News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Brenda Miller, co-author of Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Non-Fiction, will read from her personal essays and talk about her writing process on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library, College of the Holy Cross. The event is free and open to the public.

Miller is speaking as part of the Writers on Vocation Lecture Series, sponsored by the Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative and the Creative Writing Program. The series invites nationally prominent writers to share their work and consider the role and interplay of faith in their writing.

Miller has published two collections of autobiographical essays. Season of the Body (Sarabande Books, 2002) explores themes of love, loss, loneliness and healing. Blessings of the Animals (Eastern Washington University Press, 2009) weaves together observations of a life driven by spiritual yearning. Her essays have received five Pushcart prizes and been published in a number of journals, including Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, and The Sun.

Co-authored with Suzanne Paola, Tell It Slant (McGraw Hill, 2004) is designed for aspiring nonfiction writers, providing practical guidance, writing exercises, and a detailed discussion of the range of subcategories that make up the genre, including memoir, travel writing, investigative reporting, and more.

Miller is an associate professor of English at Western Washington University and serves as editor-in-chief of the Bellingham Review.

About the Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative

The Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative is a resource for members of the Holy Cross community to reflect on questions of meaning and purpose for discerning their own life’s work. The Initiative sponsors 25 programs partially funded through a $2.5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment and administered through Academic Affairs, the Chaplain’s Office and Student Affairs.

WORCESTER, Mass. – One of the nation’s leading health care economists, Jonathan Gruber, will give a lecture titled, “Reforming Health Care in the U.S.: What Now?” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 in the Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The event is free and open to the public.

Gruber, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will provide a big picture look at the economics and policy behind universal health care coverage. With a non-partisan stance, he will diagnose problems with the national system, tie health care to economic competitiveness, and outline a path to universal care.

Gruber is widely regarded as one of the twenty most powerful people in American health care and was a key architect of Massachusetts’ health care reform and an inaugural member of the Health Connector Board, the main implementing body for that effort. He was a consultant to all three 2008 Democratic presidential candidates and was hailed by the Washington Post as “possibly the [Democratic] party’s most influential health-care expert.”

He is director of the health care program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a research associate.  He is a co-editor of the Journal of Public Economics, and an associate editor of the Journal of Health Economics. Gruber is a recipient of the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from the National Science Foundation.

The lecture is part of the yearlong economic series “After the Fall: Capitalism and a just way forward,” sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, which explores the lessons learned from the credit crisis that began in 2007 and offers diverse perspectives on how to construct a new economy that is sustainable and just.

Audio recordings of previous talks in the lecture series are available at www.holycross.edu/crec/listen_learn. To learn more about this series and to sign up for email updates from the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, visit www.holycross.edu/crec.

About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Judith A. Chubb, W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics, and Society and professor of political science will present this year’s Richard Rodino Lecture on the Aims of the Liberal Arts on Tuesday, February 16 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The talk, titled “Liberal Education as Transformative Praxis: Engaged Learning, Social Responsibility, and Global Citizenship” is free and open to the public.

In her talk, Chubb will address how the new Kenya summer study abroad program represents a Jesuit liberal arts education through the integration of theory and practice.  The program is the combination of a rigorous classroom experience with a community-based internship in an urban slum neighborhood.  The goal is to transform students’ understanding of who they are and their responsibility toward the poor and disadvantaged in a globally interdependent world, through challenging many of the assumptions underlying the current relationship between the West and the developing world.

Chubb, a resident of Bolton, Mass., holds degrees from Bucknell University, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the College in 1978 as an assistant professor of political science. She served as chair of the department from 1986-96 and has served on numerous major committees.  Chubb is a respected scholar in comparative politics and is regarded for her work in Italian, Russian, Chinese, and Indonesian politics. She is the author of two books on Italian politics from the post war period and has written numerous journal articles on Italian politics.

