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Faculty-student research at Susquehanna University.

Drury University's new Trustee Science Center.

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Gerry Francis, provost at Elon University.

• Focus on Faculty: Recognition and Research at Quinnipiac, Drake, Mercer, Dayton, and Simmons
  
• Focus on Students: Simmons Survey Finds Teen Girls Wish to Avoid Business Careers; Hartford Academic All-American
  
• New Buildings dedicated at Drury, Mercer, and Sage
  
• What's in a Tagline? Dayton, Sage, Hamline, Hampton, Simmons, and Quinnipiac Examples
  
• Hamline and Pacific Lutheran Receive $2 Million and Evansville $3.5 Million in Lilly Grants
  
• Elon Teacher Education Program Ranks Above Duke and Wake Forest in State Report
  
• Matisse, "Musical Fence," and Magnet School at University of Hartford
  
• Alumni Giving Increases at University of Dayton in Tough Economic Climate
  
• University of Evansville Remembers Tragedy 25 Years Ago

Focus on Faculty: Recognition and Research at Quinnipiac, Drake, Mercer, and Dayton

In few places are the hybrid characteristics of ANAC member institutions better exemplified than in the work and recognition of the faculty. A few illustrations underscore the generalization:

• Bruce Saulnier, Quinnipiac University associate professor of computer information systems in the School of Business, has been named the 2002 Connecticut Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education at a National Press Club awards luncheon on November 21.
  
• R. Charli Carpenter, Drake University instructor of politics and international relations, has been awarded a grant from the MacArthur Foundation for a research study, "Children of the Enemy? Forced Pregnancy, Humanitarian Assistance and Children's Rights in the Balkans." Carpenter has published several articles on children of rape and will conduct her research on location in the Balkans.
  
• Henry E. Young and Paul A. Lucas, professors of medicine at Mercer University, are members of a research team spanning the continent that published an article in the September 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research reporting on their findings that pluripotent stem cells isolated from adult muscle can be induced to produce nerve cells and supporting tissue called neuroglia. Transplanting the patient's neuroglia, generated from the patient's own pluripotent stem cells, has the capacity to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the use of anti-rejection drugs and to replace damaging or missing tissue in neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, or Alzheimer's disease.
• The Research Center at the University of Dayton is well known for its approximately $50 million of contract research annually involving faculty and graduate students, primarily in connection with the aerospace industry in the Dayton region. In addition, UD professors frequently contribute Op Ed pieces on a variety of topics to the local and national media. One, by history professor John Heitmann, entitled "From the Parachute to the Parking Meter," reviews Dayton's history of inventions and entrepreneurial spirit and calls for its revival in order to regain economic momentum, renew community cohesiveness, and inspire continuing innovation. Another, by law professors Lisa Kloppenberg, Richard Saphire, and Vernellia Randall, analyzes the legal issues of national security vs. individual civil liberties in the wake of the war on terrorism.
  
• In the high visibility category, Zachary Abuza, Simmons College professor of political science and international relations, is the author of an article in the December 9 issue of Time Magazine, entitled "Al-Qaeda's Asian Web of Terror." Abuza gives a preview of his coming book, Radical Islam and Terrorism in Southeast Asia, in his argument that although the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were Al-Qaeda's "most heinous acts," they are not really Al-Qaeda's trademark. Because of the resources and detailed planning required on a 9/11 scale, Al-Qaeda prefers to strike at "smaller and softer targets," both directly and through its global network of subsidiaries.

Focus on Students: Simmons Survey Finds Teen Girls Wish to Avoid Business Careers; Hartford Academic All-American

In a national survey of 3,000 girls and 1,200 boys in grades 7-12, the Simmons College School of Management found that fewer than 10 percent of girls plan on a career in business (50 percent of boys expect to go into business), although 97 percent of girls expect to work to support themselves and their families. "At a time when we need strong, thoughtful and ethical leaders in business, the lack of women at the top is alarming," said Patricia O'Brien, dean of the Simmons College School of Management. "Fueling the pipeline with talented young women excited about business is critical for change. Yet our research shows that many girls don't understand or appreciate the power of business to change the world. This study provides a strong foundation of data that we hope will be a crucial first step in a sea change in girls' attitudes towards business. It is imperative that all of us -- educators, business leaders, the media and parents -- build on this research and take every action within our means to inspire girls to see themselves as our future business leaders." For other survey findings go to www.simmons.edu/som.

University of Hartford senior women's soccer player Katharina Lindner was named the Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America. She was also named to the Verizon Academic All-America First Team. A double major in communications and psychology with a 4.00 cumulative grade point average, Lindner is a repeat selection on the Verizon first team.

New Buildings Dedicated at Drury, Mercer, and Sage

The ambitious pace of ANAC member physical plant expansion and other capital improvements is reflected in recent new building dedications at Drury and Mercer universities and The Sage Colleges. In connection with its October 11-12 celebration of the centennial anniversary of Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University, Mercer dedicated its new Atlanta campus College of Nursing building, a state-of-the-art facility that includes two nursing clinical skills labs with eight patient beds.

