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201 8 S PRI N G / M AGA ZI N E H ART F O RD O F UNI V E RS I T Y
University of Hartford Magazine is published twice each year for alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends.
Vice President for Marketing and Communication M O L LY P O LK Editor J O N ATHAN E AST ERBROOK ’87, M’90 Design L I L LY P E RE IRA ’02 aldeia.design Art Direction PAUL A RI B E I RO Contributing Writers T H E R ESA SULLIVAN BARGER M E AG AN FAZ IO M ’16 K I R SI GO LDYNIA JU DY H E ND ERS O N KA RE N HUNTER M A RY INGARRA P ’2 0 JI M K EE NE R P ’16 , P ’2 1 M I L D R ED M C NE ILL JE SE LE PARAGO NE Photography R O G ER CASTONGUAY ’08 N AS R KAM AR ’2 0 DANIEL LABELLE ST E V E MCLAUGHLIN JO N ATH AN O LS O N H . R O BERT TH IE S FIELD JASON U L M ’1 2 W E N D E LL WE BBER
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CONTACT US: H, UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE Office of Marketing and Communication, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 editor@hartford.edu O N T HE COVER: Joey “Batts” Battaglia ’04 is a force on stage, in the classroom, and around the community. PORTRAIT BY RUEDI HOFMANN
Corey Pane ’11 has designed custom cleats for both his alma mater and some of the NFL’s biggest stars.
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S / V O L . 0 1 / I S S U E 0 1
F E ATU R E S
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Leading with Hart
Gregory Woodward relishes family, the arts, and education’s dynamic role.
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Running for Water Nina Vázquez ’19 shares her emotional return home to Puerto Rico.
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Art & Sole
Victoria Cerami ’81 takes pride in the number of UHart graduates who work for her.
Corey Pane ’11 creates cool cleats for NFL stars.
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Blazing a Trail
Victoria Cerami ’81 fosters a new generation of women in engineering.
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That’s a Rap
Joey Battaglia ’04 inspires through his teaching, music, and community service.
D E PA R TME N TS
Angela Davis shares her thoughts on diversity, inclusion, and the struggle for equality.
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0 2 O B S E R VA T I O N S Message from the President
3 6 H AW K N AT I O N Inside Athletics
04 SEEN & HEARD Online and in real life
40 MIXED MEDIA Books, movies, and music
05 UNOTES News from campus
41 WORDS OF WISDOM Expert advice
1 2 H AW K ’ S E Y E V I E W The big picture
42 ALUMNI NOTES News for and about alumni
14 FIRST CLASS Spotlight on faculty
56 LOOKING BACK Publications through the years
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We are all in this together Gregory S. Woodward
“ We are on the move, reinventing ourselves and—with and through our students— our world.”
It is not unusual for an incoming president or other recently hired employees to be given a somewhat playfully intended “new card” to be used when one feels confused, flat-out wrong, or when stalling to think of a better answer. I have probably already called upon mine more than it was intended to be used. While my card is beginning to run out, its necessity has been replaced by something else—a deep understanding of, a great deal of respect for, and a genuine affection for the University of Hartford. This is quite a package; seven colleges, 150 degree options, and more than 1,000 amazing and dedicated faculty and staff members. There is uncommon diversity of thought, enterprise, and scholarship, a growing infrastructure and physical plant, an appreciative regional community, and more than 85,000 successful alumni. Most importantly, there are 5,000 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students who are inquisitive, energetic, determined, and ready to take on the world. And, yes, who have some fun, too! While the world of higher education is rapidly changing, the University of Hartford has every opportunity and essential ingredient necessary to further become a leader in the redesign of higher education today. We can educate for brilliant and sustainable careers with a liberal arts core and context. We can provide soft and hard skills in cultural competence, teamwork, critical thinking, experiential learning, and personal and societal wellness. We can continue to admit and educate students from all backgrounds and at all levels— from high schoolers to adults—and will do so face to face, online, and in cutting-edge pedagogies. Anything is possible if we choose carefully, focus on the success of our students fully, and utilize our resources effectively.
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What else are we doing to position the University for continued strength and purpose in the future? We are thinking about our space differently by creating new engineering and health labs, and makerspaces for our students to explore and collaborate. We are developing a comprehensive plan to rejuvenate and replace our student living spaces and experiences. We are thoughtfully crafting a four-year plan for all students in vocational exploration and discovery. And we are dedicated to the idea of a purposeful pathway—a new set of graduation expectations being designed to ensure that our students engage with the entire University, intentionally pursuing their own identities and future selves in each of our unique and special schools and colleges. H, the new University of Hartford magazine, is just a glimpse into what will be a heightened effort to tell our incredible story through visually compelling strategies and modern platforms. I invite you to visit campus and enjoy our recent renovations and enhancements to Gengras Student Union, Harrison Libraries, Millard Auditorium, and Al-Marzook Field. Looking ahead, we will begin construction this summer to revitalize and expand space in Auerbach Hall for the Barney School of Business. I hope you will get to know me as your new president and share in my excitement and dreams for this great and powerful place. I am handing over my “new card” to the University of Hartford extended community. We are all in this together, and when we feel a little lost or tired, we will know it is because we are not standing still in this new world. We are on the move, reinventing ourselves and—with and through our students—our world. H
BUILDING A BRIDGE TO OPPORTUNITY When you make a gift to the University of Hartford, you lead students on a path to future success.
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YOUR GIFT CHANGES LIVES “Being at UHart has taught me so many wonderful ways of looking at the world. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I’ve had without the help of scholarships.” —Sarah Smith ’18
MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY: visit hartford.edu/giving to make a gift to the UHart Impact Fund, the UHart General Scholarship Fund, or a program of your choice. SPRING
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We Want to Hear from You! Do the stories or features in our inaugural issue of H bring back memories of your time at UHart? Anything you’d like to see in a future issue? We invite you to share your thoughts, views, and reflections via a letter to the editor. Please include your name, current hometown, and class year. We’ll share a sampling of letters each issue. MAIL : H Editor, Office of Marketing and Communication,
200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117
EMAIL: editor@hartford.edu
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De-stress with dogs! Hodges held “doggy office hours” throughout the spring semester to give students a relaxing break from their studies.
WELCOME TO H, THE NEW UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE In 1974, our former newspaper turned magazine, the Observer, was launched. At the time, the goal was to combine two publications—Highlights and Alumni Notes—while giving readers a deeper view of happenings at the University. Today, we want to take that vision and purpose to the next level. Our new University of Hartford Magazine, H, strives to be a magazine you feel compelled to read cover to cover. The articles and features will bring the UHart experience and story to life. It will be authentic, interesting, and relevant, while incorporating our high standards for design and creativity. The voices we share will be those of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. The personality of each issue may shift based on the themes we explore, but our collective and recognizable characteristics of passion, purpose, and adaptive strength will remain the same. We have intentionally created sections and spaces that allow for the opportunity to be inclusive of our broader community. Together, we will celebrate our past, present, and future, and the impact we collectively have on each other and the world. We hope you will contribute by sending in your news, sharing your advice, and volunteering for an article or feature. Our sincere thanks to those who responded to our request for new names and ideas. Most especially, we would like to thank Lilly Pereira ’02 for sharing her immense creative talents with us throughout the redesign. Enjoy—and we look forward to hearing from you!
A therapy dog will be on campus every Wednesday! Meet Hodges tomorrow at noon in East Hall! #therapydog#destress #uhart #Hodges #toocute
Prosthetics and orthotics professor and alumnus dive into underwater research to help improve prosthetic devices. #researchthatmatters #uhart #uofhartford #excitement
See page 56 for a look back H / UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE
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Flying Hawk from the series Imagining Fauna by Professor Emeritus Mary Frey, Hartford Art School
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From Fashion to Finance Kimora Lee Simmons ’18 shares advice for business and for life
UHart Unity Campus community comes together to affirm commitmment to diversity, equity, and inclusion “Not on My Campus,” a student-organized campus unity event, was held in the Commons dining facility on Dec. 8. Students, faculty, and staff came together to eat foods with a multicultural focus, play games, and participate in table discussions on student-selected topics. Members of different student organizations staffed each game and discussion table, demonstrating that UHart students can, do, and should work, play, and talk together, sharing the varied backgrounds and interests on campus. The games and discussions took place in 15-minute intervals, allowing students to participate in many of them. Students also signed the “Not on My Campus” banner, affirming their commitment to confronting issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The event was one of a continuing series of “UHart Unity” events and discussions being held on campus. Faculty, staff, and students wishing to speak directly to the president have an open and ongoing invitation to join him at the Commons during lunch each Wednesday during the spring semester.
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Very few people on campus knew that fashion model and designer Kimora Lee Simmons ’18 is enrolled online in UHart’s bachelor of undergraduate studies program and will receive her degree this spring until she came to campus in March. Simmons, who has had a successful modeling career, has been a reality TV host, won a Tony Award, and authored a lifestyle guide for young women who aspire to high-style success, is currently CEO of KLS Holdings LLC and the Kimora Lee Simmons designer brand. She came to campus on March 26 to deliver the Ellsworth Lecture, an annual event that promotes an awareness of, and appreciation for, the American business system. On that day, she also had lunch with President Gregory Woodward and Barney School of Business Dean Marty Roth, spoke with students in an entrepreneurship class, attended a reception, and met with her advisor. With all of her success, many at the lecture wondered why she was earning a bachelor’s degree. Her answer: “I meet people all the time who have degrees … their business this … their PhD that … and I’m always in awe of them. To me, it validates me. I’m married, I have a lot of wonderful things about my life that I’m super excited about, but this one is a big accomplishment.” A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Simmons began her career as a fashion model at the age of 13, when she was personally chosen by well-known fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for the house of Chanel in Paris. Her success as a runway model gave her the sense of style that continues to propel her as a fashion designer, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. The Ellsworth audience chuckled empathetically when Simmons said sometimes the demands of business and four children on different body clocks (a three-year-old who’s awake too early in the morning through an 18-year-old who she needs to be sure is at home and in her room late at night) sometimes made her want to close the laptop and say “I can’t do it.” But she wants the degree and she believes it’s important to be a role model. “I have four From left: Ninamarie Ayala ’19, kids. I’m a mom and I always Kara Ormsbee ’19, and Kimora want to instill in them that Lee Simmons at a reception you can do it,” Simmons says. prior to the Ellsworth Lecture. Her parting advice was along the same line. “Never give up. People say that all the time. It’s important to hear someone say it and then you should tell your neighbor. You actually have to believe it for yourself. Never give up, because you can do anything.”
