Clark University - Clarknews winter 2004
Newsbriefs (winter 2004)
On Oct. 24, students, faculty and trustees gathered at the site of the new biological sciences building to commemorate the start of construction of this state-of-the-art facility.
"This is probably my most thrilling day at Clark since I arrived here," said President John Bassett in his remarks at the groundbreaking. "This facility is going to make an enormous difference in recruiting outstanding students and faculty in the sciences."
The project includes the construction of a 50,000 square-foot building for the biological sciences and the renovation of the 32,000 square-foot biophysics building, the second-oldest building on campus. The renovated building will house physics, mathematics and computer science. The adjacent Sackler Sciences Center will house chemistry. The construction and renovation of the facilities began this fall and is expected to be complete in spring 2006. The estimated total cost is $22 million.
The location of the new building, near the Admissions House on Maywood Street, also contributes to Clark's ongoing efforts to help revitalize the Main South neighborhood.
"We are working to position Clark in the pantheon of the best colleges and universities in the nation," said Barry Rogstad '62, M.A. '63, chair of the University's Board of Trustees.
"This building is an important part of that effort."
In his remarks, Rogstad thanked Trustee Peter Klein '64, chair of the Board's Environment Committee that approved plans for the new building, and former Trustee Allen Fletcher, who was vice chair of the Environment Committee and a key member of the planning committee for the project. Rogstad also thanked Paul Bottis, director of Clark's Physical Plant Department, chemist and former provost Frederick Greenaway, Executive Vice President James Collins, Biology Department Chair Thomas Leonard '62 and the entire science faculty for their work in bringing the project to fruition.
Leonard said the new building and renovated facilities will support faculty research and provide better research and learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.
"This building represents a continuation of Clark's long tradition of excellence in science," said Leonard, who also thanked Bassett for supporting Clark's science programs. "President Bassett has been sensitive to the sciences ever since he came to Clark."
This fall, the footings and foundation of the new building were completed and the structural steel was erected. To view the construction site, visit www.clarku.edu/sciences.
The first award from the Zenovia Sochor Memorial Fund was presented to Jocelyn (Josie) Clark '05 in October. Clark will use the $500 award to support her study-abroad experience in the London Internship Program in the spring 2004 semester.
Professor Zenovia Sochor taught comparative politics at Clark for nearly two decades and was known by students and colleagues as a gifted scholar, valued friend and caring mentor. Alumni, friends and colleagues established the Sochor Memorial Fund after her untimely death in 1998. Reflecting Sochor's interest in international relations and politics, the fund helps support students' study-abroad experiences.
Clark is a government major and history minor, with a concentration in women's studies. She is also in the International Studies Stream. Through the London Internship Program, Clark will study Great Britain's parliamentary form of government and compare it to the U.S. presidential form of government. While completing her internship, she plans to visit the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other Eastern European countries she has studied in her courses. In addition to the London Internship Program, Clark has conducted internships with the Hawaii Judicial System's Office of Affirmative Action, the Edmund Muskie School of Public Policy in Augusta, Maine, the Worcester, Mass., Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. Senator Susan Collins' office in Washington, D.C.
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Approximately 300 students from about 15 colleges and universities throughout New England gathered at Clark for the first Millennium Leadership Conference for students of African descent, held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
The conference, titled "Movin' on Up," was organized by Clark's Caribbean African Student Association and the Black Student Union, in collaboration with cultural organizations in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Abu Kanu '04 and Hadley Camilus '04 co-chaired the conference, which included workshops about entrepreneurship, politics, family support and other topics related to success and leadership in society. This is the first such conference held at Clark, and Kanu and Camilus hope it becomes an annual event.
Manning Marable, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, delivered the keynote address for the conference. Marable is considered one of the most influential intellectuals and political interpreters of the black experience. He has written and edited nearly 20 books and anthologies, including his most recent book "The Great Wells of Democracy: The Meaning of Race in American Life," and more than 200 articles in academic journals. He is a frequent guest on CNN's "Talk Back Live," NBC's "Today Show" and ABC's "Weekend News."
Clark's Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives of Watertown, Mass., hosted an exhibit featuring Armenian photographs this fall. "The Spirit of Survival: Armenians Through the Camera's Eye," an exhibit of vintage and modern photographs of Armenians, was on display at Cohen Lasry House throughout the fall semester. "The Spirit of Survival" uses 50 photographs to tell the story of Armenians' journey from before the devastating 1915 Genocide to the present. The exhibit was first created to accompany the London premiere of "Beast on the Moon," a play by Richard Kalinoski that chronicles the lives of an immigrant couple, both survivors of the Genocide, and how they dealt with life's passages. Ruth Thomasian, founder and executive director of Project SAVE, gave a slide presentation and lecture as part of the exhibition at Clark.
