February 2003

Index for February 4, 2003

Office of Mission and Identity sponsors globalization workshop

By Barbara D. Kiernan, Director of University Publications

Dr. Paul Lakeland, professor of religious studies, spent seven months planning for it. Dr. Robbin Crabtree, associate professor of communication, spent between four and six hours a day reading to get ready for it. And James Bowler, S.J., facilitator of Catholic and Jesuit mission and identity, spent the resulting week amazed and impressed by the level of communication taking place among the 15 participants, much of it characterized by attentive listening to each others' perspectives.

"It" was a seminar on globalization, held Jan. 6 to 10, in which faculty members from diverse fields came together to challenge and learn from each other. The brainchild of Dr. Lakeland, this intellectually stimulating week had its roots in two of his observations: first, that globalization is an all-encompassing phenomenon with implications in every field of study; and second, that delving into the Jesuit and Catholic "take" on the issue could provide a concrete way to explore central mission and identity issues from a variety of perspectives.

Simply put, globalization refers to the shrinking of national, economic, and cultural boundaries made possible by enhanced transportation and communication technologies. "The culture of the West has begun to permeate the world," observes Fr. Bowler, "so that it's now possible to find a McDonald's in a third world barrio. While globalization is inevitable, our Catholic and Jesuit tradition requires us to ask what it's doing to the poor."

To delve into those and other issues, prior to the seminar faculty read the Vatican II document, The Church in the Modern World and three documents of the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus - on justice, culture, and interreligious dialogue. They also read Thomas L. Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree, an overview of the system that is transforming the world; Empire by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, a neo-Marxist work that compares globalization to the historical notion of Empire that knows no limits or boundaries; and Daniel Bell Jr.'s Liberation Theology After the End of History.

"The high intensity of our conversations and the dialogue across disciplines was eye-opening and energizing," says Dr. Crabtree, who attended the seminar because her field - communication - is at the heart of the phenomenon, and she wanted to expand her understanding of other forces propelling it. "The process of globalization is enabled by communication technologies and is accomplished through them; communication media produce global culture and are the means through which globalization is resisted," she says. "Hearing in-depth from the two economists in our group fleshed out my understanding of the economic forces at work. Listening to our poet and dramatist got to the heart of things in a different way. And the business faculty there were good, smart people who see things much more broadly and who are more concerned with justice issues than I had imagined."

In addressing the issues surrounding the world's growing cultural homogeneity, faculty participants expanded their understanding by looking through each others' lenses. Where economists may have seen globalization as an economic problem, others came in viewing it as a politically driven, communication-dependent, or market-fueled phenomenon.

"The week was intellectually invigorating," says Dr. Crabtree, "and has a legacy far greater than the time and involvement. We left feeling deeply connected to each other, with a sense of community among colleagues across disciplines. We will surely draw upon each other as resources in our teaching."

That suits project creator Dr. Lakeland just fine. "I was getting tired of talking about mission and identity in the abstract," he confesses. "I wanted to find an issue that has implications for what we claim as central to Fairfield's identity. Globalization was a topic with significant interdisciplinary interest, a human phenomenon created by human choices. There's good within it, but educated people need to live with it responsibly. That involves reflecting on the ethical components that the Catholic and Jesuit traditions speak to in documents that address what it means to be truly human. It is incumbent on Catholic intellectual communities to counter the anti-human impact of global capitalism."

Faculty participants:

• Dr. Arthur Anderson, professor of sociology and anthropology
• James Bowler, S.J., facilitator of Catholic and Jesuit mission and identity
• Dr. Kim Bridgford, professor of English
• Dr. Pat Calderwood, assistant professor of education
• Dr. J. Michael Cavanaugh, associate professor of management
• Dr. Robbin Crabtree, associate professor and chair of communication
• Dr. Edward Dew, professor of politics
• Dr. Harold Forsythe, assistant professor of history
• Dr. Ben Halm, associate professor of English
• Dr. James He, associate professor of information systems and operations management
• Dr. Katherine Kidd, director of international studies
• Dr. Paul Lakeland, professor and chair of religious studies
• Dr. Philip Lane, associate professor and chair of economics
• Dr. Mark LeClair, associate professor of economics
• Dr. Edna Wilson, dean of University College

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Snowcapped
Several snowstorms blanketed campus last month, crowning Bellarmine Hall's peaks.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Campaign's National Alumni Phase reaches halfway mark

By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor

Now midway through the National Alumni Phase of Our Promise: The Campaign for Fairfield University, the campaign class chairs are increasing their efforts to help the University reach its $125 million goal by the June 2004 deadline.

The National Alumni Phase, which began in July 2001, is a three-year program led by Board of Trustees members Joseph Berardino '71 and Rosellen Walsh Schnurr '74, P'04. During this stage, Fairfield's 35,000-plus alumni are being contacted by class chairs to contribute toward the campaign's final $10 million. This is the first time in Fairfield's history that a unified effort has been made to encourage every graduate to participate in a capital campaign. Thanks to generous gifts in the early stages, more than $97 million was raised just halfway through the campaign timetable and with two years remaining in the Alumni Phase. In 2002, the Board of Trustees approved a $25 million increase to raise the goal to $125 million, toward which, to date, $115 million has been committed.

Notes University President Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., "Successful campaigns rely heavily on their ability to raise large gifts. We are extremely fortunate to have raised 22 gifts of one million or more thus far. Though large gifts are the cornerstone of any campaign, a true measure of success will be our ability to increase alumni participation during the Alumni Phase. Fairfield University will go as far as its alumni are willing to take it."

"We hope this will attract people who have not given before and who will be inspired by what Our Promise represents to support it - and the Annual Fund, as well - for many years to come," says Berardino.

"We want to expand the number of individuals who are giving to Fairfield," adds Walsh Schnurr. "We also hope to identify additional alumni who have the potential to become future leaders of this University, both in a volunteer capacity and philanthropically."

Campaign class chair Linda (Leonard) Pilato '78 says she's thrilled to be involved with the National Alumni Phase. "We're giving Fairfield alumni the chance to do their part because," she says, "taken together, our gifts - no matter what size - can have a real impact."

That impact is reflected in the numerous building renovations across campus since the campaign began. The success of Our Promise: The Campaign for Fairfield University, combined with funding raised through bond issues, has enhanced the DiMenna-Nyselius Library, the John A. Barone Campus Center, the Rudolph A. Bannow Science Center, and has built the Apartment Village. A $25 million campaign gift by Charles and Helen Dolan funded the acquisition and renovation of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business and an endowment to support student aid, technology, and endowed chairs. Additional gifts assisted in costs associated with physical plant development, new scholarships, academics, and initiatives to support the University's Jesuit and Catholic identity.