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Solar Eclipse
Left: In Paducah, Ky., UHart students and professors prepare to launch their balloon to record the historic Aug. 21, 2018, solar eclipse. Above: Mechanical engineering majors (and friends since high school) Mark Markiewicz ’18 (left) and Stefan Keilich ’18 did a test launch on campus in August.
As the moon moved between the earth and the sun over Paducah, Ky., last Aug. 21, University of Hartford student Mark Markiewicz ’18 was one of the only people not looking at the sky. The mechanical engineering major in the University’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) was furiously typing on a laptop, trying to communicate with satellites controlling NASA’s livestream of the total solar eclipse. Mark, mechanical engineering major Stefan Keilich ’18, and their professors had just launched a balloon carrying a camera that was supposed to contribute images to the stream. Unfortunately, the camera was not cooperating. “It’s not working,” Mark exclaimed as thousands of people focused on the disappearing sun at the watch party at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. “What is going on?” “Just stop for a minute,” Stefan calmly told his friend. “You have to see the eclipse.”
The 2017 total solar eclipse was the reason they worked for months with the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, drove more than a thousand miles to Kentucky, and spent hours assembling equipment in the middle of a Kentucky field in 100-degree heat. As the air turned cooler and the sky went dark, Mark finally looked up at the black circle surrounded by a glowing ring of light. “Oh my god!” Mark yelled. “This is the single greatest thing I have ever seen to date!” “Look at that ring of light! It’s beautiful,” Stefan exclaimed. Mark and Stefan could not contain their excitement over seeing this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. For these two friends, who grew up together in Windsor, Conn., and share a love of space, the moment was a dream come true. But then it was back to work. Fortunately, they were able to fix the camera and it beamed images
onto NASA’s website for people around the world to enjoy. CETA faculty train their students to solve problems. That training proved invaluable on this day. From rolls and rolls of duct tape to a fuse yanked from a pickup truck, Mark and Stefan used whatever they could find to make their task of launching a balloon carrying a camera to broadcast the eclipse a success. Their first launch attempt failed when the payload disconnected and crashed to the ground, but they didn’t give up. Students and professors immediately sprinted across the field to grab more helium for a second attempt. Students from Bluegrass Community and Technical College who also were part of the onsite team jumped in to help get the second balloon ready for launch. With the pressure of a large crowd watching their every move and time running out they double and triple checked all systems and did a second lift-off. This eight-foot-tall helium balloon and its payload drifted flawlessly toward the sky on its way to 80,000 feet. “It was so exciting for the students,” said University of Hartford Professor Hisham Alnajjar, director of the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, who was in Kentucky with the team. “When it finally went up, and then when we got the signal, wow. It was all worth it.” The NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, with UHart as its lead institution, is an affiliate of a federal grant, internship, and scholarship program funded as part of NASA’s Office of Education designed to broaden the participation of universities and individuals in aerospace science, engineering, and technology. Partners in this eclipse project included the University of Bridgeport, Discovery Museum and Planetarium, and Fairchild Wheeler Interdisctrict Multi-Magnet High School.
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John J. Carson ’65, a fixture at the University of Hartford spanning many decades, retired this past fall. Prior to working at UHart in a number of different roles, Carson served two terms as an alumnus on the Board of Regents and was an adjunct professor of economics. In 1997, he joined the University as interim vice president for finance and administration. In the ensuing two decades, Carson served as the University’s vice president of university relations, interim director of athletics, and two separate terms as senior advisor to President Emeritus Walter Harrison. Carson received the University Medal for Distinguished Service at Commencement in May 2016. Earning an engineering degree at the University of Hartford pays. That’s the word from Business Insider magazine, which recently published its list of “colleges where engineering students go on to make the most money.” The University’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) ranks 14th on the list alongside MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, and Cooper Union. According to the article, the early career median pay for UHart engineering majors is $61,900. Mid-career professionals from CETA earn a median salary of $130,000. “The high ranking in this nationwide survey is a credit to our accomplished alumni and the faculty and staff who prepared them so well,” says CETA Dean Lou Manzione. “We emphasize career readiness and hold many events where our students engage with our partner companies. This helps them to launch into their careers, realize early success, and sustain that success through solid understanding of the profession.”
Building a New Future Barney School expansion to begin this summer A transformational project at the Barney School of Business will result in 10,000 square feet of new student spaces and renovations to another 1,300 square feet to create a high-tech learning environment. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and to be completed in fall 2019. The project, funded by donors, is entirely devoted to the student experience. Among the new technology-rich spaces to support student success: The Stanley Black & Decker Commons and Hubbell Café will be inviting areas for students to meet and engage with one another or to catch up with their professors. The David C. Lincoln Trading Room and Analytics Lab will be a simulated trading floor equipped with Bloomberg terminals, a
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ticker tape, and technology for advanced data analytics trading. The Alumni Hall of Fame Collaboration Corridor will be the perfect setting for small- and large-group meetings for team projects. The People’s United Insurance Center for Career and Professional Development will be a collaborative space focusing on all aspects of professional development, including résumé building, practice interviews, and industry presentations. The Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship will serve as a technology-enabled campus hub for new business ideas and commercial opportunities.
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Partnering Up Walton Family Foundation grant expands Montessori education and research The University of Hartford and the Montessori Training Center Northeast (MTCNE) celebrated 10 years of partnership and the beginning of an exciting second decade last fall during an open house at MTCNE’s newly renovated facility at Butterworth Hall on UHart’s Asylum Avenue campus in Hartford. The partners were awarded $4.8 million from a fund directed by James Walton of the Walton Family Foundation to establish an undergraduate Montessori education program at UHart and conduct research about Montessori educator preparation over the next five years. In addition to program support, the grant provided funding for MTCNE to renovate and relocate to historic Butterworth Hall, built in 1917. The first students in the undergraduate program began last fall. The Walton Family Foundation grant is one of the largest educational grants awarded to UHart in its 60-year history. In awarding the competitive grant in June 2017, the Walton Family Foundation recognized the decadelong partnership and the success of their collaborative master’s program, which incorporates Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) teacher training delivered by MTCNE into the graduate education curriculum. Currently, UHart and MTCNE offer the only program in the northeast that combines AMI teacher training with a graduate degree. “The University of Hartford has a long-standing history of community partnerships,” Provost H. Frederick Sweitzer says, “and this is one of which we are most proud, especially now that it is a three-way partnership with the James Walton Fund.” James Walton explained that he developed an interest in Montessori teaching and training as he was finishing college and looking for ways to solve some of the biggest issues facing society today. “This partnership has a vision to find the most viable and competitive approach to training more and better Montessori teachers. We are thrilled to stay engaged with Hartford and to learn from all the innovative solutions that are being piloted here.” The recently established Center for Montessori Studies, also located in the century-old Butterworth Hall, supports the research, teaching, and practice for the benefit of the partnership’s students and the broader Montessori community. “It’s the perfect place for us to do our training of future Montessori teachers, who are carrying on a century-old methodology that still has great importance in the development of the child,” says Tim Nee, managing director of MTCNE.
For the third consecutive year, In Tune Monthly magazine has included the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School in its October issue’s “Best Music Schools” 2018 report. Each year, In Tune Monthly’s “Best Music Schools” college report offers high school students a look into the top college music programs across the country and offers advice on selecting a school. In Tune Monthly is the only magazine written exclusively for middle school and high school music students. Emily Hadorn ’18 (right) and Krista Guerin ’18 are the 2018 winners of the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School (HAS) annual Alexander A. Goldfarb Juried Student Exhibition. Hadorn and Guerin each received a $1,000 purchase prize, which makes their art pieces permanent parts of the HAS Goldfarb Memorial Collection. This year’s juror, Valentina Galossi, is an international curator based in Europe. On Thursday, Feb. 22, she joined the crowd gathered in Joseloff Gallery via Skype to make the award announcements. Hadorn, a senior illustration major from Leominster, Mass., submitted a black-and-white photograph to the show. This was her first time entering the Goldfarb exhibition, and as an artist hoping to establish a career in comics, she approaches photography with more fun than formality. Guerin, a senior painting major from Chicopee, Mass., submitted a painting to the Goldfarb exhibition for the past two shows. Both pieces were from her “Shower Series,” inspired by Guerin’s love of water. To her, this year’s piece expresses more compositional freedom and harnesses the compositional lessons she’s learned.
