 Weekly News for Faculty, Staff and Friends of the Worcester State College Community |
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WSC Theatre UpClose Presents An Evening of
WSC to Host Local Educators for Workshop on
Mary Lightfine of Nurse Without Boundaries Professor Martin Finds Alternative Teaching Tool With iPods Dr. Kerr Publishes Article on Green Chemistry Student Center Celebrates 30 Years Women's Studies Host Inaugural Mini-Conference Professor Barnard Chosen for Biology Scholars Program Students Want Credit Card Marketing Under Control Dr. Susan Rezen Hosts Former Student from Japan
Richard Bisk
(Mathematics) is helping to organize the Mathematics
Content Courses for Elementary and Special Education Teachers program to be held
on April 3 at Framingham State College. Three meetings on this topic have been
held at WSC in the past year. The meeting is being funded by a Board of Higher Education
grant. During the meeting Professor Bisk will
discuss the new three semester sequence for Elementary Education majors at WSC. Over a 100 mathematics and education faculty members
are expected. Lynn Bloomberg (Health Science) and Barbara Zang (Communication) presented the panel discussion, "Approaches for Engaging Learners and Fostering Independent Thinking," at the annual conference on Teaching for Transformation, sponsored by the Center for the Improvement of Teaching at the University of Massachusetts-Boston on January 25, 2008. Steven Corey (Urban Studies) served as a panelist for the roundtable "Tradeoffs and Compromises: Environmental Historians in Environmental Studies Programs -- Institutional Settings," at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Environmental History in Boise, Idaho, March 12-15. Eihab Jaber (Chemistry) and collaborators from Stony Brook University prepared a poster titled "Interfacial Slip in Polymer Blends with Nanoparticles" that was presented at this year's American Physical Society national March meeting held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Stephen A. Morreale (Criminal Justice) recently returned from Cincinnati where he participated in the Annual Conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). He chaired and presented papers in a panel on Leadership in Police Administration. The topic of the first paper was Police Leaders: Watch Your Language! The focus of the paper was how leaders can benefit from adapting business practices in the service sector. He also co-presented a paper on Leadership Development for Police and other Public Safety Personnel Across the World, along with Dr. P.J. Ortmeier, Grossmont College, El Cajon, Cal., and Dr. Maki Haberfield, John Jay College of Criminal Justice. At a panel on Public Perceptions of Police, Professor Morreale co-presented a paper titled The Importance of Marketing and Transparency in Police Organizations with Dr. Jeffrey Rush from the University of Louisiana (Monroe). The ACJS Annual Conference will be held in Boston in March 2009, where he will serve on the Host Committee. Rosemary Naughton (College Police) received an award for Outstanding Personal Contribution to Campus Public Safety from the Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. Naughton was recognized for her dedication in delivering the Incident Command Simulation program at WSC and at other institutions of higher education around the United States. Amaryllis Siniossoglou (Visual and Performing Arts) has been accepted to exhibit her prints at the International Contemporary Engraving Biennial Exhibition at the Ion Ionescu Art Museum in Bulgaria. The Economics Department was well represented at the Eastern Economics meetings in Boston, Mass, last month. They were all involved in the session "Community and Economic Development" which was chaired and organized by Janice Yee. Among the paper presenters were Bill O'Brien - "Local Airports and Economic Development; Weipang Lee - "People and Jobs: A System-Wide Study of Regional Economic Growth in the State of Massachusetts"; Bonnie Orcutt - "Democracy and Oil Prices" and Janice Yee - "Social Capital and Rural Development." Elizabeth Wark, Bonnie Orcutt and Shiko Gautho served as discussants for the session.
