Campus Currents

McCarthy Center Forum
Tuesday, Nov. 20
8:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.

The Department of Marketing has invited Todd Krasnow, co-founder of Staples (and other exciting ventures!) to campus on Tuesday November 20 from 8:30-10:20 in the Forum. The community is welcome to attend this event, which is an exciting opportunity to hear his experience and ask him questions.

Information on the Speaker:

Todd Krasnow is an Operating Partner with Porchlight Equity Partners with 14 years of private equity experience after a successful career in business. He currently is involved in a variety of investments in consumer, consumer tech, and technology companies.

Experience

Todd joined Porchlight after working in the same role with Highland Consumer Partners as the Marketing Domain Expert in 2007. Prior to that he was part of the founding team at Staples, Inc, where he helped build the company to $7 billion in revenues. He also helped to launch Carbonite, Inc (NASDAQ: CARB), and continues to serve on its board of directors.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Tile Shop (NASDAQ: TTS), C&S Wholesale Grocers, Kids II, and Bakkavor, Ltd.

Education

Cornell University, BA Chemistry
Harvard Business School, MBA

Interests

Todd lives in Newton, MA with his wife. His three adult children are all gainfully employed and following their passions. Todd is the chairman of the board of the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, base in Cambridge, MA, and he serves on the Entrepreneurship Advisory board at Harvard Business School.

Most people regain the weight they lose from dieting within one or two years, in part because the body adapts by slowing metabolism and burning fewer calories. A meticulous study led by Boston Children’s Hospital, in partnership with Framingham State University, now finds that eating fewer carbohydrates increases the number of calories burned. The findings, published November 14 in the BMJ, suggest that low-carb diets can help people maintain weight loss, making obesity treatment more effective.

The study, known as the Framingham State Food Study, or (FS)2, tightly controlled what people ate by providing them with fully prepared food-service meals for a 20-week period. Researchers carefully tracked participants’ weight and measured insulin secretion, metabolic hormones and total energy expenditure (calories burned).

“This is the largest and longest feeding study to test the ‘Carbohydrate-Insulin Model,’ which provides a new way to think about and treat obesity,” says David Ludwig, MD, PhD, who is co-principal investigator with Cara Ebbeling, PhD. (Ludwig and Ebbeling are co-directors of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center in Boston Children’s Division of Endocrinology.) “According to this model, the processed carbohydrates that flooded our diets during the low-fat era have raised insulin levels, driving fat cells to store excessive calories. With fewer calories available to the rest of the body, hunger increases and metabolism slows — a recipe for weight gain.”

Framingham State University students, faculty and staff made up the majority of the study participants, which was conducted on the FSU campus and in partnership with Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School. All meals were prepared by FSU Food Service Provider Sodexo. Dr. Patricia Luoto, Framingham State Professor Emeritus for Food and Nutrition, served as the study’s project director on campus.

“I am extremely proud of our community’s participation in this important study,” says FSU President F. Javier Cevallos. “Everyone involved has played a role in improving society’s understanding of dieting and weight-loss management. I am especially thankful to Dr. Luoto and Sodexo for their efforts in making the study a success.”

Comparing carb levels head to head

After careful telephone screening of 1,685 potential participants, Ebbeling, Ludwig and colleagues enrolled 234 overweight adults (age 18 to 65, body mass index of 25 or higher) to an initial weight-loss diet for about 10 weeks. Of these, 164 achieved the goal of losing 10 to 14 percent of body weight and went on to the study’s maintenance phase.

These participants were then randomized to follow high-, moderate- or low-carbohydrate diets for an additional 20 weeks — with carbs comprising 60, 40 and 20 percent of total calories, respectively. Carbs provided to all three groups were of high quality, conforming to guidelines for minimizing sugar and using whole rather than highly processed grains.

In all three groups, total calorie intake was adjusted to maintain weight loss, so participants’ weight did not change notably. During this phase, the goal was to compare energy expenditure — how the different groups burned calories at the same weight. Energy expenditure was measured by a gold-standard method using doubly labeled water.

