Martin Luther King III Highlights a Celebration of his Father’s Legacy (up^)
In an historic week during which the nation honored the legacy of legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and then celebrated the inauguration of the first African American president, the University of Vermont community had the honor of welcoming human rights advocate and activist Martin Luther King III, the elder son of the civil rights icon, to campus. It was the keynote event of a full week of celebrations and educational opportunities commemorating Dr. King's birthday. Nearly 2,000 people poured into Patrick Gymnasium to take part in the event. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=13482.
Professor Receives Presidential Early Career Award (up^)
James Iatridis, associate professor in the School of Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, has been selected to receive the distinguished and highly competitive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). As one of only 12 awardees to represent the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Iatridis joins a select group of premier science and engineering scholars to be invited to Washington, D.C. for the PECASE awards ceremony and reception at the White House this month. "Our nation applauds your accomplishments and awaits your future contributions," stated John H. Marburger, III, science adviser to the president and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the official notification letter sent to Iatridis from the Executive Office of the President. "Your discoveries and intellectual leadership provide an example and will help shape the future." Read more at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=13218.
UVM Among Top 25 Peace Corps Producers (up^)
The University of Vermont was named one of the nation's "Top Peace Corps Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities" again this year, placing it among the top 25 in the country. With 29 undergraduate alumni and four graduate school alumni currently serving as Peace Corp volunteers, UVM ranked 11th among medium-sized colleges and universities, moving up from last year's placement as 15th, according to the Peace Corps. These individuals continue a long tradition of Peace Corp service at UVM, as 732 alums have volunteered over the past 47 years. Schools were ranked according to size of the student body with UVM falling in the medium category of 5,001 to 15,000 students. The University of Washington ranked first in the large school category; George Washington was first in the medium school category; the University of Chicago was the top small school; and Boston University was first among graduate schools. UVM was the top New England public school in its category, while Boston College was the top private school from the region. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=13465.
UVM Faculty, Alumni Featured in Second Season of VPT’s “Emerging Science” (up^)
UVM faculty and alumni engaged in cutting-edge research and innovative business ventures are featured in the second season of the Vermont Public Television series "Emerging Science" premiering Tuesday, January 27, at 9 p.m. on VPT and www.vpt.org. The five weekly programs will focus on energy, “food webs,” the technology of social sciences, transportation, and fresh water. The audience for the programs goes far beyond VPT’s viewing area, to anyone with access to a computer or other device that can display web-based video. In addition to a live webcast and online chat with the experts during each episode, VPT will make the programs available as video-on-demand files on its website. Funding for “Emerging Science” comes from Vermont EPSCoR, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, based at UVM. Amy Seidl G'02, a scientist and environmental researcher, is the program’s host. Podcasts and full episodes from the first season are available on demand on www.vpt.org. Besides Vermont EPSCoR, community partners in the project include Vermont Department of Education and ECHO. More at http://www.vpt.org/programs/emergingscience.html.
VTrim Offers World Wide Weight Loss (up^)
Jean Harvey-Berino, professor and chair of nutrition and food sciences, founded a trailblazing weight loss program at UVM in 2004 called Vtrim, an expert-facilitated behavioral program backed up by extensive university research. Behavior modification, considered by academics to be the gold standard for weight-loss for roughly four decades, has been out of reach until now for those who don't happen to live near a research university with such a program. But in 2005 the National Institutes of Health provided $3.5 million to help UVM researchers develop an online version of the program and test its effectiveness, while also comparing it to commercial web-based weight loss programs. Vtrim online now achieves results identical to the in-person version, and participants are achieving double and triple the results of the commercial online programs. Read more at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=13315.
Vermont Accent: Disappearing or Only Different? (up^)
When Fred Tuttle exposed the rest of the world to Vermont's unique dialect in the 1996 film “Man with the Plan,” it seemed the classic accent was alive and well. Not so, according to Julie Roberts, professor of communication sciences, who says most young Vermonters today display very few elements of the state's folksy way of talking. Roberts talked about the unique aspects of regional dialects during her January 13 College of Arts and Sciences Full Professor lecture entitled "Disappearing or Only Different: Vermont Speech in the 21st Century." A number of factors have contributed to the loss of Vermont's folksy dialect among younger residents, she said, including the influx of new residents from other states and countries and more exposure to other accents due to new media and technology such as the internet. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=13426.
Vermont Athletes Excel in the Classroom, in the Hunt (up^)
Vermont student-athletes posted above a 3.0 GPA for the 13th consecutive semester at the end of the fall term with a 3.105 GPA. The men's and women's ski teams topped the charts with 3.426 and 3.566 GPAs, respectively. In other news, seniors Dean Strong (men's hockey) and Amy Rosenkrantz (women's basketball) were selected as candidates for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for their respective sports. The honor is based on criteria focusing on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. The award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball and hockey coaches, national media and college basketball and hockey fans. Update on the winter sports — the men's basketball team sits at 14-6 overall and in a three-way tie for first place in America East with a 5-2 record. The Catamounts will play five of the final eight games of the regular season at Patrick Gymnasium. The women's basketball team owns a record of 10-8 overall and is tied for second place in the league standings at 4-1. The men's hockey team stands at 14-5-4 overall and is in third place in Hockey East (9-4-3). The Catamounts are ranked #6 in the country in the latest national polls. The ski team opened up its season with a second place finish at the Bates Carnival. Freshman David Donaldson led UVM with a pair of wins in the slalom and giant slalom at the carnival. The women's hockey teams is still in a fight for a playoff spot in Hockey East and stands at 5-20-1 overall and 3-10-0 in league play. Spring is right around the corner as those teams begin action in the next few weeks. The baseball team opens the 2009 campaign on February 27-28 at Vanderbilt. The softball team begins its first season under first-year head coach Tarrah Beyster the same weekend at the Jacksonville University Tournament. The lacrosse teams also get underway soon, the women open up at UConn on February 21 and the men travel to Marist on February 28.
Campus Kudos (up^)
Richard G. Johnson III, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies in the College of Education and Social Services, authored the book A 21st Century Approach to Teaching Social Justice: Educating for both Advocacy and Action and co-authored Resilience: Queer Professors from the Working Class.
Cynthia C. Reyes had an article titled "El Libro de Recuerdos [Book of Memories]: A Latina Student's Exploration of Self and Religion in Public School" in Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 43, No. 3, pps. 263-285. Reyes also published an article, "Disturbing the Waters": Using Relational Knowledge to Explore Methodology," in The Journal of Educational Foundations, Vol. 22, No. 3-4.
Lance Smith, an instructor in integrated professional studies, had an article titled "Social Privilege, Social Justice, and Group Counseling: An Inquiry" published in the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33, 351-366 that was also accepted for presentation at the 26th Annual Winter Round Table on Cultural Psychology and Education at Columbia U. The editors invited him to be a reviewer for an upcoming special issue entitled "Social Justice Issues in Group Work."
Rory Waterman, assistant professor of chemistry, published a cover article in Dalton Transactions, a leading European chemistry journal. The article, "Metal-phosphido and -phosphinidene complexes in P—E bond-forming reactions," describes a selection of recent advances in the developing field of metal-mediated reactions that catalyze bonds between phosphorous and other elements.
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