As the Fall 2023 semester closes and preparations are underway for the Spring 2024 semester, the region’s colleges and universities are busy with new academic offerings, new achievements by faculty and staff and new goals for the future.
Here is a round-up of what’s been happening lately at the Connecticut and New York schools of higher education.
Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College announced that its Master of Science in Human Services (MSHS) has obtained full accreditation from the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) Board.
The New Haven-based school is one of only three Human Services Masters programs in the country to obtain this recognition and the only one on the East Coast. The 39-credit MSHS program is designed to prepare students to pursue careers in various human and social service settings by gaining advanced professional knowledge and skills to work in leadership positions with a diverse range of clients and populations.
“With courses like Case Management, Counseling Techniques, and Addictions Counseling, our students learn to advocate for individual clients and communities, as well as apply legal and ethical standards to the delivery of Human Services,” said Professor Carol Huckaby, director of the program.
Eastern Connecticut State University
Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) is offering four accelerated online graduate programs in the Spring 2024 semester.
The new online courses are focused on accounting, management, special education and applied data science – the latter is a new program. All four programs will be offered with courses that are seven weeks long, allowing students to potentially earn a master’s degree in one year.
The courses are asynchronous, meaning that students can engage with the materials on their own schedule. Students will have opportunities for online meetings through virtual class discussions and virtual faculty office hours.
“This makes our advanced graduate programs responsive to students’ needs,” said Niti Pandey, dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies and the Graduate Division, adding that the new format is intended “to meet our working adult learners where they are in terms of their continuing education and work-life needs.”
The graduate courses will have rolling applications for courses that start at the beginning of the fall, spring, and summer semesters; online class sizes will be capped at 25 students. The cost per credit hour is $714 with a per-semester fee of $60. Financial aid is available through resources such as student loans, veteran’s benefits and employer tuition assistance programs.
Fairfield University
Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is continuing its presentation of Metropolitan Opera programming through The Met: Live in HD, which features live and encore opera transmissions, special interviews, and behind-the-scenes features.
The Quick’s Kelley Theatre is the only venue in Fairfield County to offer access to these productions. The Met: Live in HD’s 2024 Quick Center screenings include Verdi’s “Nabucco” (Jan. 6), Bizet’s “Carmen” (Jan. 27), Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” (March 9), Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” (March 23), Puccini’s “La Rondine” (April 20) and Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” (May 21). All of the presentations begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be preceded by pre-screening talks Dr. Orin Grossman and Dr. Michael Ciavaglia of Fairfield University at 12:00 p.m.
Tickets are now on sale at quickcenter.com for $35 for each performance, $30 for seniors, and $25 for Quick Members.
Iona University
An Iona University undergraduate research team led by endowed professor Dr. Sunghee Lee authored an article titled “Aspirin Interacts with Cholesterol-Containing Membranes in a pH-Dependent Manner,” which was published in Langmuir, an American Chemical Society publication.
The article explained that aspirin, in the presence of cholesterol, increases water permeability, but is contingent upon how much cholesterol is in the body and the pH. A fusion of data from varying research techniques such as calorimetry, confocal Raman microspectrophotometry, and interfacial tensiometric measurements demonstrated that aspirin has greater effects in a neutral state. These results communicated a deeper comprehension of the varying effects of aspirin on cell membranes while offering further insight into the understanding of the gastrointestinal issues induced by the long-term use of this important nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory.
Students worked alongside Dr. Lee through “Project Symphony,” a research group designed to conduct research at the interface of chemistry, biology, physics, and medicine with a highly dynamic group of interdisciplinary team members.
“I am proud to share a great achievement with the undergraduate research team,” said Lee. “Their diligence and hard work successfully paid off – congratulations!”
Manhattan College
Judith Plaskow, professor emerita of religious studies at Manhattan College, is among the eight inductees into the National Women’s Hall of Fame for 2024.
Plaskow’s awardee biography cited her notability by stating, “Judith Plaskow is an American theologian, author and activist known for being the first Jewish feminist theologian. She earned her doctorate from Yale University in 1975 and spent over three decades teaching religious studies at Manhattan College. Plaskow launched the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion in 1985 and served as the journal’s editor for its first 10 years and from 2012 to 2016. Plaskow also helped found B’not Esh, a Jewish feminist spirituality collective and served as president of the American Academy of Religion.”
