— COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE —

Events & Activities

  1. Pizza & Prof with Maryann Lombardi, Oct 23
  2. New Film Series: "The American Political Landscape," Oct 25
  3. "Bo's Arts, The Powerpoint Presentation!" Nov 6

Achievements, Awards & Accolades

  1. Author Jessica Stern Addresses Student & Faculty
  2. DBC Instructor Justine Dymond an O. Henry Prize Winner
  3. Nominate an Excellent Teacher for the DTA
  4. Understanding Terrorism Symposium Addresses Critical Issues
  5. Child Psych Honors Students Create Parenting Wikis

— ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES —

  1. Oxford Summer Seminar Info Sessions, Oct 18 & 19
  2. Majors Fair, Oct 24

— CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EVENTS —

  1. Somali Community Festival Volunteer Opportunity, Oct 27
  2. Ultimate Money Skills, Alumni Campus-to-Career Event, Oct 30
  3. ISOM Fall Speaker Series Line-Up

— COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE —

Events & Activities

PIZZA & PROF WITH MARYANN LOMBARDI, OCT 23
Theater expert Maryann Lombardi will speak to students at the next Pizza & Prof night. Pizza & Prof takes place in 504 Goodell. Pizza is served at 5:45; talks begin at 6:00. RSVP by Monday night if you want to reserve a seat and a slice.

NEW FILM SERIES - THE AMERICAN POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

BEGINS WITH MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, OCT 25
(1939) drama - Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal.
   Film Series showings take place Thursdays at 8:00pm in 504 Goodell. Films are free and open to all Commonwealth College members and their friends. Refreshments provided!

"BO'S ARTS, THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!" NOV 6
Time - 7:00pm
Place - Room 007, Butterfield Residence Hall
"In Spring of 2004, an odd and wondrous art show took place at San Francisco's Adobe Books and Backroom Gallery. Over fifty artists, from an eleven-year-old boy to several internationally renowned grown-ups, made work of, about, or inspired by a soft dog named Bo." Bo's owner, writer Jamie Berger, currently a UMass MFA graduate student, will present the life and times of both dog and art in "Bo's Arts, The Powerpoint Presentation!" This event is free and open to the public. Visit here for more information about Jamie Berger, his dog and his book Bo's Arts.
   This event is sponsored by Writing Butterfield and Commonwealth College.  For more information, call (413) 577-0546.

Achievements, Awards & Accolades

AUTHOR JESSICA STERN ADDRESSES STUDENTS
Jessica Stern, author of this fall's Dean's Book Course selection, Terror in the Name of God, spoke to students and faculty on Monday, October 15, in Bowker Auditorium. Dr. Stern enumerated what she considers the major risk factors for the spread of terrorism and recruitment of terrorists. She focused on four: poverty, lack of education, and "civilizational" as well as personal humiliation. The internet, she said, has become today's most dangerous tool for spreading "leaderless resistance" and "self-radicalization," mentioning in particular the Oct 15 New York Times article "An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers." In closing, Dr. Stern explained the ways she sees current US foreign policy and actions in the Mideast as contributing to the global mobilization of "jihadists." Dr. Stern's presentation was followed by questions from the audience.
    For a full report on the evening's event, see Eden Univer's Collegian article, "Author speaks on campus of book and terrorism."

DBC INSTRUCTOR DYMOND AN O. HENRY PRIZE WINNER
Deans Book Course instructor Justine Dymond's short story "Cherubs," originally published in the Massachusetts Review has been included in the 2007 O. Henry Prize Stories anthology. She will read from "Cherubs," about a house in France that was occupied by three different armies in WWII, at Amherst Books, 8 Main Street, on Friday, October 19, at 8:00pm. The event is free & open to the public.

NOMINATE AN EXCELLENT TEACHER FOR THE DTA
Nominations for 2007 - 2008 Distinguished Teaching Awards are now being accepted. The Distinguished Teaching Award is the highest recognition of teaching awarded to faculty members and teaching assistants/associates. To nominate your favorite professor or TA, all you need to do is tell us why your nominee should receive a Distinguished Teaching Award. All nominations must include your name, mailing address, and email address. Only current and former students may nominate faculty members. Teaching assistants/associates may be nominated by faculty members or current and former students.
    Please submit all nominations by Friday, October 26 to:
Distinguished Teaching Award Committee
Office of the Provost
362 Whitmore Administration Building
(413) 545 - 2554
(413) 577 - 3980 (fax)
dta@provost.umass.edu
    Check to see if your favorite teacher has already won the Distinguished Teaching Award. Faculty members and teaching assistants/associates may only win the award once.

