December 2000 University Reporter

Conferences, Panels, and Workshops

At the request of the US State Department, Ed Beard, director of the McCormack Institute, recently spent two weeks in Ukraine and Hungary lecturing on the US political system and the upcoming US presidential election. Beard traveled in Kiev, Budapest, and Geneva, speaking with students, researchers, and human rights organizations. Among his many activities, he conducted workshops for officials at the Ukranian Central Elections Commission, spoke at the Hungarian Institute for International Relations, and addressed the Swiss Forum on International Affairs.

On November 6-7, Institutional Research’s Jennifer Brown, director, Kevin Murphy, research analyst, and Hailin Zhang, data specialist gave presentations at the 27th Annual Conference of the Northeast Association for Institutional Research.

Tess Browne, organizing coordinator of the Mass Action for Women Audit, was a panelist and participated in a two-day conference sponsored by the Funders Committee held at the Open Society Institute in New York City. The focus of the conference was civic participation, moving from dialogue and deliberation to policy and action.

UMass Poll’s Lou DiNatale, director, and Robert Bucci, research director, attended a panel discussion on October 21 for the Interstate 495 Local Officials. They discussed the concept of urban sprawl and how residents feel the pressure of growth along Interstate 495. They also appeared as part of a feature story that addressed this phenomenon in the Metrowest Daily News on October 22.

Frederick C. Gamst, anthropology, has been invited to present two papers and serve on two panels at the January 2001 annual meeting of the new Railroad Human Factors Committee of the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board. A locomotive engineer, Gamst has maintained a full schedule, which has included conducting applied research in Djibouti, Somaliland, and Ethiopa over the summer and participating in several Federal Railroad Administration meetings throughout the fall.

Alberto Giordano and Richard Gelpke, assistant professors in the Earth and Geographic Sciences Department, presented “Animated Maps as Tools for Policy Evaluation: An Assessment of the Effects of Chapter 91 in Massachusetts” at the 20th Meeting of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS), held in Tennessee, October 11-14. Gelpke also delivered a paper based on the work with Giordano, “Massachusetts Chapter 91—(The Public Waterfront Act) —A Potential Data Source for Historical Analysis,” at the New England/St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society Annual Meeting in Providence, RI, on October 28.

Edward Romar’s paper, “Virtue is Good Business: Confucianism as a Practical Business Ethic,” has been accepted for the conference “At Our Best: Moral Lives in a Moral Community,” sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, California. Romar is the College of Management’s management and marketing department lecturer.

On October 18, Elizabeth Sherman, director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy and Carol Hardy-Fanta, former research director, spoke at Boston College on “Elections 2000: Will Women Make the Difference?” Sherman also led a workshop entitled “We Got the Vote...So What?” at the “Women 2000” Worcester Women’s History Conference commemorating the first national women’s rights convention held in Worcester 150 years ago. Carol Hardy-Fanta served on this panel.

Miren Uriarte, interim director of the Gastón Institute, presented a paper at the APHA conference in November, “Health Outreach to Culturally and Linguistically Isolated Communities: The Case of the Cape Verdean Community in Boston,” which she coauthored with Carole Upshur of the Ph.D. program in Public Policy.

College of Nursing Professor Lin Zhan delivered the keynote speech, “Nursing Education for the Twenty-First Century,” via video conference at China’s national conference, on October 18. She also gave the keynote address, “Asian Voices: Asian and Asian American Health Educators Speak Out,” at the 7th Annual Yvonne Lecture and Nursing Research Award at Massachusetts General Hospital on November 9.

Seven UMass Boston students participated in the 12th Annual Conference of the Haitian Studies Association (H.S.A.), “Changing the Landscape of Education for Haitians in the New Century: Current Issues, Best Practices and Promising Initiatives,” held in Florida on October 25-29. The conference was sponsored under the joint aegis of the Haitian Studies Project and the Africana Studies Department.

On November 15, the Center for State and Local Policy held a panel discussion on “An American Conversation: Democracy and Public Opinion” at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston.

Publications

College of Management’s assistant professor of accounting and finance James Bierstaker has coauthored a paper, “The Effects of Risk Assessments and Partner Preferences on Audit Planning Decisions,” with Arnie Wright, which will be presented at the Mid-Year Auditing Section Meeting in Houston in January.

Robert Crossley, professor of English, is author of the cover essay, “Percival Lowell and the History of Mars,” in The Massachusetts Review Autumn 2000 issue. He also has contributed the chapter “Sign, Symbol, Power: The New Martian Novel” for the new book Histories of the Future.

Returning to McCormack Institute as a visiting fellow, Professor Nigel Hamilton has started work on a new full-length biography of Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton: An American Journey. Following the three year process, Hamilton has developed a new interactive website, located at www.mcormack.edu to include an expanding multimedia Clinton bibliography and a regularly updated record of the project with streamed interviews, news updates, and a message board.

Professor Marc Prou of the Africana Studies Department recently published an article entitled “Haitian Creole Ideophones: An exploratory Analysis” in the Journal of Haitian Studies. This paper is the first systematic effort to study the status and structure of Haitian Creole ideophonization.

