fall/winter 2000 traditions - uconn magazine€¦ · by garye. frank inside features uconn...

TRADITIONS

Michael Maslin's worldUConn alum carves out niche at The NewYorker

Fall/Winter2000

WITH ALL THE CHANGES taking place in health care today, it's nice to know you still have

choices when selecting a doctor or hospital. As you consider your choices, think about this:

The UConn Health Center offers you and your family an important difference.

As the only academic medical center in central Connecticut, our patients receive the advantage

of the latest research and innovations in health care delivered by highly skilled, caring

physicians. And that means state-of-the-art care across a wide range of inpatient and outpatient

services, from primary and preventive care to highly specialized programs for serious illnesses

and injuries.

For more information or to make an appointment with one of our physicians, please

call 800-535-6232 or 860-679-7692. Our TTY number is 860-679-2242.

\tJ uconn~ Health

Center

263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030 www.uconnhealth.orgRemarkable Care Through

Research and Education

24A bold experimentUConn's emerging, reciprocal relationship with South Africa.By Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu

28The world according to

Michael MaslinBecoming a New Yorker cartoo nist a dream

come true for UConn alum.By Gary E. Frank

InsideFEATURES

UConn TraditionsVolume 1, Number 3Fall/Winter 2000

20 Report on Research

22 Spotlight onStudents

35 Focus on Faculty

37 Creative Currents

38 Alumni News & Notes

46 TheAlumni Traveler

48 The Last Word

2 A Message from the Editor

3 From the President

4 Letters

5 Around UConn

9 Investing in the Future

11 A Page from the Past

12 Schools & Colleges News

32

Everything happens for a reasonRebecca Martello '00 (SAH) brushed aside hermedical challenges to excel as a scholar.By Jim H. Smith

Coverartwork: Michael Maslin '76 (SFA)Photo: Peter Morenus

A Message from the Editor

UCONN TRADITIONS, VOLUME 1: IT'S A WRAP!

-w: ith this third issue of UConn Traditions, we close the books on the

first year of th is still-new magazine. In order to give credit where

credit is due, I asked the people who have contributed to this magazine

(as many, at least , who could be gathered at one t ime) to pose for this photograph.

For most of these individuals, along with those not pictured, contributing to UConn

Traditions is only a part of their duties at the University. They also are but a small

portion of the people within

the UConncommunity,

including our advisory

committee, editorial working

group, UConnAlumni

Association , UConn

Foundation, and the deans,

faculty, and staff of each

school and college , who

have helped us to achieve

a measure of success in its

first year. The input and

support from you, the reader,

has been invaluable to the

magazine's evolution as

well. On behalf of everyone

who helps to bring UConn

Traditions to fruition, I wish

you a joyful and safe holiday

season and a happy 2001.

See you in the spring.

- Gary E. Frank

UConn Tradi tions staff and contributors, in a photo taken in the great hall of the CentennialAlumni House . From left to right , first row: Megan Soukup , Allison Thompson , ShannonMcAvoy '02 (SFA). Middle row: Mark Roy'74 (CLAS), Tina Modzelewski, Pete r Morenus. Back Row:Sean Flynn, leonard P. Blanks Jr '86 (SFA), Gary E. Frank, John E. Bailey '84 (SFA).

Clarification: An article on Aetna FinancialServices' contribution to the School ofBusiness in the summer '00 issue of UConnTraditions did not mention that Aetna FinancialServices President John Y. Kim is a UConnalumnus. Kim earned a master's in businessadministration in 1987.

2 • UCONN TRADITIONS

UCONNT RADIT IO NS

Volume I, Number 3 · Fall/Winter 2000

EDITOR

Gary E. Frank

WRITERS

Claudia Chamberlain, AndreaComer,Nan Cooper,Gary E. Frank,

Patrick Keefe, David laChance,Kim C. Markesich'78 (RHSA), '93 (CAN R)

Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu, Mark Roy '74 (ClAS),Jane Shaskan, Grace Simpson,

Lauren Davis Shea,Jim H. Smith,AllisonThompson, Rich Veilleux, Leslie Virostek

SENIOR DESIGNER

John E. Bailey '84 (SFA)

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Peter Morenus

PHOTOGRAPHERS

GregAuer, Leonard P. Blanks Jr. '86 (SFA),AI Ferreira, Paul Horton, Mark Lee ,

Shannon McAvoy '01 (SFA) , Peter Morenus

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

TinaModzelewski

VICE PRESIDUTFOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Edward 1. Allenby

DIRECTOR Of UNIVtRSITY COIIMUNICATlONS

Scott Brohinsky '76J.D.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Of UNIVERSrrY COIIMUNICATlONS

John M. Barry'82 (CLAS), '84 M.A.

DIRECTOR Of ALUMNI RELATIONS

JohnA. Feudo

MANAGER Of CREATIVE SERVICES

Leonard P. BlanksJr. '86 (SFA)

MANAGER Of MARKETING SERVICES

DebiWeinberg '86 M.BA

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Edward 1. AlIenby, Maribeth Amyot,Lorraine M. Aronson. Scott Brohinsky,

Kenneth M. Cutler.John A. Feudo,Thomas G. Gutteridge, Annette Lombardi '76(CLAS). Erling Murtha-Smith, Larry Onofrio

'88 (CLAS). PatSheehan '67 (CLAS),Vicky L Triponey. jim Walter

veonn Traditions is produced three times a year inMarch, Julyand Novemberby University Communications.University of Connecticut. 1266Storrs Road.Unit 4144Storrs. CT 06269-4144.Phone:860-486'3530 Fax: 860-486-2063E-mail: [email protected] to the editor and other comments are welcome.

Sendaddress changesto The University of ConnecticutFoundation. RecordsDepartment, Unit 3206, 2390 AlumniDrive. Storrs, CT06269.

Want to keep up with news and events at the University?News releases.upcoming events and activities are postedon the World Wide Webat www.uconn.edu.

~_~ University of• Connecticut

F ROM TH E

President

Response to environmental crises a reminder of the University's public service mission

Shortly after I arrived at theUniversity of Connecticut I men

tioned that , although I was new to thestate , I felt at home here because I hadspent so much of my life at land-grantuniversities. That characterization tooka few people by surprise. In the Northeast, the "land-grant" designationsometimes sounds more appropriateto the Midwest or the West. Even atUConn , which proudly traces its rootsto the Storrs Agricultural Schoolfounded in 1881 and continues tomaintain a vitally important College ofAgriculture and Natural Resources, theterm at first glance seems a historicalartifact.

I believe the land-grant concept isas relevant to the needs of todaystechnology-based society as it was tothose of an agricultural society in thelate 1800s. Through the past 100 years,the state's economic base shifted toheavy industry and then to technology,

. social and demographic changeaccompanied economic transition,and our curriculum has evolved toreflect these changes. The fundamentalmission of teaching, research, andservice to the people of the state,embodied in our role as a publicuniversity in the land-grant traditio n,has remained constant throughout.

UConns public service mission hasbeen especially evident lately in tacklingenvironmental problems that threatenthe vitality of wildlife in the Northeast.In 1999 , after six people in Brooklyn,N.Y. died mysteriously, UConnpathologists teamed with theConnecticut Agricultural ExperimentStation and soon proved that the WestNile virus was to blame.

Since the discovery, UConnlaboratories have examined dead birds

(mostly crows) collected from communities throughout the Northeast forevidence of West Nile virus . UConnscientists are working with state andlocal governments to investigate optionsto control exposure to the virus and arelooking for antibodies that could leadto a long-term solution in contro llingits spread.

At the same time, UConnpathologists came to the aid of thestate Department of EnvironmentalProtection in investigating the causeof a massive lobster kill in Long IslandSound. They now suspect the probablecause of the kill is a microscopicparasite that causes an infection in thelobsters nervous system leading todeath . Continued research suggests thatother factors could cause conditionsthat render lobsters susceptible tothe parasite.

Although these are examples ofUConn 's response to public needs,they are but a few of the many instancesin which our teachers, researchers,students and staff put their talents andenergies to work for the states citizens .The University reaches out to the state

Richard French,associate professo rof patho logy, center,Kristen Hobbie,resident veterinarypathologist, righ t,and graduatestudent SpencerRussell, performautopsies onlobsters at theVeterinaryDiagnostic labin Storrs.

though educational programs in urbanareas, law and health clinics, and a scoreof other endeavors, many of which arereported on in each issue of UConnTraditions . These efforts, and many otherslike them, allow us to put the land-grantphilosophy into practice. I believethat these efforts are important not onlyon their own terms but also as a demonstration of a critical concept; that of thepublic, land- grant university committedto the state's service. This commitmentis not only an intrinsic part of theUniversity of Connecticut's heritage. It isalso a living, working reality that impac tscommunities at all points along theeconomic spectrum. We exist not onlyto educate the students who enter ourUniversity, but also to meet the needsof every resident of our state. At the startof the 21st century, that mission is ascompelling as it ever has been.

FALLJWINTER 2000 • 3

In this photo sent to us by alumnus John B: (lack) Humphries, '40(CLAS) popular 1930S radio host FredWaring IS presented a pure-bredAlaska~ husky puppy on stage at the Vand~rbilt Theatr~ in Ne~ YorkCity. Humphries is third from the left, shaking hands With Waring.

Letters

Two-party system beatsalternatives

UConn Traditions is a finepublication, based upon thefirst two issues. The article"The Measure of Character"in the first issue was especially good. The article"Dernopublicans andRepublicrats" [Summer '00]was interesting, but distressing, to me.

Professor [Daryl] Harristalks of the "dangers of adivided electorate" as if allAfrican Americans have,or should have, identicalpolitical interests-i.e., racedominates every otherconsideration. But ProfessorHarris' article cites statisticsthat clearly show why someAfrican Americans may beinclined to vote Democratand some Republican. Thetwo-party system, while notperfect, seems better thanthe alternatives. The failurerate of governments based

Lettersto the editor

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Send letters to:

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upon coalitions of severalparties is high, while longterm domination by asingle party is seldom inthe peoples' best interest.While neither major partymay meet all of one's needsor desires, certainly onewill be better aligned withan individual's positio nson key issues, given thedistinct differences in thetwo parties' [platform s].Moreover, indivi dua lsworking to make the majorparties more responsive totheir needs will better serveall Americans than will thebalkanization of theelectorate. Colin Powell isa powerful, but not isolated,example of this premise.

William B. Hewitt '68 M.S.Charleston, S.c.

Fred Waring'sownUConn Husky

As you wrote in "A Pagefrom the Past," our firstUConn fight song wascomposed by Fred Waringand premiered November24, 1939, in New York City.

In appreciation, thestudent body raised sufficient funds to purchase apurebred Alaskan huskyfor Waring. He was namedJonathan. We presentedJonathan (see photo) toWaring on the stage of theVanderbilt Theatre before apacked house and 50 FredWaring Pennsylvanians.

I had the honor ofmaking the presentation.Years later, Fred called meto say Jonathan had been

killed by a car in front ofhis Shawnee, Pa., home, andto thank the University forthe many happy times theyhad shared.

John B. (lack) Humphries'40 (CLAS)Aiken, S.c.

Bane, not boon

I'm afraid that I have twosmall corrections to yourarticle on Polls [Summer2000 issue].

In the table of contents,you have the subheading onpolls as "Are public opinionpolls a boon or a blessingto democracy?" Since"boon" and "blessing" aresynonymous, the questionis redundant. "Bane" mighthave been a better choiceunless you REALLY likepolls . In the article, the failure to properly predict theTruman-Dewey outcome was

blamed on taking the finalsurvey in mid-Octoberinstead of later. A bigger factor in the error was that thepoll was taken by telephone.At that time, telephoneswere somewhat of a luxuryin many neighborhoods. Iremember, as a child, running thro ugh my apartmentbuilding in Brooklyn to tellone neighbor that (sjhe hada call in someone else'sapartment. Those who hadphones were usually a bitbetter off and more likely tobe Republicans. Dewey wasa Republican and the pollscorrectly predicted that themajority of telephone owners would vote for him . Itwas the problem of settingup a truly representativedata base instead of anavailable one.

Michael Ross '64 M.s.Fair Lawn, «).

ARO U ND

UConn

Huskies mine gold and silverat Sydney Olympics

T he University of Connecticut was represented in outstanding fashion by sevenindividuals, including two gold medal winners and one silver medalist , at the

2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.The UConn presence in the 2000 Olympic Games included six athletes,

representing four different countries, and one coach.Kara Wolters '97 (CLAS) was a member of the U.S. women's basketball team,

which defeated the host country, Australia, 76-54, to win the gold medal. UConnwomen's basketball coach Geno Auriemma was an assistant coach ofthe U.s . squad, while current Husky Svetlana Abrosimova '01 (BUS) playedfor the Russian women's basketball team.

Former UConn men's basketball star Ray Allen played for the U.S. mensbasketball team. Allen scored a team-high 13 points in the gold medal game asthe u.s. team defeated France , 85-75 . Wolters and Allen are the second and thirdathletes with ties to UConn to earn Olympic gold. Rebecca Lobo '95 (CLAS)brought home a gold medal as a member of the u.s. women 's basketball team atthe 1996 Olympic Games, in Atlanta.

Sara Whalen '98 (CLAS) earned a silver medal as a member of theU.s . women's soccer team, which lost to Norway in the gold medal game.

Dudl ey Dorival '97 (CLAS), one of only two four-time track and fieldAll-Americans at UConn, competed for Haiti in the 110-meter hurdles. Dorival,the UConn record holder in the 1I 0-meter hurdl es at 13.48 seconds, finishedseventh in the finals, with a time of 13.49 seconds.

. Joanne Durant '98 (CLAS), an eight-time New England sprint championwhile at UConn, competed for Barbados in both the lOO-meter and 200-meterdashes. She was timed at 11.82 seconds for the 100 meters and 23.90 secondsfor 200 meters. Durant holds the UConn outdoor record for 200 meters,with a time of 23.93. Students welcomed back.

UConn students enjoy a moment in the sunat the picnic marking the end of this year'sHusky Week of Welcome. More than 2,900new students arrived at UConn in lateAugust , a 9.7 percent increase over 1999·

In addition to the annual Convocation,the students heard from Bobbie Ann

Mason '72 Ph.D., whose novel InCountry they were assigned to

read dur ing the summer.

Dedicated playersThe UConn Hard Bop JazzQuintet performs at von derMehden Recital Hall dur ingthe dedication concert inOctober for the School ofFine Arts Music and DramaticArts Building.

FALUWINTER 200 0 • 5

AROUND UCONN

New construction

Now in its sixth year, UCONN2000, the Universitys lO-year,

$1 billion capita l improvementinitiative , together with related projects,is the most tangible indicator of theUniversity of Connec ticut 'stransformation. Since 1995, whenGov. Joh n Rowland signed the landmarklegislation authorizing the initiat ive,16 new buildings have sprung up onthe main campus. Another 16 have beenrenovated at Storrs and the regionalcampuses. More than 70 classroomshave been outfitted with the latesttechnological advances , and a newunderground infrastructure has beenput in place. In order to achieve a visualbalance, the new buildings have beendesigned to blend in with the older,and still beautiful , buildings on campus.Anyone who has been away fromUConn for even a short time is likelyto be quite surprised and pleased withwhat The New York Times called "abuilding boom . . . that would be theenvy of most university presidents."Here is a visual sampling of some of theprojects that have been completed, arecurrently underway, or are planned forthe near future.

The new chemistry buildingopened in the fall of 1998.The five-story, 208,000

square-foot buildingwas listed as one of thebest-designed buildingsin the world in the 2000

International ArchitectureYearbook.


Bannersrepresentingeach schooland college ofthe Universityadorn the newcampus core.

(Above) The architects' rendering shows thebuilding that will house a new l,200-spaceparking garage and a relocated and enlargedUConn Co-op across from Gampel Pavilion.The building is expected to be completedby the spring of 2001.

(Left) An ironworker secures a roof beamon the future home of the School of Business.Classes are expected to begin in the state-ofthe-art facility in the fall of 2001.

(below) The architects' rendering showsa student apartment complex now under ~

construction near the Hilltop residence halls.When completed, the complex will house morethan 900 students in suite-style apartments.

AROUND UCONN

One-third of this year's freshmen are nowhoused in the new Northwest residence area,which also includes a new dining commonsoffering food-court-style dining. Studentsliving in the new residences participated inthe "Northwest Experience," an extendedorientation program intended to help first-yearstudents make a smooth transition touniversity life.

The Lodewick Visitors Center is the newgateway to the main campus. Here, studentguide Angha Sabnis '02 (CLAS) gives her familya tour of the Visitors Center.

The Marine Sciences Institute at theAvery Point campus is scheduled toopen in February 2001.

AROUND UCONN

u.s.News & World Report has ranked the University of Connecticut as thetop-ranked public university in New England for the third time in four years,according to the magazine's latest listings of the nation's best colleges, releasedin September.UConn is one of only a handful of institutions in the Northeast to make

the USN&W R ranking of the top national public universities. The magazine ratedUConn in a four-way tie at 38th nationall y, a change of one position from lastyear's six-way tie at number 31, ahead of the universities of Vermont,Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, all ranked 47th.

Each year, USN &W R rates about 1,400 accredited four-year colleges. Themagazine considers retention and graduation rates, quality of students, andalumni giving and evaluates a survey of the school's reputation among highrankin g officials of other colleges.

Although the rankings sell magazines, the real indicators of UConn 's ascent tothe top ranks of public universities are more telling. Since 1997, freshmanenrollment at UConn has grown 34.5 percent, minority enrollment has grown 58percent , and SAT scores are up 28 points. In addition, the numb er of high schoolvaledictorians in the incoming class jumped from 13 four years ago to 34 this year.