She has been awarded numerous fellowships and research grants for her scholarship and most recently she was named the W. Arthur Garrity Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society for her research and teaching at the College.  This rotating professorship was established in 2002 to honor the legacy of W. Arthur Garrity (19)’05.  Mr. Garrity saw the Holy Cross education as the search for truth, transcending material existence, and providing students with the tools to enable them to perform ethically in their future professions.  This professorship is awarded to Holy Cross faculty for a term of three years and recognizes a professor in the humanities for his/her achievements in relation to Mr. Garrity’s vision.  As part of the Garrity professorship Chubb designed the summer study abroad program in Kenya that concerns the themes of political violence, conflict resolution, and underdevelopment as a violation of human dignity.

The annual Rodino Lecture series is devoted to the memory of Richard Rodino, formerly of the English department at Holy Cross.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The music department at the College of the Holy Cross will present the following musical performances on campus during March 2010. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact the music department events line at 508-793-3528.

Thurs., March 11; 4 p.m.
Music of Japanese Shakuhachi
Marco Lienhard, master of the Shakuhachi
Brooks Concert Hall

Sat., March 20; 2 p.m.
David Ogulnick, Senior Recital
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 21; 4 p.m.
Vocal Chamber Concert
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 21; 3 p.m.
Chapel Artist Series: James David Christie will celebrate 25 years as distinguished artist in residence at the College
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tues., March 23; 8 p.m.
Saxophone Concert: Rhonda Taylor, saxophone professor and coordinator of music theory at New Mexico State University
Brooks Concert Hall

Thurs., March 25; 8 p.m.
Concert of Turkish Music
Brooks Concert Hall

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sidney Griffith, professor and chair of the department of Semitic and Egyptian languages and literature at the Catholic University of America, will give a lecture titled “Christians and Muslims Together: Lessons from Yesterday for Today” on Monday, Feb. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture, sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, is free and open to the public.

Griffith will speak as part of a series of events exploring both the historical and contemporary dynamics of Muslim-Christian relations.

“For more than 400 years, half of the world’s Christians lived and worshipped under Muslim rule,” says Thomas M. Landy, director of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. “That encounter has shaped the Christian tradition in ways we often forget.”

Griffith has spent more than 30 years researching Muslim-Christian relations. His book, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque (Princeton University Press, 2007), explores the cultural and intellectual life of Christians indigenous to the Islamic world. He will focus his talk on Christians in the Qur’an and Christian-Muslim interaction in early Islamic times, especially in Baghdad and its environs.

Other events in the series include:

• Monday, March 22; 4:30 p.m., Rehm Library
“Christians in a Muslim World: Christianity in Contemporary Middle East and North Africa” — Kamal Feriali is an anthropologist, a Moroccan native, and instructor of Arabic language and culture at the University of Florida.

• Thursday, April 8; 4:30 p.m., Rehm Library
“The Place of Revelation in Christian-Muslim Dialogue” — Mahmoud Ayoub is professor of Islamic studies and Christian-Muslim relations at the Hartford Seminary and professor emeritus at Temple University.

To learn more about this program and other Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture events, visit holycross.edu/crec.

About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The music department at the College of the Holy Cross will present the following musical performances on campus during March 2010. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact the music department events line at 508-793-3528.

Thurs., March 11; 4 p.m.
Music of Japanese Shakuhachi
Marco Lienhard, master of the Shakuhachi
Brooks Concert Hall

Sat., March 20; 2 p.m.
David Ogulnick, Senior Recital
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 21; 4 p.m.
Vocal Chamber Concert
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 21; 3 p.m.
Chapel Artist Series: James David Christie will celebrate 25 years as distinguished artist in residence at the College
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tues., March 23; 8 p.m.
Saxophone Concert: Rhonda Taylor, saxophone professor and coordinator of music theory at New Mexico State University
Brooks Concert Hall

Thurs., March 25; 8 p.m.
Concert of Turkish Music
Brooks Concert Hall

WORCESTER, Mass. – Peer Educators from the Nutrition, Exercise, and Eating Disorder Program (NEED) at the College of the Holy Cross have organized a health and body week to educate students on eating habits, eating disorder awareness, the media’s effects on body image, and fitness. The event titled “Love Your Body” runs from Feb. 15-19, and is free and open to the Holy Cross community. The events, dedicated to “celebrating real bodies and real beauty” include; building your own trail mix, assessing your fitness and nutritional habits, and hearing the story of a 20-year battle against an eating disorder.