The highly acclaimed documentary "The Boys of 2nd Street Park" received a special preview screening at Clark on Sept. 16, prior to the film's national premiere on Showtime later that month. The preview screenings were held at only a dozen academic institutions in the country.
The documentary is about six boys who grew up in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach neighborhood in the 1950s and called the 2nd Street Park their home. The story, told through interviews, archival films and photographs, describes the challenges the boys experienced as they grew up during politically and socially turbulent times, battling drugs, infidelities, homelessness and missed opportunities.
"Being one of the very few premiere venues for a screening of this importance is quite an honor for Clark," says screen studies professor Timothy Shary. "Clark is still one of the few colleges and universities in the United States that offers a specific major in film and television analysis, even as films such as ‘The Boys of 2nd Street Park' continue to illustrate the vital influence of the screen arts."
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The second year of the President's Lecture Series opened this fall with talks by Ambassador Charles Dunbar and internationally known theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss.
On Sept. 24, Dunbar discussed "Squaring the Circle: U.S. Policy in the Middle East," a lecture rooted in his many years of foreign service since the 1960s. Among his appointments, Dunbar has served as ambasasdor to Qatar and to Yemen and as chargé d'affaires in Afghanistan. He also has served in Morocco, Iran and Algeria, and he was in charge of a United Nations mission to the Western Sahara from 1998 to 1999. He is currently the Warburg Professor in International Relations at Simmons College.
Krauss, who is the Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, professor of astronomy and chair of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University, discussed "Einstein's Biggest Blunder? A Cosmic Mystery Story" on Nov. 4. Krauss has a wide range of research interests, including the early universe, the nature of dark matter, general relativity and neutrino astrophysics. He is the author of more than 200 scientific publications and many popular articles about physics and astronomy. He has also written five popular books, including the national bestseller "The Physics of Star Trek." Krauss is a fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the first physicist to receive the highest awards from all three major physics societies in the United States: the American Association of Physics Teachers, American Physical Society and American Institute of Physics.
The fourth-annual Fall Fest of Undergraduate Research included 22 projects by students who conducted research last summer. The event was held in the Goddard Library on Nov. 19 and featured projects in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, and geography. Fall Fest also included student research sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities, the HERO (Human Environment Regional Observatory of Central Massachusetts) Fellowship Program, Anton Fellowship Program, the Lois and Robert Green Urban Development and Social Change Summer Internship and the Urban Development and Social Change Summer Research Fellowship.
For more information about Fall Fest and a list of this year's presentations, visit www.clarku.edu/ research/present/fallfest.shtml.
The Visual and Performing Arts Department hosted two exhibits this fall. "Asian Work," shown in the University Gallery of the Goddard Library from Sept. 30 through Nov. 22, featured the work of photographer and environmental artist Daniel Ranalli '68. "Books Created by Artists," shown in the Schiltkamp Gallery in the Traina Center for the Arts from Oct. 7 through Dec. 6, included works from 20 artists.
"Asian Work" featured Ranalli's earthworks, in which he manipulates natural materials to create structures, configurations and patterns that exist in a delicate harmony with their surrounding landscape. In his "Zen Dune Series," for example, Ranalli photographs patterns he has raked in the sand, his subtle marks evoking the serenity of the Zen garden in the context of the particular landscape of the Outer Cape of Massachusetts. Having traveled extensively in Thailand and Nepal in 1999, he also incorporates Asian sources in many of his recent works.
"Books Created by Artists" was curated by Jennifer Hilton, instructor in printmaking, drawing and design at Clark. Unlike journals or sketchbooks, which are often used by artists, the books in this exhibit represented cohesive ideas in a book format. They were meant to expand the notion of what a book is supposed to be and raise questions about the relationship between text and image. The works included a variety of experience, media and formats, but all used the sequential unfolding of narrative or concept that books embody.
More than 700 alumni, students and friends of the University gathered on campus on Oct. 3 and 4 for Fall Homecoming. This Clark tradition featured many varsity and alumni athletics games, music, theater performances, the fall Alumni Association meeting, the alumni hockey game and family skate, the rope pull, flag football Pasticcio Bowl and Athletics Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony. Homecoming also included the dedication of a bench in memory of John O'Connor '78 and the dedication of a new crew shell. The 2004 Fall Homecoming will be held on Oct. 22 and 23.
Three geography majors have been selected to compete in research competitions sponsored by the Association of American Geographers (AAG). Matthew Holden '05 is a finalist the AAG's Honors Competition for Student Posters. Christopher Lippitt '05 and Nicholas Malizia '05 are finalists in AAG paper competitions. All three will present their research at the AAG's annual meeting in Philadelphia in March.