Professor Martin Finds Alternative Teaching Tool
Kyle Martin (Visual and Performing Arts) knows what it's like to haul 15 CDs into a class. In his music theory course, he might play excerpts from classical, rock, jazz and country during a single class to illustrate the continuum of music's constituent parts. "Students are learning these concrete components, " he said, and he likes to have them listen to a variety of musical styles so they can learn to indentify them. "And they're impatient with the loading time for each CD." The awkwardness of dealing with all those CDs and their glacial loading time gave Martin the idea for his 2007-08 mini-grant proposal, "Apple iPod in the Classroom." He's creating music libraries on the iPod. "It's portable," he said, "and I can create a variety of playlists with ease." He can pull up a playlist for a particular class, create new playlists based on the music on the iPod, and shuffle the playlists around to suit his pedagogical needs. The iPod's ease of use is a selling point. "Everything is so easy to find," Martin said. "And I can quickly cross reference the material."
He'll use the mini-grant to buy iPods with 160 gigabytes of storage. His plan is
to create two portable music libraries for his
Martin may also experiment with video on the iPod, which can be useful in a course he teaches, Music of the Cinema. "I can illustrate the use of certain musical techniques in film scores," he said. "And I could extract clips of video from movies to show using the iPod." He has researched the iPod's use and points to another plus: He's able to augment the department's music holdings by downloading music to the iPod from iTunes. "These albums are $9.99 on iTunes," he said. "A CD costs much more than that." Martin is also considering the iPod for storing students' musical compositions to use in other classes. It's a great way to share the music the students create, he said.
Dr. Kerr Publishes Article on Green Chemistry In 2007 Professor Margaret E. Kerr, Ph.D., was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar Grant to go to Thailand to promote green chemistry curriculum development at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. In January, Kerr returned after five months in Thailand interacting with scientists and citizens. Below is an excerpt from an invited article she wrote for the Maejo International Journal of Science and Technology. The full article is available online at www.mijst.mju.ac.th. Excerpt: "My perspective as an American might be somewhat different than that of a Thai, but the fundamental role of science in the future will be the same everywhere. As chemists, we are concerned about the future of our field and are worried about what will happen when petroleum based starting materials become scarce and more expensive. Scientists have both the burden and the privilege of being on the forefront in the development of solutions that will aid society in its progression into the future. As we work to train students and develop research programs, it is imperative that we teach students in concepts in sustainability. The practice of green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry, is a powerful tool that provides students with the opportunity to learn about how they can promote practices that are favorable to the environment and to humans when they get into the working world. Green chemistry, by definition, promotes the reduction or elimination of hazardous substances in chemical process."
Student Center Celebrates 30 Years Thirty years ago on April 3, 1978, the Student Center opened its doors for the first time. From that day on, the Student Center has proved to be an icon on this campus, welcoming students year after year to engage in an education outside the classroom. With this said, it's not hard to believe that the office of the Student Center/Student Activities has found reason to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this building and it' excellent service to students. A birthday party for the Student Center will be held on April 3 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Exhibit Area. The campus community is invited stop by and enjoy 70's trivia contests, birthday chronicles and a giant cake with ice cream. The fun will continue in the evening for students to take part in one of the '70s most popular game shows - The Price is Right.
As part of the celebration, a special gathering will take place on April 5 from
Did you know...
Women's Studies Host Inaugural
Mini-Conference
Several faculty presented their work at the mini-conference: Dr. Lisa Krissoff-Boehm, Dr. Lori Dawson, Dr. K Soysa, Dr. Kristen Waters, Dr. Judy Jeon-Chapman, and Dr. Cathy Wilcox-Titus. In addition, Manoj Jonna, a WSC undergraduate, presented Dr. Bonnie Orcutt's microfinance project with Nicaraguan women. The event was well attended throughout the day by students, faculty, and staff, including two distinguished guests, President Janelle Ashley and Director of Affirmative Action Edna Spencer.
