University Reporter: September, 2002
Also in this Issue:
Shaw’s Pro League Summers at UMass Boston
University Plans Day-Long Activities to Commemorate September 11
The Fifth Annual Boston Folk Festival: September 21 and 22
Joiner Center Holds 11th Annual Vietnam Institute; Plans 20th Anniversary Celebration
Local Kids Become Courageous Sailors
General Education Program Debuts for Fall 2002 Semester
Chancellor Gora’s Inauguration: A Celebration of UMass Boston
Ever
wish you could don a hard hat and tour the Campus Center site? How
about taking a greenhouse tour or getting the official scoop on
those Arts on the Point sculptures located throughout campus? Maybe
you’d just like a free scoop of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream
to go with a fun outdoor concert. These experiences and more are
included in the lineup of events planned to celebrate the inauguration
of Jo Ann Gora as sixth chancellor of UMass Boston.
At last September’s convocation, Chancellor Gora introduced herself to the campus community and outlined her plans to make UMass Boston "the best urban university this country has ever seen," with physical improvements, expanded use of technology, a strengthened curriculum, greater roles for the centers and institutes, and closer integration with the community.
Local Kids Become Courageous Sailors
Kids from the Colonel Marr Boys and Girls Club were all smiles
before their sail onto Dorchester Bay. They were among the many
from the Colonel Marr and the South Boston Boys and Girls Clubs
who participated in UMass Boston’s community day with Courageous
Sailing Center (CSC) on August 14. The community day is part of
a larger collaboration between CSC and the university. For three
years, the Divisions of Marine Operations and University Communications
and Community Relations have partnered with CSC to bring local kids
from Dorchester, Mattapan, South Boston, and Boston to the university
to teach them the basics of sailing.
For two weeks in August, the young sailors master sailing terminology and safety rules, and learn how to hoist the sails of a Rhodes 19 sailboat and steer around the harbor. "So many of the major community sailing programs are in downtown Boston. The kids really enjoy coming to this area and are surprised to learn and discover that there’s so much great sailing in Dorchester Bay," said Chris Sweeney, director of marine operations. He hopes to expand the program to three weeks next summer.
(Photo by Harry Brett)
Shaw’s Pro League Summers at UMass Boston
For one week in July, the Shaw’s Pro Summer League returned
to UMass Boston once again, offering basketball fans the chance
to see their favorite NBA teams in the intimate setting of the Clark
Athletic Center. The weeklong professional basketball exhibition
series featured ten NBA teams: the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics,
Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, New York
Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, and
Washington Wizards. They played a total of 30 games from July 15
through 21.
This is the fourth consecutive year the Boston Celtics have hosted the games at UMass Boston. Related activities included the "fandemonium," a free fan festival with outdoor basketball games and exhibitions open daily on the university campus. As in previous years, UMass Boston gave away over 10,000 tickets to community and youth groups to attend the games and enjoy the festivities.
Image: Top draft players fight for the ball during an exhibition game at the Clark Athletic Center. (Photo by Harry Brett)
University Plans Day-Long Activities to Commemorate September 11
By Jeanne Wallace-Buckley
The Joiner Center will bring the "Pentagon Quilts" collection for display at the Healey Library, 5th floor, from September 16 through 20. The quilts are part of a collection given spontaneously as gifts in the aftermath of September 11. Contact 7- 5850 for more information.Protestant campus minister Adrienne Berry-Burton recalls the fear of not knowing where her son was in Manhattan on September 11, the urge to collect and bring her daughter home, and the relief she felt when she heard her son was fine.
Dean of Students Stephanie Janey remembers similar emotions running throughout the campus community. "Students just needed to be with their families—to hold them, come together, provide support," she says.
On the first anniversary of September 11, the Student Affairs Office and the Campus Ministry are planning on-campus activities and a Memorial of Hope Service and Reception in the spirit of support.
"We hope that this event will not only commemorate the events of 9/11," says Janey, "but also provide an opportunity to identify and share our strength, and bring us together."