UConn 's successes also include renewed emphasis on undergraduate educationand new programs that invigorate campus life; recruitment of an impressive rosterof new faculty; large increases in private giving to the University (See article onpage 9.); a 30-percent increase in research fundin g in the last four years; newconstruction and renovations at a level unprecedented in the University's history(See pages 6- 7.); athletic success, including national championship men's andwomen's basketball teams and outstanding teams in men's and women's soccer,field hockey, and track, among others.

USN&WR again ranks UConn topNew England public university

You can'tsteal this!These American flag socks andbuttonswith provocative slogans are from acollection of materials that belongedto the late radical activistAbbieHoffman, donated to the Thomas I. DoddResearch Center by Hoffman's brother,lack.Thematerials Include copies ofHoffman's five books, thousands ofpages of FBI andNewYork City PolleeDepartment surveillance files, dozens ofletters from Hoffman to his family, andmanyof the activist'sT-shirts,politicalbuttons, posters, family photos andotherephemera. Thecollection 15 housedIn the Dodd Center's Alternative PressCollection, which wasfounded In thelate 19605 as a repository for radicalandephemeral publications from activistmovements for social, cultural,andpoliticalchange.


I N V E S TI N G I N

the Future

Another record-setting year for fund raising$37 million raised infiscal '00

Alumni 25%

Private investment inUConn helps ensure thehighest academic quality

FY96 FY97 FY98 FY99 FYoo

undergraduate scholarships, graduatefellowships, professorships, andacademic programs. Endowmentfundin g also helps in the acquisitionof information techn ology, as well aslibrary and research materials .

Effective financial management hasalso made a sizeable contribution tothe growth of the endowment. The$22 1 million in endowme nt accountsreflects a $45 million increase overthe prior year, with two thirds of theendowment support directed to facuityposit ions , scholarships, and studentaid . The endowment enjoyed anoutstanding return on investment

of 16.5 percent."Long-term investment by

private donors helps UConn toensure the highest academicquality over time," says Austin ."It is the critical combination ofboth private and publi c dollarsthat will deliver, and sustain ,UConn 's transformation as thestate's flagship institution ofhigher learning."- Gary E. Frank

Tota Gins R celved for theuniversity of Co cUcut

l!!..!!!"0o.....oIIIs::

~~

Parents 4%

Other Individuals 19 %

achievements of our students andfaculty, the Universitys corporate andcharitable partners are critical to thefuture of our programs," says PresidentPhilip E. Austin.

Gifts earmarked for endowmenttotaled $16.9 million , up from $12.7million in fiscal year 1999 . Endowmentfunds support donor-designated projectsand University needs, including

percentage reflects the Universitysstrong relationship with the businesscommunity. One of UConn'slongstanding strategic goals has beenthe development of partnerships withthe state's corporate leaders andbusinesses across the nation. More than300 corporate contributors provided26 percent of total gifts received by theUniversity in fiscal year 2000.

"Whether its a Conne cticut-basedbusiness supporting the University'sacademic departments and athleticteams, a gift from an alumnus, or anational foundation recognizing the

So ees of Gins

T he University of ConnecticutFoundation , Inc. enjoyed its most

successful year ever during fiscal year2000 , receiving $37 million in gifts, a44 percent increase over the previousyear, when gift receipts totaled $25.6million .

The Foundation has functioned asthe primary fund-raiser and managerof private contributions to theUniversity since 1995 , when giftreceipts totaled $8.2 million .Concurrent with the Foundation 'sfund-raising success, the University'sendowment has grown from $50million in 1995 to $22 I millionin 2000. Contributing to theendowment's success is a specialprovision in the UCONN 2000legislation that ensures that gifts madeto UConn endowments are matched ,

. in part , by state funds ."Private investment in UConn is

the driver needed to attain the highestlevel of excellence in teaching , researchand service," says Edward Allenby, vicepresident of institutional advancementand president of the Foundation."UConn relies on private support fromalumni, businesses and other friends toadvance academic quality and studentopportunity. Public incentives, such asthe UCONN 2000 endowmentmatching funds program,magnify the impact ofprivate gifts."

More than half (52 percent )of all gifts received by theUniversity came fromcorporations, charitablefoundations, and otherorganizations , which is higherthan the national average.Found ation officials believe this

FALUWINTER 2000 • 9

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

UTegives $4 million toSchool of EngineeringLargestgift ever to public school of engineering in New England

United Technologies Corporation has committed$4 million to the University of Connecticut Schoo l of

Enginee ring to support new enginee ring educa tion initiatives.The UTC gift, announced in September, is the largest ever

to the Schoo l of Enginee ring and the largest corporate giftever to a pub lic schoo l of engineering in New England. It isalso the largest gift that UTC, wh ich employs more than1,500 UConn alumni , has ever given to an educa tionalinstitution. The state's UCONN 2000 endowmen t matchinggift program will match the UTC gift with an additional$2 million , boosting the gift's total value to $6 million .

"The timin g of this gift is especially opportune as anational crisis looms on the horizon because of a sho rtage ofengineering students," said President Philip E. Aust in . "Formore than 50 years, we have been partners with UTC in educating students and imp roving the economy of a state notedfor its ente rprise and inn ovation . This gift will help theSchoo l of Engineering achieve the highest levels of excellencein research and teaching, set a new standard for publicschoo ls of engineering in the nati on , and enhance UConn'sability to continue to produce highly qualified enginee ringgraduates who are able to serve the changing needs ofcorporations such as United Technologies."

Two million dollars of the UTC gift, plus $1 million instate matchin g funds, will support three endowed chairprofessorships in research : the UTC Chair in Systems

Engineering, the UTC Chair in Thermal-Fluids Engineering,and the Pratt &: Wh itney Chair in Design and Manufa cturing.

The gift will also provide $1.33 million , plus $667, 000 inmatching state fund s, to endow an Advanced TechnologyClinic for joint research between the School of Engineeringfaculty and UTe. The endowment will allow four professorsto work with graduate students and undergradu ate researchassistants and provide the professors with summer positionsat a UTC bu siness unit or at the UTC Research Center.

The UTC contribution also includ es $670,5 00, plus$333,000 in state matching fund s, to create at least 10undergradu ate scho larships per year for four years.

"In a global economy, knowledge-based work will be thefocus of futur e u.s. economic success, " said George David,UTC chairman and chief executive officer. "This gift demonstrates our belief that educa tion will be the key to maintain- .ing the compe titive positions of not only UTC, but also othertechnology-focused comp anies."

Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland praised UTC as amodel for other corporate donors, citing the corporation 'sdonation to the state last year of land that will be the siteof a new football stadium for UConn in East Hartford .

The UTC gift, the governo r said , will help the Universityattrac t top students. "If we want to keep wonderful talenthere in the state of Connecticut, we must invest in ourun iversities," Rowland said .

School of Business receives $'.25 million to support e-business programs

The School of Business hasreceived private contributionstotaling$3.25 million to support e-business programs at

the main campus and regional campuses in Greater Hartfordand Stamford.

Atotal gift of $1.6 million, including $1.25 million from theSGM Scholarship Foundation of NewYork City and $375,000

from the UCONN 2000 matching gift program, will supportconstruction of a newGladstein Management InformationSystems Research Laboratory in the newBusiness LearningCenter, establish an endowment fund to support the lab, andestablish the Gladstein Professorship in InformationManagement and Innovation at the main campus. Thepositionwill be filled byAssociate Professor Paulo Goes.

Agift of $1.5 million, including $1 million from the TreibickFamily Foundation and $500,000 from the UCONN 2000


matching gift program, will endow the Treibick Family Chair forthe Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI), basedin Stamford.

A $150,000 gift will fund the Shenkman Family Chair ine-buslness, to be based at the main campus, and support business-related teaching, research, and outreach activities acrossUConn's campuses. Thechair will be filled bylim Marsden, professor and headof the Department of Operations andInformation Management and interim executive director ofcm.

"These giftshelpuscontinue the momentum in establishinge-commerce as an important areaof both research andteaching," says Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the School ofBusiness. "The information revolution is to the zrst century whatthe industrial revolution wasto the zoth century. These giftswillensure UConn's ongoing contribution to that revolution."

A P A G E F ROM

the Past

This dog had quite a dayJonathan IV the attraction when the Huskies reached their f irs t NCAA tournament in 1951

jonathan wasn 't in the parade. He hadbeen at Grand Central to meet theUConn fans, but was whisked away in ataxi cab to City Hall. Writing in 1959 ,San Francisco Examinersports columnistWells Twombley, a Willimantic, Conn.,native, descri bed the scene at MadisonSquare Garden:

"Only seconds remained before gametime . .. Then, jonny IV burst through

the door, a young, virile poochleaping and bounding ahead.

"With a roar, 18,000 MadisonSquare Garden fans stood andcheered him.

"New York's newspapers calledit The greatest ovation ever givena mascot of a school in Madison

Square Garden.'''The Huskies lost to St. johns,

63-52 , but jonathan IV returnedhome triumphant, making a long seriesof appearances through the state,including guest shots on local televisionstations. As jonathan approached hislath year of service, it was determinedthat he would be retired in the spr ing of1959 , and go to the hom e of one of hisearlier trainers. But jonathan passedaway in his sleep on january 16, 1959,just a month before his last scheduledappearance at a men 's basketball gameagainst Syracuse University. In a frontpage tribute, the Connecticut DailyCampus wrote "He was a UConntradition to be sure, but he was a verywarm symbol of that tradition. Hispersonality was a very real qualit ywhich made him a wonderful mascotand a wonderful friend ."- Mark Roy '74 (GAS)

to the NCAA basketball wire ," wrotethe edito rs of the 1953 Nutmeg insumming up the season that led tothe tournament. "Classes went the wayof all flesh, and anything on wheelstrundled stud ents to Madison SquareGarden in New York City. A specialtrain was chartered from Hart ford to[ ew York], and we got a paradepermit from Grand Central Station tothe Garden. "

Because he was at City Hall meetingwith New York City's vice mayor,

Yokabaskas, a 1953 graduate of theSchool of Education, was the firstUConn player to score 1,000 pointsduring his college career.

"There was no lack of campusspiri t .. . when we beat Holy Cross

The greatest ovation ever given aschoolmascot in Madison Square Garden

I n his first meeting with Yale'smascot , "Handsome Dan," just

three days after arriving on the Storrscampus, jonathan IV grabbed thebulldog by the nose.

He was known to growl whenplayers for opposing teams scoredbaskets against the UConn men.

When the men's baske tball teamplayed for the first time in an NCAAtournament, this Husky was the TopDog in the BigApple, an appearancethat would be remembered bystudents and alumni for years.

jonathan IV, a white husky withbrown markings, arrived at UConnin September 1949 from BrudsHusky Farm , a kennel in Vermont.He had been born on Decemberio, 1947.

He would serve as mascot for morethan nine years. His career includeda dog-napping by University ofMassachusetts students in 1956 ,just days after he had been injuredin a minor accident. Dozens ofUConn students flocked toAmherst, Mass., to search for himbefore he was safely recovered .

In his career as UConn's mascot ,jonathan's greatest moment was in thespring of 1951, when the UConn menfaced St. j ohns University March 19 inan CAA first-round game at the oldMadison Square Garden. The team ,coached by the late Hugh Greer, hadwon 22 of its 25 regular season gamesand, as the 1951 Nutmeg noted , was"sparked by Vin (Yogi) Yokabaskas, whocreated new Connecticut records everytime he scored ...."

FALUW INTER 2000 • 11

S C H O O L S & C O L L E G E S

News

School of Fine Arts School of Law

GaryM. English

Helping students excel at crunch timeMost first-year law students realize that succeeding in lawschoo l requires moving beyond the days of memorizationand standardized tests. Adapting to the rigors of a legaleducation is often more difficult than students

expect though.Jere my Paul , professor of law and associate dean

for academic affairs, has co-authored a book meant tohelp students make the transition from successfulundergraduate to stellar law student. In Getting toMaybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams, Paul andco-author Richard Michael Fischl explain law schoolexams in an effort to imp rove the reader's performance.

"There's a certain point in the education of an adultwhen rote learn ing is no longer what you want to

accomplish," Paul says. "The law school exam changesthe question from 'Did the person memorize the rules?'to 'Did the person solve the problem?' We try to explainwhy there are these problems."

The two authors originally came up with the idea for thebook in the early 1980s when they were both starti ng theiracademic careers at the University of Miami law school.Although the idea for the book struck early in Paul's andFischl 's careers, they decided to put it on hold while theyfocused on their academic work.

After Paul arrived at UConn in 1988, he contacted Fischl,now a professor of law at the University of Miami , andsuggested they resume working on the book, which waspubli shed by Carolina Academic Press last year.

Response to the book has been overwhelming. In anonlin e review, Yale Law School Professor Atticus Falcon ,who wrote What You Need to Know Before You Go to LawSchool, calls Getting to Maybe a "Godsend." Professors atlaw schools around the country have told Paul that thebook is required reading for studentswho need help on exams.

At the UConn School of Law,Professor Deborah Callowayrequires students in her methodscourse to read the book.

It's not only professors who areraving abou t the book.

"I had a student who'd won anaward come up to me on awardsday and say, 'I never wouldhave won this award withoutyour book," Paul says.

Gary M. English , head of the Department of Dramatic Artsand artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre ,has been elected to a two-year term as president of the boardof directors of the University/Resident Theatre Association.

The UIRTA is the nation'soldest and largest consortiumof professional, graduate theatertraining programs and associatedprofessional theater companies.

"Gary is an inspired choice tolead the UIRTA into the newmillennium ," says UIRTA ExecutiveDirector Scott Steele. "Under hisleadership, the Department ofDramatic Arts at the Universi ty ofConnec ticut , and its performancearm, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, have emerged as amode l of the interac tion between un iversity theatre departments and university based professional theatres."

English came to UConn in 1988 and has been head ofthe Department of Dramatic Arts since 1994 . He foundedthe Connecticut Repertory Theatre at Storrs as a professionalsummer theater in 1994 and expanded it to a year-roundtheatre in 1997. Since then , CRT has won the NewEngland Theatre Conference Award for contributions tothe professional theater community, and won threeConnecticut Drama Critics Circle awards .

English earne d a B.fA. in drama from the Universityof Arizona in 1974 , and an M.fA. in stage design fromNorthwestern Universi ty in 1977 . Before coming to UCon nhe taught at the State University of New York at Geneseoand at Carnegie Mellon University. He was promoted to fullprofessor at UConn in 1992 . English served one year asinterim dean of the School of Fine Arts after the death ofDean Robert Gray.

English , who negotiated a national contract betweenuniversity based theaters and Actors Equity, says the UIRTAis seeking ties with major unions representing stage directors , scenic artists and dramatists. "This process is having anational impact on the way university theater is evolving," hesays. "As a result, professional theater and university theaterare becoming more integrated and mutually supportive whilethe students graduating from major theater programs suchas UConn's are finding much more success after graduation ."

Gary English elected president of nationaltheatre association


School of Dental Medicine

When preschool ers usefluoride-less can be more

Changes in children's and parents'behavior could prevent many cases ofdental fluorosis in children, according toDavid G. Pend rys, associate professor inthe Departm ent of Behavioral Sciencesand Community Health . Result s ofPendrys' study were published in the Juneissue of TheJournal of the American DentalAssociation.

Dental fluorosis, a disruption in toothenamel formation, is caused by inges ting fluorid e aboveoptimal levels. It occurs only when teeth are still formingunde r the gums. In its mildest form, whi te streaks are visibleonly to dental experts during examinations . Noticeablewhite lines that often consolidate into larger opaque areascharacterize mild to moderate fluorosis. Although thelines may cause cosmetic conce rn, there are no knownhealth effects.

School of Business

Executive MBA.com develops e-business leaders

The School of Business is now offering the first executiveMBA program in the nation specifically designed to developbusiness leaders for e-comrnerce.

"The program is based on the fundamental principle thatbusiness leaders who are proficient with information technology and understand how IT enables and empowers goodbusiness practic e will be the ones whose companies succeedin this rapidl y changing environment," says ThomasGutteridge , dean of the School of Business.

The program is being offered at the Stamford campusbecause Fairfield County is the home to man y majorbusinesses , as well as many new dot.com start-up companies."Building on the School of Business' success with theConnecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI), theEMBA.com program stresses information technology as a setof building blocks that serves as the foundation for integratedand effective understanding of the successful businessprocesses and functions in the new economy," says RichardN. Dino, associate dean of the School of Business.

The program's curriculum is nourished by the School ofBusiness's research on such e-business topics such as network

SCHOOLS &: COLLEGES NEWS

"Using fluorid e toot hpaste is impor-tant for the prevention of tooth decay,

but proper use should be taught topreschool child ren," says Pendrys."Because young children are apt toswallow toothpaste du ring brush ing,a pea-sized amount for children

under six- as recommended by theAmerican Dental Association-is all that

is needed ."Pendrys says it is important for parents to

supervise their preschool children when theybrush and encourage them to spit out , rath er

than swallow, toothpaste. Parent s should avoidspecial flavors that may tempt children to eat toothpaste.Once permanent teeth have erupted , there is no longer arisk of fluorosis.

Teaching children (and parent s) how to use fluorideproducts may reduce the cosmetic-marring effects of enamelfluorosis, ~ays Pendrys. "After all, all parent s want theirchildren to show a wonderful smile."

optimization, electronic auction markets, computer and datasecurity, dynamic database restructuring, supply chainmanagement , and electronic customer servicing.

Because of the Internet's impact on worldwide commerce,having employees well acquainted with information technology is crucial not only to dot.com start-ups, but also towell-established companies such as General Electric, PitneyBowes, Xerox and others, each of which have employeesenrolled in the new executive MBA program.

"We're not creating programmers. We're creating businessleaders who have a deep and specific knowledge," says Dino ."Information technology becomes the lens through whichthey look at everything else they're going to learn. "

The new program is replacing the traditional executiveMBA program at Stamford and is in line with a nationaltrend at business schools to develop niche, or specialty,programs in the face of competition.