Plaskow began teaching at Manhattan College in 1979 and received Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Hebrew Union College (New York campus) and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. This year’s Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted at a March 2024 ceremony in New York City that will be broadcast on public television – her fellow inductees include tennis star Serena Williams and civil rights activist Ruby Bridges.
“When I actually read it and looked at the list of past inductees, I was blown away,” Plaskow said, admitting that she had initially deleted the induction email, thinking it was part of a fundraising campaign. “Me in a Hall of Fame with Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsberg? What I feel good about is that I’m the first inductee with a degree in religious studies and the first whose work focuses on Judaism. I will bring to light the exciting work that has been accomplished in those areas.”
Mercy University
Mercy University announced its ‘A’ credit rating has been reaffirmed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings services for higher education.
In a press statement, the school said S&P voted to affirm the ‘A’ rating after reviewing Mercy’s most recent financial and enrollment data, which proved a stable outlook for the institution. The rating reaffirms Mercy’s capacity to meet its financial commitments and maintain a healthy and stable financial outlook, the school added, noting that it has maintained its ‘A’ rating since 2012.
“To fulfill Mercy University’s mission to redefine higher education so that students receive not only access to education but the supports they need to graduate, we must maintain a financially robust institution,” said Dr. Susan L. Parish, president of Mercy University. “Today’s reaffirmation of our Standard & Poor’s rating reflects just that: disciplined, strong leadership which guides our decision-making and strategically invests in Mercy’s long-term future.”
Mount Saint Mary College
Mount Saint Mary College’s baseball team recently raised more than $30,000 during their Spring Trips fundraising campaign.
The fundraiser ran for roughly a week, with each athlete writing a personal message on their donation profile; donors could select which athlete they would like to support. Most players exceeded their goal of raising $1,000 each, with Frankie Signorelli of Staten Island raising the most funds at $2,450.
The funds generated by this initiative will offset the team’s travel costs for the upcoming spring season as well as to purchase new team gear and equipment. During February and March, the team will head south three times for games against the University of Mary Washington in Virginia and Greensboro College in North Carolina, as well as participating in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.
SUNY Purchase
Two members of the SUNY Purchase faculty were among the nominees for the upcoming Grammy Awards.
Nicole Zuraitis, a lecturer of jazz studies – voice, received the Best Jazz Vocal Album nomination for “How Love Begins.” Zuraitis’ arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 Grammy.
Assistant Professor of Music Silas Brown ’10 earned two nominations for engineering and producing, respectively. Brown’s nominations are for Best Engineered Album, Classical (An Engineer’s Award) for “Contemporary American Composers (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)” and in the Best Classical Compendium competition for “Passion For Bach And Coltrane featuring Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith, and A.B. Spellman.” He won the 2014 Grammy as producer of the Evelyn Glennie / Albany Symphony recording of “Corigliano’s Conjurer” (Best Soloist Performance with Orchestra) and in 2011 as mastering engineer on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Verdi Requiem” recording (Best Classical Album). In 2017, he was nominated in the Best Engineered Album, Classical category for “Shadow of Sirius.”
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut has unveiled a 10-year strategic plan that will go into effect in 2024 and cover the period through 2034.
The plan includes four key performance indicators (KPIs) identified by President Radenka Maric that include reaching and maintaining a six-year graduation rate of 90% or more, receiving at least $500 million in research funding annually, reach a balance of $1 billion in the university’s endowment, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and a carbon zero state by 2040.
The UConn board of trustees unanimously adopted the strategic plan at its Dec. 6 meeting. Margaret Feeney, UConn’s executive director of strategic planning and initiatives, announced the plan by stating, “People love this university. They care deeply about the student outcomes and care deeply about this University’s impact on society.”
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is adding field hockey and men’s and women’s tennis to its intercollegiate athletics offerings beginning in Fall 2024, with varsity competition to launch in Fall 2025.
The additions will increase the number of intercollegiate sports offered by the university to 20. The Hawks are first-year members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), an NCAA Division III athletics conference comprising 10 colleges and universities throughout the New England region. Field hockey and men’s and women’s tennis are among the 20 intercollegiate sports in which the CCC administers championships.
“We are pleased to open up to our students more avenues to participate in intercollegiate athletics,” says Aaron Isaacs, vice president for student success and dean of students. “The growth and popularity of field hockey in the United States is significant, and tennis is a sport also growing in our part of the country, with data showing this year that the sport has surpassed one million players in New England for the first time ever.”
