Mary Holz-Clause arrived in December as the University of Connecticut’s first vice president for economic development. With more than 30 years in the field of economic development, she most recently served as associate vice president for extension and outreach at Iowa State University, where she was responsible for advancing economic development opportunities with key partners of ISU on local, national, and international levels. She spoke with UCONN Magazine about the ways in which UConn can contribute to economic development across the region.

How can universities help drive economic development?

The first is taking the things that happen here – the research, inventions, and technology – and leveraging them for the benefit of the University. We do this by supporting the inventive work of faculty, evaluating their discoveries against market needs, protecting  the intellectual property if there is commercial potential, and finding a commercial partner to license the technology and take it to market. More importantly, we help industry and provide solutions to problems in health care, national defense, energy, and many critical areas. As a result, our work can help create and retain jobs and a healthy tax base.

UConn has a very strong foothold with economic development now, with the advent of the Technology Park and Bioscience Connecticut. We’ll be helping businesses develop and then locate in the region, bringing high-quality, high-wage jobs that retain our highly educated graduates and workers. Technology parks at other universities oftentimes create a lot of spinoff businesses and collaborations with established firms. That is what we anticipate will happen here.

How will your office be of benefit to the University, the region, and beyond?

Economic development is part of the role of any public research university – taking the research and entrepreneurial interests that happen here, putting them into the next fold of commercialization, and helping to create a venue for students and faculty to pursue entrepreneurship. We hope to not only take what we have at UConn to the citizens of Connecticut and to the region, but to also find out what the needs of the communities are, what the needs of industry are, and then be very intentional about connecting them with our  resources – technical experts, market experts, unique facilities, highly trained workers, and companies.

How will the University build alliances that will assist economic development?

If we can continue to focus on areas where UConn is very strong, we can then bring together our resources across disciplinary teams. This will help not only spur our research, but eventually also stimulate commercialization.

For instance, researchers at the Health Center in Farmington already collaborate with those in the School of Engineering in Storrs, so we need to make it easy for a variety of researchers and those from the new Jackson Labs program to know who our experts are and what’s going on with researchers in the School of Engineering or the School of Pharmacy on the Storrs campus. We need to help them uncover the many hidden gems campus-wide that can provide additional strength and opportunity through interdisciplinary collaboration.

What sorts of industries will UConn seek to align itself with?

Certainly some of the areas in which UConn has a lot of strength – advanced materials, energy, fuel cells, and bioscience. Stem cell research is where Connecticut is particularly innovative and creative in sponsoring and encouraging research, and it is where we’re now beginning to see some spinoff products and companies from that initial investment.

What role can alumni play in these efforts?

Alumni are the key to offering good internships and making connections within their businesses for students. Particularly with the downturn of the economy, many students who normally would find a traditional job are now saying, ‘What can I do to create my own future?’  To be really successful in helping these budding entrepreneurs, we are coaches and guides. And that’s how alumni can help: They serve this role. People do business with people. That’s really what economic development is about.

Students playing a board game at the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center (PRLACC). Social supports are among the factors credited with strong growth in Latino enrollment and retention at UConn. (Paul Horton for UConn)

Growing up in a bustling, predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Hartford, Abby Morales knew that settling in Storrs as a University of Connecticut freshman might be a bit of a culture shock.

But like many others in UConn’s growing population of Latino students, Morales ’11 (CLAS) says UConn’s social and academic offerings and its emphasis on celebrating diversity quickly made her feel at home.

UConn has experienced strong growth in the enrollment, retention, and graduation of Latino students over the past several years. Students, administrators, and others credit that trend to outreach programs to attract high school applicants, and on-campus social and academic offerings to help those new Huskies thrive.

“It’s a bit of a culture shock when you get to Storrs, but it’s all about getting really engaged and involved in everything the campus offers,” says Morales, who was involved in the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin sorority, the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center (PRLACC), BAILE (Bringing Awareness Into Latino Ethnicities), and several other groups.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I definitely felt UConn was welcoming,” says Morales, who is using her degree in human development and family studies at the state Department of Social Services.

Latino students represent about 6 percent of UConn’s undergraduates at the Storrs campus. In 1986, they comprised about 2 percent.

They’re also staying and graduating in larger numbers than ever before. Four of every five Latino students who enrolled or transferred as freshmen were still students in their junior year as of fall 2011, and about 75 percent graduated in five years or less.

That’s a jump from 2006, when three-quarters of Latino students who had entered as freshmen were still enrolled as juniors – but only 55 percent stayed on to earn their diploma within five years or less.

“It’s been an effort on the part of many,” says Nathan Fuerst, UConn’s director of undergraduate admissions. “There are people all over UConn who are champions for the recruitment, retention, and graduation of underrepresented groups.”

Trends tracked by the University’s Office of Institutional Research show that the growth in Latino student enrollment and graduation isn’t limited to the Storrs campus.

The regional campuses also are attracting and retaining more Latino students, a fact attributed both to UConn’s outreach efforts and their proximity to large Latino populations in Connecticut’s cities. Latinos represent 13 percent of all students enrolled at the regional campuses, with the highest numbers being 17 percent in Stamford and 15 percent in Waterbury.

The numbers at Storrs and the regional campuses represent an intentional effort to reach out to Latino students, not just a reflection of the region’s growing Latino population, several UConn officials say.

They cite programs such as Upward Bound, which brings students from predominantly minority urban schools to UConn’s Storrs campus for a slew of academic and social offerings; PRLACC, a campus mainstay since 1972; and a growing number of professional and alumni networks.

PRLACC already is training this summer’s student orientation leaders so they can explain the center’s offerings to incoming freshmen, including those who are not Latino but are interested in Latino culture and the center.

“Our focus and mission is inclusiveness, and that means this isn’t just a Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center,” says Robert Yanez, its interim director. “It’s a community center that’s open and welcoming to everyone.”

Although many students involved with PRLACC are of Puerto Rican or Mexican descent, Yanez says more than 20 countries are represented. The center’s annual Latin Fest is a major draw for students and alumni, and its METAS program (Mentoring Educating and Training for Academic Success) has won widespread praise for helping retain new students by pairing them with upperclassmen as mentors.