Marable proposes nation's new moral assignment

By Jennifer K. Covino, Publications Writer

America urgently needs a "new moral assignment," a multi-racial commitment to create true equality for African-Americans in employment, education, healthcare, and other areas, said Dr. Manning Marable, black historian and author, as he delivered Fairfield University's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Relations Convocation lecture on Jan. 23.

A professor at Columbia University and the founder of its Malcolm X Project and Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Dr. Marable used history to examine the state of race relations a generation after Dr. King's assassination. "If Martin were here today, what would he have to say about the inequalities of social justice that plague our own times?" he asked.

According to Dr. Marable, it once seemed that the dream about which Dr. King spoke - and poet Langston Hughes wrote - would not be deferred: Hundreds of thousands marched on Washington, D.C.; millions read Letter from Birmingham Jail; and in 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize, giving America's struggle with inequality an international audience.

But when segregation was outlawed, the struggle did not end. According to Dr. Marable, Dr. King realized that freedom was more than drinking a cup of coffee at a lunchroom counter or sitting at the front of the bus; it was the elimination of social deficits that separated blacks and whites. The dream deferred, said Dr. Marable, was America's failure to address issues such as poverty, lack of health care, and a living wage for blacks. "Like Malcolm X before him, Dr. King began to move from a civil rights agenda to a human rights agenda," he added.

Dr. Marable believes the legacy of Jim Crow laws is still with us today, fueled by white prejudice, power, and privilege. Blacks generally earn less than whites, are denied home loans twice as often, and are the last hired and first fired during recessions, he said. Blacks are less likely to have health insurance; half of all black males do not live long enough to receive Medicare benefits; and blacks are arrested and incarcerated for drug-related offenses more often than white offenders.

He added that America's new moral assignment is to find ways to guarantee true equality in housing, jobs, and education. Just as black and white leaders partnered to end slavery in the 1860s and Jim Crow segregation a century later, a new generation must take its turn. "Historic responsibility does not end when each generation leaves the scene," he said. "We can't overcome racial inequality by forgetting the injustices of the past."

Prior to Dr. Marable's speech, University President Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. presented him with the John LaFarge, S.J. Award, named for the Jesuit priest who established the Catholic Interracial Council and was a spokesperson for African-American human rights.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Grant funds study of cognitive decline in older adults

By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations

Can repeated attempts to remember make it more likely you will "remember" something that didn't happen?

Yes, says Dr. Linda A. Henkel. An assistant professor of psychology, Dr. Henkel will compare this phenomenon in older adults versus younger adults with funding from a $129,424 Academic Research Enhancement Award. "Older adults show a very high tendency to think that they saw something that they actually didn't see," says Dr. Henkel.

Specifically, Dr. Henkel will seek to determine the impact of repeated attempts at recollection on true and false memories; examine the cognitive process included in successful and distorted memories; and explore factors that can minimize age-related declines in memory. Much of the study will consist of memory tests that adults of varying age groups will take.

Dr. Henkel hopes to better understand which changes in the brain produce cognitive declines. "Cognitive decline is a serious problem that many older adults face. It can greatly affect their well-being and quality of life," she says. The project's findings may benefit older adults by providing insights into some causes and remedies of age-related memory declines.

The AREA grant is intended to fund projects that enhance opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research as part of their studies. Dr. Henkel will rely on a team of student research assistants to help administer the memory tests to subjects. Dr. Marcia K. Johnson, professor of psychology at Yale University, will act as a design and statistical analyses consultant in the study.

"Professor Henkel's work is not just important for the obvious reasons, but for our evolving times, as well," says Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "As we live to older and older ages, the integrity and gift of human memory must be understood better and, as much as possible, preserved. We are proud of Professor Henkel's continuing contribution to this area of cognitive knowledge."

Faculty expert guide now on Web

Did you know that Fairfield University has specialists in subjects from accounting to zoology? If an expert is what you're looking for, Fairfield's faculty expert guide on the Web is the place to find one. The page was designed to give outside media easy access to some of the University's great minds.

Visitors to the Web page can view faculty alphabetically or by expertise - which includes topics such as Braille, constitutional law, Shakespeare, humor, polling, the Holocaust, workplace anger, and the Bible. A click on the professor's name provides an individual's credentials, additional subjects of expertise, and contact information.

Dr. Javier Campos, associate professor of modern languages and literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences, received an award for his poem, Cats. He earned first prize in the prestigious international award contest, Juan Rulfo 2002, from Radio France and Radio H.J.C.K of Colombia. This month, the poem will be posted on www.literateworld.com, along with a biography of Dr. Campos.

In November, Dr. Robbin Crabtree, chair and associate professor of communication in the College of Arts and Sciences, presented "Community Activism and Volunteerism: Reconceptualizing the Role of the Communication Consultant" at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association in New Orleans. As an NCA panel chair, she helped select the best papers on youth and the mass media to be presented at the conference. In addition, she was elected chair of the liaison committee in the feminist and women's studies division. The committee develops alliances and programs with other NCA divisions.

While in New Orleans, Dr. Crabtree represented Fairfield University at a conference on service learning sponsored by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

In November, Dr. Edward Deak, professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences, released his forecast of Connecticut's economic outlook for the New England Economic Project. In December, he was quoted on the unemployment rate, President Bush's hopes to reboot the economy, the holiday shopping outlook, and other topics by CNNMoney, the "Connecticut" section of The New York Times, the Connecticut Post, the Hartford Courant, and the Fairfield County Business Journal. In addition, the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., interviewed him for a story on the economic plans of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Jeanne Di Muzio, director of wellness and prevention in counseling services, received an "Above and Beyond" award from the Bridgeport-based Regional Youth/Adult Substance Abuse Project. The honor, bestowed in November, recognizes volunteer commitment and service in 2002.

Beginning in December, Dr. Daniel Geller, chair of the psychology and special education departments in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, delivered a four-part forum at the Darien YMCA for families with children with special needs.

In November, Dr. Joy Gordon, associate professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, presented three lectures. At Brown University's Faculty Seminar in the Ethics of Coercion, she presented "Unilateralism, the Rule of Law, and the Dilemma of a Hyperpower: The Role of the U.S. in the Iraq Sanctions Regime"; at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Relations, she presented "Institutional Transparency and the Problem of Human Rights"; and at Bryant College, she presented "A Different Kind of War: Economic Sanctions as Weapons of Mass Destruction."

At Yale University in October, Dr. Gordon was a member of a panel discussing United States-Iraq relations and international law.

