With a grant from the Steelcase Foundation (MI), construction of a new environment-friendly dorm is set for completion this summer at Warren Wilson College (NC). The 36-bed “EcoDorm” features energy-efficient building designs and will serve as a live-in educational facility for students while meeting the need for additional campus housing.

Winning NSF Fellowships
Three College of Wooster (OH) students—the most in school history—have each received $27,500 fellowships from the National Science Foundation to conduct research over the next three years. The three projects include: a study of the El Niño phenomenon, with a trip to the Galapagos Islands; a research experiment to improve the next generation of particle accelerators, such as a machine that accelerates two beams of protons to near light speed and then collides them in order to create exotic and never-before-seen particles; and an experiment with ultrafast lasers used to study surface science and control chemical reactions.

Serving Communities
Springfield College (MA) was recently featured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first of four “Lasting Engagement” books that will recognize strong community involvement by institutions of higher education. The 104-page book about Springfield examines its shift from a “missionary style” model of carrying out its public services, to working in partnerships with a broad array of stakeholders in community improvement. For example, Springfield is currently engaged in transforming the “Old Hill” area of Springfield into a model of educational resources, new and rehabilitated housing, recreational space, and improved traffic patterns.
     Five institutions in Pennsylvania (three of them CIC members) will team up and share a $35,000 “Stay Invent the Future” grant to create a “Downtown Collegetown Initiative.” The project will enlist college students to revitalize and improve the quality of place in downtown Wilkes-Barre, PA. Participating institutions are College Misercordia, King’s College, and Wilkes University, as well as Luzerne County Community College and Pennsylvania State University.
     In another community service effort, Houghton College (NY) is encouraging education majors to develop a mentoring relationship with urban children from Eastside Buffalo. Typical requirements of Houghton students will include observing a child’s development throughout the school year, learning about his or her family and school life, and better understanding the workings of an urban school system. Houghton’s goal is to train future teachers who can work successfully in urban schools. Houghton students also participated in a more “hair-raising” community service project this spring. Several students helped initiate a project that donated more than 467 inches of hair to the nonprofit organization Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
     Milsaps College (MS) is also proud of a recent student initiative on its campus—the gathering of more than 8,000 pink yogurt carton lids for the benefit of breast cancer research. The effort represented the largest team contribution nationwide in Yoplait’s Save Lids to Save Lives campaign. And last March, at University of Puget Sound (WA), 25 students lived and slept in makeshift tents on the campus’ north quad, to draw attention to the reality of refugees worldwide. While eating the same limited food rations provided to refugees by relief organizations, the students used the experience to run an “awareness campaign” that brought students and local community members to the makeshift refugee camp for discussions and fundraising efforts.

Moving Up
A Regent University (VA) student has been appointed vice president of the African nation of Zambia. Dr. Nevers Mumba, 43, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at Regent (through distance education), was chosen by Zambian president Levi Mwanawasa for his “evangelical belief in the salvation of Zambia and his deep religious convictions.” The program at Regent allows him to participate in classes and interact with students through online discussion. Another CIC member, Flagler College (FL), announced that a junior will become the first Flagler student to serve as an intern at the U.S. Supreme Court. Nicolas Matlach, a political science major, was selected for a paid internship this summer at the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

Going Green
A number of CIC members are going “green” with environment-friendly projects. Warren Wilson College (NC) will open a new “Ecodorm” in August to house 36 students, selected by lottery. The $1.5 million facility, which is being constructed partly by student work teams, includes a radiant floor-heating system to keep the 10,000 square-foot space comfortable for an estimated one-third the cost of conventional heating systems; solar hot water collectors that preheat water before it comes into the boiler; and photovoltaic panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity. Overall, the College expects to save about $2,600 each winter on its natural gas bill, estimated to be around $400, compared with $3,000 for heating traditional dorms.
     Students at Saint Martin’s College (WA) are working with South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity to design the first cottage housing development in Olympia. The 15-home development is making major advances toward fulfilling a zero-to-low-impact design, which requires that the majority of the site remain undisturbed from its predevelopment state. The design includes a community building to be shared by the development, an energy- and resource-efficient home design, and a storm water management plan.
     At Roanoke College (VA) this spring, environmental studies students planted seedlings in the College’s “historic” arboretum from a weeping willow that stands near author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond, and from the last tree planted by Johnny Appleseed in Nova, Ohio. Last year, students planted seedlings in the arboretum from five sycamore trees on the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, Antietam, Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Appomattox.

