News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester resident Patricia Bizzell, chair of the English department at the College of the Holy Cross, has recently been named president-elect to the Rhetoric Society of America. The Society is a national organization composed of scholars from a variety of disciplines who study rhetoric’s history, theory, public practice, and pedagogical methods.

Bizzell earned her Ph.D. in English literature from Rutgers University. A nationally recognized authority on the teaching of composition, she has lectured and conducted workshops at other institutions and at scholarly meetings. Bizzell is the author of numerous articles and essays on composition theory. Her book, The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present, which she co-authored with Bruce Herzberg, received the National Council of Teachers of English Outstanding Book Award in 1992. She is an expert on American literature, rhetoric and rhetorical theory, and composition and composition theory.

Bizzell will chair the next biennial national conference of the Rhetoric Society of America, to take place at the University of Texas, Austin in May 2004.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton will give a lecture titled “The Moral and Spiritual Costs of a Culture of War” on Friday, October 4, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Thomas J. Gumbleton has been Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit since 1968. He has served as founding president of Pax Christi U.S.A. and as president of Bread for the World. He was a member of the committee which drafted the 1983 pastoral letter of the U.S. Bishops, “The Challenge of Peace.”

This event is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, at the College of the Holy Cross, and by the Agape Community. The Agape Community in Hardwick, Mass. is devoted to Christian prayer, peace education and non-violence. Bishop Gumbleton’s talk, on October 4, marks the 20th anniversary of the Community.

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be an organ concert on Sunday, September 29, at 3:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. The concert is free and open to the public.

As part of the Holy Cross Chapel Artists Series, the concert will feature organist Armin Schoof. The program will include works by German organists Buxtehude, Schoof, Tundar and Hugo Distler.

Schoof is a professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Lübeck, Germany. He also serves as the music director at the Church of St. Jacobi and as the director of the Kantorei at St. Jacobi. He has performed in concerts throughout Europe and the United States and has recorded his work extensively.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross announces its “Last Lecture” series. Funded by the Lilly Endowment Vocation Initiative, the series offers students and faculty the opportunity to learn more about why some of their favorite professors find the work they do meaningful and worthwhile.

The pretext of the lecture is that the speaker is about to retire and has been asked to sum up in a final lecture to students what they believe has made the work they’ve dedicated themselves to worthwhile . Given a “last” chance, what’s worth saying? What wisdom would be most important to pass on? What challenges have to go unfulfilled?

Each evening will begin with a small dinner in honor of the lecturer at 6:00 p.m. The lecture, at 8:00 p.m., will be open to the public and will be followed by a brief reception.

The series will begin with a lecture by philosophy professor Lawrence Cahoone, on Monday, September 30 at 8:00 p.m. in the Rehm Library.

Cahoone earned his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The author of numerous publications, he specializes in social and political philosophy, American philosophy and 19th and 20th century European philosophy.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Historian, educator, writer and social activist, Howard Zinn will be speaking at the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday, September 25 at 4:00 p.m. in the Rehm Library at Smith Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Zinn has been active as an educator, writer and social reformist for more than 20 years. Professor Emeritus of Boston University, Zinn now devotes his life to public speaking and social activism. Over the years Zinn’s leftist political ideals have been both praised and criticized, making him a very controversial public figure.

Author of numerous books, Zinn was made famous by his groundbreaking work A People’s History of the United States: 1942-present (1980), which chronicled the lives of people who Zinn felt had been exploited by the government. The book is widely used in high school and college classrooms and was frequently referenced in the Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting.

Howard Zinn will be available to sign copies of his books after the lecture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Four members of the College of the Holy Cross faculty have been honored with the Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Recognition Award. Recipients include; Danuta Bukatko, of the psychology department; John Little, of the mathematics department; Theresa McBride, of the history department; and Susan Rodgers, of the sociology and anthropology department.

The $10,000 O’Leary Awards will be given each year to four senior faculty members who have made special contributions to the College through their teaching, scholarship and service. The Awards are intended to recognize and advance the work of the recipients, while encouraging other members of the faculty to attain a high level of professional achievement and become positive role models in the lives of students.

The Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Recognition Awards have been made possible by an endowed gift to the College from Thomas H. O’Leary ’54, former President, CEO and Chairman of Burlington Resources, in memory of his father, Arthur J. O’Leary.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Participants in this year’s Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium at Holy Cross will present their research in poster form on September 13, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Swords Hall in the Science Complex.