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ACCOL A D ES
Enriching Lives
Expanding community is UHart Hillel’s measure of success
To find out more about Hillel go to hartford.edu/hillel
Maybe you’d like some jazz, blues, or soul on Shabbat. Or perhaps a podcast is your preferred medium for discussing the Torah. Shabbat Around Campus and HawkTorah are just two of the ways the University of Hartford Hillel is connecting with more students to expand how Jewish life is discovered and strengthened on campus. “We’re a pluralistic organization,” says Hillel Director Jason Oruch. “We offer a little of everything because you never know what will make the connection in terms of Jewish life. It might not be a service. It might be volunteering. It also might be text studies. Or it might just be showing up for a bagel brunch. I think that is what Hillel is really able to offer students—community.” Results of that vision have earned UHart Hillel some well-deserved notoriety of late. In the winter of 2016, at the annual Hillel International Global Assembly (HIGA) in Orlando, Oruch was awarded the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award. The honor is given to professionals who have a “passion for enriching the lives of Hillel students and ensuring that the organization reflects a culture of excellence.” And this past winter at the HIGA in Denver, UHart Hillel was a named one of the Top 5 Most Improved In-Depth campuses for its participation in Hillel International’s Measuring Excellence Program. “We are one of the 80 campuses that
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share our data—fundraising, financials, student engagement—with Hillel International for them to better share our story and to create fundraising opportunities,” Oruch says. In the 2016–17 school year, he explains, Hillel connected with about 400 students; 90 of those students, or close to 25 percent, had connections six or more times, which is Hillel International’s high impact number. UHart Hillel is connecting with students through a variety of vehicles, and not just Jewish students. For Shabbat Around Campus, students, faculty, and staff host the Friday night dinner. “They choose when it is, where it is, what they serve, who they invite,” Oruch says. For instance, Hillel partnered this year with the Campus Activities Team to blend the annual “Some Blues, Some Jazz, and Some Soul Food” program during Black History Month with a weekly Shabbat dinner. The shared history of Blacks and Jews throughout the Civil Rights Movement was highlighted, focusing on the relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Other programs include a mentoring collaboration with The Emanuel Synagogue of West Hartford, internship matching through the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, peer-to-peer programs like Hillel Big/Little, and HawkTorah, where students use podcasts to discuss the Torah and “how it relates to the modern-day person.” “I really believe that we should be impacting every student on campus, whether they are Jewish or not, through the lens of Jewish life,” Oruch says. “Beyond that, the vision is that the University of Hartford is the first choice for Jewish students nationwide and that people are applying here and coming here because they know how great it is to be Jewish here.”
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“People typically refer to stories as something that’s chapter by chapter, but journeys last you a lifetime.” MIGUEL BADILLO A’17 ’19, a Hillyer College graduate and current psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences
THANK YOU!
2018 Founders Day Giving Challenge a huge success
Student Union Transformed The UHart community gathered last fall to cut the ribbon on Gengras Student Union’s renovated space and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the student union’s dedication. The old outdoor patio has been transformed into a new community space for students, faculty, and staff named Hawk Lounge. New collective spaces are inspiring collaborative work and encouraging participation in organizations. Career Services has moved into new office space, centrally located on the main level, providing students with easy access to valuable career resources.
Thank you to the 1,460 alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and students who helped to make the 2018 Founders Day Challenge a huge success! Your contributions totaling $187,870 are supporting the dreams of current students and empowering them to pursue their passions. We are so proud of what our community has accomplished together!
“I cannot imagine being more optimistic about the future of ENHP under Cesarina’s leadership. Her diverse academic background as well as her warmth, intelligence, communication skills, and energy position her well for leadership here.” Provost FRED SWEITZER in announcing the new dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions, CESARINA THOMPSON.
FALL COMMENCEMENT
Charles Pagano Jr. ’84, M’07, retired executive vice president and chief technology officer at ESPN and 2017 recipient of UHart’s Distinguished Alumni Award, speaks to candidates for master’s and doctoral degrees at the first of two Fall Commencement ceremonies held Dec. 3 in Lincoln Theater. He told graduates that his “success at ESPN has a perfect correlation to the education and training that I’ve received here. My charge to you is simple. This world needs leadership at every corner of our existence. Our children need it, our society needs it, and our nation needs it. Your education here is just one tool in the tool box of life going forward; you all now need to develop your own leadership tools and passion for it.”
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HARRISON LIBRARIES
Harrison Libraries is a true centerpiece of campus following its recent expansion and renovation that brought Mortensen and Allen libraries together in one building. The addition includes a three-story glass back wall that faces the Park River, which flows through campus. The main level features a “learning commons” with technology-rich academic study spaces. The lower level is now home to Allen Library and its collection of music and dance materials.
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Wick Griswold Associate Professor of Sociology
Wick Griswold, who gets very into his subject matter (left), has written several books, including this 2005 work (right) filled with historical facts and local myths.
Going with the Flow Hillyer professor shares humor, hope, and passion for the environment with students
See the latest achievements of UHart faculty at hartford.edu/ faculty-accolades.
One of the University of Hartford’s most popular professors, Renwick “Wick” Griswold ’73, M’90, has transformed generations of students through his sociology courses, his books, and his love of the environment, in particular the Connecticut River. With his captivating style and conscientious outlook, Griswold, an associate professor of sociology in Hillyer College, has instilled the feeling that students can make a difference in the world.
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“I was dreading classes in general,” one student shared on a professor ratings blog. “But by the second week, Gris (as many of his students call him) made me feel like I could make a difference and help fix a flawed system. He is engaging, fun, and worth the time. Plus, he is hilarious. I changed to a soc major because of him.” Another student wrote, “Who doesn’t love Gris? I learned so much. He doesn’t go by the books, which makes life a lot more interesting. He loves what he does and cares about going beyond the classroom. Awesome guy and professor!” Griswold takes pride in the impact he’s had on so many. “When I started teaching, the words ‘service-learning’ hadn’t been spoken yet. I came from a human services/ antipoverty agency. I saw there was a disconnect between (life on campus and) what people were doing in the real world so I made it my business to get students out of the classroom and into the real world. I think that’s been a very important part of my teaching philosophy and now it’s become institutionalized in higher education all across the country. “We were pioneers at the time. Experiential education is tremendously important, which is why we do the environment stuff that we do. My students go out every fall and clean up the Connecticut River. That’s really important and a lot of students have carried those lessons throughout their lives.” Needless to say, Hillyer College won’t be the same when Griswold concludes his last semester of teaching in December.
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“It’s time,” says the Old Lyme native, whose Hartford Hawk roots are long and deep. He arrived on campus as an undergraduate in the late 1960s. Family members had worked at the University before that. He began teaching in the early ’80s. “I’ve had a good run. I will always miss the students. One of the great things about teaching is that you’re always learning something. I’ll miss that give and take in the classroom.” So what’s next for the UHart scholar? “I’ll write more books and make more movies,” he says. Through his books A History of the Connecticut River and Connecticut Pirates and Privateers: Treachery and Treasure in the Constitution State, Griswold has spread a refreshing appreciation of the region’s longest waterway. His latest book and film project, The Ferries of the Connecticut River (The History Press), is to be released this spring. The project is a collaboration with his mentor, Stephen Jones, professor emeritus of English and maritime studies at the University of Connecticut, Avery Point. Together they chronicle 400 years of ferries on the river from a historical and contemporary aspect. The film will be broadcast nationally on public television. “The oldest continuously operating ferry in service in America is in Rocky Hill and Glastonbury,” Griswold notes. “Our goal is to develop public support to keep the ferries going. Every once in awhile, the state tries to shut them down. Then there’s a groundswell of phone calls to the governor’s office and the legislature. So far, we’ve been able to keep them running. They are part of our cultural heritage. They’re a wonderful, spiritual experience. As opposed to sitting in your car, you can take a boat ride and see some beautiful vistas. They’re just good things. Something that’s been in existence since 1655 deserves to stay in existence, I think.” His current book/film project is on Adriaen Block, the Dutch trader and navigator credited with being the first European to travel Long Island Sound
“Gris made me feel like I could make a difference and help fix a flawed system. He is engaging, fun, and worth the time. Plus, he is hilarious. ” and the Connecticut River. “The book is titled In the Wake of Adriaen Block. This summer, we’ll film a re-creation of Adriaen Block’s travels up the Connecticut River on a replica of his ship (the Onrust).” Griswold is also collaborating with the Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford on an exhibit for the Connecticut River Museum that surveys 400 years of immigrations into the Connecticut River Valley. The exhibit is expected to open in spring 2019. Those projects are in addition to the 10 original historical radio dramas about the Connecticut River he’s producing, and his radio show, Connecticut River Drift, on the Internet station i-CRV. Griswold will continue to monitor the piping plovers and least terns nesting near his corner of the world at the mouth of the Connecticut River, which has been his family’s home since 1640. “The Connecticut, for most of my life, has been the first thing I see every morning,” he says. “I’m on the water all of the time. I will continue to keep watch.” H
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A Fulbright Future Associate Professor Katharine Owens has been awarded one of the world’s most prestigious educational honors—a Fulbright foreign scholarship—to teach and do research on marine debris found along India’s southwest coast. Owens will model her work after the class Marine Debris: Policy and Action that she taught at UHart in 2016. At that time, she worked with students to collect and catalog more than 1,600 pieces of trash along Connecticut’s beaches, and shared the results with the environmental committee of the Connecticut General Assembly. “One of the reasons I applied to do this research in India is to have the ability to do a combination of teaching and research,” says Owens, who hopes to to have some UHart students travel to Kerala, India, in spring 2019 to help with the project. “In my marine debris class, students learn about marine debris policy, and at the same time, do experiential learning.” As part of the course, students collect and categorize debris, see where it comes from, and then share that information with local leaders who can influence policy. “It is a wonderful honor to have one of our professors selected for one of the most respected academic scholarships in the world,” says Katherine Black, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Katharine is a leader in studying environmental policy and its impact. We are very proud of her accomplishments and we look forward to welcoming her back to share her new knowledge with students at the University of Hartford.” The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program sends American scholars, artists, faculty, and professionals abroad to lecture and/or conduct research for up to a year. It is the flagship international education program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
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LEADING WITH
HART Gregory Woodward is passionate about family, the arts, and the powerful role of education. H / UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD MAGAZINE
While riding in the car his first year in college, Greg Woodward’s mom, an artist, asked him why he wasn’t majoring in music in college. After all, she pointed out, “you spend all your time playing music.” “I didn’t think that was acceptable,” he recalls. “I remember leaning over and giving her a big hug.”