Nazareth College (NY) freshmen are energized and ready to head out to various locations in the Rochester community for a day of helping others. The “Day of Service” is an annual event held during Freshman Orientation to introduce new students to Nazareth’s culture of service to the community.

Announcing New Programs
Many CIC schools have expanded their academic offerings with new degree programs to begin this fall: Bluffton College (OH) will offer two new majors, one in writing and one in information technology, as well as a new MBA program; Gwynedd-Mercy College (PA) offers its students a new major in Criminal Justice, and students at Brevard College (NC) will have two additional majors to choose from—Theatre Studies, and Music with an emphasis in performance. Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH) will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Education, as a response to Pope John Paul II’s call for “a new springtime of evangelization” and St. Bonaventure University (NY) has launched three new graduate programs at its School of Education that will help develop the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing K-12 environment (a Master of Science in Education)—in Health Education, Advanced Inclusive Processes, and Adolescence Education (Initial Certification). Barry University (FL) will offer a new Professional Master of Public Health; Marywood University (PA) will begin a master’s program in Physician Assistant Studies; and Southern Vermont College has added Radiologic Technology as a new degree program designed in association with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.
     In addition, Merrimack College (MA) has teamed up with Northern Essex Community College to offer a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The program was created in part to address the shortage of nurses in the health care industry, and to combine a strong science foundation with the clinical experience of working with nurses, physicians, and patients in a hospital setting. In another collaboration, Saint Martin’s College (WA) and Olympic College (WA) will offer a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering. Saint Martin’s professors will teach courses at Olympic beginning this fall, with the laboratory sections conducted on certain weekends at Saint Martin’s.

Preparing for Business
Saint Leo University (FL) currently ranks first in awarding business degrees to African Americans, according to a recent report from Black Issues in Higher Education. The magazine annually identifies the top 100 institutions of higher education granting bachelor’s degrees to minorities. Saint Leo enrolled its first African American student in 1898, although it was still illegal at the time to do so. Last year, the college awarded bachelor’s degrees to 519 African American students (334 of them business degrees).
     Pikeville College (KY) is interested in preparing its students better for a business environment driven by technology and cutting-edge communication. Beginning this summer, the college will offer its business students a new emphasis in management information systems. Courses such as e-commerce, web design, and business programming will present technology as an empowering agent of change and efficiency within an organization. St. Bonaventure University (NY) is offering its business students a rare opportunity this fall: the chance to manage a real stock portfolio on the open market. The student-managed investment fund, which received start-up funding from two alumni, will involve 15 students working toward a goal of having $50,000 in the fund by the start of the 2004-2005 academic year. A portion of the earnings will be donated to charitable causes. Finally, business majors at Notre Dame College of Maryland will soon have a unique opportunity available to them. The college is planning to launch “Accelerated College” this fall, providing a bachelor’s degree in as little as 2.5 years. Students pursuing a degree in nursing will also be eligible for Accelerated College.

Honoring Blooms
Noted literary critic Harold Bloom has donated his personal library and archives to St. Michael’s College (VT). The collection of some 25,000 volumes encompasses most of American and British poetry, criticism, and literary history, many with Bloom’s handwritten notes in the margins. Also included are his personal papers, notebooks, and manuscripts as well as his art collection, which contains a frontispiece of William Blake’s “For the Sexes.” In addition, an alumnus who was inspired by the acquisition donated a $5 million gift to St. Michael’s—the largest in its history. The College will use the money to build the Harold Bloom Reading Room, adjacent to the library and connected by an underground passage that will display Bloom’s art collection.
     Pitzer College (CA) is mourning the loss of a member of its class of 1985, television news correspondent David Bloom, who died earlier this year while on assignment for NBC covering the war in Iraq. In remembrance of his death, the College is creating a garden where family and friends may memorialize alumni, students, faculty, and staff.

Evolving Campuses
Albertson College (ID) announced it will cut tuition by 30 percent, to $13,900, and Waldorf College (IA) is dropping tuition rates by 15 percent for the upcoming academic year. Last year, Bethany College (WV) cut tuition by 42 percent, and College officials indicate that the increased enrollment more than made up for the drop in revenue, and even helped offset some losses in its endowment earnings.
     Bluffton College (OH) will attain university status this summer, and become Bluffton University. On July 1, Madonna University (MI) and St. Mary’s College of Orchard Lake joined forces. St. Mary’s will no longer be an autonomous institution, but will operate under the charter of Madonna. In addition, Regent University (VA) has entered into an affiliate agreement with Tyndale College (MI).