The Center for Social Policy has released “A Comparative Portrait of Individuals and Families Utilizing Massachusetts Emergency Shelter Programs, 1999.” Data were collected by the Connection Service Partnership through Technology (CSP Tech) Project, a statewide data collection effort.

Honors

Jennifer Arnold, Ph.D. candidate in biology, received Best Student award at the Waterbird Society meeting in November.

At the University Continuing Education Association’s (UCEA) New England conference held October 25-27, Jack Hughes, director of Professional Training Programs in the Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education, received the 2000 Award for Innovative and Creative Continuing Education Programming for the Boston/Ireland Program. Burton Holmes, director of Continuing Marketing in the Division of Enrollment Services and University Communications, received the 2000 Outstanding Professional Continuing Educator Award.

Appointments

Professor Winston Langley, from the department of political science and international relations, has been appointed associate provost. Langley will assist Provost Charles F. Cnudde and Vice Provost Theresa Mortimer in developing international programs and serving as the liaison between the faculty council and the provost’s office.

Carole Upshur, graduate program director of the Ph.D. program in public policy, was appointed a member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Planning committee for its annual research conference held in Seattle in November.

Lin Zhan, professor for the College of Nursing, and Jane Cloutterbuck have been appointed as research fellows by the Research Institute, Hebrew Rehabilitation for the Aged in Boston. Professors Cloutterbuck and Zhan currently conduct research studies concerning Asian and African American caregivers experience of persons with Alzheimers and related disorders.

Grants and Research

Tatjana Maschede, Ph.D. candidate in the public policy program and research associate at the Center for Social Policy, has been awarded a three-year grant funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, to evaluate the coordination of services among agencies serving the homeless street population as well as identifying patterns in health care, shelter, and substance abuse service utilization.

The Center for Social Policy was awarded a three-year grant by the Fireman Foundation One Family Campaign to help end family homelessness. The Center’s will evaluate the direct aid and religious community outreach components of the One Family Initiative.

On January 1, 2001 the UMass Poll will launch a joint project, “Health Care Benchmarks,” with UMass Worcester Medical Center and the Attorney General’s office.

Births

John McGah, Center for Social Policy, and his wife Ashley had their first child, Noelle, on October 27.

In the News

The Patriot Ledger gave an enthusiastic review to Steve Dooner’s Lizzie: The Lizzie Borden Story which featured communications and theatre arts professor John Conlon, and UMB alumni Richard LaFrance and Maria Papuga.

Lou DiNatale, director of the UMass Poll, was a guest on The Connection, November 9, to discuss the election and concept of Internet polling and voting in 2004.

Professor Garrison Nelson, McCormack Institute senior fellow and fellow with the Center for State and Local Policy, was interviewed about the impact of same sex civil union legislation in Vermont in the Boston Globe, Boston Phoenix, Congressional Quarterly, San Francisco Chronicle, Providence Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Seven Days, and Vermont Education Television. He also appeared on CNN’s “Inside Politics”, WKDR-AM, and WPTZ-TV.
Also speaking to the election, Professor James Ward appeared on WB56 News to discuss political participation. Professor Maurice T. Cunningham explained the electoral college system on WLVI 56 , spoke with the Metro West News and Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and was interviewed by the Belfast Times (Northern Ireland) concerning the first presidential debate held at UMB.

During the recent election season, Elizabeth A. Sherman, director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, provided political commentary on WBUR and News Night on New England Cable News and appeared on election night with Andy Hiller on WHDH-TV Channel 7. She was also quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe , and USA Today.

Professor Paul Watanabe commented on the election in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, San Francisco Examiner, Quincy Patriot Ledger, Far East Economic Review, Metro West News, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Boston Business Journal and the Associated Press. Professor Watanabe also provided expert commentary to Boston television stations and interviewed on radio stations in Boston, Albany, NY, Seattle, on the BBCand the Lehrer Newshour and Boston Globe on-line.

Miscellaneous

A five and a half minute film entitled “Highlights from the Presidential Debate at UMass Boston” was produced from over 300 minutes of debate footage. Sherry Rhyno, director of marketing, interviewed over fifty guests and personalities while directing a film crew from Northern Light Productions in Boston. A thirty-second cable television ad for UMass Boston with highlights from the debate aired throughout metropolitan Boston and southeastern Massachusetts recently, via a newly expanded AT&T broadband contract. The ad features President William Bulger, Elizabeth Sherman, Hubie Jones, along with Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci.

On Saturday, November 4 the ARD Committee, “Experiencing the Community,” had 40 employees, family and friends travel to New York City. While there, many took carriage rides in Central Park, hopped on the City Busy Tour, or just simply enjoyed the many fascinating sites in the “Big Apple.” The day was topped off with a performance of the Christmas Show at the Radio City Music Hall and the famous Rockettes. If anyone has ideas for future trips, please e-mail Clare Poirier at clare.poirier@umb.edu.

Correction

Brian White, Biology Department, recently received the five-year, $500,000 NSF Early Career Investigator Award. Maria Papuga was reported erroneously as the recipient in the November issue.

Campus Notes