UConn officials say that just because the number of Latino students enrolling and graduating is increasing doesn’t mean they can be complacent and assume the hardest work is behind them.

In fact, the number of Latino students is growing as a percentage of Connecticut’s public school graduates, making it even more critical for UConn to offer culturally relevant, socially welcoming, and academically supportive programs.

“More and more, we need to position ourselves to attract and serve Latino students,” says Fuerst, the undergraduate admissions director. “They’re seeing students from their communities come here and be successful and graduate, and that’s really invaluable.”

Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health Center Photo)

In advance of the town hall meeting on changes in campus parking, Thursday, May 17, at noon in the Keller Auditorium, Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard provides some important information.

What are the most important things to know about parking on the UConn Health Center campus in the coming months?

• Anyone who currently parks in Lot L, Lot M or Shuttle Lot 3 should obtain a new hangtag from Public Safety (860-679-2511) by Friday, May 18.
• Parking will be provided for all employees.
• Free valet parking will be provided for all patients and clinical visitors at the hospital/main entrance, weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• A robust shuttle service will be provided (see updated schedules).
• Parking updates will be posted regularly on the Bioscience Connecticut parking page, as well as on UConn Today, via Broadcast Messages, and flyers and signage throughout the campus.

Why are these changes necessary?

The UConn Health Center is undergoing major capital improvements under Bioscience Connecticut, including the new hospital tower, parking structures, and ambulatory care center, as well as the construction of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. These construction projects will impact areas currently used for patient visitor and employee parking.

Can faculty, staff and students use the free valet service?

No, valet parking is only for patients and hospital visitors.

What do employees need to know about the new hangtags?

The hangtags are color-coded for each lot. The hangtag only allows parking in the designated parking lot. Please note: If you currently park in Lot L, Lot M or Shuttle Lot 3, you will need your new hangtag by Friday, May 18. Please contact Public Safety at 860-679-2511. We will be phasing in the distribution of new hangtags for everyone else over the next several months.

I’m an employee who pays extra for convenience parking. What do these changes mean to me?

You will continue to park where you have been parking. You will be issued a new hangtag with a designated lot at a future date.

What are the consequences for parking where I’m not supposed to?

You will receive a parking ticket for not parking in your assigned lot. Please note that Lot L will be for valet parking exclusively and will be otherwise off-limits at all times, even during hours when the valet service is not running.

I work second or third shift. What do I need to know?

If you work second or third shift your impact will be minimal. You should park on the academic side of the Health Center, where the gated lots will be open between the hours of 4 p.m. and 4 a.m.

What about the carpool lot?

Carpooling is still greatly encouraged, but Lot D is no longer available to carpoolers without a paid parking tag.

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Members of the Class of 2012 are celebrating their achievement and looking forward to the next phase of their lives.

Or, as medical student speaker Christian Kakowski described it, “real, actual financial liberation.”

Kakowski is one of 89 medical students who, along with 47 dental and 30 graduate students, received their degrees May 13 at the Connecticut Convention Center. It was the 41st UConn Health Center commencement and the first for Dr. Frank Torti, less than two weeks into his tenure as executive vice president for health affairs and medical school dean.

“The professions you’re about to embark upon are not, in fact, ‘jobs,’” Torti told the graduates. “Each is a calling.”

The commencement speaker was Dr. Edison Liu, president and chief executive officer of The Jackson Laboratory, which has partnered with the state to build a personalized medicine facility on the Health Center campus.

“Change will be much faster than ever, and much faster than you could imagine,” Liu said. “You are precisely the agents of change that our society needs so desperately. Why is that so? It’s because you’re all trained in science, you’re trained in technology.”

Liu reminded the graduates that their training will continue for the rest of their careers, and spoke of the importance of resiliency.

“Seek small victories that move you closer to your goals,” Liu said. “Don’t despair should you occasionally miss your mark. Be happy with each small advance and learn from each loss.”

His closing remark, “Go forth, do good, and make a hell of a difference,” was met with enthusiastic applause.

Dental student speaker Marcus Moss expressed a similar sentiment, telling his classmates, “Be responsible. Take this amazing opportunity in front of you. Never stop pushing. This world needs you more now than ever.”

Torti acknowledged the two men who shared the VP for health affairs and medical school dean roles on an interim basis before his arrival, UConn President Emeritus Phil Austin and Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the Calhoun Cardiology Center. All three men were active participants in commencement exercises.

Then Torti told the students, “You are prepared. You are ready. But most of all, remember this: You have always been, and will continue to be, part of UConn.”

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Daniel Mulkey. assistant professor of physiology and neurobiology, in his lab with graduate students Ian C. Wenker and Joanna Hawryluk. (Daniel Buttrey/UConn Photo)

If you’re an average person (not from Lake Wobegon) you breathe in about 900 times an hour.  You probably don’t think about it much, but Daniel Mulkey does. He studies what happens at the molecular level when you breathe and how your body gets the message that it’s time to take a breath.

We know that if you hold your breath, the build-up of carbon dioxide (CO₂) causes the brain to get a message, “Hey – we need to breathe,” he explains.  In a tiny area of the brain, a subset of neurons that are highly sensitive to CO₂ project a message to the respiratory centers to get breathing underway.

But what causes the rapid electrical activity of the neurons that tells the respiratory cells to go to work?

Mulkey is looking at how ion channels – pores in the cell membrane that allow the movement of ions (such as sodium or potassium) – influence the behavior of neurons when you breathe. Ion channels act as gateways into or out of cells for the ions that determine their electrical activity.

Using just a thin slice of an animal brain, his research group isolates and studies the cells that they think are important for the regulation of breathing. Identifying these cells and the ion channels that regulate their function might eventually help in the development of drugs for people who suffer from respiratory failure in conditions such as epilepsy, SIDS, or sleep apnea.

Mulkey, an assistant professor of physiology and neurobiology who came to UConn five years ago, recently won a research promise award from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at UConn. He also was named a UConn Teacher for a New Era Fellow.