In dedicating its $19 million Trustee Science Center on October 25, Drury opened a 75,800 square foot structure that includes 1,500 square feet for interdisciplinary teaching, more than 4,000 square feet for student-faculty research, and an integrated location of faculty offices across departments. Drury's science curricula received a 2002 Council of Independent Colleges' Heuer Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Science.

On November 12, Sage dedicated its Opalka Gallery in Albany, the "crowning jewel" of Sage's new Center for the Visual Arts. The Opalka Gallery is a $2.8 million, 7,400 square foot split barrel-vault structure with a 2,000 square foot exhibition and teaching gallery with natural light radiating from the glass clerestory, a 75 seat lecture and presentation hall, slide library, offices, and pergola-style foyer for hosting receptions.

What's in a Tagline? Dayton, Sage, Hamline, Hampton, Simmons, and Quinnipiac Add Zest to Websites

ANAC has spent considerable time over the years seeking language that helps to differentiate the small to mid-size private, comprehensive, institutional type from other institutional models such as liberal arts colleges and research universities. Some of this effort has been directed at the national media which often seems fixed on the latter two types, but also to ourselves in order that we might take better advantage of our distinctive qualities and special strengths. A browsing through ANAC member websites reveals some compelling homepage taglines that evoke clear and crisp images of the institutions in question. Some examples:

• University of Dayton - "A Catholic, Marianist university. . .where the mind serves the heart."
  
• The Sage Colleges - "Three colleges, two cities. . .a world of opportunity."
  
• Hamline University - "Minnesota's First University"
  
• Hampton University - "Welcome to 'Our Home by the Sea'"
  
• Simmons College - "Small Classes Are a Good Thing."
  
• Quinnipiac University posts its mission statement prominently on its homepage - "Quinnipiac University strives to prepare graduates who manifest critical and creative thinking, effective communication skills, informed value judgments, and who possess an educational foundation for continued growth and development in a changing world of diverse cultures and peoples."

Hamline and Pacific Lutheran Receive $2 Million and Evansville $3.5 Million in Lilly Grants

The Lilly endowment continues to be a major benefactor of ANAC member colleges and universities in a time when many major foundations have reduced their funding for higher education. Hamline and Pacific Lutheran universities were recently notified of $2 million grants from the Lilly Theological Exploration of Vocation program. Hamline's grant will fund a variety of initiatives related to the University's "New American University" vision, significantly a holistic advising program for undergraduates that will encourage them to explore the integrated nature of their learning and to articulate the ways which this integration will help them to achieve their educational and vocational goals. Pacific Lutheran's grant will be used to strengthen connections between study abroad and service learning, its first-year student program, and for faculty/staff professional development. This latest grant for international programming comes on the heels of several earlier major gifts to develop PLU's international emphasis. Like other Indiana colleges and universities, the University of Evansville is the recipient of a $3.5 million challenge grant under Lilly's "Special Initiative to Strengthen Philanthropy for Indiana Higher Education Institutions." Evansville must match the grant dollar for dollar with up to $3 million in gifts from alumni, $250,000 from parents and students, and $250,000 from current or former faculty and staff.

Elon Teacher Education Program Ranks Above Duke and Wake Forest in State Report

The Elon University teacher education program received an exemplary rating (the highest possible) in the (Performance Report on Teacher Education Programs for 2001-02), issued by the North Carolina State Board of Education. The only private institution to receive an exemplary rating, Elon was ranked above the teacher education programs at both Duke and Wake Forest universities. The ratings represent North Carolina's report card on teacher education program performance as the state moves to comply with federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

Matisse, "Musical Fence," and Magnet School at University of Hartford

Paul Matisse, grandson of famed French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse (1869-1954), unveiled his latest interactive sculpture, Musical Fence, at the University of Hartford Magnet School on December 13. Paul Matisse, who has a deep love for music, created the seven feet tall and 32 feet long piece with vertical aluminum pipes that are tuned to emit pleasing tones when struck gently with wooden mallets. Matisse considers Hartford's Magnet School the ideal home for the Musical Fence because of the school's educational mission to develop students' multiple intelligences and their interaction.

Alumni Giving Increases at University of Dayton in Tough Times

In spite of the soft economy, the University of Dayton reports 834 new alumni donors in 2002 compared to a year ago, a one percent increase over 2001. Overall giving is up 40 percent from the same time last year as UD expects to close the calendar year with approximately $10 million in commitments and is on track to raise a projected $18-20 million overall for the current fiscal year. Last summer UD completed its $150 million "Call to Lead" campaign with a record $158 million in commitments and 46 percent of undergraduate alumni supporting the six-year effort.

University of Evansville Remembers Tragedy 25 Years Ago

At the University of Evansville, the holidays also bring remembrance and mourning regarding one of higher education's most numbing tragedies. Twenty-five years ago, on December 13, 1977, an airplane crashed just after take-off killing twenty-nine members of the University community, including the entire basketball team, coaches, fans, and airline personnel. The Purple Aces were enroute to Tennessee for a game with Middle Tennessee State and the nation mourned the tragedy alongside the University community. The University held a memorial observance on December 13, at Memorial Plaza, formally dedicated in October 1979, as a permanent campus place of remembrance.