That strength, believes Berry-Burton, comes from who we are as a community. "UMass Boston brings a unique perspective to the dialogue of the event. We are truly an international community—our students represent 82 countries."
The day will begin with a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace" on the plaza at 8:45 a.m., followed by a procession and a campus-wide moment of silence. On a "Wall of Remembrance" banner in Ryan Lounge, members of the university community will be able to record their thoughts, feelings, prayers, and poems. The events will also include a faculty panel discussion, a video, and the Memorial of Hope Service and Reception in the Ryan Lounge at 2:30 p.m. Ongoing support will be available throughout the day in the university chapel, counseling center, and health services center.
"The key is to provide a place to commemorate and talk about the event," said Maggie Cahill, Catholic campus minister. "And articulate our hopes for the future."
A complete listing of events is available online at www.umb.edu/memorial. For more information contact Campus Ministry at 617-287-5839.
The Fifth Annual Boston Folk Festival: September 21 and 22
By Anne-Marie Kent
Imagine:
it’s a lazy September day at UMass Boston. You’re outside,
lounging under the autumn sky, surrounded by a fun-loving crowd
of music fans—all of you enjoying live blues music. A spunky
bluegrass performer comes on next, followed by a zydeco band so
good you want to dance. Later on, the salt air draws you down to
the Fox Point Pavilion dock, where you board a Boston Harbor cruise
with even more live music.
This scenario, however fantastic, could become a reality at the Boston Folk Festival. Sponsored by WUMB Folk Radio, the festival takes place over two days – September 21 and 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Now in its fifth year, the festival offers two large outdoor stages, an indoor coffeehouse stage, a family stage—and yes, a floating, harbor-cruising stage as well. There are also craft sellers, dance workshops, kids’ activities, and a wide range of food vendors offering many vegetarian and ethnic options.
As always, the festival will feature a diverse music mix, including blues, bluegrass, traditional and cutting-edge folk, and zydeco. Top artists such as Nanci Griffith, Richard Thompson, Iris DeMent, The Waifs, CJ Chenier, Patty Larkin, Cephas & Wiggins, Utah Phillips, and many others are scheduled to play.
A record number of advance tickets already have been sold this year, which Pat Monteith, WUMB station manager, attributes to the stellar line-up. "We expect this year’s Boston Folk Festival to be the biggest and best ever," she says. "The campus gets an opportunity to play host to an outstanding and electrifying weekend event."
Artist lineups and additional event information can be found on www.bostonfolkfestival.org. Tickets are available on line, or by phone at 617-287-6900.
Tickets can be purchased for $50 for a two-day pass, $30 for a one-day pass, and $10 for children ages six through 14 for one or two days. Children under six are admitted free. Members of the UMass Boston community receive a $5 discount off of all ticket prices when they purchase them at the WUMB studios in the lower level of the Healey Library.
Joiner Center Holds 11th Annual Vietnam Institute; Plans 20th Anniversary Celebration
By Paul Atwood
For its eleventh year, the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences hosted a series of workshops on teaching aspects of the war in Vietnam. Thirty-five regional high school teachers participated in the program, which was held from June 25 through 27 at UMass Boston. As the nation confronts the "war on terror," the institute focused on what veterans had to say about the many costs and consequences of war.
Institute forums featured authors, teachers, and film-makers. Howard Zinn, longtime peace activist and a highly decorated veteran of World War II, spoke to an overflowing room on his view that even war conducted in the name of justice or humanitarianism has overwhelmingly negative consequences. Gerold Nicosia, author of Home To War: Vietnam Veterans After Vietnam, spoke on veterans’ difficulties in telling the public about the realities of war and integrating back into a largely indifferent society. Christian Appy read passages from his work Working Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, in which he interviews people from all sides of the Vietnam War.
John Fitzgerald, head of the Social Studies Department at Longmeadow High School, provided hands-on materials for the institute in the form of his book The Vietnam War: A History in Documents. Rounding off the institute was Professor Karen Turner of the College of the Holy Cross, who showed a film in progress about women soldiers of North Vietnam who constructed and maintained the Ho Chi Minh Trail throughout the war.