When he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Virginia in 2004, Mulkey was the lead author on a paper that identified the cells in a very small area of the brainstem – the retrotrapezoid nucleus – that are critical in respiration.

He and two former fellow postdocs at Virginia, Thiago Moreira and Ana Takakura, who are now at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, are among the handful of scientists doing in vivo respiratory studies on brain cells. Moreira’s group studies breathing behavior in live rats. He can check how the animals’ breathing behavior changes, depending on the activity of ion channels that Mulkey has identified.  Mulkey’s group works on brain slices, using electrophysiology techniques to see how ion channels are regulated by CO₂ or neurotransmitters that are known to influence breathing.

Although his group works at the molecular level, “It’s really satisfying to go back to the whole animal and see how these cells work,” Mulkey says. The two groups, in Storrs and in Brazil, will exchange graduate students so that each group learns the techniques of the other.

The studies in Brazil are done on both active and sedated animals. Most respiratory problems occur when you fall asleep, Mulkey notes. When you are awake, you have cues that tell you to breathe. But when you are asleep, breathing depends entirely on the activity of the CO₂-sensitive cells that drive respiration.

People who suffer from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, also known as Ondine’s curse, have a mutation specific to these cells. When they fall asleep, these people have no drive to breathe.

By learning more about the cells and the ion channels that influence their behavior, Mulkey’s basic research could guide the development of drugs to provide a solution.

“If you know the players involved, you have a target,” he says.

His research is supported by a grant from the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and by the Cure Epilepsy Foundation. One of his graduate students, Ian C. Wenker, has his own pre-doctoral research grant from the American Heart Association.

Learn more from this upcoming paper in The Journal of Physiology.

Read about the other AAUP research promise awardee, Mark Urban, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

“It is really exciting to see the critical research and discoveries of our faculty members, along with a growing number of our students moving into the marketplace,” says Mary Holz-Clause, vice president for economic development.

The ceremony, which will take place May 16 at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, will recognize not only research, which has always been a vital part of the University’s mission, but research that has shown the way toward making economic development from campus discoveries a growing part of the UConn experience.

University figures show that income from licenses and other options has topped $1 million dollars for six of the last eight years, with the number of revenue-generating licenses created from university research growing from 12 in 1998 to 53 in 2011.

The income is coming from patents and other innovations developed by researchers at UConn, in fields ranging from medical science to electrical engineering. The range of innovation will be on display Wednesday night. Awards will go to giants like The Jackson Laboratory, the renowned genetic research center that this year signed a deal to bring a billion-dollar facility to the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington, and to startups like IMCORP, a Manchester, Conn.-based company started in 1995 by UConn professor emeritus Matthew Mashikian from an idea he developed while at the University.

“We all do research, but at the end of the day, the research must in some way improve the quality of life for people,” said Suman Singha, vice president for research at UConn, who will be among those honored at the event. “When you take research, and you bring it to where it benefits people, that’s what we’re all about.”

Innovation has also become a keystone of UConn’s contribution to Connecticut’s overall economic picture. University President Susan Herbst has made growth and development one of her central goals, and highlighted UConn’s early successes and plans for continued advancement when addressing the governor’s special summit on jobs last fall.

“Not only does research provide immediate results, but new discoveries, treatments, and products provide long-term benefits,” Herbst said, citing the range of planned activities at the Jackson Labs facility in Farmington, where researchers will tackle new approaches to treating cancer, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases.

Malloy himself plans to be on hand at the ceremony, where he’s due to receive an award as an Innovation Champion along with Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams. Malloy has made research and development a central component of his plan to grow Connecticut’s economy, with the Bioscience Connecticut initiative, of which the Jackson Labs deal is the major piece, the flagship accomplishment of his agenda so far.

Williams is being honored for working to win approval in the General Assembly for a $170 million investment in UConn’s technology park and its first building, a 125,000-square foot facility with laboratory space and specialized equipment. The technology park is slated to open in 2015.

The awards will show off what innovation means to UConn, Holz-Clause says, but will also keep the bigger picture in sight.

“Businesses, industries, customers and, in terms of health innovations, patients will benefit from the ongoing innovation at the University,” she said. “The innovations that come from economic development efforts at UConn address very specific national priorities for health, energy, and security.”

Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of CLAS.

Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a guest contributor to UConn Today. His posts appear on Mondays. For his previous posts, click here.

I composed this pastiche of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I am the very model of a modern major general” in honor of Peter J. Nicholls, UConn’s provost, who will step down from his position on June 30, and join the faculty of the Neag School of Education. Peter has been a model provost during his years at UConn, and it’s been a pleasure working for him. Plus, he and I share some other interests.

The song was only one of the many tributes that Peter received at his retirement party on May 10. The lead was sung by Charles Eaton III, and the supporting parts were sung by Spencer Hamlin and Colin Reinhardt, all of UConn’s School of Fine Arts.

The Provost Academical

I am the very model of a provost academical,
I’ve policies, priorities, and metrics rather technical
I run the schools and colleges and keep the deans respectable
From Nursing, Law, and Pharmacy to Art and Science Liberal,

I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

I’m very good at teaching freshmen all about the calendar,
I’ve traveled ’round the world to help make UConn more spectacular,
In short with my priorities and metrics rather technical,
I am the very model of a provost academical.

I know our mythic history, of Lobo, Moore, and Taurasi,
I follow all the games with very passionate intensity,
I wear the UConn colors in East Hartford each Fall Saturday,
and dream of cricket games and wish I had a nice hot cup of tea.

I do my best to carry out the orders  of our presidents,
Phil Austin, then old what’s his name, then Austin and now Susan Herbst
I try to keep them happy and to satisfy requirements,
While striving to make sure that UConn doesn’t go and jump the tracks,

And now we are top 20 in the US News and World Report,
And I am stepping down in case some change might make us come up short;
You see, with my priorities and metrics rather technical
I am the very model of a provost academical.

