Newsflash
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Departing President David G. Carter told the audience at his farewell reception in the Frances E. Geissler Gymnasium on Jan. 31 that he wasn’t leaving Eastern Connecticut State University to assume his new position as chancellor of the Connecticut State University (CSU) System. “I’m not really leaving Eastern,” Carter said. “Eastern will just have to share me with three other universities.”
More than 500 people gathered in the gym to thank Carter for his 17 years of service and wish him well in his new position. Leaders from the university and the local community — including CSU Board Chairman Lawrence McHugh and State Representative Walter Pawelkeiwicz — bestowed tokens of gratitude upon Carter. A slide show offered highlights of his tenure, among them Carter with university guests and friends such as Jesse Jackson and David Chase.
“When I stumbled, you were there to keep me from falling,” Carter said. “When I fell you helped me up. When I made mistakes, you forgave me and that is being human.”
He asked the Eastern community to do the same for President Michael Pernal, who has been at Eastern for more than 36 years, and will serve as president while a search committee interviews candidates for the presidency.
Carter had plenty of opportunities to leave Eastern during his administration, Lawrence McHugh, chairman of the CSU Board of Trustees recalled. “But every time, I said, ‘David, stay. Eastern needs you,’ In 2006, the Connecticut State University System needs him because of his honesty, integrity, passion, and dedication to public higher education. Dr. Carter is a role model for what is good about public education,” McHugh declared, “an individual who has been committed to the students, faculty and staff at Eastern. Now he will be committed to all the students, faculty, and staff in the Connecticut State University System.”
In response, Carter thanked McHugh for his help, and promised continued effort as chancellor. “I’m glad you were patient enough to teach me. I will do my best to measure up, and when I fall short, you will do your best to call me on it.”
Math as Art
The paradoxically simple yet complex world of algorithms is on view in the Akus Gallery in Shafer Hall, from Jan. 26 through March 9.
Japanese artist Hideki Nakazawa presents his Gray Paintings, tricolor bitmap studies of a trinary system from 0 to 728. Nakazawa also directed an installation of every coin combination from 1 to 50 cents on the floor of the Akus Gallery, totaling more than $260. American artist Nicholas Knight presents his Taxonome series, which follow logical progressions of a rule system applied to curves on a grid. Knight also dissects sentences using algorithms.
The artists spoke at the University Hour Lecture, Jan. 25 with Assistant Professor Bonsu Mensah Osei of Ghana. Professor Osei’s mathematical investigation into the spread of the invasive zebra mussels in Lake Champlain is very similar to the algorithms created by Knight. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu/depts/akus.
President Carter’s Last University Meeting
The University bid David Carter a fond farewell at the University Meeting on Jan. 19 in the Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Praising the faculty and staff in attendance, Carter said, “You bought into a vision of excellence and equity long before I got here. You dared to touch tomorrow.”
He cited the fact Eastern had hired the first African-American professor in the Northeast in 1948 and the fact the University had the first exchange program with a historically black college (Hampton University) as two examples of Eastern’s pioneering. He encouraged his listeners to continue this tradition of service: “We were born to make the world a better place.” In closing, Carter said, “Thank you for your support. You cared for me as a person. I love you.”
Vice President for Academic Affairs Dimitrios Pachis opened the meeting by saying that the faculty had “stepped up to the plate” on a number of fronts, including the progress being made on the new Liberal Arts Core; the positive Fifth Year Report to NEASC; the faculty satisfaction survey; and the fact that fall 2006 applications are up 42 percent.
The First Day of Winter
Windham preschool children visit the J. Eugene Smith Library for winter activities and to hear the story “The First Day of Winter,” written by Denise Fleming.
The Chancellor’s First Speech
During his first speech as chancellor-elect of the Connecticut State University System, David Carter told the 800 guests at the Delta Sigma Theta sorority’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast, “We should no longer use slavery as a reason for not pursuing excellence. Your foreparents have nothing to do with you not getting out of bed on time.” Carter advised the audience that when youngsters wake up in the morning, “We must ask them, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And whether it is a dishwasher or a doctor, you must tell them to do it with excellence.”
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