Interest in Dr. Gordon's article on U.S. economic sanctions that appeared in the November issue of Harper's magazine spurred a number of interviews and mentions, including with Brian Lehrer at WNYC in New York; Voice of America; CNBC-Asia; KPFK in Los Angeles; KPFA (Berkeley); KBOO (Portland, Ore.); KPFT in Houston (a human rights show sponsored by Amnesty International); Antena3tv, a Spanish news network; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; The Nation (Alexander Cockburn's column); La Presse (Montreal), Toronto Star, Amsterdam News,and a number of NPR stations around the country.

Dr. Donald Greenberg, associate professor of politics in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed by News 12 Connecticut about the controversy surrounding President Bush's challenge to the University of Michigan's admission policies that seek diversity.

Dr. Sheila Grossman, professor in the School of Nursing, has been selected to participate in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Genetics Program for nursing faculty. The Web-based institute runs January through May.

Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president and professor of visual and performing arts in the College of Arts and Sciences, provided musical accompaniment at a November fundraising event for the Fairfield Chapter of Hadassah. Proceeds benefited the emergency medical trauma center at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

In November, Lawrence Kazura, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed by the Greenwich Time for an article on Puritan thought among the early settlers in Greenwich.

Prof. Kazura explained that Puritan thought was based on the theology of the 16th-century reformer John Calvin who believed in the doctrine of predestination.

In November, Dr. Katherine Kidd, director of the international studies program, spoke to the Y's Women at the Westport-Weston YMCA on "Thinking About War - Just-War Ethics and the War on Terrorism." In December, she was quoted in a Stamford Advocate story about Latin American immigrants who decide not to return to their homelands after experiencing the freedoms of America.

Dr. Paul Lakeland, chair of the religious studies department in the College of Arts and Sciences and an expert on Church laity and leadership, was quoted extensively in the national media in articles prompted by the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston. In December, his comments for a front-page New York Times article landed in the San Jose Mercury News, The Oregonian, Miami Herald, Burlington Free Press, Tampa Tribune, Austin American-Statesman, and Charlotte Observer, among other papers. He was also interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer (twice), the Dallas Morning News, the Newark Star-Ledger, the Waterbury Republican-American, and the Hartford Courant. His viewpoints were carried by the Houston Chronicle, the St. Petersburg Times, Newhouse News Service, and Religion News Service. Dr. Lakeland also did a lengthy interview on the laity in the Church with Cathleen Marple on WSTC/WNLK radio, and two half-hour interviews for ABC radio's Thoughts of the Week, to be aired Feb. 9 and 16 at various ABC affiliates, as well as on www.spirituality.org.

Dr. Philip Lane, associate professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in a December Connecticut Post article about the nation's record-high unemployment rate.

Cynthia Scudder of WEZN radio interviewed Dr. Jean Lange, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, on her research into the language barriers and cultural differences that have caused Hispanic-Americans to be underrepresented in health care research. The program aired in January.

In December, Dr. Nick Laopodis, associate professor of finance in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, published "Greek Exchange Rate Behavior Following German and U.S. Monetary Policy Shifts" in Global Business & Economics Review. In January, he published two more papers: "Stock Market and Exchange Rate Interactions: Evidence from a Small, Open Economy" in Managerial Finance; and "Currency Substitution and Monetary Union: Evidence from Three European Countries" in Ekonomia.

His paper, "The Information Content of the Eurodrachma Forward Premia and Forecast Errors on Greek Exchange Rate Volatility," is in the winter edition of the International Journal of Finance.

Dr. R. James Long, chair and professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, was elected vice president of the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy in December. He will assume the presidency in 2004.

In November, he presented "Gaunilon Redivivus: The Second Opponent to Anselm's Proslogion Argument for the Existence of God" at the Boston Colloquium in Medieval Philosophy at Boston College. In addition, he presented "Dante's Intuition: the Thomism of St. Francis of Assisi" at the international conference on Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies at Villanova University in September. His article, "The Significance of Richard Fishacre's Sentences - Commentary" appeared in the 2002 edition of Bochumer Philosophisches Jahrbuch fur Antike und Mittelalter, vol. 6.

Dr. Lisa Newton, professor of philosophy and director of the program in applied ethics in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in a December Connecticut Post article about a Columbia University partnership that is enabling Fairfield University students to study at Biosphere 2, the three-acre, glass-domed laboratory in Arizona.

Dr. Newton also discussed cloning on News 12 Connecticut and WSTC/WNLK radio.

Dr. John Orman, professor of politics in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in a December Connecticut Post article about public apologies and denials from public officials such as Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim.

Also in December, Dr. Orman was interviewed by Jeanne Meserve on CNN's Inside Politics. Dr. Orman discussed celebrity politics - the subject of his latest book - co-authored with Brown University Professor Darrell West.

After Sen. Joseph Lieberman announced his bid for the U.S. presidency on Jan. 13, Dr. Orman was interviewed by USA Today, Southam News Services of Canada, Cathleen Marple on WSTC/WNLK radio in Stamford/Norwalk, Jim Thompson of WGCH radio in Greenwich, Paul Pacelli of WELI in New Haven, and News 12 Connecticut.

Dr. Norm Solomon, dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, and Fredric Wheeler, associate vice president for development, were quoted in a Bloomberg news story in December about how universities responded when benefactors with named buildings became embroiled in corporate scandals. The story ran in the Stamford Advocate, the Providence Journal, and the International Herald Tribune in Paris. Wheeler was also quoted in a Connecticut Post feature on the Bridgeport Regional Business Council's annual dinner and awards in December.

Also in December, Dr. Solomon commented on the implications of a transit strike that was threatened in New York City. He was interviewed by the Connecticut Post, Norwalk Hour, WSHU, WICC, and WSTC/WNLK radio.

In December, Dr. Kurt Schlichting, professor of sociology and anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, signed copies of his book, Grand Central Terminal: Railroad, Engineering and Architecture in New York City, at the New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show and at the Fairfield Historical Society's Holiday Open House.

Dr. Debra M. Strauss, visiting assistant professor of business law in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, published Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships. The book, published in the fall, is being hailed as the definitive source in the field.

Brian Torff, associate professor of music in the College of Arts and Sciences, was featured in a concert review article in the November issue of The Spectrum, following his cross-country tour, "A Tribute to Stephane Grappelli."

Dr. Michael Tucker, professor of finance in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, was interviewed in January by Mike Robbins for the MSN website on the subject of gold and oil and what is affecting their prices.

In January, Dr. Meredith Wallace, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, received an American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for her book, Prostate Cancer: Nursing Assessment, Management and Care. The journal bestows book awards each year in a number of categories.