Every year, the College of Santa Fe (NM) Printmaking Center hosts “Monothon,” a marathon of monoprinting that attracts world-renowned printmakers and raises funds for the Art Department.

Getting Grants
Several CIC members have procured federal funding with the help of their local Congressmen. Representative Bob Ney announced last February that Mount Vernon Nazarene University (OH) will receive $600,000 in federal funds to use toward an expanded and renovated natural science facility. Mount Union College (OH) will receive a $200,000 appropriation, thanks to the efforts of Representative Ralph Regula. The money will fund two collaborative education projects with the Alliance City Schools in Ohio. And in Pennsylvania, Representative John Murtha announced the approval of a $100,000 Department of Education grant to Mount Aloysius College (PA). The funds will help develop a technology-based curriculum that gives faculty and students access to the latest technologies. Also receiving a five-year, $1.38 million federal grant is Rockford College (IL). The award from the Office of English Language Acquisition of the U.S. Department of Education will expand teacher-training opportunities for bilingual teachers and administrators.
     Two CIC member schools have received $100,000 each from the George I. Alden Trust. Otterbein College (OH) will use its grant for two science projects; the first to offer Raman spectroscopy technology to all of its undergraduate students, and the other a collaborative effort of biology and chemistry faculty to develop curricula in molecular biology and biochemistry. Susquehanna University (PA) will also receive a grant in support of upgrades to the university’s science laboratories. The money will make possible the purchase of new computer and information technology equipment, to be used in 18 different labs. In another science-related grant, the National Science Foundation has agreed to support Washington & Jefferson College (PA) in acquiring a new scientific instrument that enables students to examine the three-dimensional structure of molecules. The “nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer,” designed by 2002 Nobel Prize winner Kurt Wüthrich, will be used in teaching and research at Washington & Jefferson.
     NSF also awarded a grant to Georgian Court College (NJ) to help fund a research project that could lead to growing artificial human bones for prosthetics and industrial ceramics use.
     In April, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced a total of 228 grants to museums, colleges, and other educational institutions across the country, totaling $25.2 million. Faculty members at 14 CIC member schools each received a $5,000 summer research stipend. Awardees include faculty members at Austin College (TX), Franklin and Marshall College (PA), Hampden-Sydney College (VA), Illinois Wesleyan University, Judson College (IL), Loyola College in Maryland, Lycoming College (PA), Milligan College (TN), Mount Holyoke College (MA), Quincy University (IL), Stonehill College (MA), Wilkes University (PA), and Willamette University (OR). Fisk University (TN) received a $1,000 public programs grant for its “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” project.
     In other grant news, the James Irvine Foundation has awarded Holy Names College (CA) a three-year, $800,000 grant to establish a “Campus Diversity Initiative.” The program seeks to improve the academic success of minority students by integrating in-class and out-of-class learning. Holy Names will begin this summer by offering a faculty development seminar on diverse learning styles and a five-week Summer Bridge Program for incoming Freshmen in Fall 2003. The Goizueta Foundation has awarded Barry University (FL) a $2 million grant to provide need-based scholarship assistance to minority students. Barry will use the grant to establish two endowed scholarship funds. The Hillman Foundation, Inc. has granted $2.95 million to Chatham College (PA) to create the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. The center will be housed on Chatham’s campus, with the goal of bringing women in the Pittsburgh region to the forefront of the public agenda. Dominican University of California has received a $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation. The endowment will be used solely for student scholarships. And the National Institutes of Health recently awarded Saint Joseph’s University’s (PA) department of biology a $121,000 grant to fund student research.
     Alumni of several CIC schools have been especially generous in their giving this year. Mount Mary College (WI) received a $1.2 million gift from alumna Rita Stevens in support of a new Science, Technology, and Campus Center. And a Gettysburg College (PA) graduate, who died at age 104, has bestowed $14 million upon his alma mater, the largest gift in the school’s history.