UNDERSTANDING TERRORISM SYMPOSIUM ADDRESSES CRITICAL ISSUES
Four faculty members from across the disciplines addressed issues raised by Jessica Stern's Terror in the Name of God at the Oct 2nd Understanding Terrorism Symposium sponsored by Commonwealth College. The four faculty panelists spoke to some 125 students, faculty and friends of the Dean's Book Course, and then took questions from the audience. Panelists and their presentations included Dr. Carlin Barton, History, "The Character of Martyrdom"; Dr. Jay Demerath, Sociology, “The Sociology of World Religions and Worldly Politics”; Dr. Anurag Sharma, ISOM, “Reflections on Organization of Violence”; and Dr. Yehudit Heller, Commonwealth College, “Living Daily with Terrorism.”

CHILD PSYCH HONORS STUDENTS CREATE PARENTING WIKIS
Honors students in Dr. Lisa Scott's Psychology 350H: Introduction to Child Psychology have created informative wiki webpages warning parents and expectant parents about the dangers of teratogens during pregnancy and after the child is born. Visit their sites:
Effects of Caffeine
Effects of Antibiotics
Effects of Radiation
Effects of Lead
Effects of Marijuana
Effects of Heroin

— ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES —

OXFORD SUMMER SEMINAR INFO SESSIONS, OCT 18 & 19
Thursday, October 18 (4:00 p.m.) and Friday, October 19 (1:30 p.m.) in Bartlett 256
    Cobblestone streets and Gothic windows. Scholarly (and unscholarly) debates in local pubs. A weekend trip to Jane Austen's house or a play in London. Earning 8 credits in 6 weeks. This is what it means to study abroad in Oxford!
     At each info session we will talk about the 15 different classes in literature, politics, and history that we offer; introduce you to students who went last year; explain how to apply and discuss ways to make it affordable. (You do NOT have to attend either session to apply!) If you are still interested in the program but cannot attend these sessions, don't hesitate to check out our website.

MAJORS FAIR, OCT 24
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Campus Center Auditorium
--Investigate the range of majors & resources at UMass Amherst!
--Meet representatives from more than 100 departments & programs in one location!
Related Sessions:
Career Assessment Exploration
Monday, Oct 22 12:30p.m.-1:30p.m. Calapari Room, Library
Tuesday, October 23 1:00p.m.-2:00p.m. Calapari Room, Library
Wednesday, October 24 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m. Room 165, Campus Center
Getting the Most out of the Majors Fair
Wednesday, October 24 Room 162, Campus Center Ongoing throughout the fair beginning at 5:15p.m.
[more information]

— CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EVENTS —

SOMALI COMMUNITY FESTIVAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY, OCT 27
New WORLD Theater is seeking volunteers to help with our upcoming Somali Community Festival. Responsibilities may include helping with set-up, providing minimal technical assistance, working at the New WORLD Theater information table and clean up. Volunteers will receive complimentary admission into the festival and free food. This is a great opportunity to network with Pioneer Valley community organizers; other Five College faculty, staff and students; and, Somali Women's Project participants. The festival will take place on Saturday, October 27, 2007 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Panache Banquet Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts (827 State St.). [more information]

ULTIMATE MONEY SKILLS, OCT 30
5:30PM Memorial Hall. Come find out more on the appropriate use of credit, designing your own budget, taking control of student loan debt and how to protect yourself against the fast-growing crime - identity theft. This Alumni Association Campus-to-Career Events program is sponsored in partnership with Bank of America and Monster.com. The event is free and pizza will be served!  Register and get more information online at UMassAlumni.com/students.

ISOM SPEAKER SERIES FALL LINE-UP

The UMass Amherst INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) Speaker Series lineup for Fall 2007 is now available. The talks take place on scheduled Fridays at the Isenberg School of Management in Room 112 from 11:00AM-12:00PM (except where noted), and are open to the public. For more detailed information on the series, visit here.