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In the news …
May 26, 2008
Hawaii Pacific University: International Vocal Ensemble and Orchestra to Perform in China
The Hawaii Pacific University International Vocal Ensemble (IVE) and the Hawaii Pacific University Chamber Orchestra will travel to Beijing and Xian, China to perform with the China Agricultural University Chorale in a series of concerts May 30-June 12, 2008. About 50 HPU students and faculty members are part of the traveling delegation.
The concerts are intended to facilitate cultural exchange between China and the United States. The IVE and Chamber Orchestra have held eight fundraising concerts over the course of two years to raise the $40,000 needed for the trip abroad.
“We not only plan to share the talents of our fine singers and musicians, but to act as ambassadors of goodwill toward China. For our HPU students, it’s a great learning and cultural experience that will help them in our mission to educate for global citizenship,” said Dr. Jeff Philpott, vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
The HPU International Vocal Ensemble is Hawai‘i’s first program specializing in ethnic choral literature. The IVE is conducted by Matthew “Kala‘i” Stern, director of Choral Music. The HPU Chamber Orchestra is a performing instrumental ensemble comprising musicians who specialize in music from the Baroque and Classical Periods. Dr. Teresa McCreary, director of Instrumental Music Programs, leads the orchestra.
In addition to performing, the IVE and Chamber Orchestra will visit notable Chinese sites, including the 2008 Olympic Village and the Great Wall.
Source: Hawaii Pacific University
May 14, 2008
Columbia College Chicago Moves Hollywood Operations to Raleigh Studios
Semester in LA (SILA), Columbia College Chicago’s signature program that provides full-time students with a five-week intensive learning experience working with professionals in the entertainment industry, moved to their new home on Raleigh Studios’ 11 acre Hollywood complex on May 12. “We are thrilled to be entering into a lease with Raleigh, one of the oldest and most respected studio enterprises in the county,” says Doreen Bartoni, dean of Columbia’s School of Media Arts. “There is great resonance between the histories of Raleigh and Columbia, with a common commitment to new visions and voices in the creative entertainment industries. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with our new landlord.” The 2,000 square feet of new space are located in the historic Bronson building in the heart of Hollywood on Melrose Avenue. Semester in L.A. is an intensive program that allows full-time Columbia College Chicago students the opportunity to gain exposure to the entertainment industry. Columbia College has worked to build a solid reputation in Hollywood with a network of hundreds of working entertainment industry professionals who willingly offer their knowledge and advice in an effort to help students get ahead. Many graduates have gone on to work in production offices, television shows, talent agencies and film sets via internship opportunities offered to our students. Founded in 1999 by Bob Enrietto and Don Smith, a full-time faculty member in the college’s film and video department, the SILA program has made its home on the CBS Studio Lot since January 2000. The program is now headed by Jon Katzman and offers programs across a wide range of career fields in the entertainment industry. “We have had a wonderful relationship with the CBS Studio Lot folks for nearly a decade,” says Katzman. “This move provides Columbia with the additional space we need to continue to grow the SILA program and it frees up space for some new needs that CBS Studio has identified. Plus, the students will really like being in the middle of the action in Hollywood instead of in the Valley.” Columbia College Chicago, an urban institution committed to open access, opportunity and excellence in higher education, provides innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to more than 12,000 students in over 120 undergraduate and graduate programs, including film & video, art & design, arts management, television, radio, music, interactive multimedia – all within a liberal arts context. Founded in 1890 as a communications school for women, Columbia College Chicago was revisioned in 1963 as a liberal arts college with a “hands-on minds-on” approach to arts and media education and a progressive social agenda. Under the current leadership of President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Columbia is aggressively pursuing this mission. Columbia is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college is accredited as a teacher training institution by the Illinois State Board of Education. Raleigh Studios, which commenced operations in 1915 as Famous Players Fiction Studios, is the longest continuously operating studio in the country. Raleigh Studios has played a central role in creating and supporting the modern entertainment industry. Raleigh Enterprises purchased the studio in 1979 and immediately launched a comprehensive renovation of its historic buildings. As part of an extensive five-year master plan that added modern new soundstages, support facilities and offices to the lot, the refurbishment of the studio ensured the preservation of the best of its Hollywood traditions. As part of this process, Raleigh Enterprises virtually reinvented the art of soundstage construction as no new facilities had been built in nearly three decades. The Manhattan Beach Facility was opened in 1998 with nearly 600,000 square feet of stage, support and office space.