Over the 20 weeks, total energy expenditure was significantly greater on the low-carbohydrate diet versus the high-carbohydrate diet. At the same average body weight, participants who consumed the low-carb diet burned about 250 kilocalories a day more than those on the high-carb diet.

“If this difference persists — and we saw no drop-off during the 20 weeks of our study — the effect would translate into about a 20-pound weight loss after three years, with no change in calorie intake,” says Ebbeling.

In people with the highest insulin secretion at baseline, the difference in calorie expenditure between the low- and high-carb diets was even greater, about 400 kilocalories per day, consistent with what the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model would predict. Ghrelin, a hormone thought to reduce calorie burning, was significantly lower on the low- versus high-carb diet.

“Our observations challenge the belief that all calories are the same to the body,” says Ebbeling. “Our study did not measure hunger and satiety, but other studies suggest that low-carb diets also decrease hunger, which could help with weight loss in the long term.”

Portions of this article are from a Boston Children’s Hospital Press Release on the Framingham State Food Study.

On November 16, two highly committed students from Framingham State University participated in the Regional Moot Court Tournament that had 48 teams held at Fitchburg State University.

The teams were from other colleges and universities such as Fitchburg State, U.S. Air Force Academy, Patrick Henry College, Holy Cross, Bentley, Bridgewater State, St. Thomas University, Merrimack College, University of Connecticut, Wheaton, Williams, and Suffolk University. The students who participated from Framingham State were Warren Creamer and Ryan Zwonik. Their Advisor was Dr. Christopher McCarthy-Latimer who is the Chair of the Political Science Department.

The team of Warren and Ryan performed very well at the three preliminary rounds and presented their arguments concerning the right to freedom of expression under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment while answering questions from the judges. The team score very high and made it to the next day which was sudden death. In a split decision by the judges of 2-1, they lost to the opposing team. I believe they performed better than the opposing team and should have advanced. I was very proud of their effort and they represented FSU with pride.

-Professor Christopher Latimer

November 26, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.
Heineman Ecumenical Center

drone_vox_jams is an improvised electronic music project composed, produced, and performed by Christian Gentry from the Arts & Music Department. It explores the real-time interactions between voice and real time synthesis with special emphasis on minimalistic techniques of repetition and slight coloristic changes.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018
4:30 PM 6:30 PM
McCarthy Center Forum

Speaker: Alex Gourevitch, Brown University

Come hear Alex Gourevitch, Associate Professor of Political Science at Brown University, discuss the radicalism of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil disobedience. King was no moderate. Assassinated while supporting a major strike, King is best seen as part of the 1968 revival of a long tradition of mass law-breaking that we can trace backwards through a hundred years of labor radicalism.

This event is part of the Moon Landing in Context series.

Thursday, November 29, 2018
7:00 PM 9:00 PM
McCarthy Center Forum

Earthrise, a documentary film by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, tells the story of the iconic image of the Earth taken from space in 1968 on Apollo 8. Told solely by the Apollo 8 astronauts, the film recounts their experiences and memories and explores the beauty, awe, and grandeur of the Earth against the blackness of space.

Taken 50 years ago, the Earthrise photograph had an everlasting impact on the astronauts and humanity, offering a powerful perspective that transcended national, political, and religious boundaries. The photograph helped kickstart the environmental movement and is one of the most iconic and widely reproduced and distributed images in history. The Earthrise photograph helped humanity to see our Earth as one ecosystem. Offering an opportunity to remember this shift, the photograph compels us to reflect on the Earth as a shared home at this unprecedented time in history.

This event is part of the Moon Landing in Context Series.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018
4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.
Framingham State University Planetarium

Speakers: Dr. Lori Bihler, Dr. Martel Pipkins, Dr. Wardell Powel, Dr. Erika Schneider, and Dr. Bridgette Sheridan

Framingham State faculty will explore the 1968 events that had a major influence on shaping the historical, social, and cultural landscape of the decade 1962-1972, characterized the years of the Apollo program, and still have an impact on today's world. The conversation will focus on the Vietnam War, social movements, visual arts, and education reforms.

