Campus Currents

March 9, 2026

A gavel representing an auction


Sustainability Auction

Wednesday, March 11, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Center for Inclusive Excellence

This spring, Framingham State University’s Campus Sustainability and the Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) are launching From Communities to Communities, a series of connected activities that invite faculty, staff, and students to support one another through shared resources, creativity, and everyday action.

At the heart of this initiative are two events: a Sustainability Auction and a Student Sustainability Logo Design Competition that work together to connect campus contributions with student learning and recognition.

A Sustainability Auction That Gives Back

On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, FSU will host a one-day Sustainability Auction at the Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE). Faculty and staff are invited to donate items that reflect culture, creativity, or personal meaning. These may include handcrafted objects, textiles, artwork, items collected during travel, or other unique pieces that tell a story.

The goal of the auction is not to raise funds, but to encourage participation through shared meaning and generosity. All proceeds from the auction will be used to support student awards for the Sustainability Logo Design Competition. Contributions from faculty and staff directly support student creativity and engagement. We keep resources circulating within the FSU community.

Spring and Summer Internships with Congresswoman Katherine Clark

Are you interested in learning more about Spring &Summer Internships with Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts Fifth District? Join us in welcoming her staff on Wednesday, March 11th from 1:30-2:30 pm in 322 O'Connor Hall. Her staff will provide an info session on their internship openings.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis in the order that they are received. Internships run in Spring, Summer, and Fall, and are intended for current undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates. Candidates who do not fit these categories are encouraged to apply and to reach out to the appropriate office. All interns will work in person. To apply, please go to https://katherineclark.house.gov/internships, fill out the form, and email a cover letter, resume, and brief writing sample to RepClarkInternships [at] mail.house.gov (RepClarkInternships[at]mail[dot]house[dot]gov) with subject line "Last Name, First Name - Semester YYYY" (e.g., Doe, Jane - Spring 2026). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

For more information, please contact Dr. Coelho (jcoelho2 [at] framingham.edu)

The Great Data Expedition: Chart Your Route

Thursday, March 12, 9 a.m., Microsoft Teams

Scoping & Requesting Reports

This session focuses on crafting clear, actionable reporting requests. Learn how to define your purpose, scope, filters, and requirements so your report request follows the right trail. Being as clear as possible helps reduce wait times and confusion - for you and your trail guide!

Month 2 Objectives:

  • Learn what makes a useful reporting request
     
  • Practice defining scope, requirements, filters, and frequency
     
  • Understand the difference between data questions vs. report requests
     
  • Learn how report creators evaluate feasibility


Games & Prizes

Route Planner | Vague → Valuable | Build-a-Brief

Route Architect Badge | Pens | 5 Questions to Improve Your Requests

NASA astronaut Robert Hines shares his journey at FSU

By Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez, Publications Intern

Robert Hines, a NASA astronaut, said visiting Framingham State University's McAuliffe Center is special for him because he was inspired by Christa McAuliffe when he was young.

“Getting to do something at the Christa McAuliffe Center is pretty special for me. I’m of the generation that was sitting in the school rooms watching that event when it happened,” Hines told an audience of students, faculty and staff during a recent event in the McCarthy Center Forum.

He eventually joined the Air Force and took part in several combat deployments in the Middle East before ending up as a research pilot at NASA, he said. In 2017 he was selected to join NASA Astronaut Group 22 , which became known as the Turtles, he said. The other members included people from many backgrounds, such as engineers, Navy SEAL, microbiologists, and more, he said.

They went through two years of training to become astronauts, he said. The training included learning microbiology, biology, geology, how to operate the space station systems, and flight training, which was second nature to him at that point, he said. But for him, the hardest part of the curriculum was learning Russian, he said. The International Space Station has two major segments, and one of them is the Russian segment, he said.

“The two main languages are Russian and English… What we actually speak on orbit, we call ‘Runglish.’ We meet somewhere in the middle,” Hines said.

It takes a while for everyone in a class to get assigned to a flight though, as usually only three to four US astronauts get launched every year, he said. Hines was assigned not long after graduation, which began another two years of training, he added.

After that, he was sent to the International Space Station alongside three other astronauts, he said.

Most of their day-to-day activities consist of science, he said.

“Probably 60-70% of your time is spent doing the science, and the rest is just kind of maintenance and upkeep,” Hines said.

The station is a national laboratory, he said.

“There are several national laboratories around the United States. Just turns out that we’ve got one orbiting the planet,” Hines said.
 

Several organizations attend Study Abroad Fair 

By Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez, Publications Intern 

Rachel Spezia, the associate dean of students, helped run the table about the Indian January Term trip at the Study Abroad Fair held in the McCarthy Center last week. 

“This, I think, is the ninth trip that we would be running,” Spezia said. 

The three-week program started with Lisa Eck, the Chair of the English Department, she said. 

Several study abroad groups hosted tables at the fair. One of them was Arcadia Abroad, hosted by their senior associate director for institutional engagement, Wendy Lombardo. 

“Our programs consist of opportunities for students to go directly to some of our partner universities like the University of Edinburgh or the University of Otago in New Zealand,” Lombardo said. 

They have about 100 programs in 15 different countries, she said. 

Arcadia Abroad also has research opportunities “where students can go abroad and work with a primary investigator on a specific STEM summer research project to get hands on experience as well as academic credit for that,” Lombardo said. 

Another organization at the fair was ISEP Study Abroad, and their table was run by T. Divino, their University Relations Manager. 

He said ISEP is “known for being affordable, being accessible, and having a really large network of universities that students can go study at.” 

The American College of Greece table was run by Aubree Compton, their associate dean. 

Their college is the oldest and largest American university in Greece, she said. 

“What’s very interesting about us is that we’re an American style institution and we have everything that American students would expect,” Compton said. 

This includes “A centralized campus, state of the art facilities, athletic facilities, student support services, we have our own housing,” she said. 

The majority of their students are Greek, which helps give a US style-university on an international setting, she said. 

They are located in Athens, Greece, she said. 

Framingham State University’s Study Abroad Office held a table run by students.

One of those students was Jack Quinlan, a junior Business Management major. He said he once studied abroad in Florence, Italy. 

He had signed up to go last minute and had to choose between Italy or Northern Ireland, he said. 

The staff “really helped me with my process of getting the application in, communicating with LDM - Lorenzo de Medici, which is a program that I did – and just getting everything figured out for me,” Quinlan said. 

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