This Month's Top Stories . . .
Commencement 2006 (up^)
Some 2,300 new graduates of the University of Vermont received their diplomas at the university's 202nd Commencement on May 21. Grassroots intellectual Gustavo Esteva received an honorary degree and gave the commencement address. Esteva vigorously critiqued the "bubble" of formal education, discussing the powerful lessons he has learned from his friends and neighbors, the peasants and campesinos of Mexico's poorest state. President Daniel Mark Fogel awarded honorary degrees to Esteva and four other leaders in their fields: Graham Stiles Newell, a teacher of history and Latin in St. Johnsbury, and known as a "walking encyclopedia" of town, state, and world history; Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam, a leader in conservation and youth development, and founder of the Student Conservation Association; Barbara W. Snelling, former Vermont lieutenant governor, and founder and president of the institutional advancement consulting firm, Snelling, Kolb & Kuhnle, Inc.; and Hubert "Hub" W. Vogelmann, professor emeritus of botany, a pioneer of research on acid rain, founder of UVM's Field Naturalist Program and a principal force behind the creation of Vermont's Act 250. Degrees were conferred on an estimated 1,807 undergraduates, 418 graduate students (including 61 doctorates), 96 medical students, and 47 international students. Members of the Class of 2006 came from 40 states and 17 countries. Almost 1,000 of them were from Vermont. The class included 146 ALANA (Asian American, Latino/a, Asian, African American, and Native American) students. More at http://www.uvm.edu/theview/article.php?id=2049 .
Alumnus Contributes $5 Million for Holocaust Studies (up^)
A University of Vermont alumnus celebrating his 55th class reunion has announced a $5 million gift to support the university's Center for Holocaust Studies. Burlington, Vermont, native Leonard Miller '51 and his wife Carolyn Rosen Miller are making the gift to renovate Billings Hall on the UVM campus as a permanent home for the Center for Holocaust Studies and to endow two new professorships in Holocaust studies. The renovation will also provide a home for the university's Center for Research on Vermont and for the UVM Libraries' Special Collections. The Millers have been strong supporters of UVM's Center for Holocaust Studies in the past, having established the Miller Endowment, which provides faculty support and funds the Miller Symposium in Holocaust Studies every other spring at UVM. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=8308 .
Building a New New Orleans (up^)
In the June 10, 2006, international journal Ecological Engineering, Robert Costanza, Director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, and two co-authors propose seven rules that need to be followed to restore the city of New Orleans in a way that avoids the mistakes of the past and builds a sustainable future. Read more at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=8321 .
Science Paper Addresses Bird Flu Vaccine Priorities (up^)
As many as 90 million people might become sick in an American flu pandemic, and widespread shortages of vaccine would likely leave more than 90 percent of the population unprotected in the first year. When there is not enough medicine for all, how should government prioritize who gets the scarce doses first? The approach endorsed by two federal committees would be to ration the medicine in a way that saves the most lives possible. But in a paper appearing in the May 12 issue of the journal Science, University of Vermont ethicist Alan Wertheimer, professor emeritus of political science and current visiting scholar at the National Institutes of Health, and Ezekiel Emanuel, head of the NIH's clinical bioethics department, argue for an alternative approach. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/theview/article.php?id=2046 .
Reconsidering the Textbook (up^)
What is the proper role of the textbook in the age of the Internet? That was among the central questions considered by 54 leading scientists, educators and technology experts convened by Paul Bierman, a geologist at the University of Vermont, for a 3-day workshop on "Reconsidering the Textbook" at the National Academy of Sciences, in Washington D.C., in May. The invitation-only group -- drawing on six of Bierman's fellow Distinguished Teacher Scholars, the NSF's highest award, as well representatives from Google and Microsoft -- did some imagining of what the science and math textbooks of the future might look like. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=8314 .
Chemist to Lead National Institutes of Health Section (up^)
Dwight E. Matthews, professor and chair of chemistry and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont, has been selected by the National Institutes of Health to serve as chair of the Integrative Nutrition and Metabolic Processes Study Section, part of the NIH's Center for Scientific Review. With a two-year term beginning July 1, Dr. Matthews will have an opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort, leading a 15-member group that reviews a significant number of NIH grant applications and helps shape the future of U.S. scientific inquiry into the fundamental workings of human biology and health. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=8294 .
Sudanese Student Celebrates UVM Divestment (up^)
It wasn't a graduation present, but if felt like one to Archier Mou. The Students Take Action Now Darfur (STAND) member got word just before Commencement that trustees had approved divesting UVM funds from companies that support that country's government. For Mou, who left Sudan 19 years ago, and who has worked to help end his country's genocidal violence, the May 20 decision by the board to divest was important, but not surprising. "We talk a lot about responsible investing and it's my understanding that wouldn't include investing in something that helps fund the killing of innocent people," he says. "I didn't see how the university couldn't divest." Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/theview/article.php?id=2051 .
Spelling Prowess Leads to Movie Role for UVM Prof (up^)
Jacques Bailly, associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont, might look vaguely familiar to his new students next year, even if they've never met him before. That's because the 1980 winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and official pronouncer of the competition for the past four years not only appeared on national prime time television this year in that capacity, but has also had cameo roles in two Hollywood films based on this be-all-of-all-bees. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=8101 .