"It is phenomenally rare that undergraduates even get selected in these competitions," says R. Gil Pontius, assistant professor in the departments of geography and international development, community and environment. "Nearly all the others in these competitions are doctoral students presenting their dissertations."
Holden, Lippitt and Malizia are conducting research through the Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) for Central Massachusetts, a long-term research initiative based at Clark and supported by the National Science Foundation. HERO fellows conduct eight weeks of environmental science and geographic research at Clark and in Worcester during the summer and continue their research in a year-long HERO course.
Holden is focusing on Geographic Information Systems and database creation. Currently in the Army ROTC, Holden hopes to qualify for military intelligence or aviation branches after he graduates as a commissioned officer.
In his HERO research, Lippitt is creating digital, historical land-use layers that can be used in land-use change models. He is also developing new methodologies for assessing the accuracy of models that predict land-use change. Lippitt plans to earn a master's degree in Geographic Information Systems.
Malizia is studying the effect of category aggregation—combining land-use categories on maps—on the amount of change researchers see in the landscape. Malizia is a Thoreau Scholar, a Clark President's Fellow and a Harvard Forest Fellow. He spent this past summer working with Harvard Forest, researching the effectiveness of land conservation in preserving the ecological and cultural landscape of the North Quabbin Region of Massachusetts.
In addition to these three students, six other Clark undergraduates and several graduate students will present their work at the AAG meetings in March.
Three alumni recently joined the University Advancement and Alumni offices.
• Sean Donahue '03, assistant director in the Alumni Office, is responsible for planning regional alumni events, working with Alumni Communities and managing the Alumni Association Web site and online community.
• Rachel Larkin Jackson '93, director of the Clark Fund, is working with the Jonas Clark Fellows, direct-mail programs and the Parents Association, among other projects. Prior to joining Clark, Jackson spent six years in Washington, D.C., and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as a program officer and country director for the Eurasia Foundation. Most recently, she was director of membership for the Exploratorium, a museum of science, arts and human perception in San Francisco. She holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from the University of San Francisco.
• Suzanne Showstack '02, M.P.A. '03, assistant director of the Clark Fund, is focusing on Reunion giving and working closely with class agents and Reunion gift chairs. She also attends many regional alumni events and will concentrate on young alumni participation in the Clark Fund.
Laurence Marsh, director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Clark, was named the Massachusetts Star Performer for 2003 by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. The award was presented in October at a national conference in San Diego.
Georgianna Parkin, state director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network, nominated Marsh for the award.
"Larry Marsh has made extraordinary contributions to the Massachusetts Small Business Development program and has shown a strong commitment to small businesses in his area," says Parkin. "Last year, under his direction, the Clark SBDC provided service to more than 1,000 clients, secured more than $10 million in financing and helped create and retain 337 jobs."
Marsh has served as the director of the SBDC, a federal- and state-funded center based at Clark, since 1991. He has more than 25 years of executive and managerial experience with IBM, GE and the Wright Line, Inc. Prior to joining the SBDC, he was the principal owner and CEO of Visirecord Systems, a $3 million manufacturer of specialty business forms. Marsh, who has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, has also taught entrepreneurial management at the graduate level for several years.
"It's a wonderful, very rewarding job," says Marsh. "It's exciting working with entrepreneurs and fulfilling a coaching role."
Edward Ottensmeyer, dean of Clark's Graduate School of Management, praised Marsh and his much-deserved recognition.
"Since he became director of Clark's SBDC, Larry has moved the center in exciting new directions—offering expanded financial planning support to the region's small business owners and enabling Clark's business students to work with creators of new enterprises," Ottensmeyer says.
Psychology Professor Seymour "Si" Wapner, a Clark faculty member for more than 50 years and founder of Academic Spree Day, died Sept. 28 at the age of 85. As scholar, teacher, administrator, mentor and friend, he exemplified what it means to be a professor at Clark.
"It has been a pleasure and an honor to have been a colleague of Si Wapner for three years," says President John Bassett. "While all of us at Clark mourn his loss, we also celebrate a great life and a great career. Si was one for the ages—a great psychologist, a warm human being, and one of Clark's all-time best faculty members."
Professor Wapner earned a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Michigan in 1943 and then conducted research at the University of Rochester on training and selecting pilots for the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the Army, Air Force and Navy. He joined the Clark faculty in 1948 and was an integral part of the Clark community throughout his distinguished career.