Throughout the week NEED Peer Educators will also be available in the Hogan Lobby to provide information daily to students regarding nutrition, exercise and eating disorders.

Monday, Feb. 15 – NUTRITION

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Build Your Own Trail Mix
Students are invited to hike up to Hogan and make their own trail mix.

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Healthy Treats
Students can indulge in sweet treats that both taste good, and are good for them.

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Test your Nutrition I.Q.
Assess nutritional habits, get healthy snack ideas, and information on balanced eating!

Tuesday, Feb. 16 – EATING DISORDER AWARENESS

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Build Your Own Trail Mix

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Testimonials
Read testimonials from Holy Cross students who have suffered with an eating disorder, get statistics, and information on how to help a friend.

1-4 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Screening for Eating Concerns
If students are concerned about their own eating habits, or someone else’s, they can drop by and get screened, and obtain more information or referrals.

7-8 p.m., Hogan 519
Keeping up Appearances: Living with an Eating Disorder at HC
Mary Crowley, a member of the class of 2008, tells her story of developing and living with a severe eating disorder while at Holy Cross and how she was able to recover.

Wednesday, February 17 – EXERCISE

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Build Your Own Trail Mix
At the NEED Peer Educators table, new video clips and information will be distributed on the impact of the media on body image. Students will be given advice on how to challenge the unrealistic images.

10-4 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Fitness Assessment
Get tips on improving your fitness and healthy ways to exercise. Get information on the best foods to eat before and after working out, and find out the trends in exercise!

Thursday, February 18 – MEN’S HEALTH

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Build Your Own Trail Mix

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Raffle
Stop by the table and sign up to win a free subscription to Men’s Health, try a free protein shake sample, and get information on men’s health, body image, and exercise. Raffle will be at 2 p.m.

Friday, February 19 – Get to Love Your Body!

10-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Build Your Own Trail Mix

10-12 p.m., 1-2 p.m., Hogan Lobby
Get to Love Your Body!
Receive information on ways to love the body you have and send a compliment card to a friend to let them know what you appreciate about them! Stop by the table and get information on the impact of the media on body image, and learn ways to challenge the unrealistic images and appreciate your body just as it is!

12-1 p.m., Hogan Suite B/C (Cosponsored by the Counseling Center, and Wellness Programming)
Annual NEED Luncheon
Come enjoy lunch and hear a talk about “Hope and Inspiration” by Sue Lewandowski, who chronicles her 20-year battle with bulimia and alcoholism. Sue was honored in May at the Sixth Annual Unsung Heroine Celebration at the Massachusetts State House.  Lewandowski was nominated for the award by State Senator Stephen Brewer for her years of advocacy for eating disorders awareness and her work with people recovering from food and addictions. RSVP required to x3363 by February 17. Space is limited.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Leon Claessens, assistant professor of biology at the College of the Holy Cross, will launch a unique new 3D online database of bones in the skeletons of living, recently extinct, and fossil birds.  Made possible through a $497,735 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in August 2008, the Aves 3D site (aves3d.org) is the first online biological database to focus exclusively on three-dimensional surface models of bird skeletons, and will be available, free of charge, to scientists, students, educators and the general public beginning on February 10, 2010.

Intended to facilitate research and educational projects related to bird anatomy, diversity, function, and evolution, the Web site is the collaboration of Claessens; Abby Drake, lab technician at Holy Cross; Holy Cross students and volunteers, and Scott V. Edwards, professor of biology at Harvard University.

Says Claessens: “It is absolutely fantastic how, through student research projects using cutting-edge techniques and equipment, we can create an online resource where students, researchers, educators and the public worldwide can learn more about bird biology, anatomy and evolution, and where they can access high quality three-dimensional data on a wide diversity of common, rare, and even extinct species in a format ready for analysis, all at the touch of a computer button.”

