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Boston
Writing Project Celebrates its 20th Year with Conference
In celebration of its twentieth year, The Boston Writing
Project (BWP) held a conference on September 25th entitled
"Celebrate our Visions and Revisions: Twenty Years of a
Teaching Community." The Boston Writing Project brings
writing teachers from local schools and universities
together to write, discuss writing and engage in critical
dialogue as teachers of writing. The event's keynote speaker
Joseph McDonald, a 1980 BWP Summer Institute graduate and
professor of teaching and learning at New York University,
addressed "Professional Development in the Age of Reform." A
panel discussion and workshops followed. Presenters included
Vivian Zamel, director of the undergraduate ESL Program at
the University of Massachusetts Boston; Cathie Desjardins, a
poet, journalist, book reviewer and director of the
Children's Literacy Center at UMass Boston; and Nancy
O'Malley, a Boston Latin teacher and occasional instructor
at UMass Boston's Graduate School of Education. An open
reading concluded the conference program, followed by a cake
cutting in honor of the anniversary. Afterwards, the
celebration continued with dinner and dancing at Amelia's in
Quincy.
Anne Marie Kent
Academic
Programs Web Page Revamped
The UMass Boston academic web site recently underwent a
facelift. The main academics page was redesigned to provide
better access to the school's many academic programs and to
better introduce the university to prospective
students.
"One of the ideas was to tell
people what makes each of our five colleges unique,"
explains University Webmaster Joe Peters. "This gives people
an idea of why we offer the programs that we do and what
students in those programs can expect."The problem in the
past was that academic information came directly from the
print catalogs. The catalogs don't always translate well to
the web. Now, as the web site is updated for the new
undergraduate and graduate catalogs, the university web team
hopes the redesigned pages will provide better access and
more appeal to this information. To access the academic
programs section of the university web sit, log on to
http://
www.umb.edu academic _programs/
Russian
Women Leaders Visit University
Three Russian women, here to observe the American
political and economic systems, were guests at a luncheon
hosted by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
on Sept. 20. The group was accompanied by Betty Bumpers,
wife of former congressman Dale Bumpers, who is a leader in
the PeaceLinks organization which organized the itineraries
for the Russian visitors. Representing UMass Boston at the
luncheon were Elizabeth Sherman and Jain Ruvidich Higgins
from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy,
Kiran Verma, assistant chancellor, Prof. Rachel Rubin from
American Studies, and Community activist Jovita Fontanez, a
board member of the Center for Women in Politics and Public
Policy. The visitors, Iren Fedorovna Podlubnaya, Zilya
Rakhimyanovna Valeyeva, and Svetlana Leonidovna Plotkina,
are among 3,000 Russians who are visiting the United States
through the Library of Congress Russian Leadership Program
(RLP). This program aims to provide current and emerging
Russian political leaders with direct exposure to the
American free market economic system and the operation of
the American democratic process. Library of Congress
partners in the program include such organizations as
PeaceLinks, Rotary International, and the American Foreign
Policy Council, which can provide the visitors with direct
experience of American institutions and systems. After the
luncheon, the Russians toured the JFK Library.
Camp
Telecom Provides Rich High Tech Experiences for High School
Students
This summer, twenty six high school students, who could have
been sleeping late, instead arrived bright and early on the
UMass Boston campus to participate in Camp Telecom, a three
week program that offered them a unique opportunity to be
trained in state-of-the-art technology. Courses in Java,
computer animation, and computer repair, among others, were
offered. This pilot program was a collaboration between the
Massachusetts Telecommunications Council (MTC), a dozen area
secondary schools, and several departments within UMass
Boston, including the Chancellor's Office, the Department of
Mathematics and Computer Science, the Graduate College of
Education, the Physics Department, and the Learning Center.
John Ciccarelli, Assistant to the Chancellor for Economic
Development, coordinated the camp's implementation. The Camp
Telecom experience was provided to the high schoolers for
only $75, thanks to 27 MTC members companies which
contributed $2000 each to sponsor a student. According to
the evaluation forms submitted by students, their
experiences were overwhelmingly positive. Sponsors of the
camp, meanwhile, look to cultivate a more highly skilled
workforce for the future through programs such as Camp
Telecom.
Biology
Prof. Brian White Commended for His Contribution to Research
Link 2000 Institute
Hard work, professionalism, and love of teaching were
three of the qualities attributed to Biology Prof. Brian
White in a commendation from the Council of Undergraduate
Research (CUR) after his participation in the Research Link
2000 Institute held this summer at Ferris State University
in Minnesota. White was one of 13 individuals who, having
developed a research-based system for introductory biology
laboratory instruction, were chosen to present a two-day,
hands-on workshop based on his system to 75 biologists from
30 institutions. White's research method involves having
students work with a strain of yeast, and asking them to
observe and experiment in order to gain an understanding of
scientific process. Prior to his workshop presentation,
White spent a year preparing for the Institute. His article,
"The Red and White Yeast Lab: An Introduction to Science as
a Process" will be published this month in the journal
American Biology Teacher. His system will also be the topic
of a Biology Department Seminar on October 15.
Boston
Light House and Little Brewster Island Now Accessible to the
Public, Thanks to The Hurricane
In July, the UMass Boston boat Hurricane began bringing
the public to Little Brewster Island for the first time
ever, making it also the first time that the U.S. Coast
Guard Light Station, known as the Boston Light, on the
island has been accessible to the public since it was built
in 1716. It is the older continually operating lighthouse in
the country, and the only one still manned by the U.S. Coast
Guard. The tours depart from the wharf in front of the new
U.S. Courthouse on Fan Pier on Saturdays, at 9 a.m. and 1
p.m through mid-October. The cost is $20 for adults, $15 for
senior citizens, and $10 for children under 12 for a three
hour tour. Little Brewster Island is part of the new Boston
Harbor Islands National Park Area, and it is the sixth
island to be opened to the public in the thirty-island park.
According to UMass Dockmaster Chris Sweeney, since UMass
Boston is the contracted ferry service provider, the
Hurricane is also available for private charters and
classroom excursions at group rates. For more information,
call 7-5404.
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