For over twenty years, the Joiner Center has provided educational and other services to veterans; conducted research and policy recommendations on issues relating to veterans; and encouraging teaching and scholarship on the Vietnam War and social consequences. The center will be celebrating its anniversary on October 25 at the John F. Kennedy Library. The program will include remarks by Chancellor Gora, keynote speaker Senator John Kerry, Senator Ted Kennedy, Wainwright Bank President Robert Glassman, and former State Street CEO Marshall Carter. Members of the Joiner family will also be present.
Campus Center Progress
By Leigh DuPuy
Through
the dog days of summer, Suffolk Construction has been hard at work
framing the exterior of the new, 331,000-square-foot Campus Center.
With the steel structure completed in May, workers have moved on
to such tasks as installing roof decking, laying brick, and adding
studs for exterior walls. These projects are part of the next construction
phase to create an "envelope" for the building.
According to Stephan Chait, project manager and assistant vice chancellor for Administration and Finance, construction on the new facility is now about 40 percent complete and remains on-budget and on schedule. The Campus Center has a projected completion date of December 2003.
Those interested in getting a closer look at the progress can view activities on-line at www.umb.edu/about_umb/campus_center. The site features a Campus Center web cam that updates the site every two minutes with the latest construction photos.
The site also includes the architect’s rendering of the finished building and a virtual tour of some of the building’s interior rooms, hallways, and function rooms. By clicking on links to various areas such as the entry lobby, atriums, student and university dinning halls, visitors can look at three different previews of each area and its location in the overall scheme of the Campus Center. Those who want "live" shots of the action can always take a stroll down the Wheatley Hall catwalk to watch construction unfold.
Image: The Campus Center, as seen here on August 5, is taking shape and begins to look more and more like the architectural rendering of the finished building. (Photo by Harry Brett)
Campus "Town Meetings"
To Discuss Feasibility Study for Residential HousingOpen meeting
Hear results of the feasibility study and share your ideas and support on residential housing.
Monday, September 9
2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 10
1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
McCormack Hall, Ryan Lounge, 3rd Floor
A copy of the draft report of the feasibility study is available in the Healey Library and in all deans’ and vice chancellors’ offices.
General Education Program Debuts for Fall 2002 Semester
By Anne-Marie Kent
Each fall, new students invariably get lost looking for classrooms in Wheatley Hall, searching for books in the stacks of the Healey Library, and hunting down cars parked in the university garage. Getting oriented can be a truly disorienting experience.
This fall, all UMass Boston students run the risk of feeling a bit lost as they learn about this year’s full implementation of the General Education program, a major change in the undergraduate curriculum requirements. The good news is that there is plenty of help for students who have questions and plenty of good reason for the changes being made.
"The capabilities taught in the new General Education curriculum—including critical reading and thinking, clear writing, academic self-assessment, collaborative learning, information and technology literacy, and oral presentation—will teach our students how to be effective lifelong learners, " says John Applebee, director of the University Advising Center. "Our students will be better prepared to effectively meet the evolving demands of the modern workplace. "
Janet Wagner, associate dean of the College of Management and chair of the Provost’s General Education Implementation Committee, explains the rationale for the new curriculum, "The faculty really wanted a change in the curriculum to make sure students experience their learning here as an integrated set of experiences. As faculty, we want to focus our teaching efforts on a well-defined set of capabilities that we think all students need in order to be educated people."
Two years ago, the first experiences in the General Education Program were implemented. Many students should now be familiar with the first-year seminars, and recently matriculating CAS students also should be familiar with the new "quantitative reasoning" courses, and the intermediate seminars, which are already in place. This fall’s major changes concern the distribution requirements and capstone experiences in the majors for most students. Students also are likely to find that several of their classes have been revamped to address the larger general education objectives
Because requirements vary by college, as well as by the semester of student matriculation, the Fall 2002 Course Schedule Booklet outlines many requirements in detail. Additionally, in the course listings section, those courses that meet the new distribution requirements have been identified with two letter codes in the schedule book, making them much easier to find.
Students who have questions are encouraged to contact their advisor, either in their department or in the Advising Center.