PresRelease

I remember watching a UConn basketball game some years ago on national TV when I was still at Ohio State.  Dick Vitale was the commentator, and throughout the telecast he kept referring to being in “beautiful downtown Storrs” and then laughing rather boisterously.

I recalled Mr.Vitale’s remarks the other day when I renewed my annual membership in the Mansfield Downtown Partnership.  It reminded me to review progress on the Storrs Center project, an initiative that’s been discussed and then in the planning stages for several years.  Mr. Vitale would be happy to know that the Storrs Center project is intact and moving forward.  In recent weeks the developer, LeylandAlliance, has announced several new signed letters of intent for businesses to locate in Phase 1A.  (That’s over on the north side of the existing Dog Lane.)  They include ventures new to the Storrs area and existing businesses planning to relocate because of future construction on the Storrs Center site:

The Vanilla Bean Café
Cosimo’s
Moe’s Southwest Grill
Wings Over Storrs
Storrs Automotive
Travelplanners
Campus Cuts
Body Language

And Leyland is actively pursuing several other possibilities.  You should check out the Storrs Center Fact Sheet, which has the updated project timeline and a lot of information about where the project is at the moment.

The University and the Town of Mansfield, members of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, continue working together on plans to make the new Storrs Center a reality.  This summer, the State Traffic Commission approved a permit for improvements to Storrs Road (Route 195) which marks the intersection of the University’s Storrs campus and the new Storrs Center.  Grant funds will allow the Town to improve pedestrian walkways along 195, add turn lanes and medians, and improve the Bolton Road and South Eagleville Road interchanges.  The addition of parallel parking zones, besides providing more parking capacity, will contribute to traffic “calming” and provide pedestrians with a better sense of security.  Pre-construction planning is now underway in the Town.

The Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc. is the municipal development agency charged with the development of Storrs Center on behalf of the Town of Mansfield. The Partnership is an independent, non-profit organization composed of representatives from the community, local businesses, the Town and the University of Connecticut. Members are integral to the Partnership’s work.  They serve on committees, vote at the annual meeting, and serve as the community’s voice in the development of the Storrs Center.  Right now the Partnership is conducting its annual membership drive, and that’s why I got my renewal letter.  I hope that many in our community are considering joining the Partnership and helping make Storrs Center a reality.

I see the new Storrs Center as a win-win for both the Town and the University.  It’s a great opportunity for the Town to develop a larger commercial tax base, in partnership with existing businesses and the University, which will help free Town finances from the vicissitudes of State PILOT payments.  It will also put more stores in Storrs.  For the University, it makes the Storrs community more attractive to our incoming faculty, staff, graduate students, and all students who are also considering other universities that already boast vibrant, downtown amenities nearby, such as restaurants, shops, and a variety of residential opportunities.

As I said earlier, much has changed recently in our economic climate, but the Storrs Center project is moving forward and its central concept remains the same:

The town plan will knit architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets, small lanes, and public spaces into a series of small neighborhoods that will make up the new fabric of the town center. Ground floor retail and commercial uses opening onto landscaped sidewalks and intimate streets will reinforce traditional street front activity and shared community spaces and will be supported by residences above and throughout the neighborhood. Storrs Center will combine retail, restaurant, and office uses with a variety of residence types.  (LeylandAlliance statement.)

Last Friday’s Daily Campus carried this cartoon – I couldn’t read the cartoonist’s name.  Food for thought.
In case you missed it, Greece defeated Germany 1-0 in the International Philosophy Games last weekend.  You can watch the contest here.
Stung by the defeat, Immanuel Kant has launched a public attack-ad campaign.

Carlos Alvarez
I couldn’t go to the UConn men’s soccer game last night at Morrone Stadium, but I wish I had.  It was a true clash of the titans, the two top-ranked men’s soccer programs in the Northeast, and the Huskies defeated 6/8-ranked Harvard 4-0.  Alan Ponce and Carlos Alvarez teamed up for all four goals, with a lot of great help from downfield.  It seems that the Huskies play well in the cold – I believe that’s why UConn students adopted the Husky as their mascot back in 1935 – students couldn’t imagine a colder place than the Storrs campus in winter and a Siberian Husky seemed the perfect fit.

Alan Ponce
The UConn men, now 7-2-3, return to action this Saturday at Morrone Stadium against BIG EAST opponent Pittsburgh at 7:00 p.m. The first 100 fans who arrive at Morrone Saturday night will receive a free t-shirt.

Our Women’s Soccer Team was at South Florida last weekend where they lost a tough match, 2-1.  Husky Melissa Busque improved her point-scoring streak to five games, with an assist on the Huskies’ first-period goal.  Melissa has recorded three goals and three assists for nine points in those five games.  She’s also scored four game-winning goals this season.

Melissa Busque beats Yale
The Women are now 9-5-0, 4-3-0 in the BIG EAST.  This coming weekend they will be in South Bend to play Notre Dame on Friday and in Chicago for a match with DePaul on Sunday.  The Women have an added assignment at Notre Dame: softening up the Irish in advance of our Husky football team’s game at South Bend on November 21.  There’s a UConn Alumni contingent going to the ND football game, and I’ll be going with them.  We’re taking a Husky Spirit train from Chicago to South Bend on game day.

But first things first:  Go Huskies, this weekend!

See the full up-to-date standings here

Today (Thursday, Sept 24) from 3 to 4 p.m., our University Libraries, in collaboration with the Q Center, the Writing Center, the Learning Resource Center, and HuskyTech, will stage a kickoff event for the popular collaborative student workspace in Homer Babbidge Library, called the Learning Commons.
The celebration will feature remarks by Vice Provost for University Libraries Brinley Franklin and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Regional Campus Administration Veronica Makowsky, an appearance by Jonathan the Husky mascot, a raffle for two iPod “Shuffles,” and cake.  Winners of the iPods must be present in order to win.

The Learning Commons brings together in one space all the new technology that most students need to complete their assignments:  computer workstations, printers and scanners, research databases, academic software programs, collaborative work areas, IT help, reference sources, research advice, and tutoring help.  (And you thought I was going to write: “The Learning Commons brings together all the technology students need: iPods, chocolate cake, and Jonathan the Tutor.)

The Learning Commons services include tutoring in four of the five General Education skills competencies required of all UConn undergraduates – computer technology, information literacy, writing, and quantitative skills.  And there’s another Learning Commons on the Avery Point Campus.

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Cheryl Beck in the School of Nursing has received the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) 2009 Distinguished Professional Service Award for her “unparalleled dedication to improving the health of women and infants” around the world. Dr. Beck received the award June 28 at the association’s annual convention in San Diego, CA.

She was recognized for her internationally renowned research and expertise in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Her special area of expertise is postpartum depression and post traumatic stress disorders as they relate to the birth experience.  Professor Beck’s contributions to the field of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders include the widely used Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), which she developed with Robert K. Gable, an emeritus professor in UConn’s Neag School of Education and now affiliated with Johnson & Wales University. The scale is currently used in 14 countries worldwide. There’s a 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal about Professor Beck’s and other’s recent work in this important area.