The Aves 3D database allows visitors to interact with approximately 200 three-dimensional digital models of bones and skeletons of 98 different bird species, ranging from common birds like the American robin to more rare and fragile species like the extinct dodo.  The site also serves as a digital archive of museum collections, which helps to both increase the use of these important resources, and at the same time reduce the physical handling of delicate and often one-of-a-kind bones for analytical purposes.

A unique aspect of the Aves 3D database is that its digital holdings are largely produced through undergraduate student research. New models are added weekly by Holy Cross students using state-of-the-art, non-contact laser surface scanners to digitally capture the bird skeletons.  Students also participate in database-affiliated research projects to examine a wide variety of questions on bird form, function and behavior.  Such projects provide students with opportunities for direct involvement with scientific inquiry, research travel and conference attendance.

One of the many students associated with the Aves 3D project, Ema Blumhagen, a member of the class of 2010, recently was awarded a $3,750 grant from the Jurassic Foundation to travel to Beijing, China with Claessens, to 3D scan the skeletal remains of fossil birds from the time of the dinosaurs. Says Blumhagen: “When I came to Holy Cross in my freshman year, I never could have imagined that for my senior thesis I would be traveling to China to help analyze 100-million-year-old fossils new to science and crucial to our understanding of dinosaur and bird evolution. The prospect to see this rare material up close, and interact with students and scientists in Beijing is extremely exciting.”

Claessens earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University and B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Utrecht University (Netherlands). His teaching interests include vertebrate morphology and function, and the biology and evolution of dinosaurs and their living and extinct relatives. In 2005, Claessens received international media attention after he co-published a study in Nature suggesting that the breathing systems of Tyrannosaurus rex is similar to that of living birds.  Claessens frequently involves students in his lab and in his fieldwork, which includes excavating dinosaurs and other fossils.

Note to editors and producers: Images are available upon request.

WORCESTER, Mass. – As part of an accreditation process that takes place every 10 years, a team representing the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) will visit the College of the Holy Cross on March 28-31, 2010.

The accreditation process provides an assurance of quality to the public and also aids colleges and universities in their own planning.  In addition, only accredited schools are eligible for certain federal grants, including Pell grants for students.

CIHE is one of eight accrediting commissions in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, it accredits approximately 200 institutions in New England.

Holy Cross has been continuously accredited by the Commission and was last reviewed in 2000.  Accreditation by the New England Association encompasses all facets of the College.

For the past year and a half, Holy Cross has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation. The evaluation team, led by Dr. Elaine Tuttle Hansen, president of Bates College, will visit campus to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. During its visit, the review team will reference each of the standards as covered in Holy Cross’ self-study document. The sections of the report serve as an analysis of institutional effectiveness and quality in the identified areas, with the aim of identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and suggested areas of emphasis in future planning.

The team will recommend to the Commission a continuing status for Holy Cross, and, following a review process, the Commission itself will take the final action. Both the College’s own self-study and the report of the visiting team will form the basis for the final NEASC decision on renewal of accreditation

Accompanying Hansen as members of the review team will be:  Vincent Boisselle, library director, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Alison Byerly, provost and  executive vice president, Middlebury College; James C. Ferguson, director of institutional research and assessment, Carleton College; Marysa Navarro-Aranguren, professor of history, Dartmouth College; Helen Ouellette, administrative dean, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University; Mark C. Reed, vice president for administrative services and student affairs, Fairfield University; and Derk Andrew Wierda, professor of chemistry, St. Anselm College.

As part of the accreditation process, members of the public are invited to submit comments on substantive matters related to the quality of the institution to:

Public Comment on the College of the Holy Cross, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 209 Burlington Rd., Bedford, MA 01730-1433.  Comments can also be submitted by e-mail to cihe@neasc.org

The Commission notes that comments will not be treated as confidential. Written, signed comments must be received by March 31, 2010, and should include the name, address, and telephone number of the person providing the comments.

For more information on the accreditation process at Holy Cross, visit the College’s accreditation Web site (www.holycross.edu/president/accreditation).