SouthernLife
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 501
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Southern Connecticut State University
May 2010 • Vol. 13 No. 7
inside:
4 Is DWT the new DWI? 5 New digs in Ethiopia
Words of Wisdom
Commencement Speakers Drawn from Across the Literary Spectrum A n A c a d e m y A wa r d - w i n n i n g screenwriter, an internationally recognized editorial cartoonist and one of the icons of the publishing industry will address graduates at this month’s commencement ceremonies. The undergraduate ceremony at the Connecticut Tennis Center in Westville on May 28 will feature Geoffrey Fletcher, who became the first African American to win an Academy Award for screenwriting when he received the Oscar for best adapted screenplay last March. Commencement ceremonies begin at 10:15 a.m. On May 27, the 2 p.m. graduate ceremony for the schools of Arts and Sciences, Business and Health and Human Services will feature Thomas O. Ryder, one of the most highly respected magazine publishers in the country. Bob Englehart, editorial cartoonist for The Hartford Courant, will deliver the commencement address at the 7 p.m. graduate ceremony for the schools of Education and Communication, Information and Library Science. Both graduate commencements will be held in the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” is the Connecticut-born Fletcher’s first produced feature script. Hailed by critics as “the most jarringly honest, heartrending movie to screen in American
Screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher (top), publisher Thomas O. Ryder (below, left) and editorial cartoonist Bob Englehart will deliver the commencement addresses at this year’s ceremonies on May 27 and 28.
megaplexes this year,” “Precious” represented a breakthrough for Fletcher, who had toiled for more than a decade to make his voice as a writer and filmmaker heard. “Filmmaking is the love of my life and I feared I might never get the opportunity to express myself or make a living at it,” he said in an interview with the Writers Guild of America. “Writing this (Precious) restored a sense of fulfillment, purpose and contentment.” Heralded by Variety magazine as one of its “10 Screenwriters to Watch,” Fletcher has also been nominated for a WGA Award, a BAFTA Award, a Critic’s Choice Award, a NAACP Image Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. “’Push’ is a very gritty book,” said Lee Daniels, producer of “Precious.” “And Geoffrey brought his elegance to it. It’s a woman’s story, but he wrote it in the way that a very elegant man would write it. He’s a very classy act.” Fletcher teaches at Columbia University and New York University as an adjunct professor of film and is currently at work on his feature directorial debut from an original script – a film re-creation of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion.
Wisdom continued on page 6.
Prestigious Award Marks a Century of Service The
university was recognized for more than a century of meritorious service to the region and the state when it was honored with the Corporate Heritage Award at last month’s 216th Annual Meeting of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Southern was praised for its role as the state’s pacesetter for teacher education, its wide range of program offerings in the health and human service fields, its innovative partnerships with area corporations and non-profits and its emphasis on volunteerism and community engagement. “Southern Connecticut State University has been a huge contributor to the community-at-large, and we don’t always find that,” said Anthony Rescigno, president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, who presented the award. “To have a university that becomes a real partner with not only the business community but the community-at-large is a real credit to the institution.” During his remarks, Rescigno took special note of the university’s “continuing ability to grow, modernize and diversify, with new fields of study and research.” Recently, for example, the university established a new Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, providing the state with a distinctive resource to improve the educational experiences of children who have been diagnosed with a form of autism. The center will feature a mix of clinical services, parental support, and training and technical assistance to schools, allied with information on the latest research developments in the field. Also noted was the naming of the university to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its strong commitment to leadership, volunteering, service learning and civic engagement. More than 2,800 Southern students — nearly a quarter of the entire student body — were engaged in some kind
of leadership and/or community service during the past year. About 95 percent of those students contributed at least 20 hours of community service per semester, and 38,000 service hours were logged overall. President Cheryl J. Norton, who accepted the award on behalf of the university, said it was fitting that this honor was bestowed by the chamber. “Throughout our 117-year history, we at Southern have valued our community partnerships – and none are more important than the partnership we have forged with this Chamber,” Norton said. “Both are long-established institutions with a mission of promoting the economic vitality of our region and enhancing the lives of its citizens through educational and cultural opportunities.” Never has this mission been more important than during these times of economic challenge, Norton said: “These are times for resolve, for creativity – and for the range of knowledge and expertise that both of our institutions can provide.” Norton noted that the concept of community engagement by the university “is an intentional effort to ensure that the city of New Haven and the region are richer because Southern Connecticut State University is here. “Southern provides an educational outreach to the community that helps to make it more culturally vibrant and economically viable,” Norton said. Southern joins a prestigious list of area corporations and institutions to receive the Heritage Award, including: Yale University; the New Haven Register; the Visiting Nurses Association of South Central Connecticut; NewAlliance Bank; C. Cowles Co.; the Knights of Columbus; the Hospital of St. Raphael; Sargent Manufacturing and The United Illuminating Co.
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Graduation Goes Green For
the first time,
Southern students will be wearing “green” caps and gowns when they march into the Connecticut Tennis Center for undergraduate commencement exercises. Not green in color, mind you, as the traditional black garb will continue to be the order of the day. But the attire will be green in the environmental spirit. The university recently opted to purchase environmentally friendly caps and gowns that are made from recycled plastic bottles – on average, 23 bottles for each gown. Southern purchased the apparel, part of the “GreenWeaver” line, from a Virginia-based company, Oak Hall Cap & Gown. The “green” garb costs only $1 more than traditional caps and gowns. Heather Stearns, the university’s recycling coordinator, praised the efforts of Southern’s Commencement Committee for “going green.” “As the university moves forward with sustainability efforts on campus, it only makes sense that we look for ways our students can see firsthand how their efforts to recycle have paid off,” Stearns said. “The GreenWeaver caps and gowns are made of 100 percent post-consumer plastic and prove that our initiatives to recycle plastic bottles on campus have come full circle.”
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Farewell
President Cheryl J. Norton departs Southern at the end of May after six years as president of the university. Her farewell letter is on Page 2, while photographs from a May 19 community celebration in her honor appear on Page 8.