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ore than four decades later, the University’s new president is grateful that his parents encouraged him to follow his passion. Music has not been the only fine art to feed his soul. Experiencing art, whether absorbing the modern art of Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso or listening to Ludwig van Beethoven and Igor Stravinsky, broadens your mind and heart, he says. “The arts expand your emotional boundaries, your experiences, your feelings,” he explains. “When I saw the Pieta two years ago in Rome, I almost collapsed to my knees. I am inspired and moved the most when I see humans accomplish amazing things.” Writing music and playing the clarinet, saxophone, and piano taught Woodward discipline and skills that he has brought with him into leadership roles in higher education. “Working hard at something you care about will always pay off, even if you don’t end up pursuing that work further,” he says. “The whole experience is a winning package. Do what you care about. Job and career paths have a way of working themselves out.”
Growing up in West Hartford, Woodward spent his youthful days playing a lot of music and sports, performing with the Hall High Jazz Band on the first Eurotour as lead alto saxophone and then playing Division I soccer at Villanova in his first year in college. After short enrollments at Connecticut College and The Hartt School, he graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in music composition. Playing team sports and in musical ensembles imparted lifelong lessons and introduced Woodward to people he possibly wouldn’t have met otherwise. “I’ve been a musician my whole life, and being a musician, I played in a lot of bands—jazz bands, rock bands,” he recounts. “When you’re in a band, there’s something bonding about it. The bands I’ve been in have often been filled with people from different cultures and countries, from different socio-economic backgrounds, and from all walks of life. You realize, very powerfully, that there are a lot of different ways to view and experience the world.” As a doctoral student at Cornell University in upstate New York, Woodward and a friend taught a class in jazz history at Auburn Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison. Later, as the dean of the School of Music at Ithaca College, he launched a music program for a maximum-security juvenile prison. “Once a week, we’d bring in drums and synthesizers. We would teach them how to write music and play some things,” he says, “just to give them something, because there was nothing else going on; no formal teaching of any kind. Every week we went and we were excited, and when we left, we were just heartbroken. There was such natural joy in them, so much young energy but they had little hope for their own futures.” Those experiences transformed Woodward and have stayed with him through his career, first as a composer and music professor, and later as a college dean and president. Through his own continuing education and experiences, he feels as though he understands his own privilege and that of many
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around him throughout his life. The realization continues to drive him to strive to make education accessible and possible to those less fortunate. As the president of a university with 38 percent of enrollees self-identifying as students of color, Woodward has set a goal to provide support for all students while closing the graduation achievement gap that exists between different cohorts of students. Educating young people fulfills a societal need and provides lasting value, he says. “When our students leave, yes, they will get a job; yes, they will have skills; and they will have attained a level of professional competence to be positive contributors to society,” Woodward explains, “but, in the end, don’t we want them to also have great lives? Can we turn their brains on to all kinds of things that they might not have thought about before? Can we nurture and encourage them to be broad thinkers about society and our planet, to be gracious and understanding with other people not like them? Can we instill a deep intellectual curiosity so as to make their lives more interesting and powerful?” he asks. “Without a transformative miracle, the only answer left for a better world is education. What else is there? How are we going to actually get better? How are we going to learn more about our planet and our environment? How are we going to treat each other better? How are we going to better understand each other? How are we going learn to be patient with other people’s religions and beliefs? How are we going to eliminate poverty? Clearly not through hatred, divisiveness, greed, and elitism. It’s only going to happen through education. It’s our only hope.” Woodward sees education as the most powerful, helpful force in our human universe. “So, I’m happy to be part of that,” he says. “If I hadn’t devoted my professional life to this, I would have been involved in public school education, or, to be blunt, I would have been specifically involved in trying to help people in tough situations through education. While he hasn’t exactly had the time to compose since coming to Hartford, Woodward has a synthesizer in his office
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Penny and Greg Woodward share a moment together in Russell House, the president’s residence. On the wall behind them is an oil painting by Power Boothe, professor of painting, titled Transient 1, 2016—one of many works of art from students and faculty exhibited in the Woodwards’ home and in public spaces throughout the University.
and plays to relax. He started writing an opera based on James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and hopes to finish it someday. In the meantime, he reads every night before going to bed, finishing a book a week. He reads to learn about the human condition and to enjoy beautiful writing. “I like to read the great authors, the classics, and the great poets,” he says. His two daughters, Julia, 29, and Vivienne, 27, studied literature and writing, respectively, and the three of them compete to see who can be the first to finish a 300-book list of classics. “They’re voracious readers, so we share books,” he says. “Holidays are always huge book-exchanging events.” Julia is dean of the senior class and an English teacher at Chauncey HallChapel Hill, a private boarding school near Boston. Before that, she taught for Teach for America in inner-city schools in Boston. Vivienne, a creative writer, is an assistant manager at a small, independent bookstore in South Philadelphia, HeadHouse books. Woodward’s son, Charlie, 24, has a degree in physics and works as a team lead for Epic, a healthcare software company in Madison, Wisconsin. Penelope, a retired 32-year public school instrumental music teacher, was so well loved in their hometown of Trumansburg, New York, that Greg was known as the guy who always seemed to be around setting up chairs and music stands, invariably referred to as “Penny’s husband.” Later, as the “first lady” of Carthage College in Wisconsin, Penny taught music as a volunteer in Kenosha inner-city schools. When he retires, Greg says he’s planning to follow her lead and volunteer to teach music classes in a variety of settings, in addition to getting back to composing.
WITHOUT A TRANSFORMATIVE MIRACLE, THE ONLY ANSWER LEFT FOR A BETTER WORLD IS EDUCATION. WHAT ELSE IS THERE? HOW ARE WE GOING TO ACTUALLY GET BETTER? The couple has been married for 31 years, and the family gets together frequently even though they’re spread across four states. “There’s no doubt that my greatest joy and accomplishment in life is to have been a part of this
amazing family. Music, literature, art, sports, great students and colleagues at three wonderful institutions, and a loving and close family; I truly have been blessed in this beautiful life.” H
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UHart student Nina Vázquez ’19 experiences life in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
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“Water! They have water!” the children shouted as they ran toward a water tanker truck. Adults came running out of their homes carrying buckets and any other containers they could find.
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You may think this scene is in a remote, underdeveloped area of the world with no running water or reliable water sources. In actuality, it is what University of Hartford junior Nina Vázquez saw in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, four weeks after Hurricane Maria swept across the island on Sept. 19, 2017. Before the hurricane, Aguadilla was a surfer’s paradise and home to a variety of industrial and pharmaceutical plants.
Photos taken by Nina Vázquez ’19 during her trip to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Top to bottom: Devastation outside Aeropuerto Rafael Hernandez. Residents in line for water and food. Sign of resilience: “Puerto Rico will get back up! I’m not giving up.”
Nina and her family traveled to Aguadilla in October after her grandfather died. After the storm, he had no electricity to operate necessary medical equipment and no clean water. Those conditions hastened his death, the family was told. Until her family moved to Meriden, Conn., when she was 13 years old, Nina lived in Aguadilla, located on Puerto Rico’s west coast, more than two hours from San Juan. Just after Nina and her family landed at the airport on the west side of the island, the electricity and communication system failed and there were no generators. “There was total darkness inside the terminal,” Nina says. “There was no automated way to deliver the luggage, so airport personnel read the luggage tags to us by flashlight. The process took two hours inside a sweltering hot terminal.” Once outside, they had their first look at the homes, businesses, and property damage. “It was total devastation,” Nina says. “Trees looked like broken pencils and there was rubble everywhere. Before arriving, I told myself it wouldn’t be that bad, but it was that bad.” The Vázquez family had no way to communicate with local family or friends to let them know they were at the airport. A man who drove them to a car rental facility had the same issue. He had not been able to communicate with his family in the United States to let them know he was alive. At the facility, the family was fortunate that a U.S. government staffer returned a car while
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they were there; otherwise, there were no rental cars to be found. Once they arrived in Aguadilla, the Vázquez family went to the morgue, where they met with overwhelmed staff who told them the burial had to take place that day. “No, no, we told them,” says Nina. “We have just arrived and we haven’t been able to tell everyone or make preparations.” But the staff said they couldn’t keep putting burials off. “They said there were so many people lost in the days and weeks after the hurricane that they couldn’t continue to keep them all. They agreed to give us one more day; it was very frustrating.” Acquiring the necessities like food and water was equally frustrating. Nina saw the water tanker truck that children and adults were running to on her first day there. Her relatives said it was the first time since the storm hit that a water truck had come to the neighborhood. It also was the only time it came in the two weeks Nina was there. Stores were letting three to 10 people in at a time, which created long lines. Once inside, the shelves were mainly empty. No one bought fresh food even if it was there. “My cousin explained that you couldn’t be sure that the fresh food was any good because of the lack of electricity, and if you brought it home, you had no way to store it without electricity. That’s why they were only eating canned goods. And because of shortages, most people were eating only once a day.” In one store, Nina was carrying a case of water to check out when an elderly woman approached and offered her $40 for the case. The woman said she needed water for her grandchildren. Nina felt terrible telling the woman that she couldn’t give her the water because her family also needed it. As it turned out, neither of them got water there that day
“ because the electricity failed, disabling cash registers and ATMs. Another time, Nina and her cousin stood in line at a distribution point for hours and noticed that although they were supposed to receive a full case of water, the workers were cutting the cases in half. Because the water sat in the hot sun so long, it made some people sick, so her family could only use it for washing dishes and clothes. “One day, my father and I were just driving around and saw a water truck,” Nina recalls. “Again, people were running and we did too. I never thought I’d see people running to get water in the United States.”
