile endeavor.”
And KIconcerts President Oliver Scofield added: “SCSU is a choir that does more than sing for the sake of singing; through performance SCSU engages its students with the larger world as ambassadors of peace, bridges between cultures and custodians of better futures for humanity.”
Watch for a special blog on our home page at www.southernct.edu while the choir is away on this wonderful trip.
REACHING OUT TO THE FAR EAST
In other international news, several faculty members from our Exercise Science Department have recently returned from China, where they held workshops for more than 500 physical educators and 150 university students. Dr. Peter Latchman also presented numerous lectures to faculty and students and collected data measuring arterial stiffness and central aortic blood pressure in Chinese students – mirroring similar studies he has performed here at Southern.
The department currently has an MOU with East China Normal University in Shanghai, and our Southern delegation was also asked to present at Capital University of Physical Education and Sports in Beijing.
“In terms of their reaction, we were like rock stars!” notes Exercise Science Department Chair Dan Swartz, who also was accompanied by colleagues Jinjin Yang and Jim Rauschenbach. “We tried to offer them things that they would have never seen before, and they loved everything we gave to them. After every presentation, we had a line of at least 90 percent of the participants wanting to take pictures with us, and we received great feedback on the content of the presentations.”
This semester, there are four students from East China Normal University in Southern’s Physical Education Program. Two are planning to stay for another semester as exchange students and then enroll in the Exercise Science master’s program in the fall.
“At this point, it is the beginning of our relationship, and we are hoping that it grows into an exchange program for students and potentially a feeder program for our graduate program,” Dan says. “We also would like to conduct comparative research studies (as Peter Latchman has already begun doing) between the U.S. and China.”
NEW DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Last week, I was pleased to announce that Dr. Sandra Minor Bulmer, Professor of Public Health here at Southern, has been named as the university’s new Dean of the School of Health and Human Services.
Sandy has served as a faculty member in our Department of Public Health since 1999, full professor since 2009 and Interim Dean of HHS since 2014. A specialist in college student health issues and women’s exercise and health, she has excelled as a teacher/scholar, demonstrated a strong commitment to mentoring students, and provided a high level of service to her department and the university.
Sandy has been active in campus leadership activities, including a six-year term on the Faculty Senate, chairing the Honors Thesis Committee since 2010 and chairing searches for the Vice President of Student Affairs and, most recently, the new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Since fall 2014, in her role as Interim Dean, Sandy has focused on building a community environment within the School, expanding inter-professional collaboration among faculty and students, increasing resources for high-demand degree programs, and developing new programs that address workforce needs in the state of Connecticut.
Under her leadership the Department of Nursing initiated reforms to their admissions process, the Exercise Science Department created and launched a new degree program in Respiratory Therapy, and the Social Work Department is creating a new doctoral degree program.
She also led a team of 20 faculty through the development of an initial building program for the School, worked with her Associate Dean to expand collaborations and build relationships in the New Haven community, and supported faculty with the launch of academic partnerships with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (BUCEA).
In addition to her work at Southern, Sandy is the current president for the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), volunteers with the Institutional Review Board and Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program at Yale University, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Division of the American Heart Association.
Sandy has been the recipient of several notable honors, including the J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teaching Award in 2003 and the Society for Public Health Education’s Outstanding Service Award in 2011.
During her tenure as Director of Fitness Operations with Western Athletic Clubs in San Francisco, the International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association (IHRSA) selected her as their first-ever Fitness Director of the Year in 1991. Under her guidance, Western Athletic Clubs was one of the first major employers in the fitness industry to require college degrees and relevant certifications for personal trainers and other fitness professionals.
In 1997, Sandra left her position at Western Athletic Clubs to obtain her Ph.D. in health education at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Tex. She also holds a B.S. in physical education from California State University Hayward and an M.S. in physical education with a focus on exercise physiology from the University of Oregon.
Sandra brings a breadth of knowledge, experience, and effective leadership that will serve her school, and Southern, well. Please take the opportunity to congratulate her on this well-earned new appointment.
