University Reporter: May, 2002
Also in this Issue:
Athletics Department Receives Community Service and Outreach Award
University Talent Debuted on New CD
Topping-Off Ceremony Planned to Celebrate Completion of Campus Center Frame
Chancellor To Give Keynote Address at National Human Relations Award Dinner
Musicians Celebrate Spring on the Plaza
Honors Programs Welcomes New Students and Congratulates Seniors on Family Night
Chancellor Connects at Alumni Executive Breakfasts
2002 Gubernatorial Candidate’s Forum on Women’s Issues
Professor of Community Planning and Public Policy Awarded 2002 Atlantic Fellowship
Professor Michael Stone of the College of Public and Community Service,
the McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, and the Public Policy
Ph.D. Program was recently named a recipient of a 2002 Atlantic
Fellowship.
He is one of only nine public policy professionals in the United States chosen this year, and he is the first member of the UMass Boston faculty ever to receive this prestigious award.
Established by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1994 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day and the U.S. contribution to the liberation of Europe, the Atlantic Fellowship in Public Policy provides a unique opportunity for outstanding mid-career professionals to study in the United Kingdom.
University Talent Debuted on New CD
Students, faculty, and staff celebrated the Music Department’s new compact disc UMass Boston: Live at the Millennium, at a release party held at the University Club on April 17. The CD features performances by the UMass Boston Jazz Band, the UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra, and the UMass Boston Chamber Singers, who gave a live performance during the party. (Photo by Anne-Marie Kent)
Athletics Department Receives Community Service and Outreach Award
By Melissa Fassel
This past winter, UMass Boston, one of 218 members of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), received the consortium’s Community Service and Outreach Honor Roll Award. This honor reflects UMass Boston’s commitment to developing leadership in its student athletes and caring for the Boston community, as well as the university’s ultimate goal to prepare young people who are not only academically and athletically successful, but socially conscious and aware.
UMass Boston was the top academic institution out of all NCAS members, positively impacting the lives of over 250,000 youth in the Greater Boston community. The University of Nebraska was a distant second, impacting approximately 181,000 youth.
Activities hosted by UMass Boston included a baseball clinic for neighborhood youth baseball teams and participation in the Student-Athlete Youth Collaborative Clinic sponsored by the Boston Police Department. The men’s basketball team paid an annual visit to the pediatric ward of the Boston Medical Center, distributing toys, singing, and playing games with the children. The women’s basketball team ran clinics for area youth, and the school distributed tickets to area youth as social incentives. More than 18,000 game tickets were distributed to attract youth to games as part of the university’s social and academic incentive program.
2002 Gubernatorial Candidate’s Forum on Women’s Issues
May 9, Lipke Auditorium, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Watch the Exclusive Broadcast on Channel 3 AT&T Broadband
Co-hosted by the McCormack Institute and Center for Women in Politics
and Public Policy, the Chancellor’s Office, and over 20 women’s
and student organizations.
Watch for posters around campus with more details or visit www.mccormack.umb.edu/centers/cwppp.
Topping-Off Ceremony Planned to Celebrate Completion of Campus Center Frame
As seen here on March 25, construction has begun on a new catwalk frame to connect Wheatley Hall to the Campus Center. (Photo by Harry Brett)
By Leigh DuPuy
With the approach of spring, construction of the new 331,000 square-foot Campus Center proceeds easily ahead of schedule. The steel frame, which has been under construction since December 2001, will be completed in early May. Those walking around the university may have noticed the obvious signs of progress, among them the new roof decking now in place, the frame of a new catwalk from Wheatley Hall to the Campus Center, and the work on the new entry drive.
The campus community will celebrate the completion of the building’s frame with Suffolk Construction and the steelworkers with a topping off ceremony on May 9 at 11:00 a.m., which will include placing the last beam on the building and installing a ceremonial pine tree and American flag. Everyone will get a change to sign the beam that morning from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the North Lot, adjacent to the construction site.
Throughout the summer, construction will focus on the building envelope. The activities will vary from laying brick to placing windows and adding exterior limestone.
Those interested in monitoring additions can visit the campus center web cam site, which features still shots of construction that are updated every two minutes. The site also includes the architect’s rendering of the finished building and a virtual tour of the building’s interior rooms, hallways, and function rooms. These images offer a realistic preview of the campus center’s interiors, views, and facilities. Check out the latest developments: www.umb.edu/about_umb/campus_center/index.html.
Chancellor To Give Keynote Address at National Human Relations Award Dinner
Chancellor Jo Ann Gora will be the keynote speaker at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) National Human Relations Award Dinner. The event, to be held on May 23 at the Copley Plaza Hotel, will honor John Larkin Thompson for his lifelong commitment and service to the Greater Boston community.
Thompson is of counsel to Nutter, McClennan & Fish and was formerly president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.
Thompson requested Gora’s participation in the event, which includes a roster of Boston’s top business and civic leaders.
The AJC holds annual dinners to honor leaders of the business and civic community and has 33 regional offices in major cities worldwide, including Boston.
Musicians Celebrate Spring on the Plaza
The university plaza will be the stage for a “Musical Showcase” on Wednesdays throughout the month of May which highlights artists associated with UMass Boston. This inaugural music concert series is sponsored by the Chancellor’s Office, with the cooperation of the Music Department and Office of University Communications and Community Relations.
Concerts begin at 2:30 p.m. on the following days:
May 1: James McKenna, a UMass Boston musicmajor and folk-singer who has released two albums
May 8: The UMass Boston Chamber Singers
May 15: The Chester Brezniak Quartet, a professional jazz group headed by UMass Boston clarinet instructor Chester Brezniak
May 29: Blown Fuse, a professional fusion group headed by Steve Hunt. Steve has given lecture-presentations to the Jazz Band and others at UMass Boston
Honors Programs Welcomes New Students and Congratulates Seniors on Family Night
The Honors Program celebrated new students and graduating honors students with faculty and families on Family Night, which was held at the University Club on April 10. In addition to a lecture, “Archeology of the Big Dig,” given by Anthropology Professor Stephen Mrozowoski, the event offered an opportunity to introduce new honors students to the community and present the Robert H. Spaethling Prize for distinction in completing the honors program. The prize was shared by two graduating seniors, Ben Day and Benjamin Loring. At the event, Chancellor Gora announced the award of a Fulbright grant to Day to travel and study to the United Kingdom. Day is one of two students to receive the fellowship; Michael Plante is traveling to Japan to study economic philosophy with a Fulbright grant. From left to right: Michael Plante, Benjamin Loring, Chancellor Gora, and Ben Day. (Photo by Harry Brett)
Chancellor Connects at Alumni Executive Breakfasts
Chancellor
Gora met with UMass Boston alumni business executives and leaders
in Greater Boston at a series of breakfasts held throughout the
semester. The events gave alumni a chance to network with each other,
meet and greet the new chancellor, and check out the new Campus
Center via photos and video. The Honorable Sally A. Kelly ‘73,
an associate justice for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, met
the chancellor at the April 3 breakfast. (Photo by Harry Brett)