"There is a school of thought that an MBA is an MBA,"Dino says. "There's another school of thought that we'resubscribing to that the traditional skills learned in a regularMBA program, while very valuable , don 't go far enough tobe successful in the new paradigm."

FALlJWI NTER 2000 • 13

SCHOOLS & COLLEGES NEWS

School of Pharmacy

Teaching professional skills to students

Sixteen Connecticut pharmacists, most of whom are UConnalumni, are volunteering their time to help train first-yearpharmacy students at the University.

"It is turning out to be a very effective teaching method,"says Neil Facchinetti, an associate professor of pharmacy,who enlisted the helpof practicing pharmacistsfor a course he teacheson interpersonal skillsdevelop ment.

With more than2.8 billion prescriptionsbeing filled in the UnitedStates each year, pha rma-

. cists must be able tocommunicate effectivelywith patients. Patientcounseling is also criticalbecause more people are taking over-the-counter drugs andherbal remedies, which Facchinetti says opens the door forpotentially dangerous interactions with prescription drugs .

At the start of each class, the students learn about severalcommonly prescribed drugs, such as Prozac, Zantac , andDilantin. Then they pair up for role-playing.

Each pair of students goes to a mock counseling center,where one of the volunteer pharmacists is stationed. Thevolunteer pharmacist hands a bottle of prescription dru gsto the student "phar macist. " The student "patien t" is handeda rough script outlining family background, medical history,and other factors that will help test the student pharmacistsabilities to listen, evaluate, and counsel in relation to thedrug that has been described .

The volunteer pharmacist observes the aspiringpharmacists' body language, questioning techniques,listening skills, and use of factual details . When the exerciseis over, the volunteer critiques the exercise , using a videotapeto review each student's strengths and weaknesses.The videotape enables students to monitor their progressthroughout the semester, says Facchinetti .

Facchinetti says this teaching method would beimpractical and too expensive without volunteers like BillColburn '77 (PHR).

"I received a good education at UConn and was wellprepared for my profession. I wanted to give somethingback to UConn and to the School of Pharmacy," Colburnsays. "And I have to say I feel good about the students I'vebeen working with . They seem very profess ional and arequite smart, and they're keepi ng me on my toes ."


School of Nursing

Nursing prof's video helps elderly manage pain

Associate Professor Deborah McDonald's research ondec reasing postoperative pain has led to the developmentof a I5 -minute video designed to help patients bettercommunicate their pain after surgery.

McDonald's research indica ted that despite advances inpain management, many patients continued to havehigh levels of pain following surgery. She beganconducting research to examine how patients,particularly older adults, manage their pain andhow doctors and nurses can best help them.

The first part of the video, "Managing Your PainAfter Surgery," concerns general techniques for dealingwith pain and pain medication . McDonald emp hasizesin the video that it is rare to become addicted tomedication taken for postoperative pain . She alsosuggests procedures that may enhance a patient's senseof well-being and reduce pain, including relaxationtechniques, deep breat hing, massage, and distraction ,

such as listening to music or watching television .The second part of the video, "Communicating Your Pain

After Surgery," illustrates what McDonald believes is a majorproblem in pain management : miscommunication betweencaregivers and patients. Patients may believe they should notcomplain or take up too much of a caregivers time . Othersmay communicate ineffectively, omitting importantinformation such as the location or intensity of the pain .

"Caregivers make a mistake by frequently openingconversations with patients by asking 'How are you feeling?"McDonald says, adding that this might encourage patients torespond in a socially acceptable way and not complain oftheir pain . A better approach might be to say, "Tell me howmuch pain you're having."

McDonald urges patients to be clear when talking abouttheir pain , identifying its precise location; how it feels (e.g.,burning, pounding); and how it responds to medication.The main point, she says, is to help people keep their painlow and under control, so they can get better faster and backto a more active, healthy life.

The video was produced by the University'sCenter for Instructional Media and Technologyand was filmed at a localhospita l using real doctorsand nurses, along withvolunteers who playedthe roles of patient s.

Deborah McDonald ,associate professorof nursing.

Peter Morenus


School of Medicine

l '

/• UeGAn Health CODter

faculty. The spring 2000 session included lectures on geneticmedicine , ethics and medicine , emerging infectious diseases ,immunology, cancer biology, bone biology and osteoporosis.The fall 2000 session included lectures on anatomy, cardiovascular disease, psychiatry, sleep and circadian biology,neuroscience, occupational and environmentalmedicine , and informationtechnology in medicaleduca tion .

Nancy Duffy, ofNewington, Conn. ,was so impressedby the programshe signed up fortwo sessions. "It'sa great program,"says Duffy. "I was alittle intimidated at first, but the doctors and professors whotaught it were just excellent. They were clear, concise , andable to make difficult and esoteric subject matter interestingand understandable ."

The next session is planned for spring 2001. For moreinformation or to be to be placed on the mailing list , call860-679-2904.

Lecture series offers public a glimpseof medical education

The Mini-Medical School is back in session at the Universityof Connecticut Health Center. The six-week lecture series ,which began in 1992, is designed to introduce to the publicthe basic sciences underlying present-day medical knowledgeand provide an overview of medical topics .

The Mini-Medical School is one of the first two suchprograms in the nation . The UCon n program has becomea model for similar medical schoo l programs aroun d thecountry.

Each week a differen t topic is presented in the samemanner that medical students receive instruction . l ecturersare School of Medicine faculty. The lectures, though scientifically based, are presente d in a manner that make them morereadily understandable to the lay person.

"We are very pleased to offer this program to the public,"says Dr. Bruce Koeppen, dean for academic affairs and education at the School of Medicine . "It's a wonderful opportunityfor people to learn more about the causes and treatment ofdisease and become better-informed health-care consumersand ultimately active participants in their health care ."

The topics covered in the program vary each session,depending on a number of factors, such as availability of

School of Allied Health

A collaboration to fight diabetes

When Joann Dark Eyes, a former member of the Mashan tucke t Pequot Tribal Council, spoke at the School of AlliedHealth 's first diabetes conference in 1997 , it was much morethan a mere speaking engagement . Dark Eyes' aunt , VictoriaPlousse Hayward , died from complications of the disease,which afflicts one in eight Native Americans. Since that time ,the Mashantucket Pequots and the School of Allied Healthhave joined forces each year to host the event , held at thetribe's museum and conference center in Mashantucket , Conn .

The next conference, scheduled for March 2001 , willbe the fourth of a six-year commitment the tribe has madeto the event. The tribe provides free facilities for theconference and accommodations for the keynote speakerand assists with a health fair that precedes the conference.

For the past three years, the conference has included aspeech by Tribal Chairman Kenneth Reels, a Type IIdiabetic who discusses his battle with the disease as wellas its grasp on many elderly citizens. The prevalence ofdiabetes among Native Americans also prompted the tribe

to establish the Victoria Plousse Hayward Scholarship Fundat the School of Allied Health .

Cynthia Adams , associate dean and director of outreachat the School of Allied Health, says the confe rence has beeneffective for many reasons. "The location of the conferencehas been won derful , not on ly because the facilities are soaccommodating, but because the casinos draw many olderpeople who are at a great risk of becoming seriously ill fromdiabe tes. Most important , the conference addresses an issuethat is so important to Native Americans. "

Previous conferences have featured people of variousethnic and racial groups, such as Sharon Robinson, whosefather , baseball legend Jackie Robinson, suffered fromdiabetes. A diverse array of speakers is crucial , Adamssays, because diabetes does not discriminate . "Approximately16 million people, six percent of the U.S. population, havediabetes," Adams says. "But nearly six million of themhave not even been diagnosed. Research has also shownthat Type II diabetes, which typically afflicts adults , isshowing up in you ng children . This is an issue thatdemands our attention ."



to fund study ofjuvenilenarrsSocial Work has received a $70 ,462 grant

eticut Office of Juvenile Justice andconduct a l O-rnonth study of juveniles.

fJu enile Justice and Delinquency hasnnecticut 's need to develop a comprehensive

ale offenders in order to identify the specific€J that pop ulation . The study, which will be

ree members of the UConn comm unity, wills and services the state can implement toJuven ile offenders. The School of Socialry of working with state agencies thatrvice issues and needs.ere has been recognition that female

ring caught in the criminal justice system,"on, an adjunct faculty member of the School, Who will be the principal investigator for the

study. "And while the impression exists that females getinvolved in illegal activity in different ways than males,there hasn't been much in the way of programming toaddress these differences. In addition to helping the government design and implement programs geared towardfemales, the informat ion we obtain through the study willprovide data on how many adult female offenders began inthe juvenile system."

"We plan to look across the various systems that dealwith juvenile offenders. We will be examining data fromagencies such as the Department of Children and Families,the juvenile court , and the early stages of adult court todetermine what happens to young women when they'rehandled by each of these agencies," says CatherineHavens, associate dean of academic affairs at the School ofSocial Work, who will provide consultation to the projecton design and data analysis.

Lyon and Havens will implement the study with RobinSpath '9 1 (BGS), '94 M.S.W , who will serve as programcoordinator.

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Jonathan Way ' 0 0 M.S. releases atranquilized coyote after weighingand measuring it. and installing aradio-collartracking device.

can be up to 100 square miles. Coyotes quickly claim anarea and the few pups that survive to adulthood set outlooking for their own space, thus expanding the range of thespecies . Their territory is usually about 12 to 40 squaremiles per coyote family group of three.

Coyotes will move in a predic table pattern only duringthe spring, when there likely is a litter of pups that must betended to and fed. Coyotes may become accustomed to

human beings, trotting through residential areas,but Way points out that there is a differencebetween being bold and being threatening.He says the coyotes are behaving normallyand they do not pose a danger to people.

Way hopes this information will helpcalm people 's fears of coexisting

with the coyote."I hope that if anything comes from

this study, it is to ensure thelong-term survival and

well-being of this magnificent animal ," Way says.

GregAuer

Giving coyotes a better reputation

Jonathan Way '00 M.S. felt that coyotes were getting abad rap, so he spent two-and-a-half years studying themfor his master's thesis in natural resources managementand engineering.

While studying a group of eastern coyotes on Cape Cod ,Way learned that the animals aren't fearsome at all and tendto shy away from humans. Way, who currently works at theBronx Zoo, plans to cont inue his research on the animalwhile pursuing a doctorate.

"I felt so fortunate to be able to do this and give theanimals a better name ," says Way. "They're actually fascinatinganimals and not the vermin people sometimes think they are."

There has been little research on the coyote ,which began appearing in the Northeast only50 years ago. After the gray wolf was exterminated from the eastern United States during the1900s, the coyote began its migration eastward .

The eastern coyote is the largest coyote in thecountry and is believed to have mixed with thegray or red wolf. Similar to a German shepherd inappearance, coyotes weigh from 30 to 50 poundsand are 4 to 5 feet long.

What most surprised Way was the easterncoyote's territorial habits. A coyote's home range



New method to combat groundwaterpollution discovered

Tom Wood, associateprofessor of chemicalengineering.

A revolutionary new method for vanquishing the toxicsolvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has been discovered byThomas Wood, an associate professor of chem ical engineering. The method , involving bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeriOX] and one of its enzymes, solves an environmentaldilemma that has nettled scientists fordecades: how to break down dangerousorganic compounds aerobically.

PCE is used in dry cleaning andmanufacturin g operations aroundthe world. When released intothe soil, PCE and other solventsslowly seep through soillayers unt il they encounter animpenetrable layer of clay orbedrock. Groundwater passingthrough the soil slowly dissolves andtransports the solvents, where they canfurther migrate through the soil, causingpotentially Significant contamination ofgroundwater. The EnvironmentalProtection Agency has deemed it asuspected carcinogen and requires that PCE be remediated to

less than five parts per billion ."For perspective, consider that a Single drop of human

sweat in the average swimming pool is at a concentrationof 1 part per million is roughly 200 times the acceptabl econcentration of PCE," Wood says.

The key enzyme discovered by Wood and his team,toluene-o-xylene monooxygenase, degrades PCE (and otherless-chlorinated, similar compounds) into chloride ions, aharmless by-produ ct.

Since mixtures of chlorinated wastes are frequently foundat contaminated sites, mixtures such as PCE, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylenes, and vinyl chloride are all degradedby this enzyme. The team also found that PCE actually activates the enzyme responsible for its degradation .

Since delivering the enzyme to the contaminated soil andgroundwater requires an innovative approach, the teamplans to clone the enzyme into another bacterium that bondssymbiotically with the roots of certain trees, such as the fastgrowing poplar. (See "Miracle microbes to the rescue" inSpring '00 issue of UConn Traditions .) When planted in acontaminated area, these trees would quickly send theirroots down to the site of the solvent; the host bacteriacontaining the enzyme could then go to work oxidizingthe solvents .

School of Engineering



School of Family Studies

The Center for Applied Research establishedThe School of Family Studies has joined with the Collegeof Agriculture and Natural Resources to form the Center forApplied Research. Stephen Anderson, professor of familystudies, is director of the Center. Carole Eller, senior extensioneducator in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources,is assistant director.

Anderson says the centers purpose is to provide expertiseto local human service agencies to help them satisfy therequirements mandated by their funding sources or by state orfederal law tha t they otherwise might have difficulty meeting.

As an example, Anderson cites a collabora tive effort, fundedby the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, betweenthe Schoo l of Family Studies and the staff of 25 urban teendrop-in centers to evaluate their efforts to combat juveniledelinquency and subs tance abuse . A team from the School ofFamily Studies, which includes Anderson, Professor RonaldSabatelli, Assistant Professor Preston Britner, and two graduatestudent assistants, is working with the drop-in centers to

Neag School of Education

Dean's Advisory Board establishedRichard Schwab, dean of the Neag School ofEducation, has chosen 16 prominent citizens to beadvisors to the School.

The Dean's Advisory Board , as the group is nam ed, isworking closely with Schwab and his colleagues as theystrive to make the Neag School of Educati on one of thetop 10 schoo ls of education in the count ry. (U.S. News &World Report has ranked the school's elementary andsecon dary teachers education programs, respectively, 19thand 23rd in the country.) Schwab discovered that , other thanthose at Harvard University and Teachers College at Colum biaUniversity, advisory boards at schoo ls of educa tion are a rarity.

For business schools, however, it is a different story, andSchwab turned to Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the School ofBusiness, for guidance . He also sough t assistance fromEdward Allenby, vice president of inst itutional advancement,who helped to identify potential candida tes. More than 50prospective adviso rs were interviewed.

Mary Heslin '51 (ED) a former com missioner of consumerprotection for Connecticut, is chairperson of the board . Theboard members includ e U.S. Rep. John larson; JohnMacDonald, a former undersecretary for the U.S. Departmentof Education; Judge Dumisa Ntsebeza, chief investigator ofthe Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa;


refine expectations for the study and develop an appropriatemethod for evaluating its results.

Some of the center's projects will involve both the Schoolof Family Studies and the College of Agriculture and aturalResources, such as a joint effort to develop a handbook forCooperative Extension staff and for personnel in otherhuman service agencies . "Each project relies on findingpeople who have the necessary expertise for that particularproject, " says Anderson .

Charles Super, dean of the School of Family Studies ,believes this kind of collaboration among academic faculty,Cooperative Extension faculty, and outside agencies has along tradition at UConn. "The Center for Applied Researchis in some ways an old idea redesigned for modern realities,"Super says. "It's exciting to see the work of the School ofFamily Studies and the College of Agriculture and NaturalResources reconnected in this way. I have high expectationstha t there will be tangible benefits to the citizens ofConnecticut in a very short time ."

Anyone interested in learning more about the Centerfor Applied Research is urged to contact Andersonby telephone at (860) 486-3865 or bye-mail at

[email protected] .

Logan Clarke Jr. , former chairmanof the Connecticut Board ofGovernors for Higher Education;Cheryl Dickinson, professor ofspecial educa tion at SouthernConnecticut State University;

Carmen Effron '72 (ED), '82 M.B.A.,founder and president of the C. F. Effron Company LLC;

Bettye Fletcher, a former educato r and administrator inConnecticut public schools; Beverly Greenberg, a formerteacher and a member of the state Board of Education; DianaJepsen, a pub lic relations executive for GE Capital : HowardKlebanoff '62 J.D ., a lawyer in private practice ; RaymondSmart , president of the Smart Family Foundation; RobinSchader, a doctoral candidate in Gifted and TalentedEducation at the Neag School of Education; Karen Timmons'73 (ED), chief executive officer of Joint CommissionResources; Gregg Watson, vice president for public andurban affairs for Xerox Corp .; and Raymond Neag '56(CLAS), who in 1999 gave $23 million to the University,including $21 million to the School of Education, the largestsingle gift to a school of education in the country.

"We wanted to compose a symphony of voices andopinions from a multitude of backgrounds," Schwab says."The single common thread among the board members istheir deep commitment to public education."


ANNOUNCEMENTS

School of Family Studies

SFSAlumni Society News

The School of Family Studies Alumni Society isnow in its second year. SFSalumni are invitedto correspond with the society's leadership andto send news of your professional activitiesand personal lives. The current officers of theSFSAlumni Society are: President, LorraineMcClatchey Wetherell '58; Vice-President,Grace Caruso Whitney '72, '90 Ph.D.; Secretary,Rosemarie Peila Syme '68; CorrespondingSecretary, Julie Goldberg '92; and Treasurer,David Lytwyn '94. The society's board of directors includes Mishonda Rankin Baldwin '94,Kim Chambers '95 Ph.D., Merrilyn N. Cummings'68, Heather Dudek '97, Tere Foley '85 M.A.,Meg Galante-DeAngelis '97 M.A., JeanO'Connor Gallati '84, Virginia Garvey '47,Louise Johnson '36, Becky N. Person '71, '76M.A., Fernando Rausch '91, Georgia A.Potterton Spratt '62, and Georgie Winter '94Ph.D.

