news

New provosts appointed at UDel, W&M

The Colonial Academic Alliance will welcome two new member to its Provosts' Council as of July 1, 2009.

At the University of Delaware, Dan Rich, provost since 2001 and a member of the University's faculty since 1970, announced at the March 9 meeting of the Faculty Senate that he will resign as provost, effective June 30. Rich will return to the faculty as University Professor of Public Policy in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy.

Succeeding him as provost will be Tom Apple, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Delaware since 2005. A Delaware alumnus, Apple earned his doctorate in physical chemistry at UD in 1982, after completing his bachelor's degree in biology at Pennsylvania State University in 1976.

Michael R. Halleran, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, has been named the College of William & Mary’s fifth provost.

A distinguished scholar of classical studies and a highly successful administrator and fundraiser at both public and private institutions, Halleran comes to William & Mary after serving the past four years as dean of the University of Miami’s largest academic division. Pending approval by the William & Mary Board of Visitors in April, Halleran will begin his new post on July 1, 2009. He succeeds P. Geoffrey Feiss, who will retire June 30.

CAA Undergraduate Research Conference to be held April 4-5, 2009

The Colonial Academic Alliance is proud to sponsor its 7th annual Undergraduate Research Conference, which will take place on April 4-5, 2009 on the campus of Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Undergraduate Research Conference brings together undergraduates from the 12 CAA institutions to present their scholarly and research endeavors to their peers and faculty representatives in a professional setting.  The conference will feature both poster sessions and panels of oral presentations, which will be open to all attendees and the entire Towson University community.  Participants will also have the opportunity to hear a high-profile keynote speaker and to gather information about graduate school admission and career preparation.

Student participants are selected by their institutions from a wide distribution of research fields, from the traditional sciences to the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and professional schools.  The conference attracts over 70 student participants each year.

The CAA Undergraduate Research Conference was hosted for the first time by George Mason University in 2003, the University of Delaware in 2004, Hofstra University in 2005, James Madison University in 2006, the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2007, and Northeastern University in 2008.

For more information, please click here or contact Dr. Larry Wimmers, Assistant Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research, Towson University, at lwimmers@towson.edu or 410-704-3493.

 

"Shifting Identities and Globalization in Contemporary India" Topic of February 26 Conference

To inaugurate its collaborative efforts focusing on South Asia, the Alliance co-sponsored a highly successful conference, "Shifting Identities and Globalization in Contemporary India," on February 26, 2009 at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.

The conference, which was organized by The Globalization and Society in India Working Group at George Mason University, was developed to foster critical analysis of the globalization discourse in India and develop a network of academics interested in this topic.  Georgetown University's Dr. J.P. Singh, distinguished scholar of international trade, development and culture, provided the keynote address.

The conference attracted nearly 70 students and scholars of contemporary India, representing 17 different colleges and universities.

 

"Helping Non-Native Speakers Succeed" Workshop Slated for February 28

To help our campuses best serve the English language needs of our international students, scholars, and employees, the Alliance is sponsoring a daylong workshop on Saturday, Feburary 28, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. 

The workshop is open to faculty and staff who work with non-native speakers on their campuses and will help them

- Establish relationships with colleagues from other CAA universities

- Learn how other CAA universities meet the language needs of internationals

- Establish at least one area of collaboration with one or more universities

- Learn about best practices in English language programs and services for international students, faculty and staff

To register, or for more information, see the conference brochure here, or call the Alliance office at 703.993.4797.

VCU, W&M to collaborate on health policy initiative

From left to right: Larry Palmer, director of the VCU/W&M Health Policy and Law initiative; Richmond Mayor Douglas Wilder, VCU president Eugene Trani and W&M Interim President W. Taylor Reveley III at the May 15, 2008 announcement.

Two Colonial Academic Alliance institutions have announced a signature collaboration to address one of the most difficult issues facing U.S. communities today – health policy.

The VCU-William and Mary Health Policy and Law initiative will bring together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines from the two institutions to conduct research, provide public service and offer joint degree programs that focus on solving topical problems in health policy, law and bioethics.

