At the spring University Meeting on May 8, President Elsa Núñez reviewed the progress made over the past five years under Eastern's 2008-13 Strategic Plan, citing "the three foundation stones of Eastern" -- its people, the lessons learned from planning and the progress made towards become a premier public liberal arts university. Núñez also announced that Political Science Professor William Salka will be her co-chair for the next Strategic Planning Committee, which will begin its work this fall.  (Click here for Dr. Núñez's complete remarks.)

At the meeting, English Professor Raouf Mama was honored with the 2012 Distinguished Professor Award. History Professor Jamel Ostwald was named recipient of a 2012 Connecticut State University System Research Award, while Environmental Earth Science Professor Peter Drzewiecki was named recipient of a 2012 Connecticut State University System Teaching Award. Phyllis Waite Endowed Chair Jeffrey Trawick-Smith was honored for being named a CSU Professor.

Excellence Awards were presented to Education Professor Sudha Swaminathan for full-time teaching; to Nicholas Simon for part-time teaching in the Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department; and to Business Administration Professor Doncho Petkov for creative activity. Amy Coffey, associate dean of Arts and Sciences, and Fran Champney, secretary in the Education Department receive Excellence Awards for Service.

Ten-year service awards were presented to Donna Snell, Nancy Harper, David Mariasi and Charles Warrington. A twenty-year service award was presented to John Luond, electrician in facilities. Twenty-five year service awards were presented to Carlos Hernandez, Peter Connell, and Beverly Canfield. Faculty promotion and tenure was also announced for 25 members of the faculty, and six retirees were honored for their 104 years of accumulated service to the University:  David Mason; Ramona Rodriguez; Mariam Hutson; Emil Pocock; David Yeo; and Fred Loxsom.

Two hundred and thirty-five students, supported by 13 faculty mentors, participated in the School of Education and Professional Studies 12th Annual Excellence Expo on May 2.  Students from the Business Administration, Communication, Economics, Education and Health and Physical Education Departments presented their research projects in the Betty R. Tipton Room; the Student Center Theatre; the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Community Conference Room; and other venues on campus. Eight Eastern faculty and staff, along with nine representatives of area businesses and social service agencies, served as judges at the Expo.

Presentations included health education curriculum electronic portfolios; early childhood education presentations; a photography exhibit; a poster research competition; and research sessions utilizing technology.  Presentations covered a wide variety of topics crossing numerous disciplines, including communication law and ethics; sport and leisure management; business information systems; economics; nonverbal communications; technology and education; and much more. Above, Michael Radlbeck, discusses his electronic portfolio for health education curriculum. (at right) Tulin Karasay talks about her research poster "Is All Publicity Good Publicity?" with expo judge Linwood East, vice president for sales and marketing at Hayward Turnstiles.

Jean Chery, a senior from Montville majoring in Communication, won the top award in the Campus Movie Festival (CMF) for his film "Reflections."  Reflections is about a young girl dealing with the loss of her boyfriend who died in a fatal car accident. Throughout the film, the young girl reminisces about the good times they had. In the end, she understands that even though he's gone, they will always be together through reflection.

"Jean was in my field production class a couple of years ago," said Associate Professor of Communication Andrew Utterback. "He is an excellent videographer. His work is thoughtful and careful -- he is thinking through the viewfinder. Jean has matured into a very talented filmmaker."

"I've always had a passion for film, said Chery, a senior member of the News22 group. "Whether it's being a camera man or editing footage, creating stories is a true passion of mine. Campus Movie Fest was the perfect opportunity for me to show what I had learned during my time at Eastern. I hope to continue to do it as a professional."

Chery credits his success to Utterback and as Denise Matthews, associate professor of communication. "Both professors have given me great filming advice since I arrived at Eastern four years ago. It wasn't until the film was finished that I realized how far I've come as a student. I am truly thankful for their advice and support throughout my years at Eastern."  Winning the award gives Chery the opportunity to participate in the CMF Hollywood Festival this summer in California. To see "Reflections," visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzKHc6T1eTc. 

"A Common Life," a documentary video produced by four Eastern students in Denise Matthews's  Documentary Video Production class in fall 2011, won third place in the Audience Choice category at the Trinity Film Festival on May 5.  The film was one of 23 selected from nearly 50 student entries from across the country to compete in the festival. Student producers  included Jenn Silva, Katherine McManus, Stephanie LaPointe and Tim Crouse, all Communication majors. McManus and LaPointe are also Performing Arts majors.

A Common Life is a documentary about a married couple who adopted a boy named Christian through from the Connecticut Department of Child and Families. The family lives in Lebanon. Christian began kindergarten at the Lebanon Elementary school this past fall. In Lebanon, Christian and his parents are living a common life in every way except one -- Christian's parents, Eastern Professor of Music David Belles and his husband Eric Ouelette, are both males.

A Common Life also won the top award at the Eastern Video and Animation Festival on April 19, and was featured at Eastern's School of Education and Professional Studies' Excellence Expo on May 2. At left, Stephanie LaPointe and Katharine McManus, two members of the four-person team who made the film.

More than 125 early childhood educators attended Eastern's Early Childhood Investigations Conference on April 27.  The conference theme was "Using Projects to Foster Children's Cognitive Development."  Visitors from across the state of Connecticut attended the day-long conference, co-hosted by the Center for Early Childhood Education and the Child and Family Development Resource Center. Judy Harris Helm, author, early childhood consultant and president of Best Practices, Inc., delivered the keynote address, "Projects That Power Young Minds: You Can Do It and Here's How."

