Congratulations, grads!

Congratulations, 2012 graduates!!!

Congrats to Brian Clements

Dr. Brian Clements, coordinator of the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing, was a featured essayist on the National Poetry Month blog: 

http://npmdaily.tumblr.com/,  Congratulations, Brian!

Visit to Onassis Cultural Center in NYC

Forty-eight members of the WestConn and greater Danbury communities traveled yesterday to the Onassis Cultural Center for a private tour of the "Transition to Christianity: Art of Late Antiquity, 3rd – 7th Century AD" exhibit.  The trip was organized by Dr. Galina Bakhtiarova, chair of World Languages and of the WCSU Center for Cultures and Values committee, and funded by a grant from the Macricostas Family Foundation.

Chemistry Club attends American Chemical Society conference in San Diego

The Chemistry Club recently returned from The American Chemical Society Meeting in San Diego, CA. The students in the picture are (from left to right): Drilon Toska, Anisa Barolli, Yinnet Espinal, Peter Maruzzella and Amy Dougherty.  Anisa, Yinnet and Amy presented research they completed at WCSU in the labs of Chemistry Club advisor Dr. Nicholas Greco and Dr. Annie Roberts.  This meeting was attended by more than 15,000 chemists from around the world.

WestConn hosts first 10-Minute Play & Webisode Festival

Kudos to Prof. Louisa Burns-Bisogno for organizing WCSU's first "10-Minute Play & Webisode Festival" on 14 April 2011.  An accomplished screenwriter, Prof. Burns-Bisogno worked collaboratively with colleagues from ECSU and CCSU to attract more than 24 webisodes and/or 10-minute plays for viewing at the festival.  Way to go, Louisa! 

Dr. Mitch Wagener to lecture on "Climate and Human Civilization"

Dr. Stephen "Mitch" Wagener, chair and professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences, will give a lecture on "Climate and Human Civilization" at noon tomorrow (Wednesday, April 11th ) in Alumni Hall.  Dr. Wagener's lecture is part of the ongoing brown-bag lecture series on "What is Human?" sponsored by Student Affairs.

Congrats to COM 394 students!

Dr. JC Barone, assistant professor of Communication, shares the following wonderful news:

"Dear COM 394- Live News & Broadcasting Team,

"Congratulations! We've won a prestigious Telly Award for an episode of Good Evening Connecticut, a live, 30-minute magazine show produced by the innovative COM 394 Live News & Broadcasting course. After our exhausting and historic, live election show coverage, we pushed on and produced two more shows in COM 394 at the end of last semester. The award winning episode of Good Evening Connecticut aired from Charter and featured guests Phyllis Cortese and Louisa Burns-Bisogno. Students, this award and professional recognition will enhance your resume and it's something to be very proud of!

"According to the Tellys, 'The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring the finest film and video productions, groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. Our mission has been to strengthen the visual arts community by inspiring, promoting, and supporting creativity. The 32nd Annual Telly Awards received over 11,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents.'  Only ~15% of all applicants receive recognition."

Great work!  We're proud of all of you!

Daniel Mendelson to lecture

Daniel Mendelson will be on campus this evening to present "Antigone in Krakow:  Reflections on Classics Lost and Found:  A Reading from a Work in Progress" as part of the Macricostas Family Foundation Annual Lecture Series.

Mendelson is an award-winning author and critic, who earned a doctorate in Classics at Princeton University. He is the author of several books, including The Elusive Embrace and The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million.

He will speak at 7:30 pm. in Science Building 125.  A reception and book signing will follow.  The public is invited to attend.

Congrats to Dr. Kevin Gutzman!

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Gutzman, Professor of History!   Dr. Gutzman just published James Madison and the Making of America (St. Martin's) to wide critical acclaim and was a featured guest blogger with "Santorum and Madison on Church and State" on the  Washington Post web site on March 5th.  James Madison and the Making of American also was chosen as a February 2012 History Book Club Main Selection.

Roger Sherman Debate Society

Rashad Evans, director of the Roger Sherman Debate Society, sends this update of the RSDS's latest successes:

"I would like to congratulate the sophomore team of Taylor Pasquence and Taylor Wolff for making it all the way to the final round of the CSU-Fullerton national debate tournament.  'Team Taylor' beat teams from UNLV, CSU-Chico, San Diego State University and CSU-Northridge before losing a hard fought final debate round to Cornell on a split decision .  In one semester, Team Taylor has successfully made the jump from novice to junior varsity debate, which has coined them the name 'super novices' around the country.  With a tournament win at James Madison University, a finals appearance at CSU-Fullerton and a semi-finals appearance at SUNY-Binghampton, Team Taylor has been successful from east to west and from north to south.  They are well on their way to being nationally competitive in the open division.  They will next compete at UT-Austin where they will face their strongest competition to date.  They are both already hard at work!

"Next month (February 25-26), RSDS will host the Hat City Debate Tournament, where for the first time in team history Western Connecticut State University will compete in the District 8 qualifying tournament in hopes of gaining one of the limited 78 spots at the prestigious National Debate Tournament (NDT) to be hosted by Emory University in Atlanta this March."

Way to go, Team Taylor and RSDS. 

Dr. Mel, 1945-2012

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Dr. Mel Goldstein, who founded the Meteorology Program (still offering the only bachelor's degree in Meteorology in Connecticut) and Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University.   Dr. Mel was an important and beloved member of the Arts and Sciences family, and his dedication to WestConn and our students continued long after his retirement as a faculty member.  During his career with WTNH, Dr. Mel mentored countless WestConn broadcast meteorology students who have gone on to have outstanding careers.  Many of us admired Dr. Mel for his energy, quick wit, and commitment to students and for the grace with which he faced his long battle with cancer.  His was a life well lived, as few can say that they have made as big a difference on an institution and a region as Dr. Mel did.  (See Robert Miller's "Meteorolgist 'Dr. Mel' Dies" in the News-Times and Maryellen Fillo's "Dr. Mel Loses His Battle with Cancer" in the Hartford Courant.) Our thoughts are with Dr. Mel's family, friends, and former students, as they mourn his passing and celebrate his incredible life.

Dalai Lama to visit in October 2012

The Dalai Lama will visit Western Connecticut State University on Oct. 18-99, 2012.  Details about the Dalai Lama's visit and plans for events leading up to his visit are available in Robert Miller's "Dalai Lama to Speak in Danbury" and "WestConn Delves into Tibetan Programs."  Dr.  John Briggs, CSU Professor of Writing, has been instrumental in bringing the Dalai Lama to campus and in organzing events leading up to his visit. 

Intersession in Italy

WCSU students in their palazzo classroom.

WCSU students taking an Italian cooking class with a professional chef.

Dr. Patrizia Farina and a group of WCSU students spent Intersession 2012 in Florence, Italy.  The program included intensive Italian language courses and several field trips, including an Italian cooking class.  Dr. Galina Bakhtiarova, chair of  the Department of World Languages and Literature, joined the group for part of the session.