I read a million emails and I sign a million documents,
I tell a million people “no” and very rarely tell them “yes,”
I keep my cool in dealing with all manner of unpleasantness,
Like personnel, and politics, the country’s banks in near-collapse,

I take the blame without complaint for things that cause unhappiness,
And pass the credit I deserve for six long years of great progress.
And now I’m going back to be a member of the faculty,
Where I can pass along the things I’ve learned administratively.

And if I see the higher-ups are acting irresponsibly,
You’ll find me as a candidate for member of the SEC,
But still with my priorities and metrics rather technical,
I am the very model of a provost academical.

Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
Words by W.S. Gilbert and Jeremy Teitelbaum

More than 150 former Husky football players were among the crowd of about 250 people who returned on May 12 to say farewell to Memorial Stadium, UConn’s home field for nearly 60 years. The stadium will make way for the new Basketball Student Athlete Development Center.

The former Huskies had mini-reunions among teammates, toured the Burton Family Football Complex and Mark R. Shenkman Training Center, tossed the football, and enjoyed a barbecue meal under sunny skies. The former players were hosted by head coach Paul Pasqualoni and current members of the football team.

Doors with bicycle, Varanasi, India. (Wikimedia Commons)

In American culture, acquiring wheels empowers a person, as any 16-year-old eager for a driver’s license knows.

That principle is being applied in rural India, where the wheels are bicycles and the people empowered are 14-year-old girls. Bicycles are used as an incentive to encourage them to stay in school. A UConn economist is analyzing whether this works.

Nishith Prakash, who recently came to UConn as an assistant professor of economics and human rights, and a colleague at the University of California, San Diego, Karthik Muralidharan, studied the effects of a bicycle incentive used at schools in Bihar, India. Their research was funded by the International Growth Centre, an institute directed by the London School of Economics and Oxford University.

The bike giveaway began in 2007, after a new government came into power in Bihar, an agricultural state in northeastern India that lags in development. Too many girls there were dropping out of school after the end of grade 8. Rural girls often have other duties, such as caring for siblings and the family household. Their parents were, in effect, doing a cost-benefit analysis and sending only their boys to high school, says Prakash.

By giving bicycles to the girls, the government of Bihar has spent millions of dollars to achieve several goals. It wants to improve high school enrollment rates, reduce a gender gap that leaves girls behind, and improve learning.

The project aims to fulfill a United Nations Millennium Development Goal of improving women’s access to secondary education. The chief minister of the state in Behar also wanted to empower girls, who could use the bicycles after school to visit their friends.

The question that the economists were asked to look at was, does the incentive work?

Prakash and Muralidharan used a three-step “difference-in-difference-in difference” technique to isolate the effect of bikes on enrollment and remove biases in their findings that could come from other factors. First they studied the difference in girls’ enrollment levels before and after the policy change. They also looked at how girls’ enrollment compared with boys’ enrollment before and after the bike incentive. And third, they considered the difference in enrollment trends by gender in a neighboring state, Jharkhand, where students did not receive bicycles.

They found that girls in Bihar have stayed in school longer since the bicycle incentive began. Their estimates suggest that the gender gap in enrollment and attainment has been bridged by 10 percent to 20 percent.

Now the economists will use GPS data to look at how distance determines whether girls stay in school or drop out. Are girls farther away from school more likely to leave?

“We believe it’s the distance that has an impact, not just the bike,” says Prakash.

While bicycle incentives are used elsewhere in India, Bihar’s bikes are available to all girls who enroll in grade 9. In some other states, bikes have been given only to girls in the disadvantaged castes. The girls in Bihar were aware of that and were pleased that all girls in Bihar got to participate, Prakash says.

Their families also like the program. Bikes can cost more than $50, a considerable sum in this rural area. Because of its success, the program was extended in 2011 to include boys. Any further study he does on how girls are affected will have to use data from 2010 or earlier, Prakash says.

The International Growth Centre created this video about the project.

Art work by Diane Cadrain now on display in main and mezzanine lobbies. (Photo provided by Diane Cadrain)

Who: Diane Cadrain
What: “Twigs and Tides”
Where: Main and mezzanine lobbies, UConn Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington
When: Now through August 1, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily

About the Artist:
Diane Cadrain states she works as a freelance writer specializing in employment law topics, but lives to create art.  Her current work includes painted pima cotton fabric embellished with paint sticks. Her techniques also include felting, hand embroidery, machine quilting, hand and machine appliqué, and most recently, three-dimensional work.

She has been in juried shows sponsored by the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the West Hartford Art League. She also participated in juried exhibitions sponsored by United Hebrew of New Rochelle and the Florida Chapter of Studio Art Quilt Associates.

She has exhibited at the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Mass., the Warwick Quilt Guild, Warwick, New York, the American Sewing Expo, Novi, Michigan, and various Connecticut libraries and other venues with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective.

A resident of West Hartford, Cadrain is a graduate of Albertus Magnus College, and holds advance degrees from Ohio State University, and Georgetown University Law Center.

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M. Kevin Fahey, associate director of the Student Union, on Union Street. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

After 34 years at UConn, associate director of the Student Union and student activities Kevin Fahey openly admits his affection for the University. “I love the place,” he says. “I bleed UConn blue.”

His high regard for the University will live on long after his June 30 retirement, thanks to his gift of an endowed scholarship for a returning student who serves on the Student Union Board of Governors.

“I’ve had a great experience here. It has meant so much to me that I looked for the opportunity to give something back,” says Fahey, who is a 20-year donor to UConn and an avid fan of Husky basketball and football.

As retirement approached, Fahey decided he wanted to do something special. He learned from the UConn Foundation that faculty and staff can provide an endowed scholarship for a $10,000 pledge payable over a five-year period. “By using payroll deduction, the process is nearly painless,” he says. “I pledged to give $10,000 by the time I retired.”

As his departure date approached, colleagues talked about a retirement party in his honor. “I’m all for a party,” says Fahey, but when asked about a retirement gift, he said he would rather have contributions to his endowment. “That’s the best gift I could ever receive.”