INTERIM PROVOST
In another senior leadership change, Dr. Bette Bergeron, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, will be leaving Southern on February 29, 2016, to take up a new role as Provost at the State University of New York at Potsdam.
On behalf of the campus community, I thank Bette for her leadership and commitment to advancing our academic mission during a time of transition and fiscal challenge for this university. Thanks to her stewardship, we were able to develop new programs and partnerships that will help Southern meet the evolving needs of Connecticut’s 21st Century economy. Please join me in wishing Bette well in her new position.
In order to ensure a smooth transition, Dr. Ellen Durnin, Dean of the School of Business, will serve as interim Provost beginning on January 8, 2016, while we complete a national search for a permanent replacement. MBA Program Director Sam Andoh will act as interim Dean of the Business School during this time.
With more than 15 years’ experience in higher education leadership – first as Dean of Graduate Studies and External Programs at Western Connecticut State University and, since 2010, here at Southern – Ellen has demonstrated the qualities to move our academic division forward during this interim period.
A national search for a new provost, chaired by Dr. Craig Hlavac, Music Department Chair, will begin immediately. The other members of the search committee are being selected now and will include members of our governance bodies. You will receive regular updates as the search unfolds.
NEASC APPOINTMENT
I am pleased to report that I have been named to serve as one of four new Commissioners-Elect for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, with my term commencing July 1, 2016.
The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education currently oversees 232 member and candidate institutions in the six New England States and 11 institutions abroad (in Greece, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Morocco, Switzerland, and Bermuda) and is very much a working group.
In New England regional accreditation, the Commission is the body that both sets the policy (including adopting the Standards for Accreditation) and makes accreditation decisions regarding applicant, candidate, and member institutions. This combination of setting and applying policy gives the Commission an unusually important role in assuring and promoting the quality among affiliated institutions in New England and abroad.
As a Commissioner, I will have a unique opportunity to learn more about higher education issues among the member institutions, on a national level and abroad. I will also work closely with other Commissioners, who represent a variety of roles and types of institutions and some of whom who represent the public’s interest in the quality of higher education.
This experience will only serve to help me in understanding the broader challenges we face here at Southern, and give me insight into new ways to gain support for our initiatives in the legislature, with governmental leaders and in the corporate sector.
DISTINCTIVE PROGRAM ADDRESSES UTILITY WORKFORCE NEEDS
A unique collaboration between our School of Business and Gateway Community College is being hailed as a model for responding to an industry’s needs.
With an estimated third of the workforce at the region’s utility companies eligible to retire within five years, industry leaders were motivated by the “graying of the industry” and interested in working with institutions that could assist them in their succession planning and leadership development. Enter our new undergraduate Utilities Management program, which was approved last week by the state Board of Regents for Higher Education.
An industry advisory board has recommended content for the new program, will provide employees as students, and has recommended jobs that its graduates can fulfill. It is anticipated that the first students will be enrolled in fall 2016.
Larry Bingaman, President and CEO of the Regional Water Authority (RWA), says an aging workforce, combined with changes in regulations, technology and the push toward “greener energy” sources, is posing new challenges for the utility industry throughout New England and across the country.
He says that this “exciting program” will see the RWA and other utility companies gain a pool of qualified candidates to assume management and technical positions while providing students with new career opportunities.
Southern and Gateway have essentially created a pathway for students to receive the training necessary to fill these projected managerial and technological job openings. Our specialization in public utility management – believed to be one of the first of its kind in the nation –
will include 30 credits and be part of our Bachelor of Science degree program in business administration. Meanwhile, Gateway will develop an associate degree in public utility management that will align with our bachelor’s degree program.
New classes in crisis/risk management, green energy and environmental sustainability, and workforce safety and industry regulatory codes will be part of the program. It also will include existing courses – such as business communications, business law, public utility/governmental accounting, and business continuity planning – that will have sections tailored to focus on elements of utility management.
As Business School Dean Ellen Durnin points out, one of our commitments as a public university is to meet the needs of the state’s workforce, and this is exactly the type of program that will accomplish this goal.
