PresRelease

UConn’s 2009 Metanoia begins this Sunday, October 4, with a panel discussion on the Storrs campus in Konover Auditorium in the Dodd Center, beginning at 4 p.m. The panel will be led by Preston Britner, co-organizer of UConn’s Metanoia with Kathleen Holgerson, Director of UConn’s Women’s Center. It will feature a discussion with State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Milstein, Connecticut’s Child Advocate, Cecile Enrico, Executive Director of Hartford’s Interval House, Cathy Cocks, UConn’s Director of Community Standards, and Krissy Dolce and Brenna Harvey, UConn students. I’ll be there to introduce the session.  A student rally will take place on Monday, October 5, on the Student Union Green.  I’ll be there, too. It will be preceded by a dialogue in the Student Union at 4:30 p.m. I encourage you to visit the Metanoia web page to find events on your campuses that you can attend, and activities that allow you to participate in the dialogue.

Since I arrived on campus two years ago, our UConn community has been touched directly by incidents of violence against women, ranging from threats to assaults.  Violence against women occurs worldwide, of course, and in fact, is a global challenge.

The continued reality of violence against women throughout the world raises questions for me.  Thirty years after our first Metanoia* “Violence in the Community,” on the heels of attacks against women in our own community, we find ourselves holding a Metanoia on  Preventing Violence Against Women.  Why haven’t 30 years of discussion, of consciousness-raising, of policy change, had better effect?  Why is it so difficult to effect progress in preventing violence against women?  Where do we go from here?

I hope to hear some new perspectives, perhaps find some answers – and certainly some inspiration – in the week ahead.  I hope you can contribute to our discussion as well.
______________________________

* Correction:

Mark Roy caught my error above, and I’m glad he did.  I’m especially glad to know that Mark is keeping an eye on things.  Thanks, Mark.

Mike

From: Mark J. Roy
Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 10:30 AM
To: Veilleux, Richard
Subject: Re: Metanoia

The first Metanoia, observed on May 6, 1970, included an address at Jorgensen Auditorium by the executive director of the National Urban League, Whitney Young, on the issue of race in America. http://advance.uconn.edu/2001/011112/011112hs.htm

Congrats to Dr. Shiva Kotha, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the latest UConn rising faculty member to win an Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation.  He’s the 22d UConn engineering faculty member to receive the CAREER award since 1996 – ten of those since 1997!

The CAREER award is the NSF’s most prestigious award to new faculty members – $430,000 in research support over five years. The CAREER program recognizes and supports the early career development of teacher-scholars most likely to become academic leaders of the 21st century. CAREER awardees are selected on the basis of creative, career-development plans that effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their institution.

Professor Kotha’s research is developing strategies for improving the body’s ability to repair damaged bone.  Experiments will use the synchrotron computed tomography (CT) equipment at Argonne National Laboratory to obtain X-ray computed tomography images.  He hopes to derive a fundamental understanding of the hierarchies of bone repair at different length and time-scales, with the objective of providing another cellular repair mechanism that can be targeted by pharmaceuticals to reduce fracture risk.  The work builds upon his previous research on osteoporosis.  Through this research, he will develop new coursework not only for undergraduate biomedical engineering students but also for K-12 students and high school teachers.

Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor and human rights activist, will speak on “Building a Moral Society” this Tuesday, September 29 at UConn’s Dodd Center, marking the 30th anniversary of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life in our College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  The talk also honors the establishment last year of the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies, held by sociologist Arnold Dashefsky, who is director of the Judaic Studies Center.  Simon Konover, himself a Holocaust survivor, will introduce Elie Wiesel.

Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.  He has also won the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal (1985) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992).  He has published over 50 books, his first being Night, about his time in Nazi concentration camps.

The lecture will be held in the von der Mehden Recital Hall on the Storrs campus on Tuesday, September 29, from 4pm – 5:30pm.  There is no admission charge, but rsvp’s have reached capacity and there is a waiting list.  To be added to the wait list or for further information regarding this event, please contact:
University Events, (860) 486-1038, rsvp@uconn.edu

September 12 True Blue crew at Rentschler

David Getchell, Jackie Boesel, Caitlin Victory, Rose Murphy, Lauren Dudziak, & Matt Chouinard

Another football Saturday is coming up at the Rent.  This week we host the Rhode Island Rams, a rivalry that stretches far back in UConn history.  I found a photo in the archives of the “Rhody Ram” and “Jonathan” facing off before the 1935 game:
The longest series in Connecticut football history, the Huskies’ rivalry with Rhode Island dates back to 1897 (the second year of Connecticut football) and Saturday’s game will be the 94^th meeting in the series. Overall, UConn leads the series 50-35-8. The Huskies’ 50 wins against the Rams are the most that UConn has collected against any single opponent. There will be a lot going on: Our True Blue Crew will be out and about, greeting fans and spreading the word about Husky Honor, our new initiative to make the game-day festivities even more fun and exciting while keeping them safe for everyone – fans, athletes, staff, officials – everyone.  If you haven’t visited the Husky Honor webpage yet, you should.

And we’re kicking off our new Campaign for UCONN before and during the game:

The UConn Foundation has some great webpages set up to inform all of us about the Campaign’s goals and objectives.  I encourage you to spend some time reviewing what the Foundation has put together. We’ve come a long way since Augustus and Charles Storrs founded a school in 1881.  Now we’re ready to take the next big step.

And while you’re at it, check out the Foundation’s 2009 Annual Report, just posted on their website.

Go HUSKIES!

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.