If you have news to share or are interested involunteering in support of the SFSAlumniSociety, contact Julie Goldberg, 325 West 93rdStreet, Apt. 66, New York, NY10025, [email protected] .edu. Mark your calendar forthe school's annual meeting and the SFSAlumni Society banquet on May I, 2001.

SFSAlumni Society e-ma/ll/st

Board member Kim Chambers is setting upan e-mail list of SFSalumni so they may

correspond with each other and the Society.If you are interested in joining this list, contactKim bye-mail at [email protected]

School of Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy is seeking nominations for its Distinguished Alumnus Award .The award is presented annually to an alumnus/a who has distinguished him/herself inthe profession of pharmacy. Nominations,along with supporting information, shouldbe sent to Daniel C. Leone, University ofConnecticut School of Pharmacy, 372 FairfieldRoad, U-92, Storrs CT06269-2092. The awardwill be presented at the Annual School ofPharmacy Alumni Association Meeting andBanquet in May 2001.

School of Nursing

Alumni & Friends Society Update

Congratulations to the alumnae honored atthe fourth annual School of NursingDistinguished Awards Banquet in October.The honorees were

Rachel Freddetle Schiffman '81 M.S.,'88 Ph.D. Associate Professor, Michigan StateUniversity - Kramer Outstanding AlumniAward for Research

Charlene Phelps '62 (HUR)Vice President, Medical/Surgical/Nursing/Patient Care Services, University Hospitals

of Cleveland - Eleanor K. Gill OutstandingAlumni Award for Clinical Excellence in Nursing

Marian Snyder '6,. (HUR)Dean, Columbia College ofNursingBeverly L. Koerner Outstanding Alumni Awardfor Education in Nursing

Shirley Sherman Langford '65 (HUR)President, Interim Health CareCarolyn Ladd Widmer Outstanding AlumniAward for Leadership in Nursing

Save these Dates:

December 3-Sigma Theta Tau, Mu ChapterInduction CeremonyLocation: Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. DoddResearch Center,Time: 2 p.m.-5 p.rn, Luncheon $5 guests,free for inductees.RSVPto Carol Polifroni at 860-486-0511

Winter-RN/MS, AGS, Ph.D. InformationSessionsPlease call the Academic Advisory Center at860-486-4730 for dates, locations, and toconfirm attendance.

For more informati on about School of Nursingevents, contac t Kathe Gable, director of PublicAffairs, at (860) 486-0613, or bye-mail atKathe.Gable @uconn.edu. Check the school'sWeb site (www.nursing.uconn.edu) foradd itional updates.

UI

Call 860-486-3863 or visit us on the web atwww.UConnHuskies.com

oHUSJoin our coring familyof nearly5,000, who are dedicoted to he ping UConn'sstudent-athletes get an outstanding educotion and compete at the highest level ofintercollegiate sports. Your tax-deductible contribution gives you first option forseason tickets, invitations to exclusive UConn Club activities, and newsletlers. You'llalso receive the gratitude of your newest family members - our student-athletes.

~U(onn


R EP OR T ON

Research

Unlocking the ocean's treasuresCharles Yarish and colleagues aim to bring aquaculture to New England

T o Charles Yarish , it seems unfairto refer to such a valuable plant

by its common name of seaweed."I call it 'red gold,'" says Yarish , a

pro fessor of ecology and evolutionarybiology in the College of liberal Artsand Sciences , who has been at the center of investigating whether nori, a typeof red algae, can be farmed successfullyin the waters off New England .


There are many good reasons to asksuch a question. The production ofnori, prized as the delicate, flavorfulwrapper for sushi , is a $2 billion industry dominated by Japan , China andSouth Korea. The red , tissue-lik e leavescontain fluorescent pigment s worth asmuch as $35,000 per gram to medicalresearchers. Noris ability to removepollutants from the water may make itcrucia l to the future of fish farming .

Two of its amino acids show promise inreducing blood cholesterol in humans.It may even hold a substance thatshrinks tum ors.

Yarish, perhaps better than anyone ,knows that not all nori is created equal.Between Long Island Sound andCanada's Maritime Provinces, he andhis colleagues have discovered morethan 120 types of nori, some of which

UConn has one of the world's bestfacilities for seaweed research

may be new to science . The characteristics of these seaweeds-for example ,whether any can be cultivated to produce a texture , color and taste pleasingto the demanding palates of sushiaficionados-is a focus of this stage ofYarishs work.

In the Rankin Laboratory's recent lycompleted greenhouse at UConn's AveryPoint campus sit 32 tanks, some witha capacity of more than 250 gallons,ready to hold nori samples. Lighting,tempera ture and the acidity of the watercan be contro lled to determin e how theplants ' growth rate , amino acid levels, .protein content and other charac teristicsreact to different environmentalconditions. Yarish plans to control the

plants ' environment by computer,from his home in Newtown, his officeat UConn 's Stamford campus, oranywhere else.

"Nobodys done research on local[New England] nori before," saysYarish, "We're going to have a fieldday, once we get enough of eachspecies growing."

Stored near the greenhouse are thecomponents of a small demonstrationnori farm Yarish hopes to install in LongIsland Sound. The farm was providedby PhycoGen , Inc. of Portland , Maine ,an industrial partner since replaced byBiological Services of Poland , Maine.The construction was madepossible by $296,000 grant from theCritical Technology Program ofConnecticut Innovation Inc. to Yarishand partners Dick Cooper, director ofUConn marine programs; ThomasChen , director of UConn'sBiotechnology Center; and ThierryChopin, professor of marine biology atthe University of New Brunswick atSaint John.

The investment gives UConn"perhaps the finest facility in the UnitedStates, if not the world, for seaweedresearch ," says Ira Levine, the formerchief executive officer of PhycoGen andfounder of Biological Services.

In Chen's laboratory, research ontransferring a synthetic gene to nori, topro tect it from harmful fungal infectionsthat can break out when the plant isgrown in large quant ities is alreadyunder way If successful, the technologycould be of great benefit to shellfish andfinfish aquaculture . "The work is verypromising," said Chen.

Raising nori for food is only part ofthe picture. In response to the dep letionof fishing stocks , federal policymakers

have called for the quin tup ling of thenation's $ I-billion finfish aquacultureind ustry in the next 20 years. Excessivenutrients from fish excrement andun eaten fish food can contribute toharmful algal blooms, though Yarishand his colleagues believe that nori, afast-growing plant capable of absorbinglarge amounts of nitro gen and othernutrient s, could be the answer.

"I see seaweeds as nu trientscrub bers . That is their role in theecosystem," says Chopin, who hasteamed up with Yarish , GeorgeKraemer of the State Universityof New York and Chris Neefusof the University of NewHampshire under a two-year,$330 ,000 federal grant to findout how seaweed culture andfinfish culture can com plementeach other. An earlier grant launchedthe group 's work in 1995 .

In an extreme example of suchintegra ted aquaculture, Yarish and JoseZertuche, a visiting professo r from theState University of Baja California in

REPORT ON RESEARCH

Mexico, are conducting research tosee whet her nori can be both food sourceand sewage treatment plant for theabalone, a shellfish tha t brings $20 apou nd in the Japanese market.

How much nori, and what type, will ittake to counterbalance a given number offish in a given location? No one knows.That is one of the key questions Yarishand his colleagues are trying to answer.

"Char lie is one of those effectivescient ists who has a specific focus forhis laboratory and field work. He'sunique in his ability to grasp both thescient ific results and their practicalapplication," says Edward C. Monahan,director of the Connec ticut Sea GrantCollege Program in Groton.

Yarish, the president-elect of thePhycological Society of America, theleading society dedicated to the studyof algae, "is one of our very best," saysJames P. McVey, director of the federal SeaGrant College program in Silver Spring,Maryland. "I think Charlie is laying muchof the founda tion for how we're goingto go down this path in the future,"McVey says.

Yarish is excited about thepossibilities. "We're just getting started,"he says. - David LaChance

Thevalueof norl, a $2 billion industrydominatedby China, Japan andSouth Korea,extends beyond the sushi barandinto thefields of medical andenvironmental research.

FALUWINTER 20 00 • 21

SPO T LI GH T O N

Students

A burning desire for knowledgeUConn a natural choice for Abby Lynn Demars

M ost people who know what ion mobility spectometryOMS) instruments are identify the devices with their use

at airports to effectively detect narcotic and explosive residue .Abby Lynn Demars '01 (CLAS), a molecular and cell biolo

gy major, sees yet another global benefit of the instruments.The Norwich, Conn., resident , who shares her time betweenthe main and Avery Point campuses, has been researching theuse of the devices to detect bacteria. So far, the research hasshown that the instruments can in fact detect bacteria farquicker than current testing devices, a finding that resulted ina significant award.

Demars connected with UConnin the summer of her senior year inhigh school , before beginning herundergraduate studies there. Aftergraduating from high school, Demarsbegan working part -time at theUConn Coastal EnvironmentalLaboratory. After becoming involvedin a study of nutrient distribution onthe Thames River, she couldn't waitfor the fall semester to begin. Ascience buff since her youth and afreshman winner of her high schoolscience fair, Demars admits that thepath to her current research camefrom a fascination with bacteria .

"Bacteria are so powerfu l," Demarssays. "They can do so many things .I was curious to discover how theywork, why bacteria like e coli andsalmonella can make someoneso sick."

Demars says the IMS instrument has been shown to findsuch bacterium much more quickly and efficiently She hasbeen working with other students and faculty on the research ,which she hopes one day will reduce the number of illnessesthat bacteria cause.

"The researchers at Avery Point were just beginning to seethe possibilities of the research when I came on board," saysDemars. For months, the team would monitor the device,looking for signs that the instrument could detect the bacteria ."It took us a year to identify one peak of a compound that wehad isolated from a bacterium, but that was a big moment."


The breakthrough resulted in an award from the Society forIndustrial Microbiology in 1999.

Kathleen Usher, program associate in LlConns honorsprogram, says Demars' commitment to education isexceptional.

"I think she's the epitome of the scholar at UConn," Ushersays. "The fact that she was involved with research beforeshe enrolled at UConn is indicative of her drive. She's oneof those peop le who doesn 't wait for something to come herway; she seizes every opportunity."

Abby lynn Demars '01 (ClAS) became involved with researchat UConn even before she enrolled as a freshman.

Upon graduation next May, Demars, who is also a GoldKey Honor Society member and a New England Scholar,hopes to continue her studies of bacteria in graduate schoolat UConn . Although commuting from her Norwich home toGroton and Storrs has been grueling at times, she says shehas no problem making the trip . "The things that I havebeen able to learn at UConn have made every trip worthit," she says. - Andrea Comer

"His accomplishments oncampus are a testament

to his potential to evolve intoan extraordinary leader."

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

For his activism at UConn, Martin Sybblis ' 0 1 (CLAS) was aco-winner of the 2000 Donald L. McCullough OutstandingStudent leader Award .

maintaining a 3.76 cumulative grade point average.In recogni tion of these efforts and others, Sybbliswas a co-winner of the 2000 Donald l.McCullough Outstanding Student Leader Award,the University's highest student leadership award .

Sybblis says his success is attributable to thevalues instilled in him by his mother and grandparents, who raised him in the one of the poorestneighborhoods of Kingston, jamaica's capital city."We lived in the ghetto, but they were very strict ,"he says. "They made me study hard ."

That Sybblis has excelled as both a leader and astudent is no surprise to Marvin Cox, an associateprofessor of history at UConn. When Sybblis wasin Cox's western civilization class, he visited Coxduring office hours every week. Initially, says Cox,

Sybblis would ask him to clarify a point or issue raised inclass. Gradually, Cox says, the office visits became almost a"parallel" course to the western civilization class, a time for

further dialogue about history, philosophy, or life at UConn. Even afterthe course ended, Cox says, Sybbliscontinued to stop by his officeto chat. "I consider Martin a friend,"Cox says. "I'm immensely proudof him."

Altho ugh Sybblis had considered purs uing a career inclinical psychology, he now plans to attend law school. Aftergaining some work experience, Sybblis hopes to return tojamaica and, perhaps, run for elective office.

"In jamaica, politicians are thought of as having plunderedthe country," Sybblis says. "I want to show that it is possiblefor a politician to be honest and tru ly care about the welfareof the people. "

Kingsley Stewart , a government relations associate atUConn and a fellow jamaican, has no doubt that Sybbliswill make his mark.

"His accomplishments on camp us are a testament to hispotential to evolve into an extraordinary leader," Stewart says."I'm thoroughly convinced that if Martin continues on hispresent track, he is destined to be a great leader for jamaica."- Gary E. Frank

The Rt. Hon. Martin SybblisUConn could be a splingboard into Jamaican politics

M artin Sybblis '01 (CLAS) arrived at UConn in 1997during the dead of winter, with the bleak Connecticut

countryside a stark contrast to the tropical, Eden-like.beauty of his jamaican homeland.

"I was cold and lonely," saysSybblis. "I wanted to go home ."

He might have done just that hadhis first roommate, a native ofPortugal, not been a fan of reggaemusic. "I walked into my dormroom, and he had a big poster of Bob Marley on the wall."

The psychology major took it as a sign. He got throughhis first semester and his first New England winter bylistening to Marley's music like a mantra. "The words arevery powerful," he says. "They are about struggling, fighting,and finding meaning."

Sybblis decided he could find meaning by becominginvolved in campus life. He served as chairperson of theHonors Council revitalization committee , a student groupthat rewrote the constitution of the Honors ProgramCoordinating Council, and as president of the West IndianClub . He was a mentor to fellow students through theUConn Connects program, which lends a helping hand byconnecting students to the various academic assistanceprograms offered at UConn. Sybblis also excelled in theclassroom, becomi ng a New England Scholar while

FALl./WINTER 2000 • 23

o •XpfrlmfntUCONN'S {M{RGING TI{S WITH SOUTH AfRICAN D{MOCRACY

By {ljzabpth Omara-Otunnu

[my day, (hrpsta Matontsi comps facp-to-facp with thp irenies of history.Atour guidp in the Parliampnt building in (app Town, shp ushers groups of tourists and visitors through the red plush

chambpr whprp, at the turn of the ZOth cpntury, the primp ministpr of (app (olony,diamond and gold baron (edl Rhodps,introducpd laws that disposspsspd black South Africans of thpir land and minpral rights.

Shp also guidps thpm through the "Grppn Room" whprp, in the parly 1950s, Hpndrick Vprwoprd drpw up the Ipgislativpblupprints for systpmatic racial spgrpgation in South Africa, formalizing the racial discrimination that had pxistpd for cpnturips.

D Uring the apartheid regime-apar theidmeans "apart-ness" in Afrikaans- black SouthAfricans were not allowed to enter the Parliamentbuild ing and were denied any form ofrepresentation in government.

These are the laws under which millions of blackSouth Africans suffered for years. Matontsi, a recent

. college graduate, is part of a new generation whoselives are unfolding in the post-apartheid era.

The building where she works is no longer justthe place where the laws that buttressed the systemof apartheid were passed. It is now the epicente rof a bold experiment in democracy and humanrights, achieved only recently after decades ofwhite minority rule.

This is the new South Africa, a country withwhich the University of Connecticut is formingreciprocal ties.

"The successful struggle against apartheid andSouth Africa's current effort to build a societybased on truth and justice represent one of the trulyinspirational stories of modern times," says UConnPresident Philip E. Austin .

UConn is building stron g partnership s with the AfricanNational Congress, the ruling political party, and with theUniversity of Fort Hare, the oldest and most prestigioustraditionally black un iversity in South Africa and formerSouth African president Nelson Mandelas alma mater.

The partn ership with the ANC got off the ground lastFebrua ry with a well-attended comparative hum an rights

A tour guide at the former prison on Robben Island gestures toward thecell where former South African president Nelson Mandela was held for1] of his 28 years behind bars.


conference at UConn that brought together the offspringof world-renowned anti-apartheid and civil rights activists.UConn is beginning to record oral histories of former ANCleaders and to collect copies of materials from the A Carchives that will assist in writing the history of South Africaand those who fought against apartheid. In July, a high-leveldelegation of UConn faculty and administrators visited SouthAfrica to launch the linkage with the University of Fort Hare.

The projects will include training South Africans inarchives management and oral history techniques, as wellas collaborating with counterparts in the administration atFort Hare and coordinating faculty and student exchangesbetween the two universities. The projects will formthe basis for a major comparative human rights programat UConn.

"These partnerships are a concrete example of theUniversity of Connecticut's commitment to the study andadvancement of international human rights ," says AmiiOmara-Otunnu, executive director of the UConn-ANCPartnership and director of the linkage with Fort Hare."They are an effective avenue for us to make a practicalcontribution to the expansion of opportunities for thosewho were previously denied them ."

In September, the University announced the receipt ofmore than $1 million in private funding to support the jointprojects . "We believe our partnership with the University ofConnecticut is something quite rare and will bring rewardsto both sides," said Frene Ginwala, speaker of the SouthAfrican Parliament and chair of the ANC Archives

The UConn delegation during the fir st day of the ir visit to theUniversity of Fort Hare.


Frene Ginwala, speaker of the South African National Assembly, meets withstudents dur ing a visit to UConn in September for the announcement of grantsworth more than $1 million to support UConn's joint projects with South Africa

lilt's apartnership of substance but it's alsoapartnership of ideals which we share."

Committee, during a press conference at UConn . "Its apartnership of substance but its also a partnership of idealswhich we share."

Apart hei d's legaciesIt is just six years since the South African Parliament

welcomed Mand ela, a former political prisoner, as the firstpresident of a mult iracial and democratically electedgovernment. At the same time, a new constitution wasdrafted with more provisions to ensure respect for humanrights than perhaps any other in world history

The apartheid laws not only kept South Africans separateaccording to race but also denied non-white peop le, morethan 80 percent of the population, fundamental rights.The system had a profound, perhaps indelible, impact onmillions of lives.