The poster presentations give student researchers the opportunity to display their cutting-edge work in the fields of science, sociology, anthropology and history. The majority of the students in the program have worked on research at Holy Cross with the support of Holy Cross faculty. A third of the participants have worked at laboratories and institutions across the country and in Turkey.

For example, Kimberly LeChasseur ’04 worked with psychology professor Amy Wolfson on the benefits of boosting sleep in public school seventh graders.

Her classmate, Mike Corey ’04 worked with chemistry professor Jane Van Doren examining the effects of pesticides on our fruits and vegetables.

Patrick Battersby ’04 worked in Turkey researching at the Hacimusalar Field for Archaeology.

This is the ninth year the poster presentations have been held at Holy Cross. For the past two years, the symposium has been supported by the Richard B. Fisher Research Fellowship.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sponsored by the Holy Cross American Sign Language (ASL) program, the following deaf studies events are free and open to the public:

Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m – The 9th annual “It’s a Deaf, Deaf World” interactive workshop will take place in the Hogan Campus Center. There will be no spoken language used at the workshop so that hearing people can communicate with the deaf using a variety of signing methods. The workshop will feature four half-hour rotations and will focus on understanding the daily frustrations faced by deaf people in a hearing world. Pre-registration is required.

Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. – A Silent Lunch will take place at Kimball Dining Hall. The lunch is a time to chat silently with friends using American Sign Language (ASL). Holy Cross students may use their meal cards to pay for lunch. The cost to the general public is $7.25.

Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 5:30 p.m. – A Signing Supper will take place at Crossroads Pub, in Hogan Campus Center. There will be no words spoken at the signing supper. Instead, people will communicate through the use of ASL. Holy Cross students may use their meal cards to pay for dinner. The general public may purchase food at Crossroads.

Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:00 p.m. – ASL Movie Night, in Stein Hall, room 102. This year’s film selection is to be announced, but will relate to the deaf community, deaf culture or deaf history.

Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. – There will be a lecture about the communication and independence issues that deafblind individuals face daily. The lecture will take place in Stein Hall, room 116. A hands-on training session will begin with lunch at 11:30 a.m. ASL volunteers will pair with a deafblind friend in the Kimball Dining Hall for lunch. The afternoon session will take place from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. in Stein Hall, room 124, and will feature in-depth training on guiding practice. There is no cost to Holy Cross ASL students. For fees and registration, please contact Jeannette O’Campo at dbcc_ma@yahoo.com or 617-816-5809.

Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon – There will be a lecture by William Stokoe, the father of ASL linguistics. The lecture is being presented by Jax Levasque of Deaf Projects, Inc. There is no cost to Holy Cross ASL students.

For fees and registration, please contact Jax at DeafJax@juno.com

All buildings are located on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St., Worcester. For additional information contact Judy Freedman Fask at 508/793-3344 or 508/793-3038 (tty).

WORCESTER, Mass. – Theodore Deppe will read from a collection of his poems on September 13, at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Browsing Room at the College of the Holy Cross.

Deppe is the author of three collections of poems: Children of the Air (Alice James Books, 1990), The Wanderer King (Alice James Books, 1996), and New and Selected Poems from Salmon (Ireland, 2002). His work has appeared in some of the most prestigious poetry magazines in America including Poetry, Kenyon Review, Crazyhorse, Massachusetts Review and Harper’s Magazine. Among Deppe’s honors and awards are a grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, a fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center and an NEA fellowship.

WORCESTER, Mass. – On Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21, 2002, the First-Year Program at the College of the Holy Cross will celebrate its 10-year anniversary.

The First-Year Program, which helps first-year students explore the connections between living and learning – between what happens inside the classroom and the world outside the classroom – brings together 160 first-year students, all living in the same residence hall, and a group of distinguished teachers from a variety of different disciplines. Through a series of seminars, common readings, films, concerts, retreats and residence-hall discussions, FYP students and faculty explore the program’s central theme, Leo Tolstoy’s question How, Then, Shall We Live?

The 10th anniversary celebration will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, September 20, in the Brooks Concert Hall, with a presentation by Dr. Jill Ker Conway, President Emeritus of Smith College, Visiting Scholar and Professor in M.I.T.’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. After graduating from the University of Sidney, Australia in 1958, Dr. Conway moved to the United States in where she earned her Ph.D. from Harvard in 1969. She taught at the University of Toronto, Canada for nine years before serving as vice president from 1973-1975. In 1975, she became the first woman president of Smith College. Since her ten-year administration, she has received 16 honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the nation. Dr. Conway is the author of many books, including the first First-Year Program common reading in September 1992, “The Road to Coorain” which chronicles the hardships of Dr. Conway’s family life in Australia, including the deaths of her father and brother.

