— COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE —

—ANNOUNCEMENTS & ACTIVITIES—

  1. Limited Holiday Staff in 504 Goodell
  2. Dean's Book Course Starts Feb 4 with A Primate's Memoir

—ACHIEVEMENTS, AWARDS & ACCOLADES—

  1. ComCol Senior Katie Huston Named Marshall Scholar
  2. ComCol's Daniel Cheng Wins Fulbright-Hays GPAP Scholarship

— $CHOLARSHIPS and $UPPORT —

  1. Maureen Flanagan Scholarship Supports Study Abroad & More

— INTERNSHIPS & EMPLOYMENT —

  1. Research Opportunity with Dr. John Stoffolano
  2. Take a Leadership Role in Rebuilding New Orleans
  3. College of Charleston Hiring for Summer High School Program

— ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES —
Honors Courses

  1. Dean's Book Course 391D + Film Production = Honors 391V
  2. History 693L: Introduction to Law and Society
  3. Molecular Medicine, AnSci 672, A Possible Capstone
  4. UMass Amherst Spring Recess: Gulf Coast 2008

Community Services Learning

  1. New - Sport Management 497H: Race and Violence
  2. New - Honors 292S: Engaging with the Community—Kids/College
  3. Honors 398S: Community Service Learning Practicum
  4. Community Service Learning Honors Independent Study
  5. Exciting Capstone Opportunity Available!
  6. Dean's Book Course + Community Service = 291R or 391S

— CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EVENTS —

  1. Senior Student Speaker Sought for '08 Commencement

— COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE —

Announcements & Activities

HOLIDAY STAFFING LIMITED IN 504 GOODELL
ComCol advisors will be available for limited advising from December 24 - January 7 due to holiday vacations. In addition, the office may operate on a reduced schedule due to low staffing. Students and other visitors are advised to phone ahead to check on staff availability and office hours.

DEAN'S BOOK COURSE STARTS WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4
The Dean's Book Course starts the second week of classes. Prepare ahead by reading Robert Sapolsky's A Primate's Memoir before your first class. Books will be available at Amherst Books, 8 Main Street, as well as other local bookstores.

Achievements, Awards & Accolades

COMCOL'S KATIE HUSTON NAMED MARSHALL SCHOLAR
Journalism major Katie Huston is one of 40 students nationwide to receive the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, created in 1953 by the British Parliament in honor of General George C. Marshall as a gesture of thanks for assistance received from the United States after World War II. Huston, who is also minoring in Political Science and completing the Five College certificate program in International Relations, plans to pursue master’s degrees in global political economy and human rights at the University of Sussex in England. For more about Huston’s work and the Marshall Scholarship, see the current UMass Amherst “In the Loop.”

COMCOL'S DANIEL CHENG AWARDED FULBRIGHT-HAYS
Environmental Design major Daniel Cheng has received a $6000 scholarship for study abroad from the Department of Education. The scholarship is sponsored by the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program for Advanced Chinese Language Training and will support Daniel's study in China this spring.

— $CHOLARSHIPS AND $UPPORT —

FLANAGAN SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORTS STUDY ABROAD
The Maureen Flanagan Scholarship supports students pursuing study abroad and/or other educationally enriching experiences. [More information]

— INTERNSHIPS & EMPLOYMENT —

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY WITH DR. JOHN STOFFOLANO
Professor Stoffolano is looking for an ambitious, competent, and energetic student to conduct research in his laboratory during the coming spring, academic, 2008, semester. The student will have the opportunity to remain and conduct research in his laboratory during the summer of 2008. The research project is on a fly that has been well studied for its feeding behavior and reproductive physiology. The student will conduct experiments in the area of pharmacology of feeding behavior, especially the behavior known as bubbling. Two Commonwealth College students have just completed their honors work in my laboratory and we will get a publication out of this research. Salary is negotiable with Dr. Stoffolano. Student will also gain research experience as well as a possible honor's thesis topic for the next academic year.
     Contact Dr. Stoffolano at 545-1046 or email him at stoff@ent.umass.edu.

TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS
UMass alum invites you to take a meaningful leadership role in rebuilding New Orleans. Spring graduates are encouraged to apply. Nathan Rothstein ’06 has been named one of 40 under 40 in New Orleans, and is seeking 12 of the brightest people from across the country to link into top jobs and rebuild New Orleans. Learn more and apply at http://www.nolayurp.org/ or see the informational application flyer.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON HIRING FOR SUMMER H.S. PROGRAM
The College of Charleston will be hiring 12 counselors this summer for its South Carolina Governor's School, an academic enrollment program for rising high school seniors in public and private high schools in South Carolina. They are seeking college seniors and graduates who may be interested in serving as Governor's School counselors. Counselors are responsible for coordinating community, social and sports activities and supervising 200 students in the residence hall. Counselors should be mature individuals with excellent interpersonal skills and with demonstrated aptitude for working with students. Candidates must have earned at least a Bachelor's degree by June 2008. The period of employment is June 1 - July 7, 2008. In addition to full room and board for the duration of their employment, counselors receive a stipend of $2,200 and will be accorded faculty and staff privileges.
   More information, including an application form, is available online at www.guvie.cofc.edu. or by contacting Maria Richardson, the Associate Director of the Governor's School, by telephone (843) 953-6592 or by e-mail richardsonm@cofc.edu. The application deadline is January 18, 2008.

— ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES —

Honors Courses

DBC 391D + FILM PRODUCTION = HONORS 391V
Honors 391V (Video DBC) combines the final level of the Dean's Book Course with an introduction to the elements of documentary film production.
    Video DBC follows the regular Honors 391D curriculum but with an emphasis on documentary film projects. Students learn the foundations of video/film technique and theory necessary to produce their own short subject documentaries on topics related to the semester's text and arising out of their class-based research.
    This is a special three-credit section of the Dean's Book Course, which meets 4 hours a week for the full semester. Prerequisites are Honors 191D and 291D or Honors 291G or R. No previous film/video courses are required and all levels of experience are welcome. Join and learn the how to place your views on the screen by stepping behind the camera.

HISTORY 693L: INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND SOCIETY
Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45
An introduction to the main departments of American law: contracts, torts, constitutional law, labor law, etc. Students will learn to read legal cases and law review articles. They will learn to study law in historical and comparative perspective. Emphasis is on legal concepts such as consent, negligence, privacy, and equal protection. Issues include the responsibility of manufacturers for injuries stemming from use of their products; the legality of union propaganda in the workplace; gay marriage; and affirmative action.
    No background is required. Counts as honors course. Interested students should contact Daniel Gordon at dgordon@history.umass.edu.

MOLECULAR MEDICINE, ANSCI 672: A POSSIBLE CAPSTONE
Want to find out what is going on in Biomedicine? Wondering about how research can be applied to human medicine? Molecular Medicine is designed to provide an awareness of the needs of clinical medicine and how basic research is addressing the problems. This course can be used as the first three credits of your six-credit capstone experience; to complete add three or more credits of 499T individual capstone.
      The course provides an introduction to contemporary biomedicine. Emphasis will be on 1)instruction in pathology and physiology of disease and how physicians approach diagnosis staging and treatment of specific diseases; 2) application of principles offered by basic research and the tools of molecular & structural biology. The course is taught by a team of instructors that include physicians at Baystate Medical Center and faculty at the University of Massachusetts.
     Specific Objectives:
     • Introduce students to pathogenesis of disease.
     • Critically review approaches to diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases.
     • Review tools and strategies for therapeutic intervention. Prerequisites: Required: Introductory Biochemistry (Biochem 420 or 523) or Graduate Student status. As the course covers broad areas of science, undergraduates should have familiarity with the following areas: Introductory Physiology (ANIMLSCI 220 or BIOL 565); Mendelian Genetics (ANIMLSCI 311 or BIOL 283); Introduction to Molecular & Cellular Biology (ANIMLSCI 200 or BIOCHEM 285), Immunology (ANIMLSCI 472 or MICRO 540). For questions or to request enrollment, contact Joseph Jerry (jjerry@vasci.umass.edu). See flyer for more info.

UMASS AMHERST SPRING RECESS: GULF COAST 2008
Let's make history! This spring, participate in the first UMass Amherst interdisciplinary curricular service trip to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Join this one-credit, student-run trip to relate your major to real-world issues. Road-trip to a different part of the US, and swing some hammers with over 100 of your UMass Amherst peers. Contact abaldi@student.umass.edu for more information on UMass Amherst Spring Recess: Gulf Coast 2008.