In his first years at Clark, Professor Wapner worked closely with noted psychologist Heinz Werner to revitalize the Psychology Department after World War II. They hired new faculty, initiated a research program and secured grants for research and teaching. Professor Wapner also chaired the committee that decided to split the Department of Psychology and Education into two departments. When Werner retired in 1960, Professor Wapner became chair of the Psychology Department for the next 26 years. From 1969 to 1970, he also served as the University's first provost.
Professor Wapner's research focused on environmental psychology, the study of how people interact with and respond to their physical and interpersonal environments. He studied critical person-in-environment transitions such as aging, natural disasters and illness. Professor Wapner conducted research with colleagues in Japan and Italy and often traveled to these and other countries to present his research.
In addition to his many administrative and academic contributions to Clark, Professor Wapner had a significant impact on many students and welcomed every opportunity to mentor graduate and undergraduate students. According to colleague and psychology professor Roger Bibace, Professor Wapner was a sought-after adviser among students throughout his years at Clark and spent hours helping students work through difficulties with their papers, master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations.
"Si never, ever gave up on a person," says Bibace, who recalls working with students on their dissertations at Professor Wapner's home. "This was G. Stanley Hall's ‘elbow teaching' at its best."
Later in his career, Professor Wapner took special pride in an undergraduate research course he designed and continued to teach long after his official retirement from Clark. Professor Wapner also established Academic Spree Day, an annual showcase of undergraduate scholarship that has become a powerful symbol of a Clark education.
"Now, to many people, putting together those two words ‘Academic' and ‘Spree' would constitute an oxymoron; but Si's attitude was ‘This work is fun!'" said former Psychology Department Chair Len Cirillo in his remarks at memorial services for Professor Wapner. Cirillo described his longtime colleague and friend as "a great maker: a great maker of lovely things and a great maker of loving relationships."
Professor Wapner's unyielding dedication to Clark is unsurpassed. As illustrated by the extensive archive of scholarly papers, photographs, books, programs and other materials related to the Psychology Department that he maintained in his office at the University, Professor Wapner's work at Clark remained among his highest priorities throughout his life.
A celebration of Professor Wapner's life and the legacy at Clark was held on Nov. 14 in Tilton Hall of the Higgins University Center. To make a contribution to Clark in memory of Professor Wapner, contact University Advancement, 508-793-7200.
Departments
BIOLOGY: Denis Larochelle was awarded $98,934 in supplemental funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research on "Characterization of a Novel Regulatory Protein Required for Cytokinesis."
CHEMISTRY: Rafael Brüschweiler received $180,750 in renewal funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research on "Direct NMR Methods for Protein Structures and Assignment."
GEOGRAPHY: Two graduate students in the Graduate School of Geography have received Graduate Research Fellowship awards of $38,000 per year from the NSF. Susannah McCandless renews her fellowship for the third year, and Alex Pulsipher begins his first of three years as a Graduate Research Fellow. Carolyn Finney, adviser Dianne Rocheleau, was selected as the Society of Woman Geographers' first Pruitt National Fellow for Dissertation Research to support her research in 2003-2004. The award totals $14,449.
EDUCATION: Tom Del Prete was awarded $46,000 in additional funding from the Department of Education for the "Clark-Worcester Community Teacher Recruitment and Induction Initiative."
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT: Bill Fisher was awarded a three-year grant, totaling $110,147, from the U.S. Department of State. This educational exchange project will develop a new M.A. degree program in participatory environmental management and development at the Senegalese University.
PHYSICS: Chuck Agosta >was awarded a $77,137 grant from the NSF for his research on "A Non-conductive Pressure Cell for Pulsed Magnetic Field Experiments in Anisotropic Superconductors." Arshad Kudrolli received $45,093 in supplemental support from the Department of Energy for his research on "Physics of Channelization: Theory, Experiment, and Observation."
PSYCHOLOGY: >Graduate student Ina Khazan was awarded a $37,970 research fellowship from the NIH for her research on "The Role of Expectations in Preventing Postpartum Depression."
Research Centers
GEORGE PERKINS MARSH INSTITUTE: Billie Lee Turner II and co-principal investigators Ronald Eastman and Jacqueline Geoghegan received $78,606 in renewal funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for their research on "Land-cover and Land-use Change in the Southern Yucatan Peninsular Region." Turner also received $78,606 in additional support from the NSF, through a subcontract with Pennsylvania State University, for the Human Environment Regional Observatory project. Eastman entered a $55,813 agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a one-year research project on "Hyperspectral Imagery for Mapping Distribution."
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Clarknews Winter 2004
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(Back row from left, wearing hard hats) Barry Rogstad '62, M.A. '64, chair of Clark's Board of Trustees, Biology Department Chair Thomas Leonard '62, Trustee Peter Klein '64 and President John Bassett with science students at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new biological sciences building.
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