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The problem is far from over even though FEMA has pulled aid from Puerto Rico. There still are people who do not have a home, food, water, and electricity. This is a humanitarian crisis within our country.”
Nina, who is pursuing a double major in political science and criminal justice with an emphasis on race and ethnic issues, first recounted her experiences in December 2017, three months after Maria, on a panel that discussed the role and rights of U.S. citizenship titled “Puerto Rico in Crisis: Humanitarianism, Diaspora, and Colonialism.” The other panelists were Bianca GonzalezLesser, a University Jackie McLean Fellow who teaches in the Hillyer College Department of Social Sciences, and Luis Beltran-Alvarez, a PhD candidate in political science at UConn. Five months after Maria, in February 2018, Nina says her family in Aguadilla is
able to find food and water in the supermarkets but the electric company has not been to their community, so families have put electrical cables together to provide limited electricity in their houses. Refrigerators and televisions require too much power, so they are storing meats and food in beach mini-fridges with ice. “Two things from the trip have an ongoing impact on me,” Nina says. “First, how people became one in supporting each other. Neighbors who probably had never spoken before were having dinner together. Second, seeing how purely symbolic our U.S. citizenship is. As Bianca and Luis said in the presentation, we are not socially accepted as citizens; our citizenship really only allows us to move from the island to the United States. Many people on the island noticed that in the last few months.” Nina was scheduled to return to Aguadilla during spring break to see how she can help. “For two weeks, I experienced what Puerto Rican U.S. citizens on the island experienced,” she says. “The problem is far from over, even though FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has pulled aid from Puerto Rico. There still are people who do not have a home, food, water, and electricity. This is a humanitarian crisis within our country.” H
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HAS grad Corey Pane ’11 creates inspiration for today’s top athletes.
& solE Sometimes, invention is the mother of necessity. And such has been the case with Corey Pane ’11. A 27-year-old graduate of the University’s Hartford Art School, Pane has already tasted the satisfaction of professional success. Thrust into the spotlight after being featured in Sports Illustrated, Pane has many talents at work—a full picture of which can be revealed through a quick Google search. Motivated by his passion for artistic expression, Pane is humble about his ability to create inspiration on the field for some of the top athletes in professional sports.
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< A pair of custom Hartford Hawks cleats recently created by Corey Pane will be auctioned off during Hawktober Weekend to benefit student scholarships.
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very day, Pane sits in his studio surrounded by the large, vivid portraits that dominate his visual narrative and paints whatever he’s been asked to create that day. He explains, hip hop artists unfazed, “You take what comes your way.” And he does. In fact, on a recent day, he was working on illustrations for a cookbook—an unusual assignment, even for Pane, whose usual clientele includes local and emerging rock bands and hip hop artists needing slick artwork for albums covers and concert posters. He’s also painted vast brick walls, gritty sidewalks, t-shirts, electric guitars, steel barrels, and dozens of other items for all sorts of clients, and for such endeavors, he’s apt to weave elements and styles in ways that create an energy reflective of the music or simply the moment. In 2016, a social media post changed things. Pane had painted a portrait of former Patriots wide receiver Chad Johnson—one much like many others he had done. But when his brother saw it, he sent it off via Twitter to Johnson himself, who loved it, arranged to buy it, and shared it with Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown. Brown immediately commissioned Pane to do a portrait of him and his son. The two had dinner together, hung out a little, and became quick friends. After Pane finished the portrait of Brown and his son, and a week before the 2017 NFL season opener, Brown asked him to paint his cleats for that first game, and the rest, as they say, is history. Using the acrylics he favors, Pane whipped out a pair of cleats sporting white clouds on a sky-blue background, Brown’s “84” displayed prominently, which the NFL star wore twice before commissioning more. Soon, additional requests for Pane’s painted cleats came in from other football notables—among them Martivus Bryant, wide receiver for the Pittsburgh
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Steelers, who wanted a pair of cleats to honor Jimi Hendrix. Then several were commissioned for the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” week late last fall by players recently familiar with Pane’s work. New Orleans Saints tight end Josh Hill ordered a pair to raise funds for wounded veterans through Operation Hat Trick, while Minnesota Vikings defensive back Xavier Rhodes had a pair made to honor the Boys & Girls Clubs. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier had his cleats painted to raise awareness about alopecia areata, a common autoimmune skin disease causing hair loss on the scalp, face, and other areas of the body. Along with each pair of cleats came more acclaim and greater interest. Payne has had calls from Pepsi and Mountain Dew, both of which have commissioned work from him. And he’s done some jerseys and sweats for players’ brands. But Payne’s dream is that a company like Nike will reach out. And why not? He’s been profiled repeatedly by both print and broadcast media, featured in countless YouTube clips, and had an article written about him in none other than Sports Illustrated—not only for his clever “kicks,” as they call them, but for his genuine talent as a professional artist. “Art has always been something I really wanted to do,” he explains, noting that as a kid, he was always drawing. And while he remembers drifting into sports and music, he also remembers coming back to the art that drives him. “When I started drawing again, the first portrait I did was Jim Morrison—and I haven’t stopped since. It’s always been in me.” A “local boy,” Pane attended West Hartford’s Conard High and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, an interdistrict magnet high school where he was able to focus on and develop his considerable talents. After that, he spent a year studying at the New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA) in Manchester, New Hampshire, which is
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IF yOu’Re DoiNg It And iT’s noT wOrkIng ouT, rEmeMbeR tHat alL yOu NeeD iS tHat onE lIttLe BreAk. described as “the oldest and largest arts institution in the state,” having opened its doors in 1898. “I liked NHIA,” says Pane, “because it was a small school and it was in the country, and I’m kind of outdoorsy.” But when he transferred into UHart’s Hartford Art School, he found his stride. “I think the best thing about going to University of Hartford was all the people I met in all of the different programs,” Pane recalls. “That was the biggest thing for me—being around all these people who came from all kinds of different places and were doing all kinds of different things.” That’s not surprising, since Pane speaks often about the value of making new connections while nurturing those long established. And when you stop to consider how his recent celebrity stems from the new connections, friendships, and opportunities his amazingly cool cleats have brought him, it’s clear that he has both a big heart and a good head. So what does Pane do when he’s not painting? Well, sometimes he spends time drumming—music being a passion interwoven with his love of paints and brushes and whatever canvas he can find. But he also enjoys traveling, and right after graduating from UHart, Pane and his college buddy Griffin Kalin spent more than three months on a cross-country bike trip that took them all the way from Connecticut to California. Pane laughs: “The first day
we made it to Brooklyn. It took us 16 hours, because everything that could have gone wrong did. Flat tires. You name it. And we ended up an hour away from our destination because we didn’t have GPS or anything. Just low-tech flip phones. But we just learned from all that stuff and it made it so much easier for the rest of the trip.” His favorite location along the way? The state of Washington. “It reminded me of back home in Connecticut, but everything is bigger. The trees. And the mosses. It’s really beautiful out there.” What’s next for Pane? Plenty. While creating cool cleats for NFL greats has been an awesome experience and something he will continue doing as long as he can, paintings are his thing. “That’s really what I love,” he admits. “I love doing big paintings and murals.” And as the luxury of having a bit of fame affords him more time to focus on his stunning large-canvas works, he also admits that exhibiting his work more formally is something he hopes to start doing again. “I’ve done some shows in Hartford and New York,” Pane explains, “so I’d like to get back into that.” And imagining a gallery filled with his bright colors, expressive style, intriguing subjects, and evocative treatments makes one agree that his instincts are right on target. What words of wisdom does Pane have for the students now studying at the Hartford Art School and already
being asked how they intend to support themselves? Again, he chuckles. “People do ask things like that. But I’d tell them to stick to their own path, even if it seems it might be wrong. If you’re doing it and it’s not working out, remember that all you need is that one little break.” Pane would also caution them to be smart about the opportunities that do come their way while doing what they love. “People like to take advantage of artists by saying, ‘Oh, this will be good advertising.’” Lastly, he advises aspiring artists to develop and maintain good references along the way.
Pane’s artistic talents run deep. Wyld Woods (above), based on a dream he had, was made with acrylic and spray paint.
Finally, the question everyone who meets Pane wants to ask: Can you paint without that hat? Pane wears his signature hat no matter where he goes or what he does—a turned “flat cap” that suits his friendly nature. He drums with it, paints with it, and he even wore it to a wedding in which he was a groomsman. He owns up to knowing that the hat has become a part of him, though he says it’s not a muse he needs. Pane’s growing fan base doesn’t care about his headgear or his sources of inspiration. From superstars to multimillilon-dollar corporations, they all just want Corey Pane to keep on painting. H
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Victoria Cerami ’81 made a name for herself in a male-dominated industry. Now she is fostering a new generation of women who will do the same.
Blazing a Trail In 1987, at age 27, Victoria Cerami ’81 found herself in a man’s world. Unbeknownst to her at the time, it was a world she would eventually disrupt. Shortly after Cerami’s father, Vito, died from a heart attack, leaving behind a thriving acoustical engineering firm, she sat in a room full of businessmen 20 years her senior. She had one mission: to convince them that she was the right person to carry on her father’s legacy at Cerami & Associates.