Now, throughout the society for which the newgovernment is charting the course, opportunities for peopleacross all races are opening up-in work , in housing, ineducation. Many individuals have powerful personal storiesof hardships overcome and hope for the future .

There is Meshack Masuku, for example, a self-taughtpotter now widely recognized as one of South Africa's mosttalented ceramic artists . Masuku comes from an impoverished rura l backgro und, and his early educat ion extendedonly to the equivalent of third grade . After working for morethan 20 years, he began studying for a college degree at the

- -- - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scenes from the campus of the Fort Hare University in South Africa'sEastern Cape Province.

formerly all-white Port Elizabeth Technikon in 1994, takingliteracy classes and working to support his family at thesame time.

In March, he received his longed-for bachelor's degreeand is now a lecturer-a career previously closed to nonwhites-at the Technikon, a higher education institutionsimilar to a community-technical college in the United States .

There is Dumisa Ntsebeza , a former political prisonerwho earned his law degree through correspondence courses.During the proceedings of South Africa's Truth andReconciliation Commission-a tribunal established byParliament as a vehicle for national healing-he served aschief investigator. Now he has been appointed a high courtjudge, a position only recently opened to non-whites.

There is Lionel Davis, a former anti-apartheid activist andpolitical prisoner, who has returned to the jail on RobbenIsland where Mandela was imprisoned. Davis now spends hisdays educating the public-without a trace of bitternessabout the harsh conditions in the prison and the resilienceof the prisoners. At the end of the day, however, he is freeto walk away.

To an outside observer, it seems a miracle that the transition to an emerging democracy has been relatively peaceful.What's more, so many people are full of hope rather thanhate . This partly stems from an implicit resolve by thosewho formerly suffered discrimination not to perpetuatediscriminatory practices themselves.

Many, when asked, also point to the shining exampleof Mandela , who-after years of incarceration-went sofar as to invite his former prison wardens to his home,a dramatic indication that he held no grudges.

"There are many lessons the world can learn fromthe efforts in South Africa to build a non-racist nationbased on principles of reconciliation and social justice,"says Omara-Otunnu, who is also director of theUConn-ANC Partnership'S comparative human rightsprogram.

Yet the tasks are enormous and the new governmentin South Africa has its work cut out to provide for themajority of the population, whose rights were deniedfor so long. Ambitious plans are underway to reformeducation and health care, provide housing, and installwater and electricity in the townships-the crowded areason city outskirts where the black labor force had to live-

and in the homelands, the agricultural wastelands to whichthe rural black population was relegated . The poverty of thetownships and squatter areas is still no more than a stone'sthrow from mansions as fine as any in Greenwich, Conn .,or Scarsdale, N.Y.

Speaker Ginwala says international involvement in SouthAfrica is as important now as it was during the anti apartheid struggle . "We still have to overcome the legacyof apartheid in terms of development," she says.

Reinventing Fort HareThe UConn-University of Fort Hare linkage comes at a

critical point in Fort Hare's history, as the university seeksto become a key player in pos t-apartheid South Africa.

Ironically, the end of apartheid has had some negativeconsequences for Fort Hare . Paralleling the experiences ofblack colleges in the United States in the wake ofdesegregation , enro llment at South Africa's historically blackinstitutions has declined sharply, as the better endowed,former white institutions have been able to draw the mosthighly qualified black students.

This spring, Fort Hare 's management team unveiled anambitious strategic plan that aims bo th to preserve the bestof the un iversity's historical legacy and to meet the challengeof making educa tion relevant to its students and to thecommuni ty.

"We want to reinvent the university completely, so itbecomes much more relevant to the needs of South Africa,"says Vice Chancellor Derrick Swartz , whose role isequivalent to that of president at an American university.

Continued on page 47

A group of children wave to the camera in a township outside CapeTown. Fewthings will challenge South African democracy more than extending educationalopportunity to all of the nation's children.

FALlJW INTER 2000 • 27

By Gary E. Frank

toaslin

It! 2000 The New Yorker Collection from cartoonbank.com All Right s Reserved

First Big Snowfall of the Season Takes Albert Cranfield by Surprise ,

The worldaccordinichael

Since he was 16 years old, Michael Maslin '76 (SFA)

has known exactly what he wanted to be. The

source of his epiphany was a copy of The New Yorker that

someone brought into his childhood home in New Jersey.

"From the time I first saw it," says Maslin, "the first

time I really looked at, I thought, 'Wow! That's for me. '"

The New Yorker has defined wry,ironic, urban humor since the 1920s,often through cartoo ns that coupledcomplete irreverence with witty,rapier-like punch lines. The roster ofthe magazines cartoonists-whichincluded the likes of Charles Addams ,Whitney Darrow jr. , Mischa Richter,William Steig, George Booth and JamesThurber-reads like a Who 's Who of20th-century American cartoon humor.With no small amount of chutzpah,the teenaged Maslin decided he wanted to be in that august number andsoon began submitting his own workto The New Yorker. The magazine'sresponse , which would remain


unchanged for nearly a decade , wasno. Undeterred, Maslin continued tosubmit cartoons to the magazinethroughout high school and collegeuntil 1977 , when he made his first saleto The New Yorker.

"The ironic thing was they [The NewYorker] did not buy the cartoon," saysMaslin. "They rarely do this anymore ,but they will buy ideas from people ,which are then assigned to anestablished cartoonist."

Maslin's idea was executed byWhitney Darrow Jr. In the cartoon, afortune teller tells a man "Nothing willever happen to you ."

"I have an involuntaryability to say the

inappropriate ... ""They bought an idea from me,

which was not what I wanted, but still ,I'd sold them something, and as theexpression goes, I got my foot in thedoor," he says. Within a year, Maslinsold four of his own cartoons to TheNew Yorker and has been a steadycontributor ever since . Four collectionsof his work have been published bySimon and Schuster: The More TheMenier, The GangsAll Here, The Crowd

Goes Wild, and Mixed Company. Withhis wife and fellow New Yorkercartoonist, liza Donnelly, he co-editeda collection of cartoons, Fathers andSons, and co-authored two additionalcollections, Husbands & Wives and CallMe When You Reach Nirvana. Althoughsales of these collections didn't puthim in Gary Larsen territory, Maslinmaintains a positive attitude about theexperience.

"None of them sold very well, butI didn't care," he says. "I was justthrilled to have books out. Whowouldn't want to be published bySimon and Schuster?"

FALI.JWINTER 2000 • 29

- ---.. ..---..

-

"Those responsiblefor putting myclient in charge ofthe henhouse shouldbe on trial here, not myclient,

who, as afox, was only doing hisjob. "

Education's loss, humor's gainAs Maslin started college though,

he had a different career in mind . Heenrolled at Newark State College (nowKeane College) in New Jersey with theidea of becoming a history teacher. Buthis experience in his first college historyclass prompted a change of heart . "Myteacher was burnt out, and in the firstclass he told us how awful his life wasand how he didn't want to be a teacheranymore ," says Maslin. "I thought, O.K.,I don't want to do that."

After completing two years at NewarkState, Maslin decided to transfer toUConn and major in drawing . Maslinsays UConn professors such as JohnGregoropoulos, Gus Mazzocca and thelate Oscar Walters were a profoundinfluence on him . "It was just a wonderful time. They allowed me to do what Iwanted to do, which was risky on theirpart, but it worked," says Maslin, whograduated magna cum laude .

"I loved the Wilbur Cross library," hecontinues. "I never had a library card ,


but it didn't matter , I just liked goingthere . You don 't see stacks like thatanymore. I remember that they hadbound volumes of The New Yorker, allthe way back to the beginning of themagazine . They also had a greatThurber collection. I just loved it."

Although Maslin sold four cartoonsto The New Yorker within two yearsafter graduating from UConn, itcertainly wasn't enough to pay the rent."When I was first starting , I tried to getinto every publication that possiblyhad a cartoon," he says. "I'd go downto the magazine store and look atmagazines to see which ones hadcartoons in them . I submitted workto golf magazines, UFO magazines,anything."

It's an approach that eventually paidoff; Maslin's cartoons began appearingin such publications as The New YorkTimes, The New York Times Book Review,Esquire, The Saturday Evening Post,Mother Jones, Omni, The Utne Reader,Harper's , and others. The mainstay ofMaslin's career, however, remains

The New Yorker. "Nobody in the magazine world is nicer to a cartoonist thanThe New Yorker," Maslin says. "Theytreat you very well, and I don 't justmean financially. They respect you andthey treat you well enough that you justwant to continue working with them ."

A history teacher after allMaslin and Donnelly live in a quiet

corner of Dutchess County, N.Y. , on a19th-century farm that they share withtheir two daughters and a smallmenagerie of cats, dogs and horses.Despite his success, Maslin believes thatwhat drives him to be a cartoonist issomething elemental to his nature."I love to draw. It's one of the earliestthings I remember doing ," he says. "AllI know is when I sit down , I really feellike I want to draw something. I haveno forethought as to how its going togo. That's what makes it interesting ."

In fact, Maslin says drawing isprobably the easiest part of being a

C12000TheNew Yorker Collectionfrom cartoonbank.com All RightsReserved

"Bill, come inside before there's trouble."

cartoonist. "What really sells thecartoon is the idea, not the drawing,although you obviously have to be ableto draw something well," he says. "Ispend most of my time playing withwords , not drawing, trying to createsomething that works ."

Maslin points to a cartoon above themantel in the small cottage he uses asan office. In the cartoon, a dog saysto a cat, "You realize I'm taking anenormous personal, as well as professional, risk jus t being seen with you .""You never know where inspirationcomes from," says Maslin. "There is

the cartoonists from TheNew Yorkers storied history,placing him in the enviableposition of being able toexercise his ideas and creativity while tapping into a potentthread of American humor.

"I love history and I've never reallyhad a way to use it before now," Maslinsays. "I get to investigate a period of

time, the I920s and the 1930s, thatI don 't know much about. I went intocollege thinking I might be a historyteacher, and now, through all thesethings-the Arno book and my love ofhumor and cartoons-I get to teach alittle history. Things have worked outbeautifully."

humor in every setting, even if it's just aman and a woman sitting on a couch.

"I have an involuntary ability to saythe inappropriate," he adds. "Sometimesthat results in something bordering onthe humorous, and sometimes it getsme into trouble ."

These days, in addition to his cartoon work , Maslin also is working ona new book, a biography of the latecartoonist Peter Arno, whose workappeared in The New Yorker for nearlyhalf a century. "He [Arno] joined themagazine about four months after itwas started ," Maslin says. "Of all thegreats that started with the magazine ,he is about the only one who has notbeen written abou t."

Working on the Arno biography hasallowed Maslin to connect with many of

;v'/l~

"It's very important that you try very, very hard to remember whereyou electronically transferred Mommy and Daddy's assets. n

lD 2000 The New Yorker CollectIon from cartoonbank.comAll RightsReserved


appens for a reason

If I'm gifted, then these challenges are gifts too.

For Rebecca Martello 'DO (BAH),achievement is much more thanits own reward

By Jim H. Smitll

They are warm memories, flush with life. WhenRebecca Martello's parents recount these scenes fromher lifetime-and theirs-it is as though they are

taking them out of a box where they have been preserved .The colors are still vivid. The feelings are still fresh.

Peter Bastien, Martello's stepfather,recalls a little girl rushing home fromschool one day beaming with pridebecause her painting had won an awardfrom Mensa, the international organizationfor people with high intelligence .

Her dad, Scott Martello, remembers when his daughterwas but six years old and separa ted from him by a 1,000miles, and wrote him letters that were elaborate, two-pageaccounts of her life, rich in detail and love.

Brenda Grant , her mom, has a videotape of her daughterwhen she was seven, maybe eight years old . Martello sings,dances , and reads lively stories with delightful precocity

"She was an early learner," says Grant. "Right from thestart , she always did well in school. She has always beeninquisitive, always had incredible drive and self-motivation.When she was tested as a gifted child, no one wassurprised."

Least of all Martello, who has long since grownaccustomed to achievement.

Consider the honors she earned during her four years asa UConn undergraduate . An honors student , she was namedUniversity Scholar, Presidential Scholar, and New EnglandScholar. She is a member of the Golden Key National HonorSociety, the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Alpha Eta, thenational honor society for allied health stude nts. Last spring,she was singled out as the School of Allied Health'sOutstanding Senior Woman.

These scholastic accolades don 't even begin to reveal themany other faces of this very talented young woman. Injunior high school , for instance, she dreamt of becoming aninterior designer. In high school she ran competitively onher school's cross-country team and still jogs two to threemiles several times weekly as part of a fitness regimenthat also includes weight training. At 17 she was aninternational champion in standard breed horse jumping

competition. At UConn, she was a Husky Ambassadorfor the admissions office and a member of the Voices ofFreedom gospel choir.

Being gifted, Martello will tell you , demands circumspection. Gifts come with built-in responsibilities . It is notenough simply to be intelligent or artistic or ath letic. Atevery stage of her life, she has known people who havesquandered such talents. Lazy people. Arrogant people.Cynical peop le. Early on , she determined that she would notbe one of them.

"Everything happens for a reason ," she says. If anyone isentitled to harbor such a faith, it is Rebecca Martello.

Failure to thrive

Twenty-th ree years ago, Martello began life as a very sickchild. For the first eight mon ths of her life, doctors said shesuffered from a "failure to thrive." Then , at Children'sHospital in Boston, experts finally got to the truth and thenews was not good . Martello had cystic fibrosis (CF), theincurable hereditary disorder tha t causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus, clogging the lun gs and pancreasand impeding brea thing and digestion .

Thirty years ago, a diagnosis of CF was practically adeath sentence for infants. During Martello's lifetime,however, improvements in both diagnosis and treatmenthave dramatically improved the prognosis. Today, more than60 percent of children with the disorder grow, like Martello,into adulthood. With further advances--especially in therapidly expanding field of gene therapy-there is even morereason for CF victims to be hopeful.

But then, Martello would not wish to be thought of as avictim . Nor was it how she was raised . "My mom realizedvery early that I had potential and she raised me that way,"Martello recalls. "She instilled in me a hunger to learn . Shetaugh t me how to read when I was very small. She taughtme how to tell time and do math. When she realized I hada high aptitude, she played games with me that helped me


WIlen I found out about[Gregor] J\1endel, sOlnetlung

ilnportant began cOlning

into focus for rne.

to learn , such as Scrabble and Boggle. She made learning,in general , a positive experience."

Grant was determined that cystic fibrosis would not derailher daughter's life. And it did not.

Neither did the fact that her parents separated when shewas very young. While her father remained in Massachusetts ,Martello moved with her mother and stepfather to Florida.She would be separated from her father for the next eightyears. Then, when her mother and stepfather separated,Martello moved to Maine and lived with her father and hissecond wife until she graduated from high school.

Tile lessons of Brotber Mendel

It was there , as a freshman in high school , that Martellofirst learned about Gregor Mendel, the Austrian monk whose19th-century experiments with pea plants formed the basisof modern hereditary theory. "When I found out aboutMendel, something important began coming into focus forme," Martello recalls. "It was as though my disease took ona different meaning and I began to see how I could dosomething meaningful with it.Eventually, it became my dream."

By the time she was ready tostart considering colleges, she wasalso actively entertaining the ideaof a double major, in medicaltechnology and genetics .

By then, she had also beendiagnosed, incredibly, withdiabetes. The diagnosis came almost as an accident, aconsequence of laboratory tests she habitually underwentevery three months at a CF clinic in Bangor, Maine.

"In some ways, I was actually better equipped to handleit than some people might have been ," Martello says. "I grewup with CF I spent my whole childhood dealing with a healthcondition. Diabetes was just something else I had to adjust to."

So was the speech impediment she believes she mighthave inherited from her father, who also stutters.

"When others look at everything I've had to overcome ,"she says, "they are understandably amazed . But for me, ithas been a lifetime experience. If I'm gifted, then thesechallenges are gifts too. They have taught me to be moresensitive , to feel for others. As the saying goes, you're dealta hand and you've got to play it."

Playing tile band

It was through the Bangor CF clinic that Martello foundout about the UConn School of Allied Health. At that time,students from the school often completed internships atEastern Maine Medical Center, which was affiliated with theclinic . A health professional at the clinic, knowing Martellowas interested in an education that would prepare her formedical research , contacted her and urged her to applyto UConn.

Last year, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, in Maryland,helped Martello get closer to her dream of making a difference for people with the disease . The foundation assistedher in researching and applying for positions in laboratoriesconducting CF research and by November, Martello wasensconced in a Johns Hopkins University laboratory, deeplyinvolved in hands-on research involving mice and a chemicalcompound that cou ld lead to a breakthrough in CFtreatment. The project kept her busy for nine months.

"My project at Johns Hopkins involved testing a chemicalcompound called 4-phenylbutyrate on both normal miceand mice with cystic fibrosis," Martello explains . There isevidence to suggest the compound can restore the proteintrafficking defect associated with the most common cysticfibrosis mutation. And thus there is hope.

In August, just after wrapping up her Johns Hopkinsproject, Martello landed a job as a research associate withNeurogen Corporation, a small biotechnology company inBranford , Conn. "It's nice to be back here," she says, addingthat after a lifetime of moving around, the Nutmeg State,

where she has developed anetwork of friends andprofessional contacts, has begunto feel like home.

"I'm realistic ," Martello will tellyou. "I know I can't cure cysticfibrosis, but I'm happy if there 'ssome small part I can play inconquering the disease. I knowpeople whose health won't allow

them to do the things they dream of."For those who know Martello, who have had an opportu

nity to witness, firsthand , what she can accomplish whenshe invests herself , few challenges seem insurmountable.

"She is very strong-willed," says Raymond Poole, theyoung man who captured her heart when they met asjuniors at UConn. "She has strong opinions. She knows,very clearly, what she wants in life. And she goes after hergoals with tremendous energy."