This event is part of the Moon Landing in Context Series.

Thursday, January 17 *snow date January 18
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Transfer and First-Year Orientation

Wednesday, May 29
8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Transfer Orientation 1

Wednesday, June 12
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation 1  (STEM)

Thursday, June 13
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation 2 (Education/Arts & Humanities)

Friday, June 14
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation 3 (Business)

Monday, June 17
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation 4 (Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Tuesday, June 18
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation 5 (Undeclared)

Thursday, June 20
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation Make-Up Day 1

Friday, June 21
8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Transfer Orientation 2

August 14
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. First-Year Orientation Make-Up Day 2

August 15
8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Transfer Orientation 3

On Campus Interviews TBA, 11/26-11/30, Foster Hall 102

Diverse employers come to campus to interview and recruit for job openings. Call the CSER Office 508-626-4625.

11/27/18—Salmon Health & Retirement 9:30 a.m.—Noon
11/29/18—The Danforth Art Museum 9:00 a.m.—Noon
11/30/18—CJ Affiliates 2:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.

Networking & Suitable Solutions Mocktail Mixer Graduation Event
Thursday, December 6, 2018, 5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m., MC Forum

Network with employer partners while learning about proper networking techniques and etiquette while enjoying food and “mock” tails! Pre-registration is required. Contact the CSER office at 508-626-4625.

Wednesday Employer Showcase Series, McCarthy Campus Center Lobby, 9:00AM – 6:00PM:

Employers showcase their organization every Wednesday in the McCarthy Center lobby by the welcome desk. Their goal is to network with FSU students and recruit students for full-time or internship opportunities. (Featuring up to six different employers weekly).

11/28/18

9:00 AM – Noon: The Danforth Art Museum
Noon — 3:00 PM: Bigmen.com & Communities United
3:00pm — 6:00 PM: Insulet Corporation & Riverside Community Care

12/5/18

9:00 a.m. — Noon: The Key Program, Inc. & Champions After School Program
Noon—3:00 p.m.: Littleton Park and Recreation Department & Ashland Public Schools
3:00 p.m.—6:00. p.m.: KinderCare Learning Centers

12/12/18

9:00 a.m.— Noon: CarMax
Noon—3:00 p.m.: American Girl & Workforce Solutions

Spring 2019 Save the Dates

Curiosity Unleashed STEM Career Event, Wednesday, February 21, 2019, 4:30 p.m.- 6:00 p.m., MC Forum
STEM Panel — Employers will speak about the work they do and the types of employment opportunities in their particular STEM fields.
Speed Networking — Students will meet diverse employers to discuss their STEM career interests.
Resume Critique — Employers will do a quick resume critique of
students’ resumes to help them understand how to best highlight their skills and experience in the highly competitive STEM job market.

The Math Works Career Day , Wednesday, February 27, 2019
1:30 p.m.—2:30 p.m. Information Session, MC Alumni Room
2:30 p.m.—3:30 p.m. (Q+A), MC Alumni Room
Hear about the many opportunities at Math Works. All majors
welcome! Please call the career services and employer relations
office to find out more information! Preregistration required.
Call the CSER office at 508-626-4625.

Spring Job and Internship Fair, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, 4:30 p.m.– 6:00 p.m., MC Forum
Come to this great networking event! Full-time and Internship
positions available. Over 55 employers from the business, human services,
non-profit, and STEM field’s will be featured. Bring your resume.
Dress professionally.

MERC Education Fair, Thursday, April 18, 2019 , 9:00 a.m.– 2:30 p.m., at B.U.
Come to the largest education fair in New England - Over 100 school systems and agencies attend! Save the date for this annual recruiting event that brings together teaching candidates and school systems across the country for networking and job opportunities in public/private schools. Must register at: www.merccareerfair.com

-English Professor Patricia Horvath’s story, "Accident," has just been reprinted in the literary journal 580 Split's 20th-anniversary anthology. Here is a link to the story: https://580split.org/issue/anthologia/#accident