Dr. Celia Townsend Wells, associate professor emerita of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, has published Brood Bitch: Reflections on Motherhood, her ruminations on raising her daughter and a litter of motherless Welsh corgis.

In October, Dr. Edna Farace Wilson, dean of University College, served on a regional accreditation team for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The team visited Emmanuel College in Boston. In November, Dr. Wilson and Dr. Raymond Campbell, associate dean of the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University, jointly presented at the 64th annual meeting of the Association for Continuing Higher Education in Birmingham, Ala.

5 years
Loretta Sherwood

Births
David Ryan-Soderlund, assistant director of student support services, daughter - Ava Rita, born Jan. 3.

Condolences
Eugene C. Brissette, S.J., retired special assistant to Fairfield Prep faculty, died Dec. 17.
Jeannette Summa, mother-in-law of Ron Bruner of the Media Center, died Dec. 22.
Marye Southworth, wife of Robert Southworth, retired, died Jan. 13.
Cecilia J. Doyle, mother of Suzanne MacAvoy, professor of nursing, died Jan. 13.
Manya Grossman, mother of Dr. Orin Grossman, academic vice president, died Jan. 25.

Rev. Donald D. Lynch, S.J., a retired professor of English who joined the Fairfield University faculty in 1962, died on Jan. 25.
    A Shakespeare enthusiast, Fr. Lynch could immerse himself in the Bard's 16th-century world without losing sight of modern times. He urged students to become familiar with the personal computer, a new tool he believed would revolutionize the academic and business worlds. He had, as one newspaper account described it, an unusual "love for blank verse and hard disk." In 1984, Fr. Lynch took a year's sabbatical, enrolled in computing courses, and developed his own software for teaching Othello, Hamlet, and other great works. "Shakespeare's Library" used charts, graphs, and color-coding to depict the relationships between 37 plays and their characters. The software was picked up by a learning technology company and marketed to high schools across the country.
    In 1986, Fr. Lynch was awarded the Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award. In 1988, he was named an honorary member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society. However, the crowning moment of his teaching years, he once indicated, was moderating the Fairfield team in the General Electric College Bowl, which was televised nationally on NBC. A fervent New York Yankees fan, he played varsity baseball at Fairfield Preparatory School, where he was an honor roll student and a member of the first four-year class.
    Fr. Lynch earned his A.B. and M.A. degrees in philosophy from Boston College, an M.A. in English from Fordham University, and a licentiate in sacred theology from Weston College. Previously, he taught at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine.

New Employees
Martin Dunleavy - craft mechanic, carpentry
Donald Elwell - painter
Martha Milcarek - assistant vice president for public relations
Carolyn Monachelli - program assistant, University College

Walter Petry: Teaching the vision

By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, Editor

Walter Petry's Canisius office is a treasure-trove of Latin American artifacts illustrating the region's varied political struggles and cultures. Piled from floor to ceiling and lining the putty-colored walls is his collection of diverse publications and other items from Cuba and Nicaragua, exhibiting the ideology, goals, and achievements of the two country's revolutions - which he wholeheartedly supports. Reflecting this assistant professor of history's passion for learning, teaching, and advocating issues of social justice, these objects narrate the intricate story behind his 46-year career at Fairfield University.

Last month, Petry added another jewel to his collection - a 2003 Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Award, granted to him by Fairfield University's Human Relations Committee as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Human Relations Celebration. Each year, the honor is bestowed to a University and community member who have made a commitment to "instill and inspire the teaching and ideals of Dr. King in today's youth."

In recent years, Petry has brought Dr. King's teachings to life through his addressing groups of middle school students. He's asked them to consider what Dr. King would preach today, if he were alive, and has discussed how Dr. King's religious background may have affected his delivery and messages throughout the 1960s. "When I teach, I am constantly looking at the morality of a situation. I see what motivations the historical figure may have had," says Petry. "I try to get students to think critically about history, to examine the orator's or writer's background - whether it's from a political perspective or religious tradition - and then consider the message conveyed."

Speaking of perspective, Petry's is highly valued among his peers and colleagues - he is among the first called when a panel is assembled to provide an interpretation of a news event - whether local, national, or global. Although he was the first - and only - black professor to teach at Fairfield University from 1957 through the first few decades of his career here, he's thankful that he's never been asked to "speak for" all African-Americans. "I am not coming from a black perspective; I am coming from an American perspective," he says. "I believe in the ideals that the Constitution puts forth." Like Dr. King, Petry, too, is an advocate of the laborer, the poor, and the slave, and in his courses, champions the points of view of the oppressed or exploited sectors of the population.

Although now known for his expertise in Latin American history, politics, and race relations, Petry was originally trained in European history. It wasn't until he began traveling extensively to the area in the 1970s and 1980s - including several visits to Cuba and a sabbatical in Nicaragua - that he developed a passion for the region, its people, and their struggles.

Elizabeth Hohl, adjunct professor of history, nominated her colleague for the Vision Award. "Walter exerts an enormous influence on all of us as a colleague, a teacher, an advocate for social justice. He personifies the spirit of this award by expanding our knowledge and promoting empowerment," she said at the awards ceremony. "His standards are high; he expects the best of himself and of those with whom he works." She added that his commitment to students is "deep and boundless." "There is neither a more patient tutor not a more loyal mentor."

That certainly rings true with the scores of alumni who still remember the rigors of his courses - from his weekly "orientations" to occasionally denting a wastebasket or hurling chalk across the room. But they also recognize his dedication to his craft as well as to his pupils. "Walter Petry respects his students. He listens to their opinions," wrote Peggy Marie Morris '81 in a 1982 Fairfield Now article about the regard she holds for her former professor, despite his academic demands and classroom outbursts. Even University President Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., has commented on Petry's unique teaching style. In a 1997 reunion address to the Class of 1962, he delighted alumni with quotes from their own yearbook, including one that referred to the "roaring Walter Petry." "Trust me," Fr. Kelley added, "35 years later, he's still roaring."

Petry's list of accomplishments and committees reads like an index of major events in higher education: he's been member of the planning committee for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance Committee since its inception; a pioneer in establishing the Latin American and Black studies programs; and an advisor and member of countless diversity and multicultural committees and groups over the years, including Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism, Upward Bound, and Umoja. His teaching and support of all peoples reflect Dr. King's ideals and vision for humanity.

In his acceptance speech at the Vision Awards dinner, Petry took his opportunity at the microphone to do what he enjoys most: teach. In his usual classroom style, he informed the audience of faculty and students about the situation in the Middle East and encouraged everyone to think critically about the possibility of the United States going to war against Iraq.

But taking a stand is nothing unusual for this long-time supporter of the common good.