"You have an opportunity to work with a studentlike Rebecca about once in a life," says Ellen Darrow,director of the Academic Advisory Center in the Schoolof Allied Health .

Martha Cagle, Director of the Diagnostic Genetic Sciencesprogram at the School , concurs. "It's been a joy to knowRebecca," says Cagle, who also was Martello's advisor. "Shehas shown great courage and determination in dealing withadversity She has an unusual ability to overcome virtuallyanything in order to do what she wants to do . "

Perhaps her stepfather, Peter Bastien, puts it best. Alongwith Grant and Scott Martello , he was on campus, lookingon with pride , when she graduated last May When he isasked what her life has meant to him , he answers withouthesitation . "Shes my hero ," he says.


Fo c us O N

Faculty

Comedy is hard, teaching harderRegina Barreca demands much oj her students and of herself

R eaders worldwide may know Regina Barreca for hersense of hu mor, but among UConn students, Barrecas

got a vastly different reputation."I like to think I'm an engaging teacher, but I know I'm a

tough teacher," says Barreca.A member of the English department faculty in the

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 1987, Barrecateaches a course on modern British literature nearly everysemester. The reading list includes books by D. H. Lawrence,James Joyce and other challenging authors.

Most semesters, a significant percentage of Barrecas students are familiar with her hum or columns and books. Theysoon learn , however, that their classroom exper ience won'tmirror one of their teachers hum orous essays or speeches .

"They realize this is a not a two-drink minimum ," Barrecasays. "This is a two-book minim um ."

Students with any lingering doubts about Barreca's teaching style have them banished the first time they show up latefor her class. Barreca always tries to teach at 8 a.m. because,she says, "nobody takes an 8 o'clock class for convenience ."

While some professors maintain an open-doo r policy,allowing blurry-eyed students to wander in throughoutthe class, Barreca shuts the door to her classroompromptly at 8 a.m. No stragglers are admittedonce class-which typically includes a fiveminute writing assignment on the reading forthat day-begins.

Students can expect to be called on oftenand quickly learn that they must do theirwork if they want to succeed in Barreca'sclass.

"They do their work. That's not anissue for me," Barreca says evenly.

The students aren 't the only onesBarreca holds to a high standard. Bythe second week of class, Barreca haslearned the students ' names and usesthem often . Outside the classroom ,she also makes every effort to readanything related to the researchbeing done by the many graduatestud ents she advises.

Peter Morenus

"I get assignments from them and believe me, if I haven'tdone my work , they let me know," Barreca says.

Barrecas devotion to her students and the classroomhasn 't gone un noticed . In 1998 , she received the Prize forExcellence in Teaching from UConn's Institute for Teachingand Learn ing.

Barreca's commitment to her craft also includes writ ingpop ular prose and academ ic texts. Although some skepticsmay believe that Barreca's outside activities interfere with herteaching duties, she says the opposite is true.

"This is not a two-drink minimum.This is a two-book minimum."

"The writing of the popul ar and academic books dovetailswonderfully with the teachin g," Barreca says.

A prolific write r, Barreca has authored five books. Herlatest, Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful, was recentlypublished by Bibliopola PresslUConn Co-op . Barreca has

also edited num erous books and writescolumns that appear in newspapers

nationwide.In addition to her classroom and

writing duti es, Barreca is also asought-after speaker. Despite hermany outside commitments,Barreca's first love will always bethe classroom. "All the other stu ff I

do , I love, but teaching is reallymy vocation ," she says.- Allison Thompson

FOCUS ON FACULTY

The expanding influence of Harry FrankChemistry profa leading expert on carotenoids

"The reward for me comes fromworking with all levels of students."H enry Adams could have

been writing aboutHarry Frank.

"A teacher affects eternity," wrote Adams in 1907 inThe Education of Henry Adams. "He can never tell where hisinfluence stops."

For Frank , observing his 20th anniversary as a chemistryprofessor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, theinfluence is worldwide.

During the past decade, Frank has taught a course ingeneral chemistry to some 200 undergraduates each semesterand has advised more than a dozen graduate students intheir research on carotenoid molecules. Frank and hisstudents have been examining the roles of carotenoidmolecules, the compounds that give orange and yellowcolors to certain fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids areconsidered factors in reducing the risk of certain diseases.

"One important role of caroten oids is that of protector,"says Frank , who is president-elect of the InternationalSociety on Carotenoids, a organization dedicated to studyingthe compounds. "The manner in which they serve as

protectors of plants may also have relevance in humanhealth . In humans, carotenoids act as biological antioxidantsto delay or even prevent the onset of certain kinds of cancer,atherosclerosis, blockage of arteries, cataracts, maculardegeneration, or stroke."

During the 1999-2000 academic year, Frank , whose workcombines teaching with research and community outreach,traveled to Australia, Sweden, Turkey and Israel to presentpapers on research conducted in his laboratory. This pastsummer, he stayed closer to home and attended the GordonConference on Photosynthesis in New Hampshire to presenta paper on the mechanism of energy transfer by carotenoidsin photosynthetic organisms.

The ABCs of chemistry and science also reaches youngears. Frank's community outreach work includes presentations to youngsters in local pre-schools, kindergartens andmiddle schools. The fall semester found Frank completely onhome turf though.

"For the first time, I'm teaching the honors general chemistry course, so I've had to cut back on my travel schedule,"says Frank , addin g that he feels especially rewarded byhis students.

"The reward for me comes from working side-by-sidewith all levels of students- undergraduates, graduates, and

post-doctoral associates-whoselaboratory skills are so impressive that almost no experimentseems impossible," says Frank.

"Our beautiful new laboratories are attracting more and moreof these kinds of students. The future looks bright."

A native of Memphis, Tenn. , Frank earned a Ph.D. inchemistry from Boston University. He did post-doctoralresearch at the University of California at Berkeley, where heworked in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Melvin Calvin.

A Fulbright Scholar, Frank has garnered many honorsduring his career, including the 1999-2000 UConn AlumniAssociation's Faculty Excellence in Research Award, TheAmerican Chemical Society Connecticut Valley Award,and a postdoctoral fellowship with the National Institutesof Health . The seasoned professor considers research andteaching intertwined and the contributions of students andteachers reciprocal.

"When you're in the lab doing research with students ,you may be teaching them," says Frank, "but they are alsoteaching you." - Claudia G. Chamberlain


Creative Currents

Recently published works byUConn alumni and faculty

ALSO OF INTEREST

A Perfec t Timefor Butterfl ies

Eben Stroud: From the Diaryof Stoddard ChandlerRobert Holland '62 (CLAS)(Frost Hollow)

EBENSTROUD

Robert Hollands sixth novel for teenage'~Ho=' readers explores the convoluted happenings

of small town Woodstock, Conn. , during thelate 18th century. The story is told through the eyes ofStoddard Chandler, a 17-year-old farmers son who has beenaccepted to Yale College. Eben Stroud , a hunter, trapper,and former chief scout for General George Washington,recruits Chandler to help him pursue horse thieves onbehalf of the Woodstock Theft Detecting Society, a real organization that still meets . A 15-year-old reader describes EbenStroud as "a book of awesome imagination."

A Perfect Timefor ButterfliesCamille Lavieri Forman '55 (SFA)(Mount Hope Books)

While recovering from a stroke , CamilleLavieri Forman began to write down a short,informal account of her family's history to ,I .\ I. ~ ' .

be read one day by her infant grandson. . r -1 1., IIThose writings eventually evolved into A Perfect Time forButterflies, a memoir that recalls Forman's childhood; being a"faculty wife" (the former University librarian is marriedto Professor Emeritus Kenneth Forman); escapades inlocales such as Oaxaca, London and Paris; and her family'scolorful history. UConn Professor Emeritus Joseph Carydescribes A Perjea Time for Butterflies as "the story of anintelligent woman's response to the possibilities and pressures of what must be called a happy life."

Job Offer! A How-to Negotiation GuideMaryanne L. Wegerbauer '92 (BGS)GIST Publishing)

In todays tight job market , argues MaryanneL. Wegerbauer, job content, salary, andbonuses-even working arrangements andschedules-are more open to negotiation

than ever before. Job Offer! offers strategies on how tosuccessfully negotiate the bottom line and helps peoplethink through career-related issues such as: what should beconsidered before accepting an offer, how to determine theimportant work-related factors that are unique to each jobopportunity, and how to negotiate, and receive, the rewardsthat will provide the most work satisfaction.

Treading on divine turf

In the first chapter of Elixir, an ambitious young biochemistnamed Christopher Bacon snatches a mysterious plant froma fire without getting burned. As thin gs turn out, it mighthave been better for Bacon if the plant had been consumed

by the fire."If you put your hand into

the fire and pull it out withoutbeing burned , you'll likelybe tempted to go back andchallenge fate again," says GaryGoshgarian '66 M.A. while

discussing Elixir, a thrill erabout the discovery of a flowerthat offers the possibility ofeternal youth but hasthe potential for horri ficside effects.

Elixir (Forge) is Goshgarians fourth novel and the firstunder the pen name Gary Braver. LibraryJournal called Elixir"among the best of it's genre . . . an outstanding addition toall fiction collections."

"Whats the hottest fantasy in the universe, one thattranscends sex, power and money? Clearly, it's stayingyoung forever," Goshgarian says. "The entire cosmeticsindustry is dedicated to keeping peop le looking young. Thepharmaceutical industry is scrambling for anti-aging drugs ,creams, compounds, serums and elixirs. It's what Adam andEve lost when they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden ." .

Goshgarian, who also teaches creative writing atNortheastern University, views Elixir as a cautionary talethat, like the ancient myth of Prometheus, warns againstmortals trespassing on divine turf. "There are moral and ethical dilemmas to being eterna lly young," he says."I focused on what it would do to the family. What wouldhappen if you were to take it but your lover, spouse ,whoever, refused to? What would happen if you wereto remain in your 30s and your lover continued toage? What if you gave it to a child? A child who is fiveyears old forever is the definition of parenting hell."- Gary E. Frank


AL UMNI

News&Notes

E. William Gourd '60 (CLAS)retired in December 1999 after35 years of an academic careerthat included faculty positionsat the University of Texas at ElPaso, Cleveland StateUniversity, and Saginaw ValleyState University in Michigan .Bill founded SVSU's departmentof communicatio n and theaterin 1978 and chaired the department for 14 years thereafter. In1995 he received the UniversityFaculty Association's Annu alService Award and in 1996 wasgiven a University ProfessorialCont inuing AchievementAward .

Bernard Fried '61 Ph .D. wasrecently honored for distinguished teaching, scholarlyresearch, and service toLafayette College at the collegesannual trus tee-faculty dinner.Bernard retired from teaching inMay after 37 years at Lafayette.The Gideon R.Jr. and Alice l.Kreider Professor Emeritus ofBiology at Lafayette College,Bernard is regarded as one ofthe world's foremost experts inthe field of parasitology.

Edward J. Sondi k '63 (ENG) ,'65 M.S. has been named thedirector of the Centers forDisease Control andPrevention's Nationa l Cente r forHealth Statistics . Edward is alsosenior advisor on health statistics to Secretary of Health andHuman Services Donna Shalala.

J er ry S. Cops inis '61 (C LAS),'70 (6 th year) has retired asprincipal of Hall High Schoolin West Hartford , Conn., aftera 37-year career in education .

Kenneth L. Gold '6 1 (C LAS)has been appointed chairman.....- ....._~ of the Rotary

InternationalFoundation forNorthern NewJersey. He is alsothe chairman ofcommunicationsfor the local

Rotary district. Kenneth lives inWayne, .j.

For moredetails, call Kim Lachutor JulieSweeney at the AlumniAssociation at 888-822-5861or 860-486-2240.

Information is alsoavailableon the World Wide Webatwww.uconnalumnLcom.

Reunion News• Class of 1951: WelcomeHome -The Class of 1951 willbe holding its 50th year reunionthe weekend of June 1-2, 200 I.This is a fitting time to celebrateyour connection to UConn andto visit with old friends .The weekend will includeluncheons, school and collegegatherings, seminars byUniversity professors, a bustour of campus, a reunionbreakfast with "Classic Classes"(alumni who graduated morethan 50 years ago), and muchmore!

Lewis Turco '59 (CLAS) hasreceived an honorary doctorof humane letters from AshlandUniversity. Lewis is a nationa llyprominent poet and scho larwho has made major cont ributions to severa l generations ofyoung poe ts.

Karl G. Larew '59 (CLAS) haspublished Candles in theWindow, a novel set at UConnduring the 1950s.

vice president of the Universityof Connecticut Alum niAssociation's Greater NewHaven Chapter.

Lois Gre en Stone '55 (ED)is an au thor and poet whoseworks have been syndicatedworldwide . Two of Lois'spublished poems are includedin an ant ho logy printed byHarmony Books. Her writingshave also been published bythe Crossing Press and Houseof White Birches .

Anton Jungherr '54 (BUS) issetting up a tun a fish processingplant in the South Pacific nationof Tonga and assisting on aUSAID project in Uganda, inEast Africa.

J ean Merrill Balder ston '57(C LAS) is the co-winner of the2000 The Writer Magazine!Emily Dickin son Award givenby the Poetry Society ofAmerica. The award ho norsthe memory and poe try ofEmily Dickin son. (lean swinning poem, "DickinsonWeath er," app ears on page 48 .)

Barba ra Goossen Ca pe lle'50 (CLAS ) has been nam edchairperson of the ConferenceCommittee on MissionPersonnel for the New YorkAnnual Conference of theUnited Meth od ist Church. Thecommittee is responsible foridentifying and recommendingto the General Board of GlobalMinistries persons for missionservice in the United Statesand abroa d.

Helen Wand Molloy '44(CLAS) writes to say thatalthough she was proud to reada profile of her daughter SusanMoll oy Hubbard '68 (NU R) inthe summ er issue of UConnTraditions, she is equally proudthat her family includes threemore UConn alumni; herself,her late hu sband , CharlesMolloy '47 (CLAS) and herdaughter Joan Molloy '71(ED), '83 J .D. Helen lives inHamden , Conn., and wou ldlike to hear from other UConnalumni from the 1940s.

Henry H. Kat te n '53 (BUS)has been elected to the WestHaven Democratic TownCommittee. Henry is also

Ed Chrostowski '49 hasbeen elected to the board of

governo rs of theNew CanaanHistori calSociety and isin charge ofthe society'soral historydepartmen t.

He is editor of the New CanaanAdvertiser and is presidentof the Poinsettia Club.

WEWANTTO HEAR FROM YOU!Let your fellow UConn alumni know about the milestones in yourlife. You can keep them up to date by sending information and,If possible, a photograph, to Alumni News & Notes, University ofConnecticut Alumni Association, Alumni Drive, Storrs, CT 06269; byfax to 860-1t86-281t9; or bye-mail to [email protected]

1940 5

1950 5


ALUMNI NEWS &: NOTES

The not-50-dismal scientist

PROFILE

When Jim Griffin '66 (eLAs), '70 M.A. talks about economics, theso-called "dismal science" doesn't seem quite so dismal after all.

As a columnist for the TheStreet.com, Griffin might invokeHamlet when commenting on Denmark's vote on joining theEuropean Monetary Unionor singer Kenny Rogerswhen he's discussing amarket redistribution. Hemay suggest that investment analysts "with avulture's instincts and thestomach for carrion maycome across stocks sobeaten down and bloodiedthat it's possible to imaginethere's nowhere left to gobut up."

Griffin's passion foreconomics comes throughmost when he's asked whathe likes about studying thecomplexities of financialmarkets. "Absolutely everything," he says. "That's the beauty of the kind of economics that Iget to do because almost everything has some kind of impact."

Since retiring in 1999 after a 30-year career as a corporateeconomist and investment strategist, Griffin has been writing,primarily for TheStreet.com and Fortune, and doing some publicspeaking before business groups anxious to hear his insights."Jim has the ability to write in style that is clear and thoughtprovoking, and that is all too rare in financial news," says DavidKansas, editor-in-chief of TheStreet.com. "He takes a generallymurky topic and makes it very accessible."

A native of Meriden, Conn., Griffin says his enthusiasm foreconomics was sparked at UConn by professors such as Ted Booth,Emmanuel Wexler, and Alpha Chiang. "They were very stimulatingteachers," Griffin says. "They encouraged a spirit of inquiry, ofintellectual thrust and parry."

After graduation from UConn, Griffin served a two-year hitch asan Army intelligence officer in Germany before returning to theUniversity to complete a master's degree in economics. He alsomarried Meg Junge-Griffin '66 (CLAS).The couple have a son and adaughter.

After working for the former Hartford National Bank for abouteight years, Griffin moved to Aetna, Inc. Griffin says his interest ininternational economics made the insurance and financial servicesgiant an especially compelling place to work because of its wideranging business interests. During his 22 years at Aetna, Griffinsays, he never had any doubts that UConn had prepared him well."Aetna recruited a lot of people from Ivy League schools. I neverfelt I had inferior preparation," Griffin says. "It was quite thecontrary. I was taught by an absolutely fabulous faculty."-Gary E. Frank

Sandra Donaldson '70 M.A.,'77 Ph.D received the award

for OutstandingFacultyDevelop mentan d Service atthe Universityof NorthDako ta's annualFounde r's Day

banquet. Sandra is cur rently aprofessor of English and director of the uni versity's WomenStudies Program. The awardalso recognizes her work withthe university's Peace Studiesand Interd isciplinary Studiesprograms.

William E Adile tta '73(CLAS) is chief informationofficer of Global Cross ing Ltd .Bill was previously chief technology officer of IXnetlIP C,which was acqui red by GlobalCrossing in june.

