Future president aims for change

MALLORY TERRENCE

ASST MANAGING EDITOR

MMT723@CABRINI EDU

Cabrini’s president-elect said a major goal of hers is to have a vibrant campus on the weekends.

“It is a wonderful thing to have a vibrant campus, particularly on the weekends, when there are so many things going on you don’t know which one to go to first. That is what I want to see happen,” Dr. Marie Angelella George said.

George was selected as Cabrini College’s seventh president on March 10, 2008 and will take the place of Cabrini’s current president, Dr.Antoinette Iadarola, July1.

George hopes to be able to have a more engaged campus. She said that retention is a major concern and it needs to be addressed.

“We lose too many students for this type of institution. It’s a four year college and we expect students to come and graduate,” George said.

With Cabrini’s five-year strategic plan in place, George will already have a stepping stone available for her to build on. She said since there is a new strategic plan it is the perfect time to modify and priori- tize the campus’s master plan, which was last updated in 2002.

With regards to the rise in tuition George says it always important to do it judicially and in consideration of the impact on students and their families. It is something that will be addressed every year. “The cost of tuition is always a concern for anyone in high education,” George explained.

“College is an investment that is not easily measured in dollars and cents because we are about transforming you as an individual and preparing you for life,” George said.

With the new core curriculum, George hopes students will learn to see beyond themselves and view life outside of Radnor. She is most excited about all the new core curriculum has to offer to the students.

Even before coming to campus, George was fascinated by all that it offered. She calls it a unique educational experience for every Cabrini student. She finds it such an honor to become the president just as the new curriculum is being launched.

“It is such a critical component to the educational experience that I hope it will have a ripple effect on things like retention,” George said. George wants to be accessible to students and would love the chance to have regular communication with all the different groups, on campus to hear the students’ voice and opinion on many of these issues, she said.

Blind get hope through gene therapy

For the first time in medical history, researchers have used gene therapy to increase light sensitivity and improve vision in patients who were virtually blind, a report published online by the New England Journal of Medicine said. Although the three patients, treated in a joint effort by the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, remain legally blind, there are signs that the method may work even better in children, and the lessons could one day be applied to help improve the lives of those with impaired vision.

Afghan president safe after assassination attempt

The Taliban assumed responsibility for an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karazi. The attack left him unharmed but wounded two lawmakers. Taliban militants fired shots during a public ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the victory by Afghan fighters over the Soviet occupation of their county, featuring local officials and foreign dignitaries. One person was killed and 11 others were wounded in the assault, said Gen. Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan defense ministry. The U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, William Wood, was also present at the ceremony but escaped unscathed.

U.S. asserts new interrogation rights

Recent letters from the Justice Department to Congress state that U.S. intelligence agents working to stop terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation techniques already banned by international law, the New York Times reported. President Bush issued an executive order last summer stating the CIA would observe international regulations regarding detainee treatment. The current letters indicate the Bush administration uses these boundaries but they may be stretched in some interrogations. The staff of Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee gave the letters. The panel received classified briefings on the matter. After Wyden requested further information, the letters were provided, the Times said.