"Walter Petry's fearlessness and passion for social justice manifest themselves in myriad ways. He has posted signs, brought speakers to campus, marched in protest, and stepped up to the microphone to make the difficult comment or issue a challenge," added Hohl. "His issues reflect an international vision of social justice."

Says Larri Mazon, director of multicultural relations,"I don't know anyone more committed to social justice. When he believes in something, nothing will stop him."

Photo by Bob Winkler

Fairfield University welcomes new assistant VP for public relations

By Jennifer K. Covino, Publications Writer

When she was in junior high, Martha Milcarek kept a scrapbook of advertisements clipped from fashion magazines and The New York Times. Fascinated by the way words were put together, she even penned her own ad for a department store chain. By age 16, she was a columnist for the local newspaper. In later years, she delved into the worlds of politics, journalism, marketing, and publications.

"I knew very early in life what I wanted to do," says Milcarek, who became Fairfield University's assistant vice president for public relations in December. "I think once you get media in your blood, it never leaves you."

Milcarek oversees the University's website as well as the departments of publications, media relations, sports information, and printing and graphic services. She also works closely with Catherine O'Donnell, director of marketing, and will serve on a new institutional marketing committee. The committee's goal is to create a unified identity for Fairfield - a single message that's emphasized and communicated to alumni, donors, prospective students, and outside constituencies.

Milcarek, who also wears the hat of University spokesperson, says she has a knack for anticipating reactions from different groups and distilling potential news stories before they hit the front page. Part of that comes from her own days in the newsroom - her first job after graduating from Southern Illinois University in 1970 was as a reporter for United Press International.

"I want to gain increased visibility for Fairfield in the media and promote our faculty and administrators as media experts," she says. "I think I have a good perspective on what is and what isn't news, and I'm very comfortable talking to reporters."

Milcarek, who grew up in a sleepy Midwestern town, always dreamed of working in the White House. In her 20s, she quit her job and became a campaign volunteer for James Thompson, a U.S. attorney running for governor of Illinois. When Thompson was elected, Milcarek became his assistant press secretary.

Most recently, she was counsel to the president for marketing and communication at The Sage Colleges, where she was instrumental in redesigning the website and creating a unified marketing campaign. The Sage Colleges encompass Russell Sage College for Women in Troy, N.Y.; Sage College of Albany, a coeducational undergraduate school; and Sage Graduate School, which operates on both campuses.

Prior to that position, Milcarek was director of institutional marketing at Loras College, a Catholic institution in Dubuque, Iowa. She's since found comfort in Fairfield's Jesuit environment. "I have found that the presence of a faith community adds to the depth of people's commitment to a place," she says.

On the weekends, you might find Milcarek curled up in her 1800s carriage house in Weston, reading an international spy novel, watching a classic movie, or doting on her dog, Malcolm, an 11-year-old schnauzer-cockapoo mix.

Monday through Friday, she thrives on the "incredible variety" that comes from working in an academic setting - a setting she says has remarkable parallels to her other love: politics. "I look at the University President as my governor and at the heads of the various areas as being like cabinet posts," she says.

Bellarmine Hall may not be the West Wing, but to Milcarek it feels just right.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

University holds semester-long celebration of African-American Art

An exhibit of Civil Rights era photography by James Hinton, which opened last month at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, launched a semester-long celebration of African-American art. The celebration will include a course and public lecture on African-American art by Dr. Diana Mille, director of the Walsh Gallery.

Lecture by contemporary artist Benny Andrews
A lecture by Benny Andrews will take place today, Feb. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in DiMenna-Nyselius Library's Multimedia Room. Andrews will discuss how personal experience shaped the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., informs the artist's own work, and affects the lives of all individuals.

Photography by James Hinton
The provocative works of James Hinton, whose camera captured the public and private sides of the Civil Rights Movement, will be on display in "Images from the 1960s - Photographs by James Hinton" through March 23 at the Walsh Art Gallery. At the opening reception held Jan. 23, Hinton spoke about his experiences in capturing and documenting the images of the politically turbulent decade in U.S. history, which, he said, "really wasn't that long ago."

An award-winning filmmaker, Hinton began his career just as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum and produced an archive of thousands of photographs from that era. His collection includes images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those who walked alongside him, angry crowds gathered beside march routes in the North and South, and cultural figures, such as Mahalia Jackson and Muhammad Ali, who lent their names to the cause.

Most of Hinton's photographs were shot in Chicago and Harlem, but he also chronicled events in Alabama, Mississippi, and California. In addition, his works cover public demonstrations both for and against the Vietnam War.

New course on African-American art
"The Black Experience: African-American Art and Criticism in the Twentieth Century," a new course offered this semester, explores black art and culture in the 20th century and how the art uses black culture as subject and context.

Taught by Dr. Mille, the course traces the development of African-American art from the Civil War through World War I to the emergence of the "New Negro" of the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz Age. It examines the return of black folk imagery in Depression and post-Depression art, the social and political awareness of the Civil Rights era, and the reconsideration of "blackness" explored during the feminist and postmodern decades.

Director's Choice lecture
On Feb. 5, Dr. Mille will present a lecture on African-American art entitled "The Black Experience: African-American Art in the Twentieth Century," in the Walsh Art Gallery. The 12:30 p.m. program is the third of four Director's Choice lectures on selected topics in modern and contemporary art scheduled for the 2002-2003 season.

For the lecture, Dr. Mille will feature Romare Bearden, who is recognized as one of the most creative visual artists of the 20th century. When he wasn't earning his New York University degree, playing semi-professional baseball, or publishing political cartoons, Bearden was working with the Harlem Artists Guild. A lifelong student of art, he is best known for his collages that bring to life scenes from his past in North Carolina, Harlem, and Pittsburgh, as well as a host of literary, musical, and historical references. Incorporating influences from Chinese landscape painting to cubism to the Italian Renaissance, his works hang in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and other important national and international galleries.

For more information, call the Walsh Gallery at ext. 2969.

Dr. Lange's translation aids Spanish-speaking patients

By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations

Language barriers and cultural differences have caused Hispanic Americans, the fastest-growing ethnic population in the United States, to be underrepresented and sometimes misrepresented in health care research, says Dr. Jean Lange, RN, MSN, assistant professor of nursing.

According to Dr. Lange's research, published in the October edition of Research in Nursing & Health, the lack of Spanish-speaking researchers, a lack of Spanish testing instruments, and cultural differences have all contributed to marginalization of Hispanics in healthcare research - and sometimes accidentally biased results.

Dr. Lange has made a step forward in correcting that problem by translating a widely used patient satisfaction survey from English to Spanish - a task that isn't as simple as pulling out a bilingual dictionary. Oftentimes, the wording of questions within a study can be misconstrued by Spanish-speakers because the original English wording may not be meaningful in Spanish. Furthermore, there are many Hispanic cultures in the United States with various language and cultural characteristics.