1970 5

four sons and are expectingtheir second grandchild .

j eff David son '73 (BUS) , '74M.B.A. is the aut ho r of The

Joy of SimpleliVing (RodalePress 1999),which has beenpublished in14 languages,includingCzech , Polish ,

Italian , Indonesian , j apaneseand Mandarin Chinese . j eff'sbooks, which include TheComplete Idiot's Guide to

Managi ngStress , have sold morethan 1.1 million copies worldwide . j eff lives in Chapel Hill,N.C.

Abraham C. Reich '7 1 (CLAS)has been named managing,-------=----, partner of Fox

RothschildO'Brien &:Frankel , LLPin the firm'sPhiladelph iaoffice. Abrahamwill be respon

sible for management of thelargest of Fox Rothschild 'sseven offices.

Gary Goshgarian '66 M.A.has had his fou rth novel, Elixir,-~---, published ,

under the penname, GaryBraver. (See"CreativeCurrents" onpage 37 .) Garyis a professor

of English at NortheasternUniversity in Boston , Mass.,and is the author of three othernovels : Atlantis Fire, RoughBeast, and TheStone Circle .

Robert W. Fitzgerald '69Ph .D. , a professor of civil and

environmenta lengineering andfire protectionenginee ring atWorcesterPolytechnicInstitut e, hasbeen named a

fellow of the Society of FireProtection Enginee rs.

jacqueline Dembar Greene'67 (ED) received the Natio naljewish Book Award forChildren's Literature for herbook, David's Star. jacquelineand her husband , Malcolm,live iri Wellesley, Mass.

joseph W. Meuse '69 (ENG) ,who has worked for GeneralElectric since graduation,recently completed a three-yearassignment in Saudi Arabia,managing the construction andcommissioning of a 1200megawatt combined cycle plant .joe and his wife, Linda, arecurrently living in Taiwan,where he is overseei ng theconstruction of a 600 -megawa ttplant for TaiPower. They have

Marvin johnson '65 (PHR)has been awarded the 2000Bowl of Hygeia Award bythe Vermont PharmacistsAssociation for outstandingcommunity service. Marvin isemployed at Brooks Pharmacyin Essex junction, Vt., andbelongs to the VermontPharmacists Association'slegislative committee . Marvinand his wife, judit h, havefour children and live inEssex junctio n .

FALI..JWINTER 2000 • 39


James M. Funk '74 M.S.has been named president ofEquitable Production , thenatural gas unit of EquitableResources. James joins thecompany after a 23-year careerat Shell Oil, where he mostrecently served as president ofShell Continental Companies.

Carol Ewing Garber '75 (ED),'83 M.A., '90 Ph.D. receivedthe Health Impact Award of theAmerican Heart Association'sNew England affiliate. Carolworks for Brown UniversitySchool of Medicine inPawtucket, R.I.

Debbie Weathers '75 (CLAS)has been named director of

communications forForbes.com.Debbie isresponsiblefor internaland external

_ ____orca~ communica-

tions for the Internet mediacompany

Nanc y M. Beck '76(CLAS) has joined eLECCommunications Corp. asregulatory counsel.

Robert B. Dobeck '76 (BUS)has joined the National ClergyCouncil as general counsel andvice president for operations,located in Washington, D.C.Robert is also president ofprelawadvisor.com.

John A. Tobin '76 (CLAS)has joined McLarens Toplis, aleading global risk managementgroup, to head up the group 'stransportation division. Johnand his wife, ja yme, live inFranklin , N.j., with theirdaughter, ji llian.

Michael K. Noles '77 (BUS) ,'81 M.B.A. is managingdirector of Metris' BusinessServices, a new division ofMetris Companies. Mostrecently, Michael served aspresident and chief operatingofficer for VerticaLease.

Lee Bennett '78 J.D . has beenelected vice president of theInternational Association ofDefense Counsel. Lee, who issenior vice president andgeneral counsel of the St. PaulCompanies Claim Services,is also chairman of the IADCInsurance Executive Committee.

J oanne T. J ozefowski '78 M.s.has published a book, ThePhoenix Phenomenon: RisingFrom the Ashesof Grief (jasonAronson Publishers), which wasrecently voted "one of the bestbooks of 1999" by the AmericanJournal of Nursing. Joanne's bookmaps the journey from tragedyto transformation after the lossof a loved one.

Capt. Syrena ThompsonGatewood '79 (PHR) wasrecently appointed chief pharmacist at FMC Butner, a new506-bed center for the FederalBureau of Prisons. Syrena hasbeen a commissioned officer inthe u.s. Public Health Servicefor IS years. She lives with herfamily in Creedmoor, N.C.

Save the DatelThe UConn AlumniAssociation's African AmericanAlumni Council is planning areunion on Saturday, February10,2001 in celebration ofBlack History month. Markyour calendars and plan tojoin us for a day of festivities.

For more information contactKristina Giuliano at 860-4862240, or bye-mail [email protected]

The odore G. Pasho s '79(CLAS) is a partn er in the lawfirm Niedner, Bodeux,Carmichael, Huff, Lenox andPashos in St. Charles, Mo.Theodore earned his lawdegree at the St. LouisUniversity School of Law.

Lloyd H. Storey '79 M.B.A.has been named vice presidentand chief information officerof Riverwood InternationalCorporation.



Debi (Ca dy) Weinbe rg '86M.B.A. has escaped from the

insurance cityand is nowmanager ofmarketingservices inthe UConnOffice ofUniversity

Communications. Debi lives inGlastonbury, Conn., with herson, Sean Cady, and herhusband , David Weinberg.

Steve n Frie dman '87 (BGS)has written a book titled, Voicesof America: Golden Memories ofthe San Fra ncisco Bay Area,acollection of poignant , hum orous, and revealing portraits

Gretc he n Mehringer Stalters'86 (SAH) and Brian Staltersannou nce the birth of their twinboys, Corey and Brandon, onMay 18. Corey and Brand onjoin their older brother,Cameron. The family resides inNorton, Mass. Gretchen is apediatric dietitian at HasbroChildren's Hospital.

Gail M. Valuk '86 (BUS)announces the opening of thelaw firm of Fogarty &: Valuk ,LLPin Providence, R.I. Gailearned her law degree at theDetroit College of Law.

Anne Varrone-Lederle '86(CLAS) and her husband, Jeff,announce the birth of theirfirst child, Elizabeth Anne, onMay 6.

Erin M. Perez '86 (CLAS)and her husband , Jay, announcethe birth of their second child,Drew Jay, on June 22. Drewjoins his sister, Caelan.

Dennis M. Dolan '87 M.B.A.has joined e-Media as chief

financial officer.Dennis mostrecently servedas executivevice presidentand chieffinancial officer

L- ------J for Air ExpressInternational. Dennis residesin Fairfield, Conn., with hiswife and daughter.

Sheila Walsh Schanck '85(CLAS) and her husband ,Chris, announce the birth oftheir first child, Faith DelleneElizabeth, on Janu ary 6. Thefamily resides in Elliot City, Md.

Rebecca Tumicki '85 (CLAS)has completed her M.S. ingeography from San Jose StateUniversity. She was a PeaceCorps voluntee r in Nepal from1989 to 1991. Rebecca is afreelance business analyst inLittleton, Colo., and has startedher own line of greeting cardscalled Simply Simon.

David B. Oes treicher '85(CLAS),'88 M.B.A. andEdina Oestreicher '90 (CLAS)announce the birth of theirsecond daughter, Maya Diana,on May 25. Maya joins herolder sister, Aliyah Aoe. Thefamily lives in Bridgeport,Conn .

Denise Abe rcro mbie '86(CLAS) , '87 (ED) has been

named Teacherof the Year2000 by her

".L~i"!Jl colleagues atE.O. SmithHigh School inStorrs, Conn.,and was granted

a sabbatical to write for thecabaret stage. Denise lives inWillimantic, Conn., with herhusband, J onathan Andersen'92 (CLAS) , her son, Miles,and one on the way.

Stephen M. Holcomb '86M.B.A. has been namedpresident of Trumbull ServicesLLC, a subsidiary of TheHartford Financial ServicesGroup, Inc. Stephen waspreviously a senior vicepresident at Specialty RiskServices, another subsidiaryof The Hartford.

Andrew T. Rose '85 (ENG) ,'86 M.S. is assistant professorof civil engineering technologyat the University of Pittsburghat Johnstown, Pa. Andrew andhis wife, Rhond a, were marriedJun e 27, 1998.

Pablo Malavenda '84 (C LAS),'92 M.A. and Kris tinMalavenda '9 1 (CLAS)annou nce the birth of theirsecond child, Zoe Katherine,on j une 12.

Douglas King '84 (CLAS) , '87M.S. and Karen Bosco King'85 (CLAS) announce the birthof their first child, Angela Marie,on July 19. The family residesin Bedford, N.H. Douglas is anengineering manager forFreudenberg-NOK. Karen is aspeech-la nguage pathologist forthe Weare Schoo l District.

Timo thy Consi dine '85 (BUS)and Cheryl Thayer Consi dine'84 (BUS) announce the birthof their second son, BrianPatrick, on January 12.

chief executive officer of GETransportation Systems in Erie,Pennsylvania.

Nominations SoughtThe UConn Alumni Associationis looking for individualsinterested in serving on itsboard of directors. Anyoneinterested in serving a threeyear term on the board shouldsend a short biography (or anomination letter for someoneelse) to the NominatingCommittee, UConn AlumniAssociation, Alumni Drive,Storrs, CT 06269, or bye-mailto uaa@alumni .uconn .edu.

The deadline for nominationsis December 31,2000. Theboard election will be held atthe Alumni Association ann ualmeeting in June 2001.

For more information call888-UC-AWM-l .

Stacie Lovell Markoski '85(ED) has been a seniorinvestigator for the ConnecticutDepartment of Social Servicesfor eight years. Stacie earned anM.s . degree from SouthernConnectic ut State Universityin May 1994 and is currentlypursuing a post-master ofscience degree at CentralConnec ticut State UniversityStacie and her husband, Steve,have three sons.

Dana Lawrence Manner '83(BUS) and his wife, Yvonne,announce the birth of twins,Tylerand Lauren, on April 12.Dana was recently promoted tosenior manager of finance atRyder System, Inc.

Donald E. Bodell '81 M.B.A.has been named president ofIngersoll-Rands IndustrialDivision (Torrington Company) .Donald and his wife, Julie ,and their three children haverelocated to Simsbury, Conn.

Lori (Messier) Bud nick '84(BUS) has been named director

of the Not-forProfit ServicesGroup of theaccountingfirm BlumShapiro inWest Hartford,Conn.

Lynn M. Rippel '80 (CANR)works at the Middlesex Hospitalin Middletown, Conn . Lynnresides in Middletown with hertwo children .

Rosanne Shea '80 (SFA)received her M.EA. fromVermont College in 1996.Rosanne is working full-time asan art teacher at Holy CrossHigh School and part-time asan adjunct art instructor atNaugatuck Valley College, bothin Waterbury, Conn. Rosannelives in Watertown, Conn., withher son and husband.

Bruce Taggart '81 M.P.A., '93Ph.D. has been named viceprovost for informationresources at Lehigh Universityin Bethlehem, Pa.

Elizabe th Meryl Gross '84(NUR) is working part-time asa neonatal nurse at StamfordHospital in Stamford, Conn.

19805

John McGinty '81 M.B.A. hasbeen appointed director of theLoyola-Notre Dame Library inBaltimore, Md.

Jo hn Krenicki, Jr. '84 (ENG)has been named president and

FALl.JWINTER 2000 • 4 1

ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES

IN MEMORIAM

ALUMNI

Mary Frances (Brown) Alexander

'77 M.A.

Francis C.Biddy '71

John Cecchini '65

Ethan J. Durst '97

Albert A. Fruscione '54

Walter M. Gajewski '49, '51 M.S.

Charles E. Gooley '78 J.D.

Joyce (Pond) Hatch'46

Stephen Hermaszewski '66 M.A.,

'87 (6th year)

Shirley (Brander) Horwitz '42

Philip W. levin '57

Donald J. Mendence '61

Mary K. (Fitzgerald) Porrell '81

John l. Renkavinsky '59

Dorothy K. Weber '56 M.A.

FACULTY

Carl W. Moeller Jr.

Anthony Terenzio

David A. Wicklund

STAFF

Frederick den Broeder

Alexandra "Sandy" Schulte

of the people and places ofthe San Francisco Bayarea.Steven and his wife live in SanFrancisco with their two-yearold son .

Andrew Golds trom '87 (BUS),'91 M.B.A. has been promotedto partner and managingdirector for the southeast regionfor United Systems IntegratorsCorporation, located in Atlanta,Georgia.

John ]. Russell '87 (CLAS) andhis wife announce the birth oftheir first child, Allison Barbara,on June 22.


Darren Gill '88 (CLAS), '91J .D. has been named seniorvice president of marketing forMusicmaker.com. Previously,Darren was director of merchan dising at HEAR Music, a musicretail chain and mail ordercatalog. Darren practiced lawfor three years before enteringthe music industry.

Chad Stewart '88 (CLAS)has accepted a position as vice

president andrelationshipmanager at FirstUnion NationalBank in itscommercialdivision. Chadand his wife,

Donna, anno unce the birth oftheir first child, Sean Edward,born on December 30, 1999.

Chris Andrese n '89 (SFS)has been working with theConnec ticut Department ofPublic Health doing HIVprevention work for over 10years and was jus t promotedto director of AIDS PreventionEducation Services in theBureau of Community Health .

Loui s C. Gela da Jr. '89 (CLAS)has earned a master's degreefrom the Fairfield UniversitySchool of Engineering. Louis ismanager of application integration at GE Capital VendorFinancia l Services in Danbu ry,Conn. His wife, Teresa Lacari aGelada '89 (BUS), has earned amaster's degree from theFairfield University School ofBusiness Administra tion. Teresawas also selected for membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, thehonor society for collegiateschools of business.

Patricia McGowan '89 (BUS)has joined the law firm ofKostin, Ruffkess & Company,LLC in West Hartford, Conn.

Krist en E. Melendez '89(CLAS) and Keith M. Daltonwere married at the Chapel inthe Gardens in Allendale, Fla.on March 17. The couple live inOrmo nd Beach, Fla.

Mari kate Mur ren '89 (CLAS),'96 M.A. has been nameddirector of campus recreationat Gettysburg College, inGettysburg, Pa. Marikate is alsoa membe r of the ConnecticutRecreation and ParksAssociation, the NationalIntramural-Recreational SportAssociation, and the UnitedStates Tennis Association .

Dena Cocozza O'Hara '89(CLAS) and her husband ,Keith, announce the birth oftheir fourth child, daughterDuun Marie, born on June29, 2000 . Duun joins hersisters, Dylan and Rhone,and a brother, Keith.

Margaret ChrabolowskiWalsh '89 (BUS) and herhusband anno unce the birth oftheir daughter, Delaney, in May1999. Margaret is the investorrelations manager at People'sBank in Bridgeport , Conn .Margaret and her familyreside in Stratford, Conn.

199°5Britt D. Bria tico '90 (BUS)graduated from PurdueUniversity School of BusinessManagement in December 1999.Britt currently works as a financial manager at Pratt & Whitneyin East Hartford, Conn.

Fred Con trata '90 (BUS) hasbeen named chief financialofficer of Zurich Global EnergyFred was previously vice president and contro ller for Zurich .

Thomas E. Murray '90(CLAS), '94 Ph .D. has beengranted tenure as an associateprofessor of biology atElizabethtown (Pa.) College.Thomas resides inElizabethtown.

Jack Lynch '91 (CLAS) andNell-Ayn Aloi Lync h '91 (ED)anno unce the birth of theirsecond child, Brady-Ayn, onJune 9. Brady joins her olderbrother, Jack Francis. The familylives in Trumbull, Conn. Jack isan account executive for BKMTotal Office in Milford, Conn.,

and Nell-Ayn teaches seventhgrade in Newtown, Conn.

Dale Martin '91 (ENG) andSusa n Arake lian '95 M.B.A.were married November 20,1999 , in East Lyme, Conn. Thewedding party included DeanMartin '90 (CLAS), AmyBrou wer '90 (SAH), Susa nJackson Vincent '89 (BUS),Dave Gatto '90 (CLAS), '92M.s. , Dave Wharmby '89

Do you know anoutstanding alumna!alumnus or facultymember?Reward their excellence bynominating them to receive anAlumni or Faculty ExcellenceAward for 200 1. The Universityof Connecticut AlumniAssociation has establishednumerous awards for thepurpose of recognizingoutstandi ng contributions andachievements by alumni , faculty,and supporters of the University

The national and internationalrecognition of the Universityas a distinguished educationalinstitution is in large measureattributable to the diverseprofessional accomplishmentsof our alumni and faculty TheUConn Alumni Association isproud of these achievementsand welcomes the opportunityto extend recognition throughthe following awards:

• Connecticut AlumniService Award

• Distinguished Alumni Award

• Honorary Alumni Award

• Outstanding YoungAlumni Award

• University Service Award

• Faculty Excellence Awardin Teaching

• Faculty Excellence Awardin Research

Nomination forms areavailable atthe Centennial Alumni House, bycalling 888-UC-ALUM-l , or byvisiting www.uconnalumnLcom.

The deadline for nominationsis December 1, 2000.


(BUS), Glenn Duz y '9 1 (ENG),'94 M.s. , and Steve Geib '89(BUS). Dale is a senior designengineer at Hubbell PremiseWiring in Stonington, Conn ,and Susan is an emp loyeeresources assistant at Pfizer inGroton, Conn .

Ron Peterson '9 1 (ENG) andCathy Stoddard Peterson '8 7(CLAS) announce the birthof their second child, CalvinMichael, on January 4. Calvinjoins his older brother, RileyThomas. The Petersons residein Watertown, Conn .

John T. Roberts '9 1 (CLAS)and his wife, Cathy, recentlycelebrated the second birthdayof their son , Parker. John is theowner of Soundbyte , Inc., anAtlanta-based music and soundproduction house catering tovarious nationwide televisionnetworks and corporations .John and his family reside inRoswell, Ga.

