Rhode Island College Digital Commons @ RIC What's News? Newspapers 3-12-2001 What's News At Rhode Island College Rhode Island College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/whats_news Recommended Citation Rhode Island College, "What's News At Rhode Island College" (2001). What's News?. 9. https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/whats_news/9 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Newspapers at Digital Commons @ RIC. It has been accepted for inclusion in What's News? by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ RIC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT'S NEWS AT RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE Vol. 21 Issue 11 Circulation over 43,000 March. 12, 2001 Actress Viola Poetry reading Annual Fund Davis cited for phonathon achievement begins April 3 by George LaTour by Shelly Murphy What's News Associate Editor What's News Editor Theatre, film and television actress even months into the Annual Viola Davis, who graduated from Fund campaign and with the Rhode Island College’s Upward Spring Phonathon about a Bound program in 1983 and went on S month away, the Rhode Island to earn a degree in theatre studies College Alumni Association is on at RIC in 1988, has been honored course to meet its annual appeal goal of by the New England Educational $325,000. As of the end of February, the Opportunity Association (NEEOA) annual appeal has received $232,875 with its Achiever Award. in cash gifts from alumni and friends. “A small number of Achiever “We are actually 10 percent ahead Awards are presented annually of last February. It’s been my experi- to outstanding graduates of New ence that people continue to support England area educational opportu- the causes and organizations they care nity programs such as yourself,” about, despite the economic climate,” said Meredith A. Maust, NEEOA commented Nancy Hoogasian, Annual 2001 Achiever co-chair, in a letter to Fund director. “Alumni and friends Davis. have displayed a strong commitment She and Mariam Z. Boyajian, RIC to financially supporting the Annual Upward Bound director who nomi- Fund, but we still need a lot more nated her for the award, will attend help to achieve our year-end goal,” she an Achiever luncheon at the Sheraton added. This fiscal year runs from July Hotel in Burlington, Vt., April 3. At 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001. that time she will be asked to “share Later this month, alumni will receive her personal journey and discuss the the Spring Appeal with information impact that your participation in about scholarship recipients who have TRIO has had on your life.” benefited from the fund. They will Upward Bound is part of the TRIO share information about their pro- educational opportunity programs grams of study and plans for the future at RIC along with Student Support in this mailing. Beginning April 3, Services. students will be calling alumni and “As a shy, awkward, self-conscious friends asking for their pledges on young girl, I needed permission to be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. myself,” Davis recalled. The Spring Phonathon runs through “I needed validation that being April 26. poor and black was okay. I needed The Alumni Association relies on someone with vision to see that I contributions to the Annual Fund to had gifts that the world would deem grant scholarships to students, encour- important. aging them to attain their academic “And, most importantly, I needed “POETS ACROSS THE AFRICAN DIASPORA:” Nehassaiu Degannes goals while offering much needed someone to show me, to teach me (above, standing), who teaches at Rhode Island School of Design, and financial assistance. In addition to how to express that. The educational Ghislaine Jean, a RIC student, are among the four poets who read from scholarships, contributions to the environment at Upward Bound gave their work in Craig-Lee 255 on Feb. 21 as part of African-American History Month. For more sights of the month-long celebration, see Annual Fund support faculty research pages 6 and 7. (What’s News Photo by Gordon E. Rowley) See Viola Davis, page 8 See Annual Fund, page 4 Where are they now…? RIC gets down by George LaTour business. I’m a small businessman world- who provides a service and I’m also What's News Associate Editor renowned an artist,” he explains. mime, and to business His biography states that he is Fred Curchak, ou could say Adam “one of the most educated clowns in whom he first Join us at the Greater Gertsacov of Providence America…barring certain elected met at RIC Providence Chamber of Yhas just been clowning officials.” where Cur– around since earning his Commerce Business Expo. Gertsacov was an actor at Trinity chak was per- master’s