On Saturday, September 21, there will be a series of panel discussions in the Rehm Library with current FYP students, alumni, and faculty participants. The schedule of events is:

9:30-10:30 a.m. – “The student faculty relationship: How is FYP different?” Chaired by Professor Royce Singleton, sociology department

10:45-11:45 a.m. – “How then shall we live? The importance of the theme” Chaired by Professor Predrag Cicovacki, philosophy department

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00-1:45 p.m. – “The Common Events: The FYP directors reflect on the highs and lows of the first decade”
Chaired by Professor Helen Whall, English department

2:00-3:00 p.m. – “The FYP legacy: FYP alumni after graduation.” Chair to be announced

3:15 – 4:15 p.m. – “A sibling for FYP: An all-common-texts FYP?” Chaired by Professor James Kee, English department

WORCESTER, Mass. – “Odyssey 2006: A Preview of your Holy Cross Journey,” a two-week orientation program for ALANA (African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American) and international students, will take place August 18-30 at Holy Cross.

This interdisciplinary program will introduce first-year students to Holy Cross’ academic environment with mini-classes and short writing assignments; familiarize students with the College’s computer systems and the World Wide Web; and orient students to the campus, Worcester and Boston. In addition, Odyssey 2006 will create an environment where new students will explore the issues of identity, culture and community in the new millennium.

Highlights of Odyssey 2006 include a visit to Old Sturbridge Village and its Native American exhibit, “The Enduring People,” an exploration of the Worcester Art Museum, a walk along Boston’s historic Quincy Market, participation in a volunteer project in Worcester and dinners with professors and administrators at their homes.

For most ALANA students, however, it is the bonds of friendship built among fellow students, faculty and administrators that is the most integral part of the orientation. Current students who participated in the Odyssey program refer to their “Odyssey family” as a strong group that is always willing to help one another academically and personally. The bonds made in Odyssey far out last the two-week program, which is evident by the remarks of one senior, who participated in the program 4 years ago. He says, “it’s hard to believe that my Odyssey experience never truly ended and never faded.”

According to Esther Levine, assistant dean and international scholar and student advisor, “At Holy Cross, our dream is that students will make early personal connections with faculty and administrators – connections that will help ensure the fullest possible educational experience. Odyssey 2006 enables this dream to come true.”

Holy Cross makes this program available to students at no cost.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents “Recollection (toward oblivion),” an installation by Lewis deSoto, from September 4 to October 21, 2002.

There will be an exhibition opening reception on Wednesday, September 4, from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. and a gallery talk by the artist on Thursday, October 17, from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. in Stein Hall, room 102. A reception at the gallery will follow from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

Lewis deSoto lives in Napa, Calif. and New York and is a professor of art at San Francisco State University. He received his B.A. in studio art and religious studies from the University of California, Riverside in 1978 and his M.F.A. from theClaremont Graduate School in Claremont, Calif. in 1981. Over the last two decades, his work has been exhibited in the U.S. and Europe. He has received numerous commissions for public projects and was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1996-97.

deSoto’s multi-media installations are informed by his broad range of interests including world religions, cosmology and anthropology. deSoto
uses sound, theatrical and natural lighting, sculpture, video and what he refers to as “the material of life: electricity, motors, air conditioners, heaters to convey ideas, stories and concepts.”

“Recollection” is a installation conceived for and about the Cantor Art Gallery. deSoto has produced an environment using the remnants of building materials from a recent renovation of the gallery, thereby rendering these objects historical artifacts. Holy Cross students from the Senior Concentration Seminar course, Department of Visual Arts, will participate as performers under the direction of deSoto throughout the exhibition.

About “Recollection,” deSoto writes in his notes, “in the Cantor Art Gallery, the space is being reconfigured for future exhibitions. In order to accomplish this, materials within the gallery are removed, others brought in. At each exhibition, the gallery reorganizes its physical context to render the artwork in an intelligible framework… In this case “Recollection” is something on the edge between two places, the past and its future. It is on the threshold, on the margins. The subject of the exhibition is the gallery itself. It looks back on itself. It is cleansed of the past, but for a moment holds the materials from its past into the light to see them for what they are. All the materials that are removed during the gallery’s renovation are displayed so we may contemplate their visibility; for so long they have stood in the background, invisible. We sift through the glue, paint, dirt, nails screws, wood and observe the proportions and numbers. We listen to the space, try to see into its hidden nature and watch it passing before our eyes into oblivion, forgotten.”

