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- William Paterson University
- UNIVERSITY REPORT
WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Spring Ceremony Marks New Beginning for Class of 2001
Faith Ringgold, the award-winning
painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and author, spoke to
814 graduates at the commencement ceremony held on May 15 under cloudless
blue skies. “Dream big, dream true, persevere, and share,” said
Ringgold. The artist is best known for her painted story quilts through
which she retells the history of art as it would have been if women and
African American artists had been fully recorded, collected, and studied.
Ringgold received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree for “her courage and tenacious commitment to her art and her students, for her unique artistic vision… and for her ability to use her talents to communicate an essential American story.”
Jable Inducted into American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Thomas Jable, a professor of
exercise and movement sciences, has been elected to membership as a fellow
of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. This prestigious
professional organization, with just 150 members nationwide, selected
him based on a career of professional achievements, including research,
publications, and grants. He is the only member from New Jersey.
Recognized internationally for his scholarship in the history of sport, Jable has authored numerous publications, and recently co-edited a special feature of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport devoted to the modern Olympic Games. He is former president of the North American Society for Sport History and has chaired the society’s History of Sport and Physical Education Academy.
Professor Emeritus Named Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Ching Yeh Hu, a University
professor emeritus of biology, has been named a Fulbright Exchange Scholar
and is currently teaching and conducting research in Ukraine.
An expert in plant tissue culture
and genetic engineering, Hu is working at the Institute of Cell Biology
and Genetic Engineering of the Ukrainian National Academy of Science.
There, he is assisting the Institute in developing its homemade gene gun
as a tool for genetic engineering, and working with faculty members to
develop a new direction of research on soybean biotechnology. He also
is teaching courses on plant tissue culture and plant genetic engineering.
During his appointment, which
continues through November 2001, Hu will lecture at various Ukrainian
institutes and spend time at the University of Kherson in the southern
part of Ukraine to provide assistance to its plant biotechnology program.
This latest Fulbright award is Hu’s second. As a Fulbright Exchange Scholar in Brazil in 1987, Hu assisted the Federal University Rio Grando do Sul in initiating a soybean biotechnology research facility. Hu retired from William Paterson in 2000 after 31 years as a faculty member.
University Adds International Partners
The University continued its efforts
to forge alliances with educational institutions around the world by signing
agreements with universities in Hungary and Chile during the past academic
year.
President Arnold Speert signed
memoranda of understanding with the University of Pecs in Hungary and
Universidad de Concepcion in Chile during visits to William Paterson by
their respective presidents. Both agreements emphasize the development
of a wide range of collaborative educational projects, including faculty
exchanges for teaching and research, administrative and professional staff
internships and exchanges, undergraduate and graduate student exchanges
for study and research, joint sponsorship of courses, study tours, conferences
and seminars, joint research projects, and athletic and cultural exchanges.
“William Paterson is dedicated
to enhancing the diversity of our campus through an expansion of our international
education initiatives,” says President Arnold Speert. “We welcome
these partnerships with the University of Pecs and Universidad de Concepcion
and look forward to the enriched educational experiences they will provide
for our faculty and students.”
The University of Pecs, located
in southwestern Hungary at the gateway to the Balkans, is among the oldest
educational institutions in Europe, established in 1367. Its 25,000 students
are enrolled in programs in law, visual arts and music, health sciences,
humanities, law, medicine, science, and education.
Universidad de Concepcion was founded in 1919. The main campus is located in the city of Concepcion in central Chile, near the Pacific Ocean; additional campuses are situated in Chillan to the north and Los Angeles to the south. The institution offers a wide variety of programs in the arts, business, engineering, math and science, social sciences, education, and the humanities on the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
University Program Installs Honor Society
The Educational Opportunity
Fund (EOF) chartered a chapter of the Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor
Society and inducted 27 students during a recent ceremony on campus. EOF
is a special admissions and support program for students who are educationally
unprepared and financially disadvantaged. The program, which served 540
students this year, is designed to provide financial support and a broad
range of educational and counseling assistance for all eligible students.
The honor society is an important
component of EOF because it creates a positive image for a program which
is often misunderstood because of its student population.
“It creates an opportunity
for the students to shine,” says Ana Class-Rivera, who has been director
of EOF for 16 years. “It officially validates their efforts, rewards
students for their accomplishments, and gives them an added incentive
to strive for more by keeping the standards high.”
All admitted EOF students who
hold a 3.0 grade point average are eligible for membership in Chi Alpha
Epsilon which was founded by Dr. Elbert M. Saddler at West Chester University
in 1990. The honor society has been recognized and chartered at numerous
colleges and universities nationwide.
Trustee Elected to Political
Office Sonia Rosado, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees
since 1997, has been elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Passaic
County for the 2001-2004 term.
Her election caps a career of public service for Rosado, who serves as secretary of the William Paterson Board. Rosado is employed by the Passaic County Workforce, where she is responsible for the management of the Paterson Workforce Career Center. Currently, she is a board member of the Puerto Rican Action Council of New Jersey; chairperson of the Community Services Committee, Parent’s Diversity Conference, in the Paterson School District; vice-leader of Ringwood’s Democratic Committee, and belongs to Leadership Paterson.