Late last month, Fahey received an unexpected gift from the University when, during their April 25 meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to award him emeritus status – a rare honor for staff members.

“Kevin has had a profound influence on the lives of many of our undergraduate students and, as an advisor to SUBOG, on our student leaders,” says Kathy Sanner, president of the University of Connecticut Professional Employees Association (UCPEA), which Fahey previously headed. “He has been a dedicated member of the professional staff, and as [the former] president of UCPEA, he always kept the well-being of our members at the forefront. Under his leadership, it was our philosophy that we were partners with the University. It is fitting that he is being recognized in this very special way for his lifelong dedication to our University.”

The scholarship endowed by Fahey will support a returning student who serves on SUBOG. “Working with the Student Union is a valuable experience for students,” says Fahey, who adds that he strongly believes students’ education takes place both inside and outside the classroom. “We coordinate campus activities ranging from concerts to major lectures, all the fun stuff outside of class, so students learn to work in groups, take leadership positions, and lead projects. One of the most rewarding parts of my job has been hearing a graduating student say SUBOG was one of the most meaningful parts of their college experience.”

“We appreciate the gift and the sentiment,” says John Saddlemire, vice president for student affairs. “Support from staff is particularly welcome as a strong sign of the sense of community we are building on campus.”

Andriel Doolittle '12 (CLAS), who played basketball and softball in high school, is a senior member of the Huskies rowing team. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)

Before they arrive in Storrs and see a flyer that piques their curiosity and competitive nature, most members of the Husky rowing team have never lifted a boat or held an oar. With few exceptions, the majority of the team spent their high school years competing in a variety of sports like soccer, track and field, cross country, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, or softball.

Yet by the time they have spent as many as four years rising before the sun to practice on Coventry Lake and enduring the pain of winter workouts on a rowing machine called an ergometer, being a rower becomes a defining part of their UConn experience.

“At this point, I can’t really imagine not doing it,” says Andriel Doolittle ’12 (CLAS), who played basketball and softball in high school. “For four years here, it’s what I’ve done.”

Seeing the flyers in dining halls and having conversations with members of the rowing team encourages new recruits to sign up as walk-ons – student-athletes who pay their own way at the University but try to become members of a team. As in other sports, if they are successful, some walk-ons have the chance to eventually earn a partial scholarship as a student-athlete competing at the highest level of intercollegiate sports.

Yet despite the students’ lack of previous experience, head coach Jennifer Sanford-Wendry has found a formula for success in developing a rowing team made up of athletes who excelled in other sports before entering UConn.

In recent years, the Huskies novice eight boat won the Dad Vail Regatta – the culmination of the collegiate rowing season – and finished second at the Big East Championship. This past fall, the varsity eight finished third at the Head of the Charles, the world’s largest two-day rowing event. The Huskies again will participate in the Dad Vail this year from May 11 to 13 on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, which is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, attracting 120 teams and 3,500 student-athletes.

“Part of the reason we have success is they’re all starting at the same point,” Sanford-Wendry says of introducing her recruits to the sport. “It’s just a very slow process in the fall getting them to learn how to row. The tough stuff comes after that. Then you start mixing them with the more experienced guys.”

Kaitlyn Clarke '12 (ENG) ran track and cross country in high school. She is a captain for the rowing team this season. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA)/UConn Photo)

Kaitlyn Clarke ’12 (ENG), a team captain this year, ran track and cross country in high school and had some exposure to rowing from her grandfather. After seeing a recruiting flyer, she decided to attend a meeting to learn more.

“You could see the connection between the girls on the team, the bond they had formed,” she says. “I missed the team aspect of sports. They showed a slide show, pictures from the [previous] year. I got so caught up in the fun they were having and the beauty of the sport.”

Julia Roth ’14 (CLAS) recalls that at her first team practice, she wondered why so much time was spent practicing just lifting the boat into the air.

“There was a lot to learn the first day,” she says. “How to put [the boat] in the water, where the oars go; but once you get it, it’s very rhythmic, so you can just go with the flow.”

Sanford-Wendry says that having good, all-around athletic skill helps those who want to learn rowing to succeed.

“For most of them by the end of their third season they’re usually right in there with everyone else, from a technical standpoint,” she says. “Usually there is a big transition between first and second year. A lot of people make advances in the fall after their first full year. Then it’s just a matter of getting better as an athlete.”

Doolittle says that as in many sports, one of the most difficult parts of rowing is the mental discipline required, particularly because of the extreme physical nature of rowing. All athletic endeavors involve working through a pain threshold, however training on the erg machine, and the all-out effort required during the rapid pace of a race over just a few minutes, tests everyone in the boat.

“You know it’s going to hurt no matter what,” Doolittle says. “You have to mentally prepare yourself and push through the pain so you’re getting ahead. It’s mostly mental every time you get in the water.”

For Roth, now in her first year as a rower, there is the recognition that she has the opportunity to improve her skills to help her teammates.

“I’m still very new [to rowing],” she says. “My skills need a lot of work; trying to pull everything together is tough. I know that with enough strokes on the water and support from the team I’ll be able to get it all together and it will feel just awesome.”

For the student-athletes, there is also the understanding that when their days competing are in the past, they have been introduced to an activity they can enjoy in the future.

“You’re really building something that you can have for the rest of your life,” Roth says. “It’s an amazing experience to have when you’re young and in college. [During practice], there’s this one part when we’re up near the island. The trees are black because it so dark. The sun is just hitting the water. It’s very beautiful out in the morning. That’s very nice.”

Mary Carroll Root helps participants during a Powerful Aging Exercise class at the Avon Senior Center. (Al Ferreira for UConn Health Center)

The GO4Life program launched earlier this year by the National Institute on Aging, the Surgeon General and many partner organizations, encourages baby boomers and older adults to exercise and become  physically active as a means of remaining healthy and independent.  As a result, doctors around the country are increasingly addressing a serious question: how do we get our older citizens interested in and excited about exercise? Well, if you follow the example set by the UConn Health Center and its Powerful Aging Program, in many cases the answer may be as simple as…giving them the opportunity.

