Newsflash
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For the past 18 months, students, faculty, and staff have patiently waited while the Student Center has been renovated and remodeled. Your patience has paid off! The new center, which has gone from 41,000 to 72,000 square feet of space, will open at the end of August to coincide with the return of students to campus and the start of the 2007-2008 Academic Year. In addition to the renovated Betty Tipton Room, a spacious lounge and an expanded campus Bookstore, there is also a new and improved snack bar and evening café. A 150-seat theatre, a 4,000 square-foot Fitness Center, and eight new meeting rooms also have been added to accommodate the needs of Eastern students. The new space will also accommodate all student clubs and organizations; the Student Government Association; Campus Activity Board; Office of Multicultural Programs; and the Office of Women’s Programs.
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for WWP
The Willimantic Whitewater Partnership (WWP) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 1 to celebrate the purchase of the Boland Property on Bridge Street. The 3.5 acre property, which was purchased in part by grants secured by the Savings Institute and State Senator Don Williams, is the centerpiece of the Partnership’s efforts to recapture the waterfront of the Willimantic River. The WWP wishes to restore the river through revitalizing surrounding trails; creating a regional swift water rescue and training center; encouraging scientific research; and developing an urban waterfront and whitewater park. Attendees included Williams; State Representative Walter Pawelkiewicz; First Selectman Michael Paulhus; Professor of Business Administration Eric Martin; and Eastern President Elsa Nuñez. For more information, visit the WWP website.
SOAR Inspires Incoming Students
Eastern’s Summer Orientation, Advising and Registration (SOAR) program took place from late June to mid-July. SOAR is the start of activities that are interwoven throughout a student’s first year in order to assist in academic and personal growth. The program, consisting of six (6) two-day sessions (approximately 200 incoming students per session), featured informational meetings, social events, and a Welcome Picnic. All new first-year resident and commuter students were required to attend.
SOAR also featured “Year in an Hour,” an event specifically designed to teach incoming students how to set realistic goals. Students also registered for fall classes and received identification cards and e-mail accounts. This year’s SOAR program was entitled “SOAR With Pride and Champion Your Future.” Incoming students also took a LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory) survey to help identify each student’s learning style so their future instruction can be tailored to individual preferences.
Professor Wynn on the Rusty Lanzit Town Talk Show
Eastern Connecticut State University chemistry professor Charles Wynn was featured on The Rusty Lanzit Town Talk Show on Monday, July 30; Wednesday, August 1; and Friday, August 3. The show, which aired on local Charter Communication Channel 14 and featured Wynn and Frank Mauro, was titled “The Willimantic Lions and Lions International.” Wynn and Mauro discussed local issues related to the Lions Club, while introducing Wynn as the new Lions Club president. Wynn became the 2007-2008 Willimantic Lions Club president on June 19.
Eastern Engineer Earns National Distinction
Michael Berlin, technical services engineer in the J. Eugene Smith Library, has earned his Master CFI accreditation for the fifth time. There are approximately 90,000 CFIs (Certified Flight Instructors) in the United States, and of those, fewer than 600 have achieved and renewed their “Master” distinction. Berlin is one of only seven Connecticut aviation educators to earn this prestigious title. The last 12 National Flight Instructors of the Year were Master CFIs. “It’s an honor to renew the accreditation for the fifth time,” said Berlin, a resident of West Hartford. Berlin is also a flight and ground instructor with Metro Flight Services at Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD), where he provides primary through advanced flight training. He has been promoted to Major in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol (USAF Aux) and was named Certified Flight Instructor of the Year in 2006 for the FAA’s Windsor Locks Flight Service District Office and the Eastern Region.
The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA that is earned by candidates through a rigorous process of continuing professional activity and peer review. Much like a flight instructor’s certificate, it must be renewed biennially.
Eastern Professor Explores Phenomena in Brazil
Eastern Associate Professor of Anthropology Mary Kenny has authored a new book, Hidden Heads of Households: Child Labor in Urban Northeast Brazil. The book focuses on the phenomena of child labor in Brazilian cities by exploring the questions of why these children migrate to the cities; how they negotiate their existence; and why they stay. It is published by Broadview Press.
In March 2007, Kenny took 16 Eastern students to Brazil on a study trip to observe and study the economic and social problems of the region; to immerse themselves in a vastly different culture; and to learn Portuguese and foreign language communication skills through real-world experiences. In 2006, Kenny received a Rockefeller Award, a six-month fellowship at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., where she examined the economics and cultural heritage in Brazil.
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