Equestrian Team Competes at Nationals (up^)
Alexandra Joyce, first-year member of the University of Vermont equestrian team, placed first in the intermediate equitation over fences competition at the 2006 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association's national tournament held May 4 through May 7 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvanie Junior Sara Muntyan also scored points for her team with a second-place finish in novice equitation on the flat. Their combined efforts accumulated the twelve points that secured the team's 5th place finish out of 18 competing teams.
"We have such a good team," says Elisabeth Miller, co-captain and UVM junior. "We were the only club sport there--everyone else has varsity programs. We were sort of like the underdogs. It was a really great experience." UVM's equestrian team, coached by Madeleine Austin of the Imajica equestrian center, sent seven riders to the competition this year. Regional champions for seven years in a row, the equestrian team advanced to the national tournament by finishing second in their zone after Muntyan won a tie-breaking ride-off against Wheaton College on April 8.
Seven to be Inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame (up^)
Three two-sport standouts, a national college basketball award winner, an Olympic track and field athlete, a record breaking swimmer and one of the school's top soccer goalies make up the seven former University of Vermont student-athletes to be inducted into UVM's Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 7, 2006. This year's inductees include men's basketball all-time great Eddie Benton '96, women's track and field and field hockey standout Amy Dwire Jamieson '92, top men's soccer goalie John Hilton '68, women's soccer and softball star Kelly Martin '93, men's soccer and track standout Mike Mason '90, 2004 U.S. Olympian Anna Norgren Mahon '96 and record-breaking men's swimmer Wolf von Carlowicz '94. The inductees will be honored at the 38th annual Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center on Saturday, October 7, 2006. Tickets to the dinner may be purchased starting August 28 through the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gym (1-866-4CAT-TIX).
Campus Kudos (up^)
A team of researchers led by Bruce Beynnon, associate professor and director of research in orthopaedics and rehabilitation, garnered a prestigious American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine award for their scientific paper on rehabilitation following knee ligament surgery.
Susan Edelman, research associate professor, and Chigee Cloninger, research associate professor, both of the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, are two of the co-authors of an article, "Cortical Visual Impairment: Guidelines and Educational Considerations," published in the spring 2006 issue of Deaf-Blind Perspectives.
Mark Fung, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology, was the lead author of the report "Clinical effects of reverting from leukoreduced to nonleukoreduced blood in cardiac surgery" in the March issue of Transfusion. Fung and Dr. Ted Bovill, chair and professor of pathology, are co-authors with other colleagues on an article titled "Curriculum Content and Evaluation of Resident Competency in Clinical Pathology (Laboratory Medicine): A Proposal" that will be simultaneously published in Human Pathology, Clinical Chemistry, and Pathology Patterns, the supplementary issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
Dr. John Helzer, professor of psychiatry, along with co-authors including psychiatry colleagues John Searles and Gail Rose, published " Stress and Alcohol Consumption in Heavily Drinking Men: 2 Years of Daily Data using Interactive Voice Response" in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Helzer was also lead author of "Should DSM-V Include Dimensional Diagnostic Criteria for Alcohol Use Disorders?" in the journal's February issue.
David Jones, assistant professor of business administration, co-authored a paper chosen by the Academy of Management as one of four finalists for the best human resources article published in 2005. Jones and co-authors also had an article accepted for publication in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment.
Susan Maude, assistant professor of Integrated Professional Studies, was elected to the president series (vice-president, president-elect, president, and past president) of the Division for Early Childhood, one of 17 divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children, the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities and/or the gifted.
David Novak, assistant professor of business administration, and co-author Suresh Nair of the University of Connecticut, had a manuscript accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Operational Research. The manuscript, "A Traffic Shaping Model for Optimizing Network Operations," presents a goal-programming model for estimating user demand for different categories of network traffic under a variety of bandwidth policy restrictions.
Jane Okech, assistant professor of integrated professional studies, and a co-author will publish "The Supervision of Group Work Model: Adapting the Discrimination Model for Supervision of Group Workers" in the June issue of The Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Okech is also lead author of "Competency Concerns in Group Co-Leader Relationships." The article will also appear in the journal's June issue.
James Sinkula, professor, and John L. Beckley, chair of business administration, and a co-author had an article, "Does Market Orientation Facilitate Balanced Innovation Programs?: An Organizational Learning Perspective," accepted for publication in the Journal of Product and Innovation Management.
Alex Stewart, associate professor of music, has been awarded a Fulbright-García Robles research fellowship. Stewart's research will take him to Mexico during his sabbatical spanning the 2006-7 academic year.
Xindong Wu, professor and chair of computer science, has been accepted as one of the 89 2005 Chaired Professors in the Cheung Kong (or Yangtze River) Scholars Program by the Ministry of Education of China. The Yangtze River Scholars Program is sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, and is one of the most highly regarded national programs in China.
Chun Zhang, assistant professor of business administration, and co-authors at the Michigan State University, had an article accepted to the Journal of International Marketing.
Dateline UVM Would Like to Hear from You: (up^)
Send comments, questions, and address changes to Dateline UVM Editor, Jay Goyette (jay.goyette@uvm.edu).
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