The Powerful Aging Program was established over a decade ago as part of a federally funded research project aimed towards examining the benefits of exercise in post-menopausal women. Developed by Dr. James Judge of the UConn Health Center, the program was specifically designed to study exercise’s effects on this older population’s bone and muscle health. But when the study ended, the participants pushed to be allowed to continue.

Dr. George A. Kuchel

“There was a real demand from the community to have a program for older individuals who wanted to maintain and improve their health,” says Dr. George Kuchel, who acts as director of the UConn Center on Aging and as the Citicorp Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology. “And we were happy to provide it.”

Those involved in the program work with trainers and other staff of the Health Center to perform a series of very low-tech exercises (those that only require weighted waist-belts, dumbbells, and step-up platforms) designed to promote muscle strength, flexibility, and balance – the three most important things that contribute to a person’s function and independence as they age. The exercises are very low-impact (great for aging joints) and are designed to be extremely safe.

“The most common mistakes that people make are that they don’t exercise due to fear of injury,” says Kuchel, “or that they exercise and over-exert themselves. The great thing about Powerful Aging is that it gives this older population a place where they can come together with experts to exercise correctly without fear.”

Looking to Improve as It Moves into the Future

Moving into its 12th year of operation, the program is currently undergoing an evaluation process designed to keep its practices up-to-date.

Linda Yamamoto is a kinesiologist, as well as a certified strength and conditioning specialist who has joined the UConn Center on Aging as a consultant in kinesiology and exercise sciences. She is leading this effort by evaluating the current program from the perspective of both participants and instructors, and incorporating this feedback into an updated program based on the latest scientific evidence.

“We want to make sure that that we are following the current best practices for our patients and clients, and not just following the latest trend,” says Yamamoto. “And we would like to understand the changes that our participants would like to see so that we can incorporate them where appropriate.”

And in keeping with the Health Center’s tradition of integrated learning, in addition to updating the exercise regimen itself, officials are excited about the idea of one day having university students help out with the program.

Mary Carroll Root helps participants during a Powerful Aging Exercise class at the Avon Senior Center. (Al Ferreira for UConn Health Center)

“Right now, all of our instructors are staff of the UConn Health Center,” says Kuchel. “But we would like to get students involved as trainers. It would be a great learning opportunity for students in kinesiology, physical therapy or other disciplines  to learn more about aging and geriatric issues.”

The program currently offers classes at four locations – the UConn Health Center, the Elmwood Community Center, UConn Health Partners in West Hartford, and the Avon Senior Center. Officials may consider expanding the program to other areas in the region that have an active older population who would benefit from it.

“You know, not so long ago, experts thought that exercise was only something that young people would be interested in, and they didn’t think that the benefits would outweigh the associated risks,” says Kuchel. “But they’ve been proven wrong on both counts. Not only does exercise bring benefits for our older patients, but they’re enthusiastic about taking part. And that really is a great thing to see.”

Those interested in the Powerful Aging Program are encouraged to call 860-679-7692 or 866-837-7737 or visit the program’s website for more information or for a class schedule.

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From left: First-year medical students Liza Karamessinis, Sahar Barfchin and Kelsey Sokol are the founders of "Greatest Gift" at the UConn Health Center, an effort to raise awareness for organ and tissue donation. (Priyanka Ghosh for UConn Health Center)

Three first-year medical students have organized a bone marrow donor registration drive at the UConn Health Center, scheduled for Monday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Food Court.

It’s the second such event orchestrated by Kelsey Sokol, Liza Karamessinis, and Sahar Barfchin in seven months.

“Our first bone marrow drive back in November was organized not only to add new donors to the national registry but also to help find a match for a friend of one of our members, who has leukemia,” Sokol says.

The students founded a group at the UConn School of Medicine known as “Greatest Gift” in an effort to help raise awareness for organ and tissue donation.

“As part of this effort, one of our goals is to hold organ and tissue registration drives to help increase the number of potential donors willing to help the growing list of 114,000 people waiting for a transplant,” Sokol says.

The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center is sponsoring Monday’s bone marrow donor registration drive, which the students are running in partnership with the National Marrow Donor Program’s “Be the Match” campaign. All between the ages of 18 and 60 are invited to participate. According to Be the Match, the entire process takes only minutes and involves a simple cheek swab.

“One thing people may not realize is, the matching process depends greatly on race,” Barfchin adds. “We encourage people of all races to come and get swabbed and be part of the registry.”

For more information, call 860-304-2433 or email kesokol@student.uchc.edu.

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The award was in recognition of the Health Center’s “heroic efforts in assisting the residents of Farmington and neighboring towns during and after the October, 2011 snowstorm.”

The Health Center staff was recognized for going above and beyond to ease the burden on those without power or heat.

• Hospital staff opened a comfort station in the Onyiuke Dining Room which offered warmth, wi-fi connection and electrical outlets.
• Food court employees served an estimated 9,000 extra meals that week – a nearly 60 percent increase in weekly business.
• Emergency Department staff worked diligently with community resources to help local residents find the care and assistance they needed.
• Lyman Maynard Stowe Library – a free resource for the community – played host to visitors of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, providing a quiet, warm place to relax and read.
• Facilities, Public Safety and the grounds crew worked day and night to ensure that the campus remained safe and the sidewalks and roads clear and passable.

Dr. Frank Torti, executive vice president and dean of the School of Medicine, accepted the award on behalf of the Health Center

The dinner was also highlighted by a keynote address given by Charles E. Hewett, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Jackson Laboratory. He commented on the anticipated economic and scientific impact of Jackson Lab’s $1.1 billion research facility that will be constructed on the Health Center’s campus.

“It’s an exciting opportunity and we’re starting to generate some buzz. We’ve just hired one of the world’s leading genomicists who is doing pioneering work to understand and mitigate cancer. I’m looking forward to working with the economic development leaders in the Farmington Valley,” Hewett said.

He explained the new lab will be working to identify clinical targets using the human genome to treat and ultimately cure a variety of human diseases.