The Women's Studies Program is interdisciplinary and its faculty members
represent many departments, including Biology, Business Administration,
Communication, Health, History, Languages and Literature, Music, Nursing,
Philosophy, Physical and Earth Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Urban Studies
and Visual and Performing Arts. The program offers 25-30 classes each semester
and students can complete the Women's Studies Concentration by taking just five As pre-registration for Fall 2008 approaches, the Women's Studies Advisory Board will call on advisors to recruit students to the concentration. Please address your questions about the program to K Soysa at 508-929-8703 or csoysa@worcester.edu. The Women's Forum is a student organization on campus that welcomes new members. If you know of any students who are interested in joining, please have them contact Rita Franz at rfranz@worcester.edu or Faculty Adviser Kristen Waters at kwaters@worcester.edu.
The Women's Studies Advisory Board would like to thank the campus community
for their support of this event and the Program in general.
Professor Barnard Chosen for Biology
Scholars Program One problem all college faculty face is this: Do the teaching methods we use
actually improve student learning? For faculty in the sciences, this may be This week, Professor Daron Barnard, Ph.D., learned that he is one of 16 college biology professors selected to spend the next year focusing on the scholarship of teaching and learning in biology. The Biology Scholars Research Residency Program is an offering of the American Society for Microbiology's undergraduate education division. "It's a virtual residency," Barnard explained. This combines intensive, face-to-face, multi-day training institutes followed by on-going learning communities using electronic communication. The Biology Scholars will meet in Washington at the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Institute July 16-19 then will spend the year working on problems each has indentified. They'll meet again in May 2009 to evaluate their fellowship year. For Barnard, this means examining his current interest: Could a project-based lab for genetics or a development course, with reduced breadth but greater dept and continuity, lead to enhanced student involvement and learning? It's important that students learn the process of science, he says, as our knowledge of biological processes is constantly changing as new information emerges. He wonders whether devoting more time to the teaching of practical experiments, of teaching scientific inquiry, will result in increased student learning. That's one point of this program. The Biology Scholars will learn to employ rigorous evaluations of their own teaching. The program's other goals are to have the fellows publish their results demonstrating improved student learning in the laboratory or classroom. They'll then be expected to lead biology colleagues in national efforts to sustain undergraduate biology education reform. Barnard, who holds a doctorate in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University, was a postdoctoral fellow in the program in molecular medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School and a teaching postdoctoral fellow in the biology department of the College of the Holy Cross. As a scientist, Barnard recognizes the need to address student learning in the same way he approaches bench experiments. He's looking to develop a more systematic examination of student learning as he tries different teaching methods. He has already invested a lot in the improvement of his teaching since coming to Worcester State College two years ago. He completed the Consortium's Certificate in College Teaching Program. This year has named an Alden Teaching Fellow in the WSC Center for Teaching and Learning. He shares the responsibility for facilitating the 'technology in teaching" working group with Karl Wurst (Computer Science). "I'm eager to start research on the teaching of biology," Barnard said. "I
always want to improve my own teaching." This Biology Scholars fellowship will
give him just that opportunity. Students Overwhelmingly Support Fair Campus Credit Card Marketing Principles to Rein In "Out-of-Control" Credit Card Company Marketing, Nationwide Survey Finds Students overwhelmingly support limits on campus credit card marketing, according to the results of a nationwide USPIRG survey of over 1500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states including Worcester State College. "Campus credit card marketing is simply out-of-control," said Kat Ryan, Worcester State MASSPIRG chapter student, "At tables on or off campus, or on your phone or in your mail, there's a credit card company making a pitch to get into your wallet, even if you cannot afford to pay the bill." The survey findings come as state attorneys general and Congress are also investigating the enticements that the credit card companies rely upon to trap college students into applying for credit cards that have bad terms and conditions, Ryan said. "Credit card companies aim to increase company earnings by targeting the college student demographic. Some companies try to use fine print and hidden fees to further increase interest rates," added Brian Patacciola, Student Government Parliamentarian. "These companies often use gimmicks upfront like free food, free t-shirts, and other free offers. The catch is sometimes they get a card they don't need or cannot afford." "Worcester State is very concerned about protecting our students from aggressive marketing techniques that the card companies use to get into young people's wallets," said Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Sibyl Brownlee. "That's why we discourage credit card companies from marketing on our campus." Among the key findings of the "Campus Credit Card Trap," were the following:
Sasha Rosen, MASSPIRG organizer at Worcester State said that the release of the survey was part of MASSPIRG's ongoing truthaboutcredit.org campaign to rein in unfair campus credit card marketing. In addition to the release of this survey and other future reports, the group's activities include:
"Even though some schools or
states have restricted campus credit card marketing, it's clear that more needs
to be done," concluded Kat Ryan. "With out concentrated efforts to keep the
marketplace on campus fair, then banks will keep finding new ways to get bad
credit products into students' wallets."