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At the time, women were all but nonexistent in the field of engineering, so with a degree in mechanical engineering and a job as an associate at the firm that bore her name, Cerami had already proven herself a trailblazer. She aspired to successfully take over the vast and impressive client base that her father had built—now it was just a matter of convincing those clients that she was the woman for the job. “I was not my father. I didn’t know all that he had known—I couldn’t possibly have—but I knew when to admit that I didn’t know something. And I knew how to find answers,” says Cerami. Perhaps it was the determination passed down from her father that his clients recognized in her, perhaps it was the nuanced perspective she had to offer, but whatever it was, Vito’s clients decided to place their trust in his daughter. Not a single one would come to regret it. Cerami had grown up admiring her father’s ability to create innovative solutions to the acoustic issues of architecture. So, when she entered the University of Hartford in 1977, she had no doubt that engineering was her calling. “My goal in college to was to be like my father,” Cerami says. “I didn’t quite know what that meant at the time, but I knew I wanted to be like him.” At UHart, there were only 10 women engineers out of a class of a hundred. With a focus on acoustics, Cerami had access to professors who were willing to mentor a young, aspiring female engineer. After graduating in 1981, her technical training served her well in General Electric’s manufacturing program and subsequently when she joined her father’s firm. It wasn’t long, however, before Cerami learned that, as a businesswoman, she had to be prepared for anything. In 1987, the stock market crash turned the business of acoustical engineering on its head. Instead of building new structures, businesses were resorting to changing their
existing ones. Cerami knew that to be successful, she had to change with the times—and quickly. “I had no idea what the stock market crash would mean for the company at 27,” she admits. “It was before the Internet; it was before the contemporary flow of information. I used my intuition and looked at the industry in a new light, which allowed me to make the changes necessary for the company to grow.” This is, Cerami says, where she differs from her father. Vito had been a spectacular engineer and the driver of many industry standards. He was not, however, a businessman; the success of Cerami & Associates was not due to his innate business acumen, but rather his aptitude for engineering. “My dad was an engineer in business. I am in the business of engineering,” says Cerami. “While my dad looked at buildings from the bottom up, I look at a financial model and use it to assess what will drive profit for a client and determine how to design solutions that maximize them.” Cerami’s eye on monetization is very much a product of her time. Industry leaders, once laser-focused
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on skill, now have to be business savvy; architecture, once looked at as an art form, has become a commodity. Cerami did what any astute business owner would do to keep up with the increasingly profit-driven market—she adapted. “There are different driving forces in the industry today, and our firm has evolved to recognize that. Spaces need to be optimized. We ask ourselves ‘What are the things that will drive our clients’ businesses?’” But still, Cerami knew that her undergraduate degree and natural business instincts alone would not be enough to help her propel her business into the future. She decided that she needed formal business training. That training came in the form of a degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, a program well known for attracting confident and successful business people. Going to business school was a pivot for Cerami, whose education had always centered on technical skill, yet it provided her with an understanding of how to run a business and prompted her to start asking new questions: What are other people doing in regards to innovation? How do you optimize certain processes? How is the world changing and how do businesses keep up?
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Far left (inset): A portrait of Vito Cerami hangs in Victoria’s office. Left: Victoria Cerami ’81 (front) with some of the many UHart alumni she has hired. From left: Nicolas Roselli ’17, Josh Casserino ’15, James Perry ’96, Justin Lau ’03, Matthew J. Schaeffler ’09 (on phone in background), Scott Rubin ’15. Mike Sands ’11, Ari Lesser ’11, Virginia Demske ’15, Albert Maniscalco ’97, Caitlin Ormsbee ’12, Adam Wells ’11, and Thomas Gleason ’17
MENTORING @ UHART
In addition to her degree, Cerami came away from the program with a new perspective on innovation and a newfound confidence—one that would allow her to foster the growth of a new generation of women in engineering. “The gender discrepancies that exist in all male-dominated industries are very much present in the engineering space,” she says. It’s true, there are still very few women who are partners or owners of their own firms, but Cerami is passionate about elevating women to leadership positions. “The women that work with me tell me about their struggles and the things they’re dealing with, and my goal is to mentor them and help them emerge as leaders in engineering.” Indeed, Cerami & Associates is not only a thriving business that fosters women, but one that prides itself on being a company where people of all demographics that may not fit the stereotype of an engineer can hone the skills necessary to succeed. “One of the things I hoped 25 years ago was that the work ethic my father founded his company on would live on. Today that legacy still exists and has been infused with diversely talented people,” says Cerami. “Looking 25 years into the future, I hope that the
company will build upon those qualities and have a new fingerprint—one that doesn’t yet exist.” This vision of diversity, inclusion, and mentorship is one that sets Cerami & Associates apart in the engineering space. Although women make up a mere 13 percent of all engineers in the United States, 25 percent of the company’s employees are female. And Cerami feels that her firm is better off for it. With a diverse staff comes a wealth of skills and perspectives, all providing unique insight to an ever-growing client base. “As a business, it’s all about taking care of our clients. But for me, as an owner, it’s all about taking care of my people,” she said. “If my people are learning and experiencing new things, they do a better job for the clients, and that’s the environment we strive to create.” Cerami can attest to the importance of fostering young professionals, as she recognizes the value of the opportunities she was afforded at a young age. “I was very appreciative that I got a shot,” Cerami says. “Every client that had a relationship with my dad opened the door an inch for me, and I worked very hard to push that door farther open.” That open door allowed Cerami to blaze a trail for herself and for women to come, and along the way, she made a
For Victoria Cerami, head of Cerami & Associates, the largest female-owned engineering firm in the Americas, the BSME with an acoustics concentration she received from UHart in 1981 has helped guide her through an exceptionally successful career. Looking to help today’s students prosper, Cerami routinely returns to the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture to actively mentor students in every degree program. According to Robert Celmer ’78, professor of mechanical engineering and director of UHart’s acoustical engineering and music program, Cerami’s contributions to the University of Hartford and its College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture have been more than beneficial. They have been invaluable. “Victoria’s professional partnership with CETA has been incredible,” Celmer says. “She has been so consistently supportive of our students, not only in terms of full-time jobs but also in terms of hiring multiple summer interns. Many become so inspired by the experience that they return to work for Cerami & Associates when they graduate—an eventuality that is advantageous to the firm, as well, since they can really hit the ground running.” In fact, Cerami tells of a time when Cerami & Associates had four young men working there who had not only graduated from the University of Hartford’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture but were former roommates, too. “It was pretty neat,” she says, adding that her firm has actually built a culture around the University and its graduates. She isn’t exaggerating—65 percent of Cerami’s engineering associates are graduates of CETA.
name for herself in an industry where women’s names are few and far between. “When I started in the industry I didn’t have a first name, I was just Vito’s daughter,” Cerami explains. “Then, gradually, I became Victoria, Vito’s daughter.” Now, no less her father’s daughter, she is Victoria Cerami. H
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P A R A S ’ AT Joey “Batts” Battaglia ’04 has become a local legend in the Hartford community through his teaching, music, and community service. P ORTRAITS BY RU E D I H O F M A N N SPRING 2018
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ack in 2013, when he was organizing his first Hip Hop for the Homeless tour, Joey “Batts” Battaglia ’04 almost sounded modest about his big dreams for the charity event. “Year one, we may not do anything but collect 20 coats in Hartford. Hey, it’s a start,” he told the Hartford Courant. By the time the paperwork for the fourth annual six-city tour was wrapped up in early 2018, Batts had collected more than a few coats. “It has gotten bigger,” he said. “We raised $2,000 the first year. All four years we’ve raised a total of $10,000, which is pretty exciting for a grassroots thing.”
Watch and listen to Joey’s song “Hartbeat: A Love Letter to Hartford” at tinyurl. com/battshartbeat
That it is. Batts—officially Joe Battaglia from Uniondale, New York—has a knack for organizing excitement. He and his talents are practically omnipresent in Hartford. With a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in creative writing from the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP), he’s been teaching in Hartford schools for more than a decade. Along the way, he’s earned two nominations for Hartford Teacher of the Year, making it to finalist in 2013. Currently, he teaches American literature with a mix of serious conversations about rap, tats, and comic books at the Law & Government Academy at Hartford Public High School. His music, like his Facebook page, has a loyal following in Connecticut’s hip hop community. The Youngest, the latest album by his “collective” UZOO, was released last fall. His band Joey Batts & Them has been nominated for Best Hip Hop Act in the Connecticut Music Awards as well as the New England Music Awards.
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His first film, ROY G. BV, “a sensory journey through the ‘visible spectrum’,” premiered at the Wadsworth Atheneum in November. And, working with his student arts club, he paints murals throughout Hartford. Connecticut Magazine in January acknowledged the excitement Battaglia creates by naming him to Connecticut’s 40 Under 40: Class of 2018. “It’s an incredible honor to be welcomed in the Hartford community as an artist and an educator,” Battaglia says. “I’m always trying to educate, whether it’s on stage or in the classroom.” His philanthropic tendencies are also second nature. “I grew up in a family that didn’t have much,” he says. “I think it’s important to help people less fortunate. Not that I’m looking down on anyone but I’ve always wanted to get involved with philanthropy, to give back to the community. It’s humbling to hand someone something that you’ve just raised.” He became interested in teaching through a work study program in ENHP, under the faculty guidance of Regina Miller and S. Edward Weinswig. “I enjoyed working with the professors, seeing how they lived.” Their devotion to the community was inspiring, he says. “That’s when I realized I would enjoy education.” But education wasn’t Battaglia’s first love. He took some time to be sure it was the right choice. “After graduation, I dabbled in music for three or four years,” he recalls. “I traveled across the country performing. I was reluctant to get a big-boy job and realized I needed to make more money. I started teaching in 2007. I’ve been with Hartford schools for more than 10 years. “I think it’s important to be a role model for my students, to show them that people care,” Battaglia continues. “I want to make sure that I put forth that image in my community.”