For example, traditional English response formats, such as "strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree," do not retain their degrees of separation when translated. Such seemingly innocuous linguistic interpretations are actually major problems that skew the Hispanic population's responses, Dr. Lange says.

Dr. Lange dealt with those problems in her Spanish translation of the 15-item LaMonica-Oberst Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Scale, which she tested on 64 Spanish-speaking patients. For example, an original item in the English version read "The nurse gives directions at just the right speed." However, the translation of the line in Spanish she used to convey that idea effectively is: "The nurse gives precise instructions so that I can understand them."

"Nothing is ever perfect with research," says Dr. Lange, noting that her own translated measure still shows some skewing and needs further refinement. "While mine's not perfect, it's the only Spanish instrument out there right now to measure patient satisfaction with nursing care. This is very important because, as a key indicator of quality care, as defined by the Institute of Medicine, many researchers are interested in measuring this variable."

The Hispanic population in the United States is projected to reach 15 percent of the total population by the year 2020, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Health care professionals seeking federal funding find themselves in need of reliable measures of satisfaction for Spanish-speakers because the National Institutes of Health requires that grant applications provide adequate representation of all ethnic and racial groups. This requirement includes groups that may be marginalized due to language, socioeconomic status, or other reasons. Researchers are already turning to Dr. Lange's tool to include Hispanic patients in their studies.

Determining patient satisfaction with their health care experience has become even more crucial in today's cost-conscious environment, and leaving a significant portion of the nation's citizenry out of studies on patient satisfaction is unacceptable, she says.

"The work that Jean is doing has implications for the health care of Hispanics not only in this country but internationally," says Dr. Jeanne M. Novotny, RN, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing. "Jean is one of the top researchers in this field, and her hard work reflects the School of Nursing's overall commitment to research."

Dr. Robin D. Froman, RN, FAAN, associate dean of research in the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, says of Dr. Lange's research: "Jean Lange has provided an excellent model for our new researchers in healthcare. She has taken seriously the federal mandate that we improve representation of all segments of the population in research studies. Jean's work allows Spanish speakers a greater voice in research on satisfaction with health care services. I use her research as an example with my own doctoral students who are preparing to enter the arena of nursing research."

Take advantage of our heart-healthy environment

One clear, crisp morning in early January, as I walked across campus thinking about the work I needed to accomplish by that afternoon, I heard geese calling one another - and suddenly I became aware of the incredible beauty around me: a formation of geese passing where the sun broke through the trees; the ground laced with frost; the quiet movement of the few people around, greeting each other. All of these components created such stunning beauty; I had to smile. The smile reflected my inner sense of calm and made me realize how important our environment is to our health and well-being.

Unless you are lucky enough to work outside, your encounter with the environment may be limited to your walk from the car to the building in which you work. Winter's cold temperatures encourage us to stay indoors, yet there is solid evidence that we need the exercise, the sunlight, and the stimulation that nature provides outdoors to promote health and well-being. For example, depression can be at its worst during the winter months, especially around celebrations like St. Valentine's Day. Exercise and sunlight energize your life and help fight depression. Winter is also the time when weight gain is most common. Obesity and overweight are now considered to be as significant a health risk for heart disease as smoking. So use our beautiful campus as your own exercise facility. Start out at the Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex to build your endurance on a bike or treadmill. Then add short walks on level surfaces. Once you are comfortable at that pace, begin to include some hills. Walk to Bellarmine Hall from the pond, or from the RecPlex to Alumni House.

Pay attention to your indoor environment as well. Organize your work space (that is my next challenge) to make it easier to find what you need; beautify it with a few photographs or a plant. Visit some of the renovated buildings on campus, such as the DiMenna-Nyselius Library, Dolan Commons, and the Bannow North addition for inspiration.

Examine your home environment. Is it a relaxing and comforting place to be? Perhaps you need to expend some energy organizing it to be more energizing and supportive.

This month, take time to appreciate the environments available to you. In the process, you might improve your health and well-being. So bundle up, cover your nose and mouth if the weather is particularly cold, wear warm clothes, and go outside. As you walk, keep your eyes and mind open to the beauty that unfolds before you!

Philip A. Greiner, DNSc, RN

Associate Professor of Nursing; Director, Undergraduate program; Director, Health Promotion Center

Four students receive Freeman-ASIA scholarships

By Dana Ambrosini, Assistant Director of Media Relations

Four Fairfield University students have been awarded $5,000 scholarships to help defray costs of a semester-long study in Beijing and Tokyo. Funded by the Freeman Foundation, the Freeman Awards for Study in Asia are administered by the nonprofit Institute of International Education.

Three of the scholarship winners, along with a fifth student who did not apply for the scholarship, will be participating in The Beijing Center, a Jesuit consortial program for study in China. They will spend the spring 2003 semester at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. The fourth scholarship recipient will study at Sophia University, a prestigious Jesuit institution in Japan.

Recipient Mary Claire Finnen '04 was attracted to the program and the opportunity to study in Asia. She also appreciated the option to travel throughout the semester to other parts of China. Asian destinations are less popular when students consider places to study abroad, says Finnen, an international studies major.

She's right. According to a recent survey by the IIE, more than 60 percent of U.S. students studying abroad headed to Europe, while approximately five percent selected East or Southeast Asia.

"The goal of the Freeman-ASIA program is to increase the number of U.S. undergraduates who study in East and Southeast Asia. The Jesuit Beijing program gives undergraduates, even undergraduates with no Chinese language background, an opportunity to experience this important world culture," says Susan Fitzgerald, director of study abroad programs. "We are delighted Fairfield University has four Freeman Scholars. These students will return to campus with enviable knowledge about a part of the world few Americans understand."

Fairfield's recipients are among 120 students nationwide who received grants for the spring, which are awarded based on financial need and academics.

"Not many Americans can speak East Asian languages," says scholarship recipient Michael Mercer '04, one of those few who can. Mercer has already taken three semesters of Mandarin Chinese and hopes the immersion in Beijing will improve his speaking ability.

Kristie Givens '04, who will also study in China, has always been interested in Asian culture. Givens wants to attend law school when she graduates and work on political asylum cases. She hopes her experiences in Beijing will enhance her ability to do that work.

Jennilee Lindo '04, an Asian Studies and politics major, will spend a semester in Tokyo.

Upon their return to Fairfield, the students will visit various international studies and Asian studies classes to share their experiences with other students, says Dr. Katherine Kidd, director of the international studies program. "These students will demystify Asia as a study abroad location," Dr. Kidd says. "We hope it will encourage more students to consider minoring in Asian studies and studying for a semester or year in Asia."