Source: Columbia College Chicago, Illinois
May 13, 2008
Hawaii Pacific University: Dr. John J. Gutrich Named Recipient of HPU’s Trustees’ Award for Teaching Excellence
John J. Gutrich, Ph.D., Hawai‘i Pacific University Associate Professor of Environmental Science, has been awarded the University’s 2008 Trustees’ Award for Teaching Excellence. The announcement was made at HPU’s spring commencement ceremony on Tuesday, May 13, at the Waik?k? Shell. This annual award is given to a faculty member - nominated by students and chosen by a committee representing the entire HPU community — who best exemplifies the ideals of distinguished teaching. Gutrich, who grew up in Chicago and now resides in Kailua, is an ecological and environmental economist whose research efforts include the valuation of non-market ecosystem goods and services, restoration wetland ecology and mitigation, the economics of invasive species, ecological risks of genetically engineered marine organisms, and efficient economic solutions to the environmental regulation of rivers. Those who nominated Gutrich describe him as “interesting,” “inspirational,” “supportive,” “challenging,” “very knowledgeable,” and “passionate about sharing his knowledge.” His students say he is a mentor who instills within them confidence and inspires better environmental stewardship. Some of Gutrich’s former students have gone on to help Native Hawaiian ecosystems with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Kualoa Ranch, and the Audubon Society. Joining HPU as an assistant professor in 2001, Gutrich’s colleagues praise him for his tireless service both to the University and to the local community. While teaching conservation biology, environmental science, environmental policy, ecological modeling, environmental economics, ecological economics and sustainable development, and natural resource management in the classroom fulltime for HPU, he has been working on three main research projects. Gutrich is working to outline the value of carbon sequestration in forested ecosystems of the northeastern United States and establish ecological substitutability of constructed inland freshwater marshes for natural sites and the estimation of least-cost economic approaches for mitigation of wetlands. He recently completed an evaluation with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists on the potential ecological and economic impacts of the spread of the red imported fire ant in Hawaii. Prior to joining HPU, Gutrich held various teaching and research positions at the East-West Center, Ohio State University, Dartmouth College, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, and Maryland Biotechnology Institute. He also worked as an environmental economic consultant for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. In 2004, the Hawai‘i State Senate honored Gutrich as an “outstanding professor.” Gutrich earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Ecology, Evolution, and Population Biology from Purdue University. After studying in the Master of Science degree program in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology at the University of Maryland, he transferred to Ohio State University where he earned a doctorate degree in Environmental Science.
Source: Hawaii Pacific University
May 6, 2008
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale: Exchange Program with Taiwan University Growing
A dozen additional students from Taiwan will join the student body at Southern Illinois University Carbondale this fall after officials from SIUC and a Taiwan university worked out details of a growing exchange program. Shing-Chung "Max" Yen, director of the Materials Technology Center at SIUC, said he and other campus leaders, including Interim Chancellor Samuel Goldman, recently met with several leaders from I-Shou University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, when they visited SIUC. The group discussed expanding student and faculty relations, as well as designing integrated curriculums. I-Shou already sends about 15 students each year to SIUC to study at the University's Center for English as a Second Language. But starting this fall, another dozen I-Shou students will begin studying at SIUC for at least one year as that university begins an international studies program. The students will study a variety of subjects at SIUC, including occupational therapy, radiology, English, chemistry and business administration, among others, Yen said. Of the 16 students I-Shou is sending overseas on scholarships, 12 will go to SIUC, he said, reflecting the preparation the University has invested in the cooperative arrangements. "We get 12 this time, but we may get many more in the future," said Yen, who along with others at SIUC has worked for years on creating cooperative arrangements with Asian universities. "This will help SIUC in several ways. They will send us their best and brightest students. This increases the number of students who come here and also increases the quality of our students and the marketability of our programs." Along with those benefits, Yen said the move will help increase SIUC's presence in the global agenda sought by many institutions of higher learning these days. That idea focuses students on learning the cultures and mindset of different countries to better prepare them for the global marketplace. In this particular instance, American students will learn more about the technical focus of Asian engineering universities, while Asian students will learn about the American emphasis on leadership, communications and entrepreneurial skills. "We are understanding there are new ways to bring both of these together," Yen said. "Students today need to learn how to position themselves. They need to understand new cultures, political structures and economics to succeed. At SIUC, they will see the true America." The additional students, however, may only be the beginning. Yen said the leaders also discussed several future cooperative arrangements that might send hundreds of students to SIUC, and SIUC faculty overseas to teach a semester at I-Shou. I-Shou developing an international college might mean many more students spending at least one year at SIUC, Yen said. Also, because courses within that college will be in English, SIUC faculty members might be tapped to teach a semester or more overseas, he said. "It could be a great opportunity for our faculty members here, and might be done as a reward mechanism, for example," he said. I-Shou and SIUC have many common areas of study, Yen said, including engineering, management, medicine, communications and hospitality. All such programs have the potential to develop such cooperative arrangements, Yen said. I-Shou also is building a 700-room, five-star hotel on site for its hospitality programs and has a first-class teaching hospital, too. SIUC students might have a chance to use such facilities during their studies, for instance. The two I-Shou officials who visited SIUC, Hsiang-Chen Hsu, secretary general (chief of staff) and Claudia Hui-Lan Chao, former head of international programs, also examined SIUC's curriculum in order to better prepare students for the program, Yen said. During the two-day trip, the I-Shou officials met with Goldman, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Don Rice, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Larry H. Dietz, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Dean John A. Koropchak, as well as several deans and others. "Their visit was really too short, there is so much to do and see here at SIUC," Yen said. "And everything is moving at lightning speed."