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It’s finally here. We’re finally here. We are now college graduates, UConn alumni. After all the hours studied, exams taken, and papers written, our hard work has finally paid off. For some of us, this is the end of our academic career. For all of us, this is the beginning of a new chapter.

These four years went by so fast, yet I have grown so much. I’ve dreamed of being a UConn student since I was 10 years old, and now that dream has come and passed – and I couldn’t have imagined a better experience. The skills I’ve gained, lessons I’ve learned, and friends I’ve made have marked my college career and will continue to impact me for the rest of my life.

So thank you, professors, for teaching me how to make it in the professional world. Thank you , friends, for giving me the most fun four years I could ask for. And thank you, UConn, for exceeding my expectations and allowing me to discover who I really am.

Congratulations to the Class of 2012 – we made it!

For individual video profiles of these and other students by Julie Bruhn ’12 (CLAS), click here.

Dr. Frank Torti holds his first town hall meeting in a crowded Keller Auditorium. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health Center Photo)

“I hate deans.” With that opening sentence, Dr. Frank M. Torti immediately grabbed the attention of the audience gathered Tuesday in Keller auditorium for the first town hall meeting held by the Health Center’s new executive vice president and medical school dean.

After the laughter subsided, Torti explained the reasons for his loathing and promised to try to do things differently. “I will try to streamline decision-making. We will increase transparency, we will increase accountability. Notice I said we, not I. This has to be a team sport. Faculty, staff, students, and I will do this together.”

Dr. Frank Torti responds to a faculty member's question. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health Center Photo)

Torti told the standing room-only audience “to forget the UCHC you knew.” He explained how the Health Center is the best place in America right now to start a career in academic medicine, and that it is growing while others are shrinking.

“We need transformational ideas and innovations. Discoveries and innovations do not happen in community hospitals. They happen in academic medical centers. I think that’s why you’re here and that’s a big reason why I’m here.”

Torti said the single biggest obstacle to the Health Center’s success is its chronic financial deficit. “We must make prudent and reasoned effort to increase our income and decrease our expenses in order to secure our future.”

The Health Center’s eighth medical school dean joins UConn from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he served as vice president for strategic programs, director of its comprehensive cancer center, and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology.

Torti’s research interests focus on the potential of personalized medicine, which he said will transform medical care. But he told the audience he wants to emphasize another kind of personalized medicine.

“That personalized medicine is a big smile for someone being admitted to the hospital; stopping to give directions to a patient who is lost; taking the time to comfort a patient’s family; and making sure the call light is answered promptly. Make no mistake about it – this is the personalized medicine I value most.”

He went on to say that patients come first. “They are the source of our revenue, the focus of our research, and the foundation of all of our teaching of medical and dental students, residents, and clinical fellows. As long as the patients are the touchstones of our decisions, I believe we’ll be moving in the right direction.”

Torti intends to take a fresh look at the Health Center’s priorities, and the plans on how to get there. He said the review would be quick and surgical, not long and convoluted. “My explicit purpose is to give everyone a voice in the direction and future of the Health Center and to foster a culture of inclusiveness.”

He outlined three pillars to support his vision of the future.

Torti concluded by saying his door was always open and he would soon be holding meetings with small groups of students, faculty, and staff. “We have a lot to do. We’ll do it together and we’ll get it done — guaranteed.”

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Dr. Cato T. Laurencin's official portrait was unveiled during a reception held at the State Capitol on May 9. (Sarah Turker/UConn Health Center Photo)

During a reception hosted by The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus of the General Assembly, the Health Center’s Dr. Cato T. Laurencin was honored not only for his service as vice president for health affairs and dean of the UConn School of Medicine, but also for being an outstanding role model and inspiration to many.

Comedian Bill Cosby, a long time friend of Dr. Laurencin, attended the reception held at the State Capitol. (Sarah Turker/UConn Health Center Photo)

“How proud I am to be here,” said Laurencin’s longtime friend, comedian and activist, Bill Cosby. Though they graduated many years apart, their common bond is Central High School in Philadelphia.

Cosby stressed that it is important for students in their high school today — “our kids” — to see what can be achieved. Further, he urged all in attendance to reach out to children and teens to help them understand career choices and follow in the steps of leaders like Laurencin.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, State Sen. Toni Harp, and Dr. Frank Torti, the Health Center’s executive vice president for health affairs and medical school dean, were among those who expressed their gratitude for Laurencin’s leadership and achievements.

Also during the reception, Laurencin’s official portrait was unveiled. It will soon hang in the hallway outside the Health Center’s administrative offices, along with the previous deans and leaders of the Health Center.

The portrait of Dr. Cato T. Laurencin will hang in the hallway outside the Health Center's administrative offices. (Sarah Turker/UConn Health Center Photo)

Laurencin stepped down as vice president and dean last summer, following the final passage of Bioscience Connecticut, and has continued to focus on his roles as executive director of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science; director of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering; and clinically, as an orthopaedic surgeon with the New England Musculoskeletal Institute and holder of the Van Dusen Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Among his many accolades, Laurencin’s research in the field of ACL regeneration was recently recognized by National Geographic magazine.

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Students working outside in a science/lab class at the Avery Point campus. Avery Point was selected for the STEM expansion of the accelerated teacher certification program because of the big focus on science that’s there already. (Al Ferreira for UConn)

To help meet the national demand for certified science, technology, engineering, and math teachers who will engage and inspire young people, the Neag School of Education is expanding its one-year accelerated Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) to UConn’s Avery Point campus.

Like the TCPCG programs already in place on regional campuses in West Hartford and Waterbury, the Avery Point program will allow qualified students who hold a bachelor’s degree to earn a master’s in education and Connecticut teacher certification in just 12 months. Classes at Avery Point, however, will only be open to those looking to teach in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

“School systems in Connecticut and throughout the nation are scrambling to find qualified STEM teachers – there’s a critical shortage – so this program meets a crucial need,” said Michael Alfano, executive director of UConn teacher education programs.