“(The utilities companies) demonstrated a serious need for this type of training because of the demographics and anticipated retirements,” Ellen notes. “They have employees who want to be trained to fill those soon-to-be openings, and we have the faculty who can provide that kind of education.”
THEATER PRODUCTION HONORED
For the second year in a row, one of our Theatre Department’s productions has been selected for presentation at the John F. Kennedy Center American College Theater Region I Festival (ACTF).
In fact, Southern is this year’s New England Region I winner with John Cariana’s Almost, Maine, a show that Director Sheila Hickey Garvey describes as “a delightful comedy/romance with cosmic overtones.”
Almost, Maine, which has a small cast of eight and a minimal set, will be performed twice on Friday Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the lab theater of Western Connecticut State University’s performing art center.
Almost, Maine was one of just six productions selected for presentation from almost 150 submissions entered from across New England States and New York. Congratulations to Sheila, the cast and crew and to the Theatre Department as a whole for nurturing and maintaining a standard of excellence in our student thespians. You can view a Facebook gallery from the recent Kendall Drama Lab-based production here: http://tinyurl.com/pt5yzwn.
EXPLORING BIOSCIENCE
More than a dozen Southern science students attended the Connecticut Health and Life Sciences Career Initiative “Bioscience Careers Forum” last Wednesday at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington, Conn.
The forum gave our students some crucial advice for gaining a competitive edge in the bioscience career market, from CV boosts to ideal skills and mindsets for getting hired. But perhaps the most impactful aspect was the opportunity for them to network across Connecticut state colleges and universities and with some of the state’s biggest names in bioscience, such as Matthew McCooe, CEO, Connecticut Innovations; Todd Arnold, Ph.D., director of Mount Sinai Genetic Testing Laboratory, and Ellen Matloff, M.S., president and CEO, My Gene Counsel
In Connecticut, health and life sciences represent an area of strategic growth supported by significant public and private investment. Approximately 200,000 people in the state work in health and life science industries, with another 11,000 additional jobs expected in the next eight years.
With our new science building providing an excellent launching pad, Southern already is tapping into this potential through our new Bioscience Academic and Career Pathway, or BioPath, collaboration with the City of New Haven and its rapidly growing biotechnology industry.
BioPath will include four academic pathways for incoming students, including a new major in biotechnology. The School of Business will also work closely with industry partners to develop a series of certificate programs that support the professional development and career advancement needs of current employees. The city will assist in promoting these offerings to industry partners and area educational institutions, support an internship program with area companies and create biotechnology pathways in city schools that will prepare students for entry into Southern’s programs.
Greater New Haven already is home to the second largest cluster of biotechnology companies in New England, and an investment in BioPath will help Southern become a key player in the industry’s expansion in Connecticut.
FOOD COLLECTIONS BENEFIT THE NEEDY
Southern has joined the Food Recovery Network (FRN), a national organization that supports college students recovering perishable and non-perishable foods on their campuses that would otherwise go to waste and donating them to people in need.
Heather Stearns, our recycling coordinator, says that Chartwells has hired a student intern, Ashley Silva, who is focused on sustainability, and has been working with her on a weekly food collection schedule. Each week, Ashley makes the rounds to the Bagel Wagon, Davis Outtakes, and the North Campus Kiosk and collects perishable foods — including salads, sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, bagels, and hummus — that have reached their “best by” date.
The foods would be thrown away when they reach that date, but they are still safe to eat. So after Ashley collects them, they are donated to Connecticut Food Bank, a private, nonprofit organization that works with corporations, community organizations, and individuals to solicit, transport, warehouse and distribute donated food.
In addition to the food collected from campus Chartwells locations, fruits, vegetables, and herbs from the campus organic garden are harvested and donated to local soup kitchens such as the Community Dining Room in Branford and St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen in Hamden. Pounds of produce such as squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, various greens, corn, peas, potatoes, peppers, and basil, are donated on a regular basis.