Dr. Alan Katz, director of the Asian studies program, agrees. "This is a wonderful sign that we have a number of strong students wanting to study in Asia next semester and that their studies have been supported by the Freeman Foundation. Asia, after all, contains some of the largest, most important nations in the world and is an area of great dynamism and diversity."

Lighting the way John Tedesco of the electrical department changes the light bulbs in the Alumni House chandelier. Photo by Jean Santopatre

Sports

By Jack Jones, Director of Sports Information

Student-athletes honored for academic achievement
More than 20 fall season student-athletes were recognized with All-Academic awards for their scholastic performance. Awardees hold a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher. Congratulations to the following student-athletes:

• Field Hockey: Dani Brown '03, Andrea Caputa '05, Liz Croney '03, Kristen Keleher '04, Kara Lynch '03, Lindsay Martin '04, Lauren Pizzi '05, Courtney Robinson '04, and Lauren Thomas '04.
• Football: Tim Cary '05, Thomas Cavaliere '03, Robert Felte '04, Matt Giugliano '03, and Uros Stosic '04.
• Men's Cross Country: Matt Borland '04, Jeffrey Illustrato '04, Bryan Mahoney '05, and James Naldi '03.
• Women's Cross Country: Erin Heslin '03.
• Men's Soccer: Sean Meyer '05.
• Women's Soccer: Robyn Brady '04, Kelly Chapple '04, Meghan King '05, Sandy Michaels '04, Lindsey Pulito '04, and Lindsay Sampson '04.
• Volleyball: Kristin Anderson '04 and Becky Guess '04.

Stags to play Winter Homecoming on Feb. 15
On Feb. 15, the men's and women's basketball teams will take to the court at the Arena at Harbor Yard for Fairfield University's Winter Homecoming 2003. The women's basketball team will host Rider University at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men against Marist College at 3:30 p.m. Prior to the men's game, the team will honor its Class of 2003 players. The women's team will recognize its senior players on Feb. 23 when it hosts Canisius College at 1:30 p.m.

Author to discuss Sacco and Vanzetti trial Feb. 6

Author and University of Oklahoma Assistant Professor Dr. Michael Alexander will present "Felix Frankfurter and the Anarchists: The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti" on Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. The lecture is sponsored by the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Program in Judaic Studies and the Schnurmacher Foundations.

Dr. Alexander considers Frankfurter's role in the controversial 1920s murder trial in his award-winning book, Jazz Age Jews, which offers a bold look at the lives and contributions of Frankfurter, entertainer Al Jolson, and Arnold Rothstein, the man accused of "fixing" the 1919 World Series. He believes Frankfurter, who championed self-proclaimed anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti and later became a Supreme Court justice, is representative of the American outsider of his time.

Born in Vienna, Austria, Frankfurter came to the United States at 12 and graduated at the top of Harvard University's 1906 class. He was on the faculty at Harvard Law School when he championed the cause of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants charged with a 1920 double homicide. The men were accused of killing a payroll clerk and an armed guard in Braintree, Mass. Frankfurter believed they were railroaded through the court system because they were unabashed anarchists.

Frankfurter wrote an intriguing critical analysis of the case in 1927. Twelve years later, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Frankfurter to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he continued to build a reputation as a defender of civil rights, though he was often branded an extreme liberal. He later helped found the American Civil Liberties Union.

Jazz Age Jews won the National Jewish Book Award and the Koret Foundation Jewish Studies Publication Prize.

For more information, call the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at ext. 2066.

Where java meets jazz
Just a week before opening, workers busily completed the Jazzman Café's colorful structure. Situated in the main foyer of the campus center, the Café serves cappuccino, espresso, and other coffee drinks, as well as bakery items, salads, and sandwiches - against a backdrop of cool jazz tunes.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

news Briefs

Princeton Review offers favorable critique of Fairfield University
The 2003 edition of The Princeton Review's The Best 345 Colleges includes a positive critique of Fairfield University, citing the wide range of academic options for its size. Students note the "tremendous amount of academic resources" and programs, speakers, and events available. Others praise the business and science programs, as well as the availability of professors and internship opportunities open to undergraduates.

Earlier this academic year, Fairfield University placed third among the best universities in the North with master's degree programs, according to the new rankings by U.S. News & World Report's 2003 edition of America's Best Colleges.

Fairfield University to host Summer Institute for the Gifted day program
This summer, academically gifted and talented students in grades one through six will be able to take advantage of advanced academic and recreational activities at Fairfield University. The three-week day program is created and offered by the Summer Institute for the Gifted in conjunction with University College.

SIG, a subsidiary of the American Institute for Foreign Study, is a 20-year-old academic program.

The SIG day program blends academic experiences and opportunities for cultural exchange and social growth, with recreation and traditional summer camp activities. In addition to direct instruction and question-and-answer sessions, instructors use hands-on methods of learning that promote active participation, creativity, and thinking skills. Activities include debate, construction of models, simulations, legal briefs, field trips, demonstrations, and projects that involve high levels of participatory learning.

For more information, call (866) 303-4744 or visit www.giftedstudy.com.

DiMenna-Nyselius Library introduces new features
In addition to the myriad resources previously available, DiMenna-Nyselius Library now provides three features to researchers and technophiles: iLink, a live librarian chat, and Internet-linked computers in the Weil Café.

iLink can be found on the DiMenna-Nyselius Library website at http://sirsi.fairfield.edu. Besides accessing more than 19,000 e-journals, users can consult iLink to search for books in the library, put books on hold, read their personal library accounts, request interlibrary loans, and look up media put on hold by their professors.

From any page on the library website, at any time, users can click on "Ask a Librarian" if they have a reference question. A librarian from 24/7 Reference, an outside firm, will answer questions by taking the user to related websites and maintaining a dialogue of information. Once the session is over, the user will receive an e-mail with a transcript that includes their chat and links to all websites visited during the session.

The Weil Café, located just inside the library's doors has recently "gone cyber" with the addition of four new iMac computers and extra fiber network ports for those who bring their own laptops. The café is open 24 hours; the food kiosk is open during posted hours.

Joan Overfield, director of library services, says that these new advances extend the library's services beyond the facility's regular hours. "Anyone can do research at any time."

For more information, call DiMenna-Nyselius Library at ext. 4044.

Brennan Room available for University activities
Alumni House's Robert J. Brennan '65 Room is now available for the business purposes of the University community. The room is available after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and on weekends. The Brennan Room can hold up to 75 people in a theater-style arrangement, 70 people at 10 round tables, or 35 people in a U-shaped table arrangement.

