Newsflash
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Miguel Olmo, a senior from Mansfield majoring in social work at Eastern Connecticut State University; Estela R. Lopez, former vice chancellor for academic affairs of the Connecticut State University System; and Ricardo Perez, assistant professor of anthropology at Eastern, were named recipients of Eastern’s prestigious Latin American Distinguished Service Awards on April 17.
The keynote speaker was Fernando Betancourt, executive director of the State of Connecticut’s Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission. “Stay in school and do your very best to graduate, because your employment is necessary for the stability of the Connecticut economy,” Betancourt told the students in the audience.
Olmo wrote, directed and co-produced the film La Otra Cara de la Moneda/The Other Side of the Coin, which educates Latino families and communities about addiction, relapse and available recovery services. He also works full time as a counselor/case manager with the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund, where he is responsible for maintaining and managing caseloads in transitional living homes for veterans.
Lopez served as the Connecticut State University System’s vice chancellor for academic affairs from 2002–2007. During her tenure, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez named Lopez co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Student Access to Higher Education. Among her other honors, Lopez was named Latina Citizen of the Year by the Connecticut Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission.
Perez joined Eastern as an assistant professor of anthropology in fall 2001. His lectures and interests include Caribbean transnational migration, Latin American/ Caribbean Studies, U.S. Latino Studies and sustainable development. Perez also serves the Eastern community as an advisor to the Organization of Latin American Students and is involved with such cultural and community events as the celebration of Three Kings Day. He currently serves as the chair of the Colectivo Mestizal, a local non-profit organization aimed at promoting Latin American and Caribbean cultures in Eastern Connecticut.
Eastern Celebrates Earth Day and Earth Week
Eastern’s energy-conscious campus celebrated Earth Week 2007 with a week-long observation from April 14-20. The campus bustled with music, poetry, story-telling, food, nature photography exhibitions, presentations, sustainable energy demonstrations, a rock-climbing wall, community groups, and a book signing with renowned naturalist/author Peter Alden, the featured guest speaker for Earth Day.
A pre-celebration 5k trail run at Mansfield Hollow on April 14 kicked off Earth Week. Gina McCarthy, commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection, also spoke on the subject, “No Child Left Inside,” a presentation designed to inform children and their families on how to make better use of local parks. On April 17, environmental Science students presented “Sustainability at Eastern.”
On April 18, Earth Week got into full swing with a plethora of events in celebration of national Earth Day, including a nature walk conducted by the Connecticut Audubon Society that gave students an opportunity to participate and to learn about invasive plants and how to protect native species; a live “Birds of Prey” demonstration presented by Mary Beth Kaeser of Horizon Wings; a solar science planetarium show presented by Russell Sampson, professor of physical science; Earth Day Music performed by musical groups Acoustic Motion and Acoustic Surf Tones; and a discussion by Peter Alden on how global warming is affecting animal and human populations at both poles.
Eastern’s Earth Week celebration wrapped up on April 19 with a presentation by Fred Loxsom on the film “Who Killed the Electric Car,” a controversial documentary about the future of transportation. Later, Nancy Tinker, Eastern’s director of facilities management and planning, discussed Eastern’s overall energy-saving measures and introduced Al Gore’s documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth. The acclaimed feature film documents the challenges presented by global warming.
Qimin Liu Exhibits at the Wadsworth Atheneum of Art!
Qimin Liu, associate professor of visual art and internationally reknown artist, will exhibit his detailed paintings depicting the plight of the homeless at the Wadsworth Atheneum of Art in Hartford. Liu’s piece is part of the museum’s “Connecticut Contemporary” exhibition, which celebrates the diverse talents of 24 state visual artists, including such art luminaries as Sol Le Witt, Barkley Hendricks and William DeLottie, among others. If you’d like to check out the exhibit, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum is located at 600 Main Street in Hartford. For more information about the exhibit, visit the website: www.wadsworthatheneum.org or call (860) 278-2670.
“Cowboy in Caracas” Author speaks at Eastern
Charles Hardy, author of the highly-acclaimed book, “Cowboy in Caracas: A North American’s Memoir of Venezuela’s Democratic Revolution,” spoke at Eastern on April 19. The book is a critique of the Bush Administration’s perception of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez Frias. Following Hardy’s presentation, President Elsa Nuñez held a book-signing reception for Hardy in the Connecticut Room of Gelsi-Young Hall. Above, Hardy, Sociology Professor James Russell, who wrote the forward to Hardy’s book, and President Nuñez listen as Judith Doyle, co-owner of Curbstone Press, discuss Hardy’s book.
Mae Jemison, First African American Female Astronaut, Speaks at Eastern
Mae Jemison, educator, physician, and the first African American female astronaut to travel in space, spoke at Eastern on April 12. Jemison discussed the impact of science and technology on developing countries and told the audience, “I never limited myself because of someone else’s limited imagination.” Above, Jemison answers a question by six-year-old Tamia McBride, daughter of Derrick and LaShawn McBride: “How did you return to earth after traveling in space?”
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