Opening New Facilities
Sterling College (KS) recently opened its historically renovated “Old Main,” Cooper Hall. The 116-year-old building was originally built of limestone quarried in eastern Kansas, and its fortress-like structure and central tower are on the National Registry of Historic Sites and Landmarks. Sterling will use the renovated facility to house leadership organizations such as Habitat for Humanity International and Feed the Children. Another CIC member, Monmouth College (IL) has also renovated its oldest standing academic facility, Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. For over a century, the building has hosted campus lectures, recitals, and religious services.
     Allegheny College (PA) recently opened its new Women’s Center in Walker Hall Annex. The center will serve as a resource for gender issues and women’s history research, as well as a comfortable meeting place for various student activities.

Rocky Mountain College (MT) broke ground this summer on a new $5.5 million residence hall, which will cover over 47,000 square feet, and feature award-winning schematic designs of living and study space, including state-of-the-art computer access rooms. It is scheduled to be completed next summer.

Recognizing Leadership
University of Puget Sound (WA) President Emerita Susan Resneck Pierce has been selected by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to receive the 2003 Distinguished Leadership Award. She was honored particularly for taking a counter-cyclical path in making her institution “smaller by design.” For example, under Pierce’s leadership, Puget Sound transferred its law school to another institution, phased out athletic scholarships, and established itself as a national residential liberal arts college, gaining markedly in academic quality and financial strength.

Combating Alcohol Abuse
The University of Scranton (PA) was recently recognized by the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Committee for outstanding year-round alcohol abuse prevention efforts. The innovative “Life after the Party” program, which encourages responsible decision-making about alcohol, is an umbrella organization at Scranton that promotes education, prevention, research, and national initiatives to help eliminate substance and alcohol abuse on college and university campuses. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Foundation has awarded St. Bonaventure University (NY) a $30,000 grant to encourage healthy choices about drinking and reduce alcohol abuse. The grant was inspired by St. Bonaventure’s “Winning Choices” project, which seeks to launch a series of student-led initiatives to encourage peer discussion about alcohol-related choices.

Kosovo Refugees Graduate from CIC Colleges
Thirty former Kosovo refugees earned degrees this spring from CIC member schools across the country. The refugees were given a chance for a free education back in 1999, thanks to “Project Concern,” a program established by Carol Detweiler with help from her husband, Richard Detweiler, former president of Hartwick College (NY) and past chair of the CIC Board of Directors. After watching news images of thousands of fleeing refugees, the Detweilers convinced Hartwick to extend a full scholarship (tuition, room, and board) to one Kosovo refugee. They then persuaded other CIC member institutions to sign on and, eventually, nearly 50 college-age refugees from Kosovo were placed in about 20 colleges and universities across the country.
     “The small, independent college was a perfect fit for this project,” said Carol Detweiler. “The students received so much support. They were not just a number.” This spring, she attended a number of their graduations, meeting many students for the first time who she had tracked closely over the years.
     At Chatham College (PA), she watched two Kosovo refugees, Arbana Dermaku and Teuta Doko, graduate on May 19 to the cheers of friends and relatives. Both women left behind families living in the midst of a civil war to come halfway around the world for a chance at a new life. Dermaku plans to return to Kosovo for at least a year before going on to law school or possibly graduate school in business. And Doko, who graduated cum laude, has already secured a job at the Mellon Financial Corporation, as a business
analyst in its e-commerce department.
     A documentary film of the students’ experiences by a Kosovar television director and his assistant is set to air in Kosovo in September. The filmmakers spent several weeks in the U.S. this spring interviewing the Detweilers and the Kosovo students enrolled in Project Concern.
     Kosovo students have graduated (or are about to graduate) from a number of colleges that participated in Project Concern, including Chatham College (PA), College Misercordia (PA), Culver-Stockton College (MO), Elmhurst College (IL), George Fox University (OR), Greensboro College (NC), Hartwick College (NY), Juniata College (PA), Manchester College (IN), McMurry University (TX), Millikin University (IL), Ohio Dominican University, Point Park College (PA), Quincy University (IL), Rockhurst University (MO), Union College (KY), and Utica College (NY).

Fatos Berisha (left), a director of film, television, and theater in Kosovo, interviews two Hartwick College (NY) students—Mentor Ferataj (left) and Rezarta Simoni (right)—who came to the U.S. as refugees and were given a free college education by Project Concern. Carol Detweiler (center), who with help from her husband, former Hartwick President Richard Detweiler, created the scholarship program, was also interviewed for the documentary film.

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Last updated: March 2003
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