degree in 1990 from Rhode Rep and not “working on plays I was forming a one- Island College. interested in” when “on a whim” he man show Tuesday, April 10 And, you’d be right! applied to clown college. based on But the clowning has been honed & Wednesday, April 11 “I wanted a skill, like how to jug- Shakespeare’s into an art form with Gertsacov gle,” he says. “I didn’t have those ADAM GERTSACOV The Tempest at Booth #730. practicing it all over the world. kind of skills, but I realized all of called “Stuff as Gertsacov graduated from the Ivy my acting skills were really about Dreams Are Made On.” League University of Pennsylvania Rhode Island clowning. I’m not really a juggler.” He has performed and taught “all in 1986 with a degree in theoretical He is now a graduate of the over the world.” Past engagements Convention Center communications with minor empha- Ringling Brothers Clown College have included those in Canada, sis in theatre. He obtained his and the Dell’arte School of Physical Chile and Brazil. This summer he Stop by to visit master of arts degree in theatre Theatre. And he has taken master will perform in Ontario. and group communication through classes with many international and register to win prizes. And, starting April 1 for six the RIC/Trinity Rep Conservatory clown luminaries such as Dario weeks he will be the official “Clown Cooperative Masters Program, and Fo in Copenhagen; Bill Irwin, a Laureate” of Greenbelt, Md., and “in attended Bryant College for its MacArthur Fellow; Daniel Stein, general, make a fool out of himself” entrepreneur program — “This is a See Where are they now?, page 8 Page 2– What’s News, Monday, March 12, 2001 The Way We Were… Focus on Faculty and Staff Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit items of information about This popular item in What’s News continues in order for you to be able their professional endeavors to What’s News, Office of News and Public to revisit your alma mater with a selection of photos from the past — the Relations, 300 Roberts Hall or e-mail them to [email protected]. College’s past, whether the current era (Rhode Island College) or past eras (Rhode Island College of Education or Rhode Island State Normal School). We invite your contribution of old photos, along with sufficient Ying Zhou, Music Teaching and Learning. The information about each, such as who’s in the photo and what they are associate profes- chapters include those by leading doing, the year it was taken and place (if possible). In the meantime, we’ll sor of computer researchers in music education. The continue searching our files for interesting pictures of past College life. science, (together book will be published by Oxford with her husband University Press next year. Wally Gall) wrote Helen E. Salzberg, professor of “An Organizing mathematics, was the panel moder- Center for Planar ator of “How the NCTM Standards N e u r a l Affect Mathematics Teaching, K-16” E x c i t a b i l i t y ” at the Northeastern Section of the which was pub- Mathematical Association of America lished in (MAA) fall meeting at Providence Neurocomputing. This article also was College. included in the book Computational Kathryn Sanders, assistant pro- Neuroscience. fessor of computer science, gave a Karen S. Castagno, associate pro- presentation on “Computers in the fessor of health and physical edu- Classroom: How Do They Really cation and Robin Kirkwood Auld, Work?” as a “new colleague” at the assistant professor Henry Barnard MAA fall meeting. School, have conducted two profes- Barry Schiller, professor of sional development workshops. The mathematics, pre- title of these was “Incorporating sented the con- Fitness into the Physical Education tributed paper Curriculum” and included hands-on “Don’t Neglect participation, discussion of the cur- D e s c r i p t i v e rent trends in fitness development for Statistics in a children, and a demonstration of the First Business Statistics Class” “THE GREATEST GENERATION,” a term coined by journalist Tom emerging technology and software for at the AMS/MAA Brokaw to describe Americans who fought in World War II, is how use in the public schools. The work- joint national Daniel Kitchen ’41 likes to describe this photo. He sent us the photo shops were presented to over 35 meeting, in New and that is he, as class president, being lifted to the shoulders of his elementary and secondary health Orleans Jan. classmates, while holding the anchor, the symbol of the College. It was and physical education staff at the 10–13. He also the tradition, Kitchen writes, for the graduating class of Rhode Island Warwick Public School Department. made a presentation entitled “ Very College of Education to give the anchor to the “most deserving class” Mary M.