Clark University - Clark News Spring 2003
Newsbriefs (spring 2003)
Geographer B.L. Turner II was recently named an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. New fellows were honored at the 2003 AAAS Annual Meeting in Denver in February.
This distinction, awarded to 291 members this year, recognizes individuals for their efforts to advance science or foster applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. Turner was elected for his seminal research on human-environment relationships, including his work on the ancient Maya, contemporary smallholder agriculture and the human dimensions of global environmental change.
Turner, who joined the University in 1980, is the Milton P. and Alice C. Higgins Professor of Environment and Society. During his tenure at Clark, he has served as director of the Graduate School of Geography and the George Perkins Marsh Institute. Among several honors and awards, Turner has received the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers and the Centennial Medal for Research from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
Recent grants support Clark's teacher-education program and the University's work with the Worcester Education Partnership (WEP). WEP is leading a citywide school reform initiative supported by an $8 million Carnegie grant.
WEP, which is led in part by Clark's Hiatt Center for Urban Education, received a five-year, $250,000 grant from the FleetBoston Financial Foundation to establish the Fleet Secondary Literacy Development Program. The grant supports the Hiatt Center's effort to research and facilitate strategies that foster literacy development, as part of Worcester's systemwide model for secondary education. This innovative reform model emphasizes small, personalized learning communities focused on ensuring and enabling high levels of achievement for all students.
In addition, Clark's teacher-education program is one of eight selected by the state Department of Education to participate in a state signing-bonus program for teachers. Through this program, Clark can nominate six students in the Master of Arts in Teaching program to receive four-year, $20,000 signing bonuses, contingent upon program completion and successful teaching in a high-need community such as Worcester. Only 50 nomination slots were awarded statewide. Clark's participation in the signing-bonus program augments scholarship opportunities made possible by a teacher recruitment grant, one of 20 awarded nationally, that the University received in the fall.
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Clark is listed third on "The Hidden Gem List" of the top 100 outstanding but underappreciated universities that receive great reviews from students. The list is part of the new college guide "Harvard Schmarvard: The Advantages of Attending One of 100 Outstanding (but Underappreciated) Colleges," by Harvard graduate Jay Matthews. In the guide, Matthews rebuts the notion that students should choose a college based on perception and encourages students to consider the colleges and universities on "The Hidden Gem List." The guide also includes sections on how to survive the application process, insider secrets on writing essays and getting off the waiting list, and the truth about U.S. News & World Report and other college rankings. |
Clark's Graduate School of Management (GSOM) recently received a $35,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., to expand academic and practical entrepreneurial experiences, recognize and support existing small-business development and develop an M.B.A. learning track focused on small business. GSOM was chosen from 300 applicants for the 52 Kauffman grants awarded nationally. The grant will be added to $35,000 in funds from GSOM and local corporate sponsors in support of this program.
GSOM will use the Kauffman grant to establish an Entrepreneur-in-Residence faculty position, a highly visible authority on entrepreneurship who will teach, conduct workshops, serve as a resource for GSOM faculty and be a distinguished speaker for community-based programs throughout the year. The grant will also help expand entrepreneurial internships that offer experience-based learning opportunities to Clark M.B.A. students. The program will provide students and business managers with a learning forum for discussing common issues, concerns and successes. Funds from the Kauffman grant will also support GSOM's plans to host a special event celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of Central Massachusetts, as part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Small Business Development Center.
In addition, GSOM is exploring the possibility of creating a Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, adding entrepreneurship as a concentration in the M.B.A. program and securing funding for a faculty chair in entrepreneurship. |
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Marcus McCorison Litt.D. (hon.) '92 recently donated his collection of Edmund Wilson materials. The collection includes every book Wilson wrote, with first editions of each title but one. It also includes ephemera, such as Christmas cards Wilson designed and sent to his friends.
Wilson was a poet, novelist and playwright, best known as the mid-20th century's eminent literary critic and chronicler of American culture. He has been described as a "literary curmudgeon" and as "the last of the great professionals, the genuine litterateurs." The collection, valued at approximately $13,000, is housed in the library's Special Collections.
