University Reporter: December, 2001
Celebrate the Season!
The university’s faculty and staff holiday party will be held on Monday, December 17, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the McCormack Cafeteria. Spread holiday cheer with your co-workers and bring a gift of unwrapped hats, mittens, scarves, and socks to donate to Rosie’s Place, Pine Street Inn, Salvation Army, and Globe Santa.
Campus Center Progress
The construction site for the Campus Center as seen on November 14 with
a new plywood wall and pile caps. (Photo by Harry Brett)
The view from the catwalk between the Science Center and Wheatley Hall is always changing as construction progresses on the new 331,000 square foot, $75 million Campus Center. Following the pile-driving stage in the early fall, members of the Suffolk Construction team began pouring concrete and forming the cement for “approximately 218” pile caps. These caps will be the foundation for the columns of the building.
Observers will also note a new plywood wall behind the Science Center, the first above-grade structure of the building. It won’t stand alone for long: around December 10, the construction team will bring in a large crane to start erecting the steel for the building’s structure. This will be the first in six phases in the erection process. As construction proceeds ahead of the estimated schedule, the catwalk view will be transformed daily.
University Remembers Harold Horton
A memorial service for Harold Horton, former associate director of the Trotter Institute, was held in the Ryan Lounge on November 9. Shown here from left to right are Philip Hart, director of the institute (seated), James Jennings, former director of the institute, and Clara Jennings, dean of the Graduate College of Education (seated, far right). (Photo by Harry Brett)
Share Your News And Events!
Submit news items for the December Campus Notes and Calendar of Events by December 15.
E-mail news@umb.edu
Scholarship Memorializing September 11 Victims Established at UMass
Software leader PTC, whose headquarters are located in Needham, created a scholarship fund for UMass system students in memory of Massachusetts victims of the September 11 tragedies. At least one UMass employee, the parent of a student, and seven alumni were killed in the terrorist attacks.
PTC established the endowed PTC Scholarship Fund in perpetuity with a gift of $100,000. The university expects the first scholarship to be granted for the semester beginning January 2002. Preference for the scholarship will be given to engineering and applied science students whose families were directly affected by the terrorist activities.
Scholarships will be need-based and available to students at any of the university’s five campuses. The fund will generate an annual grant of several thousand dollars.
Provost Committee Embarks on Search
The recently-selected provost committee had its first meeting on November 7 to discuss the candidate search for a permanent provost. The committee meets regularly to read and discuss applications and continue to receive new applications. If all goes according to schedule, the committee will conduct telephone interviews with a group of candidates in December and brief in-person interviews with a more selective group in January. Full campus visits by the semi-finalists are anticipated in February.
Members of the committee include: Hubie Jones, chair; Arindam Bandopadhyaya, Kamal Bawa, Sharon Bostick, Reyes Coll-Tellechea, Donna Haig Friedman, Susan Haussler, Rick Houser, Marie Kennedy, Winston Langley, Celia Moore, Paul Watanabe, Jack Wilson, Zong Guo Xia, and student members Heather Dawood and Srinivas Rao.
Chancellor Gora looks forward to the new provost appointment, anticipating that the intense search process will go a long way towards setting the academic course of the campus for the years to come.
Celebrate the Season with Music!
Senior and Voice Recitals
December 6, 11:30 a.m.
Featuring James McKenna McCormack Hall Cafeteria
December 7, 12:30 p.m.
Featuring Casey Abrams Wit’s End Café
December 14, 7:00 p.m.
Featuring voice students Snowden Auditorium.
University Jazz Band
December 8, 7:30 p.m.
Peter Janson directs.
Snowden Auditorium
Suggested donation: $5. Students and seniors: $3.
University Chorus and Chamber Singers
December 9, 2:30 p.m.
4th Presbyterian Church, 340 Dorchester Street
South Boston.
Jeffrey Rink directs.
Program includes Handel’s Messiah, part I, and works by David Patterson,
Vaughan Williams, and David Giessow.
Suggested donation: $5. Students and seniors: $3.
Contact the Music Department at 7-6980.
Teaching for Transformation Conference to be held on January 25
The Center for Improvement of Teaching (CIT) will hold its annual conference on Teaching for Transformation on Friday, January 25 at UMass Boston. The conference provides opportunities for educators to share strategies and explore issues that focus on inclusive teaching, learning, and curriculum change in college classrooms. Organizers have called for proposals on topics such as addressing volatile issues in the classroom; negotiating grades and standards; teaching about race, class, and gender; and responding to the needs of linguistically diverse learners. Watch for more information about registration or contact CIT’s Jackie Cornog for more details (7-6767).