Heather (Bru mfield)Spottiswoode '9 1 (CLAS) andher husband , Mike, announcethe birth of their first child,Caitrin Heather, born July 8.Heather is a program assistantwith the Neag Cente r forGifted Education &: TalentDevelopme nt at UConn . Thefamily lives in Windham, Conn .

Eleanor Burk e Day '92 (CLAS)and Patrick Day were marriedMay 18, 1998 , in Wilmington,Del. Eleanor earned an M.A. inInternational Affairs from theGeorge Washington Universityin Washington , D.C. Eleanorand Patrick announce the birthof their daughter, MadeleineKaarina Taylor, on April 11.

Mich elle Grant '92 (BUS) andher husband , Martin, announcethe birth of their first child,Alexander Michael, on January23 . The family reside inColchester, Conn . Michelleworks part -time as an accountant at Accounting Resources,Inc. in Glastonbury, Conn .

Rob Hughes '92 (CLAS)has been given the HartfordBusinessJournal "40 Unde rForty" Award, which recognizesHartford-area bus iness leaderswho are 40 years of age oryounger. Rob is president andchief opera ting officer of CMGlSolutio ns, an inte rnet professional services firm . He sharedthe award with his bro ther , Jack,who is the company's actingchief executive officer.

Rachel Tonucci O'Connell '92(CLAS) and her husband,Michael, announce the birth oftheir daughter, Honor Caroline ,on April 25 . Rachel earned amaster's degree in library sciencefrom Southern Connecticut StateUniversity in May 1999 . She isa library media specialist atConard High School in WestHartford , Conn.

Susannah M. Pryal '92 (CLAS)and her husband, David,announce the birth of their

daughter, Katherine Muir, onMay 15. Susannah, David, andKatie live in Austin , Tex.

Jan Vlasto '92 (BUS) andCatheri ne Traiforou weremarried September 25, 1999, atChrist United Methodist Churchin New York City. The groom'sparents are George Vlasto, aretired professor of biology, andAnnemieke Vlasto , a formermathematics professor, whobot h taugh t at UConn'sStamford campus. Solon Vlasto'89 (SFA) served as the bestman . UConn alumni in attendance included Paul Calabrese'9 1 (CLAS), Craig Thiel '92(BUS), Joseph Stake '92(BUS), David Wyzykowski '90(CLAS) and Chris Rothermel'99 (ENG).

David R. Will '92 (CLAS)and his wife, Nicole, had theirfirst child , Zachary Leon, onJune 26 . David is a principalconsu ltant with Akibia, Inc.,and the family reside inMarshfield Hills, Mass.



Susan M. Case '93 ].0. hasbeen named vice president

of industrytransformationfor CorporateSystems inAmarillo, Texas.Susan wasprevious ly vicepresident of

product development at CIGNAIntegrate d Care.

Alvin R. Wilson Jr. '93 J .D.has been named director

and legislativecounsel of theUniversity ofConnecticutOffice ofGovernmentalRelations. Alvinand his wife,

Marie -Line Bruhl-Wilson'93 ].0. , live in West Hartford ,Conn.

Michael Goba '94 (BUS) is anattorney for the u.s. ArmyJudge Advocate General's Corps .Michael earned a law degree atthe Judge Advocate General'sSchool at the U.S. MilitaryAcademy at West Point, N.Y.

Cynthia Gaudioso DePilIo'94 (ED), '95 M.A. and herhusband, Ray, announce thebirth of their second child,Daniel Vincent , on May 4. Thefamily reside in Westfield, N.J.

Rebecca Jean Chonko '95(CANR) and Jason DouglasMoellinger were marriedFebruary 14 at St. Patrick'sCatholic Church inAppalachicola, Fla. LauriChonko '97 (CANR) wasmaid of honor. The coup lereside in Birmingham, Ala.

Richard juknavorian, Jr. '95(CLAS) and Susan Simonianwere married January 8. ToddCamassar '96 (CLAS) servedas an usher. The couple live inLowell, Mass.

Brett H. McGurk '96 (CLAS)is a clerk for Chief JusticeWilliam Rehnquist of the UnitedStates Supreme Court. Brettpreviously was a clerk to JudgeDennis Jacobs on the FederalCourt of Appeals for the SecondCircuit in New York City. Brettgraduated from ColumbiaUniversity Law School inMay 1999 .

Lanette Roulier '96 (CLAS),a registered dietician and

member ofthe AmericanDieteticsAssociation,has been namedcorporatedietitian forDoctor's

Associates Inc., the franchisorof SUBWAY Restaurants ,located in Milford, Conn.

Kimberly Vozzo '96 (SFS ), '98M.A. and Brian Nickolenko '97(BUS) were married Octobe r23, 1999, at Woodwin ds inBranford , Conn. The weddi ngparty included Andy Holt '97(CLAS), Brian Sedor '99(CLAS) , Michael Whyte '97(BUS), Heather Berns '96(CLAS), Jessica Heeney '96(ED), Kerry O'Rourke '96(SFS), and Tammy Wheelock'97 M.A. Brian works for MassMutual in Hartford , Conn., andKimberly works at FairfieldUniversity in Fairfield, Conn .The couple reside in Hamden,Conn .

Juergen Rochert '97 M.B.A.has been named president ofDaimler Chrysler FinancialServices (debis) Canada . Juergenresides in Windsor, Ont o

Joanna L. Wasti '96 (BUS)and Matthew]. Dufour '9 7(BUS) were married June IOat St. Mary Church in WindsorLocks, Conn . They reside inCheshire , Conn .

Michael C. Pelletier '98 (BUS)is working as a consultant forPinnacle Decision Systems,located in Middletown, Conn .,and is currently pursuing aM.B.A. and a M.S. in comp uterscience at RensselaerPolytechnic Institute-Hartford.

Thomas Vaughan Rhodes '99(CLAS) is serving in the PeaceCorps in the Republic of CapeVerde as a TEFL (TeachingEnglish as a Foreign Language)instructor.

Alumni News & Notescompiled by Megan Soukupand Sara Seckington

AT THE WILLIAM BENTON MUSEUM Of ART

Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Bathers (ca. 1912), watercolor. Giftof Eugenie Prendergast Foundation .

For more information on events at the University of Connecticut,consult the campus master calendar at www.ca.uconn.edu/mastercalendar.

Childe Hassam,Old MumfordHouse, EastHampton,Long Island.

"People and Places ofChi/de Hassam and Maurice Prendergast, 1.887-1.923" • January 23-March 16, 2001

This collaborative exhibition by the William Benton Museum of Artand the New Britain Museum of American Art features the oils, pastels ,watercolors and drawings created between 1887 and 1923 by twoclassical artists influenced by the vivid palette of Impressionism, bothnoted for their beautifully painted landscape scenes of Paris, New YorkCity, and rural Connecticut and Massachusetts.



The University of Connecticut Alumni Association Officers and Directors 2000-2001

OFFICERS

PresidentTimothy J. Riordan '76 (BUS)

First Vice PresidentGina M. Petrokaitis '89 (BUS)

Second Vice PresidentJeffrey M. Konspore '79 ((lAS)

Third Vice PresidentSteven H. Rogers '73 (ENG),'78 M.B.A.

SecretaryJennifer M. Ryley Welsh '90(CLAS)

TreasurerJoshua E. Dunn '92 «(lAS)

DIRECTORS

Theresa H. Allsop '81 (CLAS),'84 J.D., Pamela F. Bellmore '91(CLAS), Audrey E. Brown '76(CLAS), Richard T. Carbray, Jr. '75(PHR), Steven R. Donen '80(CLAS), '83 J.D., Gary B. Draghi'83 (BUS), Michael J. Galchus '66«(lAS), '71 M.B.A.

Kim M. Lamagna '80 (CLAS),Andre F.Lesperance '61 (ENG),'66 M.s., Christine Lodewick '67M.A., Denise W. Merrill '88(BGS), Lawrence F.Morico '58«(lAS)

For the latest information on events and contact information visitwww.alumni.uconn.edu/contacts/ARIZONA, PhoenixJoanna Hagan '73, (h) 602-947-0364CALIFORNIA, Los AngelesAaron Spicker '86, (h) 310-374-2518, (w) [email protected] DiegoSteve Balaban '77, (h) 619-283-1822, (w) [email protected], DenverMary Shields '85, (h) 303-733-3159, (w) 3°[email protected], DanburyChristopher Burns '88, (w)[email protected] CountyPeter Slavin '76, (w) 203-849-8916 x17, (h) [email protected] WaterburyGina Petrokaitis '89, (w) 203-756-6955,[email protected] UniversityDavid Wehner '81, (h) 860-423-8226, (w) [email protected] Phelps '74 '92, (w) 800-554-5420, ext. 1438, [email protected] HavenRobert Johnson Jr.'65, (h) 203-234-8012, [email protected] HillsAnnette Lombardi '76, (h) 860-489-5161, [email protected] Beatrice, (h) 860-449-°751, [email protected], SoutheastMargaret Gorra-Porter '76, (h) 954-752-2425, (w) [email protected] '60, (h) 941-434-2015, (w) 941-775-4090, [email protected] Senk '68, (h) 813-885-9715, (w) 813-228-4020, [email protected], AtlantaLaura Sharrard '91, (h) 770-641-7740, (w) 770-399-9910 [email protected],ChicagoPhil Barufkin '90, (h) 773-868-1499, (w) [email protected], New OrleansRussell Dean '92, '95, (h) 504-736-9439, (w) [email protected] Seaman '67, (h) 207-781-8263, (w) 207-846-2715MASSACHUSETTS, BostonDarren Cinti '97, 617-523-2898, 617-25°-1011,[email protected]

For more infQ!mat40n about joining ar;l alumalumni c1ul), Gontad Paul @hffordat 1-88WWVl-uCOnOAlu!JtQi.com and fill out Qur an I

FALIJWINTER 2000 • 45

T H E AL UM NI

Traveler

National Parks-June 2001

This IS-day, leisurely paced, fullyescorted, memorable journey includesstops at Yellowstone, Grand Teton,Arches, Monument Valley, GrandCanyon, Bryce Canyon , and Zionnational parks as well as Salt lakeCity and las Vegas. Follow the call ofadventure to seven of Americas mostspectacular national parks and monuments. Seven nights ' accommodationswithin the parks include two nights inYellowstone and two nights on thesouth rim of the Grand Canyon.

A Taste of Britain 's Gemsincluding the Eisteddfod Festival inWales-July 3-13, 2001

A unique British treat is in store for youin the summer of 2001. We havedesigned a lovely tour that includesthree nights in Wales, three nights inthe lake District , and three nights inthe famous spa town of Harrogate, thestepping stone to the Yorkshire Hills

For information on all UConnAlumni Association travelopportunities, call toll free1-888-UC-ALUM-1(822-5861)


and Dales. This is the time of theEisteddfod, the annual musical festivalin Llangollen, Wales, featuring magnificent choral concerts. On to the lakesDistrict, long the inspiration of artistsand poets amid the beauty of mountains, lakes, and villages. We will usespecial vehicles that will allow us tospend time visiting remote parts of thelake District including the Hardknottand Wrynose passes. Drive across thenorth of England, through the ruggednational parks and James Herriotcountry to the stylish town ofHarrogate, on the outskirts of thegreat cathedral city of York.

You may choose to continue on toScotland, by taking the trainnorthward for another three nights in

Edinburgh, staying in anhistoric hotel right in thecenter of town . Tour the"Athens of the North," withthe historic castle, theRoyal Mile, and

Holyroodhouse to Princes Street.Included are visits into the Trossachs,with a glimpse of the Highlands.

Legendary Waterways of EuropeAugust 2-17, 2001

This exclusive deluxe river cruise tour,with all inclusive sightseeing , includes14 nights aboard the brand-new,deluxe MS RiverExplorer. On this 16day voyage you'll visit the cities ofBudapest , Vienna, Durnstein, Passau,Nuremberg, Cologne and Amsterdam,among others. Enjoy walking tours ofcities such as Durnstein and Passau as

well as informative lectures on suchtopics as the Main-Danube Canal,Nuremberg and World War II, and theartist Vincent Van Gogh.

Around the World- Sept. 2001

Journey around the world and visitAustralia, China, Thailand, India,Kenya, France , and England. Yourluxurious accommodations includesome of the best hotels in the world.Set off on your adventure knowingthat all of the details are taken careof and that every luxury will beprovided, featuring all-inclusivemeals and sightseeing , first andbusiness class flights, door-to-doorlimousine service, all gratuities,and more!

A Bold Experiment, continued

He sees higher education as an instrument of the emergingdemocracy. "Education is an exciting theater for the socialexperiment that's underway," he says.

In shaping the linkage, priorities set by Fort Hare werematched with UConn 's demonstrated strengths. Participantsin this summer's fact-finding visit included top officials inthe areas of recruitment and retention, public relations andmarketing, fund-raising, academic support for underprivileged students, the library, education, and agriculture.Members of the UConn group will draw on their experiencein expanding enrollment, increasing state and privatesupport, and improving support systems as they work withtheir counterparts at Fort Hare.

At the core of UConn's partnerships with South Africa isa new model for international interaction, based on theconcept that each side can learn from the other. It's a modeldesigned to foster international understanding and cooperation, and it was the articulation of this model that led theANC and Fort Hare to select UConn as a partner from amonga number of competing institutions of higher education inthe United States and overseas.

"The selection of this university as a partner represents avote of confidence in the University of Connecticut by thepeople of South Africa," says Omara-Otunnu. "It shows thatour approach to building partnerships is distinct and hasinternational appeal. "

Members of the University community who have visitedSouth Africa under the new international relationship, andothers who have had the opportunity to interact with SouthAfricans visiting UConn, have been profoundly moved bythe experience.

M. Dolan Evanovich, associate vice provost for enrollmentmanagement and a member of the UConn delegation toFort Hare in the summer, says he was touched by a visitto Soweto, the Johannesburg township where, in 1976 ,hundreds of black students were killed by police duringan otherwise peaceful demonstration for access to qualityeducation.

"It really hit home when we visited Soweto," Evanovichsays. "The group of students who were killed were the sameage as me, the same genera tion . While I was enjoying myselfin high school, they were fighting for their freedom .

"Being there gave me a greater app reciation of the historical problems in South Africa," he adds . "It was one of themost powerful experiences I've had."

In addition to the potent lessons on human rights, theUniversity's partn erships with South Africa will offer significant opportun ities for UConn stude nts to study overseas.

"As a great university serving a great state, UConn mustbe part ofthe global community," says President Austin .

The partnerships will bring South African students toUConn, where their experiences and insights will boost thediversity of the student body and add to the value of aUConn education. In a land that has significant potential fortrade and holds powerful economic opportunities, some mayeven become future business partners.

The developing ties with South Africa also bring theUniversity considerable national and international prestige.

"Institutions, like individuals, are known for the companythey keep ," says Austin. "We are deep ly honored to be linkedwith the Republic of South Africa, and specifically with theAfrican National Congress and the University of Fort Hare, inthese great endeavors ."

Build aLEGACYPerpetuate a scholarship, fellowshipor program by remembering UConnin your will or other estate plans.

For more information, call Nancy Schroederat The University of Connecticut Foundation,860-486-6216 or 800-269-9965


THE L AS T

Word

Poetic licenses

"Touched by poetry," Octavio Paz wrote , "language is more

fully language and at the same time is no longer language ; it

is a poem ." Since the first issue of UConn Traditions , we have

been reminded that a great many alumni express themselves

through poet ry: In that regard, we are sharing this brief

selection of verse with you. We will continue occasionally

to share poetry from your fellow alumni in future issues.

- Gary E. Frank

I Learn to Accept a Certain Amount of Melancholy

Everyone does not swoon at lightglinting off a lake just after dawnor swell at the skittering of water stridersmottling the surface as if rainfell from a clear blue sky.This is strange to me.

You sidle into the day, unconvinced ,with a weight of previous days and yearsstretching back before you were born ,in spite of yourself.

These forces sometimes clash.One makes curtains just to draw them,pulls a dark green sheet over her headto keep the day at bay. One wakes alwaysbefore the alarm, is quick to leave a dream,lifted by clouds that scud across the skylights.

From seeing your ways I see my ownand all our attempts to contain what must overflow.

- Steve Straight '80 (CLAS), '89 M.A.

Steve Straight teaches English atManchester (Conn.) Community College.

Do you have an essay, photo, poem, or some othe r creative expressionyou might want to share? If so, we want to hear from you. Send yourideas to The Last Word, UConn Traditions, 1266 Storrs Rd., U-4144,Storrs , CT06269, or e-mail to [email protected].


Dickinson Weather

Snow is another country.Where snow light fills a roomthe hyacinth burns bluer.A stillness like a swoonswathes air in alabaster.The soul in such surroundbecomes as almondblanched to bone,a lozenge in the palmwhere flake unfurl s a firmamentand firmament a calm.

- Jean Merrill Balderston '57 (CLAS)Jean Merrill Balderston is an educationaltherapist in private practice in New Yo rk City.She shared the 2000 The Writer MagaZine/EmilyDickinson Award given by the Poetry Society ofAmericafor "Dickinson Weather. "

to kerouac

sweet jackholy searching drunkour blessed poet monk who thunk upthis universeund er train yard lightsfloating cork secretsdivine new york subway wineuptown & skid row flatssweet jack-who penned it downtwo octaves, one breathof glimmering sad saxophonesunset tin canscircling chimney stacksmoke of beinghow you shiveredand smiledlovestruckthis god blessamerica so reali can't hardly sleep

-Bob DeMorro '89 (ENG), '91 M.B.A.Bob DeMon'o is a sales representative of airdistribution products. He lives in Bolton, Conn.

fall/winter 2000 traditions - uconn magazine€¦ · by garye. frank inside features uconn...

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