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IT’S INCREDIBLY REWARDING TO SEE A CHILD WHOM PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN OFF ACHIEVE A DIPLOMA.”
His Hip Hop for the Homeless tour succeeds at that. Seeing homeless kids in his classroom was a transformative experience, he says. He decided to use his talents to make a difference. “We try to hit the main cities in Connecticut,” Battaglia explains, the likes of Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Middletown, New Britain, and New London. “We perform. Then we team up and collect donations.” All the proceeds, including from the sale of merchandise, are donated to the local homeless shelter or food bank. “It takes a lot of performers, city officials, and volunteers. It brings the hip hop community and the city together to fight homelessness and hungriness.” When he isn’t packing area pubs, taverns, art spaces and, on occasion, the on-campus Hawk’s Nest with fans of his alternative hip hop and freestyle rap, Battaglia spends a lot of time with students throughout the city of Hartford.
“I enjoy working at Hartford Public,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to work with people who are sometimes overlooked. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a child whom people have written off achieve a diploma.” In fact, after the Hartford school district’s 2016–17 budget was drastically cut, taking with it Hartford Public’s art teacher and art supplies, Battaglia took to GoFundMe to raise money to purchase art supplies for his study hall class. “I try to integrate art and creativity in all my ‘proper’ classes, but with my study hall group, ranging from seniors to freshmen, I wanted to do something full on and immerse them in painting murals. With more projects and handson-learning, we all can help leave a lasting impression that will hopefully usher in a new generation of artists,” he told potential donors. He raised more than $1,000 and Jerry’s Artarama in West Hartford came
through with boxes of supplies. The club has completed murals in the school and across the city. But Battaglia still struggles with the lack of funding. “I love these kids,” he wrote in a Facebook post with a photo of students earnestly working on art projects one cold January day. “I wish the school could/would give them more. Dozens of students in Hartford are going through high school without the proper avenues to explore creativity.” What’s next for Joey Battaglia? It’s certain to be a mix of art, hip hop, Hartford, students, and philanthropy. “I’m starting to branch out into the visual arts,” he says. “I really enjoy creating events. And I’m considering becoming an administrator, not just an educator.” Wherever we find him, Joey “Batts” Battaglia will still be inspiring kids, helping the homeless, and entertaining his many fans. H
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Women’s lacrosse joined the lineup of Hartford Hawks Division I sports teams, playing its inaugural game on Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium on Feb. 24. Debbie Phillips ’21 scored the first goal in program history just 31 seconds out of the opening draw and the Hawks never looked back in cruising to a 20–4 victory over Delaware State.
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Hawks Continue to Soar in the Classroom
UP FRONT
Women’s Lacrosse Has Arrived
AT H L E T I C S
Above, left to right: Abi White ’21, Caroline Massey ’18, and Billy McLaughlin ’19
Cheer on the team with new Hartford Hawks swag at hartfordhawks proshop.com
UHart student-athletes combined to earn a 3.31 grade point average for the fall 2017 semester, the 23rd consecutive semester and 12th consecutive year that the Hawks have finished with at least a 3.0 departmental GPA. Individually, 258 of Hartford’s 356 student-athletes (72 percent) earned a 3.0 GPA or better, while 164 (46 percent) earned a 3.5 or better. Additionally, 42 student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester, a 50 percent increase from the fall of 2015. “We are extremely proud of our student-athletes who have once again displayed success in the classroom,” said Director of Athletics Mary Ellen Gillespie. “This exemplifies the teamwork between Hartford student-athletes, faculty, and university and department staff and coaches for yet another semester. Everyone at Hartford is committed to student success.” The University of Hartford Department of Athletics has set the academic standard in the America East Conference, winning the newly renamed Walter Harrison Academic Cup in 2017 for the fifth time in the last six years. Named after UHart President Emeritus Walter Harrison, one of the nation’s top proponents for reforms that have improved the academic success of student-athletes nationally over the past decade, the Cup is awarded to the America East school with the highest overall GPA each year.
America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen (front center holding the cup with UHart President Gregory Woodward) visited campus to present UHart student-athletes with the Walter Harrison Academic Cup during a special halftime recognition ceremony during the Jan. 31 women’s basketball game. Pictured to the immediate left of Huchthausen are Lou Manzione, dean of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture; and Director of Athletics Mary Ellen Gillespie.
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AT H L E T I C S
Numbers Game Professor and two students crunch data for Men’s Basketball program
From left: Nicole Schaefer ’20, Assistant Professor of Mathematics David Miller, and Kristina Olenick ’20
One doesn’t need to dig too deeply into the numbers to conclude that the Hartford Men’s Basketball team enjoyed one of its best seasons ever. The Hawks recorded 19 wins, most in the school’s 34-year Division I era; knocked off a Big-10 opponent (Rutgers) for the first time in program history; defeated Vermont to end the Catamounts’ record 34-game conference winning streak; and played in its second-ever Division I postseason tournament (CIT). Yet there were three individuals who did dig deeply into the numbers—very deeply—all season long, interweaving academics with athletics. Kristina Olenick ’20 and Nicole Schaefer ’20 teamed with David Miller, assistant professor of mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, to provide detailed in-game analytics to the Men’s Basketball program this past season. Intently following the action high above courtside at each home game, the trio recorded important metrics such as shot selection,
SPORTS Soccer senior Morrison H / U NTIIC V KE E RR: S IMen’s TY O F HA R T F defender O R D M Andre AGAZ I N E drafted by Toronto FC
the effectiveness of different defensive strategies, and how the team performed with each individual player on or off the court. Reports were given to the men’s basketball staff at select timeouts so necessary in-game adjustments could be made. “Invaluable” is how Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Gallagher describes the role that Miller and the students played this year. The analytics “verified a lot of things we saw and pointed out some things we didn’t,” Gallagher says. “Any time you’re in a position of leadership and you can get more information to help your program run more effectively, you’re grateful. It’s a great way for students to learn about statistics.” Both Olenick and Schaefer played basketball themselves in high school—on opposing small-town Connecticut teams—but they never thought that their basketball knowledge would intertwine with their academic life at the University of Hartford. Olenick, from Lebanon, Conn., wants a career in insurance, so going to college in the
with the 69th pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. / Women’s Basketball recorded
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world’s insurance capital was a natural. The added experience of working with sports analytics, she says, will make her more prepared to enter an industry also rife with numbers and analysis. “I have played sports my whole life; sports are a major part of who I am,” Kristina says, “so this experience kind of ties everything together for me.” Schaefer is less certain of her ultimate career path but analyzing sports statistics is giving her a good idea of some of the different things she can do with math. “I wasn’t coming here expecting something like this,” she says, “but I picked the school because it was small. I come from a really small town of 8,000 people (Thomaston, Conn.)—I graduated with only about 50 classmates— and I loved that experience so I knew that in my college search, a smaller university was something I really wanted to look for. … I didn’t expect something like this opportunity but I picked this school with the hope that something hands-on might happen unlike at a bigger school.” And the students aren’t the only ones who appreciate such opportunities.
“Invaluable. [The
analytics] verified a lot of things we saw and pointed out some some things we didn’t. ” JOHN GALLAGHER, MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH
“I came from a larger university where you don’t have that intimate interaction with your students,” Miller says. “Coming to the University of Hartford, where I get to work with them, has been tremendous. They’re highly motivated, great students, and very attentive. It’s been a great project to work with.” So great, in fact, that Miller and his students are branching out. This spring, one can find the advanced analytics team at Fiondella Field, working with Hartford Baseball.
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Baseball’s Highest Honor Former Hawk Jeff Bagwell inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame
BY THE N U MBERS
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th Career victory recorded on March 23 for Baseball Head Coach Justin Blood, making him the winningest coach in program history
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th Career victory earned on Jan. 31 by Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Gallagher, vaulting him into the 100-win club
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Hawks drafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball firstyear player draft
Baseball’s ultimate honor was bestowed on one of the University’s own last summer—and an enthusiastic UHart contingent made the threehour journey to Cooperstown, N.Y., to witness the historic moment. Jeff Bagwell, who starred for the Hartford Hawks from 1987–89 and then enjoyed a stellar professional career with the Houston Astros, was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, thus becoming the first player from a New England college or university to be inducted during the Major League Baseball draft era, which began in 1965. Witnessing this proud moment in University of Hartford history firsthand were several dozen alumni and other supporters who took part in a UHart-sponsored bus trip—coordinated by Alumni Relations and Athletics. Each person in the traveling party received a special gift bag whose contents included a commemorative Bagwell Highland Mint Coin card and an induction pin. They paid special attention during the ceremony when Bagwell spoke about his University of Hartford days. “I was the starting shortstop my freshman year,” Bagwell explained, “which gave me a lot of opportunity, because if I went to a big school, I probably wouldn’t have played right off the get-go.” Bagwell spoke fondly about a pair of lifelong friendships he established during his UHart days and recalled the “memorable time and great team” of which he was part. The 1988 Hawks recorded a .707 winning percentage— tops in the school’s Division I era—and advanced to the championship game of the ECAC Tournament. Hartford’s all-time leader in batting average and slugging percentage, Bagwell was selected in the fourth round of the 1989 draft by the Boston Red Sox. He spent two years in Boston’s minor-league system before being traded to Houston, where he would became one of the game’s most potent sluggers during his 15-year Major League Baseball career. Bagwell was National League Rookie of the Year in 1991; National League Most Valuable Player and a Gold Glove honoree in 1994; and is still the only first baseman in history to hit 400 home runs and steal at least 200 bases. Bagwell finished his career as a four-time all-star and three-time Silver Slugger.