“Recollection (toward oblivion)” is being shown in conjunction with the conference “Practicing Catholic: Body, Contestation, and Faith,” Oct. 18 -21, 2002, at the College of the Holy Cross. The conference is sponsored by Holy Cross Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

The hours for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. The gallery will also be open from 12 noon – 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 19 and from 12 noon – 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 20. It is located in O’Kane Hall at the College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. Admission to the gallery is free.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross is offering a new summer internship program. The SPUD Internship Program, made possible through a generous grant from the Lilly Foundation, gives Holy Cross students the opportunity to work full time during the summer in non-profit, social service agencies in Worcester.

Sponsored by the Holy Cross Chaplains’ Office and the College’s largest community service organization, SPUD, Student Programs for Urban Development, the internship program draws its life from the call in the College’s mission statement to consider “What is our special responsibility to the world’s poor and powerless?” as we dedicate ourselves to “the service of faith and the promotion of justice.” The SPUD Internship Program provides students with a summer work experience through which they can explore how their gifts and talents can best be put at the service of the most vulnerable. In addition, the program encourages students to examine their work in response to a vocational call from God.

The $2 million Lilly Grant, awarded to the College in December of 2001, makes it possible for Holy Cross to fully subsidize the SPUD Internship Program at no cost to the social service agencies. The students receive a $4,000 stipend from Holy Cross for their work.

Students participating in the program had to complete an application and interview process before being accepted and matched with a site. In addition, they are responsible for providing weekly journal entries that reflect on their experiences in the work-place. The interns work ten 40-hour weeks in high responsibility positions.

For example, Megan Conlon ’03, is working at the International Rescue Committee on Main Street in Worcester, where she helps refugees find housing, employment and education. She recently implemented a GED preparation class where she teaches basic language skills to a group of refugee women.

Her classmate, Lauren Schnare ’04, is spending her summer at the Rape Crisis Center. Her involvement includes providing hotline support and facilitating group therapy sessions and one-on-one counseling to victims of violence and rape.

In addition, Margaret (Katie) McGarrity ’04, is working with Alzheimer’s patients at Clark Manor where she organizes and facilitates activities for the residents.

The Lilly Grant has also made possible other summer internship programs that are dedicated to social service, including the Ministry Internship Program, also sponsored by the Chaplains’ Office.

Below is a complete list of the SPUD Internship Program sites:

International Rescue Committee
Abby’s House
Worcester Youth Center
Big Brother/Big Sister
Aldersgate United Methodist Church
Multimedia Clubhouse
Rape Crisis Center
Campfire USA
Clark Manor
Friendly House Family Shelter
Burncoat High School

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross alumna Julia Madden was recently named one of the 95 winners of the 2002 Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies by The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The Mellon Fellowships are the only reliable national award for graduate studies in the humanities. Funding for the awards is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Julia graduated from Holy Cross with a music major on May 24, 2002. She will study musicology at Cornell University.

Over the past 20 years nearly 2,000 Mellon Fellowships have been awarded to college graduates of outstanding promise to encourage doctoral studies in humanistic fields. These prestigious awards provide the Fellows financial support for their first year of study in a Ph.D. program at any U.S. or Canadian graduate school, including tuition and fees, as well as a stipend of $17,500. The Mellon Fellows in Humanistic Studies for the academic year 2002-2003 were selected from 753 applicants graduating from a wide variety of American campuses.

Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England. Founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the College is a highly selective, four-year, undergraduate liberal arts institution and ranks among the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Three Holy Cross students recently received Avon Science Scholarships for their academic accomplishments at the College of the Holy Cross. Made possible by a grant from the Avon Products Foundation, Inc., to the College, this prestigious award carried with it a $6,000 scholarship towards each recipient’s senior year.

The Avon Science Scholarship is awarded annually to outstanding Holy Cross women science students and is based solely on merit. Recipients are invited to Avon’s New York headquarters to meet with senior executives and to spend a day with a fellow female scientist in the company’s chemistry facility.

The recipients are as follows:

Heather L. Bain is a junior mathematics major from Carver, Mass. In addition to being one of the strongest mathematics students in her class, Heather is active in College athletics and volunteer services.

Katherine A. Beck with is a junior biology major from Somerville, N.J. A member of the College’s premedical program and honors program, Katherine is pursuing a biological psychology concentration. She has recently completed her junior year abroad at Oxford University in England.

Ingrid A. Lapsa is a junior psychology major and philosophy minor from Andover, Mass. A former participant in the Semester at Sea program operating out of Woods Hole, Mass., Ingrid is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa national honors organization.