“This is a new form of inter-institutional collaboration in Virginia,” said VCU President Eugene P. Trani. “As public institutions of higher education, we are pooling the resources of two major universities to leverage our strengths in public policy, health and law to help solve a major problem.”

Faculty and students from VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, the VCU School of Medicine and the William & Mary Law School will work together in the initiative, the ultimate goal of which is to establish a Center for Health Policy and Law.

“Our two institutions recognized that the most meaningful way to address health care issues was to bring together our expertise in law, health and public policy,” said William and Mary Interim President, W. Taylor Reveley, III. “In particular, we want to increase the understanding of the role that the law plays in the complex process of health policy development.”

The initiative’s first service-learning project is a Veterans Disability Clinic, a pilot program set to launch in January 2009, that will involve William and Mary law students helping veterans with disability claims and other legal matters, while students from the VCU Department of Psychology will provide counseling, assessments and referrals to community agencies and medical providers.

The initiative also will act as a strategic partner for other centers at the universities, such as VCU’s Centers for Health Disparities and Rehabilitation Science and Engineering, and William and Mary’s Schroeder Center for Healthcare Policy.

The initiative will be housed at the Theater Row Building in downtown Richmond close to VCU’s medical campus and at the Law School at William and Mary.

VCU in the Chronicle: Colleges should help their communities

In this week's Chronicle of Higher Education, VCU President Eugene Trani's "Point of View" op-ed focuses on the importance of universities actively engaged in and with their communities -- especially in difficult economic times.
"In the contemporary university, collaborative relationships with external partners are not a luxury for good times only, but essential to the success of our core missions," he writes.
VCU's investment in Richmond's Broad Street corridor, faculty linkages with community organizations, and support of high-tech development in the downtown area have strengthened the Virginia capital and its neighborhoods.
For the complete article, click here.

International Programs meeting slated for University of Delaware

Developing collaborative international programs is a key goal for the Colonial Academic Alliance. On October 11 and 12, at the University of Delaware, Alliance provosts and senior international officers will meet at the University of Delaware to plan programs that meet the needs of their students and faculty.

University of Delaware provost Dan Rich is serving as lead provost for this effort, which will focus on sharing existing Study Abroad programs as well as developing new Study Abroad opportunities. The group will also develop plans for sharing facilities, new assessment efforts for Study Abroad programs, and other areas where collaboration among the 12 universities would be useful and productive.

For more information about the fall meeting, please contact the CAA office at 703.993.4797.

Undergraduate Research Conference Slated for UNCW

The 12 member schools of the Colonial Academic Alliance will highlight student scholarship during the fifth annual CAA Undergraduate Research Conference, to be held at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Wilmington, N.C., on April 20 and 21.

The academic alliance is a collaborative effort developed by Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner Thomas E. Yeager and the provosts of the CAA member institutions to bring the 12 schools together in academic initiatives that benefit faculty and students. During this weekend’s events, more than 70 of the CAA’s “best and brightest” will celebrate the academic strength of the conference.

“We are competitors on the field and on the court,” said Yeager, “but we’re collaborators in the academic realm. Many people are aware of the high level of athletic achievement in the conference. Through the Alliance, we’re putting the spotlight on the high level of academic achievement as well."

Student research is a major area of focus for the CAA schools. Involving undergraduate students in research and scholarship provides them with invaluable experience as they work as colleagues with faculty. This research experience gives students greater academic confidence, builds connections with future mentors and academic collaborators and prepares them to meet the challenges of graduate school and professional life.

Alliance director Mary Frances Forcier noted that bringing the institutions of the CAA together creates a strong academic resource that benefits every member school and its students. “Collectively, they comprise more than 200,000 students and nearly 10,000 full-time faculty, including four Nobel Prize-winning faculty,” she said. “Through the Alliance, we can leverage these strengths by developing innovative, collaborative programs that improve the quality of teaching, learning and research at each of our member institutions.” In addition to undergraduate research, other areas of collaboration include student life, Study Abroad, foreign language study, and assessment of student learning.

Undergraduates from each CAA school will present their research in poster and oral-presentation sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 in the Education Building at UNC Wilmington.