National education officials estimate that to properly educate and engage students in these fields – as well as inspire them to pursue related careers – U.S. colleges and universities need to graduate as many as 25,000 new STEM teachers each year.

President Barack Obama has called meeting this number a “national imperative,” and challenged the U.S. Department of Education to spearhead efforts to train 100,000 STEM graduates over the next decade.

“Traditionally, math and science majors go into industry jobs – a math major becomes an actuary, a science major goes to work for a lab,” Alfano said, “but we’re hoping to change that and inspire more STEM undergrads to become teachers, as well as professionals who’ve worked in the fields for a while. Clearly, the need is there, and this new program at Avery Point will make the process of becoming a certified teacher that much more convenient. Neag’s TCPCG program really is a natural fit for professionals looking to make a career change and become teachers.”

Each year, 70-80 new certified teachers graduate from UConn’s accelerated TCPCG program. Another 120-130 graduate annually from the UConn Storrs campus’ traditional Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Teacher Education Program. The Avery Point program will lead to an additional 20 teachers certified annually in one of the STEM fields.

An information session for those looking to learn more about the program will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16, at Branford House on the Avery Point campus. Participants will get the opportunity to learn not just how UConn’s TCPCG program effectively integrates school-based experiences with seminar and core coursework, but see the sophisticated marine studies facility and other laboratory and research facilities that make up much of the Avery Point campus.

“It really was the logical place for the STEM expansion, because of the big focus on science that’s there already,” Alfano added.

Applications for the STEM/Avery Point program will be accepted in fall 2012, from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1. The first class of 20 will enter the following summer and attend full time. Part-time students are not accepted.

“It’s a rigorous program, but the benefits are clear,” Alfano said. “Not only is UConn’s Neag School of Education the No. 1 public school in the Northeast, but we frequently get feedback from superintendents who say Neag grads are their first choice for hires. Our graduates are exceptionally well educated and tend to stay in education far longer than the state or national average. What we do for teachers, students, and really education as a field is pretty special. There’s definitely a Neag difference.”

For more information or to register to attend the May 16 open house, contact Monica Gat at monica.gat@uconn.edu or 860-570-9266.

Jennifer Ward '12 (CANR), a senior outfielder, has a .938 fielding percentage and is hitting .243 with 18 runs batted in this season. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)

The softball team’s senior leadership had a straightforward goal for 2012 – to end their college careers as they began, as one of the eight teams playing in the Big East Tournament this weekend in South Bend, Ind.

They made their goal and as the No. 8 seed, the Huskies (21-26/9-13 Big East) will face No. 9/8 Louisville (50-3/20-2), the tournament’s top seed, on Thursday at Melissa Cook Stadium at Notre Dame. The winner of the game plays No. 16/18 South Florida (45-10/12-5), the No. 4 seed, or DePaul (34-19/14-8), the No. 5 seed, in the top of the tournament bracket.

“We’re real excited to have the opportunity to compete,” says head coach Karen Mullins ’79 (ED), ’80 MA. “It’s nice for our seniors. It was a goal they worked for, because they haven’t been there since freshman year. We had some good wins [this season] against DePaul and South Florida.”

The Huskies hit 45 home runs and knocked in 192 runs batted in before slumping at the end of April and having to wait until Sunday night to know if they would make it to the postseason.

“We were on the edge. It went down to the last game,” Mullins says. “[The players] have been hard workers. We felt we made great strides this year. We’re capable of putting runs on the scoreboard.”

Utility fielder Amy Vaughan '12 (CLAS) is one of the team's leading hitters, with a .306 batting average, 13 home runs, 42 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of .653. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)

One of those Mullins will rely on to put some numbers up is senior Amy Vaughan ’12 (CLAS), who plays in left field but is also the team’s utility fielder, moving around the diamond to wherever the coaches feel she can help the team. She has played in the outfield, infield, and as a catcher. Vaughan is the team’s leading hitter, with a .306 batting average, 13 home runs, and 42 RBIs; she also has a .938 fielding percentage.

“She’s such a great team player, always willing to do what it takes to help the team,” Mullins says. “She’s improved all four years. She’s valuable to us as one of our leaders. It’s unusual to have a player that’s versatile and willing to do so much. So many players want to have a home. She had the confidence and ability to do what we needed.”

Vaughan, a double major in American studies and political science, has a 3.75 GPA and was named last week to the Capital One Academic All-District 1 Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, which honors the nation’s top student athletes.

Softball has been Vaughan’s primary sport since age 6. She says that before she arrived in Storrs, she was a pitcher, until she played for the Rhode Island Thunder, one of the many teams that showcase potential collegiate players out of high school.

“They moved me out to left field. Then we lost our first basemen, so they put me at first base,” Vaughan says. “I rotated between those positions the most on the field. Because I had a strong arm in high school, they put me at third base. It was basically my whole willingness to do whatever it takes to get on the field.”

Utility fielder Amy Vaughan '12 (CLAS) primarily plays left field. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)

Vaughan says her favorite position to play is left field. It is where she most often plays, and she enjoys the fact that it is a key position.

“People think the outfield can be boring. It’s very important, [because] you’re the last line of defense out there,” she says. “If [the ball] gets by you, it gets ugly. I love it out there. You can make cool ESPN catches.”

Over the past two seasons, Vaughan has emerged as one of the vocal leaders for the Huskies. With only two seniors on the roster, she began to take up the mantle of leadership, and has continued to lead with her voice and her play on the field.

“Being able to communicate with your teammates is essential,” she says. “If you don’t know how to talk to each other in different situations, it would affect our team play.”

Vaughan says she struggled adjusting to the college game during her freshman year, particularly with the mental toughness required to face opposing pitchers who have greater skills than most in high school.

“The pitchers work so much more on their pitching and invest so much more time on it, their movement is really on spot and they can fool you,” she says. “Being able to accept striking out; approaching every single pitcher the same, regardless of what their stats were or what team they play for. I had to build up my confidence and have a swagger when I step into the box. Indecision will kill you up there.”

The UConn-Louisville game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, and can be viewed online at BIGEAST.tv.