{"id":120578,"date":"2016-12-28T08:30:47","date_gmt":"2016-12-28T13:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=120578"},"modified":"2016-12-29T09:54:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T14:54:02","slug":"uconn-nation-hopeful-coming-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2016\/12\/uconn-nation-hopeful-coming-year\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Nation Hopeful for the Coming Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The end of this year has felt a bit rocky for some of us and so, looking ahead to the new year, we thought it would be nice to focus on some positive thoughts. Through our work on UConn Magazine<\/a>, we have met many people on campus and otherwise connected to the University. We reached out to some of those wise sources to ask what they were hopeful about in the coming year. Many of their names are linked to recent coverage in the magazine; others you’ll have to look for in future editions!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u201cI am hopeful that 2017 will encourage people fortunate enough to live in open societies to more deeply realize the responsibilities that come with such privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexis Dudden<\/a>
\nHistory professor and Fulbright Scholar, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that despite all the fake news and polarization \u2013 and partly because of it\u00a0\u2013 that there will be renewed faith in the importance of speaking truth to power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Lynch
\nPhilosophy professor and director, Humanities Institute, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat U.S. citizens who are displeased by the 2016 presidential election will get more involved in the political process and their communities. That\u2019s the only way that next time, there will be a candidate that represents them and their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim Krieger
\n Research writer, University Communications<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBiomedical scientists are making rapid progress. I am hopeful (no, certain!) that new advances in understanding or curing rare diseases will be made. \u00a0There will be at least one kid who has a better life because of the scientific progress made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stormy Chamberlain<\/a>
\nRaymond and Beverly Sackler Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful when I look at my students, who are amazing. When I asked them this question, they told me they believe that 2017 will be a year of tough but ultimately productive conversations about gender, race, power, and identity. That makes me hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pamela Bedore<\/a>
\nAssociate professor and writing coordinator, Avery Point<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNumber one: The Yankees farm system continues to produce a boatload of talent, some of whom help the major league club as early as next season. Because the Yankees have the top prospects in the minors, according to veteran baseball analysts.<\/p>\n

Number two: Because so many weird things happened in 2016 that anything is possible in 2017. (Ha!) President Trump and Congress figure out a way to pass meaningful tax reform and comprehensive immigration reform, two crucial issues that Washington D.C. has so far been unable to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stu Rothenberg \u201977 Ph.D.<\/a>
\n Founding editor and publisher, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report,<\/strong> Washington D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve recognized the glass ceiling for what it really is \u2013 a very thick layer of men\u00a0\u2013 I have been seeing amazing women everywhere. So I am hopeful that 2017 will see increasing numbers of compelling and competent women on boards, in office, in the media, behind microphones, in front of cameras, and in print.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina Barreca<\/a>
\nEnglish professor, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful that we pay attention to what\u2019s going on at home on all fronts before looking afar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathleen Dudzinski ’88 (CLAS)<\/a>
\n Founder and Director, Dolphin Communication Project, Port St. Lucie, Fla.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we will listen more to each other and act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie Coppola
\nAssistant professor of psychological sciences and linguistics and director, UConn Creation Lab, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful that the results of this past election will galvanize college students across America to want to dive deeper into being active participants in shaping the future they desire and deserve. Advocating for human rights, no matter the obstacles, is always a journey worth taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas Casa \u201997 Ph.D.<\/a>
\n Kinesiology professor and director, UConn\u2019s Korey Stringer Institute<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, I am hopeful that in the wake of so much outward, argumentative behavior,\u00a0people will remember to go inward and take care of themselves, their bodies, their minds, and their hearts, and start to see each other differently because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanda Slavin \u201908 (ED), ’09 MA<\/a>
\n Founder and CEO, CatalystCreativ, Las Vegas, Nev.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m wishing and hoping\u00a0that the world will finally realize we’ve entered a new\u00a0\u2013 still unofficial\u00a0\u2013 geological epoch called the Anthropocene. The\u00a0big idea here is that human activities are so thoroughly integrated into Nature\u00a0that it can no longer be seen as something separate. With acceptance of this portmanteau, those working on behalf of the\u00a0environment\u00a0will\u00a0be seen as working\u00a0on\u00a0a human creation. This, I hope, will\u00a0translate into cooperative, rather than oppositional, policies for conservation and management of natural resources and natural hazards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert M. ‘Thor’ Thorson<\/a>
\n Geology professor, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope for 2017 is that we can get back to a decent level of respect and civility. 2016 produced a major fracture within our country and brought out the worst in people. I am hoping we can all work towards mending that fracture and not let fear and ignorance become common place. Professionally, I would love to be able to engage more alumni using community service as the vehicle to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montique Cotton Kelly<\/a>
\n Associate vice president, Alumni Relations, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful that the University will continue to be a welcoming place to all students, faculty, and staff, and that despite our differences or maybe because of them, we can all continue to work together. I hope that learning and education will never go out of style, and that in 2017, some of the tremendous steps that women have taken in education (our undergraduates are 50 percent female and our graduate students are 51 percent female) will be reflected in the board room, on senior management teams, and in top managerial positions across organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy Gilson
\n Management professor and department head, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that we can seek more opportunities to learn about\u00a0\u2013 and from\u00a0\u2013 one another; and find moments to engage in dialogue that will help us to dispel the widely held biases about groups that keep us apart. That\u2019s more than one but they are connected!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joelle Murchison
\nAssociate vice president and chief diversity officer, Storrs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am hopeful that our housing in Stamford fills right away, and that the effects of these new students and increased enrollment will immediately begin to reshape the campus and the city in a positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terrence Cheng
\n Director, Stamford Campus<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With just a few days left in 2016, a selection of faculty, staff, students, and alumni share hopes for next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":120683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2224,2226,2076,173,174,2225,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2027],"class_list":["post-120578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cahnr","category-clas","category-research","category-uconn-avery-point","category-uconn-stamford","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 13:53:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120578"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120686,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120578\/revisions\/120686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/120683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120578"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=120578"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=120578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}