To cover staff expenses, a $20 hourly fee will be charged with a minimum usage of four hours. Set-up costs, food, beverage, and media needs are the responsibility of the group using the room. To reserve the room, contact Jan Buswell at ext. 2377 at least one week in advance. For catering needs, call ext. 2374; for media needs, call ext. 2725.

Gift funds programs for students with high-risk behavior
A generous gift from Virginia and Louis Bantle is funding two innovative student programs to address issues of substance abuse among undergraduates.

Women's Wisdom offers programs, workshops, and mentoring to help female students make healthier choices and reduce high-risk behaviors with alcohol and drugs. Led by a graduate assistant working in the Office of Wellness and Prevention, the context of its activities will focus on the unique-to-women health effects of alcohol and drugs.

Substance Abuse Evaluations and Programs provides a treatment approach to reducing high-risk behaviors in both women and men. Led by two licensed alcohol and drug counselors, the process includes professional evaluations and an eight-session program. This effort to motivate change and teach the strategies and skills needed to do so will include discussing topics such as deciding to address a substance abuse problem, strategies for abstinence and cutting back, and expectations of recovery.

Says Dr. Susan Birge, director of counseling services and assistant vice president for student resources, "This program is designed to help students figure out what is really going on and help them choose among very real alternatives to reduce high-risk behaviors and their harmful consequences."

Louis Bantle, former chairman of UST, is a past member of Fairfield University's Board of Trustees. He and Virginia are also long-time members of The President's Circle.

University College presents art history lecture series

Throughout the semester, Fairfield University scholars will offer insights and expertise on famous works of art during a University College-sponsored lecture series that coincides with exhibitions of the masters at nearby museums. The "See the Masters with the Experts" lectures will each take place at 10 a.m. on campus.

• Dr. Philip Eliasoph, professor of art history, delivers the first lecture tomorrow, Feb. 5. "The Drawings of Leonardo" will survey the master's drawings assembled for the first time in America. The lecture accompanies "Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman," an exhibition that runs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City through March 30.
• Dr. Jesús Escobar, associate professor of art history, will present the second lecture, "The Spanish Baroque and Its Influence on 19th-Century French Painting," on March 20. His presentation will coincide with "Manet/Velázquez - The French Taste for Spanish Paintings," which will run at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from March 4 through June 8.
• Dr. Diana Mille, director of the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, will round out the series on April 2, with "Homer to Hopper: Masters of American Watercolor." Her lecture will accompany an exhibition of the same name that runs through June 8 at the Yale University Art Gallery.

For more information, call University College at ext. 4307.

Open VISIONS Forum: spring 2003 lineup

Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Robert Hughes
Distinguished art critic Robert Hughes replaces actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith as guest speaker for Open VISIONS Forum. Tickets already purchased for Deavere Smith will be honored at the Hughes lecture.

Hughes, author/originator of The Fatal Shore, The Shock of the New, and several other highly regarded books and television series, has been TIME Magazine's art critic for more than 30 years. The only art critic to twice receive the coveted Frank Jewett Mather Award for art criticism, Hughes is one of the most esteemed and widely read writers in the art world.

March 23, 3 p.m.

Marvin Kalb
Marvin Kalb is former NBC chief correspondent, moderator for Meet the Press, and a professor at Harvard University. He is executive director of the Washington, D.C. office of Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, and co-directs the center's Vanishing Voter Project. The author of three books, Kalb's honors include two Peabody Prizes, the DuPont Prize, and several Overseas Press Club awards.

April 8, 7:30 p.m.

Elie Wiesel
Fleet Bank Lecture in Judaic Studies
Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. A former inmate of Nazi Germany's death camps, Wiesel lost his mother, father, and younger sister to the Holocaust and later became a defender of human rights and peace worldwide. Wiesel delivers this year's Fleet Bank Lecture in Judaic Studies, a program of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.

April 14, 7:30 p.m.

Terry Waite
Terry Waite is a humanitarian and hostage negotiator. In 1987, Waite was negotiating the release of Western hostages from Beirut when he was taken into captivity for 1,760 days - four years of which were in solitary confinement. Waite recounted the ordeal in his book, Taken on Trust, and now lectures on the power of the human spirit.

Founded in 1997, Open VISIONS Forum is an art, culture, and public affairs lecture series designed to challenge the life of the mind. All lectures take place in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. For information on becoming a patron of Open VISIONS Forum, call University College at ext. 2688. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at ext. 4010.

Irish tenor to star in benefit concert for University's Irish Scholarship Fund

Irish tenor John McDermott will bring his rich, expressive voice to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts this Valentine's Day. The Feb. 14 concert, which also features the glee club of the Fairfield-based Gaelic-American Club, will begin at 8 p.m. McDermott will attend a free post-concert reception.

McDermott's appearance benefits Fairfield University's Irish Scholarship Fund, which brings Irish students to study at the University. The scholarship honors the memory of Fr. John Conlisk, a Bridgeport diocesan priest for 28 years.

McDermott has recorded nine albums in the last 10 years and has been nominated for five Juno Awards - the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy.

McDermott is also known for his commitment to veterans' causes. He established the Hope McDermott Fund - named for his mother - to offer programs for homeless veterans. The fund supports McDermott House, a transitional housing cooperative for veterans in Washington, D.C., and the Hope McDermott Day Care Program Center in Boston. He has been recognized for his efforts with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Bob Hope Award.

For tickets to the concert, call the Quick Center box office at ext. 4010.

Jazz siren Jane Monheit to perform at the Quick Center for the Arts Feb. 15
Jane Monheit, who, at just 25, has taken the jazz world by storm, brings her captivating soprano voice to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Feb. 15, at 8 p.m.

Monheit is fast gaining a reputation for capturing a song's essence with the sophisticated phrasing of a seasoned veteran. Add to that her lush, textured voice and her flair for the dramatic, and Monheit is "a singer to be reckoned with," according to the Washington Post.

"I started singing as soon as I could talk and basically learned how to do both at once," she says. "Performing was also something I always knew I wanted to do."

Her three albums - Never Never Land, Come Dream With Me, and In the Sun - reflect her devotion to the classics and her talent to add modern vocal detail to them.

"I'm just singing the most beautiful songs I know in the most sincere way," she says of her work. "I think people are responding to the beauty of the music and to my attempt to tell the truth."

For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at ext. 4010.

Photo by Jean Santopatre

Campus Currents is the official news publication of the Fairfield University community. It is published on the first Tuesday of the month. The editorial office is located in Bellarmine Hall, Room 203. Phone: 254-4000, ext. 2556. Fax: 254-4167. E-mail: campuscurr@mail.fairfield.edu.