Community Service Learning Honors Courses

NEW - SPORT MANAGEMENT 497H: RACE AND VIOLENCE
Are you interested in making a positive contribution to the local community? This may be the course for you. Students in Sport Management 497H: Race and Violence will receive intensive training in leadership development and violence prevention strategies using sport as a framework for learning. Students will then act as mentors to middle school students in the Holyoke Community Charter School, preparing them to be community leaders. This is a four-credit honors course. We encourage minority students to enroll. For questions please contact Dr. Steve Jefferson: swj@sportmgt.umass.edu.

HONORS 292S: ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY
New Service-Learning Course Open to All UMass Students
     In this 4-credit course, students will be involved in two important projects. Students will work directly with a group of third graders in an afterschool program at the Crocker Farm Elementary School, developing fun and enriching activities for the youth involved. The activities of the program will be created out of the skills and interests of the participating college students as well as that of the kids in the program. Students will also participate in the larger aim of the afterschool program to provide an early intervention for youth who are primarily from low-income and immigrant families and families of color. This program aims to provide a vision of college for children who, even though they live in a University town, may not ever see college as a real destination for themselves. [More Information]

HONORS 398S: COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING PRACTICUM
Section 2, Knowing Ourselves and the Community, 1 Credit
   This course will provide students in Community Service Learning (CSL) courses/ community service projects with the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to be effective in their community service placements. Students will develop cultural competencies and explore how their own identities (derived from different social group memberships) intersect with the identities of the people they encounter in their community service. In turn, students will have the opportunity to reflect on and learn from their community service experiences. This course consists of three parts: First Session (Pre-Service), Weekend Workshop, and Final Session (Post Service).
    For more information, including meeting dates/times and registration process, see the Honors 398S flyer.

COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING HRS INDEPENDENT STUDY
Are you interested in designing your own service-learning independent study? The Community Service Learning Honors Independent Study (CSLHIS) program, offered through the Office of Community Service Learning, gives you the opportunity to link service with a community organization to course work.
      This program enables you to earn up to two additional credits by integrating a service-learning experience with one of your UMass courses of 3 credits or more (from this semester or last semester). You will need to find a service placement that relates to your course content and also ask your course instructor to sponsor you. If you need assistance finding a placement, visit Community Service Links at www.umass.edu/csl or speak with the CSLHIS Coordinator. CSLHIS is open to all UMass students. For more information, visit www.umass.edu/csl/CSLHIS, or contact the Office of Community Service Learning, 610 Goodell, 545-2015, servelearn@acad.umass.edu. Applications will be accepted during pre-registration through February 25.

DEAN'S BOOK COURSE + CSL = 291R OR 391S
Do want to give back to the community? Are you in Commonwealth College? Consider taking this “two-in-one” Dean’s book course!
    The Dean’s Book Community Service Learning class, or CSL Dean’s Book, is a 3-credit course that combines either 191 and 291 or 291 and 391 along with a community service component. You must have second-semester freshman status or above to be eligible for the 291R class and sophomore status or above to be eligible for the 391S class. Both classes will be held on Tuesdays from 4:00-5:55. This spring, there will be two books, A Primate’s Memoir by Robert Sapolsky and another chosen by the instructor.
     Students then do 20 hours of community service in Holyoke based on the themes from the book. If you would like to apply for the course, either stop by 610 Goodell to pick up an application, or print out an application from www.umass.edu/csl. Contact the community service coordinator, Ashley Pratte at CSLdeansbook@comcol.umass.edu for any additional questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling admission basis so the sooner you apply, the better your chances are of getting into the class.

EXCITING CAPSTONE OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE!
Looking for a fun and different way to complete your Capstone requirement and give back to the community? Apply for the Dean’s Book Service Coordinator Position! This position is a two-semester commitment in which you will be able to work closely with community based organizations, students, the Office of Community Service Learning, and course instructors to provide service placements and lead discussions for students enrolled in both sections of the CSL Dean’s Book course (291R and 391S).
     This role will also fulfill the 6 credits needed for completion of the Commonwealth College Capstone requirement!
     Please stop by the Office of Community Service Learning in 610 Goodell for more information or to pick up an application. You may also contact the current service coordinator, Ashley Pratte, at csldeansbook@comcol.umass.edu for an application or any additional information.

— CAMPUS & COMMUNITY EVENTS —

SENIOR STUDENT SPEAKER SOUGHT FOR COMMENCEMENT
What are your thoughts as a graduating senior? Would you like to share them with your classmates, family and friends? If so, you are invited to submit a proposal for consideration as the Student Commencement Speaker. Submission deadline: 2/12/08. [More Information]