The conference was designed for preschool and toddler teachers, administrators and teacher educators who are interested in learning more about using projects with young children.  Presenters came from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Illinois.

"Hosting the conference enabled us to provide professional development to early childhood teachers throughout Connecticut, and also gave Eastern students the opportunity to experience a professional-level conference," said Julia DeLapp, program coordinator for the Center for Early Childhood Education.  "Thirteen Eastern students gave poster presentations during the conference, and 18 other students attended as participants. What a fantastic chance for our students to interact with and learn from a diverse group of early childhood professionals."

Eastern students majoring in early childhood education presented professional posters about their work with young children in the CFDRC; their attendance was made possible by the sponsorship and financial support of the ECSU Foundation, Inc.  Seven students from Asnuntuck Community College (ACC) also attended in part due to support from ACC's foundation.

The conference featured a number of hands-on workshops, including "Listening to Children's Voices:  A Year-long Investigation of an Artist's Work"; "Balls: Projects, Inquiries, Investigations"; "Building a Preschool City"; and "Going Green: Reconnections, Collective Actions and Investigations."

A cloudy day did not dampen the spirits of more than 200 students from four Windham Elementary Schools -- Sweeney, Natchaug, Windham Center and North Windham -- who participated in Eastern's Annual Field Day on the Intramural Field. With more than ten stations run by 74 Eastern volunteers, the young people rotated through a variety of activities including relay races, spud, Frisbee and more.

Children in the after-school program at Windham Middle School also participated in Field Day, which was organized by Center for Community Engagement (CCE) staff members Max Goto, a junior from Hamden, and Elliott Woolworth, a junior from Bristol. Above, the students play, and Ryan Barton '13 is in hot pursuit during a game of TV Tag.

Eastern's Dean's Cup raised $2,500 for the Willimantic Teen Center this year. The Dean's Cup is an annual competition between 12 residence halls, with each hall given the opportunity to display their commitment to personal and academic success along with hall and school spirit.

Residence halls conduct approximately 50 events throughout the course of the academic year, as part of the Dean's Cup. The residence hall with the most points at the end of the competition is awarded the Dean's Cup. This year, Constitution Hall walked off with top honors. Events throughout the year included Arts and Lecture series, University Hour lectures, blood drives and an energy conservation contest. Other factors considered in determining the winning residence hall include the residence hall with the highest community service participation, highest cumulative GPA and athletic competitions. Since the Dean's Cup competition began, residence halls have raised $12,600 for Willimantic community agencies.

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C., has named Caitlin Carenen, assistant professor of history, an "Academic Fellow" for 2012-13. Carenen will travel to Israel at the end of May for an intensive course in terrorism studies, and in particular, how democracies can defeat the worldwide terrorist threat.

The FDD Academic Fellows program provides a 10-day learning experience for U.S.-based teaching and research professionals to provide them with cutting edge information about defeating terrorist groups.  The program, which will be conducted at Tel Aviv University from May 27 to June 6, includes lectures by academics and military and intelligence officials, as well as diplomats from Israel, Jordan, India and the United States. It also includes "hands on" experience through visits to police, customs and immigration facilities; military bases; and border zones to learn the practical side of deterring and defeating terrorists.

Carenen also has just published a highly-acclaimed book, "The Fervent Embrace: Liberal Protestants, Evangelicals, and Israel." Frank Castigliola, professor of history at the University of Connecticut, said the book is "Deeply researched, insightful, and sharply focused. 'The Fervent Embrace' appears at a time when foreign/international relations history is waking up to the crucial importance of religion in shaping policy." Stephen Spector, professor of English at Stony Brook University, agrees: "The Fervent Embrace is the product of remarkable research and shows a commendable mastery and balance. A welcome contribution."

With nine national championships between them, Eastern's baseball and softball teams have high standards and expectations each year they take the field. 

The women's softball team -- third and fifth in the nation the previous two years -- fell just short of returning to the national NCAA Division III Tournament in Salem, VA, for the third year in a row. The Warriors finished second to Tufts University at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament held May 10-13 on Eastern's new softball field at the Mansfield Sports Complex. Despite not meeting all of its goals, the team has an outstanding year, finishing with an overall record of 44-3, breaking the the program's all-time record for victories.  Coach Diana Pepin became the all-time leader in wins by an Eastern softball coach with 286. The team won the Little East Conference for the third year in a row and made the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row. In addition to a record 28 home runs during her Eastern career, senior three-time All American Molly Rathbun ended the season with a 33-3 record, and ended her career with 103 wins (including nine no-hitters and a perfect game) and 1,135 strikeouts, both program records. Arielle Cooper had a record-breaking streak of 33 games with a hit, and Priscilla Alicea broke the all-time school record for hits with 206.

Ranked ninth in New England entering the Little East Conference Tournament, Eastern's baseball team needed to win the event to guarantee a ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Instead, the Warriors were eliminated after sustaining consecutive one-run losses to second-seeded Keene State College, 4-3 in 12 innings, and sixth-seeded Plymouth State University, 1-0.  The team finished the season at 29-13.

Earlier in the month, the men's lacrosse team won its LEC conference tournament for the seventh time in 12 years.