Campus Currents

Dr. Diane Lowe from the College of Education attended the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) conference in Quincy, MA on April 7th and 8th.    
 
MACURE (Massachusetts Association of College and University Educators) hosted a research round table session where Visiting Lecturer Dr. Martha Colwell and three Literacy and Language students - Stephanie Ahearn, Julie Monaco, and Kylie Hilliard - presented their clinical case studies: “Teachers Make a Difference When They Know What Really Matters for Struggling Readers” was the title of their presentation.
 
FSU alum Monica Ranger Carty (BS in Elementary Education), a candidate for the STEM graduate degree in May, was awarded a Sylvia D. Brown Scholarship.   She and two of her fellow teachers earned scholarship money for their project titled, “Engaging All Students in the STEM and Common Core Reading Standards through Access to Leveled Nonfiction Reading Materials.”
 
Hundreds of Framingham State University Literacy and Language graduates attend the MRA conference every year, and many serve in leadership positions.  One recently admitted L&L student served as an ambassador to this year’s conference and said it was an exceptional professional experience.
 
Dr. Lowe also attended a MACURE (Massachusetts Association of College and University Educators) meeting on Thursday evening (at the conference).  University faculty from across the Commonwealth discussed the recent changes in DESE’s reading specialist licensure requirements.  This was a continuation of the work accomplished during two conferences hosted by Diane Lowe on our campus last fall.
 
Dr. Lowe has served as president of both MRA and MACURE and her continued membership in these two organizations is important to the literacy programs at Framingham State University.

On Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m., the Framingham State University Chorus will perform “The Poet Sings,” a concert of music set to texts by some of the world’s most well-regarded poets. Each choral work will be preceded by a reading of the poem on which it is based. The Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Paul Cienniwa, includes students and alumni from the university and area community members. The concert is free and open to the public and will take place in the Heineman Cultural Center.

Featured poets include James Agee, Leonard Cohen, e. e. cummings, King David, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Waldo Emerson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emma Lazarus, and William Plomer. Featured composers include Samuel Barber, Jean Berger, Irving Berlin, Benjamin Britten, Leonard Cohen, Lee Dengler, Adolphus Hailstork, and Randall Thompson.

Of special note is “Bittersweet,” a poem written by Chorus member Mary Collins. Collins, a published poet and a composer, created her own musical setting of her evocative poem. This will be the concert premiere. Also on the program is a work by Mary Collins’ father, Dr. Leo Collins. Dr. Collins, retired chorus director at Wheelock College and founder of Boston’s Cantata Singers, wrote a setting of Emily Dickinson’s "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."

“This is a broad program, both musically and textually,” says Dr. Cienniwa, the Chorus director. “From a Psalm setting to poems of Robert Frost, the featured composers run the full gamut of musical expression. Adolphus Hailstork’s Emerson setting is very much in a Broadway style, while Samuel Barber’s Agee setting is more in line with traditional choral repertoire. There’s something on this program for everyone!”

The 24th Annual MetroWest Economic Research Center Conference at Framingham State University is scheduled for Friday, May 13, at 7 a.m. in the McCarthy Center Forum. The title of the conference is "Expansion in MetroWest: Headwinds and Tailwinds."

The Keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Goodman, executive director of the Public Policy Center and Associate Professor of Public Policy at UMass Dartmouth. Dr. Goodman joined the faculty at UMass Dartmouth in 2009 after serving for eight years as the Director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the UMass Donahue Institute. Between 2009 and 2014 he served as the Chair of the Department of Public Policy and the Graduate Program Director of the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program.

The moderator for the event is Susanne Morreale Leeber, President and CEO, Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce and panelists include:

Linea Aspesi, Associate Vice President, Head of Human Resources Boston Hub at Genzyme Sanofi
Paul Matthews, Executive Director, 495/MetroWest Partnership
Art Robert, Director, Community and Economic Development, Town of Framingham

To learn more or to register, visit www.metrowest.org.

The World Languages Department will hold this year's initiation ceremony for Sigma Delta Pi, the national Spanish honorary society, in the Archives Room of the library on Monday, May 2, at 1:30.

Stressed about finals? Join the Center for Inclusive Excellence in the Whittemore Library for some relaxation, fun and productivity!

5/2/16: Stop, snack, and study (All Day)

5/3/16: Relax your body with a free massage from The Way of Water Massage and Body Work (11am to 1pm)

5/4/16: Listen and Learn, live music from Music Appreciation Club during study session (1:30pm to 2:30pm)

5/5/16: Relax your mind with meditation led by Meaghan Maxfield (1:30pm to 2:30pm)

Pause 4 Paws
Monday, May 2 and Wednesday May 4
11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
McCarthy Center Forum
Co-sponsored by Sodexo and SEALS

Come join us and de-stress with the puppies, free massage, healthy snacks and more…
Contact: jgrobwhiting@framingham.edu

-IRON MAIDEN, a black walnut vessel studded with 841 brass escutcheon pins, by Dr. Derrick Te Paske, Communication Arts Department, has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 Members Biennial Exhibition at the Fuller Museum (Brockton), June 26 to September 18. The piece has been previously exhibited at the Concord Art Association, the Belmont Gallery of Art, and the Mazmanian Gallery in 2014. It was the subject of his Authors and Artists lecture last March.