On March 24 and 25, Dr. Susan Rezen
(Communication Sciences & Disorders) was host to a former student, Dr. Tatsuya
Yamagishi '94, a professor from Niigata University in Japan, and four of his
students. During their stay, Dr. Yamagishi and his students explored the
Communication Sciences and Disorders program and attended a gathering where they
received gifts from Dr. Janelle Ashley and met other college officials.
In the picture they are all flashing the international sign for peace.
Picture: Front Row L-R: Chihiro Kozakura,
Welcome to Jason S. White who is joining the WSC community as an Institutional Security Officer II in the College Police department.
**Please
Note - Links to online newspaper articles
College Town
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Friday, March 28, 2008
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Mar. 29 Baseball
vs.
Tuesday, Apr. 1
Community Based Forum:
Women's Lacrosse vs.
Wednesday, Apr. 2 Talk:
A Framework for Understanding Poverty,
Thursday, Apr. 3
Women's Lacrosse vs. COMING UP
Tuesday, Apr. 8
Student
Center Diversity Lecture:
Thursday,
Apr. 10 Film:
Kilowatt Ours & Women's
Lacrosse vs.
Apr. 10-12 Friday, Apr. 11 Talk:
Hidden Destruction of the Appalachian Mountains,
Saturday, Apr. 12
POGIL Workshop in
Sunday, Apr. 13
Baseball
vs. Nichols College
WSC Theatre UpClose
Monday, Apr. 14 Film:
Invisible Children
Tuesday, Apr. 15
Baseball vs.
Softball
vs.
Wednesday, Apr. 16 Baseball
vs. Salve
Regina
Tuesday, Apr. 17 Softball
vs. Nichols
College
Saturday, Apr. 19
Sunday, Apr. 20
Monday, Apr. 21 Tuesday, Apr. 22 Softball vs.
Becker College
Wednesday,
Apr. 23
Thursday, Apr. 24
Talk:
Invited Artist Film:
The Great Warming, Women's
Lacrosse vs.
Saturday, Apr. 26
Softball
vs.
Sunday, Apr. 27
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department's use. In historical
survey classes such as Music Appreciation, the instructor will be able to have
all Beethoven symphonies available in one class, for example.
The
Women's Studies Program hosted its inaugural mini-conference on Thursday, March
6, 2008. The event was organized to celebrate International Women's Day
(March 8) and Women's History Month (March). Director of Women's Studies Dr.
K Soysa welcomed students, faculty and staff, and thanked her predecessors
for bringing the Women's Studies Program to this point in its development. Vice
President for Academic Affairs Dr. Julie Wollman commended faculty research in
the area of Women's Studies in her opening remarks. Vice President for Student
Affairs Dr. Sibyl Brownlee voiced her appreciation of the event, stating that
campus-based research conferences were rare in the field of Women's Studies
amongst state schools in Massachusetts.
classes. Many of these classes also count towards distribution requirements, so
students can add a concentration without having to take extra courses.
even more vexing. Experimental design at the bench is familiar. Experimental
design to measure student learning may not be.