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th Place finish by Maria Loza ’21 in 2018 MAAC Women’s Golf Championship
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th Overall pick in the 2018 Major League Lacrosse draft— Griffin Feiner ’18
BASKETBALL REUNION
Hartford Men’s Basketball alumni returned to the Reich Family Pavilion on December 2 to see the Hawks take on Boston College before a sellout crowd of 3,438 in a game billed as the “Capital City’s Game of the Year.” It marked the first time that UHart has ever hosted an ACC opponent. Pictured, left to right: Eric Crawford ’85, Douglas McCrory ’88, David Thompson ’89, Vin Baker, Larry Jenkins ’88, Vish Naraine ’92, Jack Ayer ’94, Chris Young ’97, and Michael Bond ’95.
19 wins, the most in five seasons, and advanced to the league championship game. / Former Women’s Soccer player Kim LeMere ’93 inducted into the
Connecticut S P Soccer R I N G Hall 2 0of 1 8Fame.
40 / MIXED MEDIA / BOOKS,
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God and Starbucks is the inspirational memoir of Vin Baker ND (A&S) of Old Saybrook, Conn. It is sub-titled An NBA Superstar’s Journey Through Addiction and Recovery. He is a former UHart All-American and four-time NBA All-Star. Lauren Cook (A&S), associate professor of cinema, received a Jury’s Choice award for her newest animated film, Dot Matrix (2017), at the Black Maria Film Festival. Black Maria, named after Thomas Edison’s movie studio, has been running for 36 years and tours across the country at universities, galleries, and museums in far-flung inner city, rural, and suburban locations
as diverse as Jersey City, N.J.; Fond du Lac, Wis.; San Francisco, Calif., and Rome, Italy. Dot Matrix has been screened at multiple international film festivals. John Dennehy ’05 (A&S) of Wading River, N.Y., former Informer editor, is now a writer by trade. He has published his first book, Illegal: A True Story of Love, Revolution and Crossing Borders. It is a memoir, mostly about Ecuador. Jon Humphrey ’03 (Hartt) of Bellingham, Wash., has published his first science fiction novel, Continent, about an unlikely hero who uncovers an ancient secret while the fate of the
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human race hangs in the balance. Star Touched, the debut novel by A.l. Kaplan ’87 (HAS) of Laurel, Md., was released last fall. Dale Ludwig ’64 (A&S) of West Dennis, Mass., has published a book titled Backstory: The Stories Behind Great Novels, A Literary Passage in Time. It is the story behind great novels transporting the reader to those turning point places and mysterious moments that inspired great writers to create what they did. Robert Pawlicki ’61 (A&S) of Savannah, Ga., has published a third book on the topic of happiness.
It is titled Control What You Can Control: A Path to Happiness. Publishers Weekly (PW) has high praise for Strange Bird: The Albatross Press and the Third Reich, a recently published book by Michele Troy (Hillyer), professor of English. “The story of how this Englishlanguage book publishing company survived in the heart of the Third Reich becomes an absorbing tale of economics, censorship, and literature,” PW states, offering that “Troy’s riveting exploration of Albatross is a rewarding mix of publishing history, literary criticism, and biography.”
The highly anticipated first album from visionary drummer Jonathan Barber ’11 (Hartt) will be released this spring. Vision Ahead is Barber’s product of six years spent cultivating a distinct and immaculately tailored sound with like-minded musicians. It serves as a showcase of the fresh prospects that can be envisioned and the greatness that can be achieved when one is forced to face unanticipated, desolating challenges in life—in Barber’s case, the unexpected death of his only brother in 2016.
Share your newly released book, CD, or film with the UHart community. Email editor@hartford.edu.
WORDS OF WISDOM / EXPERT
Equality Angela Davis shares her wisdom with the UHart community
In February, noted activist, scholar, educator, and author Angela Davis appeared before a capacity crowd in Lincoln Theater and a standing-room-only crowd that watched via livestream in Konover Campus Center. During a two-hour “A Conversation with Angela Davis,” she shared her expertise on many topics while responding to questions from Javon Jackson, chair of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz in The Hartt School, and from a panel of four students, Xavion Whitmire ’20, Jessica Floyd ’18, Shyan Weir ’18, and Alexia Maitland ’18. Here are some of her thoughts on diversity, inclusion, and the struggle for equality.
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Q
Jessica Floyd ’18 asks: If we simply demand equal access for people of color, women, LGBT identities, and other group identities, are we supporting a superficial variation of multiculturalism that allows this institution called America to supposedly transform itself but continue to function in the old way? Angela Davis: That’s the issue. Somehow, we’ve been led to believe that all we need to do is create diversity. All we need to do is guarantee inclusion. I’m not saying we don’t need diversity and inclusion but it’s important to ask the question “inclusion in what?” Inclusion in the old structures so that they function in the same way they used to? What sense does it make for black people or Latinx people, or indigenous, or Asian American people to be included in a society that is still structurally racist? And right now, given that there is a great deal of attention on sexual harassment and sexual assault—finally. This should have happened a thousand years ago. But what kind of sense does it make to ask for the inclusion of women in a misogynist society that remains exactly the way it was when it excluded women?
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Shyan Weir ’18 asks: We are seeing history repeat itself in terms of civil rights rolling back and inequality increasing. Is it possible to overcome a second time? Angela Davis: Well, we never really overcame the first time. As a matter of fact, the emergence of the mid-20th century freedom movement (which everyone calls the civil rights movement but I prefer [to say] freedom movement) occurred because the work that should have been done in the immediate aftermath of slavery never happened. So here we are in the 21st century still addressing issues that should have been dealt with in the late 1860s and 1870s. This time, we have to be more determined. We have to recognize the extent to which structural change is needed. It is not just about assimilation or integration; it’s about transformation.
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ALUMNI NOTES
[’73] Carole P. Kunstadt ’73 (HAS), Untitled, cut and recombined photographs, 2014. PHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN KUNSTADT M’17 (HAS)
ALUMNI NOTES / NEWS
D EA R A LUM N I , A new name, new look, and incredible new stories! We hope that through this issue—and upcoming issues—of this magazine, you will be inspired by the many alumni and students who have engaging stories to share. They are points of pride for us and I hope everyone will celebrate their successes and offer support as one strong UHart community. All alumni have stories, and I hope you will find ways to share yours in formal or informal ways. Often we are so busy living our stories that we don’t get the chance to reflect on our finished “chapters.” Sharing your stories with others forces you to do this, and it can influence the future chapters of your life and your relationship with our great University. A few ideas on how to keep your stories alive with UHart:
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Contribute a Note! The University of Hartford alumni network is vast, with a diverse community of over 85,000 strong throughout the U.S. and around the globe. UHart alumni are making their marks everywhere—in the arts, in business, in STEM, as professional athletes, and more—and have incredible stories to tell. You were once students, and now you’re alumni for life. Keep those bonds strong and stay connected. M AI L : Class Notes Editor, Office of Alumni Relations,
200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117
ONL I N E : hartford.edu/submit-note
• Submit your story to Alumni Spotlight. • Mentor students through UHart Career Mentoring. • Enhance your network by attending a local alumni event. • Volunteer as a social media ambassador or a regional/events volunteer. • Visit our alumni website to learn more: hartford.edu/alumni. What is so powerful and wonderful is that all our stories include the University of Hartford! UHart is deeply rooted in the many stories of our learning, career, and life. It is our connector—and in our DNA. How we use that UHart DNA is ours to figure out. I encourage you to keep it alive and healthy, and I look forward to hearing your stories and to celebrating many new opportunities and milestones ahead for UHart.
See notes online...
Carolyn Reibling Bligh ’87 President University of Hartford Alumni Association
FOLLOW THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: facebook.com/UHartfordAlumni twitter.com/UHartfordAlumni instagram.com/UHartfordAlumni
DEGREE KEY A Associate Degree AD Artist Diploma C Sixth-Year Certificate D Doctorate GPD Graduate Professional Diploma M Master’s Degree ND Nondegree Alumna/us No letter designation before a degree year indicates a bachelor’s degree. P indicates the parent of a student or alumna/us.
indicates photo.
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PUBLICATION HISTORY Courtesy of University of Hartford Archives and Special Collections, a part of Harrison Libraries, which is responsible for preserving materials of historic value pertaining to the University and its community members for the benefit of students, staff, faculty, and other researchers. Visit hartford.edu/archives
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Since its early days as a university, the inspiring stories of UHart students, faculty, staff, and—increasingly—alumni have been shared through a publication that has evolved alongside the University. In November 1960, News and Views premiered and was replaced by Highlights nine years later. The Observer debuted as a newspaper in October 1974, was supplemented by Focus magazine from 1990–95, and then converted to a magazine itself in June 1999 … Leading us to this inaugural issue of H, our new University of Hartford Magazine.
SAVE THE DATE OCTOBER 19–21, 2018
Celebrating Alumni of Color at Hawktober Weekend Join the UHart community and fellow alumni of color on campus for a series of special events. WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Reception and dinner honoring DeLois “Mama Lo” Lindsey, » who is retiring after 33 years of being a cherished advocate and mentor for UHart students.
• Workshops and Networking • Alumni and Student Symposium • After Party • Campus Tour
UNITY. REFLECTION. RECONNECTION. REGISTRATION OPENS IN JULY.
hartford.edu/hawktober SPRING 2018
200 Bloomfield Avenue West Hartford,CT 06117 Change Service Requested
Hawktober PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION SAVE THE DATE OCTOBER 19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;21, 2018 hartford.edu/hawktober