Source: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
May 5, 2008
Rochester Institute of Technology Baja SAE Team Captures Second Place in International Competition
While the rest of Rochester Institute of Technology was showcasing itself at the inaugural Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival, the university’s Baja SAE team was in Tennessee May 3, capturing second place at an international Baja competition. More than 90 teams from colleges and universities around the world participated in the event, which was hosted by Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. The RIT team finished in third place in the suspension and traction portion of the competition, first place in the acceleration event and first place in the four-hour endurance race, on its way to its second place overall finish. RIT finished less than five points, or one-tenth of a percent, away from first place. It was the best finish in the team’s history. “This is an amazing group of students,” says Marty Gordon, an RIT mechanical engineering technology professor and the team’s advisor. “They have great technical skills and know how to apply them while functioning as part of an extremely dynamic team.” Baja SAE is a student-design competition sponsored the Society of Automotive Engineers. Students build all-terrain vehicles that must undergo a technical inspection by a team of professional engineers before they compete in a series of events. RIT hosted a 140-team competition last June.
Source: Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
May 1, 2008
Michigan Technological University: IBM Names Michigan Tech as an Executive Partner
The global marketplace is changing dramatically, employing new technologies and demanding new skills. To meet those challenges, IBM has named Michigan Tech to its IBM Partnership Executive Program for Universities, formalizing and expanding a partnership that has been growing between the University and the IT and services company for nearly a decade.
IBM works with thousands of the world’s leading educational institutions, but very few are chosen for the Partnership Executive Program (PEP). As a PEP university, Michigan Tech will have a senior IBM executive assigned as a partnership executive to develop what Michigan Tech alumnus John Soyring, IBM’s vice president of solutions and software, calls “win-win opportunities for the University and IBM.” Soyring will be Michigan Tech’s partnership executive at IBM. “IBM will work with Michigan Tech to develop new curricula and sponsor a hands-on learning program to encourage development of new and vital technological skills,” he said. Soyring, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1976, was instrumental in developing the partnership. He recommended that Michigan Tech be considered for the partnership with IBM, joining prestigious universities worldwide, including MIT, the University of Washington, the University of Virginia, Florida International University and the Norwegian University of Science and Tech. “We’re thrilled that our alumni are helping us to be recognized and rewarded for the things we do best,” said Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz. As the very nature of innovation changes, demanding broader collaboration across geographic and disciplinary boundaries, the need for skilled professionals is growing more rapidly than the supply, Soyring explained. According to US Bureau of Labor and Information Technology Association of America statistics, the world will face a shortfall of 32 million technically specialized workers between 2010 and 2020. The skills that coming generations of professionals will need are changing too. There’s a increasing demand for specialists in fields that didn’t even exist a few years ago—services science, for example—and by the time students starting college today complete their degrees, they will need the skills to do jobs not even imagined today. IBM is working with Michigan Tech and other universities around the world to develop a services science, management and engineering program. The new curriculum addresses the mushrooming of the services sector of the economy, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics says now represents more than 75 percent of US jobs. Beyond the classroom, IBM and Michigan Tech are partnering to give students experience using new business strategies and open source technologies in an actual business environment. For example, IT Oxygen, part of Michigan Tech’s Enterprise program, brings together students from a variety of disciplines in a start-up business that manages its own finances and works to solve real problems facing its corporate sponsors, including IBM. They have access to advice from Soyring and other IBM leaders. IT Oxygen is using IBM’s WebSphere software to model and simulate the process of scheduling courses. The team is using a business process management methodology, enabled by IBM’s service oriented architecture, to streamline the process of submitting a grant application. In keeping with IBM’s commitment to sharing knowledge, IT Oxygen creates open source solutions, making them freely available for use by other universities. “Giving students access to IBM technologies and thought leaders provides our students with a real advantage when they reach the workforce,” said IT Oxygen advisor James Frendewey, associate professor of business and economics at Michigan Tech. Support for IT Oxygen and other Tech educational projects comes from IBM’s Academic Initiative, which provides universities free access to IBM software, discounted hardware, course materials, training and curriculum development assistance. Michigan Tech is also an active participant in the World Community Grid, which puts the university’s computers to work on world problems such as AIDS research, during times when the computers would otherwise be shut down.
Source: Michigan Technological University
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