McCorison is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Goddard Library and is president emeritus of the American Antiquarian Society, which is based in Worcester. |
The Association of American Geographers (AAG) honored two members of Clark's distinguished geography faculty this spring. Geography Department Chair Susan Hanson received the AAG's Lifetime Achievement Award, and Ron Eastman received the Distinguished Service Award. Both awards were presented at the AAG's Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon in New Orleans on March 8.
Hanson, a past president of the AAG, is well-known for her contributions to feminist and urban geography. In November 1999, she was awarded the Van Cleef Medal from the American Geography Society for her outstanding work in urban geography. In spring 2000, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and became the first woman geographer elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Hanson's current research focuses on the role of gender and context in entrepreneurship; gender, work and information technology; and urban sustainability. During her 2001–02 sabbatical, she was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. She continues to work on "Geography, Gender and Entrepreneurship," a project funded by the National Science Foundation. Hanson was featured on the cover of the December 2002 issue of the AAG Newsletter for receiving the Landry Professorship at Clark.
Eastman directs the Clark Labs at the University's George Perkins Marsh Institute and the labs' associated projects for the development, production and support of the Idrisi and Cartalinx software programs. Idrisi for Windows, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, has more than 35,000 users, ranging from teachers to urban planners to geographers working around the world. Eastman has worked extensively in the area of GIS development and its applications, particularly in an international development setting. He has participated in field work throughout Asia, South America and Africa.
For the first time ever, 14 members of Clark's Concert Choir collaborated with the Boston Pops Holiday Chorus. The group performed in December in Atlantic City, Springfield, Trenton and Newark, N.J. The concerts were conducted by Keith Lockhart. Julian Wachner and Clark music faculty member Andrew Clark prepared the Pops Holiday Chorus for the performances.
Choir members auditioned with nearly 200 Boston-area singers, most from Boston's finest professional, symphonic and community choirs. The Clark participants rehearsed and performed with more than 100 singers.
"This wonderful opportunity gave our singers a taste of the professional music world," says Clark. "It was a thrill for our singers to perform before sold-out arenas and concert venues and sing under Maestro Lockhart. We hope that experiences like these will encourage our students to perform choral music throughout their lives."
Cynthia Enloe was recently named the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Honorary Geographer for 2003. This distinction recognizes excellence in research, teaching and writing on geographic topics by nongeographers. Enloe retired from teaching at the end of the fall 2002 semester and is now a research professor at Clark.
Enloe taught and conducted research for 30 years in Clark's Government Department and the International Development, Community and Environment Program. She was also a founding member of Clark's Women's Studies Program and served as director of that program for more than six years. Enloe has spent her career studying the impact of militarism, state policies and politics on the lives of women throughout the world. She is currently exploring ways in which militarization continues to operate in what are often considered postwar or postconflict societies. She continues to have a long-standing interest in the politics of globalization as it shapes, and relies on, women's feminized factory work, especially in the international sneaker industry. A dedicated and inspiring teacher, Enloe received the Outstanding Teacher Award three times. As a research professor, Enloe continues to supervise many graduate students.
In making its selection, the AAG cited Enloe for her "deep and abiding appreciation of the importance of place in fostering understanding of the interconnections of gender and international relations around the globe" and for her "innovative analyses of politics, feminism and militarism at multiple geographical scales."
Reflecting the kind of collaboration so typical of Clark, geography Ph.D. student Thomas Ponniah is the co-editor of the new book "Another World is Possible" with William Fisher, director of Clark's International Development, Community and Environment program.
Ponniah is conducting his dissertation research on alternatives to globalization and is especially interested in the policy alternatives proposed by social movements that are opposed to globalization. He is also interested in the philosophies of development that these social movements promote. These two themes are the focus of the book, which Ponniah proposed to Fisher.
"The media, in general, paints anti-globalization protesters as having no ideas or policies, so I thought I would research this myself," Ponniah says. "I found that they have quite a lot of exciting visions and practices."
