ETrail
July, 2009
Farewell Professor
Dr. Stephen Green retired from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on June 1, after 36 years of service. In recognition of his dedication, President Grant hosted an event in Steve's honor on Wednesday, June 17 in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. Nearly 350 MCLA friends and community members were on hand to wish Steve well. During the event, Steve heard tributes and good wishes from colleagues, alumni, friends, and family.
In addition and at Steve's request, contributions made in his honor will be used for scholarships, programs and initiatives in support of community and civic engagement. If you are interested in contributing to this fund, please contact Nina Garlington [Nina.Garlington@mcla.edu], Director of Donor Relations at (413) 662-5220.
Honoring Retirees
We are pleased to also acknowledge and celebrate some other members of the MCLA family who have retired - Joe Arabia of Facilities, Bill Caprari of Athletics and professors Clark Billings, Bob Bishoff and Marc Goldstein.
2009 Commencement
On Saturday, May 16, 357 degrees - including 42 Master's degrees and 11 Certificates of Advanced Graduate Study - were awarded to the Class of 2009. Author, musician and composer James McBride, received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from MCLA and delivered the keynote address.
Public Policy Lectures
MCLA's Public Policy lectures have become a funded series, thanks to generous support from the Ruth Proud Charitable Trust. This series complements MCLA's new major in political science and public policy and allows all of our MCLA students to have additional opportunities to speak with and hear from those who make and influence pivotal public policy decisions.
We look forward to our next Public Policy Lecture, when Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda will speak on Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. in the MCLA Church Street Center.
Undergraduate Research Conference
The College enjoyed wide participation from both students and faculty at the Seventh Annual Undergraduate Research Conference held in late April. The work was both impressive and inspiring, and featured the research of students from across academic disciplines. This year, for the first time, the conference featured a number of faculty-sponsored sessions devoted to student work on a variety of topics, themes and projects. In academic year 2009-2010, this conference will be expanded to an all day learning opportunity so that all MCLA students can partake in the conference.
MCLA Ice Cream
Lickety Split, located in North Adams, unveiled a new ice cream flavor to honor MCLA. The new flavor, "Blueberry 'Blazer," is a lemon cheesecake ice cream with blueberries streaked through it, acknowledging our blue and gold school colors and the Trailblazers. Blueberry 'Blazer was developed specifically for MCLA by Steve Herrell, the owner of Herrell's Ice Cream.
Enrollment update
At present new student enrollment deposits are up 24% over this point last year. We are hopeful that this trend will continue. This growth in deposits reflects the hard work and dedication of the Admissions Office and many across the campus who remain focused on promoting the message of MCLA and ensuring that current and prospective students have access to a high quality, affordable public liberal arts education.
DownStreet Art returns
MCLA and the North Adams community celebrated the launch of the second season of DownStreet Art on June 25. In total, 27 galleries, museums and other arts destinations throughout the community will participate in this year's program throughout the summer and fall.
DownStreet Art, a public art project of MCLA's Berkshire Cultural Resource Center -in collaboration with the City of North Adams, MASS MoCA, Scarafoni Realty and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition-is designed to harness the energy of the creative economy, connect with existing arts organizations and events, and transform otherwise unoccupied commercial spaces into arts destinations.
DownStreet Art will run through October 18th.
Alumni Retreat
Alumni volunteers met on campus on Saturday, June 27 for their annual retreat. This program is designed to provide volunteers with more information about the College and how to be active advocates and ambassadors for MCLA. 35 Class Agents and Alumni Board members joined administration and staff to learn more about their alma mater. New Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Cynthia Brown joined President Mary K. Grant'83 to meet our volunteers.
Congratulations to:
Amanda Hillman '08, who graduated from MCLA with a mathematics degree and an economics minor, has been accepted into two graduate programs at the University of Michigan. Amanda will be pursuing a Master of Supply Chain Management with the Ross School of Business starting this January and in the fall of 2010 will begin a Master of Science in Sustainable Systems with the School of Natural Resources and Environment. This is one of the top programs in the country.
Tim Jay, whose article "Do Offensive Words Harm People?" appears in the American Psychological Association publication Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.
Deborah Raber, MCLA's head women's soccer coach, who recently was chosen to attend the 2009 NCAA Women's Coaches Academy. Only 25 coaches were invited to attend this year's academy from May 27-31 in Denver, Colorado.
Leon Peters, who received the newly named Steve Green Athletic Service Award at the Athletics banquet.
Jeff Puleri who was named MASCAC Baseball Coach of the year for the second year in a row.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Look at our Web site for upcoming events on campus.
ATHLETICS:
For the latest news from athletics, check out the department's Web site [http://athletics.mcla.edu/landing/index].