This fall, Southern donated almost 200 pounds of fresh produce that was grown at the garden, located behind Davis Hall. Suzanne Huminski, sustainability coordinator, says that throughout the fall semester, between the garden and FRN efforts, over 600 pounds of food have been collected and donated.
To expand Southern’s food donation program, the Sustainability Office is placing permanent collection boxes in the lobby of the Facilities building, in the Wintergreen building, and on the second floor of Engleman, outside of the FYE Office. Members of the university community are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items year-round. Donations from these collection sites will be brought to the Connecticut Food Bank in Wallingford each week. Heather also encourages staff and faculty to bring food items to the Sustainability Office during the regular Swap Shop open houses.
Anyone interested in helping with FRN efforts on campus can call Ashley in the Sustainability Office at (203) 392-7135.
KUDOS
Aaron Washington, associate dean of student affairs, recently was honored at a luncheon sponsored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Xi Omega chapter. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college-trained women. Aaron was presented with the Tau Xi Omega Vanguard Community Award, which is given to recognize community service. In addition to his role at SCSU, where he played an integral role in founding the university’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, he serves on the New Haven Scholarship Fund Board of Directors and is active with New Haven’s Saint Martin de Porres Catholic Church. He is a former director of the Tuskegee University National Alumni Association, Northeast Region director.
Patrick Heidkamp, co-chair of the Department of Geography, Environment and Marine Sciences was elected Vice-President of the NESTVAL (New England-St. Lawrence Valley) Geographical Society, a division (oldest regional founded in 1922) of the Association of American Geographers. This position has a two-year term, after which Patrick will ascend to the presidency.
Founded in 1922, NESTVAL is the country’s oldest regional division and the only one that includes the maritime provinces of Canada. Patrick is just the second representative from Southern to be honored as NESTVAL President – a significant honor for the department and the university.
Three Southern faculty members were named recently to New Haven Mayor Toni Harp’s blue ribbon commission on reading. The panel, which includes educators from local schools and colleges, as well as other members of the community, plans to identify best practices to help students’ reading skills and literacy across the New Haven Public Schools. The commission includes Julia Irwin, associate professor of psychology; Greg McVerry, assistant professor of elementary education; and Regine Randall, assistant professor of special education and reading.
GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORT DAY
The Athletic Department and the Office of Alumni Relations have announced that they will host Girls and Women in Sport Day on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, in conjunction with the Owls’ basketball doubleheader against Adelphi. This year’s event will be sponsored by the Connecticut Army National Guard and the Tim Greer Insurance Agency.
The day will begin at 9:15 a.m. at Moore Field House and participants will then take part in a variety of sports at clinic stations (basketball, cheerleading, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball) from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Following a complimentary lunch and before the basketball action commences, participants will have an opportunity to meet with and receive autographs from all of the Southern Connecticut State University student-athletes in attendance.
All participants must wear sneakers and athletic clothing and bring a water bottle. Registration is limited to the first 200 female participants in grades 1-8 that have submitted a signed registration/assumption of risk form: http://tinyurl.com/qgul9dz
In conclusion, let me thank for your dedication, your creative thinking and your sheer hard work during the fall semester. Our students’ success is indeed your success!
Indeed, a great deal has happened during the last few weeks to demonstrate that we are committed to making the world a better place on campus and in the neighborhoods beyond our boundaries. From our annual Friends of Rudolph and Adopt-A-Family toy and food drives, respectively, to the Candlelight Vigil expressing solidarity with those afflicted by the recent terrorist attacks, to the campuswide staff and student efforts to make the exam period less stressful, we are building a true sense of community.
Developing this strong sense of community is paramount to fully engaging students in their Southern experience. Students respond very positively to outreach efforts that tell them that others (their peers, faculty and staff) notice them, care about them, and want the best for them. In these times of conflict and discourse throughout our nation and around the world, we can truly make a difference for our students by creating a community of care and compassion.
I wish you a peaceful, relaxing and enjoyable holiday season in the warm company of your family and friends.