The book is a compilation of papers presented at the World Social Forum (WSF), an annual event established in the wake of the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle. Ponniah did a five-month research internship at the WSF main offices in Brazil and was able to assemble reports that address the issues driving the search for alternatives to globalization. The book takes its title from the WSF slogan and is the first book in English on the WSF.
Ponniah and Fisher discussed "Another World is Possible" withthe Internet magazine openDemocracy.
This spring brought renewed focus on Clark's commitment to community service and civic engagement. Students, faculty and staff participated in several events held in conjunction with Campus Compact, a national organization of university presidents dedicated to the civic purposes of higher education.
As part of Campus Compact's national campaign "Raise Your Voice: A Week of Action," Feb. 16—22, Clark's Community Engagement and Volunteering Center held a panel discussion about community service with students, faculty and several members of the Worcester community. President John Bassett moderated the panel discussion, which was supported by a grant from the Pew Foundation.
In April, Clark hosted a half-day Student Leadership Institute, as part of a two-day New England Regional Campus Compact conference held at the College of the Holy Cross and the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A civic engagement Spree Day, held in the same spirit as Academic Spree Day and Fall Fest of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, was also held at Clark in April.
Campus Compact promotes community service that develops students' citizenship skills and values, encourages partnerships between campuses and communities, and helps faculty who want to integrate public and community service into their teaching and research. Clark is a member of Campus Compact.
Psychology Professor Michael Addis recently received the David Shakow Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association (APA), the country's largest organization of academic and professional psychologists. The Shakow Award specifically recognizes contributions to both the science and the practice of clinical psychology.
Addis received the award in recognition of his work linking scientific research to mental-health treatment practices in the community. Working closely with Worcester's mental-health community, Addis has been studying how academic research can impact the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression. Since joining Clark in 1998, Addis has received theNew Researcher Award from the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, as well as the University's Hodgkins Award and Hayden Junior Faculty Fellowship for excellence in teaching and research.
Departments
BIOLOGY: Deborah Robertson was given a five-year CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. The grant totals $541,433, with $93,306 awarded in the first year. The CAREER award supports early development career activities. Robertson's research is on "Nitrogen Assimilation in Marine Algae: Evolution, Physiology, and Educational Opportunities."
EDUCATION: Tom Del Prete received $162,974 in renewal funds from the Department of Education, in a subcontract from Boston College, for continuation this year of "A Mass Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement." Sarah Michaels received $30,660 to support course release time for Michaels to implement "Accountable Talk" in districts and produce an "Accountable Talk CD ROM" in conjunction with the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.
GEOGRAPHY (see also George Perkins Marsh Institute): Under the direction of Roger Kasperson and Dominic Golding, graduate student Minako Kusafuka was awarded a $9,953 NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement grant for "Exploring the Role of Procedural Equity in Sighting Controversies in Japan."
PHYSICS: Arshad Kudrolli received $15,000 from the Department of Energy, through a subcontract from Iowa State University, to support a graduate research assistant to study "Dense Granular Flows in a Regime Relevant to Avalanches and Landslides Using High Speed Imaging."
PSYCHOLOGY: Jamie McHale continues his grant success from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with a new three-year grant, totaling $452,600, for research on "Pre-birth Predictors of Early Coparenting."
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT: Dick Ford was awarded a $14,000 grant from the Greenville Foundation for research on "Women's Groups Building Peace in Somaliland."
GEORGE PERKINS MARSH INSTITUTE: B.L. Turner II and co-principal investigators Ron Eastman and Jacqueline Geoghegan received $115,546 in renewal funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for their research on "Land-cover and Land-use Change in the Southern Yucatan Peninsular Region." Joseph Sarkis of the Graduate School of Management has entered a $60,000 agreement with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for a "Development Study of Renewable Energy Education and Outreach Initiatives at Solar Now Inc., Beverly High School."
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Clarknews Spring 2003
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B.L. Turner II
Photo by Lisa VanLiew
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Susan Hanson
Photo by Lisa VanLiew
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Cynthia Enloe
Photo by Arthur Carvalho
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